;'!!;!■':. i: TTTT Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2008 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/ancientworldfromOOwestrich ALLYN AND BACON'S SERIES OF SCHOOL HISTORIES THE ANCIENT WORLD FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO 800 A.D. BY WILLIS MASON WEST SOMETIME PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AND HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT IN THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA REVISED EDITION ALLYN AND BACON Boston Netjj gork Chicago V f^ ALLYN AND BAGON'S SERIES OF SCHOOL HISTORIES J2mo, half leather, numerous maps, plans, and illustrations THE- ANCIENT WORLD. Revised. By Willis M. West. • Also in twQ volumes^ Part I. Greece and~ the East. Part II. Rome and the West. MODERN HISTORY. By Willis M. West. HISTORY OF ENGLAND. By Charles M. Andrews of Yale University. SHORT HISTORY OF ENGLAND. By Charles ^. Andrews. HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Revised. By Charles K. Adams and William P. Trent of Columbia University. BY WILLIS MASON WEST. 354Z9-2.^ Norf»aafi< T^t%% J. S. Gushing Co. -- Berwiclt & Smith Co. Norwood, Mass.', U.S.A. FOREWORD My Ancient World appeared nine years ago. The generous welcome given to it necessitates new plates ; and I have taken advantage of the opportunity to rewrite the book. In the nine years, my own interest has shifted from political history to industrial history. This change, I believe, has been general ; and I trust that teachers will approve the correspond- ing change in the book. Less space is given to "constitu- tions," and more to industrial and economic development and to home life. Many generalizations, too, are omitted, to make room for more narrative ; and the publication of Dr. Davis' Readings^ makes it advisable to omit most of the ^^illustrative extracts " of the old volume, except where they can be easily woven into the story. The Readings is accountable for another modification here. That volume presents much of the story of the ancient peoples, as they themselves told it, in so simple and charming a manner as to make the best possible collateral reading. Every high school pupil, I feel, should own the book, or at least have easy access to copies on reference shelves.^ Other library reference in this book has been reduced, accordingly, to a minimum. In the Ancient World I ventured to present views of the " Mycenaeans " and " Achaeans," which at that time were per- haps somewhat radical for an elementary text. Subsequent discoveries, however, have fully confirmed them, and have also opened up a new and intensely interesting chapter of an earlier Aegean world, besides adding much to our knowledge in other fields of ancient history. These new results I am glad to have a chance to incorporate here. It is doubtful if a textbook of this sort should give room to 1 William Stearns Davis, JJeatZm.grs in Ancient History. Two volumes: " Greece and the East," and " Rome and the West." Each $ 1.00. Allyn and Bacon. 2 This view, together with the plan of library work for this volume, is ex- plained more fully on page 9 o o /» O r^ O iv FOREWORD any incident which tlie student cannot articulate with the life of to-day — or which is not essential to understanding the evolu- tion of important conditions which can be so articulated. This principle has not been adhered to so rigidly as to forbid inclu- sion of stories of universal human interest, independent of time ; but it has led to the omission of many names and events commonly found in such a textbook, and it also explains the various references to present-day conditions. For allied rea- sons, too, I have retained the emphasis of the former volume upon the Hellenistic world and the Roman imperial world — on which our modern life is so directly based — at some cost to the legendary periods of Greece and Rome. Perhaps the most fundamental change is yet to be men- tioned. My first book in this field — the Ancieyit History ^ of twelve years ago — was designed avowedly both for high schools and for "niore advanced" students. Something of the same sort lingered in the Ancient World, the successor of that first volume. But in writing the present book I have kept steadily in mind the first-year high-school pupil. Several new maps have been added; and the numerous old ones have been made more serviceable for teaching, and have been carefully adapted to the new text. The maps for " gen- eral reference," however, still contain a few names not used in the text, to assist the student in his outside reading. Through the generosity of the publishers, the book has been enriched with many new illustrations, which, in numerous cases, give emphasis to industrial and social life. It is impossible to catalogue here all the friends who have contributed to making this volume better than the author alone could have made it. But I must at least take space to acknowledge my indebtedness to Dr. William Stearns Davis. Dr. Davis has read the complete book in proof sheets. To his scholarship I owe the avoidance of various errors, and to his fine dramatic sense the inclusion of some striking incidents. WILLIS MASON WEST. WiNDAGO Farm, May, 1913. '< TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE List of Illustrations vii List of Maps and Plans . . xiii Introduction : The Part of Man's Lifk to Study ... 1 PART I — THE ORIENTAL PEOPLES OHAl'TKK I. Preliminary Survey 11 II. Egypt 15 III. The Tigris-Euphrates States . . . . . .50 Sa^IV. The Middle States — Phoenicians and Hebrews . 72 V. The Persian Empire . ." 82 VI. Summary of Oriental Civilization 92 VIL IX. X. XL \^ XII. XIII. XIV. XV. U^xvi. XVII. XVIIl. PART II — THE GREEKS The Influence of Geography .05 How^ we know about Prehistoric Hellas .... 101 The First (Cretan) Civilization 107 The Homeric Age 116 From the Achaeans to the Persian Wars . . . . 126 The Persian Wars 163' Athenian Leadership : The Age of Pericles . . . l^j^ , Life in the Age of Pericles 230 The Peloponnesian War . . . . . . . . 242 From the Fall of Athens to the Fall of Hellas, 404-338 . 250 PART III — THE GRAECO-ORIENTAL WORLD Mingling of East and West — Alexander and his Conquests _^63 The Widespread Hellenistic World 273 VI TABLE OF CONTENTS PART IV — ROME CHAPTER PjLO«-- ^ XIX. The Place of Rome in History 297 I XX. The Land and the Peoples . . . . . . 300 XXI. Legendary History 307 [ XXII. Conclusions about Rome under the Kings . . . 311 L XXIII. Class Struggles in the Republic, 510-367 . . . 323 XXIV. The Unification of Italy, 367-266 333 XXV. United Italy under Roman Rule 339 XXVI. Government of the Republic 347 XXVIL The Army 353 XXVin. Roman Society, 367-200 b.c 357 ' XXIX. The Winning of the West, 264-146 b.c. . . . 363 XXX. The West from 200 to 146 B.c 382 XXXI. The Winning of the East, 201-146 b.c. . . .387 XXXII. New Strife of Classes, 140-49 b.c 399 XXXIII. The Gracchi 419 XXXIV. Military Rule : Marius and Sulla ..... 428 XXXV. Pompey and Caesar 437 PART V — THE ROMAN EMPIRE XXXVI. Founding the Empire : Julius and Augustus . . 445 XXXVII. The Empire of the First Two Centuries : Story of the Emperors 465 XXXVIII. The Empire of the First Two Centuries : Topical Survey 481 XXXIX. The Decline in the Third Century . . . .526 XL. The Rise of Christianity 533 XLI. Fourth Century : Story of the Emperors . . . 541 XLII. Fourth Century : Topical Survey 556 PART VI— ROMANO-TEUTONIC EUROPE XLIII. The Teutons 570 XLIV. The Wandering of the Peoples, 376-565 a.d. . . 576 XLV. The " Dark Ages " 596 XL VI. Western Europe, 600-768 a.d 608 XL VII. The Empire of Charlemagne 624 Appendix : A Classified List of Selected Books for a High School , Library in History 637 Index, Pronouncing Vocabulary, and Map References . . 643 ILLUSTRATIONS 1. Reindeer, drawn by Cave-men in France and in Switzerland . 2 2. Prehistoric Stone Daggers from Scandinavia .... 3 3. Series of Axes ; Old Stone, New Stone, and Bronze Ages . 4 4. Some Stages in Fire-making. From Tylor .... 6 6. Portion of the Rosetta Stone, containing the hieroglyphs first deciphered 12 6. Part of the Rosetta Inscription, on a larger scale ... 12 7. Photograph of Modem Egyptian sitting by a Sculptured Head of an Ancient King ; to show likeness of feature . . .17 8. Boatmen fighting on the Nile. Egyptian relief . . . .18 9. A Capital from Karnak. From Liibke 20 10. Portrait Statue of Amten, a self-made noble of 3200 b.c. . . 22 11. Egyptian Noble hunting Waterfowl on the Nile. After Maspero 23 12. Levying the Tax. Egyptian relief, from Maspero ... 25 13. Egyptian Plow. From Rawlinson 28 14. Market Scene. An Egyptian relief 29 15. Shoemakers. Egyptian relief, from Maspero .... 30 16. Sphinx and Pyramids. From a photograph . . . .31 17. Vertical Section of the Great Pyramid 32 18. Ra-Hotep ; perhaps the oldest portrait statue in existence . 34 19. Princess Nefert ; a portrait statue 5000 years old . . . 34 20. Temple of Edfu 35 21. A Relief from the Temple of Hathor at Dendera ... 36 22. Egyptian Numerals 37 23. Isis and Horus 38 24. Sculptured Funeral Couch ; picturing the soul crouching by the mummy 39 25. A Tomb Painting ; showing offerings to the dead ... 40 vii VIU ILLUSTRATIONS Weighing the Soul before the Judges of the Dead. Egyptian relief 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. Cheops (Khufu). A portrait statue . Sculptors at Work. An Egyptian relief Thutmosis III Rameses II Psammetichus in Hieroglyphs Neco in Hieroglyphs .... Nebuchadnezzar in Cuneiform Characters Colossal Man-beast, from the Palace of Sargon Assyrian Contract Tablet in Duplicate Assyrian Tablets ; showing the older hieroglyphs and the cuneiform equivalents in parallel columns An Assyrian " Book " An Assyrian Dog. A relief on a clay tablet Assyrian " Deluge Tablet " Assyrian Cylinder Seals Impression from a Royal Seal . A Lion Hunt. An Assyrian relief Section of the Temple of the Seven ''restoration" by Rawlinson . Parts of Alphabets Growth of the Letter A Jerusalem To-day, with the road to Bethlehem Impression from a Persian Cylinder Seal . Persian Queen. A fragment of a bronze statue Persian Bronze Lion, at Susa Persian Jewelry Scene in the Vale of Tempe. From a photograph Bronze Dagger from Mycenae, inlaid with gold The Gate of the Lions at Mycenae Mouth of the Palace Sewer at Knossos, 2200 b cotta drain pipes. From Baikie Head of a Bull. From a relief at Knossos The Vaphio Cups, of 1800 or 2000 b.c. Spheres according c, with later to a terra ILLUSTRATIONS ix PAnn 57. Scroll from the Vaphio Cups, showing stages in netting and taming wild bulls. From Perrot and Chipiez . . .109 58. Vase from Knossos (about 2200 B.C.), with sea-life ornament . 110 59. Cretan Writing Ill 60. " Throne of Minos." From Baikie 112 61. Cooking Utensils ; found in one tomb at Knossos . . .113 62. Cretan Vase of Late Period (1600 b.c), with conventionalized ornament 114 63. Ruins of the Entrance to the Stadium at Olympia . . , 129 64. Ruins of Athletic Field at Delphi f33 65. Greek Soldier . 144 66. Ground Plan of Temple of Theseus at Athens .... 154 67. Doric Column, with explanations. From the Temple of The- seus 155 68. Ionic Column 155 69. Corinthian Column 165 70. A Doric Capital. From a photograph of a detail of the Par- thenon 156 71. West Front of the Parthenon To-day ; to illustrate Doric style 158 72. West Front of Temple of Victory at Athens ; to illustrate Ionic style 169 73. Marathon To-day. From a photograph 171 74. Thermopylae. From a photograph . . . . . . 178 75. The Bay of Salamis. From a photograph . . . .181 76. Pericles. A portrait bust ; now in the Vatican . . . 196 77. Side View of a Trireme. From an Athenian relief . . . 197 78. The Acropolis To-day 210 79. Propylaea of the Acropolis To-day .... .211 80. Erechtheum and Parthenon 212 81. Figures from the Parthenon Frieze 213 82. Sophocles. A portrait statue, now in the Lateran . . . 214 83. Theater of Dionysus at Athens 215 84. Thucydides. A portrait bust ; now in the Capitoline Museum 217 85. The Acropolis as " restored " by Lambert . . . .221 86. Women at their Toilet, Two parts of a vase painting . . 224 X ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE 87. Greek Women at their Music. From a vase painting . . 225 88. The Disk Thrower, After Myron ; now in the Vatican . . 226 89. A Satyr, by Praxiteles. (Hawthorne's " Marble Faun ") . 227 90. Plan of a Fifth-century Delos House. After Gardiner and Jevons 231 91. Greek Girls at Play. From a vase painting .... 233 92. A Vase Painting showing Paris enticing away Helen . . 234 93. Greek Women, in various activities. A vase painting . . 236 94; A Barber in Terra-cotta. From Blumner .... 237 95. The Wrestlers 238 96. School Scenes. A bowl painting 240 97. Route of the Long Walls of Athens. From a recent photo- graph 248 98. The Hermes of Praxiteles .254 99. Philip II of Macedon. From a gold medallion struck by Alex- ander 260 100. Alexander. From a gold medallion of Tarsus . . . 264 101. Alexander in a Lion-hunt. Reverse side of the above . 264 102. Alexander. The Copenhagen head 265 103. Alexander as Apollo. Now in the Capitoline .... 269 104. The Dying Gaul 274 105. Pylon of Ptolemy III at Karnak 276 106. Venus of Melos. Now in the Louvre 288 107. The Laocoon Group 290 108. Julius Caesar. The British Museum bust .... 296 109. Remains of an Etruscan Wall and Arch at Sutri . . . 302 110. Etruscan Tombs at Orvieto 303 111. So-called Wall of Servius . .312 112. Cloaca Maxima 313 113. An Early Roman Coin (Janus and a ship's prow) . . . 315 114. Bridge over the Anio 326 115. A Coin showing the City Seal of Syracuse .... 334 116. A Coin of Syracuse about 400 b.c 334 117. A Coin of Pyrrhus 337 ILLUSTRATIONS xi PAOK 118. A Coin of Pyrrhus struck in Sicily 337 119. The Appian Way, with the Aqueduct of Claudius in the Back- ground 344 120. Head of a Javelin 363 121. A Roman Boxing Match 361 122. A Coin of Hieyo II of Syracuse 366 123. Ruins at Corinth • . . . .393 124. The House of M. Olconius at Pompeii 404 125. A Court in a Pompeian House (House of the Vettii) . . 407 126. An Excavated Street in Pompeii 412 127. Temple of Apollo at Pompeii 425 128. A Theater at Pompeii 430 129. A Coin of Mithridates VI 4a3 130. Sulla. A portrait bust 434 131. Cicero. A portrait bust 440 132. Pompey. The Copenhagen bust 448 133. Julius Caesar. The Naples Bust 449 134. The Forum at Pompeii .-450 135. The Roman Forum, looking south 453 136. The Roman Forum, looking north 454 137. Marcus Brutus. A bust now in the Capitoline Museum . . 466 138. Octavius Caesar as a Boy . . . . . . . . 458 139. Augustus. The Vatican statue 461 140. Bridge at Rimini built by Augustus 462 141. Church of the Nativity 464 142. A Gold Coin of Augustus 466 143. Ruins of the Claudian Aqueduct. From a photograph . . 468 144. A Bronze Coin of Nero 469 145. Agrippina, Mother of Nero 470 146. The Coliseum To-day 471 147. Detail from the Arch of Titus 472 148. A Coin of Domitian 474 149. Temple of Zeus at Athens, built by Hadrian . . . .476 150. The Tomb of Hadrian 477 xii ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE 151. Marcus Aurelius. An equestrian statuo 478 152. Head of Commodiis. From a coin 479 153. Interior of the Coliseum To-day 483 154. A German Bodyguard : a detail from the column of Marcus Aurelius 487 156. Part of the Aqueduct of Claudius, built into a modern wall . 490 156. Aqueduct near Nimes, built by Antoninus Pius . . . 493 157. A City Gate at Pompeii 495 158. Palace of the Roman Emperors at Trier .504 159. The Black Gate at Trier .505 160. The Pantheon 508 161. A Section of the Pantheon 508 162. The Coliseum, seen through the Arch of Titus . . . 509 163. Trajan's Column .510 164. General Plan of Basilicas 511 165. Trajan's Basilica, " restored " by Can in a .... 511 166. The Arch of Titus 514 167. Trajan's Arch, at Beneventum 515 168. The Way of Tombs at Pompeii 517 169. Detail from Trajan's Column, showing the famous bridge over the Danube 522 170. Ruins of the Baths of Diocletian -. 542 171. Hall of the Baths of Diocletian : now the Church of St. Mary of the Angels 547 172. The Milvian Bridge To-day 549 173. The Arch of Constantine 552 174. Church of San Vitale at Ravenna . . . . . . 587 175. A Gold Coin of Theodosius II, showing Byzantine character- istics 588 176. The Tomb of Theodoric at Ravenna 600 177. The Mosque of Omar at -Jerusalem 613 178. The Damascus Gate at Jerusalem 616 179. A Silver Coin of Charlemagne • . 625 180. Throne of Charlemagne at Aachen . . . . : .631 181. Cathedral of Aachen ; the " Carolingian part" . . . 633 MAPS AND PLANS PAOK 1. The Field of Ancient History 8 2. The First Homes of Civilization. Full page, colored after 12 8, Ancient Egypt 16 4. Egyptian Empire at its Greatest Extent 45 5, Assyrian and Babylonian Empire 55 (). Syria, showing Dominion of Solomon and Other Features of Hebrew History 77 7. Lydia, Media, Egypt, and Babylonia, about 560 b.c. Full page, colored after 82 8. The Persian Empire. Full page, colored . . . after 84 9. Greece and the Adjoining Coasts. Double page, colored after 94 10. The Greek Peninsula. Double page, colored . . after 98 11. The Greek World. (For general reference.) Double page, colored after 132 12. Peloponnesian League 165 13. Plan of Marathon 170 14. Attica, with reference to Marathon and Salamis . . . 180 15. Athens and its Ports, showing the ■" Long Walls " . , . 189 16. Athenian Empire. Full page, colored . . . after 198 17. Plan of Athens . ' 202 18. The Acropolis at Athens 209 19. Greece at the Beginning of the Peloponnesian War. Full page, colored after 246 20. Plan of the Battle of Leuctra 256 21. Greece under Theban Supremacy. Full page, colored after 258 22. The Growth of Macedonia * . 261 23. Campaigns and Empire of Alexander the Great. Full page, colored after 266 24. The Achaean and Aetolian Leagues 283 25. The World according to Eratosthenes . . . . . 293 ziii xiv MAPS AND PLANS PAGE 26. Italy. (For general reference.) Full page, colored after 302 27. The Peoples of Italy • . .304 28. Rome and Vicinity 305 29. Rome under the Kings 311 30. Italy about 200 b.c. ; Roads and Colonies 348 31. Plan of a Roman Camp 365 32. Rome and Carthage at the Opening of the First Punic War . 364 33. The Mediterranean Lands at the Opening of the Second Punic War. Double page, colored .... after 372 34. Roman Dominions and Dependencies in 146 b.c. . . . 395 35. Vicinity of the Bay of Naples 473 36. The Roman Empire at its Greatest Extent, showing Stages of Growth. Double page, colored .... after 488 37. Rome under the Empire 529 38. The Roman Empire divided into Prefectures and Dioceses. Double page, colored after 544 39. The Rhine-Danube Frontier before the Great Migrations. Full page . . . ■ . . . . . . . .572 40. The Migrations. Double page, colored . . . after 576 41. Europe in the Reign of Theodoric (500 a.d.). Full page, colored after 586 42. Europe at the Death of Justinian (565 a.d.). Full page, colored after 590 43. Germanic Kingdoms on Roman Soil at the Close of the Sixth Century. Double page, colored .... after 694 44. Kingdom of the Merovingians. Full page, colored . . after 608 45. Europe at the End of the Seventh Century. Full page, colored after 622 46. Europe in the Time of Charles the Great. Double page, colored after 680 THE ANCIENT WORLD INTRODUCTION THE PAKT OF MAN'S LIFE TO STUDY Through the ages one increasing purpose runs, And the thoughts of men are widened with the process of the suns. — Tennyson. 1. The first men had no history They lived a savage life, more backward and helpless than the lowest savages in the world to-day. They had not even fire, or knife, or bow and arrow. In thoughts and acts they were brutelike; and in brain power they were only a little above the beasts about them. Their chief desires were to satisfy hunger, to keep warm, and to outwit more powerful animals. Through thou- sands on thousands of years, man has been lifting himself from this earliest savagery to our many-sided civilization. Civilization is the opposite of savagery. To raise regular food crops, instead of depending upon hunting and fishing or upon nuts and wild rice, was a great step toward civilization. To learn to use oar and sail, to work mines, to build roads and canals, to exchange the products of one region for those of another, to invent tools and machinery — the spin- ning wheel, the threshing machine, the locomotive, the dynamo — all these things were steps. But civilization includes more than these material gains : it includes all improvements that make men better and happier. It has to do with mental growth, with art^ literature, man- ners, morals, home life, religion, laws, education. The civilization of a people is the sum of its advances in all these lines, material, intellectual, and moral. - 1 2 PREHISTORIC AGES [§1 The first steps upward were probably the slowest and most stumbling. We know little about them. No people leaves written records until it has advanced a long way from primi- tive savagery. And so we cannot tell just how men came to invent the bow, or how they came to use stone heads for their arrows, and stone knives, and stone axes ; or how they found a way to make fire, and to bake clay pots in which to cook food ; or how they tamed the dog and cow ; or how they learned to live together in families and tribes. These precious Reindeer, by Cave-Dwellers (Old Stone Age;. On slate, in France. On horn, in Switzerland. (For some thousands of years, the reindeer has been extinct in these countries. Compare these drawings with modern pictures for accuracy of detail ; and note the remarkable spirit and action depicted by the prehistoric artists.) beginnings were doubtless found and lost and found again many times in different regions; but before history begins anywhere, they had become the common property of many races. However, though we shall never know the full story of these gains, we do know something of the order in which they came about. Embedded in the soil, sometimes many feet below the present surface, there are found relics of early man, — tools, weapons, drawings on ivory tusks, and th^ bones of animals which he ate or by which he was eaten.^ " Sometimes such re- 1 Some of these companions of early man are now wholly extinct, like the huge mammoth, the fierce cave-bear, and the terrible saber-toothed tiger. Geologists, however, find skeletons of these animals, corresponding closely with the drawings of prehistoric artists. §2] STEPS IN PROGRESS mains are found in caves, where primitive man made his home; sometimes, in refuse heaps where he east the remnants from his food; sometimes in the gravel of old river beds where he fished. As a rule in such deposits, the lowest layers of soil contain the rudest sort of tools, while higher layers contain similar remains some- what less primitive. By the study of many thousands of these de- posits, scholars have learned how one tool de- veloped out of another simpler one, and have been able to trace many of the steps by which man rose from savagery. This study, then, gives us a series of pictures of the life of primitive man ; but we cannot get a continuous story from it. It is quite apart from history. All this early time, until man begins to leave writteii prehistoric Stone Daggers from records of his life, is Scandinavia. called prehistoric. 2. Prehistoric time is conveniently divided into the Old Stone Age, the New Stone Age, and the Bronze Age, according to the material from which tools were made. In the first period, arrow heads and knives were pieces of fiint merely chipped roughly to give them a sort of edge. The New Stone Age begins when men learned to give these stone weapons a truer edge and more polished form by grinding them with other stones. The men of this age possessed flocks and herds. They knew how to till the soil, to spin and weave, to make PREHISTORIC AGES [§2 pottery and decorate it, and in some places, before the close of the long period, to build cities with immense palaces and temples of stone or sun-baked brick. Commonly they buried their dead with food and tools in the grave. This indicates that they had come to believe in a future life, somewhat like the one on earth. At last, perhaps by a lucky accident, some Stone Age man found that fire would separate copper from the ore. Now better tools were possible, and a more rapid advance began. But copper tools were still clumsy and quickly lost their edge. Soon men learned to mix a little tin with the copper in the fire. This formed a metal we call bronze. Bronze is easily worked, and after cooling, it is much harder than either of its parts alone. The men of the Bronze Age equipped themselves with tools and weapons of keener and more lasting edge, and more convenient form, than ever before. With these, they easily conquered the more poorly armed Stone Age men about them, and also added to their own physical comfort. The use of bronze seems to have developed independently in various centers ; and by war and trade, it spread over wide regions. Finally, men learned to smelt and use iron. This marked a still greater advance, — the most important gain after the dis- covery of fire. By the opening of the Iron Age, or soon after- ward, man has usually invented or adopted an alphabet, and his history proper has begun. Sometimes, as with the peoples we shall study first, history begins long before the close of the Bronze Age. Series of Axes : 1 and 2, Old Stone Age; 3, New Stone ; 4, Bronze Age. §3] CONTRIBUTIONS TO CIVILIZATION Men have advanced at different rates in different parts of the earth. When Columbus discovered America, all the natives of the Western Hemisphere were in some part of the Stone Age, — as are still some remote tribes in our Philippines and in parts of South America, Africa, and Australia. But in the valleys of the Nile and Euphrates, the peo- ples we are first to study had risen out of this stage at least 7000 years ago. Even among the same people, the. different "ages" overlapped. Nobles and leaders used bronze weapons, while the poorer classes had still only their stone implements. 3, Our Inheritance from Prehistoric Man. — We are in position now to appreciate dimly how the earliest civilization rested Some Stages in Fire-making. — From Tylor. upon the unrecorded strivings of primitive man through un- counted thousands of years. Five prehistoric contributions are so supremely important as to deserve special mention. a. The use of Jire seems to have been the thing that first set man distinctly above other animals. Without fire, he was limited to raw food and to stone implements. Tlie Story of Ah ^ pictures a youth of the Stone Age discovering the use of fire from a burning natural gas (presumably set aflame by lightning). Other scholars have guessed that the first source of fire was volcanic lava, or a tree trunk ablaze from lightning. Certainly, at some early period of the Old Stone Age, man had conquered that dread of flame which all wild animals show and had come to know fire as his truest friend. Charred fragments 1 This little book by Stanley Waterloo is an admirable attempt to portray some of the steps in early human progress in the form of a story. It will be enjoyed by any high school boy or girl. 6 PREHISTORIC AGES [§ 3 of bone and wood are common among the earliest human de- posits. One of the oldest tools in the world is the " fire-borer," a hard stick of wood with which man started a fire by boring into a more inflammable wood. The methods of making tire which are pictured on the preceding page were all invented by prehistoric man ; and the stick and bow-string was the best way known to any of the great historic nations that we shall study in this book. b. Most of the domestic animals familiar to us in the barn- yard or on the farm had been tamed into useful friends by pre- historic man. The Asiatic lands where civilization began were their native homes. This, no doubt, is one great reason why civilization began in those lands, — just as the almost total lack of animals fit for domestic life is a reason why the Ameri- can hemisphere remained backward until discovered by the Old World. c. Wheat, barley, rice, and nearly all our important food grains and garden vegetables were tamed also by the prehis- toric man of Asia. Out of the myriads of wild plants, all our marvelous progress in science has failed to reveal even one other in the Old World so useful to man as those which pre- historic man selected for cultivation. Their only rivals are the potato and maize (Indian corn), which the New World aborigines, in the stage of savagery, selected for cultivation. d. Language is one of the most precious parts of our inheri- tance from the ages. It is not merely the means by which we exchange ideas with one another : it is also the means by which we do our thinking. No high order of thought is pos- sible without words. Some very primitive savages to-day have only a few words. They can count only by fingers and toes or by bundles of sticks, and they communicate with one another somewhat as the higher animals do. In the dark they can hardly talk at all. The first word-making is slow work ; but through the long prehistoric ages, among the more progressive peoples, there were developed from rude beginnings several rich and copious languages. §4] CONTRIBUTIONS TO CIVILIZATION 7 e. The invention of writing multiplied the value of language. Not only is it an " artificial memory " ; it also enables us to speak to those who are far away, and even to those who are not yet born. Many early peoples used a picture writing such as is common still among North American Indians. In this kind of writing, a picture represents either an object or some idea connected with that object. A drawing of an animal with wings may stand for a bird or for flying ; or a character like this stands for either the sun or for light. At first such pictures are true drawings : later they are simplified into forms agreed upon. Thus in ancient Chinese, man was represented by 7^, and in modern Chinese by /\» Vastly important is the advance to a rebus stage of writing. Here a symbol has come to have a sound value wholly apart from the original object, as if the symbol O above were used for the second syllable in delight. So in early Egyptian writ- ing, o, the symbol for " mouth," was pronounced rH. There- fore it was used as the last syllable in writing the word khopirdj which meant " to be," while symbols of other objects in like manner stood for the other syllables. This representation of syllables by pictures of objects is the first stage in sound writing, as distinguished from picture writ- ing proper. Finally, some of these characters are used to represent not whole syllables, but single sounds. One of Kipling's Just So stories illustrates how such a change might come about. Then, if these characters are kept and all others dropped, we have a true alphabet. Picture writing, such as that of the Chinese, requires many thousand symbols. Several hundred characters are necessary for even simple syllabic writ- ing. But a score or so of letters are enough for an alpha- bet. Several primitive peoples developed their writing to the syllabic stage ; and about 1000 b.c, in various districts about the eastern Mediterranean, alphabetic writing appeared. 4. The Field of History. — History is the story of the re- corded life of man. But even when we leave out prehistoric, ages, there is still too much human life for us to study properly. 8 THE FIELD OF ANCIENT HISTORY We cannot deal with all historic peoples. We must narrow the field. We care most to know of those peoples whose life has borne fruit for our own life. We shall study that part of the recorded past which explains our present. Thus we bound our study in space as well as in time. We omit, for instance, the ancient civilizations of the Chinese and Hindoos, because they have not much affected our progress. The Field of Ancient History, to 800 a.d. Until after Columbus, our interest centers in Europe. And when we look for the early peoples who shaped European life, we see three preeminent, — the Greeks, the Romans, and the Teutons. Ancient History deals especially with these three peoples, from their earliest records until their separate stories become merged in one. By 800 a.d. this merging has taken place. Then ancient history may be said to cease and modern history to begin. This book will deal only with ancient history. §4] AND THE PEOPLES 9 Of these three chief peoples of ancient Europe the Greeks were the first to rise to civilized life. But the civilization of the Greeks was not wholly their own. It was partly shaped by certain older civilizations outside Europe, near the eastern shores of the Mediterranean. The history of these Oriental peoples covered thousands of years; but we shall view only fragments of it, and we do that merely by way of introduction to Greek history. Oriental history is a sort of dim anteroom through which we pass to European history. One of the Oriental peoples, the Hebrews, has been a mighty influence in our highest life. They are not here counted a fourth among the great historic races, because, after all, their influence came to us largely through Greece and Rome. They will, however, receive particular attention among the Oriental peoples. The field of ancient history^ then, is small, compared with the world of our day. It was limited, of course, to the Eastern hemisphere, and covered only a small part of that. At its greatest extent, it reached north only through Central Europe, east through less than a third of Asia, and south through only a small part of Northern Africa. Over even this territory it spread very slowly, from much more limited areas. For the first four thousand years, it did not reach Europe at all. No Further Reading is suggested, at this stage, in connection with the class work on the preceding topics. But students who wish to read further for their own pleasure will find treatments which they will enjoy and understand in any of the following books : Mason, Woman'' s Share in Primitive Culture; Ke^y, Dawn of History; Starr, Some First Steps in Human Progress; Joly, Man before Metals; Clodd, Story of the Alphabet; Clodd, Story of Primitive Man. General Suggestions for Library Work in Ancient History The appearance of William Stearns Davis' Headings in Ancient His- tory puts the matter of high school work in the library on a new basis. As a result, the author of the present textbook will confine his special suggestions for library work in Greek history (up to the period of Alex- 10 THE FIELD OF ANCIENT HISTORY [§ 4 ander) to the Headings and to one other single- volume work, — J. B. Bury's History of Greece^ — with occasional alternatives suggested for the latter. While it is desirable that every student should possess a copy of the Beadings, in cases where that is impossible, from five to twenty copies of these two works (according to the size of classes) will equip the school library fairly well for the work. In like manner, for Rome (to the Empire), the Headings and either Pelham's Outlines of Boman History or How and Leigh's History afford satisfactory material. For Oriental history, there is no one satisfactory volume to go with the Headings ; but library work is less important for that period. Unfortunately, single volumes of the right sort are missing also for the important periods of later Greek history and of the Roman Empire. So far as possible, however, the suggestions for reading on those periods, too, follow this same principle. The select bibliography in the appendix names a few more of the most desirable volumes for high school students. PART I THE OEIENTAL PEOPLES Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand, Half-sunk, a shattered visage lies. And on the pedestal, these words appear : ''''My name is Ozymandias, king of kings Look on my works, Ye Mighty, and despair f'' Nothing beside remains. Bound the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare. The lone and level sands stretch far away. — Shelley. CHAPTER I A PRELIMINARY SURVEY 5 The Rediscovery of Early History. — Until about a century ago very little was known about the ancient history of the East. There were only the brief statements of Hebrew writers in the Old Testament and some stories preserved by the Greeks. In the Kile valley there had been found a few an- cient inscriptions, carved upon stone in unknown characters, but no one could read them. But, about 1800 a.d., some soldiers of Napoleon in Egypt, while laying foundations for a fort at the Rosetta mouth of the Nile (map, page 16), found a curious slab of black rock. This " Rosetta Stone " bore three inscriptions : one of these was in Greek ; one, in the ancient hie rogly phs of the pyramids (§ 22) ; and the third, in a later Egyptian writing, which had likewise been forgotten. A French scholar, Champollion, 11 12 THE ORIENTAL PEOPLES [§ 5 guessed shrewdly that the three inscriptions all told the same story and used many of the same words ; and in 1822 he proved this to be true. Then, by means of the Greek, he found the meaning of the other characters, and so learned to read the long- Portion of Rosbtta Stone, containing the hieroglyphs first deciphered. Fi'om Erraan's Life in Ancient Egypt. forgotten language of old Egypt. Soon afterward a like task was accomplished for the old Assyrian language (§ 75, note). At first there was little to read; but a new interest had been aroused, and, about 1850, scholars began extensive ex- plorations in the East. Sites of forgotten cites, buried beneath isei)|>^fvlii:?1^l Part of the Above Inscription, on a larger scale. desert sands, were rediscovered. Many of them contained great libraries on papyrus,^ or on stone and brick. A part of these have been translated ; and since 1880 the results have begun to appear in our books. The explorations are still going on ; and very recent years have been the most fruitful of all in dis- coveries. 1 The papyrus was a reed which grew abundantly in the Nile and the Euphrates rivers. From slices of its stem a kind of "paper" was prepared by laying them together crosswise and pressing them into a smooth sheet. Our word " paper" comes from " papyrus." §7] THE CENTERS OF CIVILIZATION 13 6. The Two Centers. — The first homes of civilization were Egypt and Chaldea, — the lower valleys of the Nile and the Euphrates. In the Euphrates valley the wild Ttijeat and bar- leys afforded abundant food, with little effort on the part of man. The Nile valley had the marvelous date palm and va- rious grains. In each of these lands there grew up a dense population, and so part of the people were able to give atten- tion to other matters than getting food from day to day. In a straight line, Egypt and Chaldea were some eight hun- dred miles apart. Practically, the distance was greater. The only route fit for travel ran along two sides of a triangle, — north from Egypt, between the mountain ranges of western Syria, to the upper waters of the Euphrates, and then down the course of that river. Except upon this Syrian side, Egypt and Chaldea were shut oif from other desirable countries. In Asia, civilizations rose at an early date in China and in India (§ 4 ) ; but they were separated from Chaldea by vast deserts and lofty mountains. In Africa, until Roman days, there was no great civilization ex- cept the Egyptian, unless we count the Abyssinian on the south (map on page 16). The Abyssinians were brave and warlike, and they seem to have drawn some culture from Egypt. But a desert extended between Abyssinia and Egypt, a twelve-day march; and intercourse by the river was cut off by long series of cataracts and rocky gorges. It was hard for trade caravans to travel from one country to the other, and ex- tremely hard for armies to do so. To the west of Egypt lay the Sahara, stretching across the continent, — an immense, in- hospitable tract. On the north and east lay the Mediterranean and the Red Sea ; and these broad moats were bridged only at one point by the isthmus. 7. Syria a Third Center. ^ — Thus, with sides and rear pro- tected, Egypt faced Asia across the narrow Isthmus of Suez. 1 The term " Syria " is used with a varying meaning. In a narrow sense, as in this passage, it means only the coast region. In a broader use, it applies to all the country between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates. 14 THE ORIENTAL PEOPLES [§ 7 Here, too, the region bordering Egypt was largely desert; but farther north, between the desert and the sea, lay a strip of habitable land. This Syrian region became the trade exchange and battle-ground of the two great states, and drew civilization from them. Syria was itself a nursery of warlike peoples. Here dwelt the Phoenicians, Philistines, Canaanites, Hebrews, and Hit- tites, whom we hear of in the Bible. Usually all these peoples were tributary ^ to Egypt or Chaldea; and from those countries they drew their civilization. Despite Syria's perilous position on the road from Africa to Asia, its inhabitants might have kept their independence, if they could have united against their common foes. But rivers and ranges of mountains broke the country up into five or six districts, all small, and each hostile to the others. At times, however, when both the great powers were weak, there did arise independent Syrian king- doms, like that of the Jews under David. 1 A tributary country is one which is subject to some other country, with- out being absolutely joined to it. The " tributary " pays " tribute " and rec- ognizes the authority of the superior country, but for most purposes it keeps its own government. CHAPTER II , ! EGYPT GEOGRAPHY Egypt as a geographical expression is two things — the Desert and the Nile. As a habitable country^ it is only one thing — the Nile. — Alfred JV^ner. 8. The Land. — Ancient Egypt, by the map, included about as much land as Colorado or Italy ; but seven eighths of it was only a sandy border to the real Egypt. The real Egypt is the valley and delta of the Nile — from the cataracts to the sea. It is smaller than Maryland, and falls into two natural parts. Upper Egypt is the valley proper. It is a strip of rich soil about six hundred miles long and usually about ten miles wide — a slim oasis between parallel ranges of desolate hills (map, page 16) . For the remaining hundred miles, the valley broadens suddenly into the delta. This Lower Egypt is a squat triangle, resting on a two-hundred-mile base of curving coast where marshy lakes meet the sea. 9. The Nile. — The ranges of hills that bound the " valley " were originally the banks of a mightier Nile, which, in early ages, cut out a gorge from the solid limestone for the future "valley.*' The '^ delta" has been built up out of the mud which the stream has carried out and deposited on the old sea bottom. And what the river has made, it sustains. This was what the Greeks meant when they called Egypt "the gift of the Nile." Rain rarely falls in the valley; and toward the close of the eight cloudless months before the annual overflow, there is a brief period when the land seems gasping for moisture, — " only half alive, waiting the new Nile." The river begins to 15 16 EGYPT [§10 rise in July, swollen by tropical rains at its upper course in distant Abyssinia; and it does not fully recede into its regular channel until November. During the days while the flood is at its height, Egypt is a sheet of turbid water, spreading be- tween two lines of rock and sand. The waters are dotted with towns and villages, and marked off into compartments by raised roads, run- ning from town to town; while from a sandy plateau, at a distance, the pyramids look down upon the scene, as they have done each season for five thousand years. As the water retires, the rich loam dressing, brought down from the hills of Ethi- opia, is left spread over the fields, re- newing their won- derful fertility from year to year ; while the long soaking supplies moisture to the soil for the dry months to come. 10. The Inhabitants. — The oldest records yet found in Egypt reach back to about 5000 b.c. At that time the use of bronze was already well advanced. Remains in the soil SCALE OF MILES Second Cataract: 10] THE NILE 17 show that there had been earlier dwellers using rude stone implements and practising savage customs. How many thou- sands of years it took for this savagery to develop into the culture of 5000 b.c. we do not know. Culture is almost a synonym for civilization; but it is also used in a some- what broader sense, to include the stages of savagery and barbarism that precede true civilization. It is common to speak of the invention of pot- tery as the point at which savagery passes into barbarism, and the inven- tion of the alphabet as the transition from barbarism to civilization. Photograph of a Modern Egyptian Woman sitting by a Sculptured Head of an Ancient King. — From Maspero's Dawn of Civilization. Notice the likeness of feature. The skulls of the modem peasants and of the ancient nobles are remarkably alike in form. Probably the cheap food of the valley attracted tribes from all the neighboring regions at an early date. The struggles of thes^ peoples, and the intermingling of the strongest of them, at length produced the vigorous Egyptian race of history. That race contained the blood of Abyssinian, Berber,^ Negro, VFhe Berbers are the short dark race of North Africa from whom the Moors are descended. 18 EGYPT [§11 and Arabian, and possibly of other peoples; but before the be- ginning of history these had all been welded into one type which has lasted to the present day. 11. Growth of a Kingdom. — The first inhabitants lived by fishing along the streams and hunting fowl in the marshes When they began to take advantage of their rare opportunity for agriculture, new problems arose. Before that time, each tribe or village could be a law to itself. But now it became necessary for whole districts to combine in order to drain' marshes, to create systems of ditches for the distribution of Boatmen fighting on the Nile. — Egyptian relief i ; from Maspero. the water, and to construct vast reservoirs for the surplus. Thus the Nile, which had made the land, played a part in making Egypt into one state.^ To control the yearly overflow was the first common interest of all the people. At first, no doubt through wasteful centuries, separate villages strove only to get each its needful share of water, without attention to the needs of others. The engravings on early monuments show the people of neighboring villages waging bloody wars along the di^es, or in rude boats on the canals, before they learned the costly lesson of cooperation. But such hostile action, 1 A relief is a piece of sculpture in which the figures are only partly cut away from the solid rock. 2 The word " state " is commonly used in history not in the sense in which we cairMafiaach usetts a sto te. but rather in that sense in which we call Eng- land or the wholeUnTfeJrttates a state. That is, the word means a pooj^ie, living in some (^pn.it.p. place, with a government of its own. § 12] GOVERNMENT AND PEOPLE 19 cutting the dams and destroying the reservoirs year by year, was ruinous. From an early period, men in the Nile valley must have felt the need of agreement and of political union. Accoi'dingly, before history begins, the multitudes of villages had combined into about forty petty states. Each one ex- tended from side to side of the valley and a few miles up and down the river; and each was ruled by a "king." In order to secure prompt action against enemies to the dikes, and to di- rect all the forces of the state at the necessary moment, the ruler had to have unlimited power. So these kings became absolute despots, and the mass of the people became little better than slaves. Then the same forces which had worked to unite villages into states tended to combine the many small states into a few larger ones. Memphis, in the lower valley, and Thebes, 350 miles farther up the river, were the greatest of many rival cities. After centuries of conflict, Menes, prince of ^"Ti^Temphis, united the petty principalities around him into the kingdom of Lower Egypt. In like manner Thebes became the capital of a kingdom of Upper Egypt. About the year 3400 before Christ, the two kingdoms were united into one. Later Egyptians thought of Menes as the first king of the whole country. . , •* GOVERNMENT AND PEOPLE 12. Social Classes. — The king was worshiped as a god by the mass of the people. His title, PMraoA, means The Great House, — as the title of the supreme ruler of Turkey in modern times has been the Sublime Porte (Gate). The title implies that the ruler was to be a refuge for his people. The pharaoh was the absolute owner of the soil. The Old Testament gives an account of how this ownership was made complete through a " corner in wheat " arranged by Pharaoh's adviser, the Hebrew Joseph. But probably the kings had taken most of the soil for their own from the first, in return for protecting it by their dikes and reservoirs. At all events, this ownership helped to make the pharaoh absolute master of the 20 EGYPT [§12 inhabitants, — though in practice his authority was somewhat limited by the power of the priests and by the necessity of keeping ambitious nobles friendly.^ Part of the land he kept in his own hands, to be cultivated by peasants under the direc- tion of royal stewards ; but the greater portion he parceled out among the nobles and temples. In return for the land granted to him, a noble was bound to pay certain amounts of produce, and to lead a certain number of soldiers to war. Within his domain, the noble was a petty monarch : he ex- smaller nobles. A Capital from KARNAK.-From Lubke. rpj^^g^ ^^^ ^^^^ dependent npon him, much as he was dependent upon the king. About a third of the land was turned over by the king to the temples to support the worship of the gods. This land be- came the property of the priests. The priests were also the scholars of Egypt, and they took an active part in the govern- ment. The pharaoh took most of his high officials from them, and their influence far exceeded that of the nobles. The peasants tilled the soil. They were not unlike the peasants of modern Egypt. They rented small "farms," — hardly more than garden plots, — for which they paid at least a third of the produce to the landlord. This left too little for a family ; and they eked out a livelihood by day labor on the land of the nobles and priests. Eor this werk they were paid by a small part of the produce. The peasant, too, had to 1 See Davis' Readings, Vol. I, No. 2. § 12] CLASSES OF PEOPLE 21 remain under the protection of some powerful landlord, or he might become the prey of any one whom he chanced to offend. Still, in quarrels with the rich, the poor were perhaps as safe as they have been in most countries. The oldest written "stoiy" in the world (surviving in a papyrus of about 2700 b.c. ) gives £tn interesting illustration. I A peasant, robbed through a legal trick by the favorite of a royal ofiBcer, appeals to the judges and finally to the king. The king commands redress, urging his officer to do justice "like a praiseworthy man praised by the praiseworthy." The passage in quotation marks shows that there was a strong public opinion against injustice. Probably such appeals by the poor were no more difficult to make than they were in Germany or France until a hundred years ago. And we have not yet learned how to give the poor man an absolutely equal chance with the rich in our law courts. In the towns there was a large middle class, — merchants, shopkeepers, physicians, lawyers,^ builders, artisans (§ 20). Below these were the unskilled laborers. This class was sometimes driven to a strike by hunger. Maspero, a famous French scholar in Egyptian history, makes the following statement (Struggle of the Nations, 539): — "Rations were allowed each workman at the end ^ of every month; but, from the usual Egyptian lack of forethought, these were often con- sumed long before the next assignment. Such an event was usually followed by a strike. On one occasion we are shown the workmen turn- ing to the overseer, saying : ' We are perishing of hunger, and there are still eighteen days before the next month. ' The latter makes profuse promises ; but, when nothing comes of them, the workmen will not listen to him longer. They leave their work and gather in a public meeting. The overseer hastens after them, and the police commissioners of the locality and the scribes mingle with them, urging upon the leaders a return. But the workmen only say : ' We will not return. Make it clear to your superiors down below there.' The official who reports the matter to the authorities seems to think the complaints well founded, for he says, ' We went to hear them, and they spoke true words to us.' " Throughout Egyptian society, the son usually followed the father's occupation ; but there was no law (as in some Oriental countries) to prevent his passing into a different class. Some- 1 These were mainly notaries, — to draw up business papers, record trans* fers of property, and so on. 22 EGYPT [§12 times the son of a poor herdsman rose to wealth and power. Such advance was most easily open to the scribes. This learned profession was recruited from the brightest boys of the middle and lower classes. Most of the scribes found clerical work only; but from the ablest ones the nobles chose confidential secretaries and stewards, and some of these, who showed special ability, were pro- moted by. the pharaohs to the highest dignities in the land. Such men founded new families and reinforced the ranks of the nobility. The soldiers formed an important profession. Campaigns were so deadly that it was hard to find soldiers enough. Ac- cordingly recruits were tempted by offers of special privileges. Each soldier held a farm of some eight acres,^ free from taxes; and he was kept under arms only when his services were needed. Besides this reg- ular soldiery, the peas- antry were called out upon occasion, for war or for garrisons. There was also a large body of officials, organized in many grades like the officers of an army. Every despotic government has to have such a class, to act as eyes, hands, and feet ; but Portrait Statue of Amten, a made" noble of 3200 B.C. self- 1 For Egypt this was a large farm. See page 20. §13] LIFE OF THE PEOPLE 23 in ancient Egypt the royal servants were particularly numerous and important. Until the seventh century b.c. the Egyptians had no money. Thus the immense royal revenues, as well as all debts between private men, had to be collected "in kind." The tax-collectors and treasurers had to receive geese, ducks, cattle, grain, wine, oil, metals, jewels, — " all that the heavens Egyptian Noble hunting Waterfowl on the Nile with the " throw- stick " (a boomerang) . The birds rise from a group of papyrus reeds. — Egyptian relief ; after Maspero. give, all that the earth produces, all that the Nile brings from its mysterious sources," as one king puts it iu an inscription. To do this called' for an army of royal officials. For a like reason, the great nobles needed a large class of trustworthy servants. 13. Summary of Social Classes. — Thus, in Egyptian society, we have at the top an aristocracy, of several elements : (1) the nobles; (2) the powerful and learned priesthood, whose in- fluence almost equaled that of the pharaoh himself ; (3) scribes 24 EGYPT [§ 14 and physicians ; (4) a privileged soldiery ; and (5) a mass of privileged officials of many grades, from the greatest rulers next to the pharaoh, down to petty tax collectors and the stew- ards of private estates. Lower down there was the middle class, of shopkeepers and artisans, whose life ranged from comfort to a grinding misery; while at the base of society was a large mass of toilers on the land, weighted down by all the other classes. It is not strange • that, in time, upper and lower classes came to differ in physical appearance. The later monuments represent the nobles tall and lithe, with imperious bearing; while the laborer is pictured heavy of feature and dumpy in build. 14. Life of the Wealthy. — For most of the well-to-do, life was a very delightful thing, filled with active employment and varied with many pleasures.^ Their homes were roomy houses with a wooden frame plastered over with sun-dried clay. Light and air entered at the many latticed windows, where, however, curtains of brilliant hues shut out the occasional sand stcrms from the desert. About the house stretched a large garden with artificial fish-ponds gleaming among the palm trees.^ 15. The Life of the Poor. — There were few slaves in Egypt ; but the condition of the great mass of the people fell little short of practical slavery. Toilers on the canals, and on the pyramids and other vast works that have made Egypt famous, were kept to their labor by the whip. " Man has a back," was a favorite Egyptian proverb. The monuments always picture the overseers with a stick, and often show it in use. The people thought of a beating as a natural incident in their daily work. The peasants did not live in the country, as our farmers do. They were crowded into the villages and poorer quarters of the 1 The student who has access to Maspero's Dawn of Civilization (or to various other ilhistrated works on Early Egypt) can make an interesting report upon these recreations from what he can see in the pictures from the monuments. 2 A full description of a noble's house is given in Davis' Readings, Vol. I, No. 5. 15] LIFE OF THE POOR 25 towns, with the other poorer classes. The house of a poor man was a mud hovel of only one room. Such huts were separated from one another merely by one mud partition, and were built in long rows, facing upon narrow crooked alleys filled with filth. A " plague of flies " was natural enough ; and only the extremely dry air kept down that and worse pes- Levying the Tax. — An Egyptian relief from the monuments ; from Maspero. tilences. Hours of toil were from dawn to dark. Taxes were exacted harshly, and the peasant was held responsible for them with all that he owned, even with his body. An Egyptian writer of about 1400 b.c. exclaims in pity : — " Dost thou not recall the picture of the farmer, when the tenth of his grain is levied ? Worms have destroyed half of the wheat, and the hip- popotami have eaten the rest. There are swarms of rats in the fields ; the grasshoppers alight there ; the cattle devour ; the little birds pilfer ; and if the farmer lose sight for an instant of what remains upon the ground, it is carried off by robbers. The thongs, moreover, which bind the iron and the hoe are worn out, and the team [of cows] has died at the plow. It is then that the scribe steps out of the boat at the landing place to levy the tithe, and there come the keepers of the doors of the granary with cudgels and the Negroes with ribs of palm-leaves [very effective whips], crying : ' Come now, corn ! ' There is none, and they throw the culti- vator full length upon the ground ; bound, dragged to the canal, they fling hira in head first [probably a figurative way of saying that he was forced to work out his tax on the canals] ; his mfe is bound with him, his children are put into chains ; the neighbors, in the meantime, leave him and fly to save their grain." 26 EGYPT [§16 Still, judging from Egyptian literature, the peasants seem to have been careless and gay, petting the cattle and singing at their work. Probably they were as well off as the like class has been during the past century in Egypt or in Kussia. 16. The position of women was better than it was to be in the Greek civilization, and much better than in modern Oriental countries. The poor man's wife spun and wove, and ground grain into meal in a stone bowl with another stone. Among the upper classes, the wife was the companion of the man. She "^as not shut up in a harem or confined strictly to household duties : she appeared in company and at public ceremonies. Shfe> possessed equal rigjits at law; and some- times great --queens ruled upon the throne. In no other coun- try, until modern times, do pictures of hap|)y home life play so large a part. INDUSTRY AND LEARNING 17. The Irrigation System. — Before the year 2000 b.c, the Egyptians had learned to supplement the yearly overflow of the Nile by an elaborate irrigation system. Even earlier, they had built dikes to keep the floods from the towns and gardens ; and the care of these embankments remained a special duty of the government through all Egyptian history. But between 2400 and 2000 b.c. the pharaohs created a wonderful reservoir system. On the one hand, tens of thousands of acres of marsh were drained and made fit for rich cultivation : on the other hand, artificial lakes were built at various places, to collect and hold the surplus water of the yearly inundation. Then, by an intricate network of ditches and "gates '' (much like the irrigation ditches of some of our western States to-day), the water was distributed during the dry months as it was needed. The government opened and closed the main ditches, as seemed best to it ; and its officers oversaw the more minute distribution of the water, by which each farm in the vast irrigated districts was given its share. Then, from the main ditch of each farm, the farmer himself carried the water in smaller water courses § 18] AGRICULTURE 27 to one part or another of his acres, — these small ditches gradually growing smaller and smaller, until, by moving a little mud with the foot, he could turn the water one way or another at his will. Ground so cultivated was divided into square beds, surrounded by raised borders of earth, so that the water could be kept in or out of each bed. The mopt important single work of this system of irrigation was the artificial Lake Moeris (map, page 16). This was constructed by improv- ing a natural basin in the desert. To this depression, a canal was dug from the Nile through a gorge in the hills for a distance of eight miles. At the Nile side, a huge dam, with gates, made it possible to carry off through the canal the surplus water at flood periods. The canal was 30 feet deep and 160 feet wide ; and from the "lake," smaller canals distributed the water over a large district which had before been perfectly barren. This useful work^.ffias still in perfect condition t wo thousa nd years after its creation, and was praised highly by a Roman geographer who visited it then. So extensive were these irrigation works in very early times that more soil was cultivated, and more wealth produced, and a larger population maintained, than in any modern period until English control was established in the country a short time ago. Herodotus (§ 21) says that in his day Egypt had twenty_tliDiisand " towns " (villages). 18. Agriculture. — Wheat and barley had been introduced at an early time from the Euphrates region, and some less im- portant grains (like sesame) were also grown. Besides the grain, the chief food crops were beans, peas, lettuce, radishes, melons, cucumbers, and onions. Clover was raised for cattle, and flax for the linen cloth which was the main material for clothing.^ Grapes, too, were grown in great quantities, for the manufacture of a light wine. Herodotus says that seed was m«iv scattered broadcast on the moist soil as the water recede^^ch November, and then trampled in by cattle and goats and pigs. But the pictures on 1 There was also some cotton raised, and the abundant flocks of sheep furnished wool. 28 EGYPT [§18 the monuments show that, in parts of Egypt anyway, a light wooden plow was used to stir the ground. This plow was drawn by two cows. Even the large farms were treated almost like gardens ; and the yield was enormous, — reaching the rate of a hun- dred fold for grain. Long after her greatness had departed, Egypt remained "the granary of the Mediterranean Egyptian Plow. — After Rawlinson. lands " The various crops matured at different seasons, and so kept the farmer busy through most of the year. Besides the plow, his only tools were a short, crooked hoe (the use of which bent him almost double) and the sickle. The grain was cut with this last implement; then carried in baskets to a threshing floor, — and trodden out by cattle, which were driven round and round, while the drivers sang, — " Tread, tread, tread out the grain. Tread for yourselves, for yourselves. Measures for the master ; measures for yourselves.'' An Egyptian barnyard contained many animals familiar to us (cows, sheep, goats, scrawny pigs much like the wild hog, geese, ducks, and pigeons), and also a number of others like antelopes, gazelles, and storks. Some of these it proved im- possible to tame profitably. We must remember that me?* had to learn by careful experiment, through many generations of animal life, which animals it paid best to domesticate. The hen was not known ; nor was the ho^M)resent in Egypt until a late period (§ 29). Even then he^K never common enough to use in agriculture or as a draft animal. During the flood periods cattle were fed in stalls upon clover and wheat straw. The monuments picture some exciting §19] TRADE 29 scenes when a rapid rise of the Nile forced the peasants to remove their flocks and herds hurriedly, through the surging waters, from usual grazing grounds to the flood-time quarters. Yeal, m utton, and antelop e flesh were the common meats of the rich. The poor lived mainly on vege tables an d-goats^ milk. 19. Trade. — Until about 650b.c., the Egyptians had no true money. For some centuries before that date, they had used rings of gold and silver, to some extent, somewhat as we use money; but these rings had no fixed weight, and had to be Market Scene. — Egyptian relief from the monuments. placed on the scales each time they changed hands. During most of Egypt's three thousand years of greatness, indeed, ex- change in her market places was by barter. A peasant with wheat or onions to sell squatted by his basket, while would-be customers offered him earthenware, vases, fans, or other objects with which they had come to buy, but which perhaps he did not want. (The student will be interested in an admirable descrip- tion of a market scene in Davis' E^i^ings, Vol. I, No. 7. The picture above, from an Egyptian ^fciument, is one of those used as the basis of that account.) ^^ We hardly know whether to be most amazed at the wonder- ful progress of the Egyptians in some lines, or at their failure 30 EGYPT t§20 to invent money and an alphabet, when they needed those things so sorely and approached them so closely. In spite of this serious handicap, by 2000 b.c. the Egyptians carried on extensive trade. One inscription of that period de- scribes a ship bringing from the coast of Arabia "fragrant woods, heaps of myrrh, ebony and pure ivory, green gold, cin- namon, incense, cosmetics^apes, monkeys, do^s/and panther •skins." Some of these things must have been gathered from distant parts of Eastern Asia. t/" 20. The Industrial Arts. — The skilled artisans included brickworkers, weavers, blacksmiths, goldsmiths, coppersmiths, Shoemakers. — Egyptian relief from the monuments; from Maspero. upholsterers, glass blowers, potters, shoemakers, tailors, ar- morers, and almost as many other trades as are to be found among us to-day. In many of these occupations, the workers possessed a marvelous dexterity, and were masters of processes that are now unknown. The weavers in particular produced delicate and exquisite linen, almost as fine as silk, and the workers in glass and gold and bronze were famous for their skill. Jewels were imitated in colored glass so artfully that only an expert to-day can detect the fraud by the appearance. Iron was not much used until jJM)ut 800 b.c. A few pieces of iron have been found in Egyjj^Bi ruins of earlier date ; but plainly these are "free" iron, such as is occasionally discovered in many parts of the world. Their presence in Egypt does not mean that the early inhabitants knew how to work in iron. 21] INDUSTRY AND ART 31 21. The chief fine arts were architecture, sculpture, and painting. The Egyptian art, indeed, was the architecture of the temple and the tomb. The most famous Egyptian buildings are the pyramids. They were the tombs of kings. That is, they were exaggerated imitations, in stone, of savage grave mounds like those of our Sphinx and Pyramids. — From a photograph. (The human head of the sphinx is supposed to have the magnified features of a pharaoh. It is set upon the body of a lion, as a symbol of power.) American Indians. The skill shown in the construction of the pyramids implies a remarkable knowledge of mathematics and of physics for such early times ; and their impressive massiveness has always placed them among the wonders of the world. The most important pyramids stand upon a sandy plateau a little below the city of Memphis (map, page 16). The largest, and one of the oldest, is known as the Great Pyramid. It is thought to have been built by King^/ieops more than 3000 years before Christ, and it is by far the largest and most massive 32 EGYPT [§21 building in the world. Its base covers thirteen acres, and it rises 4§L|eet from the plain. More than twoijjillion huge stone blocks went to make it, — more stone than has gone into any other building in the world. Some single blocks weigh over fifty tons ; but the edges of the blocks that form the faces are / r^-^^^ . .„.- North Ttfr-rwr, f^rt T ^r,rT "^ SCALE OF FEET 1 1 1 100 200 300 400 SOO 600 Vertical Section of the Great Pyramid, looking West, showing passages. A Entrance passage. B A later opening. D Fii'st ascending passage. E Horizontal passage. F Queen's chamber. G G Grand gallery. H Antechamber. I Coffer. K King's chamber. M N Ventilating chambers. O Subterranean chambe« P Well, so called. R R R Probable extent to which the native rock is employed to assist the masonry of the building. SO polished, and so nicely fitted, that the joints can hardly be detected; while the interior chambers, and long, sloping pas- sages between them, are built with such skill that, notwith- standing the immense weight above them, there has been no perceptible settling of the*walls in the lapse of five thousand years. §21] INDUSTRY AND ART 33 Herodotus^ a Greek historian of the fifth century b.c, traveled in Egypt andlearned all that the priests of his day could tell him regarding these wonders. He tells us that it took thirty years to build the Great Pyramid, — ten of those years going to piling the vast mounds of earth, up which the mighty stones were to be dragged into place, — which mounds had afterwards to be removed. During that thirty years, relays of a hun- dred thousand men were kept at the toil, each relay for three months at a stretch. Other thousands, of course, had to toil through a lifetime of labor to feed these workers on a monument to a monarch's vanity. All the labor was performed by mere human strength : the Egyptians of that day had no beasts of burden, and no machinery, such as we have, for moving great weights with ease. The pyramids were the work of an early line of kings, soon after the time of Menes. Later monarchs were content with smaller resting places for their own bodies,^ and built instead gigantic temples for the gods. In their private dwellings the Egyptians sometimes used graceful columns and the true arch, but for their temples they preferred massive walls and rows of huge, close-set columns, supporting roofs of immense flat slabs of rock. The result gives an impression of stupendous power, but it lacks grace and beauty. On the walls of the temples and within the tombs we find the inscriptions and the papyrus rolls that tell us of ancient Egyp- tian life. With the inscriptions there are found long bands of pictures ("reliefs") cut into the walls, illustrating the story. There are found also many full statues, large and small. Much of the early sculpture was lifelike ; and even the unnatural colossal statues, such as the Sphinxes, have a gloomy grandeur in keeping with the melancholy desert that stretches about them. Later sculpture has less character and less finish. The painting lasted in the closed rock tombs with perfect freshness, but it fades quickly upon exposure to the air. The painters used color well, but they did not draw correct forms. Like the " relief " sculptures, the painting lacked perspective and proportion. /^ 1 Often, however, they used the old pyramids, already constructed, for their tombs, sometimes casting out the mummy of a predecessor. 34 EGYPT [§22 22. Literature and the Hieroglyphs. — The Egyptians wrote religious books, poems, histories, travels, novels, orations, trea- tises upon morals, scientific works, geographies, cook-books. Ra-Hotep, a noble of about 3200 b.c. Princess Nefebt, a portrait statue Perhaps the oldest portrait statue in 6000 years old. Now in the Cairo the world. Now in the Cairo Museum. Museum. catalogues, and collections of fairy stories, — among the last a tale of an Egyptian Cinderella, with her fairy glass slipper. On the first monuments, writing had advanced from mere 22] LITERATURE AND LEARNING 35 pictures to a, rebus stage (cf. § 3 e). This early writing was used mainly by the priests in connection with the worship of the gods, and so the characters were called hieroglyphs (" priest's writing "). The pictures, though shrunken, compose " a delight- ful assemblage of birds, snakes, men, tools, stars, and beasts." Some of these signs grew ijito real letters, or signs of single Temple at Edfu, a village betweeu Thebes aud the Fust Cataract. This is one of the best preserved Egyptian temples. It is the basis of the article on Egyptian Architecture in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Ninth Edition. » If the Egyptians could have kept these last and have dropped all the rest, they would have had a true alphabet. But this final step they never took. Their writing remained to the last a curious mixture of thousands of signs of things, of ideas, of syllables, and of a few single sounds.^ This was what made the position of the scribes so honorable and profitable. To master such a system of writing required long schooling, 1 A good account of the hieroglyphs is given in Keary's Dawn of History, 298-303. Another may be found in Maspero's Dawn of Civilizakon, 221-224, and there is a pleasant longer account in Clodd's Story of the Alphabet. 36 EGYPT l§23 and any one who could write was sure of well-paid employ- ment. When these characters were formed rapidly upon papyrus or pottery (instead of upon stone), the strokes were run to- gether, and the char- acters were gradually modified into a run- ning script, which was written with a reed in black or red ink. The dry air of the Egyptian tombs has preserved to our day great numbers of buried papyrus rolls. 23. Science.— The Nile has been called the father of Egyp- tian science. The frequent need of sur- veying the land after an inundation had to do with the skill of the early Egyptians in geometry. The need of fixing in ad- vance the exact time of the inundation di- rected attention to the true " year," and so to astronomy. Great progress was made in both Relief from the Temple of Hathor (goddess of the sky and of love), at Dendera, 28 miles north of Thebes. This temple belongs to a late period. Notice the "conventionalized " vrings, and the royal "cartouches." In Egyptian in- scriptions, the name of a king is surrounded by a line, as in the upper right-hand corner of this relief. Such a figure is called a "cartouch." See the Rosetta stone, on page 12. these studies. We moderns, who learn glibly from books and diagrams the results of this early labor, can hardly understand how difficult was the task of these first scientific observers. §24] LITERATURE AND LEARNING 37 Uncivilized peoples count time by " moons" or by " winters" ; but to fix the exact length of the year (the time in which the sun apparently passes from a given point in the heavens, through its path, back again to that point) requires long and patient and skillful observation, and no little knowledge. Indeed, to find out that there is such a thing as a " year " is no simple matter. If the student will go out into the night, and look upon the heavens, with its myriads of twinkling points of light, and then try to imagine how the first scientists, without being told by any one else, learned to map out the paths of the heavenly bodies, he will better appreciate their work. The Egyptians understood the revolution of the earth and planets around the sun, and they fixed the year at 365^ days, less a fraction, and invented a curious leap year arrangement. Their " year," together with their calendar of months, we get from them through Julius Caesar (slightly improved about three hundred years ago by Pope Gregory XIII). In arithmetic the Egyptians dealt readily in numbers to millions, with the aid of a notation similar to that used later by the Romans. Thus, 3423 was represented by the Romans : M M M c C C C XX ill and by the Egyptians: XXX e®@®RI' All this learning is older than the Greek* by almost twice as long a time as the Greek is older than ours of to-day. No wonder, then, that (according to a Greek story) in the last days of Egyptian greatness, a priest of Sais exclaimed to a traveler from little Athens : " O Solon, Solon! You Greeks are mere children. There is no old opinion handed down among you by ancient tradition, nor any science hoary with age ! " It must be remembered, however, that this science was the posses- sion only of the priests, and perhaps of a few others. 24. Religion. — There was a curious mixture of religions. Each family worshiped its ancestors. Such ancestor worship is found, indeed, among all primitive peoples, along with a belief in evil spirits and malicious ghosts. There was also a loorship of animals. Cats, dogs, bulls, crocodiles, and many other animals were sacred. To injure one of these " gods," even by accident, was to incur the murderous fury of the people. Prob- ably this worship was a degraded kind of ancestor worship 38 EGYPT [§24 known as totemism, which is found among many peoples. North American Indians of a wolf clan or a bear clan — with a fabled wolf or bear for an ancestor — must on no account injure the ancestral animal, or " totem." ^ Even Eome, with its legend of Romulus nursed by a wolf, gives some curious survivals of an, earlier worship of this sort. In Egypt, however, the worship of animals became more widely spread, and took on grosser features, than has ever been the case elsewhere. Above all this, there was a worship of countless deities and demigods representing sun, moon, river, wind, storm, trees, and stones. Each vil- lage and town had its special god to protect it ; and the gods of the great capitals became national deities. The popu- lace thought that these nature gods dwelt in the bodies of animals ; but with the better classes this nature loorship mounted sometimes to a lofty and pure worship of one God. "God," say some of the in- scriptions, "is a spirit : no man knoweth his form," aud again, — " He is the creator of the heavens and the earth and all that is therein." These lofty thoughts never spread far among the people ; but a few think- ers in Egypt seem to have risen to them earlier than the Hebrew prophets did. The following hymn to Aten (the Sun- disk), symbol of Light and Life, was written by an Egyptian king of the fifteenth century b.c. Isis, goddess of the sky, holdiug her son, HoRUS, the rising sun. 1 Students who know Cooper's Last of the Mohicans will recall an illustra- tion of totemism. §25] RELIGION AND MORALS 39 '*Thy appearing is beautiful in the horizon of heaven, O living Aten, the beginning of life ! . . . Thou fillest every land with thy beauty. Thy beams encompass all lands which thou hast made. Thou bindest them with thy love. . . . The birds fly in their haunts — Their wings adoring thee. . . . The small bird in the egg, sounding within the shell — Thou givest it breath within the egg. . . . How many are the things which thou hast made ! Thou Greatest the land by thy will, thou alone. With peoples, herds, and flocks. ... Thou givest to every man his place, thou framest his life." 25. The idea of a future life was held in two or three forms. Nearly all savage peoples believe that after death the body remains the home of the soul, or at least that the soul lives on Sculptured Funeral Couch: the soul is represented crouching by the mummy. — From Maspero. in a pale, shadovry existence near the tomb. If the body be not preserved, or if it be not given proper burial, then, it is thought, the soul becomes a wandering ghost, restless and harm- ful to men. The early Egyptians held some such belief. The universal 40 EGYPT (§25 practice of embalming ^ the body before burial was connected with it. They "wished to preserve the body as the home for the soul In the early tombs, too, there are always found dishes in which had been placed food and drink for the ghost, just as is done by savage peoples to-day. These practices con- tinued through all ancient Egyptian history.^ But upon some such basis as this there finally grew up, among the better classes, a belief in a truer im- mortality for those who deserved it. The dead, according to these more advanced thinkers, lived in a distant Elysium, where they had all the pleasures of life without its pains. This haven, however, was only for those ghosts who knew certain religious formulas to guard against destruction on the perilous spirit journey, and who, on arrival, should be declared worthy by the " Judges of the Dead." Other souls were thought to perish. After this stage of belief was reached, the practice of embalming the body may have come to have some connection with a growing thought of its resurrection. The following noble extract comes from the " Repudiation of Sins." This was a statement which the Egyptian believed he ought to be able to 1 " Embalming " is a process of preparing a dead body with drugs and spices, so as to prevent decay. 2 In part they continue to-day, after these six thousand years of different faiths. The Egyptian peasant still buries food and drink with his dead. Such customs last long after the ideas on which they were based have faded ; but there must always have been some live idea in them at first. A Tomb Painting, showing offerings to the dead. 25] RELIGION AND MORALS 41 say truthfully before the "Judges of the Dead." It shows a keen sense of duty to one's fellow men, which would be highly honorable to any religion. " Hail unto you, ye lords of Truth ! hail to thee, great god, lord of Truth and Justice ! . . . I have not committed iniquity against men ! I have not oppressed the poor ! . . . I have not laid labor upon any free man beyond that which he wrought for himself ! . . . I have not caused the slave to be ill-treated of his master ! I have not starved any man, I have not made any to weep, . . . I have not pulled down the scale of the ■B ■■^Pl# •!',^*?r*11?^ ' »i«^>1i^*«f^j; ■ .i-j-j| ^Vrj^" i^- ' • wRT PjSnI. p^'j^[ imSmF^ r, . - ~ K ^ '! ^H^' 'i m E^^lHHii^ '^fl^^^^K ^v]v H| v/'/l Uv^^^^H Weighing the Soul in the scales of truth before the gods of the dead. — Egyptian relief; after Maspero. (The figures with animal heads.are gods and their messengers. The human forms represent the dead who are being led to judgment.) balance ! I have not falsified the beam of the balances I have not taken away the milk from the mouths of sucklings. . . . " Grant that he may come unto you — he that hath not lied nor borne false witness, . . . he that hath given bread to the hungry and drink to him that teas athirst, and that hath clothed the naked with garments.'''' Some other declarations in this statement run : " I have not blas- phemed; " "I have not stolen; "" " I have not slain any man treacher- ously;" "I have not made false accusation;" "I have not eaten my heart with envy." These five contain the substance of half of the Ten Commandments, — hundreds of years before Moses brought the tables of stone to the Children of Israel. 42 EGYPT I§ 26 26. Moral Character. — The ideal of character, indicated above, is contained in many other Egyptian inscriptions. Thus, some three thousand years before Christ, a noble declares in his epitaph : " I have caused no child of tender years to mourn ; I have despoiled no widow; I have driven away no toiler of the soil [who asked for help] . . . None about me have been unfortunate or starving in my time." ^ Of course, like other people, the Egyptian fell short of his ideal. On the other hand, it is not fair to expect him to come up to our modern standard in all ways. The modesty and refinement which we value were lacking among the Egyptians ; but they were a kindly people. The sympathy expressed by their writers for the poor (§ 15) is a note not heard elsewhere in ancient literature. Scholars agree in giving the Egyptians high praise as "more moral, sympathetic, and conscientious than any other ancient people." These words belong to Professor Petrie, the great authority on Egyptian antiquities. The same scholar sums up the matter thus : " The Egyptian, without our Christian sense of sin or self-reproach, sought out a fair and noble life. . . . His aim was to be an easy, good-natured, quiet gentleman, and to make life as agreeable as he could to all about him." THE STORY 27. The Old Kingdom. — It is convenient to mark off seven periods' in the history of Egypt (§§ 27-33). For more than a thousand years after Menes (3400-2400 b.c), i^ capital re- mained at Memphis in Lower Egypt. This p^iod is known as the Old Kingdom. It is marked by the coni^lete consolidation of the country under the pharaohs, by the building of the pyramids and sphinxes, and by the rapid development of the civilization which we have been studying. The only names we care much for in this age are Menes and Cheops (§ 21). 28. The Middle Kingdom. — Toward 2400 b.c, the power of the pharaohs declined; but the glory of the monarchy was re- 1 The same ideas of duty are set forth more at length in extracts given in Davis' Readings, Vol. I, Nos. 9 and 10. / 28] THE POLITICAL STORY stored by a new line of kings at Thebes in the upper valley. Probably this was the result of civil war between Upper and Lower Egypt. The Theban line of pharaohs are known as the Middle Kingdom. Their rule lasted some four hundred years (2400-2000 b.c), and makes the second period. The two features of this period are foreign conquest and a new develop- ment of res ources at home. Ethiopia, on the south, was subdued, with many Negro tribes; and parts of Syria were conquered; but the chief glory of this age, and of all Egyptian history, was the develop- ment of the marvelous system of irrigation that has been described in § 17 above. The pharaohs of this period, in happy con- trast with the vain and cruel pyramid-builders, cared most to encourage trade, explore unknown regions, improve roads, establish wells and reser- voirs. A king of 2200 b.c. boasts in his epitaph — probably with reason — that all his commands had "ever increased the love" of his subjects toward him. Egyptian commerce now reached to Crete on the north, and probably to other islands and coasts of the Mediterranean, and to distant parts of Ethiopia on the south. One of the greatest works of the time was the opening of a canal from a mouth of the Nile to the Red Sea, so that ships might pass from that sea to the Mediterranean. This gave a great impulse to trade with Arabia (§ 19). Cheops (more properly called Khufu), builder of the Great Pyramid : a portrait- statue discovered in 1902 by Flinders Petrie. As Professor Petrie says, "The first thing that strikes us is the enormous driving power of the man." 44 EGYPT [§29 29. The Hyksos. — This outburst of glory was followed by a strange decay (2000-1600 b.c. — the " third period ''), during which Egypt became the prey of roving tribes from Arabia. From the title of their chiefs, these conquerors were called HyksoSj or Shepherd Kings. They maintained themselves in Egypt about two hundred years. For a time they harried the land cruelly, as invaders; then, from a capital in the lower Delta, they ruled the country through tributary Egyptian Sculptors at work on colossal figures. — From an Egyptian relief. kings ; and finally they acquired the civilization of the country and became themselves Egyptian sovereigns. It was this Arabian conquest that first brought the horse into Egypt (§ 18). After this period, kings and nobles are represented in war chariots and in pleasure carriages. 30. The New Empire. — A line of native monarchs had re- mained in power at Thebes, as under-kings. About 1600 b.c„, after a long struggle, these princes expelled the Hyksos. Dur- ing this " fourth period," 1600-1330, Egypt reached its highest pitch of military grandeur. The long struggle with the Hyksos had turned the attention of the people from industry to war; and the horse made long marches easier for the leaders. A series of mighty kings recovered Ethiopia, conquered all western Syria, and at last reached the Euphrates, ruling for a brief time even over Babylonia. 30] THE POLITICAL STORY 45 Here, on the banks of a mighty river, strangely like their own Nile, they found the home of another civilization, equal to their own, but different. For nearly four thousand years, Vt>rfcJ^%^^m^ y[ E D I X fP ^ 'CRETE ^^^.^ A H A R A ^ A N c b: ^ ^ -c^ -^^ a 3k ARABIA miiiiiiiiiiiiiim. ^ GREATEST EXTENT OF THE EGYPTIAN EMPIRE About 1450 B.C. SCALE OF MILES 50 100 200 300 400 600 Egyptian Empire ^^^>v-^ Egypt Proper ^^^ these two earliest civilizations had been growing up in igno- rance of each other.^ Now a new era opened. The long ages of isolation gave way to an age of intercourse.^ The vast dis- 1 The Egyptians did know something of the Euphrates culture, because it had, long before, extended into Syria (§ 38), which Egyptian armies and traders had visited occasionalhy for some centuries ; but now first they saw it in its full magnificence. 2 Egypt did not admit foreigners into her own Nile district, except the official representatives of other governments. But the Syrian lands were the middle ground where the two civilizations held intercourse. 46 EGYPT [§31 Alexander, and of Kome. tricts between the Euphrates and the Nile became covered with a network of roads. These were garrisoned here and there by fortresses ; and over them, for centuries, there passed hurrying streams of officials, couriers, and merchants. The brief su- premacy of Egypt over the Euphrates district was also the Jirst political union of the Orient. In some degree it paved the way for the greater empires to follow, — of Assyria, of Persia, of The most famous Egyptian rulers of this age are ThUtmosis^ III, and Barneses 11. The student will find interest- ing passages about both these monarchs in Davis' Readings, Vol. I. 31. Decline. — A long age of weakness (the "fifth period,'^ about 1330-640) soon invited attack. The priests had drawn into their hands a large part of the land of Egypt. This land paid no taxes, and the pharaohs felt obliged to tax more heavily the already over- burdened peasantry. Population declined; revenues fell off. Early in this period of decline, the Hebrews escaped from Egypt. Driven by famine, they had come from Syria during the rule of the Arabian Hyksos, who were friendly to them. The great monarchs of the New Empire reduced them to serf- dom. Now they escaped from a weak pharaoh, to seek refuge again in the desert (§ 59). The government was no longer strong enough in armies for the defense of the frontiers. Dominion in both Africa and Sculptured Head of Thutmosis III (about 1470 B.C.), who in twelve great campaigns first carried Egyptian arms from the isthmus to Nineveh. 1 All difficult proper names have the pronunciation shown in tne index. §32] THE POLITICAL STORY 47 Asia shrank, until Egypt was driven back within her ancient bounds. The Hittites (§ 7), descending from the slopes of the Taurus Mountains (map, page 45), overthrew Egyptian power in Syria; and the tribes of the Sahara, aided by "strange peoples of the sea" (Greeks among them), threatened to seize even the Delta itself. In 730 B.C. the Ethiopians overran the country ; and, in 672, Egypt finally he- came subject to Assyria (§ 40). J.^ Dates are not fixed exactly in Egyptian history until about this time. For all earlier periods, a margin of a century or two must be al- lowed for errors in calculation. We know the order of events, but not their precise year. This vagueness is due to the fact that ancient peoples did not count time as we do from one fixed point : instead, they reckoned from the build- ing of a city, or from the be- ginning of the reigns of their kings. An inscription may tell us that a certain event took place in the tenth year of the reign of Rameses ; but we do not know positively in just what year Rameses began to reign. 32. The Sixth Period, 653-525. — After twenty years of Assyrian rule, Psammetichus restored Egyptian independence and became the pharaoh. He had been a military adventurer, apparently of foreign blood; and had been employed by the Assyrians as a tributary prince. During her former greatness, although her own traders visited other lands, Egypt had kept herself jealously closed against strangers. But Psammetichus threw open the doors to foreigners. In particular, he welcomed Rameses II, a conquering pharaoh of about 1375 B.C. This colossal statue stands in the ruins of the palace at Luxor. 48 EGYPT [§33 the Greeks, who were just coming into notice as soldiers and sailors. Not only did individual Greek travelers (§§ 21, 3 156) visit the country, but a Greek colony, Naucratis, was v. tablished there, and large numbers of Greek soldiers served it the army. Indeed Sais, the new capital of Psammetichus and his son, thronged with Greek adventurars. This was the time, accordingly, when. Egypt ^^ fulfilled her mission among the nations/' She " had lit the torch of civilization " ages be- fore ; now she passed it on to the western world through this younger race. Neco, the second monarch of this new line of kings, ruled about 600 B.C. He was greatly interested in reviving the old Egyptian commerce. His n |k fc=> efforts to restore Egyptian I -^-^^^ infiuence in Syria and Ara- bia were foiled by the rise of a new empire in the Eu- PSAMMETICHUS. phrates valley (§ 42) ; and he failed also in a noble attempt to reopen the ancient canal connecting the Eed Sea with the Mediterranean (§ 28). But, in searching for another route for vessels between those waters, he did succeed in a re- markable attempt. One of his ships sailed around Africa, starting from the E,ed Sea and returning, three years later, by the Mediterranean. Herodotus (§ 21), who tells us the story, adds : " On their return the sailors reported (others may be- lieve them but I will not) that in sailing from east to west around Africa th'ey had the sun on their right hand." This report, which Herodotus could not believe, is good proof to us that the story of the sailors was true. 33. Egyptian History merges in Greek and Roman History. — The last age of Egyptian independence lasted only 128 years. Then followed the " seventh period," — one of long dependence upon foreign powers. Persia conquered the country in 525 b.c. (§ 72), and ruled it for two centuries under Persian governors. Then Alexander the Great established Greek sway over all the Persian world (§§ 278 ff.). At his death Egypt became again a § 33] THE POLITICAL STORY 49 separate state ; but it was ruled by the Greek Ptolemies from heir new Greek capital at Alexandria. Cleopatra, the last of •Chis line of monarchs, fell before Augustus Caesar in 30 B.C., and Egypt became a Roman province. Native rule has never been restored. ExKRcisEs. — 1. Make a summary of the things we owe to Egypt. 2. What can you learn from those extracts upon Egypt in Davis' Beadings^ which have not been referred to in this chapter ? (If the class have enough of those valuable little books in their hands, this topic may make all or part of a day's lesson : if only a copy or two is in the library, one student may well make a short report to the class, with brief readings.) 3. Do you regard the first pyramid or Lake Moeris or the canal from the Nile to the Ked Sea as the truest monument to Egyptian greatness ? 4. Students who wish to read further upon ancient Egypt will find the titles of three or four of the best books for their purpose in the Appendix, — Baikie, Breasted, Hommel, or Myers. V CHAPTER III THE TIGRIS-EUPHRATES STATES GEOGRAPHY 34. The Two Rivers. — Across Asia, from the Red to the Yellow Sea, stretches a mighty desert. Its smaller and west- ern part, a series of low, sandy plains, is really a continuation of the African desert. The eastern portion (which lies almost wholly beyond the field of our ancient history, § 4) consists of lofty plateaus broken up by rugged mountains. The two parts are separated from each other by a patch of luxuriant vegeta- tion, reaching away from the Persian Gulf to the northwest. This oasis is the work of the Tigris and Euphrates. (In this connection see map facing p. 12.) These twin rivers have never interested men so much as the more mysterious Nile has ; but they have played a hardly less important part in history. Rising on opposite sides of the snow-capped mountains of Armenia, they approach each other by great sweeps until they form a common valley ; then they flow in parallel channels for the greater part of their course, uniting just before they reach the Gulf. The land between them has always been named from them. The Jews called it '• Syria of the Two Rivers " ; the Greeks, Mesopotamia, or " Between the Rivers " ; the mod- ern Arabs, " The Island." 35. Divisions of the Valley. — The valley had three distinct parts, two of which were of special importance. The first of these was Chaldea,^ the district near the mouth of the rivers. 1 This is the name that has been used for many centuries. It seems best to keep it, though we know now that it is inaccurate for the early period. The Chaldeans proper did not enter the valley until long after its civilization began. 60 § 36] GEOGRAPHY 51 Like the delta of the Nile, Chaldea consisted of deposits of soil carried out in the course of ages into the sea. In area it equaled modern Denmark, and was twice the size of the real Egypt. As with Egypt, its fertility in ancient times was main- tained by an annual overflow of the river, regulated by dikes, canals, and reservoirs. Wheat aiid barley are believed to have been native there. Certainly it was from Chaldea that they spread west to Europe. The Euphrates district is more dependent upon artificial aids for irri- gation than the Nile valley is ; and in modern times Chaldea has lost its ancient fertility. During the past thousand years, under Turkish rule, the last vestiges of the ancient engineering works have gone to ruin. The myriads of canals are choked with sand ; and, as a result, in this early home of civilization, the uncontrolled overflow of the river turns the eastern districts into a dreary marsh ; while on the west the desert has drifted in, to cover the most fertile soil in the world ; — and the sites of scores of mighty cities are only shapeless mounds, where sometimes nomad Arabs camp for a night. To the north of Chaldea, the rich plain gives way to a rugged table-land. The more fertile portion lies on the Tigris side, and is the second important part of the valley. It was finally to take the name Assyna. The western half of the upper valley is sometimes called Mesopotamia Proper. This third district was less fertile than the others, and never became the seat of a powerful state. It opened, however, upon the northern parts of Syria, and so made part of the great roadway between the Euphrates and the Nile. THE STORY 36. The People. — The rich Euphrates valley, like the Nile region, attracted invaders from all sides in prehistoric times. It was less completely walled in, indeed, than Egypt (§§ 6, 7); and such inroads therefore continued longer and on a larger scale than in the Nile lands. Successive waves of conquering tribes from the Arabian desert finally established a Semitic^ 1 Semites and Semitic are explained in a paragraph on the following page. 52 THE TIGRIS-EUPHRATES STATES l§ 37 language in Chaldea; but the bulk of the inhabitants never became Semites in appearance or blood. They kept in large measure the characteristics of older peoples, who had originally developed the civilization of the valley, and who had spoken a tongue which in historic times had become a " dead language." That older civilization, however, had not taken so firm a hold on the Tigris district; and the Assyrians became mainly Semitic, — allied to the Arabs in blood. The men of the south (Chaldeans, or Babylonians) were quick-witted, industrious, gentle, pleasure-loving, fond of literature and of peaceful pur- suits. The hook-nosed, larger-framed, fiercer Assyrians cared mainly for war and the gains of commerce, and had only such arts and learning as they could borrow from their neighbors. They delighted in cruelty and gore. In the old inscriptions, their kings brag incessantly of torturing, flaying alive, and impaling thousands of captives. The languages of the Arabs, Jews, Assyrians, and of some other neigh- boring peoples, such as the ancient Phoenicians (§ 54), are closely related. The whole group of such languages is called Semitic, and the peoples who speak them are called Semites (descendants of Shem). Similarity of languages does not necessarily prove that the peoples are related in blood : it means more commonly only that their civilizations have been derived one from another. But these Semitic races do seem to have had a close blood relationship. 37. The Early City-States. — As in Egypt, so in this double valley there clustered many cities at a very early time, — before 5000 B.C. Each such city was a " state " (§ 11, note) by itself, under its own king, and it controlled the surrounding hamlets and farming territory. These little states waged innumerable wars with one another and with outside invaders ; but they also managed to develop the culture which was to characterize the country in its historic age. Each city, indeed, had a literature of its own, written in libraries of brick (§ 48), and our scholars are learning more of this ancient period every day from the study of the remains recently discovered. Only four cities, out of scores, will be mentioned in this book, — four leading §38] EXPANSION INTO SYRIA 53 cities, whose names, too, are familiar from the Old Testament, — Accad (Agade), C/r, Babylon, and Nineveh. The first three are in the southern Euphrates district : Nineveh is in Assyria, on the Tigris. /Gradually, war united th>e rival states into larger ones ; and then contests for power among these, with outside conquests, gave rise to three great empires, whose story we shall survey rapidly. Two pf these empires were in the south, with their chief center at Babylon (First and Second Babylonian Em- pires). Between their two periods there arose the still mightier Assyrian Empire,] with Nineveh for its capital. An empire is a state containing many sub-states and one ruling state. Egypt >^as called a kingdom while it was confined to the Nile valley, but an empire when its sway extended over Ethiopia and Syria (§ 30). 38. Early Attempts at Empire. — About 2800 b.c, JSargon,^ king of Accad, made himself ruler of all Chaldea. Then in a series of victorious campaigns, he carried his authority over the northern part of the river valley, and even to the distant Mediterranean coast. His empire fell to pieces with his death, from lack of organization ; but his campaigns had transplanted the Euphrates culture into Syria to take lasting root there, Chaldean traders spread the seed more widely. Eor more than two thousand years, the fashions of Chaldea were copied in the cities of Syria ; and her cuneiform ^ script was used, and her literature was read, by great numbers of people all over western Asia. Ur succeeded Accad as mistress of the land. But the cities of the valley were soon overrun by new barbarians from the Ara- bian desert. These conquerors finally adopted thoroughly the civilization of the country, and took Babylon for their chief city. 1 The Babylonians of about 600 b.c. rediscovered a certain inscription of the son of Sargon, long buried even in that day, and fixed his date from it at 3200 years before their own time. Very recent discoveries, however, prove that they placed him a thousand years too early. Davis' Readings, Vol. I, No. 17, gives the Babylonian story. 2 See § 47 for explanation of this term. 54 THE TIGRIS-EUPHRATES STATES [§39 39. The First Babylonian Empire begins strictly with the rule of Hammurabi, who lived about as many years before the birth of Christ as we do after it. In 1917 b.c. he completed the consolidation of the states of the Euphrates valley into one empire. TLiater, he extended the rule of Babylon to the bounds of Sargon's conquests — and with more lasting results. Ever since, the name Babylon has remained a symbol for magnifi- cence and power. During the fourth century of this empire (about 1500 b.c), it came in contact with the " New Empire " of Egypt to ivhich for a time it lost most of its dominions (§ 30). 40. The Assyrian Empire. — Assyria first comes to notice in the nineteenth century b^c. It was then a dependent province, belonging to the Babylonian Empire. Six hundred years later it had become a rival ; but its supremacv be j s^ins two centuries later still, about 1100 b.c. New invaders from Arabia were harrying the Euphrates country ; and this made it easier for Tiglath-Pileser I, king of Assyria, to master Babylonia. This king ruled from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean; but after his death his dominions fell apart. The real Assyrian Empire dates from 745 b.c. In that year, the adventurer Pul seized the throne. He had been a gardener. Now he took the name of the first great con- queror, Tiglath-Pileser (II), and soon established the most powerful empire the world had so far seen. It was larger than any that had gone before it (map opposite" ), and it was bett er .organized. In the case of each of the earlier empires, the sub- ject kingcloms had been left under the native rulers, as tribu- tary kings. Such princes could never lose a natural ambition to become again independent sovereigns ; and if they attempted revolt, the people were sure to rally loyally to them as to their proper rulers. Thus this loose organization tempted constantly to rebellion. It now gave way to a stronger one. The subject kingdoms were made more completely into parts of one state and were ruled by Assyrian lieutenants (satraps). We call such subordinate parts of an empire by the nsime fprovinces. This §40] THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 55 new invention in government was Assyria's chief bequest to the later world. ) The next great Assyrian king was Sargon II, who carried away the Ten Tribes of Israel into captivity (722 b.c). This transplanting of a rebellious people, or at least of the better classes among them, to prevent rebellion, was a favorite device of the Assyrians. Longfellow's picture, in Evangeline, of the removal of a small population in modern times with all possi- ble gentleness, will help us to imagine the misery that must have come from such transportation of whole nations by over- land journeys of a thousand miles. ^Sargon's son, Bennacherih, is the most famous Assyrian monarch. He subdued the king of Judah,^ but he will be 1 2 Klings xviii. For the Assyrian story see Davis' Readings, "Vol. I, No. 12. 56 THE TIGRIS-EUPHRATES STATES [§41 better remembered from the Jewish account of a mysterious destruction of his army, perhaps in another expedition, — smitten by "the angel of the Lord." This is the incident commemorated by Byron's lines : — "The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold, And his cohorts were gleaming with purple and gold. Like leaves of the forest when autumn hath blown, That host, on the morrow, lay withered and strown." . The empire recovered quickly from this disaster; and in 672 E.G^Sennacherib's son, Esarhaddon, subdued Egypt (§ 31). This^ loas the second political union of the East) It was much more complete than the first one of severalcenturies earlier (§ 30) ; and the territory was larger, for the Assyrians were reaching out west and east into the new regions of Asia Minor and of Media on the Plateau of Iran. 41. Fall of^ssyria. — This wide rule was short j ived, — happily so, for no other great empire has ever so delighted in blood. Disagreeable as it is, the student should read one of the records in which an Assyrian king exults over his fiendish cruelties. The following one is by Assur-Natsir-Pul, 850 e.g. : — "They did not embrace my feet. With combat and with slaughter I attacked the city and captured it ; three thousand of their fighting men I slew with the sword. Their spoil, their goods, their oxen, and their sheep I carried away. The numerous captives I burned with fire. I cap- tured many of the soldiers alive. I cut off the hands and feet of some ; I cut off the noses, the ears, and the fingers of others ; the eyes of the numerous soldiers I put out. I built up a pyramid of the living and a pyramid of heads. In the middle of them I suspended their heads on vine stems in the neighborhood of their city. Their young men and their maidens I burned as a holocaust. The city I overthrew, dug up, and burned with fire. I annihilated it." Of another city: "The nobles, as many as had revolted, I flayed ; with their skins I covered the pyramid. Some of them I immured in the midst of the pyramid ; others above the pyramid I impaled on stakes ; others round about the pyramid I planted on stakes." See also Sennacherib's boast, at the close of No. 12 in Davis' Readings^ Vol. I. §42] THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 57 ' Against such cruelty and against the crushing Assyrian taxation, there rankled a passionate hatred in the hearts of the oppressed peoples.^ After twenty years of subjection, Egypt broke away. Twenty years later, Babylon followed. Scythian hordes poured in repeatedly from the north, to devastate the empire ; and in 606 the new power of the Medes (§ 72), aided by Babylonia, captured Nineveh itself. The Assyrian Empire disappeared, and the proud " city of blood," which had razed so many other cities, was given over to sack and pillage. Two hundred years later the Greek Xenophon could not even learn the name of the crumbling ruins, when he came upon them, in the *^ Retreat of the Ten Thousand" (§ 257). All signs of human habitation vanished, and the very site was forgotten, until its rediscovery in recent times. Ancient and modern judgments upon Assyria are at one. Nahum closed his passionate exultation, — " All that hear the news of thy fate shall clap their hands over thee ; for whom hath not thy wickedness afflicted continually." And says Dr. Davis (Introduction to iSTo. 14 of his Readings, Vol, I): "Its luxuries and refinements were all borrowed from other lands : its insatiable love of conquest and slaughter was its own." 42. The New Babylonian Empire. — Babylon had risen in many a fierce revolt during the five centuries of Assyrian rule. Sennacherib declares, with great exaggeration certainly, that on one occasion he razed it to the ground in punishment : " I laid the houses waste from foundation to roof with fire. Temple and tower I tore down and threw into the canal. I dug ditches through the city, and laid waste its site. Greater than the deluge was its annihilation." (in 625 came a successful rebellion. Then (as noticed in § 41) Babylonia and Media soon shared between them the old Assyr- ian Empire. The Second Babylonian Empire lasted less than a century. The middle half of the period — the most glorious iThe student should read the terrible denunciation of* Nineveh by the Hebrew prophet in the year of its fall (Book of Nahum, iii, 1-19). Cf. also Isaiah xiii, l(>-22, and Jeremiah 1 and li. Nebuchadnezzar. 58 THE TIGRIS-EUPHRATES STATES [§43 part, 604-561 b.c. —falls to the reign of Nebuchadnezzar^ The reviving Egyptian power, under Neco, was checked in its effort to extend its sway into Asia (§ 32). Rebellious Jerusalem was sacked, and the Jews were carried away into the Babylonian captivity. The ancient limits of the First Empire were restored, with some additions. Babylon was rebuilt on a more magnificent scale, and the ancient engineer- ing works were re- newed.i But in 538, soon after this reign, Babylon fell before the rising power of the Persians (§ 72), and her independent history came to an end. SOCIETY, INDUSTRY, CULTURE 43. The king was surrounded with everything that could awe and charm the masses. Extraordinary magnificence and splendor removed him from the common people. He gave au- dience, seated on a golden throne covered with a purple canopy which was supported by pillars glittering with precious stones. All who came into his presence prostrated themselves in the dust until bidden to rise. His rule was absolute ; but he worked through a large body of trusted officials, largely taken from the priests. 44. Classes of Society. — Chaldea had no class like the nobles of Egypt. Wealth counted for more, and birth for less, than in that country. There were really only two classes, — rich and poor, with a mass of slaves. The peasants tilled the rich land in misery. As in Egypt they paid for their holdings with half of the produce. In a poor year, this left them in debt for seed and living. The creditor could charge exorbitant interest; and, if not paid, he could levy not only upon the debtor's small goods, but also upon wife or child, or upon the person of the farmer himself, for 1 Nebuchadnezzar's own account is given in Davis' Readings, Vol. I, No. 13. 44] SOCIETY AND CULTURE 59 slavery. As early as the time of Hammurabi (§§ 39, 45), how- ever, the law ordered that such slavery should last only three years. The wealthy class included landowners, officials, professional men, money lenders, and merchants. The merchant in partic- ular was a prominent figure. The position of Chaldea, at the Colossal Man-beast in Alabaster. — From the Palace of Sargon (now in the Louvre). head of the Persian Gulf, made its cities the natural mart of exchange between India and Syria ; and for centuries, Babylon was the great commercial center of the ancient world, far more truly than London has been of our modern world. Even the extensive wars of Assyria, cruel as they were, were not merely for love of conquest : they were largely commercial in purpose, — to secure the trade of Syria and Phoenicia, and to ruin in 60 THE TIGRIS-EUPHRATES STATES [§45 those lands the trade centers^ that were competing with Nineveh. 45. Law and Property. — In 1902 a.d., a French explorer found a valuable set of Babylonian inscriptions containing a collection of 280 laws. This "code" asserts that it was enacted by Hammurabi (§ 39). It is the oldest known code of laws in the world ; and it shows that the men for whom it was made were already far advanced in civilization, with many Assyrian Contract Tablet in Duplicate. — The outer tablet is broken and shows part of the inner original, which could always be consulted if the outside was thought to have been tampered with. complex relations with one another. It tries to guard against bribery of judges and witnesses, against careless medical practice, against ignorant or dishonest building contractors. (About a tenth of the code is reproduced in Davis' Readings, Vol. I, Ko. 20.) Other discoveries prove that rights of property were carefully guarded. Deeds, wills, marriage settlements, legal contracts of all kinds, survive by tens of thousands. The numerous signatures of witnesses, in a variety of " hand writings," testify to a widespread ability to write the difficult cuneiform text. 1 Damascus, Jerusalem, Tyre, and others whose names have lessmeauing to us to-day. Tyre, often besieged and reduced to a tributary state, was not actually captured, owing to her mastery of the sea. §47] SOCIETY AND CULTURE 61 From the contracts we learn that a woman could control property and carry on business independently of her husband. 46. Law and Men. — Criminal law is the term applied to that portion of a code ^hich relates, not to property, but to the personal relations of niei^ to one another. Here the code Assyrian Tablets, showing the older hieroglyphics and the later cuneiform equivalents (apparently for the purpose of instruction) . of Hammurabi in many provisions reminds us of the stern Jewish law of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. " If a man has caused a man of rank to lose an eye, one of his own eyes must be struck out. If he has shattered the limb of a man of rank, let his own limb be broken. If he has knocked out the tooth of a man of rank, his tooth must be knocked out." Injuries to a poor man, however, could be atoned for in money. " If he has caused a poor man to lose an eye, or has shattered a limb, let him pay one maneh of silver" (about $32.00 in our values). 47. Cuneiform Writing. — The early inhabitants of Chaldea had a system of hieroglyphs not unlike the Egyptian. At first they painted these on the papyrus, which grew in the Euphrates as well as in the Nile. At a later time they came to press the 62 THE TIGRIS-EUPHRATES STATES [§48 characters with a sharp metal instrument into clay tablets (which were then baked to preserve them). This change of material led to a change in the written characters. The pic- tures shriveled and flattened into wedge-shaped symbols, which look like scattered nails with curiously battered heads. "(This writing is called cuneiform, from the Latin cuneus, wedge.) The Semitic conquerors adopted this writing and used it in such minute characters — six lines to an inch sometimes — •that some authorities believe magnifying glasses must have been used. This surmise was strengthened when the explorer Layard found a lens among the ruins of the Nineveh library. 48. Literature. — The remains of Chaldean literature are abundant. Each of the numerous cities that studded the valley of the twin rivers had its library, sometimes several of them. A library was a collection of clay tablets or bricks covered with cuneiform writing. In Babylon the ruins of one library con- tained over thirty thousand tablets, of about the date 2700 b.c, all neatly arranged in order. Originally the libraries contained papyrus rolls also, but these the climate has utterly destroyed. A tablet, with its condensed writing, corresponds fairly well to a chapter in one of our books. Each tablet had its library number stamped upon it, and the collections were carefully catalogued. The kings prided themselves on keeping libraries open to the public ; and Professor Sayce is sure that " a con- siderable portion of the inhabitants (including many women) could read and write." ^ The literary class studied the '^ dead " language of the pre- Semitic period, as we study Latin; and the merchants were obliged to know the languages spoken in Syria in that day. The libraries contained dictionaries and grammars of these languages, and also many translations of foreign books, in columns parallel with the originals. Scribes were constantly employed in copying and editing ancient texts, and they seem 1 The evidence he collects in his Social Life among the Babylonians, 41-43. "The ancient civilized East was almost as full of literary activity as is the world of to-day," adds the same eminent scholar, in an extreme statement. §481 SOCIETY AND CULTURE 63 An Assyrian "Book." — An octagon Assyrian brick, now in the British Musetim ; after Sayce. This representation is about one third the real size. 64 THE TIGRIS-EUPHRATES STATES [§ 49 to have been very careful in their work : when they could not make out a word in an ancient copy, they tell us so and leave the space blank. 49. Science. — In Oeometi-y the Chaldeans made as much advance as the Egyptians ; in Arithmetic more. Their notation combined the decimal and duodecimal systems. Sixty was a favorite unit, because it is divisible by both ten and twelve : it was used as the hundred is by us. Scientific Medicine was hin- dered by a belief in charms and magic; and even Astron- omy was studied largely as a means of fortune-telling by the stars.^ Some of our boy- ish forms for " counting out " — " eeny, meeny, miny, moe," etc. — are remarkably like the An Assyrian Dog.— Relief on a clay solemn forms of divination tablet; after Raw! inson. -i , ^^i •,-, ' used by Chaldean magicians. Still, in spite of such superstition, important progress was made. As in Egyjjt, the level plains and clear skies invited to an early study of the heavenly bodies. The Chaldeans fore- told eclipses, made star maps, and marked out on the heavens the apparent yearly path of the sun. The " signs of the zodiac " in our almanacs come from these early astronomers. Every great city had its lofty observatory and its royal astronomer, and in Babylon, in 331 b.c, Alexander the Great found an un- broken series of observations running back nineteen hundred years. As we get from the Egyptians our year and months, so from the Chaldeans we get the week (with its " seventh day of iFor hundreds of years the stars were believed to have influence upon human life, and a class of fortune tellers claimed to be able to discover this influence, and to foretell the future, by studying the heavens. This pretended science is called astrology, to distinguish it from real astronomy. It lasted in England as late as the days of Queen Elizabeth ; and all through the middle ages in Europe an astrologer was called " a Chaldean." §50] SOCIETY AND CULTURE 65 rest for the soul ") and the division of the day into hours, with the subdivision into minutes. Their notation, by 12 and 60, we still keep on the face of every clock. The sundial and the water dock were Assyrian inventions to measure time. ^^^^^^^S^ -"-"" -*- "^- ■« "."'y^' Fragment of Assyrian "Deluge-Tablet," with part of the story of a deluge. 50. Chaldean Legends. — Besides this scientific and scholarly literature, the Babylonians had many stories, including an ancient collection of legends which claimed to carry their his- tory back seven hundred thousand years,, to the creation of 66 THE TIGRIS-EUPHRATES STATES [§51 the world. Their story of the creation resembled, in many- features, the later Hebrew Genesis ; and one of their- legends concerned a "deluge," from which only one man — favorite of the gods — was saved in an ark, with his family and with one pair of every sort of beasts. These stories, however, have an exaggerated style, and lack the noble simplicity of the Bible narrative. 51. Industries and their Arts. — More than the other ancient peoples, the men of the Euphrates made practical use of their science. They understood the lever and pulley, and used the arch in making vaulted drains and aqueducts. They invented the patterns wheel and an excellent system of iveights and measures. Their measures were based on the length of the finger, breadth of the hand, and length of the arm ; and, with the system of weights, they have come down to us through the Greeks. The sym- bols in the "Apothe- caries' Table" in our arithmetics are Babylanian in origin. Books upon agriculture passed on the Babylonian knowledge of that subject to the Greeks and Arabs. They had surpass- ing skill in cutting gems, enameling, inlaying. Every well-to-do person had his seal with which to sign letters and legal papers. The cheaper sort were of baked clay, but the richer men used engraved precious stones, in the form of cylinders, arranged to revolve on an axis of metal. Thousands of these have been found. Some of them, made of jasper or chalcedony or onyx, are works of art which it would be hard to surpass to-day. Assyrian looms, too, produced the finest of muslins and of fleecy woolenSj to which the dyer gave the most brilliant colors. The Assyrian Cylinder Seals. 52] SOCIETY AND CULTURE 67 rich wore long robes of those cloths, decorated with embroider- ies. Tapestries and carpets, also, wonderfully colored, were woven, for walls and floors and beds. In many such industries, little advance has been made since, so far as the products are concerned. 52. Architecture and Sculpture. — The Euphrates valley had no stone and little wood. Brick making, therefore, was, next to agriculture, the most important industry. Ordinary houses Impression from a King's Cylinder SeAl. — The figure in the air repre- sents the god who protects the king in his perils. J were built of cheap sun-dried bricks. The same material was used for all but the outer courses of the walls of the palaces and temples ^ ; but for these outside faces, a kiln-baked brick was used, much like our own. With only these imperfect materials, the Babylonians constructed marvelous tower-temples and elevated gardens, in imitation of mountain scenery. The "Hanging Gardens," built by Nebuchadnezzar to please his wife (from the Median mountains), rose, one terrace upon an- other, to a height of one hundred and fifty feet. They were counted by the Greeks among the "seven wonders of the 1 The extensive use of sun-dried brick in Chaldean cities explains their com- plete decay. In the course of ages, after being abandoned, they sank into shapeless mounds, indistinguishable from the surrounding plain. 68 THE TIGRIS-EUPHRATES STATES [§52 world." The Babylonian palaces were usually one story only in height, resting upon a raised platform of earth. But the temples rose stage upon stage, as the drawing opposite shows, with a different color for each story. Assyria abounded in excellent stone. Still for centuries her builders slavishly used brick, like the people from whom they borrowed their art. Finally, however, they came to make use of the better material about them for sculpture and for at least the facings of their public buildings. Thus in architec- A Lion Hunt. — Assyiian relief; from Rawlinson. ture and sculpture, though in no other art, Assyria, land of stone, excelled Babylonia, land of brick. In the royal palaces, especially, the almost unlimited power of the monarch s, and their Oriental passion for splendor and color, produced a sump- tuous magnificence which the more self-restrained modern world never equals. ^ The following description of a palace of ancient Nineveh is taken from Dr. J. K. Hosmer's The Jews. The passage is partly condensed. " Upon a huge, wide-spreading, artificial hill, faced with masonry, for a platform, rose cliff-like fortress walls a hundred feet more, wide enough for three chariots abreast and with frequent towers shooting up to a still ■ loftier height. Sculptured portals, by which stood silent guardians, colossal figures in white alabaster, the forms of men and beasts, winged and of majestic mien, admitted to the magnificence within. . . . Upward, tier above tier, into the blue heavens, ran lines of colonnades, pillars of costly cedar, cornices glittering with gold, capitals blazing with vermilion, and, between them, voluminous curtains of silk, purple, and scarlet, inter- §53] RELIGION AND MORALS 69 woven with threads of gold. ... In the interior, stretching for miles, literally for miles, the builder of the palace ranged the illustrated record of his exploits. . . . The mind grows dizzy with the thought of the splendor — the processions of satraps and eunuchs and tributary kings, winding up the stairs, and passing in a radiant stream through the halls — the gold and embroidery, the ivory and the sumptuous furniture, the pearls and the hangings." A description with more precise details and less "color" is given in Davis' Headings, Vol. I, No. 19. See also No. 18, "An Assyrian City." 12 ft. 30 ft. jj Section of the Temple of the Seven Spheres, according to a "restoration." — From Rawlinson. H is a sacred shrine. The seven stages below it were colored in order from the bottom as follows : black, orange, red, golden, yellow, blue, silver. "^53. Religion and Morals. — Babylonians and Assyrians both worshiped ancestors. Mingled with this religion was a nature worship, with numerous gods and demigods. Ancestor worship is usually accompanied by a belief in witchcraft and in un- friendly ghosts and demons. In Chaldea these superstitions appeared in an exaggerated form. Indeed, the pictures in early Christian times, representing the devil with horns, hoofs, and tail, came from the Babylonians, through the Jewish Talmud.^ 1 A Hebrew book containing much learning and many legends. 70 THE TIGRIS-EUPHRATES STATES [§53 Nature worship, in its lower stages, is often accompanied by- debasing rites, in which drunkenness and sensuality appear as acts of worship. In Babylonia, revolting features of this kind remained throughout her history. It was this character that called down upon Babylon the stern reproaches of the Hebrew prophets, — through whom her name has become a symbol for dissoluteness. At the same time, as with the Egyptian higher classes, some hymns and prayers rise to a pure worship of one god ; and the Assyrian felt strongly that sense of sin which the Egyptian lacked and which has played so great a part in the Jewish and Christian religions. (See extract below.) The idea of a future life was of a primitive sort. Each tomb had an altar at the head for offerings of food. AVith a man were buried his arms; with a girl, her scent bottles, combs, ornaments, and cosmetics. Most Chaldeans, even of the intelligent classes, never rose to a higher idea of a future life than these customs indicate. It was to be, in their thought, a disagreeable, gloomy, half-alive state, in or near the tomb. At the same time, for a few thinkers there did arise another belief : some souls were to suffer in a hell of tortures ; others, who knew how to secure the divine favor, were to dwell amid varied pleasures in distant Isles of the Blest. The following passages show some of the higher religious thought. (See also Davis' Readings, Vol. I, Nos. 22 and 24.) From a Chaldean hymny composed in the city of Ur, before the time of Abraham. "Father, long suffering and full of forgiveness, whose hand upholds the life of all mankind ! . . . First-born, omnipotent, whose heart is immensity, and there is none who may fathom it ! . . . In heaven, who is supreme ? Thou alone, thou art supreme ! On earth, who is supreme ? Thou alone, thou art supreme ! As for thee, thy will is made known in heaven, and the angels bow their faces. As for thee, thy will is made known upon earth, and the spirits below kiss the ground." §53] RELIGION AND MORALS 71 From an Assyrian prayer for remission of sins. " O my god, my sins are many ! . . . O my goddess, . . . great are my misdeeds ! I have committed faults and I knew them not. I have fed upon misdeeds and I knew them not. .... I weep and no one comes to me ; I cry aloud and no one hears me ; ... I sink under affliction. I turn to my merciful god and I groan. Lord, reject not thy servant, — and if he is hurled into the roaring waters, stretch to him thy hand ! The sins I have committed, have mercy upon them ! my faults, tear them to pieces like a garpient ! " A prayer of Nebuchadnezzar. " Thou hast created me. . . . Set thou the fear of thy divine power in my heart. Give me what seemest good unto thee, since thou maintainest my life." CHAPTER IV THE MIDDLE STATES The two Syrian peoples that demand notice in a book of this kind are the Phoenicians and Jthe Hebrews. Each of these was :an important factor in the development of civilization. I. THE PHOENICIANS 54. Early Sailors. — Before 1000 b.c. the Phoenicians had be- come the traders of the icorld. Their vessels carried most of the commerce of Babylonia and Egypt. Phoenician sailors manned the ship that Neco sent to circumnavigate Africa. Indeed the fame of these people as sailors so eclipsed that of earlier peoples that it has been customary to speak of them as " the first men who went down to the sea in ships." The Phoenicians dwelt on a little strip of broken coast, shut off from the rest of the continent by the Lebanon Mountains (map, page 77). The many harbors of their coast invited them seaward, and the "cedar of Lebanon" furnished the best of masts and ship timber. When history first reveals the Med- iterranean, about 1600 B.C., it is dotted with the adventurous sails of the Phoenician navigators, and for centuries more they are the only real sailor folk. Half traders, half pirates, their crews crept from island to island, to barter with the natives or to sweep them off for slaves, as chance might best offer. Farther and farther their merchants daringly sought wealth on the sea, until they passed even the Pillars of Hercules,^ into 1 The Greeks gave this name to two lofty, rocky hills, one on each side of the Strait of Gibraltar. They were generally believed by the ancients to be the limit of even the most daring voyage. Beyond them lay inconceivable dangers. (See map after page 132.) 72 §56] A SAILOR-FOLK 73 the open Atlantic. And at last we see them exchanging the precious tin of Britain, the yellow amber of the Baltic, and the slaves and ivory of West Africa, for the spices, gold, scented wood, and precious stones of India. ^ 55. The chief Phoenician cities were Tyre and Sidon. For many centuries, until the attacks by Assyria in the eighth century B.C., these cities were among the most splendid and wealthy in the world. Ezekiel (xxvi, xxvii) describes the grandeur of Tyre in noble poetry that teaches us much regard- ing Phoenician trade and life : — " O thou that dwellest at the entry of the sea, which art the merchant of the peoples unto many isles, . . . thou, O Tyre, hast said, I am per- fect in beauty. Thy borders are in the heart of the seas ; thy builders have perfected thy beauty. They have made all thy planks of fir trees. . . . They have taken cedars from Lebanon to be masts for thee ; they have made thy benches of ivory inlaid in boxwood from the isles of Kit- tim [Kition in Cyprus]. Of fine linen w^ith broidered work from Egypt was thy sail, . . . blue and purple from the isles of Elishah [North Africa] was thy awning. . . . All the ships of the sea were in thee to exchange thy merchandise. . . . Tarshish [Tartessus, southwestern Spain] was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches. With silver, iron, tin, and lead they traded for thy wares. Javan [Greek Ionia], Tubal, and Mesheck [the lands of the Black and Caspian seas], they were thy traffickers. , . . They of the house of Togarmah [Arme- nia] traded for thy wares with horses and mules, . . . Many isles were the mart of thy hands. They brought thee bones of ivory and of ebony." Ezekiel names also, among the articles of exchange, emeralds, coral, rubies, wheat, honey, oil, balm, wine, wool, yarn, spices, lambs, and goats. 56. Place in History. — Tlie Phoenicians were the first colo- nizers on the sea, — the forerunners of the Greeks and the Eng- lish. They fringed the larger islands and the shores of the Mediterranean with trading stations, which became centers of civilization. Carthage, Utica, Gades (Cadiz, on the Atlantic), were among their colonies (map after page 132). They worked tin mines in Colchis, in Spain, and finally in Britain, and so made possible the manufacture of bronze on a larger scale than before, to replace stone implements. Probably they first intro- duced bronze into many parts of Europe. 74 THE PHOENICIANS [§57 Phoenician articles are found in great abundance in the an- cient tombs of the Greek and Italian peninsulas — the earliest European homes of civilization. In a selfish but effective way, the Phoenicians became the "missionaries" to Europe of the culture that Asia and Africa had developed. It was their function^ not to create civilization, hut to spread it. Especially did they teach the Greeks, who Avere to teach the rest of Europe. The chief export of the Phoenicians, some one has said, was the alphabet. They were only one of several early peoples (as we have recently discovered) to develop a true alpha- bet ; but it is theirs which has come down to us through the Greeks and Romans. When the Egyptians conquered Syria about 1500 B.C. (§ 30), the Phoenicians were using the cuneiform script of Babylon, with its hundreds of difficult characters. It was natural that, for the needs of their con mi^erqe . they should seek a simpler means of communication : and about 1100 b.c, after a gap of some centuries in our knowledge of their writing, we find them with a true alphabet of twenty- t^vo Jitters. They seem to have taken these from the symbols for sounds among the Egyp- tian hieroglyphs (§ 22), though some scholars think they got them from Crete (§ 96). 57. Society. — The Phoenicians in them- selves do not interest us particularly. They spoke a Semitic tongue (§ 36) ; but their religion was revolting, especially for the cruel sacrifice of the firstborn to Baal, the sun god, and for the licentious worship of Astarte, the moon goddess. ■ c o 9 c 'c (3 R) I •o E o 0. o oc A A A ^ ^ B > e D D ^ >^ E ^H EH H 1\ K K I \^ l/L w\ h\ M ^ h/ N o 9 9 9Q q P^ R w ^Z ^S T T T Parts of Alphabet. ^ Ejryptian Hieroglyph. ^^ Egyptian Script. tx Phoenician. A Ancient Greek. A Ancient Latin A Later Latin. Growth of the Letter A. ^^^] §59] THE HEBREW^PRY 75 Several cities were grouped loosely about Sidon and Tyre-, but they never formed a united state. Satisfied with the profits of trade, they submitted easily, as a rule, to any powerful neighbor — Assyria or Egypt. As tributaries, they sent work- men to construct the magnificent buildings of Assyria or to develop the mines of Egypt, and they furnished the fleets of either empire in turn. About 730 B.C. Tyre was reduced in power, by attacks from Assyria; but it remained a great mercantile center until its capture by Alexander the Great (332 b.c). From this down- fall the city never fully recovered, and fishermen now spread their nets to dry in the sun on the bare rock where onc^ its proud towers rose. II. THE HEBREWS Their Story 58. The Patriarchs. — As the Phoenicians were men of the sea, so the early Hebrews were men of the desert. They ap- pear first as wandering shepherds on the edge of the Ara^Mi sands. Abraham, the founder of the race, emigrated fro^^mJJr of the Chaldees," about 2000 b.c. He and his desceflrants, Isaac and Jacob, lived and ruled as patriarchal chiefs, much as Arab sheiks do in the same regions to-day. The Book of Genesis tells their story with a simple charm that makes it the best-known history in the world. 59. The Egyptian Captivity. — Finally, " the famine was sore in the land." This famine seems to have caused one of those periodic invasions of Babylonia by tribes of the desert, already mentioned. Jacob and his sons, however, with their tribesmen and flocks, sought refuge in the other direction, crossing into Egypt. Here they found Joseph, one of their brethren, al- ready high in royal favor. The rulers of Egypt at this time, too, were the Hyksos, themselves originally Arabian shepherds. Accordingly, the Hebrews were welcomed cordially, and allowed to settle in the fertile pasturage of Goshen, an Egyptian dis- 76 THE HEBREWS [§60 trict near the Ked Sea, where flitting Arab tribes have always been wont to encamp. Thus the life of the Hebrews was at first not much changed by their change of home. But soon the native Egyptian rule was restored by the Theban pharaohs, "who knew not Joseph." These powerful princes of the New Empire (§ 30) reduced the Hebrews to slavery and employed them on their great public works, and "made their lives bitter with hard bondage in mortar and in brick and in all manner of service in the field." Three centuries later, while the Egyptian government was in a period of weakness and disorder (§ 31), the oppressed people escaped to the Ara- bian desert again. 60. Settlement in Palestine. — In their flight from Egypt, the Hebrews were guided by Moses. Though a Hebrew, Moses had been brought up as a noble, through the favor of an Egyptian princess, and was " learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians." But "it came to pass in those days when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, ajid looked on their burdens^ With splendid courage, he gave up his pleasant life to share their hard condition ; and he became their leader andj^wgiver. l^f a lifetime, the fugitives wandered to and fro in the desert, after their ancient manner; but they were now a numerous* people and had become accustomed to fixed abodes. About 1250 B.C., under Joshua^ to whom Moses had turned over the leadership, they began to conquer the mountain valleys of Palestine for their home. Then followed two centuries of bloody warfare with their neighbors, some of whom had long before taken on the civilization of Babylonia. The most powerful of their enemies were the Philistines, who held the coast between the Hebrew mountain valleys and the sea. It was from these people, indeed, that Palestine took its name. 61. The Judges. — During this period the Hebrews remained a loose alliance of twelve shepherd tribes. The only central authority was exercised by a series of popular heroes, like Samson, Jephthah, Gideon, and Samuel, known as Judges. 63] OUTLINE OF THEIR STORY 77 THE SYRIAN DISTRICT Much of the time there was great and ruinous disorder, and bands of robbers drove travelers from the highways. Finally, the Philistines for a time overran the land at will. 62. Kings and Prophets. — Such conditions made the Hebrews feel the necessity of a stronger govern- ment. Saul, a mighty warrior, roused them against the Philistine spoil- ers of the land, and led them to victory. In return they made him their first king. Alongside this mon- arch and his succes- sors, however, there stood religious teachers with great 'authority. They were no longer lead- ers in war, like the Judges. Indeed these "prophets" had no official posi- tion ; but they did not hesitate to re- buke or oppose a sovereign. 63. David and Solomon, the second and third kings (1055-975), completely subdued the Philistines and various other neighbor- ing peoples, and raised the Hebrew state to the position of a considerable empire. Under Solomon, it included all western I.L.POATES EN6.C0., 78 THE HEBREWS [§64 Syria except Phoenicia and a small district next Egypt. The way for such a Syrian state had just been cleared. The Hit- tites (§ 31) had ruined the Egyptian power in Syria, and, in turn, had been shattered by Tiglath-Pileser ; and then the Assyrian dominion had been checked by new invasions from the Arabian desert. David will be remembered longest, not for his deeds as a daring warrior nor even as a wise organizer of an empire, but rather as "the sweet singer of Israel." He was originally a shepherd boy, who attracted Saul's favor by his beauty and his skill upon the harp ; and, in the most troublous days of his kingship, he sought rest and comfort in composing songs and poems, which are now included in the sacred Book of Psalms. So great was his repute in this respect, that the later Hebrews attributed to him many other hymns of which the true authors were unknown. David had planned a noble temple at Jerusalem for the worship of Jehovah ; but the work was actually carried out by his son, Solomon. The Hebrews had little ability in archi- tecture ; but King Hiram of Tyre sent skilled Phoenician builders for the work, and it was completed with great magnificence. Through the rest of their history it remained the chief pride and center of interest for the Hebrew people. Until this period, Hebrew life had been plain and simple. They were still merely herdsmen and tillers of the soil. Not till after the Babylonian captivity, later, did they engage in commerce. But Solomon built rich palaces with his foreign workmen, and copied within them all the magnificence and luxury of an Oriental court. His reign dosed the brief age of political greatness for the Hebrews. 64. Division and Decline. — The twelve tribes had not come to feel themselves really one nation. They had been divided into two groups in earlier times : ten tribes in one group ; two in the other. David had belonged to the smaller group, and his early kingship had extended over only the two tribes. Jealousies against the rule of his house had smoldered all §66] OUTLINE OF THEIR STORY 79 along among the ten tribes. Now came a final separation. Solomon's taxes had sorely burdened the people. On his death, the ten tribes sent a petition to his son for relief. The young king (Rehoboam) replied with haughty insult : — " Whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke : ray father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions." Then arose at once a stern old war cry of the tribes : — " The people answered the king, saying, ' What portion have we in David ? . . . To your tents, Israel /' " Thus the ten tribes set up for themselves as the Kingdom of Israel, with a capital at Samaria. Only the tribes of Benjamin and Judah remained faithful to the house of David. These took the name of the Kingdom of Judah, with the old capital, Jerusalem. 65. The Captivities. — The Kingdom of Israel lasted 250 years, until Sargon carried the ten tribes into that Assyrian captivity in which they are "lost'' to history (§ 40). Judah lasted four centuries after the separation, most of the time tributary to Assyria or to Babylon. Finally, in punishment for rebellion, Nebuchadnezzar carried away the people into the Babylonian captivity (§ 42). 66. Priestly Rule. — This event closed the separate politi- cal history of the Jews. The more zealous of them were al- lowed to return to Judea when the Persians conquered Babylon (§§ 42, 72). Thereafter in internal matters Judea was ruled by its priesthood. The most valuable part of its religous life was still to come ; but from that time, politically, it formed only a subject province of the Persian, Greek, or Roman Empire (except for a few glorious years under the Maccabees ; § 467). A series of stubborn rebellions against Rome finally brought a terrible punishment, in the year 70 a.d. After a notable siege, Jerusalem was sacked, and the remnant of inhabitants were sold into slavery. They remain dispersed among all lands to this day. 80 THE HEBREWS [§67 Their Mission ^^'^ If the Greek was to enlighten the ico7'ld, if the Boman was to rule the worlds if the Teuton was to he the common disciple and emissary of both^ it was from the Hebrew that all were to learn the things that belong to another world.'''' — Freeman, Chief Periods, 66. 67. The Faith in One God. — The Hebrews added nothing to material civilization : they did not profit the world by build- Jerusalem To-day, from the southwest, with the road to Bethlehem. ing roads, perfecting trades, or inventing new processes in in- dustry. Nor did they contribute directly to any art. Their work was higher. Their religious literature was the noblest the world had seen, and has passed into all the literatures of the civilized world ; but even this is valuable not so much for its literary merit as for its moral teiachings. The true history of the Hebreius is the record of their sjnritual growth. Their religion was infinitely purer and truer than any other of the ancient world ; and out of it was to grow the religion of Christianity. §68] MISSION IN HISTORY 81 Among other ancient nations, individuals had risen at times to noble religious thought; but the Hebrews first as a whole people felt strenuously the obligation of the moral law, and first attained to a pure worship of one God. 68. Growth of the Faith. — At first this lofty faith belonged to only a few — to the patriarchs and later to the prophets, with a small following of the more spiritually minded of the nation. For a thousand years the common people, and even some of the kings, were constantly tending to fall away into the super- stitions of their Syrian neighbors. But it is the supreme merit of the Hebrews that a remnant always clung to the higher religion, until it became the universal faith of a whole people. No doubt the Babylonian captivity helped make this faith universal. The few devoted men and women who found their way back to Judea through so many hardships were indeed a " chosen " and sifted people. Among them there was no more tendency to idolatry. The faith of the patriarchs and proph- ets became the soul of a nation, — as a later and higher devel- opment of that faith was to become the soul of our whole civilization. This, then, was the mission of the Hebrews. As Renan well says {History of Israel, I, 22) : " What Greece was to be as re- gards intellectual culture, and Rome as regards politics, these nomad Semites were as regards religion J' The Jews, therefore, are sometimes counted a fourth influence, with Greeks, Ro- mans, and Teutons, in making our world (§ 4). But, after all, Judaism was an exclusive religion. It did not make converts among other people ; and did not directly affect the great world outside Judea. The rise and spread of Christianity belong, not solely to Jewish influence, but rather to the history of the later Roman world. Exercise. — 1. Locate on the map four centers of civilization for 1500 B.C. ; and note when thtey would naturally come into touch with one another. (One more center for this same age — Crete — is yet to be treated, §§ 93-97.) 2. What new center of civilization appeared between 1500 and 1000 b.c. ? CHAPTER V THE PERSIAN EMPIRE 69. The Map grows. — » So far, we have had to do only with the first homes of civilization — the Nile and Euphrates valleys — and with the middle land, Syria. Assyria did reach out somewhat, east and west (see map, page 55) ; but her new regions had no special importance in her day, and made no contributions to civilized life. But shortly before the over- throw of Babylon, two new centers of power appeared, one on either side of the older field. These were Persia and Lydia. 70. Expansion on the West. — Lydia was a kingdom in west- ern Asia Minor. Somewhat before 550 b.c. its sovereign, Croesus, united all Asia Minor west of the Halys River under his sway. This made the Lydian Empire for a time one of the great -world-powers (see map following). The region was rich, especially in metals ; and the wealth of the monarch so impressed the Greeks that " rich as Croesus '^ became a by- word. ^ Croesus counted among his subjects the Greek cities that fringed the western coast of Asia Minor. We have noticed that, shortly before, Greeks had been brought into close touch with Egypt. Froin this time, history has to do with Europe as well as with Asia and Egypt; and soon that new field was to become the center of interest. Lydia's own gift to the world was the invention of coinage. As early as 650 b.c, a Lydian king stamped upon pieces of silver a statement of their weight and purity, with his name and picture as guarantee of the truth of the statement. Until this time, little advance had been made over the old Egyptian method of trade, except that the use of silver rings and bars had become more common. The Babylonians, along with theii 82 §72] RISE AND GROWTH 83 other weights and measures, had taught the world to count riches in shekels, — a certain weight of silver, — but there were no coined shekels. The ring and bar " moiiey " had to be weighed each time it passed from hand to hand ; and even then there was little security against cheaper metals being mixed with the silver.^ The true money of Lydia could be received anywhere at once at a fixed rate. This made all forms of trade and commerce vastly easier. Other states began to adopt systems of coinage of their own. Ever since, the coinage of money has been one of the important duties of governments. We must not suppose, however, that the old sort of " barter " vanished at once. It remained the common method of exchange in all but the great markets of the world for centuries ; and in new countries it has appeared, in the lack of coined money, in very modern times. In our early New England colonies there were times when people paid taxes and debts "in kind," much after the old Egyptian fashion. One student at Harvard college, who afterward became its president, is recorded as paying his tuition with " an old cow." 71. Expansion in the East. — On the farther side of the Euphrates and Tigris lay the lofty and somewhat arid Plateau of Iran. This was the home of the Mecles and Persians. These peoples appeared first about 850 b.c, as fierce barbarians, whom Assyria found it needful to subdue repeatedly. Grad- ually they adopted the civilization of their neighbors; then, about 625 b.c, a chieftain of the Medes united the western tribes of the plateau into a firm monarchy ; and in 606, as we have seen, this new power conquered Assyria. We are now ready to take up again the story of the growth of the great Oriental empires, where we left it at the close of Chapter III. Chapter IV, dealing with the small Syrian states, was a necessary inter- ruption to that story. 72. Rise of the Persian Empire. — The destruction of Assyrian rule, which we noted toward the close of § 41, took place some 1 In all this ancient period, silver was more valuable than gold, and so was taken for the standard of value. 84 THE PERSIAN EMPIRE [§72 years before 600 b.c. Then the civilized world was divided, for three generations,^ between four great powers, — Babylon, Egypt, Lydia, and Media. Most of that time, these kingdoms were bound together in a friendly alliance ; and the civilized world had a rare rest from internal war. Media, it is true, busied herself in extending her dominions by war with barbar- ous tribes on the east. By such means she added to her terri- tory all the Plateau of Iran and the northern portion of the old Assyrian Empire. This made her far the largest of the four states. But in 558 b.c, Cyrus, a tributary prince of the Persian tribes, threw off the yoke of the Medes and set up an inde- pendent Persian monarchy .^ Then Persia quickly became the largest and rnost powerful empire the world had known. The war with Media resulted in the rapid conquest of that state. This victory led Cyrus into war with Lydia and Babylon, which were allies of Media. Again he was overwhelmingly victorious. He conquered Croesus of Lydia and seized upon all Asia Minor. Then he captured Babylon, and so was left without a rival in the Euphrates and Syrian districts. A few years later his son subdued Egypt. Thus the new empire included all the former empires, together with the new districts of Iran and, Asia Minor. With the Greeks Persia came into conflict, about thirty years after the death of Cyrus. The story belongs to European history (§§ 158 ff.). It is enough here to note that the Persians were finally defeated. Their empire lasted, however, a century and a half more, until Alexander the Great conquered it and united it with the Greek world (§§ 276 ff.). 1 It is time for the student to have a definite imderstanding of this term, which is used constantly in measuring time. A generation means the aver- age interval that separates a father from his son. This corresponds in length, also, in a rough way, to the active years of adult life, — the period. between early manhood and old age. It is reckoned at twenty-Jive or thirty years. 2 This prince is known in history as Cyrus the Great. He is the earliest sovereign whose name we distinguish in that way. A student may well make a special rfsport to the class upon the stories connected with his life. Any large history of ancient times gives some of these stories ; and they may be found, in the original form in which they have come down to us, in a transla- tion of Herodotus. See also Davis' Readings, Vol. I, Nos. 26 and 26. §74] RISE AND GROWTH 85 ' 73. Extent of the Empire. — The field of history now widened again. The next three Persian kings (after Cyrus and his son) added vast districts to the empire : on the east, modern Afghanistan and northwestern India, with wide regions to the northeast beyond the Caspian Sea ; and on the west, the Euro- pean coast from the Black Sea to the Greek peninsula and the islands of the ^gean. This huge empire contained about seventy-five million people. Its only civilized neighbors were India and Greece. Else- Impression from Persian Cylinder Seal. where, indeed, it was bounded by seas and deserts. The eastern and western frontiers were farther apart than Wash- ington and San Francisco. The territory included some two million square miles. It was four times as large as the Assyr- ian Empire, and equaled more than half modern Europe. 74. Industry and Art. — Originally, the Persians were lowly shepherds. Later, they were soldiers and rulers. After their sudden conquests, the small population had to furnish garri- sons for all the chief cities of the empire, while the nobles were busied as officers in the vast organization of the govern- ment. Accordingly, Persian art and literature were wholly borrowed, — mainly from Babylonia. The cuneiform writing 86 THE PERSIAN EMPIRE [§75 . was adopted from that land; a»d even the noble palaces^ which have been rediscovered at iPersepolis, were only copies of Assyrian palaces, built in stone instead of in clay. Persians sennces to the world were four : the immense expansion of the map already discussed; the repulse of Scythian savages (§ 75) ; a better organization of government (§§ 76, 77); and the lofty char- acter of her religion {^1^)} 75. Persia and the Scythians. — About 630 b.c, shortly be- fore the downfall of Nineveh, the frozen steppes of the North had poured hordes of savages into western Asia (§ 40). By the Greeks these nomads were called Scythians, and their in- roads were like those of the Huns, Turks, and Tartars, in later history. They plundered as far as Egypt; and they were a real danger to all the culture the world had been building up so painfully for four thousand years. Assyria and Lydia both proved helpless to hold them back ; but the Medes and Persians saved civilization. The Medes drove the ruthless ravagers back to their own deserts ; and the early Persian kings made repeated expeditions into the Scythian country. By these means the barbarians were awed, and for centuries the danger of their attacks was averted. Darius, the greatest of the successors of Cyrus, seems to have justified his conquests on the ground of this service to civilization. In a famous inscription enumerating his con- quests, he says : " Ahura-Mazda [the God of Light] delivered unto me these countries when he saw them in uproar. . . . By the grace of Ahura-Mazda I have brought them to order again." The lengthy inscription from which this passage is taken is cut into a rock cliff, 300 feet from the base, in three parallel columns, in different languages, — Persian, Babylonian, and Tartar. It served as the " Rosetta Stone" of the cuneiform writing (J>^> Enough of the Persian was known so that from it scholars learned how to read the Babylonian. Davis' Readings, Vol. I, No. 27, gives a large part of this inscription, ^ 1 Observe that three of the four were connected with political history, — as we might expect with a people like the Persians. §76] ORGANIZATION 87 which is one of the most important documents of early history, throw- ing much light upon Persian life and ideals. 76. The Imperial Government. — The empires which came before the Assyrian had very simple machinery for their government. The tribu- tary states kept their old kings and their separate languages, religions, laws, and customs. Two sub- ject kingdoms might even make war upon each other, without interference from the head king. Indeed, the different kingdoms within an empire re- mained almost as separate as before they became parts of the conquering state, except in three re- spects: they had to pay tribute ; they had to assist in war; and their kings were expected, from time to time, to attend the court of the imperial master.^ Plainly, such an empire would fall to pieces easily. If any disaster happened Persian Queen: fragment of a bronze , ,-, T , , .„ Statue. The dress seems very " modern." to the ruling state, — if a foreign invasion or the unexpected death of a sovereign oc- curred, — the whole fabric might be shattered at a moment. Each of the original kingdoms would become independent iThe brief empire of the Jews, for instance, had been of this nature. Solomon, the Book of Kings tells us, "reigned over all the kingdoms . . . unto the border of Egypt; they brought presents and served Solomon." 88 THE PERSIAN EMPIRE [§76 again ; and then would follow years of bloody war, until some king built up the empire once more. Peace and security could not exist under such a system. Assyria, it is true, had begun to reform this system. The great Assyrian rulers of the eighth century were not simply conquerors. They were also organizers. They left the subject peoples their own laws and customs, as before ; but they broke up some of the old kingdoms into satrapies, or provinces, ruled by appointed officers (§ 40). The system, however, was still unsatisfactory. In theory the satixq^s were wholly dependent upon the will of the im- perial king; but in practice 'they were very nearly kings themselves, and they were under constant temptation to try to become independent rulers, by rebellion. This was the plan of imperial government as the Persians found it. They adopted and extended the system of satraps ; and Darius, the fourth Persian king (521-485 b.c), introduced three checks upon rebellion. In each of the twenty provinces, power was divided between the satrap himself and the com- mander of the standing army. In each province was placed a royal secretary (the " King's Ear ") to communicate con- stantly with the Great King. And, most important of all, a special royal commissioner (the " King's Eye "), backed with military forces, appeared at intervals in each satrapy to in- quire into the government, and, if necessary, to arrest the satrap. Darius is well called "^/ie Organizer." Political organiza- tion advanced no farther until Roman times. Not much had been done to promote a spirit of unity among the diverse peoples of the empire. Each still kept its separate language and customs. Still, for the age, the organization of Darius was a marvelous work. It was the most satisfactory ever • devised by Orientals ; and indeed it was nearer to the later Roman imperial government than to the older and looser Asiatic system of kingdom-empires. The modern Turkish empire, in its best days, has used this system. § 77] ORGANIZATION 89 77. Post Roads. — The Persians, too, were more thoughtful of the welfare of their subjects than the Assyrians had been. To draw the distant parts of the empire closer, Darius built a magnificent system of post roads, with milestones and ex- cellent inns, with ferries and bridges, and with relays of horses for the royal couriers. The chief road, from Susa to Sardis (map, after page 84), was over fifteen hundred miles Persian Bronze Lion, at Susa. long; and it is said that dispatches were sometimes carried its whole length in six days, although ordinary travel required three months. Benjamin Ide Wheeler writes of this great highway {Alexander the Great, 196-197) : — " All the diverse life of the countries it traversed was drawn into its paths. Carians and Cilicians, Phrygians and Cappadocians, staid Lydians, sociable Greeks, crafty Armenians, rude traders from the Euxine shores, nabobs of Babylon, Medes and Persians, galloping couriers mounted on their Bokhara ponies or fine Arab steeds, envoys with train and state, peasants driving their donkeys laden with skins of oil or wine or sacks of grain, stately caravans bearing the wares and fabrics of the south to exchange for the metals, slaves, and grain of the north, travelers and traders seeking to know and exploit the world, — all 90 THE PERSIAN EMPIRE [§78 were there, and all were safe under the protection of an empire the road- way of which pierced the strata of many tribes and many cultures, and helped set the world a-mixing.''^ 78. Religion and Morals. — While they were still barbarous tribes, the early Persians had learned to worship the forces of nature, — especially sun, moon, stars, and fire. This worship was in the hands of priests, called Magi, who were believed to possess what we call magic powers over nature and other men. Even this early religion had few of the lower features that we have noted in the worship of the Egyptians and Babylo- nians. But the Persians of the historic age had risen to a far nobler worship. This is set forth in the Zend-Avesta (the Persian Bible), and it had been established about 1000 b.c.^ by Zoroaster. According to this great teacher, the world was a stage for unceasing conflict between the powers of Light and Darkness, or Good and Evil. It was man's duty to assist the good power by resisting evil impulses in his own heart and by fightfng injustice among men. It was also his place to kill harmful beasts, to care tenderly for other animals, and to make the earth fruitful. The superstitions of Magism continued to crop out among the masses of the people ; and the earlier nature worship survived, too, in the belief in a multitude of angels, good and bad ; but idolatry was not permitted, and this Zoroastrian faith was by far the purest of the ancient world, except that of the Hebrews. When the Persians became supreme, they showed marked favor to the Hebrews. Cyrus permitted them to return from the Babylonian captivity (§ 66), and even helped them to rebuild the Temple. These friendly relations were due in part, no doubt, to similarity in religious thought. The following passage from the Zend-Avesta shows the Persian idea of the future life. At the head of the Chinvat Bridge, betwixt this world and the next, when the soul goes over it, there comes a fair, white-armed and beautiful 1 This date is uncertain. Some scholars put Zoroaster as late as 600 b.c. §78] RELIGION AND MORALS 91 figure, like a maid in her fifteenth year, as fair as the fairest things in the world. And the soul of the true believer speaks to her, " What maid art thou, — all surpassing in thy beauty ? " And she makes answer, " O youth of good thought, good words, good deeds, and of good religion : — I am thine own conscience.'''' Then pass the souls of the righteous to the golden seat of Ahura-Mazda, of the Archangels, to . . . " The Abode of Song. " Another passage tells how the souls of the wicked are met by a foul hag and are plunged into a hideous pit, to suffer endless torment.^ The cardinal virtue was truthfulness. Darius' instructions to his successor began : " Keep thyself utterly from lies. The man who may be a liar, him destroy utterly. If thou do thus, my country will remain whole." A century later, the Greek Herodotus admired the manly sports of the Persians and the simple training of their boys, — to ride, to shoot with the bow, and to speak the truth." Conquest and dominion corrupted in some measure their early simplicity ; but to the last, the Persians fought gallantly, and the Greeks conquered in battle because of improved weap- ons and better generalship, not from superior bravery. For Further Reading. — There is an admirable twenty-page treatment of the Persian Empire in Benjamin Ide Wheeler's Alexander the Great (pp. 187-207), — a book which for other reasons deserves a place in every school library. J}\ Exercise. — Would you have expected the Persians to adopt the Egyptian hieroglyphs or the cuneiform writing ? Why ? In what ways was the organization of the Persian empire an improvement upon that of the Assyrian ? In what way did Assyrian organization improve upon Egyptian ? * 1 Davis' Readings, Vol. I, Nos. 27 (later portion), 28, 29, 30, 31, contain much interesting material upon Persian religion and morals. CHAPTER VI A SUMMARY OF ORIENTAL CIVILIZATION A compact summary, like the following, is best suited for reading in class, with comment or questions. 79. The Bright Side. — Seven thousand years ago, in the valleys of the Nile and Euphrates, men developed a remarkable civilization. They in- vented excellent tools \ of bronze (and later of iron), and practised many arts and crafts- with a skill of hand that has never been surpassed. They built great cities, with ^ pleasant homes for the wealthy, and with splendid palaces for their princes. They learned how to record 0. their, thoughts and doings and inventions in writing, for one an- other and for their descendants. They built roads and canals ; JL and with ships and caravans, they sought out the treasures of distant regions, while the wealth, so heaped up, was spent by their rulers with gorgeous pomp and splendor. They found out part of the value of government (to hold together a large society of men), and the need of human law, to regulate their relations with one another. Their thinkers, too, found in their own consciences some of the highest moral truths, and taught i the duty of truthfulness, justice, and mercy. 92 Persian Jewelry. §81] BRIGHT AND DARK SIDES 93 War and trade carried this culture slowly around the eastern coasts of the Mediterranean ; and before 1000 b.c. Phoenician traders had scattered its seeds more widely in many regions. Five hundred years later, Persia saved the slow, gains of the ages froin barbarian ravagers, and united and organized all the civilized East under an effective system of government. 80. The Dark Side. — This Oriental culture, however, was marred by serious faults. ^ Its benefits were for a few only. ''l Government was despotic. The people worshiped the mon- arch with slavish submission. 'S^ ■ Art was unnatural. Sculpture mingled the monstrous and grotesque with the human ; and architecture sought to rouse admiration by colossal size, rather than by beauty and true proportion. Most literature was pompous and stilted, or de- faced by extravagant fancies, — like the story of a king who lived many thousand years before his first gray hair appeared. Learning Was allied to absurd, and evil superstition. Men's minds were enslaved by tradition and custom; and progress was hampered by fear of the mysterious in nature. Most religions (along with better features) fostered lust and cruelty. Toward the close of the period, it is true, there had grown up among the Hebrews a pure worship, whose^ truth and grandeur were to influence profoundly the later world. But, for centuries more, this religion was the possession of only one small people. Nor did the lofty religious ideas of the Persians much affect any other people of the ancient world. These were not missionary religions. ;; There was little variety in the different civilizations of the Orient. They differed in certain minor ways, but not as the later European nations did. Thus they lacked a tvholesome rivalry to stimulate them to continued progress. Each civiliza- tion reached its best stage early, and then hardened into set customs. 81. The Question of Further Progress. — Whether the Orien- tal world would have made further progress, if left to itself, we 94 ORIENTAL CIVILIZATIONS [§81 cannot know surely. It seems not likely. China and India, we know, made similar beginnings, but became stationary, and have remained so for centuries since. In like fashion, the Oriental civilizations which we have been studying appear to have been growing stagnant. Twice as long a period had already elapsed since their beginning, as has sufficed for all our Western growth. Very probably, they would have crystallized, with all their faults, had not new actors appeared. To these new actors and their new stage we now turn. Suggestions for Review Let the class prepare review questions, each member five or ten, to ask of the others. Criticize the questions, showing which ones help to bring out important facts and contrasts and likenesses, and which are merely trivial or curious. The author of this volume does not think it worth while to hold students responsible for dates in Part I, unless, perhaps, for a few of the later ones. The table in § 158 below may be used for cross refer- ence and reviews. It is well to make lists of important names or terms for rapid drill, demanding brief but clear explanation of each term, i.e., cuneiform, shekel, Hyksos, papyrus. Read over the "theme sentences," in quotation, at the top of Chapters or Divisions (on pages 1, 11, 15, 80), and see whether the class feel, in part at least, their applications. Sample Questions: (1) Why is Chaldea (whose civilization has been overthrown) better worth our study than China (where an ancient civili- zation still exists)? (2) In what did the Egyptians excel the Babylo- nians ? (3) In what did the Babylonians excel the Egyptians ? (4) In what did the Persians excel both ? (5) Trace the growth of the map for civilized countries. (6) Name four contributions to civilization, not mentioned in § 79, but important enough to deserve a place there if space permitted. Caution: Make sure that the terms "empire," "state," "tributary state," "civilization," have a definite meaning for the student.. (See preceding text or footnotes.) It does not seem to the author advisable to recommend young high school students to read widely upon the Oriental peoples in connection with the first year in history. The material in Davis' Readings is ad- mirable for all classes. And a few select titles for the school library are given in the appendix, from which the tea#ier may make assignments if it seems best. -Apollonia GREECE AND ADJOINING COASTS (For General Reference) SCALE OF MILES 25 50 75 100 125 lonians Dorians ^Eolians -.-_.^ Route of Xerxes Longitude ..-PlfiliDDL-r^ *^x^9s*.,.ih: .' ^ ^X^ r^^^i;,5^^-3li^Niij ^/l O^^ 5^ (©^THASOS Aenof ch ofXi. ries O ^^Athoa Mi. SAMOTHRACE ?^ ^•'^A.U TENEDOS[ ^ ^ 1^' ^ d J LESBOS^ SCYROS O ^.% 3=^7^ 3P^'' .^ P N T I S Td; /^ S3 'r >^ fP Ephfsus^jfa * - fl—lANDROS ^^ AT) VC ICAROSy;? ft "' '^^ '=2ci. [^!^v::»'" -4 ■^ w r- - e ?.: . ^/K?^.-f^-> ° ■V-i;£«r^'^'^'^'-'-^ ■flf^ ^.^^. % ^ {^. ^ ^.. ,.-9yf^/)RH0DES PART II THE GREEKS Greece — that point of light in history ! — Hegel. We are all Greeks. Our laws, our literature, our religion, our art, have their roots in Greece. — Shelley. Except the blind forces of nature, there is nothing that MOVES in the world to-day that is not GreeTc in origin. — Henry Sumner Maine. STUDY OF THE MAPS AFTER PAGES 94 AND 98 Note the three great divisions : Northern Greece (Epirus and Thes^ saly); Central Greece (a group of eleven districts, to the isthmus of Corinth) ; and the Peloponnesus (the southern peninsula). Name the districts from Phocis south, and the chief cities in each, as shown on the map. Which districts have no coast ? Locate Delphi, Thermopylae, Tempe, Parnassus, Olympus, Olympia, Salamis, Ithaca, eight islands, three cities on the Asiatic side. Draw the map with the amount of detail just indicated. Examine the map frequently in preparing the next lesson. {The index tells on what map each geographical name used in the book can be found, — except in a few cases, like Pacific Ocean.) CHAPTER VII INFLUENCE OF GEOGRAPHY 82. Europe contrasted with Asia. — Asia and Egypt had de- veloped the. earliest civilizations. But, for at least half of their four thousand years, another culture had been rising slowly along the coasts and islands of southern Europe. This European civilization began independently of the older ones. It drew from them in many ways (as we shall see more clearly a little farther on) ; but it always kept a distinct character of 95 96 THE GREEKS [§83 its own. The difference was due, in part at least, to differences in physical geography. Four features of European geography were specially important : — Europe is a peninsula. The sea is easy of access} Europe has a more temperate climate than the semitropical river valleys of Asia ; and food crops demand more cultivation. These conditions called for greater exertion upon the part of man. Moreover, the natural products of Europe were more yaried than those of Asia. This led to greater variety in human occupations. The beginnings of civilization were slower in Europe; but man was finally to count for more there than in Asia. In contrast with the vast Asiatic plains and valleys, Europe is broken into many stnall districts, fit to become the homes of distinct peoples. Thus many separate civilizations grew up in touch with one another. Their natural boundaries kept one from absorbing the others. So they remained mutually help- ful by their rivalry and intercourse. Europe could not easily he conquered by the Asiatic empires. This consideration was highly important. Some districts of Asia, such as western Syria and parts of Asia Minor, had a physical character like that of Europe. Accordingly, in these places, civilizations had begun, with a character like that of later European peoples. But these states were reached easily by the forces of the earlier and mightier river-empires ; and in the end the "Asiatic character" was always imposed upon them. Europe was saved, partly by its remoteness, but more by the Mediterranean. 83. The Mediterranean has been a mighty factor in European history. Indeed, through all ancient history, European civili- zation was merely "Mediterranean civilization." It never ventured far from the coasts of that sea. The Mediterranean was the great highway for friendly intercourse, and the great 1 Through all "ancieut history" (§ 4), " Europe " means southern and central Europe. Russian Europe, indeed, is really part of Asia in geography, and it has always been Asiatic rather than European in culture. §85] INFLUENCE OF GEOGRAPHY 97 harrier against Asiatic conquest. Thus, Persia subdued the Asiatic Greeks, almost without a blow : the European Greeks she failed to conquer even by supreme effort. To understand this value of the sea as a barrier, we must keep in mind the character of ships in early times. The sea was the easiest road for merchants, traveling in single vessels and certain of friendly- welcome at almost any port. But oars were the main force that drove the ship (sails were used only when the wind was very favorable) ; and the small vessels of that day could nOt carry many more people than were needed to man the benches of oarsmen. To transport a large army, in this way, with needful supplies, — in condition, too, to meet a hostile army at the landing place, — was almost impossible. 84. Greece was typical of Europe in geography and civilization. The Greeks called themselves Hellenes (as they do still). Hellas meant not European Greece alone, but all the lands of the Hellenes. It included the Greek peninsula, the shores and islands of the Aegean, Greek colonies on the Black Sea, to the east, and in Sicily and southern Italy, to the west, with scat- tered patches elsewhere along the Mediterranean. Still, the central peninsula remained the heart of Hellas. Epirus and Thessaly had little to do with Greek history. Omitting them, the area of Greece is less than a fourth of that of New York. In this little district are found all the charac- teristic traits of European geography. It has been well called the " most European of European lands/' and it became the first home of European culture. 85. Greek Geography and its Influence. — Certain factors in Greek geography deserve special mention even though we re- peat part of what has been said of Europe as a whole. a. The islands and the patches of Greek settlements on distant coasts made many distinct geographical divisions. Even the little Greek peninsula counted more than twenty such units, each shut off from the others by its strip of sea and its moun- tain walls. Some of these divisions were about as large as an American township, and the large ones (except Thessaly and Epirus) were only seven or eight times that size. 98 THE GREEKS [§85 The little states which grew up in these divisions differed widely from one another. Some were monarchies; some, oligarchies; some, democracies.! In some, the chief industry was trade; in some, it was agriculture. In some, the people were slow and conservative ; in others, they were enterprismg and progressive. Oriental civilizations, we have seen (§ 80), were marked by too great uniformity; the civilizations of European countries have been marked by a wholesome diversity. This character was found especially among the Greeks. 6. Mountain people, living apart, are usually rude and con- servative ; but from such tendencies Greece was saved by the sea. The sea made friendly intercourse possible on a large scale, and brought Athens as closely into touch with Miletus (in Asia) as with Sparta or Olympia. This value of the sea, too, held good for different parts of "European Greece" itself. The peninsula has less area than Portugal, but a longer coast line than all the Spanish peninsula. The very heart of the land is broken into islands and promontories, so that it is hard to find a spot thirty miles distant from the sea. c. Certain products of some districts made commerce very desir- able. The mountain slopes in some parts, as in Attica, grew grapes and olives better than grain. Wine and olive oil had much value in little space. Thus they were especially suited for commerce. Moreover, such mountain districts had a limited grain supply ; and, if population was to increase, the people were driven to trade. Now, sailors and traders come in touch constantly with new manners and new ideas, and they are more likely to make progress than a purely agricultural people. Exchanging commodities, they are ready to exchange ideas also. The seafaring Greeks were " always seeking some new thing." lA monarchy, in the first meaning of the word, is a state ruled by one man, a " monarch." An oligarchy is a state ruled by a " few," or by a small class. A democracy is a state where the whole people govern. In ancient history the words are used with these meanings. Sometimes " aristocracy " is used with much the same force as oligarchy. (In modern times the word "monarchy" is used sometimes of a government like England, which is monarchic only in form, but which really is a democracy.) THE GREEK PENINSULA SCALE OF MILES 40 50 60 70 ^1 Longitude §85] INFLUENCE OF GEOGRAPHY 99 d. These early seekers found valuable new things within easy reach. Fortunately, this most European of all European lands lay nearest of all Europe to the old civilizations of Asia and Egypt. Moreover, it faced this civilized East rather than the barbarous West. On the other side, toward Italy, the coast of Greece is'cliff or marsh, with only three or four good harbors. On the east, however, the whole line is broken by Scene in the Valr of Tempe. — From a photograph. Cf. § 173. deep bays, from whose mouths, chains of inviting islands lead on and on. In clear weather, the mariner may cross the Aegean without losing sight of land. e. Very important, too, was the appearance of the landscape. A great Oriental state spread over vast plains and was bounded by terrible immensities of desolate deserts. But, except in Thessaly, Greece contained no plains of consequence. It was a land of intermingled sea and mountain, with eveiything upon a moderate scale. There were no mountains so astounding as to 100 THE GREEKS [§86 awe the mind. There were no destructive earthquakes, or tre- mendous storms, or overwhelming floods. Oriental man had bowed in superstitious dread before the mysteries of nature, with little attempt to explain them. But in Greece, nature was not terrible; and men began early to search into her secrets. Oriental submission to tradition and custom ivas re- placed by fearless inquiry and originality. In like' manner. Oriental despotism gave way to Greek freedom. No doubt, too, the moderation and variety of the physical world had a part in producing the many-sided genius of the people and their lively but well-controlled imagination. And the varied beauty of hill and dale and blue, sunlit sea, the wonderfully clear, ex- hilarating air, and the soft splendor of the radiant sky helped to give them intense joy in mere living. 86. Summary. — We have noted five features of Greek geog- raphy: the many separate districts; the sea roads; the in- ducements to trade ; the vicinity of the open side to Eastern civilization; and the moderation, diversity, and beauty of nature. Each of these five features became a force in history. The Greeks produced many varieties of society, side by side, to re- act upon one another. They learned quickly whatever the older civilizations could teach them. They inquired fearlessly into all secrets, natural and supernatural, instead of abasing themselves in Oriental awe. They had no controlling priest- hood, as the Egyptians had ; and they never submitted long to arbitrary government, as the great Asiatic peoples did. Above all other peoples, they developed a love for harmony and pro- 2)ortion. Moderation became their ideal virtue, and they used the same word for good and beautiful Exercise. — Review the topic — Influence of Geography upon History — up to this point. See Index, Physical Geography. CHAPTER VIII HOW WE KNOW ABOUT " PREHISTORIC " HELLAS 87. The Homeric Poems. — The Greeks were late in learning to use writing, and so our knowledge of early Greek civilization is imperfect. Until recently, what knowledge we had came mainly from two famous collections of early poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey. The later Greeks believed that these were composed about 1100 b.c. by a blind minstrel ^ named Homer. We still call them " the Homeric poems," though scholars now believe that each collection was made up of ballads by many bards. The poems were not put into manuscript until about 600 b.c. ; but they had been handed down orally from generation to gen- eration for centuries. The Iliad describes part of the ten-year siege of Troy (Ilium) in Asia. A Trojan prince had carried away the beautiful Helen, wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta; and, under the leadership of the great king Agamemnon, brother of Menelaus, the chiefs had rallied from all parts of Greece to recover her. Finally they captured and' burned the city. The Odyssey narrates the wanderings of Odysseus (Ulysses), one of the Greek heroes, in the return from the war. The Trojan war may be fact or fiction.^ In either case, the pictures of society in the poems must be true to life. In rude ages a bard may invent stories, but not manners and customs.' 1 In early times, the poet did not write his poems. He chanted them, to the accompaniment of a harp or some such instrument, at festivals or at the meals of chieftains. Such a poet is called a minstrel, or bard, or harper. 2 A well-known Homeric scholar has just published an ingenious book to prove that there was a real Trojan war, and that it was fought by the Greeks to secure control of the Hellespont — and so of the Black Sea trade. Teachers will find this latest contribution to the Homeric problem intensely interesting : Walter Leaf, Troy : A Study in Homeric Geography, Macmillan. 3 To-day a novelist inclines naturally to make the people in his story talk and act like the people in real life around him. To be sure, now, he may try, 101 102 PREHISTORIC HELLAS [§88 Thus these Homeric poems teach ns inucli about what the Greeks of 1000 or 1100 b.c. thought, and how they lived. 88. Remains in the Soil. — Quite recently another source of information has been opened to us. Students of Greek history strangely neglected the remains buried in the soil, long after the study of such objects in the Orient had disclosed many wonders ; but in 1870 a.d. Dr. Schliemann, a German scholar, turned to this kind of investigation. He hoped to prove the Homeric stories true. His excavations, and those of others since, have done a more important thing. They have added much to our knowledge of Homer's time, but they have also opened up two thousand years of older culture, of which Homer and the later Greeks never dreamed. 89. Henry Schliemann's own life was as romantic as any story in Homer. His father was the pastor in a small German village. The boy grew up with perfect faith in fairies and goblins and tales of magic treas- ure connected with the old history of the place. His father told him the Homeric stories, and once showed him a fanciful picture of the huge " Walls of Troy." The child was deeply interested. When he was told that no one now knew just where Troy had stood, and that the city had left no traces, he insisted that such walls mitst have left remains that could be uncovered by digging in the ground ; and his father playfully agreed that sometime Henry should find them. Later, the boy learned that the great scholars of his day did not believe that such a city as Troy had ever existed. This aroused in him a fierce resentment; and to carry out his childhood dream of finding the great walls of Homer's city became the passion of his life. To do this he must have riches. He was very poor. Six years he worked as a grocer's boy ; then, for many years more as clerk for various larger firms. All this time he studied zealously, learning many languages. This made it possible for his employers to send him to foreign countries, in connection with their business. In this way he found opportunities to amass wealth for himself, and, at the age of forty- eight, he was ready to begin his real work. purposely, to represent a past age (historical novel), or he may try foolishly to represent some class of people about whom he knows little. But in an early age, like that of the Homeric minstrels, a poet cannot know any society except the simple one about him, and he knows all phases of that. If he tells a story at alP, even of a former age, he makes his actors like men of his own time. §91] TROY AND MYCENAE 103 Three incidents in the explorations are treated in the following paragraphs. 90. Excavations at Troy. — Dr. Schliemann began his excava- tion at a little village in "Troy-land," three miles from the shore, where vague tradition placed the scene of the Iliad. The explorations continued more than twenty years and dis- closed the remains of nine distinct towns, one above another. The oldest, on native rock, some fifty feet below the present surface, was a rude village of the Stone Age. The second was thought by Dr. Schliemann to be Homer's Troy. It showed powerful walls, a citadel that had been destroyed by fire, and a civilization marked by bronze weapons and gold ornaments. We know now that this city passed away more than a thou- sand years before Homer's time, so that no doubt the very memory of its civilization had perished before the real Troy was built. Above it, came the remains of three inferior settle- ments, and then — the sixth layer from the bottom — a much larger and finer city, which had perished in conflagration some twelve hundred years before Christ. Extensive explorations in the year 1893 (after Schliemann's death) proved this sixth city to be the Troy of Homer, with remarkable likeness to the description in the Iliad. Above this Homeric Troy came an old Greek city, a magnificent city of the time of Alexander the Great, a Roman city, and, finally, the squalid' Turkish village of to-day. 91. Excavations at Mycenae. — Homer places the capital of Agamemnon, leader of all the Greeks, in Argolis at " Mycenae, rich in gold." Here, in 1876, Schliemann uncovered the remains of an ancient city, with peculiar, massive (" Cyclo- pean") walls. Within, were found a curious group of tombs, where lay in state the embalmed bodies of ancient kings, — *' in the splendor of their crowns and breastplates of embossed plate of gold ; their swords studded with golden imagery ; their faces covered strangely in golden masks. The very floor of one tomb was thick with gold dust — the heavy gilding from some perished kingly vestment. In another was a downfall of golden leaves and flowers. And amid this pro- 104 PREHISTORIC HELLAS [§92 fusion of fine fragments were rings, bracelets, smaller crowns, as fot children, dainty butterflies for ornaments, and [a wonderful] golden flower on a silver stalk. " One tomb, with three female bodies, contained 870 gold objects, besides multitudes of very small ornaments and count- less gold beads. In another, five bodies were " literally smoth- ered in jewels." And, with these ornaments, there were skill- fully and curiously wrought weapons for the dead, with whet- stones to keep them keen, and graceful vases of marble and alabaster, carved with delicate forms, to hold the funeral food Ukojszk Dagger fkom Mycenae, inlaid with gold. and wine. Near the entrance lay bodies of slaves or captives who had been offered in sacrifice. "K 92. These discoveries confirmed much in " Homer." Like "Troy," so this ancient Mycenae had perished in fire long before Homer's day. But similar cities must have survived, in some parts of Hellas, to be visited by the wandering poet. From remains of many palaces, it may be seen now that the picture of Menelaus' palace in the Odyssey (vii, 84 ff.) was drawn from life, — the friezes of glittering blue glass, the walls flashing with bronze and gleaming with plated gold, the heroes and their guests feasting through the night, from gold vessels, in halls lighted by torches held on massive golden statues. 93. Excavations in Crete. — Schliemann's discoveries amazed and aroused the world. Scores of scholars have followed him, exploring the coasts of the Aegean at many points. The most wonderful discoveries of all have been made in Crete, — mainly since the year 1900. Old legends of the Greeks represented that island as one source of their civilization and as the home 93] EXCAVATIONS IN CRETE 105 of powerful kings before Greek history began. These legends used to be regarded as fables ; but we know now that they were based upon true tradition. At Knossos, a palace of The Gate of the Lions at Mycenae. The huge stone at the top of the gate, supporting the lions, is 15 feet long and 7 feet thick. Enemies could reach the gate only by passing between long stone walls — from behind which archers could shoot down upon them. " King Minos " has been unearthed, spreading over more than four acres of ground, with splendid throne rooms, and with halls and corridors, living rooms, and store rooms. In these 106 PREHISTORIC HELLAS [§93 last, there were found multitudes of small clay tablets covered with writing, — apparently memoranda of the receipt of taxes. No one can yet read this ancient Cretan writing ; but the sculp- tures and friezes on the walls, the paintings on vases, and the gold designs inlaid on sword blades teach us much about this forgotten civilization. Especially amazing are the admirable Mouth of Palace Sewer at Knossos, with terracotta drain pipes, — showing method of joining pipes. From Baikie. bath rooms of the palace, with a drainage system which has been described as " superior to anything of the kind in Europe until the nineteenth century." The pipes could be flushed properly, and a man-trap permitted proper inspection and re- pair. Back of the Queen's apartments, stood a smaller room with a baby's bath. Like Troy and Mycenae, the remains show that Knossos was burned and ravaged — about 1500 b.c. CHAPTER IX THE FIRST CIVILIZATION OF HELLAS 94. Antiquity of " Cretan Culture." — Not long ago it was the habit of scholars to call the Greeks a "young" people (com- Head of a Rtill, from a Kiiossos relief. pared with Oriental nations), and to wonder how they could have risen to so high a civilization almost at a bound. Some- times the blossoming of Greek culture was compared to the fabled birth of Athene, the Greek goddess of wisdom, who sprang to life, fully armed, from the forehead of her father Zeus. But now we have learned that "obscure milleniums preceded the sudden bloom." We have traced the sources of our knowledge of the early periods in the order of their discovery. But this is not the order in which the civilization developed. Troy and Mycenae 107 108 PREHISTORIC HELLAS [§95 were older than " Homer " — who sang of a golden past — and Cretan culture runs back two thousand years before Mycenae was built. Still, the civilization of Mycenae was merely a late branch of a widespreading tree which had its roots and its highest development in Crete. Schliemann's ^^ Second City" at Troy belonged to an early stage of it, and his "Sixth City " to a late stage. About 1900 A.D., scholars first began to recognize this pre- Homeric culture. For a few years they called it Mycenaean. \w V ^ ^^^# w '*Vaphto Cups": 3^ inches high; 8 ounces each. Found at Vaphio, in the Peloponnesus, in 1889 a.d., and dating back at least to 1800 or 2000 B.C. Probahly Cretan in origin. Very delicate and yet vigorous goldsmith work. See the scroll on the page opposite. This name is still used sometimes for the last period of it, on the mainland. But it is best to use the name Cretan civiliza- tion for the whole culture preceding the Homeric age. We are now to trace the rise of that culture, and its character. 95. Native to the Aegean Regions. — Explorations prove that this early civilization was not confined to Crete and Troy and Mycenae. It spread along the coasts and islands of the Medi- terranean, in patches, from Cyprus to Sardinia. It was very nearly ayi " Aegean civilization.^^ It was the work of the slim, short, dark-skinned men of southern Europe,, between 3500 and 1200 B.C. This culture was native, not borrowed. Steady prog- 95] CRETAN CIVILIZATION 109 110 PREHISTORIC HELLAS [§96 ress appears from rude stone tools and crude carvings, through many stages, up to magnificent bronze work and highly devel- oped art. There are no sudden leaps, or breaks in the chain of development, such as might suggest the wholesale introduction of a foreign civilization. The oldest settlement that Schliemann unearthed on the bare rock underlying the site of Troy, we have noted, was a village of the Stone Age. By 3500 or 4000 b.c, people were living in such vil- lages (made up of round huts) all about the Aegean Sea. Their pottery was made by hand, not with a wheel ; but the decoration shows skill and love of beauty. Everywhere, the better sort of knives and arrow-heads were made from a peculiar dark hard stone (obsidian), which, for these regions, is found in any considerable quantity only in the island of Melos. There must have been no little trade, then, during this Stone Age, to scatter this material so widely. Before 2600 b.c, Crete, at least, extended this trade as far as Egypt and Syria. Egyptian remains of that period are common among the Cretan ruins. Crete stretches its long body across the mouth of the Aegean and forms the natural stepping stone from Egypt to Europe. Very possibly, this fact made it the leader in developing primitive Aegean civilization to higher levels. The use of bronze may have come from Egypt. Surely, the Cretan traders imported from the older civilizations much that was more valuable than articles of commerce. But they did not merely imitate and copy : they made foreign inventions and ideas their oicn, by adapting them to their own life and by improving upon them. X 96. The Best Stages. — At all events, by 2500 b.c, Crete had advanced far in the bronze age of culture; and for the next thou- sand years her civilization (in material things, at least) was quite equal to that of Egypt. The old hand-made pottery gave way to admirable work on the potter's wheel ; and the vase paintings, of birds and beasts and plant and sea life, are vastly more life- like and graceful than any that Egyptian art can show. The Vase from Knossos (about 2200 b.c), with characteristic sea-life ornament. From Baikie. §96] CRETAN CIVILIZATION, 111 walls of houses were decorated with a delicate " egg-shell " porce- lain in artistic designs. Gold inlay work, for the decoration of weapons, had reached great perfection. A system of syl- labic writing had been developed, seemingly more advanced than the Egyptian. Un- happily scholars have not yet found a key to it ; but some believe that it may have been the common an- cestor of the Phoenician and the Greek alphabets.^ The palace at Knossos (§ 94) was built about 2200 B.C., and rebuilt and im- proved about 1800. Its monarch must have ruled all the island, and prob- ably (as the Greek legends taught) over wide regions of the sea. The city had no walls to shut out an enemy : Crete relied upon her sea power to ward off invaders. We may think of the Cretan lawgiver, Minos, seated on his throne at Knossos, ruling over the surrounding seas, at about the time Abraham left Ur to found the Hebrew race, or a little before the law- giver, Hammurabi, established the Old Babylonian Empire, or Cretan Writing. (Plainly, some of these characters are numerals. Others have a strong likeness to certain Greek letters, especially in the oldest Greek writing.) 1 One old Roman writer (Diodorus Siculus) has preserved the interesting fact that the Cretans themselves in his day claimed to have been the inventors of the alphabet. He says: " Some pretend that the Syrians were the inven- tors of letters, and that the Phoenicians learned from them and brought the art of writing to Greece. . . . But the Cretans say that the first invention came from Crete, and that the Phoenicians only changed the form of the let- ters and made the knowledge of them more general among the peoples." Modern Cretans had forgotten this claim for many centuries, but recent dis- coveries go far to prove it true. 112 PREHISTORIC HELLAS [§96 as a contemporary of some of the beneficent pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom in Egypt. From the palace frescoes, Dr. Arthur J. Evans (the English pioneer in Cretan excavation) describes the brilliant life of the '^ lords and ladies of the'*^^ court : — Sometimes the dependants of the prince march into the palace in stately procession, bringing gifts. Sometimes the court is filled with gayly adorned dames and curled gentlemen [Cretan nobles wore j the hair in three long curls], standing, sitting, flirting, ges- ticulating [after the fashion of southern Europeans in con- versation to-day] . We see the ladies . . . trying to "preserve their complexion" with veils. And says another of the dis- coverers, — "The women who dance and converse on Knos- slan walls have a self-assurance and sparkle that modern belles might envy." Frequently, too, the Courtis pictured watch- ing a troop of bull trainers tame wild bulls.i So-called Throne of Minos in the palace at Knossos. Says Baikie {Sea Kings of Crete, 72) : " No more ancient throne ex- ists in Europe, or probably in the world, and none whose associations are anything like so full of interest." The chief article of male dress was a linen cloth hanging from the waist or drawn into short trousers (like the dress of men on the Egyptian monuments). To this, except in war or hunting, the noble sometimes added a short, sleeveless mantle, fastened over one shoulder with a jeweled pin; and a belt, iThe bull was a favorite subject for Cretan art. See some illustrations in these pages. Compare also the later story of the Athenian hero Theseus and the Cretan Minotaur (bull), in any collection of Greek legends, as in Haw- thorne's Tanglewood Tales. 96] CRETAN CIVILIZATION 113 drawn tight about the waist, always carried his dagger, inlaid with gold figures. Women's dress was elaborate, with " care- ful fitting, fine sewing, and exquisite embroidery." The skirts 'vere bell-shaped — like a modern fashion of fifty years ago — d flounced with ruffles ; and the bodice was close-fitting, low- >ecked, and short-sleeved, — much more like female dress to-day than the later Greek and Roman robes were. Men and women Cooking Utensils, found in one tomb at Kuossos. alike wore gold bracelets and rings, and women added long coils of beaded necklaces. Each home wove its own cloth, as we learn from the loom- weights in every house. Each home, too, had its stone mortars for grinding the daily supply of meal. Kitchen utensils were varied and numerous. They include perforated skimmers and strainers, and charcoal carriers, and many other devices strangely modern in shape. Most cooking was done over an open fire of sticks — though sometimes there was a sort of recess in a hearth, over which a kettle stood. When the de- stroying foe came upon Knossos, one carpenter left his kit of tools hidden under a stone slab; and among these we find 114 PREHISTORIC HELLAS [§y7 " saws, hammers, adze, chisels heavy and light, awls, nails, files, and axes." They are of bronze, of course, but in shape they are so like our own that it seems probable that this handicraft passed down its skill without a break from the earliest Euro- pean civilization to the present. One huge cross- cut saw, like our lumber- man's, was found in a mountain town, — used probably to cut the great trees there into columns for the palaces. 97. The dark side of this splendid civilization has to do with its government and the organization of society. Here, Oriental features prevailed. The monarch was absolute; and a few nobles were the only others who found life easy and pleasant. The masses were far more abject and helpless than in later Greek history. The direct cause of the destruction of Cretan cul- ture was a series of barbarian invasions; but the remains show that the best stages of art had already passed away. Probably the invasions were so completely successful only be- cause of internal decay, such as usually comes to despotic states after a period of magnificence. Some excavators think they find evidence that the invaders were assisted by an uprising of the oppressed masses. In any event, fortunately, many of the better features of this early Aegean civilization were adopted by the conquerors and preserved for time to come. Cketan Vase of later period, showing a tendency to use " conventionalized " orna- ment. Critics believe that such vases in- dicate a period of decay in Cretan art. §97] CRETAN CIVILIZATION 115 For Further Reading. — Specially suggested: Davis' Headings^ Vol. I, No. 32, gives an interesting extract from an account of Cretan remains by one of the discoverers. Bury's History of Greece, 7-11, on Cretan culture; 11-33, on remains near Mycenae (half these pages are given to illustrations) ; 65-69, on the Homeric poems. The student may best omit or disregard Professor Bury's frequent discussions as to whether Cretans or Trojans were " Greeks." The important thing about each new wave of invasion is not its race, but its kind of culture, and where that culture came from. Additional, for students who wish wider reading : Hawes, Crete the Fore-runner of Greece ; or Baikie, Sea Kings of Crete. (Appendix.) CHAPTER X I' tSe HOMERIC AGE ^ ORIGIN 98. The Achaeans. —; Between 1500 and 1200 b.c. a great change took place in Greece. The civilization pictured by Homer differs greatly ^ from the earlier one. It was not a development from the earlier : it was a separate culture, from a different source. The .JVIycenaeans and Cretans buried their dead, worshiped ancestors, used no iron, and lived frugally, mainly on fish and vegetable diet. Homer's Greeks burn their dead, adore a sun god, use iron swords, and feast all night mightily on whole roast pxen. So, too, in dress, manners, and personal appearance, as far as we can tell, the two are widely different. The early Greeks, as their pictures show, were short, dark, black-eyed, like the modern Greeks and like all the other aborigines of southern Europe. But Homer de- scribes his Greeks, or at least his chieftains, as tall, fair, yellow-haired, and blue-eyed. In many ways, too, their civi- lization was ruder and more primitive than the one it replaced. This second civilization of Hellas is called Achaean, — the name which " Homer " gives to the Greeks of his time. These Achaeans were part of a vigorous race dwelling in central Europe. They were semibarbarians in that home; but some fortunate chance had taught them to use iron. About 1500 b.c. bands of these fair-haired, blue-eyed, ox-eating warriors, drawn by the splendor and riches of the south, broke into Hellas, as barbarians of the north so many times since have broken into southern Europe. These mighty-limbed strangers, armed with long iron swords, established themselves among the short, 116 §99] ACHAEAN CONQUESTS 117 dark, bronze-weaponed natives, dwelt in their cities, became their chiefs, married their women, and. possessed the land. 99. Nature of their Invasion. — The occnpation of the land by the invaders was a slow process, involving unrecorded misery, generation after generation, for the gentler, peace-loving nar tives. An Egyptian inscription of the period declares that " the islands were restless and disturbed," — and indeed the Achaean rovers reached even Egypt in their raids (§ 31). During most of the period, the newcomers merely filtered into Hellas, band by band, seizing a little island, or a valley, at a time. Occasionally, larger forces warred long and desperately about some stronghold. Knossos, without defensive walls, fell early before a fleet of sea-rovers. But in walled cities, like Troy and Mycenae, the old civilization lived on for three cen- turies. Much of the time, no doubt, there was peace and intercourse between the Achaeans and such cities ; but finally the invaders mustered in force enough to master even these. Homer's ten-year Trojan War may be based upon one of these closing struggles. The fair-haired Achaeans imposed their language upon the older natives (as conquerors commonly do) ; but, in course of time, their blood was absorbed into that of the more numerous conquered people — as has happened to all northern invaders into southern lands, before and since. The physical character- istics of Homer's Achaeans left no more trace in the later Greeks, than the tall, yellow-haired Goths who conquered Spain and Italy in the fifth century after Christ have left in those countries. The Achaean and Cretan cultures blended more equally than the two races did, — though not till the splendor and most of the art of the older civilization had been destroyed. The change of language explains in part the loss of the art of writing, — which probably had been the possession of only a small class of scribes, in any case. But the common people, we may be sure, clung tenaciously to their old customs and habits of life, and especially to their religion. When next we see the Greek 118 HOMER'S GREECE — THE ACHAEANS [§100 civilization clearly, the old worship of ancestors; of which the Homeric poems contain no mention, had reappeared and mingled with the newer worship of the Achaean gods. Some features of the Achaean a/je are described below. THE TRIBAL ORGANIZATION 100. The Clan. — In early times the smallest unit in Greek society was not a family like ours, but a clan (or gens). Each clan was a group of kindred, an enlarged Mnd of family. Some clans contained perhaps a score of members ; others contained many score. The nearest descendant of the forefather of the clan, count- ing from oldest son to oldest son, was the clan elder, or " king." Kinship and worship were the two ties which held a clan to- gether. These two bonds were really one, for the clan religion was a worship of clan ancestors. If provided with pleasing meals at proper times and invoked with magic formulas (so the belief ran), the ghostsi of the ancient clan elders would continue to aid their children. The food was actually meant for the ghost. Milk and wine were poured into a hollow in the ground, while the clan elder spoke sacred formulas inviting the dead to eat.^ This worshij) was secret. The clan tomb was the altar, and the clan elder was the only lawful priest. For a stranger even to see the worship was to defile it ; for him to learn the sacred formulas of the clan worship was to secure power over the gods.^ It followed that marriage became a " religious " act. The woman renounced her own gods, and was accepted by her husband's gods into their clan. Her father, of course, or some male rela- 1 Travelers describe similar practices among primitive peoples to-day. A Papuan chief prays: "Compassionate Father! Here is food for you. Eat it, and be kind to us! " 2 Primitive races think of words as in some strange way related to the things they stand for (as the spirit to the body). This is one reason for belief in " charms." Those who knew the right words could " charm " the gods to do their will. The Romans, in the days of their power, always kept the real name of their chief god a secret, lest some foe might compel or induce him to surrender the city. §103] THE TRIBAL CITY 119 tive, renounced for her, and gave her to the bridegroom (the origin of " giving in marriage " to-day). After that, she and her future children were in law and in religion no longer " re- lated " to her father and his clan. Legal relationship, and inheritance of property, came through males only. 101. Later Family Worship. — In like manner in later times, as the families of the clan became distinct units, each came to have its sepa- rate family worship. The Hearth was the family altar. Near it were grouped the Penates, or images of household gods who watched over the family. The father was the priest. Before each meal, he poured out on the Hearth the libation, or food-offering, to the family gods and asked their blessing. The family tomb was near the house, " so that the sons," says Euripides (a later Greek poet; § 221), "in entering and leaving their dwelling, might always meet their fathers and invoke them." 102. The Tribe. — Long before history began, clans united into larger units. In barbarous society the highest unit is the tribe, which is a group of clans living near together and believ- ing in a commoyi ancestor. In Greece the clan elder of the leading clan was the king of the tribe and its priest » 103. The Tribal City. — Originally a tribe dwelt in several clan villages in the valleys around some convenient hill. On the hilltop was the place of common worship. A ring wall, at a convenient part of the slope, easily turned this sacred place into a citadel. In hilly Greece many of these citadels grew up near together; and so, very early, groups of tribes combined further. Perhaps one of a group would conquer the others and * compel them to tear down their separate citadels and to move their temples to its center. Tliis made a city. The chief of the leading tribe then became the priest-king of the city. Sometimes, of course, a tribe grew into the city stage with- out absorbing other tribes ; but, in general, as clans federated into tribes, so tribes federated into cities, either peaceably or through war. The later Athenians had a tradition that in very early times the hero Theseus founded their city by bringing together four tribes living in Attica. 120 HOMER'S GREECE — THE ACHAEANS [§104 104. The City the Political Unit. — If the cities could have combined into larger units, Greece might have become a ^'■nation-state,'''' like modern England or France. But the Greeks, in the time of their glory, never got beyond a city-state. To them the same word meant " city " and " state." A union of cities, by which any of them gave up its complete independence, was repugnant to Greek feeling. One city might hold other cities in subjection ; but it never admitted their people to any kind of citizenship.^ Nor did the subject cities dream of asking such a thing. What they wanted, and would never cease to strive for, was to recover their separate independence. To each Greek, his city was his country. It followed, through nearly all Greek history, that the political^ rela- tions of one city with another five miles away were foreign relations, as much as its dealings with the king of Persia. Wars, therefore, were constant and cruel. Greek life was concentrated in small centers. This made it vivid and intense; but the division of Greek resources between so many hostile centers made that life brief. ^ ^ GOVERNMENT OF THE EARLY CITY-STATE 105. The King. — The city had three political elements — king, conncil of chiefs, and popular assembly. In these we may see the germs of later monarchic, aristocratic, and demo- cratic governments. (For these terms, see § 85, note.) The king was leader in icar, judge in peace, and priest at all times. His power was much limited by custom and by the two other political orders. 106. A council of chiefs aided the king, — and checked him. These chiefs were originally the clan elders and the members of the royal family. Socially they were the king's equals ; and in government he could not do anything in defiance of their wish. If a ruler died without a grown-up son, the council could elect a king, although they chose usually from the royal family. 1 Can the student see a connection between this fact and the " exclusive " character of clan and tribal and city-worship, as described above ? 2 "Political" means "relating to government." The word must be used frequently in history. In other relations, as in trade and religion and cul- ture, the Greek cities did not think of one another as foreigners, to any such degree as in political matters. § 108] GOVERNMENT 121 107. The Assembly. — The common freemen came together for worship and for games ; and sometimes the king called them together, to listen to plans that had been adopted by him and the chiefs. Then the freemen shouted approval or muttered disapproval. They could not start new movements. There were no regular meetings and few spokesmen, and the general reverence for the chiefs made it a daring deed for a common man to brave them. If the chiefs and king agreed, it was easy for them to get their way with the Assembly. However, even in war, when the authority of the nobles was greatest, the Assembly had to be persuaded: it could not he ordered. Homer shows that sometimes a common man ven- tured to oppose the " kings." Thus, in one Assembly before Troy, the Greeks break away to seize their ships and return home. Odysseus hurries among them, and by per- suasion and threats forces them back to the Assembly, until only Thersites bawls on, — "Thersites, uncontrolled of speech, whose mind was full of words wherewith to strive against the chiefs. Hateful was he to Achilles above all, and to Odysseus, /or them he was wont to revile. But now with shrill shout he poured forth his uphraidings even upon goodly Agamem- non.'''' Odysseus, it is true, rebukes him sternly and smites him into silence, while the crowd laughs. " Homer " sang to please the chieftains, his patrons, — and so he represents Thersites as a cripple, ugly and un- popular ; but there must have been such popular opposition to the chiefs, now and then, or the minstrel would not have mentioned such an incident at all. Says a modern scholar, — A chieftain who had been thwarted, perhaps, by some real Thersites during the day, " would over his evening cups enjoy the poet's travesty, and long for the good old times when [Odysseus] could put down impertinent criticism by the stroke of his knotty scepter." i SOCIETY AND INDUSTRY ^ 108. Society was simple. The Homeric poems attribute wealth and luxury to a few places (where probably some frag- ments of the Cretan civilization survived) ; but these are _ _ __ 1 Davis' Readings, VqI. I, No.-33, reproduces the best Homeric account of an " Assembly " in war time. It contains also the Thersites story complete. 122 HOMER'S GREECE — THE ACHAEANS [§109 plainly exceptions to the general rule. When the son of Odysseus leaves his native Ithaca and visits Menelaus, he is astounded by the splendor of the palace, with its " gleam as of sun and moon," and whispers to his companion : — " Mark the flashing of bronze through the echoing halls, and the flashing of gold and of amber and of silver and of ivory. Such like, methinks, is the court of Olympian Zeus. . . . Wonder comes over me as I lo'ok." i But mighty Odysseus had built his palace with his own hands. It has been well called — from the poet's description — "a rude farmhouse, where swine wallow in the court." And the one petty island in which Odysseus was head-king held scores of yet poorer " kings." So, too, when. Odysseus is ship- wrecked on an important island, he finds the daughter of the chief king — the princess Nausicaa — doing a washing, with her band of maidens (treading out the dirt by trampling the clothes with their bare feet in the water of a running brook). Just before, the " queen " was pictured, busy in gathering to- gether the palace linen for this event. Such descriptions are the typical ones in the poems. 109. Manners were harsh. In the Trojan War, the Greeks left the bodies of the slain enemy unburied, to be half devoured by packs of savage dogs that hung about the camp for such morsels. The common boast was to have given a foe's body to the dogs.2 When the noble Trojan hero. Hector, falls, the Greek kings gather about the dead body, " a7id no one came who did not add his wound.^' The chiefs fought in bronze and iron armor, usually in chariots. The common free men followed on foot, without armor or effective weapons, and seem to have counted for little in war. Ordinary prisoners became slaves as a matter of course. But when the chiefs were taken, they were 1 Read the story in the OclysHey, or in Vol. I, No. 37, of Davis' Readings. 2 The Iliad opens with the story of a pestilence, which almost drove the Greeks from Troy. The poet ascribes it to the anger of the Sun-god, Apollo, who shot his arrows npon the camp. Little wonder that the sun's rays, in a •warm climate, should produce pestilence, under such conditions! § 110] MANNERS AND INDUSTRIES 123 murdered in cold blood, unless they could tempt the victor to spare them for ransom. Female captives, even princesses, ex- pected no better fate than slavery. On the other hand, there are hints of natural and happy family life, of joyous festivals, and games and dancesj and of wholesome, contented work.^ 110. Occupations. — The mass of the people were small farmers, though their houses were grouped in villages.^ Even the kings tilled their farms, in part at least, with their own hands. Odysseus can drive the oxen at the plow and " cut a clean fur- row '' ; and when the long days begin he can mow all day with the crooked scythe, " pushing clear until late eventide." 'Slaves were few, except about the great chiefs. There they served as household servants and as farm hands; and they seem to have been treated kindly.^ There had appeared, how- ever, a class of miserable landless freemen, who hired them- selves to farmers. When the ghost of Achilles (the invincible Greek chieftain) wishes to name to Odysseus the. most unhappy lot among mortals, he selects that of the hired servant (§ 112). Artisans and smiths were found among the retainers of the great chiefs. They were highly honored, but their skill was far inferior to that of the Cretan age. Some shiehls and inlaid weapons of that earlier period had passed into the hands of the Achaeans ; and these were always spoken of as the work of Hephaestus, the god of fire and of metal work. A separate class of traders had not arisen. The chiefs, in the intervals of farm labor, turned to trading voyages now and then, and did not hesitate to increase their profits by piracy. It was no offense to ask a stranger whether he came as a pirate or for^eaceful trade. (Odyssey, iii, 60-70.) , 1 Davis' Readings, Vol. I, No. 35. 2 For farm life, see an extract in Davis' Readings, "Vol. I, No. 39. 3 When Odysseus returned from his twenty years of war and wandering, he made himself known first to a faithful swineherd and one other servant — both slaves; and "They threw their arras round wise Odysseus and passion- ately kissed his face and neck. So likewise did Odysseus kiss their heads and hands." 124 HOMER'S GREECE — THE ACHAEANS [§111 111. Religious Ideas. — It has been said above that the Achaeans brought in a new worship of the forces of nature. Their lively fancy personified these in the forms and characters of men and women — built in a somewhat more majestic m'old than human men. The great gods lived on cloud-capped Mount Olympus, and passed their days in feasting and laugh- ter and other pleasures. When the chief god, Zeus, slept, things sometimes went awry, for the other gods plotted against his plans. His wife Hera was exceedingly jealous — for which she had much reason — and the two had many a family wrangle. Some of the gods went down to aid their favorites in war, and were wounded by human weapons. The twelve great Olympian deities were as follows (the Latin names are given in parentheses) : — Zeus (Jupiter), the supreme god; god of the sky; "father of gods and men." « Poseidon (Neptune), god of the sea. Apollo, the sun god ; god of wisdom, poetry, prophecy, and medicine. Ares (Mars), god of war. Hephaestus (Vulcan), god of fire — the lame smith. Hermes (Mercury), god of the wind; messenger; god of cunning, of thieves, and of merchants. Hera (Juno), sister and wife of Zeus; queen of the sky. Athene (Minerva), goddess of wisdom ; female counterpart of Apollo. Artemis (Diana), goddess of the moon, of maidens, and of hunting. Aphrodite (Venus), goddess of love and beauty. Demeter (Ceres), the earth goddess — controlling fertility. Hestia (Vesta) , the deity of the home : goddess of the hearth fire. The Greeks thought also of all the world about them as peopled by a multitude of lesser local gods and demigods — spirits of spring and wood and river and hill — all of whom, too, they personified as glorious youths or maidens. Surely to give the gods beautiful human forms, rather than the revolting bodies of lower animals and reptiles (§ 24) was an advance, even though it fell far short of the noble religious ideas of the Hebrews and Persians. And in a multitude of legends the Greek poets gave to these gods a delightful charm, which has § 112] RELIGION AND MORALS 125 made their stories a lasting possession of the world's culture,^ — and which indeed kept this worship alive among the later Greeks long after the primitive ideas in that worship were really outgrown. Even in the early period, noble religious thoughts sometimes appear. In the Odyssey the poet exclaims : " Verily, the blessed gods love not froward deeds, but they reverence justice and the righteous acts of men." 112. Ideas of a Future Lif^. — The Greeks believed in a place of terrible punishment (Tartarus) for a few great offenders agamst the gods, and in an Elysium of supreme pleasure for a very few others particularly favored by the gods. But for the mass of men tho future life was to be " a washed-out copy of the brilliant life on earth" — its pleasures and pains both shadowy. Thus Odysseus tells how he met Achilles in the home of the dead : — " And he knew me straightway, when he had drunk the dark blood [of a sacrifice to the dead] ; yea, and he wept aloud, and shed big tears as he stretched forth his hands in his longing to reach me. But it might not be, for he had now no steadfast strength nor power at all in moving, such as was aforetime in his supple limbs. . . . But lo, other spirits of the dead that be departed stood sorrowing, and each one asked of those that were dear to them." — Odyssey, xi, 390 ff. And in their discourse, Achilles exclaims sorrowfully : — " Nay, speak not comfortably to me of death, O great Odysseus. Bather would I live on ground as the hireling of another, even with a lack-land man who had no great livelihood, than bear sway among all the dead/' For Further Reading. — Specially suggested: Davis' Beadings, Vol. I, Nos. 33-38 (most of these already referred to in footnotes). Additional: Bury, pp. 69-79. iThe legends of heroes and demigods, like Hercules, Theseus, and Jason, are retailed for young people charmingly by Hawthorne, Gay ley, Guerber, and Kingsley. The stories have no historical value that could be made clear in a book like this ; but every boy and girl should know them. CHAPTER XI FROM THE ACHAEANS TO THE PERSIAN WARS (1000-500 B.C.) \}^ A NEW AGE 113. The Dorian Conquest. — The Achaean conquests closed about 1200 B.C. For two centuries Hellas was troubled only by the usual petty wars between small states. But, about 1000 B.C., the revival of culture was checked again for a hundred years by new destructive invasions from the north. The new barbarians called themselves Dorians. They seem to have been closely allied in language to the Achaeans ; and they were probably merely a rear guard which had stopped for two hundred years somewhere in northern Hellas. They conquered because they had adopted a new and better military organization. The Achaeans fought still in Homeric fashion, — the chiefs in chariots, and their followers as an unwieldy, ill-armed mob. The Dorians introduced the use of heavy- armed infantry, with long spears, in regular array and close ranks. By 900 B.C., the movements of the tribes had ceased. The conquering Dorians had settled down, mainly in the Pelopon- nesus. This district had been the center of the Mycenaean and Achaean glory, but it now lost its leadership in culture. When civilization took a new start in Hellas, soon after 900, it was from new centers — in Attica and in Asia Minor. 114 Phoenician Influence. — TJie civilization ivhicJi the Achae- ans and Dorians had destroyed at Mycenae and Qrete was restored to them in jmrt by the Phoenicians. After the overthrow of Cretan power, Phoenicia for many centuries was the leading searpower of the Mediterranean (1500-600 B.C.). Especially 126 § 115] DORIAN GREECE 127 among the islands and coasts of the Aegean, did her traders barter with the inhabitants (much as English traders did two hundred years ago with American Indians), tempting them with strange wares of small value, and counting it best gain of all if they could lure curious maidens on board their black ships for distant slave markets. In return, however, they made many an unintentional payment. Language shows that the Phoenicians gave to the Greeks the names (and so, no doubt, the use) of linen, myrrh, cinnamon, frankincense, soap, lyres, cosmetics, and writing tablets. The forgotten art of writing •they introduced again, — this time with a true alphabet. But the lively Hellenes were not slavish imitators. Whatever the strangers brought them, they improved and made their own. 115. The Gap in our Knowledge. — The Dorians had no Homer, as the Achaeans had, nor did they leave magnifi- cent monuments, as the Mycenaeans did. Accordingly, after Homer, there is a blank in our knoivledge for nearly Jive cen- turies. Great changes, however, took place during these obscure centuries ; and in a rough way we can see what they were, by companng Homeric Greece with the historic Greece that is revealed when the curtain rises again. This "rising of the curtain " took place about 650 b.c. By that time the Greeks had begun to use the alphabet freely. The next 150 years, however, merely continued movements which were already well under way; and the whole period, from the Dorian conquest to the year 500, can be treated as a unit (§§116 ff.). To that half thousand years belonged six great movements, (i) The Hellenes awoke to a feeling that they were one people as compared with other peoples. (2) They extended Hellenic culture widely by coloniza- tion. (3) The system of government everywhere underwent great change. (4) Sparta became a great military power, whose leadership in war the other Greek states were willing to recognize. (5) Athens became a democracy. (6) A great intellectual development appeared, manifested in architecture, painting, sculpture, poetry, and philosophy. Each of the six movements will be described briefly. 128 HELLAS FROM 1000 TO 500 B.C. [§116 I. UNITY OF FEELING 116. Greeks came to think of all Hellenes as one race, compared with, other peoples — in spite of many subdivisions among themselves. The Iliad does not make it clear whether Homer looked upon the Trojans as Greeks or not. Apparently he cared little about the question. Five hundred years later such a question would have been a first consideration to every Greek. The Greeks had not become one nation : that is, they had not come under the same government. But they had come to believe in a kinship with each other, to take pride in their common civilization, and to set themselves apart from the rest of the world. The three chief forces which had created this oneness of feeling were language, literature, and the Olympian religion, with its games and oracles. a. The Greeks understood each other'' s dialects, while the men of other speech about them they called " Barbarians," or babblers {Bar'-bar-oi). This likeness of language made it possible for all Greeks to possess the same literature. The poems of Homer were sung and recited in every village for centuries ; and the universal pride in Homer, and in the glories of the later literature, had much to do in binding the Greeks into one people. b. The poets invented a system of relationship. The first inhabitant of Hellas, they said, was a certain Hellen, who had three sons, Aeolus, DoruSj, and Xuthus. Xuthus became the father of Achaeus and Ion. Aeolus, Dor us, Achaeus, and Ion were the ancestors of all Hellenes, — in the four great divi- sions, Aeolians ^Dorians, Achaeans, and lonians. This system of fables made it eashr for the Greeks to believe themselves con- nected by blood. c. Three special features of the Olympian religion helped to bind Greeks together, — the Olympic Games, the Delphic Oracle, and the various Amphictyonies (§§ 117,* 118, 119). 117. The Oljnnpic^Games. — To the great festivals of some of the gods, men flocked from all Hellas. This was especially §117] ONENESS OF CULTURE 129 true of the Olympic games. These were celebrated each fourth year at Olympia, in Elis, in honor of Zeus. The contests con- sisted of foot races, chariot races, wrestling, and boxing. The victors were felt to have won the highest honor open to any Greek. They received merely an olive wreath at Olympia; but at their homes they were honored with inscriptions and Ruins of the Entrance to the Stadium {athletic field) at Olympia. statues. Only Greeks could take part in the contests, and there was a strong feeling that all wars between Greek states should be suspended during the month of the festival. To these games came merchants, to secure the best market for rare wares. Heralds proclaimed treaties there — as the best way to make them known through all Hellas. Poets, orators, and artists gathered there ; and gradually the intellectual con- tests and exhibitions became the most important feature of the meeting. The oration or poem or statue which was praised 130 HELLAS FROM 1000 TO 500 B.C. [§ 118 by the crowds at Olympia had received the approval of the most select and intelligent judges that could be brought together anywhere in the world. These intellectual contests, however, did not become part of the sacred games. Nor was any prize given to the winner. The four-year periods between the games were called Olympiads. These periods finally became the Greek units in counting time : all events were dated from what was believed to be the first recorded Olympiad, beginning in 776 b.c. An admirable account of the Olympic Games is given in Davis' Headings, Vol. I, No. 44. But the student will enjoy even more the vivid picture in Dr. Davis' novel, A Victor of Salamis. 118. The Delphic Oracle. — Apollo, the sun god, was also the god of prophecy. One of his chief temples was at Delphi, far up the slopes of Mount Parnassus, amid wild and rugged scenery. From a fissure in the ground, within the temple, volcanic gases poured forth. A priestess would, when desired, inhale the gas until she passed into a trance (or seemed to do so) ; and, while in this state, she was supposed to see into the future, by the aid of the god. The advice of this " oracle " was sought by men and by governments throughout all Hellas. (See further in Davis' Readings, Vol. I, Nos. 41^3.) 119. Amphictyonies. — There was an ancient league of Greek tribes to protect the temple at Delphi. This was known as the Amphictyonic League (league of "dwellers-round-about"). Smaller amphictyonies, for the protection of other temples, were common in Greece. In early Greek histoi^, they were the only hint of a movement toward a union of states. All these leagues, it is true, were strictly religious in purpose, and not at all like political unions. The Delphic Amphictyony, however, did in a way represent the whole Greek people. All important states sent delegates to its " Council," which held regular meetings; and every division of the Greek race felt that it had a share in the oracle and in its League. 120. Dorians and lonians. — At the cost of some digression, this is the best place to note that through all later Greek history (after 6oo B.C.) the two leading races were the Dorians and the lonians. (See § ii6 &, above.) § 121] EXPANSION AND COLONIZATION 131 By 600 B.C. the Dorians had their chief strength in the Peloponnesus, while the lonians held Attica and most of the islands of the Aegean. The lonians seem to have been descendants of the original inhabitants of Greece, mixed with tribes of the Achaean invasion. Athens was the leading city of the lonians. The Athenians were sea- farers and traders ; they preferred a democratic government ; they were open to new ideas — " always seeking some new thing " ; and they were interested in art and litetature. Sparta was the leading city of the Dorians. The Spartans were a military settlement of conquerors, in a fertile valley, organized for defense and ruling over slave tillers of the soil. They were warriors, not traders; aristocratic, not democratic; conservative, not progressive ; practical, not artisfic. ^ Some writers used to explain the differences between Athens and Sparta on the ground of race, and teach that all lonians were naturally demo- cratic and progressive, while all Dorians were naturally aristocratic and conservative. But it has been pointed out that Dorian colonies in Italy and Sicily (like Syracuse) resembled Athens more than they did Sparta. Their physical surroundings were more like those of Athens, also. To-day scholars look with suspicion upon all attempts to explain differences in civilization on the ground of inborn race tendencies. For Sparta and Athens, the explanation certainly is found mainly in the difference in physical surroundings^ II. EXPANSION BY COLONIZATION 121. First Period. — While Greek civilization was becoming more united in feeling, it was becoming more scattered in space. The old tribes which the Dorians drove out of the Peloponnesus jostled other tribes into motion all over Greece, and some of the fugitives carried the seeds 6f Greek culture more widely than before along the coasts of the Aegean. This period of colonization lasted about a century, from 1000 to 900 B.C. Its most important fact was the Hellenizing of the western coast of Asia Minor. Some of this district had been Greek before ; but now large reinforcements arrived from the main Greek peninsula, and all non-Hellenic tribes were subdued or driven out. Large bodies of Ionian refugees from the Peloponnesus had sought refuge in Ionian Attica. But Attica could not support them all ; and soon they began to 132 HELLAS FROM 1000 TO 500 B.C. [§ 122 cross the sea to Asia Minor. There they established them- selves in twelve great cities, of which the most important were Miletus and Ephesus. The whole middle district of that coast took the name Ionia, and was united in an amphictyony. 122. Second Period. — A century later, there began a still wider colonizing movement, which went on for two hundred years (800-600 b.c), doubling the area of Hellas and spread- ing it far outside the old Aegean home. The cause this time was not war. Greek cities were growing anxious to seize the Mediterranean commerce from the Phoenicians. The new colo- nies were founded largely for trading stations. Thus Miletus sent colony after colony to the jiorth shore of the Black Sea, to control the corn trade there. Sixty Greek towns fringed that sea and its straits. The one city of Chalcis, in Euboea, planted thirty-two colonies on the Tliracian coast, to secure the gold and silver mines of that region. On the west, Sicily became almost wholly Greek, and southern Italy took the proud name of Magna Graecia (Great Greece). In- deed, settlements were sown from end to end of the Mediter- ranean. Among the more important of the colonies were Syracuse in Sicily, Tarentum, Sybaris, and Croton in Italy, Corey ra near the mouth of the Adriatic, Massilia (Marseilles) in Gaul, Olynthus in Thrace, Cyrene in Africa, Byzantium at the Black Sea's mouth, and Naucratis in Egypt (§ 32).^ 123. Method of Founding Colonies. — Many motives besides the commercial assisted this movement. Sometimes a city found its population growing too fast for its grain supply. Often there was danger of class struggles, so that it seemed well to get rid of the more adventurous of the poorer citizens. Perhaps some daring youth of a noble family longed for a more active life than he found at home, and was glad to become the head of a new settlement on a distant frontier. In any case the oracle at Delphi was first consulted. If the reply was favorable, announcements were made and volunteers 1 Map study : on outline maps, or on the board, locate the districts and cities mentioned in §§ 121 and 122. u 50 100 200 aoo 4S0 i3o I Ionian I I Dorian I I Other Greek Jlaces (Phoenician) J L Longitude West 10 Longitude from 20 124] POLITICAL REVOLUTIONS 133 were gathered for the expedition. The mother city always gave the sacred fire for the new city hearth, and appointed the "founder." This "founder'' established the new settlement with religious rites and distributed the inhabitants, who thronged in from all sides, into artificial tribes and clans. Ruins of the Athletic Field at Delphi. Second only to the Olympic Games, and similar to them, was the Festival at Delphi in honor of Apollo. The colonists ceased to he citizens of their old home, and the new city enjoyed complete independence. The colony recognized a religious connection with its " metropolis " (mother city), and of course there were often strong bonds of friendship between the two; but there was no political union between them — until Athens invented a new form of colony which will be described later (§ 148). III. CHANGES IN GOVERNMENT 124. The Kings overthrown by Oligarchies. — Between 1000 and 500 b.c. the " kings " disappeared from every Greek city 134 HELLAS FROM 1000 TO 500 B.C. [§ 125 except Sparta and Argos, and even in those cities they lost most of their old power. The change was the work of the nobles ; and that class divided the royal power among themselves. Monarchies gave way to oligarchies. A Homeric king, we have seen, had three kinds of duties : he was war chief, judge, and priest. The office of war chief could least safely be left to the accident of birth. Accordingly the nobles took away this part of the king's duties first, turning it over to officers whom they elected from among themselves. Then, as judicial work increased with the growth of city life, special judges were chosen to take over that part of the king's work. The priestly dignity was connected most closely with family descent (§§ 101, 102): therefore it was left longest a matter of inheritance. This, then, was the general order of the changes by which the rule of one man became the rule of " the few.^^ The process was gradual; the means and occasion varied. A contest be- tween two rivals for the throne, or the dying out of a royal line, or a weak king or a minor, — any of these conditions made it easy for the nobles to encroach upon the royal power. 125. Oligarchies overthrown by Tyrants. — Originally, the aris- tocratic element consisted of the council of clan elders (§ 106), but with time it had become modified in many ways. Some- times the families of a few great chiefs had come to over- shadow the rest. In other places, groups of conquering families ruled the descendants of the conquered. Sometimes, perhaps, wealth helped to draw the line between " the few " and " the many." At all events, there was in all Greek cities a sharp line between two classes, — one calling itself " the f ew,'^ " the good," "the noble"; and another called by these "the many," "the bad," " the base." "The few" had succeeded the kings. "The many" were oppressed and misgoverned, and they began to clamor for relief. They were too ignorant as yet to maintain themselves against the intelligent and better united "few"; but the way was prepared for them by the " tyrants " (§ 126). § 126] POLITICAL REVOLUTIONS 135 Why does it matterwho controls the . governnient ? The student should begin to think upon this matter. Government is not a matter of dignity mainly, but a very practical matter. It touches our daily life very closely. In one of our States, for many years past, a certain railroad has controlled the legislature. Therefore it has escaped taxation, for the most part, upon its immense wealth ; and every poor man in the State has had to pay unduly high taxes in consequence, leaving less money for his children's shoes and books. The same railroad has been permitted to charge exorbitant rates on freight. Every farmer has received too little for his wheat ; and every citizen has paid too much for flour. So for forty years, in our own day and country, big business interests have striven constantly to own congress and legislatures and judges and gov- ernors, so as to get or keep monopolies or tariff advantages or other special privileges, by which they have heaped up riches — which, in the long run, have been drawn from the homes of the working people. In early society, class distinctions are drawn more sharply, and class rule was even more tyrannical. " The few " are usually wiser than " the many " ; but all history proves that class rule by " the good " is sure to be a selfish, bad rule. 126. "Tyrants" pave the Way for Democracies. — Before 500 B.C. every city in the Greek peninsula, except Sparta, had its tyrant, or had had one. In the outlying parts of Hellas, tyrants were common through later history also, but by the year 500 they had disappeared from the main peninsula ; and so the two centuries from 700 to 500 B.C. are sometimes called the ^^ Age of Tyrants^ In Greek histoiy a tyrant is not necessarily a bad or cruel ruler : he is simply a man who by force seizes supreme power. But arbitrary rule was hateful to the Greeks, and the murder of a tyrant seemed to them a good act. Sometimes, too, the selfishness and cruelty of such rulers justified the detestation which still clings to the name. But at the worst the tyrants seem to have been a necessary evil, to break down the greater evil of the selfish oligarchies. Many tyrants were generous, far-sighted rulers, building public works, developing trade, patronizing art and literature ; but their main value in history was this : they paved the ivay for democracy. 136 HELLAS FROM 1000 TO 500 B.C. [§ 127 Sometimes a tyrant had been an ambitious noble ; sometimes a man of the people, by birth. In either case, he usually won his mastery by coming forward, in some crisis of civil strife, as the champion of " the many." When he had made himself tyrant of his city, he surrounded himself with paid soldiers ; but he sought also to keep the favor of the masses, who had helped him to the throne. The nobles he could not conciliate. These he burdened with taxes, oppressed, exiled, and murdered. The story goes that Periander, tyrant of Corinth, sent to the tyrant of Miletus to ask his advice in government. The Mile- sian took the messenger through a grain field, striking off the finest and tallest ears as they walked, and sent him back with- out other answer. Thus when the tyrants themselves were overthrown, democ-- racy had a chance. The nobles were weaker than before, and the people had gained confidence. In the Ionian cities, the next step was usually a democratic government. In Dorian parts of Greece, more commonly there followed an aristocracy. But this was always much broader, and less objectionable, than the older oligarchies. The tyrants had done their work effectively.^ This, then, was the general order of change : the kings give way to oligarchies ; the oligarchies are overthrown by tyrants ; and the tyrants, unintentionally, prepare the way for the rule of the people. We shall now trace the changes, with more detail, in the two leading cities of Hellas, — Sparta and Athens. The first had less change than any other city. The second led the movement. IV. RISE OF SPARTA TO MILITARY HEADSHIP 127. Changes in Early Sparta. — The invading Dorians founded many petty states in the Peloponnesus. For a time one of the weakest of these was Sparta. Her territory covered only a • 1 Exercise. — Contrast the "tyrants" with the Homeric kings, — as to origin of power; as to limitation by custom and public opinion ; as to security in their positions. § 128] SPARTA'S HEADSHIP 137 few square miles. It was shut off from the sea, and it was surrounded by powerful neighbors. The later Spartans attributed their rise from these condi- tions to the reforms of a certain Lycurgus. Certainly, about the year 900, whether the reformer's name was Lycurgus or not, the Spartans adopted peculiar institutions which made them a marked people. The new laws and customs disciplined and hardened them ; and they soon entered upon a brilliant career of conquest. Before 700, they had subdued all Laconia; before 650, Messenia also ; while the other states of the Pelo- ponnesus, except hostile Argos, had become their allies. 128. Government. — Sparta had two kings. An old legend explained this peculiar arrangement as due to the birth of twin princes. At all events in this city the royal power was weakened by division, and so the nobles were less tempted to abolish it. There was also a Senate of thirty elders. In practice, this body was the most important part of the government. The kings held two of the seats, and the people elected the twenty- eight other senators. No one under sixty years of age could be chosen. The candidates were led through the Assembly in turn, and as each passed, the people shouted. Judges, shut up in a room from which they could not see the candidates, listened to the shouts and gave the vacancy to the one whose appearance had called out the loudest welcome. Aristotle, a later Greek writer, calls this method "childish" ; but it has an interesting relation to our viva- voce voting, where a chairman decides, in the first instance, by noise. A popular Assembly of all Spartans chose senators and other officers, and decided important matters laid before it — subject to a veto by the Senate. The Assembly had no right to intro- duce new measures, and the common Spartan could not even take part in the debated About 725 B.C. new magistrates, called Ephors, became the chief rulers. Five Ephors were chosen each year by the Assem- bly, and any Spartan might be elected. The Ephors called the Assembly, presided over it, and acted as judges in all important matters. One or two of them accompanied the king in war, 138 HELLAS FROM 1000 TO 500 B.C. [§ 129 with power to control his movements, and even to arrest him and put him to death. In practice, the Ephors acted as the serv- ants of the Senate, which indeed really controlled the nomina- tions and elections of these officers. To the Greeks, all delegation of power, even to officers elected for short terms, seemed undemocratic. They would not have called our government by President, Congress, and Supreme Court a democracy at all. Our government is sometimes called a " representative democracy." To the Greeks, democracy always meant " direct democracy," — a gov- ernment in which each freeman took somewhat the same part that a member of Congress does with us — a system such that each citizen voted, not occasionally, to elect representatives, but constantly, on all matters of importance, — which matters he might also discuss in the ruling Assembly of his city. Even one of our State governments with the "initiative " and " referendum " would have seemed to the Greek a very mild sort of *' direct democracy." By his standard, Sparta was exceedingly aristocratic. 129. Classes in Laconia. — Moreover, the Spartans as a ivhole were a ruling class in the inidst of subjects eight or ten times their number. They were simply a camp of some nine thousand con- querors (with their families) living under arms in their unwalled city. They were wholly given to camp life. They had taken to themselves the most fertile lands in Laconia, but they did no work. Each man's land was tilled by certain slaves, or Helots. The Helots numbered four or five to one Spartan. They were slaves, not to individual Spartans, but to the government. Besides tilling the Spartan lands, they furnished light-armed troops in war; but they were k constant danger. A secret police of active Spartan youth busied itself in detecting plots among them, and sometimes carried out secret massacres of the more intelligent and ambitious slaves. Indeed it was lawful for any Spartan to kill a Helot with- out trial ; and sometimes crowds of Helots vanished mysteri- ously when their numbers threatened Spartan safety. On one occasion, in the great struggle with Athens in the fifth cen- § 130] SPARTA'S HEADSHIP 139 tury (§§ 192 ff.), the Spartans gave the Helots heavy armor, but afterward they become terrified at the possible conse- quences. Thucydides (the Greek historian of that period) tells how they met the danger : — " They proclaimed that a selection would be made of those Helots who claimed to have rendered the best service to the Spartans in the war, and promised them liberty. The announcement was intended to test them : it was thought that those among them who were foremost in asserting their freedom would be most high-spirited and most likely to rise against their masters. So [the Spartans] selected about two thousand, who were crowned with garlands, and went in procession round the temples. They [the Helots] were supposed to have received their liberty, but not long afterwards the Spartans put them all out of the way, and no man knew how any of them came to their end.'''' The inhabitants of the hundred small subject towns of Laco- nia were free men, but they were not part of the Spartan state. They kept their own customs and shared in the government of their cities, under the supervision of Spartan rulers. They tilled lands of their own, and they carried on such trades and commerce as existed in Laconia. These subject Laconians were three or four to one Spartan-, and they furnished, in large measure, the^ heavy-armed soldiers of the Spartan army. The Ephors could put them to death without trial, but they seem, as a rule, to have been well treated and well content. Thus the inhabitants of Laconia were of three classes : a small ruling body of warriors, living in one central settlement ; a large class of cruelly treated, rural serfs, to till the soil for these aristocratic soldiers ; another large class of well-treated subjects, — town-dioellers, — ivho, however, had no share in the Spartan government. 130. " Spartan Discipline." — Sparta kept its mastery in La- conia by sleepless vigilance and by a rigid discipline. That discipline is sometimes praised as "the Spartan training." Its sole aim was to make soldiers. It succeeded in this ; but it was harsh and brutal. 140 HELLAS FROM 1000 TO 500 B.C. [§ 130 The family J as well as the man, belonged absolutely to the state. The Ephors examined each child, at its birth, to decide whether it was fit to live. If it seemed weak or puny, it was exposed in the mountains to die. The father and mother could not save it. If it was strong and healthy, it was re- turned to its parents for a few years. But after a boy reached the age of seven, he never again slept under his mother's roof: he was taken from home, to be trained with other boys under public officers, until he was twenty. The boys were taught reading and a little martial music, but they were given no other mental culture. The main pur- pose of their education was to harden and strengthen the body and to develop self-control and obedience. On certain festival days, boys were whipped at the altars to test their endurance ; and Plutarch (a Greek writer of the second century a.d.) states that they often died under the lash rather than utter a cry. This custom was much like the savage " sun-dance '^ of some American Indian tribes. Indeed, several features of Spartan life that are ascribed by legend to Lycurgus seem rather to have been survivals of a barbarous period that the Spartans never wholly outgrew. From twenty to thirty, the youth lived under arms in bar- racks. There he was one of a mess of fifteen. From his land he had to provide his part of the barley meal, cheese, and black broth, with meat on holidays, for the company's food. The mess drilled and fought side by side, so that in battle each man knew that his daily companions and friends stood about him. These manyiyears of constant military drill made it easy for the Spartans to adopt more con3^1ex ^ctics than were possible for their neighbors. They' w*ere trained.in small regiments and companies, so as to maneuver readily at the word of command. This made them superior in the field. They stood to the other Greeks as disciplined soldiery always stand to untrained militia. At thirty the man was required to marry, in order to rear more soldiers ; but he must still eat in barracks, and live there § 132] RISE OF DEMOCRACY AT ATHENS 141 most of the time. He had no real home. Said an Athenian, '' The Spartan's life is so unendurable that it is no wonder he throws it away lightly in battle." There was certain virtue^ no doubt, in this training. The Spartans had the quiet dignity of born rulers. In contrast with the noisy Greeks all about them, their speech was brief and pithy (" laconic " speech). They used only iron money. And their plain living made them appear superior to the weak in- dulgences of other men. After the introduction of Ephors, their form of government did not change for five hundred years; and this changeless character called forth admiration from the other Greeks, who were accustomed to kaleidoscopic revolutions. Spartan women, too, kept a freedom which un- happily was lost in other Greek cities. Girls were trained in gymnastics, much as boys were ; and the women were famous for beauty and health, and for public spirit and patriotism. 131. The value of the Spartans to the world lay in the fact that they made a garrison for the rest of Greece, and helped save something better than themselves. In themselves, they were hard, ignorant, narrow. They did nothing for art, literature, science, or philosophy. If the Greeks had all been Spartans, we could afford to omit the study of Greek history. For Further Beading. — All students should read the charming account of Spartan customs contained in Plutarch's Life of Lycurgus. D avis' RmdLn gs has several pages of extracts from the more valuable part. Exercise. — Name the three classes of people in Laconia. Which one alone had full political rights ? What were the four parts of the govern- ment ? State the powers of each. '^ V. BEGINNING OF DEMOCRACY AT ATHENS 132. Consolidation of Attica. — Athens was the only city in At- tica — a considerable territory. Like Sparta, Athens was the result of more consolidation than was common with Greek cities. In other districts as large as Attica or Laconia there were always groups of independent cities. Boeotia, for instance, contained twelve cities, jealous of one another; and Thebes, 142 HELLAS FROM 1000 TO 500 B.C. [§ 133 the largest among them, could at best hope for only a limited leadership over her rivals. In Attica, before history really began, the beginnings of several cities bad been consolidated in one (§ 103). Indeed, consolidation had been carried even farther than with Sparta. Athens was the home of all the free inhabitants of Attica, not merely the camp of one ruling tribe. 133. Favorable Conditions. — Attica is one of the most easily defended districts of all Greece — against any force not abso- lutely overwhelming. It is a peninsula; and on the two land sides, where it borders Megaris and Boeotia, it is reached only through fairly difficult passes. These facts explain, in part, why Attica was the one spot of southern Greece not overrun by conquerors at the time of the Dorian migration. Naturally, it became a refuge for Ionian clans driven from the Peloponnesus. The richest and strongest of these were adopted into the tribes of Attica. Others became dependants. The frequent and peaceful introduction of new blood helped to make the people progressive and open to outside influence. 134. Decline of the Homeric Kingship. — Like other Greek cities, Athens lost her kings in the dim centuries before we have any real history. The nobles began to restrict the royal power about iOOO b.c. The king's title had been king-archon. Alongside the king-archon the nobles first set up, from among themselves, a war-archon (polemarch). Then they created a chief-archon, usually called the Archon, to act as judge and as chief executive of the government. After that, the king-archon was only the city-priest. In 752, the office was made elective, for ten-year terms. For some time longer the king-archon was always chosen from the old royal family ; but finally the ofl&ce was thrown open to any noble. At last, in 682 b.c, the archons were all made annual officers, and the number was increased to nine, because of the growing judicial work. 135. Rule by the Nobles. — The nobles were known as Eupa- trids (well-born). They were the chiefs of the numerous clans in Attica. Their council was called the Areopagus, from the § 137] RISE OF DEMOCRACY AT ATHENS. 143 name of the hill where it met. The Areopagus chose the archons (from nobles, of course), and ruled Attica. The other tribesmen had even less influence than in Homeric times. They no longer had a political Assembly. 136. Economic ^ Oppression. — The nobles tyrannized over the common tribesmen in economic matters. Most of the land had come to belong to the nobles. They tilled it mainly by tenants, who paid five sixths of the produce for rent. A bad season or hostile ravages compelled these tenants to borrow seed or food, and to mortgage themselves .for payment. If a debtor failed to pay promptly, he and his family could be dragged off in chains and sold into slavery. Besides the great landlords and their "tenants, there was a class of small farmers owning their own lands ; but often these men also were obliged to borrow of the nobles. In conse- quence, many of them passed into the condition of tenants. Aristotle (a later Greek writer) says : — • " The poor with their wives and children were the very bondsmen of the rich, who named them Sixth-men, because it was for this wage they tilled the land. The entire land was in the hands of a few. If the poor failed to pay their rents they were liable to be haled into slavery, . . . They were discontented also with every other feature of their lot, for, to speak generally, they had no share in anything.'''' — Constitution of Athens^ 2. 137. The first advance was to base political power in part upon wealth. The supremacy of the nobles had rested largely on- their superiority in war. They composed the "knights," or heavy-armed cavalry of Attica. In comparison with this cav- alry, the early foot soldiery was only a light-armed mob. But, before 650, the Athenians adopted the Dorian plan of a heavy- armed infantry (" hoplites "), with shield, helmet, and long spear. The serried ranks of this infantry proved able to repel cavalry. The importance of the nobles in war declined, and there followed some decrease in their political power. ^L». 1 "Economic " means ** with reference to property," or " with reference to the way of getting a living." The word must not be confused with "eco- nomical." 144 HELLAS FROM 1000 TO 500 B.C. [§ i Each man furnished his own arras for war. So, in order thai each might know just what military service was required from him, all tribesmen were divided into four classes, according to their yearly income from land} The first and second classes (the richest ones) were obliged to serve as knights, or cavalry. Doubtless at first these were all nobles. The third class were to arm themselves as hoplites. The fourth class were called into the field less often, and only as light-armed troops. This " census " was designed only to regulate service in the army, but it became a basis for the distribution of political power. All the heavy-armed soldiery — the three higher classes — came to have the right to vote on ques- tions of peace and war, and in time they grew into a nevj politi- cal Assembly. This Assembly elected archons and other officers. Thus political rights ceased to be based wholly on birth, and became partly a matter of wealth. 138. Civil Strife. — In general, however, the nobles seemed almost as safely intrenched under the new system by their wealth as they had been before by birth. Their rule continued selfish and incompetent; and nothing had been done to cure the sufferings of the poor. The people grew more and more bitter ; and, at length, ambitious adventurers began to try to overthrow the oligarchy and make themselves tyrants. One young conspirator, Cylon, with his forces, actually seized the Acropolis, the citadel of Athens. The nobles rallied, and Cylon was defeated ; but the ruling oligarchy had received a fright, and they now made a great concession (§ 139). — I — _ 1 SOO-measure men, 300-measure men, 200-measure men, and those whose income was less than 200 measures of wheat. (The Greek '* measure " was a little more than half a bushel.) 40] RISE OF DEMOCRACY AT ATHENS 145 ^ 139. Draco : Written Laws. — Until 621 b.c, Athenian law had been a matter of ancient custom. It was not written down, and much of it was known only to the nobles. All judges, of course, were nobles ; and they abused their power in order to fa^^or their own class. Therefore the Athenians clamored for a written code. They did not ask yet for new laws, but only that the old laws might be definitely fixed and known to all. The nobles had long resisted this demand. But in 621, after the attempt of Cylon, they consented that Draco, one of the archons, should draw up a written code. This was done ; and the " laws of Draco " were engraved on wooden blocks and set up where all might see them. Draco did not make new laws: he merely put old customs into fixed written form. The result was to make men feel how harsh and unfit the old laws were, — " written in blood rather than ink,^' as was said in a later age. The Athenians now demanded new laws. 140. Solon. — Just at this time Athens produced a rare man who was to render her great service. Solon was a descendant of the old kings. In his youth he had been a trader to other lands, even going as far as Egypt (§ 23). He was already famous as a poet, a general, and a philosopher ; and he was to show himself also a statesman. Solon's patriotism had been proven. At one time the internal quarrels had so weakened Athens that little Megara had captured Salamis. In control of this island, it was easy for Megara to seize ships trying to enter the Athenian ports. Efforts to recover this important place failed miser- ably ; and, in despair, the Athenians had voted to put to death any one who should again propose the attempt. Solon shammed madness, — to claim a crazy man's privilege, — and, appearing suddenly in the Assem- bly, recited a warlike, patriotic poem which roused his countrymen to fresh efforts. Solon was made general ; and he recovered Salamis and saved Athens from ruin. Now, in peril of civil war, the city turned naturally to Solon. He was known to sympathize with the poor. In his poems he had blamed the greed of the nobles and had pleaded for recon- ciliation between the classes. All trusted him, and the poor loved him. He was elected Archon, with special authority, to 146 HELLAS FROM 1000 TO 50(0 B.C. [§ 141 make new laws and to remodel the government. This office he held for two years, 594 and 593 B. G. 141. The "Shaking-off of Burdens." — The first year Solon swept away economic evils. Three measures righted past wrongs: — a. The old tenants were given full ownership of the lands which,they had formerly cultivated for the nobles.^ b. All debts were canceled so as to give a new start. c. All Athenians in slavery in Attica were freed. Two measures aimed to prevent a return of old evils : — d. It was made illegal to reduce Athenians to slavery. e. To own more than a certain quantity of land was for- bidden. In later times the whole people celebrated these acts of Solon each year by a " Festival of the Shaking-off of Burdens." 142. Political Reform. — These economic changes resulted in political change, since political power was already based upon landed property. Up to the time of Solon, the nobles had owned most of the land. But now much of it had been given to the poor, and henceforth it was easy for any rich man to buy land. Many merchants now rose into the first class, while many nobles sank into other classes. Soon, the Eupatrid name disappeared. Moreover, in the second year of his Archonship, Solon intro- duced direct political changes which went far toward making Athens a democracy. a. A Senate was created, to prepare measures for the Assem- bly to act upon. The members were chosen each year by lot,^ so that neither wealth nor birth could control the election. This new part of the government became the guiding part. 6. The Assembly (§ 137) was enlarged both as to size and 1 In one of his poems, Solon speaks of " freeing the enslaved land," by re- moving the stone pillars which had marked the nobles' ownership. 2 The lot in elections was regarded as an appeal to the gods, and its use was accompanied by religious sacrifices and by prayer. The early Puritans in New England sometimes used the lot in a similar way. § 145] RISE OF DEMOCRACY AT ATHENS 147 power. The ^^ fourth class" (light-armed soldiery) were ad- mitted to vote in it — though they were not allowed to hold office of any kind. This enlarged Assembly of all Athenian tribesmen discussed the proposals of the Senate and decided upon them ; elected the archons ; and could tiy them for misgov- ernment at the end of their year of office. c. The Areopagus was no longer a council of nobles only. It was composed of ex-archons. Thus, it was elected, indirectly, by the Assembly. It had lost most of its powers to the Senate and Assembly ; but it re- mained a court to try murder cases, and to exercise a supervision over the morals of the citizens, with power to impose fines for extravagance, insolence, or gluttony. 143. Additional Measures. — Solon also replaced Draco's bloody laws with a milder code ; introduced a coinage (§ 70) ; made it the duty of each father to teach his son a trade; limited the wealth that might be buried with the dead; and restricted women from appearing in public. 144. The sixth century b.c. was one of great progress in Athens. In 682 B.C., a few noble families still owned most of the soil, possessed all political power, and held the rest of the peo- ple in virtual slavery. In 593 B.C., when Solon laid down his office, nearly all Athenian tribesmen were landowners. All were members of the political Assembly, which decided public questions. Some elements of aristocracy were left. To hold of&ce, a man had to pos- sess enough wealth to belong to one of the three higher classes, and some offices were open only to the wealthiest class. But if this Athenian prog- ress seems slow to us, we must remember that in nearly all the Ameri- can spates, for some time after the Revolutionary War, important oflfices and the right to vote were open only to men with property. 145. Anarchy Renewed. — The reforms of Solon did not end the fierce strife of factions. Bitter feuds followed between the Plain (wealthy landowners), the Shore (merchants), and the Mountain (shepherds and small farmers). Twice within ten years, disorder prevented the election of archons. , 148 HELLAS FROM 1000 TO 500 B.C. [§ 146 146. Pisistratus, 560-527. — From such anarchy the city was saved by Pisistratus. In 560 b.c.^ this noble made himself tyrant, by help of the Mountain (the most democratic fac- tion). '^^Twice the aristocracy drove him into exile, once for ten years.' But each time he recovered his power, almost without bloodshed, because of the favor of the poorer people. His rule was mild and wise. He lived simply, like other citizens. He even appeared in a law court, to answer in a suit against him. And he always treated the aged Solon (his kins- man) with deep respect, despite the latter's bitter opposition. Indeed, Pisistratus governed through the forms of Solon's constitu- tion,"^ and enforced Solon's laws, taking care only to have his oivn friends elected to the chief offices. He was more like the " boss" of a great political " machine " than like a " tyrant." During the last period of his rule, however, he did banish many nobles and guarded himself by mercenary soldiers. Pisistratus encouraged commerce ; enlarged and beautified Athens ; built roads, and an aqueduct to bring a supply of water to the citj from the hills ; and drew to his court a brilliant circle of poets, painters, architects, and sculptors, from all Hellas. The first written edition of the Homeric poems is said to have been put together under his encouragement. During this same time, Anacreon (§ 155) wrote his graceful odes at Athens, and Thespis (§155) began Greek tragedy at the magnificent festivals there instituted to Dionysus (god of wine). The tyrant gave new splendor to the public worship, and set up rural festivals in various parts of Attica, to make country life more attractive. He divided the confiscated estates of banished nobles among landless freemen, and thus increased the number of peasant landholders. Attica was no longer torn by dissension. " Not only was he in every respect humane and mild and ready to for- give those who offended, but in addition he advanced money to the poorer people to help them in their labors, 1 Two years before Cyrus became king of Persia. 2 Constitution, herej'and everywhere in early history, means not a written document as with us, put the general usages of government in practice. § 148] RISE OF DEMOCRACY AT ATHENS 149 "For the same reason [to make rural life attractive] he instituted local justices, and often made expeditions in person into the country to inspect it, and to settle disputes between persons, that they might not come to the city and neglect their farms. It was in one of these prog- resses, as the story goes, that Pisistratus had his adventure with the man in the district of Hymettus, who was cultivating the spot afterwards known as the 'Tax-free Farm.' He saw a man digging at very stony ground with a stake, and sent and asked what he got out of such a plot of land. 'Aches and pains,' said the man, ' and out of these Pisistratus must get his tenth.' Pisistratus was so pleased with the man's frank speech and industry that he granted him exemption from taxes." — Aristotle, Constitution of Athens^ 17. 147. Expulsion of the Son of Pisistratus, 510 B.C. — In 527, Pisistratus was succeeded by his sons Hippias^and Hipparchus. Hipparchus, the younger brother, lived an evil life, and in 514 he was murdered because of a private grudge.^ The rule of Hippias had been kindly, but now he grew cruel and suspicious, and Athens became ready for revolt. CUsthenes, one of a band of exiled nobles, saw his opportunity to regain his home. The temple of Apollo at Delphi had just been burned, and Clisthenes engaged to rebuild it. He did so with great magnificence, using the finest of marble where the contract had called only for common limestone. After this, whenever the Spartans consulted the oracle, no matter what the occasion, they were always ordered by the priestess to ''Jirst set free the Athenians." The Spartans had no quarrel with Hippias ; but repeated commands from such a source could not be disre- garded. In 510, a reluctant Spartan army, with the Athenian exiles, expelled the tyrant. ^ 148. Vigor of Free Athens. — The Athenians were now in confusion again ; but they were stronger than before the rule of Pisistratus, and better able to govern themselves. The oligarchy strove to regain its ancient control ; but Clisthenes wisely threw his strength upon the side of the people, and drove out the oligarchs. The Thebans and Euboeans seized 1 Davis' Readings, Vol. I, No. 53, gives the patriotic song of Athens that commemorated this event. 150 HELLAS FROM 1000 TO 500 B.C. [§ 149 this time of confusion to invade Attica from two sides at once ; but they were routed by a double engagement in one day. A Spartan army restored the oligarchs for a moment, but was itself soon besieged in the Acropolis and captured by the aroused democracy. A century later an Athenian dramatist (Aristophanes, § 221) portrayed the Athenian exultation (and hinted some differences between Athenian and Spartan life) in the following lines : — ..." For all his loud fire-eating, The old Spartan got a beating. And, in sorry plight retreating, Left his spear and shield with me. Then, with only his poor shirt on. And who knows what years of dirt on, With a bristling bush of beard, He slunk away and left us free." The Athenians had enjoyed little fame in war, "but now," says Aristotle, " they showed that men will fight more bravely for themselves than for a master." Indeed, they were not content simply to defend themselves. Chalcis in Euboea was stormed, and its trade with Thrace (§ 122) fell to Athens. Athens now began a new kind of colonization, sending four thousand citizens to possess the best land of Chalcis, and to serve as a garrison there. These men retained full Athenian citizenship. They were known as cleruchs, or out-settlers. In this way Athens found land for her surplus population, and fortified her influence abroad. During these struggles, Clisthenes proposed further reforms in the government. The people adopted his proposals, and so made Athens a true democraq/. (See §§ 149-152.) 149. There were four main evils for Clisthenes to remedy. a. The constitution of Solon, though a great advance toward democracy, had left the government still largely in the haiids of the rich. The poorest " class " (which contained at least half of § 151] RISE OF DEMOCRACY AT ATHENS 151 all the citizens) could not hold office; and the Assembly had not learned how to use its new powers. h. The jealousy between the Plain, the Shore, and the Mountain (§ 145) still caused great confusion. c. All voting was by clans ; and there was strong temptation for each clan merely to rally around its own chief. d. There was a bitter jealousy between the Athenian tribes- men (the citizens) and a large body of non-citizens. The presence of these calls for a further explanation. 150. The Non-citizen Class. — Solon's reforms had concerned tribesmen only. But in the ninety years between Solon and Clisthenes, the growing trade of Athens had drawn many aliens there. These men were enterprising and sometimes wealthy; but though they lived in the city, they had no share in it. No alien could vote or hold office, or sue in a law court (except through the favor of some citizen), or take part in a religious festival, or marry an Athenian, or even own land in Attica. The city might find it worth while to protect his property, in order to attract other strangers; but he had no secure rights. Nor coidd his son, or his son's son, or any later descendant acquire any rights merely by continuing to live in Athens. A like condition was found in other Greek cities; but rarely were the aliens so large or so wealthy a class as in commercial Athens. Discontent might at any moment make them a danger. Clisthenes' plan was to take them into the state, and so make them strengthen it. 151. Geographical Tribes. — Clisthenes began his work by markirig off Attica into a hundred divisions, called demes. Each citizen was enrolled in one of these, and his son after him. Membership in a clan had always been the proof of citizenship. Now that proof was to be found in this deme-enrollment. The hundred demes were distributed among ten " tribes," or wards ; but the ten demes of each tribe were not located close together. TJiey were scattered as widely as possible, so as to in- clude different interests. Voting in the Assembly was no longer by the old blood tribes, but by these ten new "territorial" 152 HELLAS FROM 1000 TO 500 B.C. [§ 152 tribes. By this one device, Clisthenes remedied three of the four great evils of the time (b, c, d, in § 149). (1) A clan could no longer act as a unit, since its members made parts, perhaps, of several "tribes." So the influence of the clan chiefs declined. (2) Men of the Shore and of the Mountain often found themselves united in the same tribe, and the old factions died out. (3) While Clisthenes was distribut- ing citizens among the new geographical units, he seized the chance to enroll the non-citizens also in the demes. Thus, fresh, progressive influences were again adopted into Athenian life. It must not be supposed, however, that aliens continued to gain ad- mission in the future, as with us, by easy naturalization. The act of Clisthenes applied only to those then in Athens, and to their descendants. In a few years another alien class grew up, with all the old disadvantages. 152. The Assembly kept its old powers, and gained new ones. It began to deal with foreign affairs, taxation, and the details of campaigns. It no longer confined itself to proposals from the " Council of Five Hundred " (the new name for the Senate). Any citizen could move amendments or introduce new business. The Assembly now elected ten "generals^' yearly, who took over most of the old authority of the archons. These new arrangements corrected much of the first evil noted in § 149. The "fourth class " of citizens was still not eligible to office. Otherwise, Athens had become a democracy. To be sure, it took some time for the Assembly to realize its full power and to learn how to control its various agents ; but its rise to supreme authority was now only a matter of natural growth. Solon and Clisthenes were the two men who stood foremost in the great work of putting government into the hands of the people. The struggle in which they were champions is essentially the same contest that is going on to-day. The student will have little dif&culty in select- ing names, in America and in European countries, to put in the list which should be headed with the names of these two Athenians. §154] ART, POETRY, PHILOSOPHY 153 153. Ostracism. — One i)eculiar device of Clisthenes deserves mention. It was called ostracism^ and it was designed to head off civil strife. Once a year the Assembly was given a chance to vote by ballot (on pieces of pottery, "ostraka"), each one against any man whom he deemed dan- gerous to the state. If six thousand citizens thought that some one ought to go into exile for the safety of the state, then that man had to go against whom the largest number of the six thousand votes were cast. Such exile was felt to be perfectly honorable ; and when a man came back from it, he took at once his old place in the public regard. Exercise: Questions on the Government. — For the Eupatrid gov- ernment. — 1. What represented the monarchic element of Homer's time ? 2. What the aristocratic ? 3. What the democratic ? 4. Which element had made a decided gain in power ? 6. Which had lost most V 6. Which of the three was least important ? . 7. Which most important ? For the government after Solon. — 1. What was the basis of citizenship ?^ 2. What was the basis for distribution of power among the citizens? 3. Was the introduction of the Senate a gain for the aristocratic or demo- cratic element ? 4. What powers did the Assembly gain ? 5. Which two of these powers enabled the Assembly to control the administration ? Students should be able to answer similar questions on the government after Clisthenes' reforms. It would be a good exercise for the class to make out questions themselves. VI. INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT 154. Architecture, painting, and sculpture had not reached full bloom in the sixth century, but they had begun to show a character distinct from Oriental art. Their chief centers in this period were Miletus and Ephesus (in Ionia) and Athens, Architecture was more advanced than painting or sculpture. It found its best development, not in palaces, as in the old Cretan civilization, but in the temples of the gods. In every Greek city, the temples were the most beautiful and the most prominent structures. The plan of the Greek temple was very simple. People did not gather within the building for service, as in our churches. They only brought oiferings there. The inclosed part of the building, therefore, was small and rather dark. — containing only one or two rooms, for the statues of the god and the altar 154 HELLAS FROM 1000 TO 500 B.C. [§154 and the safe-keeping of the offerings. It was merely the god's house, where people could visit him when they wished to ask favofs. In shape, the temple was rectangular. The roof projected beyond the inclosed part of the building, and was supported not by the walls, but by a row of columns running around the four sides. The gables {pediments) in front and rear were low, and were filled with statuary, as was also the frieze, between the cornice and the columns. Sometimes there was a second frieze upon the walls of the building inside the colonnade. p • • • w = F H m = @| » « — m ffi Ik M>l«_ ^ ^ ■ T" 1 " "^ ^ < » T^ s # # : 1 9 t ! I " _ £ liT S ■ ...1 . ^ ■1 ■ H ^ 1 S — W ^T — "~ — - — J -^ F m •1 • # =1 ^ — d j _ k == ^ b H 1 «^ Ground Plan of the Temple of Theseus at Athens. The building took much of its beauty from its colonnades ; and the chief differences in the styles of architecture were marked by the columns and their capitals. According to differences in these features, a building is said to belong to the Doric, Ionic, or Corinthian "order." "^^~ In the Doric order the column has no base of its own, but rests directly upon the foundation from which the walls rise. The shaft is grooved lengthwise with some twenty flutings. The capital is severely simple, consisting of a circular band of stone, swelling up from the shaft, capped by a square block, without ornament. Upon the capitals rests a plain band of massive stones (the architrave), and above this is the frieze, which sup- ports the roof. The frieze is divided at equal spaces by tri- §155] ART, POETRY, PHILOSOPHY 155 Ionic Order. glyphs, a series of three projecting flutings; and the spaces between the triglyphs are filled with sculpture. The Doric style is the simplest of the three orders. It is almost austere in its plainness, giv- ing a sense of self-controlled power and repose. Some- times it is called a masculine style, in contrast with the more ornate and feminine character of the Ionic order. Tlie Ionic order came into general use later. In this style, the column has a base arranged in three expanding circles. The shaft is more slender than the Doric. The swelling bell of the capital is often nobly carved, and it is surmounted by two spiral rolls. The frieze has no tri- glyphs: the sculpture upon it is one continuous band. The Corinthian order is a later development and does not belong Doric Column. — From to the period we are now consid- the Temple of Theseus ering. It resembles the Ionian ; but the capital is taller, lacks the spirals, and is more highly- ornamented, with forms of leaves or animals. For illustrations of the Doric and Ionic orders, see also pages 158, 159, and especially page 212. For the Corinthian, see page 476. at Athens. 1, the shaft ; 2, the capital ; 3, the frieze ; 4, cornice ; 5, part of roof, showing the low slope. Corinthian Order. 155. Poetry. — In poetry there was more prog- ress even than in architecture. The earliest Greek poetry had been made up of ballads, celebrating 156 HELLAS FROM 1000 TO 500 B.C. [§155 wars aud heroes. These ballads were stories in verse, sung by wandering minstrels. The greatest of such compositions rose' to epic poetry, of which the Iliad and Odyssey are the noblest examples. Their period is called the Epic Age. In the seventh and sixth centuries, most poetry consisted of odes and songs in a great variety of meters, — corresponding to the more varied life of the time. Love and pleasure are the favor- ite themes, and the poems describe feel- ings rather than out- ward events. They were intended to be sung to the accom- paniment of the lyre (a sort of harp). They are therefore called lyrics ; and the sev- enth and sixth cen- turies are known as the Lyric Age. It is possible to name here only a few of the many famous lyric poets of that age. Sappho, of Lesbos, wrote exquisite and melodious love songs, of which a few fragments survive. Her lover Alcaeus (another Lesbian poet) described her as "Pure Sappho, violet tressed, softly smiling." The ancients were wont to call her "the poetess," just as they referred to Homer as "the poet." Simonides wrote odes to arouse Hellenic patriotism ; Anacreon h^s been spoken of in connection with the brilliant court of Pisistratus. Tyrtaeus, an Attic war-poet, wrote chiefly for the Spartans, and became one of their generals. Corinna was a woman poet of Boeotia. Pindar, the greatest of the lyric poets. A Doric Capital. — From a photograph ot a de- tail of the Parthenon. See § 219 for the date and history. i § 156] ART, POETRY, PHILOSOPHY 157 came from the same district. He delighted especially to cele- brate the rushing chariots and glorious athletes of the Olympic games. 'l^wo other great poets, representing another kind of poetry, belong to this same period. Ilesiod of Boeotia lived about 800 B.C. He wove together into a long poem old stories of the creation and of the birth and relationship of the gods. This Theogony of Hesiod was the most important single work in early Greek literature, after the Homeric poems. Hesiod wrote also remarkable home-like poems on farm life (Works and Days).''- The other writer was Thespis, who began dramatic poetry (plays) at Athens, under the patronage of Pisistratus. 156. Philosophy. — In the sixth century, too, Greek phi- losophy was born. Its home was in Ionia. There first the Greek mind set out fearlessly to explain the origin of things. Tholes of Miletus, ^^ father of Greek philosophy," taught that all things came from Water, or moisture. His pupil Anax- imenes called Air, not Water, the universal "first principle." Pythagoras (born at Samos, but teaching in Magna Graecia) sought the fundamental principle, not in any kind of matter, but in Number, or Harmony. Xenophanes of Ionia, affirmed that the only real existence was that of God, one and change- less — "not in body like unto mortals, nor in mind.'' The changing world, he said, did not really exist : it was only a deception of men's senses. Heracleitus of Ephesus, on the other hand, held that " ceaseless change " was the very prin- ciple of things : the world, he taught, had evolved from a fiery ether, and was in constant flux. Some of these explanations of the universe seem childish to us. But the great thing is that, at last, men should have begun to seek for any natural explanation — instead of putting forward some sitpernatural explanation. Accordingly, this early philosophy ivas closely related to early science. Thales 1 This was really a textbook on farming, — the first textbook in Europe. Hesiod wrote it in verse, because prose writing in his day was unknown. The earliest composition of any people is usually in meter. 158 HELLAS FROM 1000 TO 500 B.C. [§157 was the first Greek to foretell eclipses. (He could predict the period, but not the precise day or hour.) Those who laughed at philosophers, liked to tell of him that, while gazing at the heavens, he fell into a well. He may have obtained his knowl- edge of astronomy from Egypt, which country we know he visited (§ 32). Anaximander, another philosopher of Miletus, West Front of the Parthenon to-day. Doric style. See § 219. made maps and globes. The Pythagoreans naturally paid special attention to mathematics and especially to geometry; and to Pythagoras is ascribed the famous demonstration about the square on the hypotenuse of a right triangle. The Pythagoreans connected " philosophy " particularly with conduct. The harmony in the outer world, they held, must be matched by a harmony in the soul of man. Indeed, all these sages taught lofty moral truths. (See Davis' Readings, Vol. I, No. 98.) Greek philosophy lifted itself far above the moral level of Greek religion. 157. Summary of the Five Centuries. — During the five cen- turies from 1000 to 500 b.c, the Hellenes had come to think of themselves as one people (though not as one nation), and 157] ART, POETRY, PHILOSOPHY 159 had developed a brilliant, jostling society. During more than half the period they had been busy sowing Hellenic cities broadcast along even the distant Mediterranean shores. They had found a capable military leadership in Sparta. They had everywhere rid themselves of the old monarchic rule, by a West Front of Temple of Victory at Athens. — From the ruins to-day. Ionic style. See § 218. long series of changes ; and, in Athens in particular, they had gone far toward creating a true democracy. Toward the close of the period, they had experienced an artistic and intellectual development which made their civilization nobler and more promising than any the world had yet seen. Moreover, this civili- zation was essentially one with our own. The remains of Egyptian or Babylonian sculpture and architecture arouse our admiration and interest as curiosities ; but they are foreign to us. With the remains of a Greek temple, or a fragment of a Greek poem, of the year 500, we feel at home. It might have been built, or written, by our own people. 160 HELLAS FROM 1000 TO 500 B.C. [§158 158. The following table of date^s shows the correspondence in time of leading events in the Oriental and the Greek world down to the period when the two worlds come into close relations. Down to about 800, dates are mostly estimates (§ 31). This table, is not given to be memorized, but merely to be read and referred to. Hellas B.C. 3500 Rising Aegean " New Stone " culture 2500 Bronze culture in Crete and other Aegean centers 2500 or 2400 Destruction of Schlie- mann's " Troy " (the " Sec- ond City") 2000 (?) " Minos of Crete " 1600 Phoenicians in the Aegean 1500-1200 Achaean conquests 1500 Destruction of Knossos 1300 1200 1100 Destruction of Mycenae Destruction of Homer's "Troy" (the "Sixth City") Homeric Poems The East B.C. 5000 Records of advanced Bronze cultures in valleys of Nile and Euphrates 3400-2400 "Old Kingdom" in Egypt, centered at Merr phis ; Menes ; Cheop. pyramids 2800 Sargon : empire from Eu- phrates to Mediterranean 2400-2000 "Middle Kingdom" in Egypt, centered at Thebes : Lake Moeris ; Red Sea canal ; commerce with Crete 2234 Beginning of recorded astro- nomical observations at Babylon (§ 49) 2000 Abraham emigrates from Ur 2000-1600 Egyptian Decline : Hyk- sos ; Hebrews enter Egypt 1917 (?) Hammurabi: " First Bab- ylonian " Empire ; volumi- nous cuneiform literature 1600-1330 "New Empire" in Egypt 1475 Egyptian brief conquest of the East : Jirst union of the Oriental world 1320 Hebrew exodus 1100 Beginnings of Assyrian Em- pire — Tiglath-Pileser I 158] HELLAS AND THE EAST 161 Hellas (continued) 1000 Dorian conquests 900 Rise of Sparta 900-800 Ionian colonization 800-650 Greek colonization Mediterranean coasts 776 First recorded Olympiad 700-500 " Age of Tyrants " of 650-500 "Lyric Age" 594-593 Solon's reforms 560-527 Pisistratus 510 Expulsion of Tyrants from Athens The East (continued) 1055-975 David and Solomon 1000 (?) Zoroaster 850 (?) Carthage founded 745 True Assyrian Empire — Tig- lath-Pileser II 722 Sargon carries the Ten Tribes of Israel into captivity 672 Assyria conquers Egypt : sec- ond union of Oriental world 653-525 Last period of Egyptian independence — open to Greeks ; visits by Solon and Thales ; circumnavigation of Africa , 650 (?) First coinage, in Lydia 630 Scythian ravages 625-538 Second Babylonian Em- pire : Babylonian captivity of the Jews 556 Ci'oesus, king in Lydia 558-529 Cyrus the Great founds Persian Empire — third un- ion of the Oriental World 500 Ionian Revolt (§§164, 165) (Eastern and Western civilizations in conflict) For Further Reading. — Specially suggested: (1) Davis' Head- ings, Vol. I, Nos. 40-56. These very nearly fit in with the order of treatment in this book, and several numbers have been referred to in footnotes. It is desirable for students each day to consult the Read- ings, to see whether they can find there more light on the lesson in this book. (2) Bury (on colonization), 86-106, 116-117; (on Sparta), 120-134; (on '' Lycnrgus'^), 134-135; (on certain tyrants), 149-155; (^oracles and festivals), 159-161 ; (work of Solon), 180-189. 162 HELLAS FROM 1000 TO 500 B.C. [§ 158 Exercise. — Distinguish between Sparta and Laconia. How did the relation of Thebes to Boeotia differ from that of Sparta to Laconia ? . Which of these two relations was most like that of Athens to Attica f Have you any buildings in your city in which Greek columns are used ? Of which order, in each case ? (Take several leading buildings in a large town.) Explain the following terms : constitution ; Helot ; Eupatrid ; tyrant; Lycurgus; Clisthenes ; Areopagus; archon ; deme; clan;, tribe; a " tribe of Clisthenes." (To explain a term, in such an exercise, is to make such statements concerning it as will at least prevent the term being confused with any other. Thus if the term is Solon, it will not do to say, " A Greek law- giver," or " A lawgiver of the sixth century b.c." The answer must at least say, " An Athenian lawgiver of about 600 b.c." ; and it ought to say, "An Athenian lawgiver and democratic reformer of about 600 b.c." Either of the first two answers is worth zero.) CHAPTER XII THE PERSIAN WARS We have no^^j^ached a point where the details of Greek history are bett^^nown, and where a more connected story is possible. This sfory begins with the Persian Wars. «• NAx.' THE TWO ANTAGONISTS 159.^Persia. — In §§69-77, we saw how — within a time nolon|Wthan an average human life^ Persia had stretched its rule over the territory of all former Oriental empires, besides adding vast regions before unknown. By 500 B.C. (the period to which we have just carried Greek history), ]^ersia reached into the peninsula of "HtwioQjstan in Asia, and, across Thrace, up to the Greek peninsula in Europe (map, after page 84). On this western frontier lay the scat- tered groups of Greek cities, busting and energetic, .but small and disunited. 27^6 mighty worl(^empire noiv advanced con- Jidently to add these little communities to its dominions. Persia, in many ways, was the noBlest of the Asiatic empires ; but its civilization was distinctly Oriental (with the general character that has been noted in §§ 8o ff.). The Greek cities, between looo and 500 B.C., had created a wholly different sort of culture, which we call European, or Western (§§ 82, 86). East and West now joined battle. The Persian attack upon Greece began a contest between two worlds, which has gone on, at times, ever since, — with the present " Eastern Question " and our Philippine question for latest chapters. 160. Three sections of Hellas were prominent in power and culture: the European peninsula, which we commonly call Greece ; Asiatic Hellas, with its coast islands ; and Sicily and Magna Graecia (§ 122). Elsewhere, the cities were too scat- tered, or too small, or too busy with their owti 'defense against 163 164 THE GREEKS — PERSIAN WARS [§161 surrounding savages, to count for much in the approaching contest. Asiatic Hellas felLeasilx to Persia bef ore. Jihe_ real struggle began. Then the two other sections were attacked simultaneously, Greece by Persia, Sicily by Carthage. Carthage was a Phoenician colony on the north coast of Africa (see map after page 132). It had built up a consider- able empire in the western Mediterranean ; and, in Sicily, it had already, from time to time, come into conflict with Greek colonies. Sicily was an important point f^pi which to control Mediterranean trade. Carthage now made a determined at- tempt to drive out her rivals there. The Greeks believed that the Persian king urged Carthage to take this time for attack, so that Magna Graecia and Sicily might not be able to join the other Greeks in res^Jjig the main attack from Persia. At all events, such was tne result. The Greek cities in Sicily and Italy were ruled by tyrants. These rulers united under Gelon of Syracuse, and repelled the Carthaginian onset. But the struggle kept the Western Greeks from helping their kinsmen against the Persians. 161. Conditions in Greece itself at this critical moment were unpromising. The_forces that could be mustered against the master of the world were small at best; but just now thejT were further divided and wasted in internal struggles. Athens was at war with Aegina and with Thebes ; Sparta had re- newed an ancient strife with Argos (§ 96), and had crippled her for a generation by slaying in one battle almost the whole body of adult Argives.^ Phocis was engaged in war with Thessalians on one side and Boeotians on the other. Worse than all this, many cities were torn by cruel class strife at 1 The old men and boys, however, were still able to defend Argos itself against Spartan attack. This touches an important fact in Greek war- fare: a walled city could hardly he taken by assault; it could fall only- through extreme carelessness, or by treachei-y, or starvation. The last danger did not often exist. The armies of the besiegers were made up of citizens, not of paid troops; and they could not keep the field long themselves. They were needed at home, and it was not easy for them to secure food for a long siege. 162] THE ANTAGONISTS 165 home, — oligarchs against democrats. Owe favorable condition^ however, calls for attention (§ 162). 162. The Peloponnesian League. — In a sense, Sparta was the head of Greece. She lacked the enterprise and daring that were to make Athens the city of the coming century ; but her government was firm, her army was larg e and disci- plined, and so far she had shown* more genius than any other Greek state in organizing her neighbors into a military league. Two fifths of the PeloponnesiLS she ruled directly (La- conia and Mes- senia), and the rest (except Argo- lis and Achaea) formed a confederacy for war, with Sparta as the head. It is true the union was very slight. On special occasions, at the call of Sparta, tbe^ states sent delegates to a conference to discuss peace or war ; but there was no . constitution, no common treasury, not even a general treaty to bind the states together. Indeed, one city of the league sometimes made war upon another. Each state was bound to Sparta- by its special treaty ; and, if Sparta was attacked by an enemy, each city of the " league " was expected to maintain a certain number of troops for the confederate army. Loose as this Peloponnesian league was, it was the greatest war power in Hellas ; and it seemed the one rallying point for disunited Greece in the coming struggle (§ 130, close). Except for the presence of this war power, few other Greeks would have dared to resist Persia at all. THE PELOPONNESIAN LEAGUE (500 B.C.) 166 THE GREEKS — PERSIAN WARS [§163 OPENING OF THE STRUGGLE IN IONIA 163. Conquest of the Ionian Greeks. — For two centuries before 500 B.C., the Asiatic Hellenes excelled all other branches of the Greek race in culture. Unfortunately for them, the em- pire of Lydia arose near them. That great state was un- willing to be shut off from the Aegean by the Greek cities, and it set out to conquer them. For some time, the little Greek states kept their independence ; but when the energetic Croesus (§ 70) became king of Lydia, he subdued all the cities on the coast of Asia Minor. Croesus, however, was a warm admirer of the Greeks, and his rule over them was gentle. They were expected to acknowledge him as their over-lord and to pay a small tribute in money ; but they were left to manage their own affairs at home, and were favored in many ways. When Cyrus the Persian attacked Croesus (§ 72), the Asiatic Greeks fought gallantly for Lydia. After the over- throw of Croesus, they tried to come to terms with Cyrus. Cyrus was angry because they had refused his invitations to join him in the war, and he would make them no promises. Fearing severe punishment, they made a brief struggle for independence. They applied, in vain, to Sparta for aid. Then Thales (§ 156) suggested a federation of all Ionia, with one gov- ernment and one army ; but the Greeks could not rise to so wise a plan (cf. § 104). So the Ionian cities fell, one by one, before the arms of Cyrus; and under Persian despotism their old leadership in civilization soon vanished. 164. The " Ionian Revolt,'^ 500 B.C. — The Persian conquest took place about 540 b.c. Before that time the lonians had begun to get rid of tyrants'. But the Persians set up a tyrant again in each city, as the easiest means of control. (This shows something of what would have happened in Greece itself, if Persia had won in the approaching war.) Each tyrant knew that he could keep his power only by Persian support. In the year 500, by a general rising, the lonians deposed their tyrants once more, formed an alliance with one another. § 165] THE FIRST ATTACK 167 and broke into revolt against Persia. Another appeal to Sparta ^ for help proved fruitless ; but Athens sent twenty ships, and little Eretria sent five. " These ships," says Herod- otus, " were the beginnings of woes, both to the Greeks and to the barbarians." At first the lonians and their allies were successful. They even took Sardis, the old capital of Lydia, far in the interior. But treachery and mutual suspicion were rampant; Persian gold was used skillfully ; and one defeat broke up the loose Ionian league. Then the cities were again subdued, one by one, in the five years following. FIRST TWO ATTACKS UPON THE EUROPEAN GREEKS (492-490 B.C.) 165. What was th% relation of the Ionian Revolt to the Persian invasion of Greece? According to legend, the Persian king attacked Greece to punish Athens for sending aid to the Ionian rebels. Herodotus" says that Darius (§ 76) was so angered by the sack of Sardis that, during the rest of his life, he had a herald cry out to him thrice each day at dinner, — "0 King, remember the Athenians ! " This story has the appearance of a later invention, to flatter Athenian vanity. Probably Athens was pointed out for special vengeance, by her aid to Ionia ; b^d the Persian invasion would have come, anyway, and it would have come some years sooner, had not the war in Ionia kept the Persians busy. The expanding frontier of the Persian empire had reached 1 The story of the appeal to Sparta is told pleasantly by Herodotus (ex- tract in Davis' Readings, Vol. I, No. 57). It should be made a topic for a special report by some student to the class. (This seems a good place to call the attention of teachers to one feature of the present textbook. The story just referred to might easily be put into the text ; but it would take up much space ; and though interesting, it has little historical value. At least, it is in no way essential for understanding the rest of the history. More important still, — any student who has Herodotus accessible can tell the story as well as this book could do it. This is the kind of outside reading that any student likes to do, and a kind that any student is perfectly able to do.) 168 THE GREEKS — PERSIAN WARS [§ 166 Thessaly just before 500 b.c, and the same motives that had carried Persian arms through Thrace and Macedonia would have carried them on into Greece. Persia was still in full career of conquest. The Greek peninsula was small ; but its cities were becoming wealthy, and Persia coveted them for their ships and their trade. The real significance of the Ionian war was that it helped to delay the f^ain Persian onset until the Greeks were better prepared. The Athenians had been wise, as well as generous, in aiding the lonians. 166. First Expedition against Greece, 492 B.C. Mount Athos. — Immediately after the end of the Ionian revolt Darius began vast preparations for the invasion of Greece. A mighty army was gathered at the Hellespont under Mardonius, son-in-law of the king; and a large fleet was collected. This was to sail along the coast, in constant touch with tl^p army, and furnish it, day by day, with provisions and other supplies. In 492, these forces set out, advancing along the shores of the Aegean. But the army suffered from constant attacks by the savage Thracian tribes; and finally, as the fleet was rounding the rocky promontory of Mount Athos, a terrible storm dashed it to pieces. With it were wrecked all hopes of success. Mardonius had no choice but to retreat into Asia. 167. Second Expedition, 490 B.C. Marathon. — This failure filled Darius with wrath. Such a check in an expedition against the petty Greek states was wholly unexpected. Mar- donius, though an able general, was disgraced, and preparations were begun for a new expedition. Meantime, in 491, heralds were sent to all the Greek cities to demand " earth and water," in token of submission. ^The islands in the Aegean yielded at once. In continental Greece the demand was in general quietly refused ; but, in Athens and Sparta, indignation ran so high that even the sacred character of ambassadors did not save the messengers. At Athens they were thrown into a pit, and at Sparta into a well, and told to " take thence what they wanted." In the spring of 490, the Persians were ready for the second 1167] THE SECOND ATTACK 169 expedition. This time, taking warning from the disaster at Mount Athos, the troops were embarked on a mighty fleet, which proceeded directly across the Aegean. Stopping only to receive the submission of certain islands by the way, the fleet reached the island of Eubgea without a check. There Eretria (§ 164) was captured, through treachery. The city was destroyed, and most of the people were sent in chains to Persia. Then the Persians landed on the plain of 3Iarathon in Attica, to punish Athens. Hippias, the exiled tyrant (§ 147), was with the invaders, hoping to get back his throne as a servant of Persia; and he had pointed out this admirable place for disembarking the Persian cavalry. At first most of the Athenians wished to fight only behind their walls. Sooner or later, this must have resulted in ruin, especially as there were some traitors within the city hoping to admit Hippias. Happily Miltiades, one of the ten Generals (§ 152), persuaded the commanders to march out and attack the Persians at once.^ From the rising ground where the hills of Mount PentelicuSu. meet the plain, the ten thousand Athenian hoplites faced the Persian host for the first struggle between Greeks and Asiatics on European ground. Sparta had promised aid; and, at the first news of the Persian approach, a swift runner (Phidippi- des) had raced the hundred and fifty miles of rugged hill country to implore Sparta to hasten. He reached Sparta on the second day ; but the Spartans waited a week, on the ground that an old law forbade them to set out on a military expedi- tion before the full moon. The Athenians felt bitterly that Sparta was ready to look on, not unwillingly, while the "second city in Greece" was destroyed. At all events, Athens was left to save herself (and our Western world) as best she could, with help from only one city. This was heroic little Plataea, in Boeotia, near by. Athens had sometimes protected the democratic government of that 1 This story should be read in Herodotus, or, even better in some ways, in the extracts in Davis' Readings, with Dr. Davis' admirable introductions. 170 THE GREEKS — PERSIAN WARS [§167 city from attack by the powerful oligarchs of Thebes. The Plataeans remembered this gratefully, and, on the eve of the battle, marched into the Athenian camp with their full force of a thousand hoplites. Then Athenians and Plataeans won a marvelous victory over perhaps ten times their number^ of the most famous soldiery in the world. The result was due to the generalship of Miltiades, and to the superior equipment of the Greek hoplite. Miltiades drew out his front as thin as he dared, to prevent the long Persian front from overlapping and " flanking " him. To accomplish this, he weakened his center dar- ingly, so as to mass all the men he could spare from there in the wings. He meant these wings to bear the brunt of battle, and ordered them to advance more rapidly than the thin center. Then he moved his forces down the slope toward the Persian lines. While yet an arrow's flight distant, the advancing Greeks broke into a run, according to Miltiades' orders, so as to cover the rest of the ground before the Persian archers could get in their deadly work. Once at close quarters, the heavy weapons of the Greeks gave them overwhelming advantage. Their dense, heavy array, charging with long, outstretched spears, by its sheer weight broke the light- armed Persian lines, which were SCALE or MILES =1 — r= Plan of Marathon. Cf. map, page 180. 1 The figures, on the next page, for the slain, are probably trustworthy ; but all numbers given for the Persian army, in this or other campaigns, are guesses. Ancient historians put the Persians at Marathon at from a quarter to half a million. Modem scholars are sure that no ancient fleet could possi- bly carry any considerable part of such a force, — and, indeed, it is clear that the ancient authorities had no basis for their figures. Modern guesses — they are nothing better — put the Persian force at Marathon all the way from 100,000 down to 20,000. §167] THE SECOND ATTACK 171 utterly unprepared for conflict on such terms. The Persians fought gallantly, as usual; but their darts and light scimetars made little impression upon the heavy bronze armor of the Greeks, while their linen tunics and wicker shields counted for little against the thrust of the Greek spear. For a time, it is true, the Greek center had to give ground ; but the two Marathon To-day. — From a photograph. The camera stood a little above the Athenian camp in the Plan on the opposite page. That camp was in the first open space in the foreground, where the poplar trees are scattered. The land beyond the strip of water is the narrow peninsula running out from the " Marsh " in the Plan. wings, having routed the forces in front of them, wheeled upon the Persian center, crushing upon both flanks at the same moment, and drove it in disorder to the ships. One hundred ninety-two Athenians fell. The Persians left over sixty-four hundred dead upon the field. The Athenians tried also to seize the fleet; but here they were repulsed. The Persians embarked and sailed safely away. They took a course that might lead to Athens. Moreover, the 172 THE GREEKS — PERSIAN WARS [§168 Greek army had just seen sun-signals flashing to the enemy from some traitor's shield in the distant mountains ; and Mil- tiades feared them to be an invitation to attack the city in the absence of the army. To check such plots, he sent the runner' Phidippides to announce the victory to Athens. Already ex- hausted by the battle, Phidippides put forth supreme effort, raced the twenty -two miles of mountain road from Marathon, shouted exultantly to the eager, anxious crowds, — " Ours the victory," — and fell dead.^ Meanwhile Miltiades was hurrying the rest of his wearied army, without rest, over the same road. Fortunately the Persian fleet had to sail around a long promontory (map, page 180), and when it appeared off Athens, the next morn- ing, Miltiades and his hoplites had arrived also. The Persians did not care to face again the men of Marathon ; and the satTle day they set sail for Asia.^ 168. Importance of Marathon. — Merely as a military event Marathon is an unimportant skirmish ; but, in its results upon human welfare, it is among the few really " decisive " battles of the world. Whether Egyptian conquered Babylonian, or Babylonian conquered Egyptian, mattered little in the long run. Possibly, whether Spartan or Athenian prevailed over the other mattered not much more. But it did matter whether or not the huge, inert East should crush the new life out of the West. Marathon decided that the West should live on. For the Athenians themselves, Marathon began a new era. Natural as the victory came to seem in later times, it took high courage on that day to stand before the hitherto un conquered Persians, even without such tremendous odds. "The Athe- nians," says Herodotus, " were the first of the Greeks to face iThe student will like to read, or to hear read, Browning's poem, Pheidip- pides, with the story of both runs by this Greek hero. Compare this story with Herodotus' account in Davis' Readings, Vol. I, No. 59. The famous run from the battlefield to the city is the basis of the modern " Marathon " race, in which champion athletes of all countries compete. 2The full story of this battle should be read as Herodotus tells it. It is given in Davis' Readings, Vol. I, Nos. 59, 60. § 169] AN INTERVAL OF PREPARATION 173 the Median garments, . . . whereas up to this time the very- name of Mede [Persian] had been a terror to the Hellenes." Athens broke the spell for the rest of Greece, and grew herself to heroic stature in an hour. The sons of the men who conquered on that field could find no odds too crushing, no prize too dazzling, in the years to come. It was now that the Athenian character first showed itself as Thucydides described it a century- later : " The Athenians are the only people who succeed to the full extent of their hope, because they throw themselves with- out reserve into whatever they resolve to do." ATHENS — FROM MARATHON TO THERMOPYLAE 169. Internal Faction Crushed. — Soon after Marathon, Egypt revolted against Persia. Tliis gave the Greeks ten years more for preparation; but, except in Athens, little use was made of the interval. In that city the democratic forces grew stronger and more united, while the oligarchs were weakened. One incident in this change was the ruin of Miltiades, the hero of Marathon. Miltiades was originally an Athenian noble who had made himself tyrant of Chersonesu^^ (map after page 94). Not long before .the Persian invasion, he had brought upon himself the hatred of the Great King,^ and had fled back to Athens. Here he became at once a prominent supporter of the oligarchic party. The democrats tried to prosecute him for his previous " tyranny " ; but the attempt failed, and when the Persian invasion came, the Athenians were fortunate in having his experience and ability to guide them. Soon after Marathon, however, Miltiades failed in an expedition against Pares, into which he had persuaded the Athenians ; and then the hostile democracy secured his overthrow. He was condemned to pay an immense fine, and is said to have died soon afterward in prison. This blow was followed by the ostracism of some oligarchic leader each season for several years, until that party was utterly 1 Report the story from Herodotus, if a translation is accessible. 174 THE GREEKS — PERSIAN WARS [§170 broken. Thus Athens was saved from its most serious inter- nal dissension. 170. Themistocles makes Athens a Naval Power. — The victo- rious democrats at once divided into new parties. The more moderate section was content with the constitution of Clis- thenes and was disposed to follow old customs. Its leader was Aristkles^ a calm, conservative man, surnamed " the Just." The radical wing, favoring new methods and further change, was led by Themistocles. Themistocles was sometimes less scrupulous and upright than Aristides, but he was one of the most resourceful and far-sighted statesmen of all history. Themistocles desired passionately one great departure from past custom in Athenian affairs. He wished to make Athens a naval power. He saiv clearly that the real struggle with Persia was yet to come, and that the result could he decided by victory on the sea. Such victory was more probable for the Greeks than victory on land. Huge as the Persian empire was, it had no seacoast except Egypt, Phoenicia, and Ionia. It could not, therefore, so vastly outnumber the Greeks in ships as in men ; and if the Greeks could secure command of the sea, Persia would be unable to attack them at all. But this proposed naval policy for Athens broke with all tradition, and could not win without a struggle. Seafarers though the Greeks were, up to this time they had not used ships much in war. Attica, in particular, had almost no navy. The party of Aristides wished to hold to the old policy of fighting on laud, and they had the glorious victory of Marathon to strengthen their arguments. Feeling ran high. Finally^ in 483, the leaders agreed to let a vote of ostracism decide between them. Fortunately, Aristides was ostracized (§ 153), and for some years the influence of Themistocles was the strongest power in Athens. \^^ While the voting was going on (according to Herodotus) a stupid fellow, who did not know Aristides, asked him to write the name Aristides on the shell he was about to vote. Aristides did so, asking, however, what harm Aristides had ever done the man. "jVoharm," replied the voter; "in § 171] THE MAIN ATTACK 175 deed, I do not know him; but I am tired of hearing him called 'the Just.' " Read the other anecdotes about Aristides in Davis' Beadings, Vol. I, No. 61. Themistocles at once put his new policy into operation. Rich veins of silver had recently been discovered in the mines of Attica. These mines belonged to the city, and a large reve- nue from them had accumulated in the public treasury. It had been proposed to divide the money among the citizens ; but Themistocles persuaded his countrymen to reject this tempting plan, and instead to build a great fleet. Thanks to this policy, in the next three years Athens became the great- est naval power in Hellas. The decisive victory of Salamis was to be the result (§ 179). I THE THIRD ATTACK, 480-479 b.c. 171. Persian Preparation. — Meantime, happily for the world, the great Darius died, and the invasion of Greece fell to his feebler son, Xerxes. Marathon had proved that no Persian fleet by itself could transport enough troops ; so the plan of Mardonius' expedition (§ 166) was tried again, but upon a larger scale, both as to army and fleet. To guard against another accident at Mt. Athbs, a canal for ships was cut through the isthmus at the back of that rocky headland, — a great engineering work that took three years. Meantime, supplies were collected at stations along the way ; the Hellespont was bridged with chains of boats covered with planks ; ^ and at last, in the spring of 480, Xerxes in person led a mighty host of many nations into Europe. Ancient reports put the Asiatics at from one and a half million to two million soldiers, with followers and attendants to raise the total to five millions. Modern critics think Xerxes may have had some half-million troops, with numerous followers. In any case, the numbers vastly exceeded those which the Greeks could bring against them. A fleet of twelve hundred ships accompanied the army. 1 Read Herodotus' story of Xerxes' wrath when the first bridge broke, and how he ordered the Hellespont to be flogged (Davis' Readings, Vol. I, No. 64). 176 THE GREEKS — PERSIAN WARS [§172 172. The Greek Preparation. — The danger forced the Greeks into something like common action : into a greater unity, indeed, than they had ever known. Sparta and Athens joined in call- ing a Hellenic congress at Corinth, on the isthmus, in 481 b.c. The deputies that appeared bound their cities by oath to ai(" one another, and pledged their common efforts to punish any states that should join Persia. Ancient feuds were pacified Plans of campaign were discussed, and Sparta was formally recognized as leader. In spite of Athens' recent heroism, ^ belief in Sparta's invincibility in war was too strong to perj any other choice. Messengers were sent also to implore aid from outlying por tions of Hellas, but with little result. Crete excused he: on a superstitious scruple. Corcyra promised a fleet, but to<. care it should not arrive ; and the Greek tyrants in Sicily ai^ Magna Graecia had their hands full at home with the Carthp ginian invasion (§ 160). The outlook was full of gloom. Argos, out of hatred for Sparta, and Thebes, from jealousy of Athens, had refused to attend the congress, and were ready to join Xerxes. Even the Delphic oracle, which was of course consulted in such a crisis, predicted ruin and warned the Athenians in particular to flee to the ends of the earth. 173. The Lines of Defense. — Against a land attack the Greeks had three lines of defense. The first was at the Vale of Tempe near Mount Olympus, where only a narrow pass opened into Thessaly. The second was at Thermopylae, where the mountains shut off northern from central ^ Greece, except for a road only a few feet in width. The third was behind the Isthmus of Corinth. 174. Plan of Campaign. — At the congress at Corinth the Peloponnesians had wished selfishly to abandon the first two lines. They urged that all patriotic Greeks should "retire. ak-i»nce within the Peloponnesus, the final citadel of Greece, and for- 1 For these terms, see map study, page 95. § 176] THERMOPYLAE 177 tify the isthmus by an impregnable wall. This plan was as foolish as it was selfish. Greek troops might have held the isthmus against the Persian land army ; but the Pelopon- nesus was readily open to attack by sea, and the Persian fleet ivould have found it easier here than at either of the other lines of defense to land troops in the Greek rear, ivithout losing ijouch with its otvn army. Such a surrender of two thirds of Greece, too, would have meant a tremendous reinforcement of '■i enemy by excellent Greek soldiery. Accordingly, it was ■Mly decided to resist the entrance of the Persians into Greece y meeting them at the Vale of Tempe, 175. The Loss of Thessaly. — Sparta, however, had no gift going to meet an attack, but must always await it on the emy's terms. A hundred thousand men should have held iC Vale of Tempe ; but only a feeble garrison was sent there, . nd it retreated before the Persians appeared. Through Sparta's incapacity for leadership, Xerxes entered Greece without a blow. Then the Thessalian cities, deserted by their allies, joined the invaders with their powerful cavalry. 176. Thermopylae: Loss of Central Greece. — This loss of Thessaly made it evident, even to Spartan statesmen, that to abandon central Greece would strengthen Xerxes further ; and it was decided in a half-hearted way to make a stand at Ther- mopylae. The pass was only some twenty feet wide between the cliff and the sea, and the only other path was one over the mountain, equally easy to defend. Moreover, the long island of Euboea approached the mainland just opposite the pass, so that the Greek fleet in the narrow strait could guard the land army against having troops landed in the rear. The Greek fleet at this place numbered 270 ships. Of these the Athenians furnished half. The admiral was a Spartan, though his city sent only sixteen ships. The land defense had been left to the Peloponnesian league. This was the supremely important duty ; but the force, which Sparta had sent to attend to it, was shamefully small. The Spartan king, Lemidas, held the pass with three hundred Spartans and a few thousand 178 THE GREEKS — PERSIAN WARS (§176 allies. The main force of Spartans was again left at home, on the ground of a religious festival. The Persians reached Thermopylae without a check. Battle was joined at once on land and sea, and raged for three days. Four hundred Persian ships were wrecked in a storm, and the rest were checked by the Greek fleet in a sternly contested con- iVM'^'ti^pfe^**^" "'*■" Thermopylae. From a photograph : to show the steepness of the mountain side. flict at Artemisimn. On land, Xerxes flung column after col- umn of chosen troops into the pass, to be beaten back each time in rout. But on the third night, Ephialtes, "the Judas of Greece," guided a force of Persians over the mountain path, which the Spartans had left only slightly guarded. Leonidas knew that he could no longer hold his position. He sent home his allies; but he and his three hundred Spartans re- mained to die in the pass which their country had given them § 177] THERMOPYLAE 179 to defend. They charged joyously upon the Persian spears, and fell fighting, to a man.^ Sparta had shown no capacity to command in this great crisis. Twice her shortsightedness had caused the loss of vital positions. But at Thermopylae her citizens had set Greece an example of calm heroism that has stirred the world ever since. In later times the burial place of the Three Hundred was marked by this inscription, " Stranger, go tell at Sparta that we lie here in obedience to her command." ,f 177. Destruction of Athens. — Xerxes advanced on Athens and was joined by most of central Greece. The Theban oli- garchs, in particular, welcomed him with genuine joy. The Peloponnesians would risk no further battle outside their own peninsula. They withdrew the army, and fell back upon their first plan of building a wall across the isthmus. Athens was left open to Persian vengeance. The news threw that city into uproar and despair. The Delphic oracle was appealed to, but it prophesied utter destruc- tion. Themistocles (perhaps by bribery) finally secured from the priestess an additional prophecy, that when, all else was destroyed, " wooden walls " would still defend the Athenians. Many citizens then wished to retire within the wooden palisade of the Acropolis; but Themistocles, the guiding genius of the stormy day, persuaded them that the oracle meant the " wooden walls " of their ships. The Greek fleet had withdrawn from Artemisium, after the Persians won the land pass ; and the Spartan admiral was bent upon retiring at once to the position of the Peloponnesian army, at the isthmus. By vehement entreaties, Themistocles persuaded him to hold the whole fleet for a day or two at Athens, to help remove the women and children and old men to Salamis and other near-by islands. More than 200,000 iQne Spartan, who had been left for dead by the Persians, afterward re- covered and returned home. But his fellow-citizens treated him with pitying contempt ; and at the next great battle, he sought and found death, fighting in the front rank. 180 THE GREEKS — PERSIAN WARS [§178 people had to be moved from their homes. There was no time to save property. The Persians marched triumphantly through Attica, burning villages and farmsteads, and laid Athens and its temples in ashes. (?, the Greek fleet at Salamis. PPP, the Persian fleet. X, the Throne of Xerxes. (The " Long Walls " were not built until later ; § 200.) 178. Strategy of Themistocles. — But . Themistocles, in delay- ing the retreat of the fleet, planned for more than escape. He was determined that the decisive battle should be a sea battle, and that it should be fought where the fleet then lay. No other spot so favorable could be found.' The narrovsr strait between the Athenian shore and Salamis would embarrass the Persian num- bers, and help to make up for the small numbers of the Greek ships. Themistocles saw, too, that if they withdrew to § 178] THEMISTOCLES 181 Corinth, as the Peloponnesians insisted, all chance of united action would be lost. The fleet would break up. Some ships would sail home to defend their own island cities ; and others, like those of Megara and Aegina, feeling that their cities were deserted, might join the Persians. The fleet had grown now to 378 ships. The Athenians furnished 200 of these. With wise and generous patriotism, they had yielded the chief command to Sparta, but of course Themistocles carried weight in the council of captains. It was The Bay of Salamis. — From a photograph. he who, by persuasion, entreaties, and bribes, had kept the navy from abandoning the land forces at Thermopylae, before the sea fight off Artemisium. A similar but greater task now fell to him. Debate waxed fierce in the all-night council of the captains. Arguments were exhausted, and Themistocles had recourse to threats. The Corinthian admiral sneered that the allies need not regard a man who no longer represented a Greek city. The Athenian retorted that he represented two hundred ships, and could make a city, or take one, where he ^hose ; and, by a threat to sail away to found a new Athens in Italy, he forced the allies to remain. Even then the decision would have been reconsidered, had not the wily Themistocles made use of a strange stratagem. With pretended friendship, 182 - THE GREEKS — PERSIAN WARS [§179 he sent a secret message to Xerxes, notifying him of the weak- . ness and dissensions of the Greeks, and advisiyig him to block up the straits to prevent their escape. Xerxes took this treacherous advice. Aristides, whose os- tracism had been revoked in the hour of danger, and who now slipped through the hostile fleet in his single ship to join his countrymen, brought the news that they were surrounded. There was now no choice but to fight. \j\). 179. The Battle of Salamis. — The Persian fleet was twice the size of the Greek, and was itself largely made up of Asiatic Greeks, while the Phoenicians and Egyptians, who composed the remainder, were famous sailors. The conflict the next day lasted from dawn to night, but the Greek victory was complete. *' A king sat on the rocky brow i Which looks o'er sea-born Salamis ; And ships by thousands lay below, And men in nations, — all were his. He counted them at break of day, And when the sun set, where were they ? ' ' Aeschylus, an Athenian poet who was present in the battle, gives a noble picture of it in his drama. The Persians. The speaker is a Persian, telling the story to the Persian queen- mother : — "Not in flight The Hellenes then their solemn paeans sang, But with brave spirits hastening on to battle. With martial sound the trumpet fired those ranks : And straight with sweep of oars that flew thro' foam, They smote the loud waves at the boatswain's call . . . And all at once we heard a mighty shout — 'O sons of Hellenes, forward, free your country ; Free, too, your wives, your children, and the shrines Built to your fathers'' Gods, and holy tombs Your ancestors now rest in. The fight Is for our alV . . . 1 A golden throne had been set up for Xerxes, that he might better view the battle. These lines are from Byron. § 1811 SALAMIS 183 . . . And the hulls of ships Floated capsized, nor could the sea be seen, Filled as it was with wrecks and carcasses ; And all the shores and rocks were full of corpses, And every ship was wildly rowed in flight, All that composed the Persian armament. And they [Greeks] , as men spear tunnies, or a haul Of other fishes, with the shafts of oars. Or spars of wrecks, went smiting, cleaving down ; And bitter groans and wailings overspread The wide sea waves, till eye of swarthy night Bade it all cease ... Be assured That never yet so great a multitude Died in a single day as died in this." 180. Two incidents in the celebration of the victory throw light upon Greek character. The commanders of the various city contingents in the Greek fleet voted a prize of merit to the city that deserved best in the action. The Athenians had furnished more than half the whole fleet ; they were the first to engage, and they had especially distinguished themselves ; they had seen their city laid in ashes, and only their steady patriotism had made a victory possible. Peloponnesian jealousy^ however, passed them hy for their rival, Aegina, which had joined the Spartan league. A vote was taken, also, to award prizes to the two most meritorious commanders. Each captain voted for himself for the first place, while all voted for Themistocles for the second. •181. The Temptation of Athens. — On the day of Salamis the Sicilian Greeks won a decisive victory over the Carthaginians at Himera. Eor a while, that battle closed the struggle in the West. In Greece the Persian chances were still good. Xerxes, it is true, fled at once to Asia with his shattered fleet ; but he left his general, the experienced Mardonius, with three hundred thousand chosen troops. Mardonius withdrew from central Greece for the time, to winter in the plains of Thessaly ; but he would be ready to renew the struggle in the spring. The Athenians began courageously to rebuild their city. Mardonius looked upon them as the soul of the Greek resist- ance, and in the early spring, he offered them an alliance, with many favors and with the complete restoration of their city at 184 THE GREEKS — PERSIAN WARS [§182 Persian expense. Sparta was terrified lest the Athenians should accept so tempting an offer, and sent in haste, with many promises, to beg them not to desert the cause of Hellas. There was no need of such anxiety. The Athenians had already sent back the Persian messenger: "Tell Mardonius that so long as the sun holds on his way in heaven, the Athenians will come to no terms with Xerxes." They then -courteously declined the Spartan offer of aid in rebuilding their city, and asked only that Sparta take the field early enough so that Athens need not be again abandoned without a battle. Sparta made the promise, but did not keep it. Mardonius approached rapidly. The Spartans found another sacred fes- tival before which it would not do to leave their bomes ; and the Athenians, in bitter disappointment, a second time took refuge at Salamis. With their city in his hands, Mardonius offered them again the same favorable terms of alliance. Only one of the Athenian Council favored even submitting the matter to the people, — and lie was instantly stoned by the enraged populace, while the women inflicted a like cruel fate upon his wife and children. Even such violence does not obscure the heroic self-sacrifice of the Athenians. Mardonius burned Athens a second time, laid waste the farms over Attica, cut down the olive groves (the slojv^rQwtli of TTiRTiy years), and then retired to the level plains of Boeotia. 182. Battle of Plataea, 479 b.c. — Athenian envoys had been at Sparta for weeks begging for instant action, but they had been put off with meaningless delays. The fact was, Sparta still clung to the stupid plan of defending only the isthmus, — which was all that she had made real preparations for. Some of her keener allies, however, at last made the Ephors see the uselessness of the wall at Corinth if the Athenians should be forced to join Persia with their fleet, as in that case, the Persians could land an army anywhere they chose in the rear of the wall. So Sparta decided to act; and she gave a striking proof of her resources. One morning the Athenian envoys, who had given up hope, announced indig- § 183] PLATAEA 185 nantly to the Spartan government that they would at once return home. To their amazement, they were told that during the night 50,000 Peloponnesian troops had set out for central Greece. The Athenian forces and other reinforcements raised the total of the Greek army to about 100,000, and the final contest with Mardonius was fought near the little town of Plataea. Spartan generalship blundered sadly, and many of the allies were not brought into the fight ; but the stubborn Spartan valor and the Athenian skill and dash won a victory which became a massacre It is said that of the 260,000 Persians engaged, only 3000 escaped to Asia. The Greeks lost 154 men. 183. The Meaning of the Greek Victory. — The victory of Plataea closed the first great period of the Persian Wars. A second period was to begin at once, but it had to do with freeing the Asiatic Greeks. That is, Europe took the offensive. No hostile Persian ever again set foot in European Greece. A Persian victory would have meant the extinction of the world's best hope. The Persian civilization was Oriental (§§ 80, 81). Marathon and Salamis decided that the des- potism of the East should not crush the rising freedom of the West in its first home. To the Greeks themselves their victory opened a new epoch. They were victors over the greatest of world-empires. It was a victory of intellect and spirit over matter. Unlimited confi- dence gave them still greater power. New energies stirred in their veins and found expression in manifold forms. The matchless b joom of Gree k art and thought, in the next two generations, liad its roots in the soil of Marathon and Plataea. Moreover, slow as the Greeks had been to see Sparta's poor management, most of them could no longer shut their eyes to it. Success had been due mainly to the heroic self-sacri- fice and the splendid energy and wise patriotism of Athens. And that city — truest representative of Greek mlture — was soon to take her proper place in the political leadership of Greece. 186 THE GREEKS — PERSIAN WARS [§ 183 Exercises. — 1. Summarize the causes of the Persian Wars. 2. Devise and memorize a series of catch-words for rapid statement, that shall sug. gest the outline of the story quickly. Thus : — Persian conquest of Lydia and so of Asiatic Greeks ; revolt of Ionia, 500 B.C. ; Athenian aid ; reconquest of Ionia. First expedition against European Greece^ 492 b.c, through Thrace : Mount Athos. Second expe- dition, across the Aegean, two years later : capture of Eretria ; landing at Marathon ; excuses of Sparta ; arrival of Plataeans ; Miltiades and battle of Marathon, 490 B.C. (Let the student continue the series. In this way, the whole story may be reviewed in two minutes, with reference to every important event.) VJ. For Further Reading. — Specially suggested: Davis' Headings gives the whole story of Xerxes' invasion as the Greeks themselves told it, in Vol. I, Nos. 62-73, — about 47 pages. Nowhere else can it be read so well; and the high school student who does 'read that account can afford to omit modern authorities. If he reads further, it may well be in one di the volumes mentioned below, mainly to see how the modern authority has used or criticised the account by Herodotus. Additional: Cox's Greeks and Persians is an admirable little book: chs. v-viii may be read for this story. Bury is rather critical ; but the student may profitably explore his pages for parts of the story (pp. 265- 295). Many anecdotes are given in Plutarch's ii?76s (" Themistocles " and " Aristides"). CHAPTER XIII ATHENIAN LEADERSHIP, 478-431 B.C. (From the Persian War to the Peloponnesian War) The history of Athens is for us the history of Greece. — Holm. GROWTH OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE 184. Athens Fortified. — Immediately after Plataea, the Athenians began once more to rebuild their temples and homes. Themistocles, however, persuaded them to leave even these in ashes and first surround the city with walls. Some Greek cities at once showed themselves basely eager to keep Athens help- less. Corinth, especially, urged Sparta to interfere ; and, to her shame, Sparta did call upon the Athenians to give up the plan. Such walls, she said, might prove an advantage to the Persians if they should again occupy Athens. Attica, which had been ravaged so recently by the Persians, was in no condition to resist a Peloponnesian army. So, neglecting all private mat- ters, the Athenians toiled with desperate haste — men, women, children, and slaves. The irregular nature of the walls told the story \o later generations. No material was too precious. Inscribed tablets and fragments of sacred temples and even monuments from the burial grounds were seized for the work. To gain the necessary time, Themistocles had recourse to wiles. As Thucydides (§ 224) tells the story : — " The Athenians, by the advice of Themistocles, replied that they would send an embassy to discuss the matter, and so got rid of the Spar- tan envoys. Themistocles then proposed that he should himself start at once for Sparta, and that they should give him colleagues who were not to go immediately, but were to wait until the wall had reached a height which could be defended. ... On his arrival, he did not at once pre- sent himself officially to the magistrates, but delayed and made excuses, 187 188 THE GREEKS — ATHENIAN LEADERSHIP [§185 and when any of them asked him why he did not appear before the Assembly, he said that he was waiting for his colleagues who had been detained. . . . The friendship of the magistrates for Themistocles in- duced them to believe him, but when everybody who came from Athens declared positively that the wall was building, and had already reached a considerable height, they knew not what to think. Aware of their suspicions, Themistocles asked them not to be misled by reports, but to send to Athens men of their own wlK)m they could trust, to see for them- selves. "The Spartans agreed ; and Themistocles, at the same time, privately instructed the Athenians to detain the Spartan envoys as quietly as pos- sible, and not let them go till he and his colleagues had got safely home. For by this time, those who were joined with him in the embassy had arrived, bringing the news that the wall was of sufficient height, and he was afraid that the Lacedaemonians, i when they heard the truth, might not allow him to return. So the Athenians detained the envoys, and Themistocles, coming before the Lacedaemonians, at length declared, in so many words, that Athens was now provided with walls and would pro- tect her citizens : henceforward, if the Lacedaemonians wished at any time to negotiate, they must deal with the Athenians as with men who knew quite well what was best for their own and the common good." 185. The Piraeus. — Themistocles was not yet content. Athens lay some three miles from the shore. Until a few years before, her only port had been an open road- stead, — the Phalerum ; but during his archonship in 493, as part of his plan for naval greatness, Themistocles had given the city a magnificent harbor, by improving the bay of the Piraeus, at great expense. Now he persuaded the people to fortify this new port. Accordingly, the Piraeus, on the land side, was surrounded with a massive wall of solid masonry, clamped with iron, sixteen feet broad and thirty feet high, so that old men and boys might easily defend it against any enemy. Tlie Athenians now had two tcalled cities, each four or five miles in circuit, and only four miles apart. 186. Commerce and Sea Power. — The alien merchants, who dwelt at the Athenian ports, had fled at the Persian invasion ; 1 Lacedaemonia is the name given to the whole Spartan territory. See map, page 98. §187] ATHENIAN COMMERCE 189 but this new security brought them back in throngs, to con- tribute to the power and wealth of Athens. Themistocles took care, too, that Athens should not lose her supremacy on the sea. Even while the walls of the Piraeus were building, he secured a vote of the Assembly ordering that twenty new ships should be added each year to the fleet. F-Port of Piraeus Porticoes and Corn-market jj_Tomb of Thenaistocles S A B O N I C GULF ^Ss aaa -Walls of Themistocles. 666 -Old City Limits. A —Acropolis. B -Areopagus. C-Pnyx. D -Museum. E —Agora. Plan of Athens and its Ports. i 187. Attempt at One League of All Hellas. — While the Greek army was still encamped on the field of victory at Plataea, it was agreed to hold there each year a Congress of all Greek cities. For a little time back, danger had ferced a make-shift union upon the Greeks. The plan at Plataea was a wise attempt to make this union into a permanent con- federacy of all Hellas. The proposal came from the Athenians, with the generous understanding that Sparta should keep the headship. The plan failed. Indeed, the jealous hostility of Sparta regarding the fortifi- cation of Athens showed that a true union would be difficult. Instead of one confederacy, Greece fell apart into two rival leagues. 1 The "Long Walls" were not built until several years after the events mentioned in this section. See § 200. 190 THE GREEKS — ATHENIAN LEADERSHIP [§ 188 188. Sparta and Athens. — Though Sparta had held command in the war, still the repulse of Persia had counted most for the glory of Athens. Athens had made greater sacrifices than any other state. She had shown herself free from petty vanity, and had acted with a broad patriotism. She had furnished the best ideas and ablest leaders ; and, even in the field, Athe- nian enterprise and vigor had accomplished as much as Spartan discipline and valor. Sparta had been necessary at the beginning. Had it not been for her great reputation, the Greeks would not have known where to turn for a leader, and so, probably, could not have come to any united action. But she had shown miserable judgment ; her leaders, however brave, had proved incapable ^ ; and, now that war against Persia was to be carried on at a distance, her lack of enterprise became even more evident. Meantime, events were happening in Asia Minor which were to force Athens into leadership. The European Greeks had been unwilling to follow any but Spartan generals on sea or land ; but the scene of the war was now transferred to the Ionian coast, and there Athens was the more popular city. Many cities there, like Miletus, looked upon Athens as their mother city (§ 121). 189. Mycale. — In the early spring of 479, a fleet had crossed the Aegean to assist Samos in revolt against Persia. A Spartan commanded the expedition, but three fifths of the ships were Athenian. On the very day of Plataea (so the Greeks told the story), these forces won a double victory at Mycale, on the coast of Asia Minor. They defeated a great Persian army, and seized and burned the three hundred Persian ships. No Persian fleet showed itself again in the Aegean for nearly a hun- dred years. Persian garrisons remained in many of the islands, for a time ; but Persia made no attempt to reinforce them. 1 Two of her kings were soon to play traitorous parts to Sparta and Hellas. Special report : King Leotychides in Thessaly. See also Pausanias at Byzan- tium, § 190. The boasted Spartan training did not fit her men for the duties of the wider life now open to them. §191] THE CONFEDERACY OF DELOS 191 190. The Ionian Greeks throw off Spartan Leadership. — The victory of Mycale was a signal for the cities of Ionia to revolt again against Persia. The Spartans, however, shrank from the task of defending Hellenes so far away, and proposed instead to remove the lonians to European Greece. The lonians refused to leave their homes, and the Athenians in the fleet declared that Sparta should not so destroy " Athenian colonies." TJie Spartans seized the excuse to sail home, leaving the Athenians to protect the lonians as best they could. The Athenians gal- lantly undertook the task, and began at once to expel the Persian garrisons from the islands of the Aegean. The next spring (478) Sparta thought better of the matter, and sent Pausanias to take command of the allied fleet. Pau- sanias had been the general of the Greeks at the battle of the Plataea ; but that victory had turned his head. He treated the allies with contempt and neglect. At last they found his inso- lence unbearable, and asked the Athenians to take the leader- ship. Just then it was discovered that Pausanias had been negotiating treasonably with Persia, offering to betray Hellas. Sparta recalled him, to stand trial,^ and sent another general to the fleet. The allies, however, refused to receive another Spartan commander. Then Sparta and the Peloponnesian league, withdrew wholly from the war. j^' 191. The Confederacy of Delos. — After getting rid of Sparta, the first step of the allies was to organize a confederacy. The chief part in this great work fell to Aristides, the commander of the Athenian ships in the allied fleet. Aristides proposed a plan of union, and appointed the number of ships and the amount of money that each of the allies should furnish each year. The courtesy and tact of the Athenian, and his known honesty, made all the states content with his proposals, and his arrangements were readily accepted.^ The union was called the Confederacy of Delos, because its 1 Special report: the story of the punishment of Pausanias. 2 Exercise. — 1. Could Themistocles have served Athens at this time as well as Aristides did ? 2. Report upon the later life of Themistocles. 192 THE GREEKS — ATHENIAN LEADERSHIP [§192 seat of government and its treasury were to be at the island o Delos (the center of an ancient Ionian amphictyony). Here an annual congress of deputies from the different cities of the league was to meet. Each city had one vote.^ Athens was the " president " of the league. Her generals commanded the fleet, and her delegates presided at the Congress. In return, Athens bore nearly half the total burdens, in furnishing ships and. men, — far more than her proper share. The purpose of the league was to free the Aegean completely from the Persians, and to keep them from ever coming back. The allies meant to make the union perpetual. Lumps of iron were thrown into the sea when the oath of union was taken, as a symbol that it should be binding until the iron should float. Tlie league was composed mainly of Ionian cities, interested in commerce. It was a natural rival of Sparta's Dorian inland league. 192. The League did its work well. Its chief military hero was the Athenian Cimon, son of Miltiades.^ Year after year, under his command, the allied fleet reduced one Persian gar- rison after another, until the whole region of the Aegean — all its coasts and islands — was free. Then, in 466, Cimon carried the war beyond the Aegean and won his most famous victory at the mouth of the Em^yTnj^'don, in Pamphylia (map following page 132), where in one-tiijr he destroyea^a Persian land host and captured a fleet of 250 vessels. 193. Naturally, the League grew in size. It came to include nearly all the islands of the Aegean and the cities of the northern and eastern coasts. The cities on the straits and shores of the Black Sea, too, were added, and the rich trade of that region streamed through the Hellespont to the Piraeus. After the victory of the Eurymedon, many of the cities of the Carian and Lycian coasts joined the confederacy. Indeed, the cities of the league felt that all other Greeks of the Aegean 1 Like our states in Congress under the old Articles of Confederation. 2 There is an interesting account of Cimon (three pages) in Davis' Read- ings, Vol. I, No. 74, from Plutarch's Life. § 195] THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE 193 and of neighboring waters were under obligation to join, since they all had part in the blessings of the union. Aristophanes speaks of a " thousand cities " in the league, but only two hun- dred and eighty are known by name. 194. Some members of the League soon began to shirk. As soon as the pressing danger and the first enthusiam were over, many cities chose to pay more money, instead of furnishing ships and men. They became indifferent, too, about the congress, and left the management of all matters to Athens. Athens, on the other hand, was ambitious, and eagerly accepted both burdens and responsibilities. The fleet became almost wholly Athenian. Then it was no longer necessary for Athens to consult the allies as to the management of the war, and the congress became of little consequence. Another change was still more important. Here and there, cities began to refuse even the payment of money. This, of course, was secession. Such cities said that Persia was no longer dangerous, and that the need of the league was over. But the Athenian fleet, patrolling the Aegean, was all that kept the Persians from reappearing; and Athens, with good reason, held the allies by force to their promises. The first attempt at secession came in 467, when the union was only ten years old. Naxos, one of the most powerful islands, refused to pay its contributions. Athens at once attacked Naxos, and, after a stern struggle, brought it to sub- mission. But the conquered state was not allowed to return into the union. It lost its vote in the congress, and became a mere subject of Athens. 195. The "Athenian Empire." — From time to time, other members of the league attempted secession, and met a fate like that of Naxos. Athens took away their fleets, leveled their walls, made them pay a small tribute. Sometimes such a city had to turn over its citadel to an Athenian garrison. Usually a subject city was left to manage its internal govern- ment in its own way ; but it could no longer have political alliances with other cities. 194 THE GREEKS — ATHENIAN LEADERSHIP [§196 Just how many such rebellions there were we do not know ; but before long the loyal cities found themselves treated much like those that had rebelled. The confederacy of equal states became an empire, tvith Athens for its "tyrant city.'' The meetings of the congress ceased altogether. The treasury was removed from Delos to Athens, and the funds and resources of the union were used for the glory of Athens. Athens f hoioever, did continue to perform faithfully the work for which the union had been created; and on the whole, despite the strong tendency to city independence, the subject cities seem to have been well content. Even hostile critics con- fessed that the bulk of the people looked gratefully to Athens for protection against the oligarchs. Athens was the true mother of Ionian democracy. As an Athenian orator said, " Athens was the champion of the masses, denying the right of the many to be at the mercy of the few." In nearly every city of the empire the ruling power became an Assembly like that at Athens. By 450 B.C. Lesbos, Chios, and Samos were the only states of the league which had not become "subject states" ; and even they had no voice in the government of the empire. Athens, however, had other independent allies that had never belonged to the Delian Confederacy — like Plataea, Corcyra, Naupactus, and Acarnania in Greece ; Rhegium in Italy ; and Segesta and other Ionian cities in Sicily. For Further Reading. — Specially suggested : The only passage in Davis' Headings for this period is Vol. I, No. 74, on Cimon. Bury, 228- 242, covers the period. Instead of Bury, the student may well read Chapter 1 in Cox's Athenian Empire. Plutarch's Themistocles and Aristides continue to be valuable for additional reading. ^* FIRST PERIOD OF STRIFE WITH SPARTA, 461-445 b.c. 196. Jealousy between Athens and Sparta. — Greece had di- vided into two great leagues, under the lead of Athens and Sparta. These two powers now quarreled, and their strife made the history of Hellas for many years. The first hostile step came from Sparta. In 465, Thasos, a member of the § 199] FIRST STRIFE WITH SPARTA 195 Confederacy of Delos, revolted; and Athens was employed for two years in conquering her. During the struggle, Thasos asked Sparta for aid. Sparta and Athens were still nominally in alliance, under the league of Plataea (§ 186) ; but Sparta grasped at the opportunity and secretly began preparations to invade Attica. 197. Athenian Aid for Sparta. — This treacherous attack was prevented by a terrible earthquake which destroyed part of Sparta and threw the whole state into confusion. The Helots revolted, and Messenia (§ 127) made a desperate attempt to re- gain her independence. Instead of attacking Athens, Spafta, in dire need, called upon her for aid. At Athens this request led to a sharp dispute. The demo- cratic party, led by Ephialtes^ and Pericles, was opposed to sending help; but Cimon (§ 192), leader of the aristocratic party, urged that the true policy was for Sparta and Athens to aid each other in keeping a joint leadership of Hellas. Athens, he said, ought not to let her yoke-fellow be destroyed and Greece be lamed. This generous advice prevailed; and Cimon led an Athenian army to Sparta's aid. 198. An Open Quarrel. — A little later, however, the Spartans began to suspect the Athenians, groundlessly, of the same bad faith of which they knew themselves guilty, and sent back the army with insult. Indignation then ran high at Athens ; and the anti-Spartan party was greatly strengthened. Cimon was ostracized (461 b.c), and the aristocratic faction was left leaderless and helpless for many years. At almost the same time Ephialtes was murdered by aristo- crat conspirators. Thus, leadership fell to Pericles. Under his influence Athens formally renounced her alliance with Sparta. Then the two great powers of Greece stood in open opposition, ready for war. 199. A Land Empire for Athens. — Thus far the Athenian empire had been mainly a sea power. Pericles planned to ■ ■ -v 1 This, of course, was uot the Ephialtes of Thermopylae. 196 THE GREEKS — ATHENIAN LEADERSHIP [§200 extend it likewise over inland Greece, and so to supplant Sparta. He easily secured an alliance with Argos, Sparta's sleepless foe. He established Athenian influence also in Thes- saly, by treaties with the great chiefs there, and thus secured the aid of the famous Thessalian cavalry. Then Megara, on the Isthmus of Corinth, sought Athenian alliance, in order to protect itself against Corinth, its power- ful neighbor. This in- volved war with Corinth, but Pericles gladly wel- comed Megara because of its ports on the Corinthian Gulf. He then built long walls running the whole width of the narrow isth- mus from seato sea, joining Megara and these ports. In control of these walls, Athens could prevent in- vasion by land from the Peloponnesus. 200. Activity of Athens. — A rush of startling events followed. Corinth A portrait bust, now in the Vatican at Rome. -.a • i.-i.. i and Aegma, bitterly angry because their old commerce had now been drawn to the Piraeus, declared war on Athens. Athens promptly captured Aegina, and struck Corinth blow after blow even in the Corinthian Gulf. At the same time, without lessening her usual fleet in the Aegean, she sent a mighty armament of 250 ships to carry on the war against Persia, by assisting Egypt in a revolt. Such a fleet called for from 2500 to 5000 soldiers and 50,000 sailors.* 1 A Greek warship of this period was called a "three-banker" (trireme), because she was rowed by oarsmen arranged on three benches, one above 200] ATHENIAN ACTIVITY 197 The sailors came largely from the poorer citizens, and even from the non-citizen class. Pericles turned next to Boeotia, and set up friendly democ- "racies in many of the cities there to lessen the control of oli- garchic and hostile Thebes. The quarrel with Sparta had SiDK OF Part of a Trireme. — From a relief at Athens. In this trireme the highest *' bank " of rowers rested their oars on the gunwale. Only the oars of the other two banks are visible. become open war ; and an Athenian fleet burned the Laconian dock-yards. A Spartan army crossed the Corinthian Gulf and another. The wars which the Greeks waged in these three-bankers were hardly more fierce than those that modern scholars have waged — in ink — about them. Some have held that each group of three oarsmen held only one oar. This view is now abandoned — because of the evidence of the "reliefs" on Greek monuments. Plainly each group of three had three separate oars, of different lengths ; but we do not know yet how they could have worked them successfully. The oars projected through port-holes, and the 174 oarsmen were protected from arrows by the wooden sides of the vessel. Sometimes — as in the illustration above — the upper bank of rowers had no protection. There were about 20 other sailors to each ship, for helmsman, lookouts, overseers of the oarsmen, and so on. And a warship never carried less than ten fully armed soldiers. The Athenians usually sent from 20 to 25 in each ship. The ships were about 120 feet long, and less than 20 feet wide. The two masts were always lowered for battle. Two methods of attack were in use. If possible, a ship crushed in the side of an opponent by ramming with its sharp bronze prow. This would sink the enemy's ship at once. Almost as good a thing was to run close along her side (shipping one's own oars on that side just in time), shivering her long oars and hurling her rowers from the benches. This left a ship as helpless as a bird with a broken wing. 198 THE GREEKS — ATHENIAN LEADERSHIP [§201 appeared in Boeotia, to check Athenian progress there. It won a partial victory at Tanagra (map after page 98), — the first real battle between the two states, — but immediately retreated into the Peloponnesus. The Athenians at once reappeared in the field, crushed the Thebans in a great battle at Oenophyta, and became masters of all Boeotia. At the same time Phocis \ and Locris allied themselves to Athens, so that she seemed in ' a fair way to extend her land empire over all central Greece, — to which she now held the two gates, Thermopylae and the passes of the isthmus. A little later Achaea, in the Pelo- ponnesus itself, was added to the Athenian league. The activity of Athens at this period is marvelous. It is impossible even to mention the many instances of her matchless energy and splendid daring for the few years after 460, while the empire was at its height. For one instance : just when Athens' hands were fullest in Egypt and in the siege of Aegina, Corinth tried a diversion by invading the territory of Megara. Athens did not recall a man. She armed the youths and the old men past age of service, and repelled the invaders. The Corinthians, stung by shame, made a sec- ond, more determined attempt, and were again repulsed with great slaughter. It was at this time, too, that the city com- pleted her fortifications, by building the Long Walls from Athens to her ports (maps, pages 180 and 189). These walls were 30 feet high and 12 feet thick. They made Athens abso- lutely safe from a siege, so long as she kept her supremacy on the sea ; and they added to the city a large open space where the country people might take refuge in case of invasion. A^- 201. Loss of the Land Empire. — How one city could carry ^ on all these activities is almost beyond comprehension. But the resources of Athens were severely strained, and a sudden series of stufining blows well-nigh exhausted her. The expedi- tion to Egypt had at first been brilliantly successful,^ but un- foreseen disaster followed, and the 250 ships and the whole 1 Athenian success here would have shut Persia off completely from the Mediterranean, and so from all possible contact with Europe. [ >>^ ' 203] THE POWER OF ATHENS 199 army iu Egypt were lost.^ This stroke would have annihilated any other Greek state, and it was followed by others. Megara, which had itself invited an Athenian garrison, now treacher- ously massacred it and joined the Peloponnesian league. A Spartan army then entered Attica through Megara; and, at the same moment, Euboea burst into revolt. All Boeotia, too, except Plataea, fell away. The oligarchs won the upper hand in its various cities, and joined themselves to Sparta. 202. The Thirty Years* Truce. — The activity and skill of Pericles saved Attica and Euboea ; but the inland possessions and alliances were for the most part lost, and in 445 b.c. a Thirty Tears^ Truce was concluded with Sparta. A little be- fore this, the long war with Persia had closed. For fifteen years Athens had almost unbroken peace. Then the truce between Sparta and Athens was broken, and the great Peloponnesian War began (§§ 241 ff.). That struggle ruined the power of Athens and the promise of Grreece. There- fore, before entering upon its story, we will stop here for a survey of Greek civilization at this period of its highest glory, in Athens, its chief center. For Further Reading. — Specially suggested : Davis' Beadings^ Vol. I, Nos. 73-75 (4 pages) ; Bury, 352-363. Additional : Cox's Athe- nian Empire^ and the opening chapters of Grant's Greece in the Age of Pericles and of Abbott's Pericles. THE EMPIRE AND THE IMPERIAL CITY IN PEACE 203. Three Forms of Greatness. — Athens had great material power and a high political development and wonderful intellectual greatness. The last is what she especially stands for in history. But the first two topics have already been partly discussed, and may be best disposed of here before the most important one is taken up. A. Military Strength The Athens of the fifth century was a great state in a higher sense than most of the kingdoms of the Middle Ages. . . . For the space of a 1 Special report. 200 THE GREEKS — ATHENIAN LEADERSHIP [§204 half century her power was quite on a par with that of Persia, . . . and the Athenian Empire is the true precursor of those of Macedonia and Rome. — Holm, II, 259. 204. Material Power. — The last real chance for a united Hellas passed away when Athens lost control of central Greece. But at the moment the loss of land empire did not seem to lessen Athens' strength. She had saved her sea empire, and consolidated it more firmly than ever. And, for a genera- tion more, the Greeks of that empire were the leaders of the world in power, as in culture. They had proved themselves more than a match for Persia. The mere magic of the Athenian name sufficed to keep Carthage from renewing her attack upon the Sicilian Greeks. The Athenian colonies in Thrace easily held in check the rising Macedonian kingdom. Rome, which three centuries later was to absorb Hellas into her world-empire, was still a barbarous village on the Tiber bank. In the middle of the fifth century b.c. the center of power in the world was impe- rial Athens. 205. Population. — The cities of the empire counted some three millions of people. The number seems small to us ; but it must be kept in mind that the population of the world was miich smaller then than now, and that the Athenian empire was made up of cultured, wealthy, progressive communities. To be sure, slaves made a large fraction of this population. Attica itself contained about one tenth of the inhabitants of the whole empire, perhaps 300,000 people (about as many as live IT). Minneapolis). Of these, one fourth were slaves, and a sixth were aliens. This left some 175,000 citizens, of whom perhaps 35,000 were men fit for soldiers. Outside Attica, there were 75,000 more citizens, — the cleruchs (§ 148), whom Pericles had sent to garrison outlying parts of the empire. 206. Colonies. — The cleruchs, unlike other Greek colonists, kept all the rights of citizenship. They had their own local Assemblies, to manage the alfairs of each colony. But they kept also their enrollment in the Attic demes and could vote upon the affairs of Athens and of the empire — though not unless § 208] THE POWER OF ATHENS 201 they came to Athens in person. They were mostly from the poorer classes, and were induced to go out to the new settlements by the gift of lands sufficient to raise them at least to the class of hoplites (§ 137). Rome copied this plan a century later. Otherwise, the world was not to see again so liberal a form of colonization until the United States of America began to organize " Territories.^^ 207. Revenue. — The empire was rich, and the revenues of the government were large, for those days. Athens drew a yearly income of about four hundred talents ($400,000 in our values) from her Thracian mines and from the port dues and the taxes on alien merchants. The tribute from the subject cities amounted to $600,000. This tribute was fairly assessed, and it bore lightly upon the prosperous Greek communities. The Asiatic Greeks paid only one sixth as much as they had forynerly paid Persia; and the tax was much less than it would have cost the cities merely to defend themselves against pirates, had Athenian protection been removed. Indeed, the whole amount drawn . from the subject cities would not keep one hundred ships manned and equipped for a year, to say nothing of building them. When we remember the standing navy in the Aegean and the great armaments that Athiens sent repeatedly against Persia, it is plain that she con- tinued to bear her full share of the imperial burden. She kept her empire because she did not rob her dependencies — as most empires had done, and were to do for two thousand years longer. f>***' B. Government 208. Steps in Development. — Seventy years had passed be- tween the reforms of Clisthenes and the truce with Sparta. The main steps of progress in government were five. The office of General had grown greatly in importance. The Assembly had extended its authority to all maitters of government, in practice as well as in theory. Jury courts (§ 211, below) had gained importance. / 202 THE GREEKS — ATHENIAN LEADERSHIP [§208 The poorest citizens (§ 152) had been made eligible to office. Tlie state had begun to pay its citizens for public services. Map of Athens, with some structures of the Roman period. — The term "Stoa," which appears so often in this map, means "porch" or portico. These porticoes were inclosed by columns, and their fronts along the Agora formed a succession of colonnades. Only a few of the famous build- ings can be shown in a map like this. The " Agora " was the great public square, or open market place, surrounded by shops and porticoes. It was the busiest spot in Athens, the center of the commercial and social life of the city, where men met their friends for business or for pleasure. The constitution was not made over new at any one moment within this period, as it had been earlier, at the time of Solon and of Clisthenes. Indeed, the change was more in the spirit of the people than in the written law. The first three steps mentioned (the increased power of the Generals and of the As- § 210] GOVERNMENT OF ATHENS, HER EMPIRE 203 sembly and jury courts) came altogether from a gradual change in practice. The other two steps had been brought about by piecemeal legislation. The guiding spirit in most of this de- velopment was Pericles. 209. " Generals " and "Leaders of the People." — When Themis- tocles put through important measures, like the improve- ment of the Piraeus (§ 185), he held the office of Archon ; but when Oimon or Pericles guided the policy of Athens, they held the office of General. The Gerierals had become the administrators of the government. It was usually they who proposedTlo the Assembly the levy of troops, the building of ships, the raising of money, the making of peace or war. Then, when the Assembly decided to do any of these things, the Generals saw to the execution of them. They were subject absolutely to the control of the Assembly, but they had great opportunities to influence it : they could call special meetings at will, and they had the right to speak whenever they wished. But any man had full right to try to persuade the Assembly, whether he held office or not ; and the more prominent speakers and leaders were known as "leaders of the people" (dema- gogues). Even though he held no office, a "leader of the people," trusted by the popular party, exercised a greater authority than any General could without that trust. To make things work smoothly, therefore, it was desirable that the Board of Generals should contain the "leader of the people " for the time being. Pericles was recognized " dema- gogue " for many years, and was usually elected each year president of the Board of Generals. 210. The Assembly ^ met on the Pnyx,^ a sloping hill whose side formed a kind of natural theater. There were forty regular meetings each year, and many special meetings. Thus a patriotic citizen was called upon to give at least one day a week to the state in this matter of political meetings alone. lOn the Assembly, there is an admirable treatment in Grant's Age of Pericles, 141-149. 2 gee plan of Athens, page 202. y 204 THE GREEKS — ATHENIAN LEADERSHIP [§211 The Assembly had become thoroughly democratic and had made great gains in power since Clisthenes' time. All public officials had become its obedient servants. The Council of Five Hundred (§ 152) existed not to guide it, but to do its bidding. The Generals were its creatures, and might he deposed by it any day. No act of government was too small or too great for it to deal with. The Assembly of Athens was to the greatest empire of the world in that day all, and more than all, that a Neio England town meeting ever was to its little town. It was as if the citizens of Boston or Chicago were to meet day by day to govern the United States, and, at the same time, to attend to all their own local affairs. 211. "Juries" of citizens were introduced by Solon, and their importance became fully developed under Pericles. Six thousand citizens were chosen by lot each year for this duty, from those who offered themselves for the service — mostly the older men past the age for active work. One thousand of these were held in reserve. The others were divided into ten jury courts of five hundred men each. The Assembly turned over the trial of officials to the juries. With a view to this duty, each juror took an oath " above all things to favor neither tyranny nor oligarchy, nor in any way to prejudice [injure] the sovereignty of the people." The juries also settled all disputes between separate cities of the empire ; they were courts of appeal for important cases between citizens in a subject city; and they were the ordinary law courts for Athenians. An Athenian jury was "both judge and jury": it decided each case by a ma- jority vote, and there was no appeal from its verdict. Thus these large bodies had not even the check that our small juries have in trained judges to guide them. No doubt they gave many wrong verdicts. Passion and pity and bribery all interfered, at times, with even- handed justice ; but, on the whole, the system worked astonishingly well. In particular, any citizen of a subject city was sure to get redress from these courts, if he had been wronged by an Athenian officer. And rich criminals found it quite as hard to bribe a majority of 500 jurors as such offenders find it among us to " influence " some judge to shield them with legal technicalities. § 213] POLITICAL ABILITY 205 212. State Pay. — Since these courts had so great weight, and since they tried political offenders, it was essential that they should not fall wholly into the hands of the rich. To prevent this, Pericles introduced a small payment for jury duty. The amount, three obols a day (about nine cents), would furnish a day's food for one person in Athens, but it would not support a family. Afterward, Pericles extended public payment to other po- litical services. Aristotle (a Greek writer a century or so later) says that some 20,000 men — over half the whole body of citizens — were constantly in the pay of the state. Half of this number were soldiers, in garrisons or in the field. But, besides the 6000 jurymen, there were the 500 Councilmen, 700 city officials,^ 700 more officials representing Athens throughout the empire, and many inferior state servants ; so tJiat always from a thii'd to a Jmirth of the citizeyis were in the civil service.^ Pericles has been accused sometimes of " corrupting " the Athenians by the introduction of payment. But there is no proof that the Atheni- ans were corrupted ; and, further, such a system was inevitable when the democracy of a little city became the master of an empire. It was quite as natiural and proper as is the payment of congressmen and judges with us. ^^21 3. Athenian Political Ability. — Many of the offices in Athens could be held only once by the same man, so that each Athenian citizen could count upon serving Jus city at some time in almost every office. Politics was his occupation; office- holding, his regular business. Such a system could not have worked without a high average of intelligence in the people. It did work well. With all its faults, the rule of Athens in Greece was vastly superior to the rude despotism that followed under 1 Overseers of weights and measures, harbor inspectors, and so on. 2 Civil service is a term used in contrast to military service. Our post- masters are among the civil servants of the United States, as a city engineer or a fireman is in the city civil service. 206 THE GREEKS — ATHENIAN LEADERSHIP [§214 Sparta, or the anarchy under Thebes (§§ 253, 267). It gave to a large part of the Hellenic world a peace and security never enjoyed before, or after, until the rise of Roman power. Athens itself, moreover, was governed better and more gently than oligarchic cities like Corinth. " The Athenian democracy made a greater number of citizens fit to use power than could be made fit by any other system. . . . The Assembly was an assembly of citizens — of average citizens without sifting or selection ; but it was an assembly of citizens among whom the political average stood higher than it ever did in any other state. . . . The Athenian, by constantly hearing questions of foreign policy and domestic administration argued by the greatest orators the world ever saw, received a political training which nothing else in the history of mankind has been found to equal." i 214. The Final Verdict upon the Empire. — It is easy to see that the Athenian system was imperfect, tried by our standard of government ; but it is more to the point to see that it was an advance over anything ever before attempted. It is 'to be regretted that Athens did not continue to admit aliens to citizenship, as in Clisthenes' day. It is to be regretted that she did not extend to the men of her subject cities that sort of citizenship which she did leave to her cleruchs. But the important thing is, that she had moved farther than had any other state up to this time. The admis- sion of aliens by Clisthenes and the cleruch citizenship (§ 206) were notable advances. The broadest policy of an age ought not to he condemned as narrow. 215. Parties: A Summary. — A few words will review party his- tory up to the leadership of Pericles. All factions in Athens had united patriotically against Persia, and afterward in fortifying the city ; but the brief era of good feeling was followed by a renewal of party strife. The Aristocrats rallied around Cimon, while the two wings of the democrats were led at first, as before the invasion, by Aristides and Themistocles. 1 Freeman's Federal Government. Read a spicy paragraph iu Wheeler's Alexander the Great, 116, 117. / § 216] PERICLES / 207 Themistocles was ostracized, and his friend Ephialtes became the leader of the extreme democrats. When Ephialtes was assassinated (§ 196), Pericles stepped into his place. 216. Pericles. — The aristocratic party had been ruined by its pro-Spartan policy (§§ 197, 198). The two divisions of the democrats reunited, and for a quarter of a century Pericles was in practice as absolute as a dictator. Thucydides calls Athens during this pili^^yi^ democracy in name, ruled in reality by its ablest citizen." Pericles belonged to the ancient nobility of Athens, but to families that had always taken the side of the people. His mother was the niece of Clisthenes the reformer, and his father had impeached Miltiades (§ 169), so that the enmity between Cimon and Pericles was hereditary. The supremacy of Pericles rested in no way upon the flattering arts of later popular leaders. His proud reserve verged on haughtiness, and he was rarely seen in public. He scorned to show emotion. His stately gravity and unruffled calm were styled Olympian by his admirers — who added that, like Zeus, he could on occasion overbear opposition by the majestic thunder of his oratory. The great authority of Pericles came from no public office. He was elected General, it is true, fifteen times, and in the board of ten generals, he had far more weight than any other had ; but this was because of his unofficial position as " leader of the people " (§ 209). General or not, he was master only so" long as he could carry the Assembly with him ; and he was com- pelled to defend each of his measures against all who chose to attack it. The long and steady confidence given him honors the people of Athens no less than it honors Pericles himself. His noblest praise is that which he claimed for himself upon his deathbed, — that, with all his authority, and despite the bitterness of party strife, "no Athenian has had to put on mourning because of me." Pericles stated his own policy clearly. As to the empire, he sought to make Athens at once the ruler and the teacher of 208 INTELLECTUAL AND ARTISTIC ATHENS [§ 217 Hellas, — the political and intellectual center. Within the city itself, he wished the people to rule, not merely in theory but in fact, as the best means of training them for high responsibilities.,^^^^ • C. jNTEij^^eutTAji AND Artistic Athens 217. The True Significance of Athens. — After all, in politics and war, Hellas has had superiors. Her true service to mankind and her imperishable glory lie in her literature, her philosophy, and her art. It was in the Athens of Pericles that these forms of Greek life developed most fvUyj and this fact makes the real meaning of that city in history. 218. Architecture and Sculpture. — Part of the policy of Peri- cles was to adorn Athens from the surplus revenues of the empire. The injustice of this is plain; but the result was to make the city the most beautiful in the world, so that, ever since, her mere ruins have enthralled the admiration of men. Greek art was just reaching its perfection; and everywhere in Athens, under the charge of the greatest artists of this great- est artistic age, arose temples, colonnades, porticoes, — inimi- table to this day. " No description can give anything but a very inadequate idea of the splendor, the strength, the beauty, which met the eye of the Athenian, whether he walked round the fortifications, or through the broad streets of the Piraeus, or along the Long Walls, or in the shades of the Acad- emy, or amidst the tombs of the Ceramicus ; whether he chaffered in the market place, or attended assemblies in the Pnyx, or loitered in one of the numerous porticoes, or watched the exercises in the Gymnasia, or lis- tened to music in the Odeum or plays in the theaters, or joined the throng of worshipers ascending to the great gateway of the Acropolis. And this magnificence was not the result of centuries of toil ; it was the work of fifty years. . . . Athens became a vast workshop, in which artisans of ev#y kind found employment, all, in their various degrees, contributing tro the execution of the plans of the master minds, Phidias, Ictinus, Calli- crates, Mnesicles, and others," — Abbott, Pericles, 303-308. The center of this architectural splendor was the ancient citadel of the Acropolis. That massive rock now became the §218] ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE 209 210 INTELLECTUAL AND ARTISTIC ATHENS [§219 " holy hill." No longer needed as a fortification, it was crowned with white marble, and devoted to religion and art. It was inaccessible except on the west. Here was built a stately- stairway of sixty marble steps, leading to a series of noble colonnades and porticoes (the Propylaed) of surpassing beauty/ From these the visitor emerged upon the leveled top of the Acropolis, to find himself surrounded by temples and statues, any one of which alone might make the fame of the proudest The Acropolis To-day. modern city. Just in front of the entrance stood the colossal bronze statue of Athene the Champiorij whose broad spear point, glittering in the sun, was the first sign of the city to the mar- iner far out at sea. On the right of the entrance, and a little to the rear, was the temple of the Wingless Victory^; and near the center of the open space rose the larger structures of the Erechtheum ^ and the Parthenon. 219. The Parthenon (" maiden's chamber ") was the temple of the virgin goddess Athene. ^ It remains absolutely peerless in its loveliness among the buildings of the world. It was in the Doric style,^ and of no great size, — only some 100 feet by 1 See the illustration on page 159. 2 A temple to Erechtheus, an ancestral god of Attica. See page 212. 8 See § 154 for explanation of this and other terms used in this description. See also pages 156, 158, 212, 221, for illustrations of the Parthenon. 219] THE PARTHENON 211 250, while the marble pillars supporting its low pediment rose only 34* feet from their base of three receding steps. The ef- fect was due, not to the sublimity and grandeur of vast masses, ^3u^ to the perfection of proportion, to exquisite beauty of line, and to the delicacy and profusion of ornament. On this struc- ture, indeed, was lavished without stint the highest art of the Propylaea of the Acropolis To-day. art capital of all time. The fifty life-size and colossal statues in the pediments, and the four thousand square feet of smaller reliefs in the frieze were all finished with perfect skill, even in the unseen parts. The frieze represents an Athenian pro- cession, carrying offerings to the patron goddess Athene at the greatest religious festival of Athens. Nearly 500 different figures were carved upon this frieze.^ As with all Greek tem- 1 These reliefs are now for the most part in the British Museum and are often referred to as the Elgin Marhleft, from the fact that Lord Elgin secured them, shortly after 1800, for the English government. The student can judge of the original position of part of the sculpture on the building from the illus- tration of the Parthenon on page 221. The frieze within the colonnade 212 INTELLECTUAL AND ARTISTIC ATHENS [§ 220 pies, the bands of stone above the columns were painted in brilliant reds and blues ; and the faces of the sculptures were tinted in lifelike hues. About 230 years ago, when the Turks held Athens, they used t Parthenon as a powder house. An enemy's cannon ball exploded the magazine, blowing the temple into ruins, much as we see them to-day. Ebechtheum (foregromid) and Parthenon. This view gives the contrast between the delicacy of the Ionic style and the simple dignity of the Doric. Cf . § 154. 220. Phidias. — The ornamentation of the Parthenon, within and without, was cared for by Phidias and his pupils. Phidias still ranks as the greatest of sculptors.^ Much of the work on the Acropolis he merely planned, but the great statues of (§ 154) cannot be shown in such pictures. It was a band of relief, about four feet in width, running entirely around the temple. 1 Phidias has been rivaled, if at all, only by his pupil, Praxiteles. The Hermes of Praxiteles is one of the few great works of antiquity that survive to us ; and of his Satyr we have a famous copy in Rome, which plays a part in Hawthorne's novel, The Marble Faun See pages 227, 254. 220] THE PARTHENON 213 Athene were his special work. The bronze statue has already been mentioned. Besides this, there was, within the temple, an^ven more glorious statue in gold and ivory, smaller than ^^^ other, but still five or six times larger than life.^ Profes- sor Mahaffy has said of all this Parthenon sculpture : — " The beauty and perfection of all the invisible parts are such that the cost of labor and money must have been' enormous. There is no show FmURES FROM THE PARTHP^NON FRTEZK. whatever for much of this extraordinary finish, which can only be seen by going on the roof or by opening a wall. Yet the religiousness of the unseen work 2 has secured that what is seen shall be perfect with no ordinary perfection." 1 These two works divide the honor of Phidias' great fame with his Zeus at Olympia, which, in the opinion of the ancients, surpassed all other sculpture in grandeur. Phidias said that he planned the latter work, thinking of Homer's Zeus, at the nod of whose ambrosial locks Olympus trembled. 2 Compare Longfellow's lines, — " In the older days of art, Builders wrought, with utmost care, Each obscure and unseen part, — For the gods see everywhere." 214 INTELLECTUAL AND ARTISTIC ATHENS [§ 221 V^ 221. The Drama.— In the age of Pericles, the chief form of poetry became the tragic drama — the highest development of • Greek literature, ^l the tenth century i^^^| the epic age, and the seventh and sixth the lyric (§ 155), so the fifth century be- gins the dramatic period. The drama began in the songs and dances of a chorus in honor of Dionysus, god of wine, at the spring festival of flowers and at the autumn vintage festival. The leader of the chorus came at length to recite stories, between the songs. Thespis (§ 146) at Athens, in the age of Pisistratus, had de- veloped this leader into an actor, — a2:>art from the chorus and carrying on dialogue ivith it. Now Aeschy- lus added another actor, and his younger rival, Sophocles, a Sophocles — a portrait-statue, now in the Lateran Museum at Rome. third.^ Aeschylus, Sophocles, and their successor, Euripides, are the three greatest Greek dramatists. Together they pro- 1 The Greek tragedy never permitted more than three actors upon the Stage at one time. The Greek drama cannot be compared easily with the §222] THE GREEK THEATER 215 duced some two hundred plays, of which thirty-one survive. Their plays were all tragedies. Comedy also grew out of the worship of the wine god, — not from the great religious festivals, however, but from the rude village merrymakings. Even upon the stage, comedy kept traces of this rude origin in occasional coarseness ; and it was Theater of Dionysus — present condition sometimes misused, to abuse men like Pericles and Socrates. Still, its great master, Aristophanes, for his wit and genius, must always remain one of the bright names in literature. 222. The Theater. — Every Greek city had its "theaters." A theater was a semicircular arrangement of rising seats, often cut into a hillside, with a small stage at the open side of the circle for the actors. There was no inclosed building, ex- cept sometimes a few rooms for the actors, and there was modem. Sophocles and Shakespeare differ somewhat as the Parthenon differs from a vast cathedral. In a Greek play the scene never changed, and all the action had to be such as could have taken place in one day. That is, the "unities" of time and place were strictly preserved, while the small num- ber of actors made it easy to maintain also a " unity of action." 216 INTELLECTUAL AND ARTISTIC ATHENS [§ 223 none of the gorgeous stage scenery which has become a chief feature of our theaters. Neither did the Greek theater run every night. Performances took place at only two periods in the year — at the spring and autumn festivals to Diony- sus — for about a week each season ; and the performance of course had to be in the daytime. The great Theater of Dionysus^ in Athens, was on the south- east slope of the Acropolis — the rising seats, cut in a semicircle into the rocky bluff, looking forth, beyond the stage, to the hills of southern Attica and over the blue waters of the Aegean. It could seat almost the whole free male population.^ Pericles secured from the public treasury the admission fee to the Theater for each citizen who chose to ask for it. This use of " theater money " was altogether different from the payment of officers and jurors. It must be kept in mind that the Greek stage was the modern pulpit and press in one. The practice of free admission was designed to advance religious and intellectusri training, rather than to give amuse- ment. It ivas a kind of public education for grown-up people. 223. Oratory was highly developed. Among no other people has public speaking been so important and so effective. Its special home was Athens. For almost two hundred years, from Themistocles to Demosthenes (§ 272), great statesmen swayed the Athenian state by the power of sonorous and thrill- ing eloquence ; and the emotional citizens, day after day, packed the Pnyx to hang breathless for hours upon the persuasive lips of their leaders. The art of public speech was studied zeal- ously by all who hoped to take part in public affairs. Ud happily, Pericles did not preserve his orations. The one quoted below (§ 229) seems to have been recast by Thucydides in his own style. But fortunately we do still have many of the orations of Demosthenes, of the next century; and from them we can understand how the union of fiery passion, and 1 The stone seats were not carved out of the hill until somewhat later. During the age of Pericles, the men of Athens sat on the ground, or on stools which they brought with them, all over the hillside. 225] HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY 217 convincing logic, and polished beauty of language, made oratory rank with the drama and with art aa the great means of public education for Athenians. 224. History Prose literature now appears, with history as its leading form. The three great historians of the period are Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon. For charm in story-telling they have never been excelled. Herodotus was a native of Halicarnassus (a city of Asia Minor). He traveled widely, lived long at Athens as the friend of Pericles, and j&nally in Italy composed his great History of the Persian Wars, with an introduc- tion covering the world's history up to that event. Thucydides, an Athenian general, wrote the history of the Peloponnesian War (§§ 241 ff.) in which he took part. Xenophon be- longs rather to the next century. He also was an Athenian. He completed the story of the Peloponnesian War, and gave us, with other works, the Anabasis, an account of the expedition of the Ten Thousand Greeks through the Persian empire in 401 B.C. (§ 257). 225. Philosophy.^ — The age of Pericles saw also a rapid development in philosophy, — and this movement, too, had Athens for its most important home. Anaxagoras of Ionia, 1 This section can best be read in class, and talked over. It may well be preceded by a reading of § 156 upon the earlier Greek philosophy. Thucydides. A portrait bust ; now in the Capitoline Museum at Rome. 218 INTELLECTUAL AND ARTISTIC ATHENS [§ 225 the friend of Pericles, taught that the ruling principle in the universe was Mind: "In the beginning all things were chaos; then came Intelligence, and set all in order.'* He also tried to explain comets and other strange natural phenomena, which had been looked upon as miraculous. But, like Democritus and Empedodes of the same period, Anaxagoras turned in the main from the old question of a fundamental principle to a new problem. The philosophers of the sixth century had tried to answer the question, — How did the universe come to be ? The philosophers of the age of ' Pericles asked mainly, — How does man know about the uni- verse ? That is, they tried to explain ttie working of the human mind. These early attempts at explanation were not very satisfactory, and so next came the Sophists, with a skeptical philosophy. Man, the Sophists held, cannot reach truth itself, but must be content to know only appearances. They taught rhetoric, and were the first of the philosophers to accept pay.^ Socrates, the founder of a new philosophy, is sometimes con- founded with the Sophists. Like them, he abandoned the attempt to understand the material universe, and ridiculed gently the attempted explanations of his friend, Anaxagoras. He took for his motto, " Know thyself," and considered philoso- phy to consist in right thinking upon human conduct. True wisdom, he taught, is to know what is good ayid to do what is right; and he tried to make his followers see the difference between justice and injustice, temperance and intemperance, virtue and vice. Thus Socrates completes the circle of ancient philosophy. The whole development may be summed up briefly, as follows : — 1. Thales and his followers (§ 156) tried to find out how the world came A to be — out of what " first principle " it arose (water, fire, etc.). / 1 Thus these philosophers were accused of advertising for gain, to teach youth "how to make the worse appear the better reason," and the name "sophist'* received an evil significance. Many of the Sophists, however, were brilliant thinkers, who did much to clear awa^old mental rubbish. The most famous were Gorgias, the rhetorician, a Sicilian Greek at Athens, and his pupil, Isocrates. §227] SOCRATES 219 2. Anaxagoras and his contemporaries tried to find out how man's mind could understand the outside world. (His teaching that mind was the real principle of the universe formed a natural step from 1 to 2.) 3. The Sophists declared all search for such explanations a failure — beyond the power of the human mind. 4. Socrates sought to know, not about the outside world at all, but about himself and his duties. 226. The Man Socrates. — Socrates was a poor man, aa artisan who carved little images of the gods for a living ; and he con- stantly vexed his wife, Xanthippe, by neglecting his trade, to talk in the market place. He wore no sandals, and dressed meanly. His large bald head and nrgly face, with its thick lips and flat nose, made him good sport for the comic poets. His practice was to entrap unwary antagonists into public con- versation by asking innocent-looking questions, and then, by the inconsistencies of their answers, to show how shallow their opinions were. This proceeding afforded huge merriment to the crowd of youths whofollowed the bare-footed philosopher, and it made him bitter enemies among his victims. But his method of argument (which we still call "the Socratic method") was a permanent addition to our intellectual weapons; and his beauty of soul, his devotion to knowledge, and his largeness of spirit make him the greatest name in Greek history. When seventy years old (399 b.c.) he was accused of impiety and of corrupting the youth. He refused to defend himself in any ordinary way, and was therefore declared guilty. His accusers then proposed a death penalty. It was the privilege of the condemned man to propose any other penalty, and let the jury choose between the two. Instead of proposing a considerable fine, as his friends wished, Socrates said first that he really ought to propose that he be maintained in honor at the public expense, but, in deference to his friends' entreaties, he finally proposed a small fine. The angered jui^y, by a close vote, pro- nounced the death penalty. 227. Socrates on Obedience to Law and on Immortality. — Socrates refused also to escape before the day for his execution. 220 INTELLECTUAL AND ARTISTIC ATHENS [§ 227 Friends had made arrangements for his escape, but he answered their earnest entreaties by a playful discourse, of which the substance was, — " Death is no evil ; but for Socrates to * play truant,' and injure the laws of his country, would be an evil." After memorable conversations upon immortality, he drank the fatal hemlock vrith a gentle jest upon his lips.^ His execution is the greatest blot upon the intelligence of the Athenian democracy. It happened that the trial had taken place just before the annual sailing of a sacred ship to Delos to a festival of Apollo. According to Athenian law, no execution could take place until the return of this vessel. Thus for thirty days, Socrates remained in jail, conversing daily in his usual manner with groups of friends who visited him. Two of his disciples (Plato and Xenophon) have given us accounts of these talks. On the last day, the theme was immortality. Some of the friends fear that death may be an endless sleep, or that the soul, on leaving the body, may " issue forth like smoke . . . and vanish into nothingness." But Socrates comforts and consoles them, — convinciiig them, by a long day's argument, that the soul is immortal, and picturing the lofty delight he anticipates in applying his Socratic questionings to the heroes and sages of olden times, when he meets them soon in the abode of the blest. Then, just as the fatal hour arrives, one of the company (Crito) asks, '' In what way would you have us bury you ? " Socrates rejoins : — *' ♦ In any way you like : only you must first get hold of me, and take care that I do not walk away from you.' Then he turned to us, and added, with a smile : ' I cannot make Crito believe that I am the same Socrates who has been talking with you. He fancies that I am another Socrates whom he will soon see a dead body — and he asks, How shall he bury me? I have spoken many words to show that I shall leave you and go to the joys of the blessed ; but these words, with which I comforted you, have had, I see, no effect upon Crito. And so I want you to be 1 Special report: the trial and death of Socrates. See Plato's Apology, Xenophon 's Memorabilia, and other accounts. 228] SUMMARY 221 surety for me now, as Crito was surety [bail] for me at my trial, — but with another sort of promise. For he promised the judges that I would remain ; but you must be my surety to him that I shall not remain. Then he will not be grieved when he sees merely my body burned or buried. I would not have him sorrow at my lot, or say. Thus we follow Socrates to the grave ; for false words such as these infect the soul. Be of good cheer, then, my dear Crito, and say that you are burying my body only — and do with that what is usual, or as you think best. ' " i 228. Summary. — The amazing extent and intensity of Athenian culture overpower the imagination. With fev^r exceptions, the ^HPiriTiTiii 1^1 1 HiiiH^^^' ^ ^1^ 1 HL The Acropolis, as " restored " by Lambert. famous men mentioned in §§ 220-225 were Athenian citizens. In the fifth century b.c. that one city gave birth to more great men of the first rank, it has been said, than the whole world ha^ ever produced m any other equal period of time. Artists, philosophers, and writers swarmed to Athens, also, from less-favored parts of Hellas ; for, despite the condemnation of Socrates, no other city in the world afforded such freedom of thought, and nowhere else was ability, in art or literature. 1 Anecdotes of Socrates are given in Da.yiB' Beadings, Vol. I, Nos. 89-92. J 222 INTELLECTUAL AND ARTISTIC ATHENS [§ 229 so appreciated. The names that have been mentioned give but a faint impression of the splendid throngs of brilliant poets, artists, philosophers, and orators, who jostled each other in the streets of Athens. This, after all, is the best justification of the Athenian democracy. Abbott {History of Greece, II, 415), one of its sternest modern critics, is forced to exclaim, " Never before or since has life developed so richly as it developed in the beautiful city which lay at the feet of the virgin goddess." ^ t 229. The Tribute of Pericles to Athens. — The finest glorification of the Athenian spirit is contained in the great funer3;l oration delivered by Pericles over the Athenian dead, at the close of the second year of the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides gives the speech and represents no doubt the ideas, if not the words, of the orator : — "And we have not forgotten to provide for our weary spirits many relaxations from toil. We have our regular games and« sacrifices through- out the year ; at home the style of our life is refined, and the delight which we daily feel in all thesfe things helps to banish melancholy. Be- cause of the greatness of our city, the fruits of the whole earth flow in upon us ; so that we enjoy the goods of other countries as freely as of our own. . . . " And in the matter of education, whereas oui; adversaries from early youth are always undergoing laborious exercises Vhich are to make them brave, we live at ease, and yet are equally ready to face the perils which they face. ... If then we prefer to meet danger with a light heart but without laborious training, and with a courage which is gained by habit and not enforced by law, are we not greatly the gainers ? " We are lovers of the beautiful^ yet simple in our tastes; andioe culti-. vate the mind without loss of manliness. Wealth we employ, not for talk and ostentation, but when there is a real use for it. To avow poverty with us is no disgrace ; the true disgrace is in doing nothing to avoid it. An Athenian citizen does not neglect the state because he takes care of his own household ; and even those of us who are engaged in business have a very fair idea of politics. We alone regard a man who takes no interest in public affairs, not as a harmless, but as a use- less character. ... 1 The patron deity of Athens was Pallas Athene, the virgin goddess, whose temple, the Parthenon, crowned the Acropolis. § 230] LIMITATIONS 223 '* In the hour of trial Athens alone is superior to the report of her. No enemy who comes against her is indignant at the reverses which he sustains at the hands of such a city ; no subject complains that his masters are unworthy of him. And we shall assuredly not be without witnesses. There are mighty monuments of our power which will make us the wonder of -this and of succeeding ages. . . . For we have 'com- pelled every land and every sea to open a path for our valor, and have everywhere planted eternal memorials of our friendship and of our enmity. . . . "To sum up : I say that Athens is the school of Hellas, and that the individual Athenian in his own person seems to have the power of adapt- ing himself to the most varied forms of action with the utmost versatility and grace. . . . "7 would have you day by day fix your eyes upon the greatness of Athens, until you become filled with the love of her ; and when you are impressed by the spectacle of her glory, reflect that this empire has been acquired by men who knew their duty and had the courage to do it, and who in the hour of conflict had the fear of dishonor always present to them. ..." 230. Three limitations in Greek culture must be noted. a. It rested necessarily on slavery, and consequently could not honor labor, as modern culture at least tries to do. The main business of the citizen was government and war. Trades and commerce were left largely to the free non-citizen class, and unskilled hand labor was performed mainly by slaves. As a rule, it is true, this slavery was not harsh. In Athens, ordinarily, the slaves were hardly to be distinguished from the poorer citizens. They were frequently Greeks, of the same speech and culture as their masters. In some ways, this made their lot all the harder to bear; and there was always the possibility of cruelty. In the mines, even in Attica, the slaves were killed off brutally by merciless hardships. b. Greek culture was for males only. It is not probable that the wife of Phidias or of Thucydides could read. The women of the working classes, especially in the country, necessarily mixed somewhat with men in their work. But among the well-to-do, women had lost the freedom of the simple and rude 224 INTELLECTUAL AND ARTISTIC ATHENS [§ 230 society of Homer's time, without gaining much in return. Ex- cept at Sparta, where physical training was thought needful Women at their Toilet. — From a vase painting. for them, they passed a secluded life even at home, in sepa- rate women's apartments. They had no public interests, ap- WoMEN AT THEIR ToiLET. — The rest of the vase painting shown above. peared rarely on the streets, and never met their husbands' friends. At best, they were only higher domestic servants. The chivalry of the mediaeval knight toward woman and the 230] LIMITATIONS 225 love of the iiioderii geutleiiiau for his wife were equally uu- thinkable by the best Greek society. The rule is merely emphasized by its one exception. No account of the Athens of Pericles should omit mention of AspasiOi^ She was a nativa of Miletus, and had come to Athens as an adventuress. Many other high-spirited girls no doubt did the like, in inevitable rebellion against the shame- ful bondage of Greek custom, — but only to fall into a life more shameful. But Aspasia won the love of Pericles. Since she was not an Athenian citizen he could not marry her ; but, until his death, he lived with her in all re- spects as his wife — a union not grievously offensive to Greek ideas. The dazzling wit and beauty of Aspasia made his home the focus of the intellectual life of Athens. Anaxagoras, Socrates, Phidias, Herodotus, — the charming group of brilliant friends of Peri- cles, — were her friends also, and delighted in her conversa- tion. Pericles consulted her on the most important public matters. But she is the only woman who need be named in Greek history after the time of Sappho and Corinna (§ 155). 4- c. The most intellectual Greeks of that age had not thought of finding out the truths of nature by experiment. The an- cients had only such knowledge of the world about them as they had chanced ujjon,, or such as they could attain by observation of nature as she showed herself- to them. To ask questions, and make nature answer them by systematic experi- ment, is a method of reaching knowledge which belongs only to recent times. But, before the Greeks, men had reached about all the mastery over nature that was possible without Greek Women at their Music. From a vase painting. 226 INTELLECTUAL AND ARTISTIC ATHENS [§230 that method. The average Athenian probably excelled the average American in brain power, and the Greek mind per- formed wonders in literature and art and philosophy ; but it did little to advance man^s power over nature. This limitation should not be overrated. We sometimes think of civilization as consisting mainly in material comforts. The Greeks knew little of such things. It is none too easy for us to really picture a worldf without railways, or telegraphs, or electric lights, or gas, or coal, or refrigerator cars to bring to our breakfast table the fruits of distant lands. But, to make the Greek world at all real to us, we must peel off from our world much more than this. We must think of even the best houses with- out plumbing — or drains of any sort; beds with- out sheets or springs; rooms without fire ; travel- ing without bridges ; shoes without stockings ; clothes without buttons, or even a hook and eye. The Greek had to tell time without a watch, and to cross seas without a compass. He was civilized with- out being what we should call "comfortable." But, perhaps all the more, he felt keenly the beauty of sky and hill and temple and statue and the human form.'^ 1 Myron was a contemporary of Phidias. He excelled in representing the human body in action, 2 This passage is mostly condensed from a paragraph in Zimmern's Greek Commonwealth. The Disk Thrower. After Myron.^ Now in the Vatican. [§231 MORAL IDEALS 227 In one most important respect, however, this lack of con- trol over nature was a serious lack. Without modern scien- tific knowledge, and modern machinery, it has never been possible for man to produce wealth fast enough so that many could take sufficient leisure for refined and graceful living. Even with us, this ability is so new that we have not yet learned how to divide the new wealth properly ; but we feel sure that it is going to be done. With the Greeks, it could not 'be done. Tliere was too little to go round. The civilization of the few rested necessarily upon slavery. This third limi- tation (c) was the cause of the first (a). 231. The moral side of Greek culture falls some- what short of the in- tellectual side. The two religions, of the clan and of the Olympian gods, both kept their hold upon the faith of most Athenians even in the age of Pericles. Neither had much to do with conduct toward men. The good sense and clear thinking of the Greeks had freed their religion from the grossest features of Oriental worship ; but on the whole their moral ideas are to be sought in their philosophy, literature, and history, rather than in their stories about the gods. The Greeks accepted frankly the search for pleasure as nat- ural and proper. Self-sacrifice had little place in their ideal. They lacked altogether the Jewish and Christian "sense ot A Satyr by Praxitiles. This is Hawthorne's " Marble Faun. 228 INTELLECTUAL AND ARTISTIC ATHENS [§232 sin." They were moved to right conduct, not by the Christian's spiritual love for the beauty of holiness, but by an intellectual ad- miration for the beauty of moderation and of temperance. Indi- vidual characters at once lofty and lovable were not numerous. No society ever produced so many great men, but many socie- ties have produced better men. Greek excellence was intel- lectual rather than moral. Trickery and deceit mark most of the greatest names, and not even physical or moral bravery can be called a national characteristic. The wily Themistocles, rather than Socrates or Pericles, is the typical Greek hero; and even when seeking to entrap the Persians by his secret message at Salamis, Themistocles seems to have kept in mind the possibility of claiming Persian rewards if Xerxes should conquer. At the same time, a few individuals tower to great heights and a few Greek teachers give us some of the noblest morality of the world. Says Mahaffy (Social Greece, 8), after acknowl- edging the cruelty and barbarity of Greek life : " Socrates and Plato are far superior to the Jewish moralists; they are superior to the average Christian moralist; it is only in the matchless teaching of Christ himself that we find them sur- passed." 232. Illustrative Extracts. — The following passages illustrate the moral ideas of the best of the Greeks. They are taken from Athenian writers of the age of Pericles, and represent the mountain peaks of Greek thought, not its average level. Still, a volume of such passages might be put together. a. From Aeschylus. " The lips of Zeus know not to speak a lying speech." "Justice shines in smoke-grimed houses and holds in regard the life that is righteous ; she leaves with averted eyes the gold-bespangled palace which is unclean, and goes to the abode that is holy." h. Antigone, the heroine of a play by Sophocles, has knowingly in- curred penalty of death by disobeying an unrighteous command of a wicked king. She justifies her deed proudly, — §232] MORAL IDEALS 229 '* Nor did 1 deem thy edicts strong enough That thou, a mortal man, should' st overpass The unwritten laws of God that know no change.''^ c. From Socrates to his Judges after his condemnation to death (Plato's Apology). — "Wherefore, O judges, be of good cheer about death, and know this of a truth — that no evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death. He and his are not neglected by the gods. . . . The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways — I to die, you to live. Which is better, God only knows." d. From Plato (the greatest disciple of Socrates, § 315). — " My counsel is that we hold fast ever to the heavenly way and follow justice and vir- tue. . . . Thus we shall live dear to one another and to the gods, both while remaining here, and when, like conquerors in the games^ we go to receive our reward." e. A Prayer of Socrates (from Plato's Phaedrus). — "Beloved Pan, and all ye other gods who haunt this place, give me beauty in the inward soul ; and may the outward and inward man be at one. May I reckon the wise to be the wealthy, and may I have such a quantity of gold as none but the temperate can carry." (The quotations from Socrates' talks after his condemnation, given in § 227 above, give more material of this kind. Fuller passages will be found in Davis' Tteadings, Vol. T, Nos. 89-92.) For Ftjrthek Rrading. — Specially suggested: Davis' Headings^ Vol. I, Nos. 76-80 (11 pages, mostly from Plutarch and Thucydides) ; and Nos. 88-97 (24 pages) ; Bury, 363-378. Additional : Valuable and very readable treatments will be found in any of the three excellent volumes mentioned for the two preceding top- ics, — Cox's Athenian Empire, Grant's Age of Pericles, or Abbott's Peri- cles. Plutarch's Pericles ought to be inviting, from the extracts in Davis' Beadings. Dr. Davis' novel, A Victor of Salamis, is the best fiction for Greek history. A Day in Old Athens, by the same author, is a vivid presentation of various matters touched upon in this and the next chapter. Exercise. — Count up and classify the kinds of sources of our knowledge about the ancient world, — so far as this book has alluded to sources of information. Note here the suggestions for ^'■fact-drills,'" on page £95, and begin to prepare the lists. ^ CHAPTER XIV LIFE IN THE AGE OF PERICLES 233. Houses, even those of the rich, were very simple. The poor could not afford more; and the rich man thought his house of little account. It vras merely a place to keep his women folk and young children and some other valuable property, and to sleep in. His real life was passed outside. A "well-to-do" house was built with a wooden frame, cov- ered with sun-dried clay. Such buildings have not left many remains : and most of what we know about them comes from brief references in Greek literature. On the opposite page is given the ground plan of one of the few private houses of the fifth century which has been unearthed in a state to be traced out. This house was at Delos ; and it was something of a mansion, for the times. Houses were built flush with the street, and on a level with it, — without even sidewalk or steps between. The door, too, usually opened out — so that passers-by were liable to bumps, unless they kept well to the middle of the narrow street. In this Delos mansion, the street door opened into a small vestibule (A), about six feet by -ten. This led to a square "hall" (D, D, D, D), which was the central feature of every Greek house of importance. In the center of the hall there was always a " court," open to the sky, and surrounded by a row of columns. The columns were to uphold their side of the hall ceiling, — since the hall had no wall next the court, but was divided from it only by the columns. In the Delos house, the columns were ten feet high (probably higher than was usual), and the court was paved with a beautiful mosaic. Commonly, however, all floors in private houses, until some three centuries later, were made of concrete. \ 230 §233] THE GREEK HOUSE 231 Under part of the hall were two cellars or cisterns; and from the hall there opened six more rooms. The largest {H) was the dining room and kitchen, with a small recess for the chimney in one corner. The other rooms were store rooms, or sleeping rooms for male slaves and unmarried sons. Any- occasional overflow of guests could be taken care of by couches in the hall. This whole floor was for males only. Plan of a Fifth-century Delos House. After Gardiner and Jevons. Some houses (of the very rich) had only one story. In that case there was at the rear a second half for the women, con- nected with the men's half by a door in the partition wall. This rear half of the house, in such cases, had its own central hall and open court, and an arrangement of rooms similar to that in the front half. But more commonly, as in the Delos house, there was an upper story for the women, reached by a steep stairway in the lower hall, and projecting, perhaps, part way over the street. Near the street door, on the outside, there was a niche in the wall for the usual statue of Hermes ; and a small niche in room i^'was used probably as a shrine for some other deity. The doorways of the interior were usually hung with cur- 232 THE AGE OF PERICLES [§234 tains ; but store rooms had doors with bronze locks. Bronze keys are sometimes found in the ruins, and they are pictured in use in vase paintings. The door between the men's and women's apartments was kept locked: only the master of the house, his wife, and perhaps a trusted slave, had keys to it. The Delos house had only one outside door; but often there was a rear door into a small, walled garden. City houses were crowded close together, with small chance for windows on the sides. Sometimes narrow slits in the wall opened on the street. Otherwise, except for the one door, the street front was a blank wall. If there were windows on the street at all, they were filled with a close wooden lattice. The Greeks did not have glass panes for windows. The houses were dark; and most of the dim light came from openings on the central court, through the hall. In cold damp weather (of which, happily, there was not much), the house was exceedingly uncomfortable. The kitchen had a real chimney, with cooking arrangements like those in an- cient Cretan houses (§ 96). But for other rooms the only artificial heat came from small fires of wood or charcoal in braziers, — such as are still carried from room to room, on occa- sion, in Greece or Italy or Spain. The choking fumes which filled the room were not much more desirable than the cold which they did little to drive away. Sometimes a large open fire in the court gave warmth to the hall. At night, earthen- ware lamps, on shelves or brackets, furnished light. Tliere were no bathrooms, and no sanitary conveniences. Poor people lived in houses of one or two rooms. A middle class had houses nearly as large as the one described above ; but they rented the upper story to lodgers. Professional lodg- ing houses had begun to appear, with several stories of small rooms, for unmarried poor men and for slaves who could not find room in the master's house. 234. The residence streets were narrow and irregular, — hardly more than crooked, dark alleys. They had no pave- ment, and they were littered with all the filth and refuse 235] GREEK FAMILY LIFE 233 from the houses. Slops, from .upper windows, sometimes doused unwary passers-by. Splendid as were the public por- tions of Athens, the residence quarters were much like a squalid Oriental city of to-day. In the time of Pericles, wealthy men were just beginning to build more comfortably on the hills near the city; but war kept this practice from becoming common till a much later time. Greek Girls at Play. — From a vase painting. 235. The Family. — In the Oriental lands which we have studied, a man was at liberty to have as many wives in his household as he chose to support. Poor men usually were content with one ; but, among the rich, polygamy was the rule. A Greek had only one wife. Imperfect as Greek family life was, the adoption of "monogamy" was a great step forward. The Homeric poems give many pictures of lovely family life ; and the Homeric women meet male guests and strangers with a natural dignity and ease. In historic Greece, as we have noted (§ 230), this freedom for women had been lost — except, in some degree, at Sparta. Marriage was arranged by parents. The young people as a rule had never seen each other. Girls were married very young — by fifteen or earlier 234 THE AGE OF PERICLES [§235 — and had no training of any valuable sort. Among the wealthy classes, they spent the rest of their days indoors — except on some rare festival occasions. The model wife learned to oversee the household ; but in most homes this was left to trained slaves, and the wife dawdled away the day list- lessly ^t her toilet or in vacant idleness, much as in an Eastern harem to-day, waiting for a visit from her master. The vase pictures show her commonly with a mirror. Unwholesome living led to excessive use of red and white paint, and other cosmetics, to imitate the complexion of early youth. ^ Law and public opinion allowed the father to " expose " a new-born child to die. This was done sometimes in Athens with girl babies. Indeed the practice was common among the poor. Boys were valued more. They would offer sacrificss, in time, at the father's tomb, and they could Jight for the city. Till the age of seven, boys ai?d girls lived together in the women's apart- ments. Then the boy began his school life (§ 240). The girl continued her childhood until marriage. Much of her time was spent at music and in games. One very common game was like our " Jackstones," except that it was played with little bones. Not till the evening before her marriage did the girl put away her doll, — offering it then solemnly on the shrine of the goddess Artemis. 236. Greek dress is well known, as to its general effect, from pictures and sculpture. Women of the better classes wore flowing garments, fastened at the shoulders with clasp-pins, and gathered in graceful loose folds at the waist. The robe was so draped as to leave the arms, and sometimes one shoulder, bare. Outside the house, the woman wore also a kind of long mantle, which was often drawn up over the head. The chief article of men's dress was a shirt of linen or wool, which fell about to the knees. For active movements, this was often clasped with a girdle about the waist, and shortened by being drawn up so as to fall in folds over the girdle. Over 1 Davis, Readings, Vol. I, No. 99, pictures an ideal Greek household. §237] GREEK DRESS 235 this was draped a long mantle, falling in folds to the feet. This is well shown in the statue of Sophocles, on page 214. Sometimes, this mantle was carried on the arm. The soles of the feet were commonly protected by sandals; but there was also a great variety of other foot gear. • Socrates' habit of going barefooted was the rule at Sparta for men under middle age; and some Spartan kings made it their practice all their lives. Even these statements do not make emphatic enough the very simple nature of men's dress. The inner garment was merely a piece of cloth in two oblong parts (sometimes partly sewn together), fastened by pins, so as to hold it on. The outer garment was one oblong piece of cloth, larger and not fastened at all. A Vask Painting, showing the Trojan prince enticing away Helen. The painting is of the fifth century, and shows fashions in dress for that time. 237. Occupations. — Good " societj^ " looked down upon all forms of money-making by personal exertion. A physician who took pay for his services they despised almost as much as they did a carpenter or shoemaker. This attitude is natural to a slaveholding society. Careless thinkers sometimes admire it. But it contains less promise for mankind than does even our modern worship of the dollar, bad as that sometimes is. The Greek wanted money enough to supply all the comforts 236 THE AGE OF PERICLES [§237 that lie knew about ; but he wanted it to come without his earning it. He was very glad to have slaves earn it for him. Most of the hand labor was busied in tilling the soil. The farmer manured his land skillfully; but otherwise he made no advance over the Egyptian farmer — who had not been com- pelled to enrich his land. Some districts, like Corinth and Attica, could not furnish food enough for their populations from their own soil. Athens imported grain from other parts Greek Women, in various aotivities. — From a vase painting. of Hellas and from Thrace and Egypt. This grain was paid for, in the long run, by the export of manufactures. In the age of Pericles, laiye factories had appeared. (See Davis' Readings, Vol. I, No. 76, for a list of twenty-five handicrafts connected with the beautifying of the Acropolis.) In these factories, the place taken now by machinery was taken then, in large part, by slaves. The owner of a factory did not com- monly own all the slaves employed in it. Any master of a slave skilled in that particular trade might " rent " him out to the factory by the month or year. In Attica, then, the villages outside Athens were mainly occupied by farmers and farm laborers. Commerce (as well as much manufacturing) was centered in the Piraeus, and was managed directly, for the most part, by the non-citizen class. In Athens, the poorer classes worked at their trades or in their shops from sunrise to sunset — with a holiday about one 238] CLASSES AND INDUSTRIES 237 day ill three. Their pay was small, because of the competi- tion of slave labor; but they needed little pay to give them most of the comforts of the rich — except constant leisure. And we must understand that the Greek artisan — sometimes even the slave — took a noble pride in his tuork. The stone masons who chiseled out the fluted columns of the Parthenon felt themselves fellow workmen with Phidias who carved the pediments. In general, the Greek workman seems to have worked deliberately and to have found a delight in his work which was known also to the artisan of the Middle Ages in Europe, but which has been largely driven out of modern life by our greater subdivision of labor and by our greater pressure for haste. An Athenian citizen of the wealthy class usually owned lands outside the city, worked by slaves and managed by some trusted steward. Prob- ably he also had capital in- vested in trading vessels, though he was not likely to have any part in managing them. Some revenue he drew from money at interest with the bankers ; and he drew large sums, too, from the " rent " of slaves to the factories. 238. A Day of the Leisure Class. — Like the poorer citizens, the rich man rose with the sun. A slave poured water over his face and hands, or perhaps over his naked body, from a basin. (Poor men like Socrates bathed at the public foun- tains.) He then broke his fast on a cup of wine and a dry crust of bread. Afterward, perhaps he rode into the country, to visit one of his farms there, or for a day's hunting. If, instead, he remained within the city, he left his house A Barber in Terra-Cotta. From Bliimner. 238 THE AGE OF PERICLES l§238 at once, stopping, probably, at a barber's, to have his beard and finger nails attended to, as well as to gather the latest news from the barber's talk. In any case, the later half of the morning, if not the first part, would find him strolling through the shaded arcades about the market place, among throngs of his fellows, greeting acquaintances and stopping for conv^ersation with friends — with whom, sometimes, he sat on the benches that were interspersed among the colon- nades. At such times, he was al- ways followed by one or two hand- some slave boys, to run errands. At midday, he re- turned home for a light lunch. In the afternoon, he sometimes slept. Or, if a student, he took to his rolls of papyrus. Or, if a statesman, perhaps he prepared his speech for the next meeting of the Assembly. Sometimes, he visited the public gaming houses or the clubs. During the afternoon, — usually toward evening, — he bathed at a public bathing house, hot, cold, or vapor bath, as his taste decided ; and here again he held conversation with friends, while resting, or while the slave attendants rubbed him with oil and ointment. The bath was usually preceded by an hour or more of exercise in a gymnasium. Toward sunset, he once more visited his home, unless he was to dine out. If the evening meal was to be, for a rare occasion, at home and without guests, he ate with his family, — his wife The Wrestlers. §2391 A GENTLEMAN'S DAY 239 sitting at the foot of the couch where he reclined ; and soon afterward he went to bed. More commonly, he entertained guests — whom he had invited to dinner as he met them at the market place in the morning — or he was himself a guest elsewhere. The evening meal deserves a section to itself (§ 239). First let us note that such days as we have just described were not allowed to become monotonous at Athens. For several years of his life, the citizen was certain to be busied most of the time in the service of the state (§ 212). At other times, the meet- ings of the Assembly and the religious festivals and the theater took at least one day out of every three. 239. The evening banquet played a large part in Greek life. As guests arrived, they took their places in pairs, on couches, which were arranged around the room, each man reclining on his left arm. Slaves removed the sandals or shoes, wash- ing the dust from the feet, and passed bowls of water for the hands. They then brought in low three-legged tables, one before each couch, on which they afterward placed course after course of food. The Greeks of this period were not luxurious about eating. The meals were rather simple. Food was cut into small pieces in the kitchen. No forks or knives were used at table. Men ate with a spoon, or, more commonly, with the fingers ; and at the close, slaves once more passed bowls for washing the hands. When the eating was over, the real busi- ness of the evening began — with the wine. This was mixed with water; and drunkenness was not common ; but the drinking lasted late, with serious or playful talk, and singing and story- telling, and with forfeits for those who did not perform well any part assigned them by the " master of the feast " (one of their number chosen by the others when the wine appeared). Often the host had musicians come in, with jugglers and dancing girls. Respectable women never appeared on these occasions. Only on marriage festivals, or some special family celebration, did the women of a family meet male guests at all. 240 THE AGE OF PERICLES [§240 240. Education. — Education at Athens, as in nearly all Greece, was in marked contrast with Spartan education (§ 130). It aimed to train harmoniously the intellect, the sense of beauty, the moral nature, and the body. At the age of seven the boy # <^ ,/ ^:'( -^^t School Scenes. — A Bowl Painting. Instruments of instruction, irit>stly musical, hangjoii the walls. In the first half, one instructor is correcting the exercise w a'boy who stands before him. Another is showing how to use the flute. The seated figures, with staffs, are "pedagogues." entered school, but he was constantly under the eye not only of the teacher, but of a trusted servant of his own family, called a pedagogue.^ The chief subjects for study were Homer 1 The word meant " boy-leader." Its use for a " teacher " is later. § 240] EDUCATION 241 and music. Homer, it has well been said, was to the Greek at once Bible, Shakespeare, and Robinson Crusoe. The boy learned to write on papyrus with ink. But papyrus was costly, and the elementary exercises were carried on with a sharp instrument on tablets coated with wax. No great pro- ficiency was expected from the average rich youth in writing — since he would have slaves do most of it for him in after life. The schoolmaster indulged in cruel floggings on slight occasion (Davis' Headings, Vol. I, No. 94). When the youth left school, he entered upon a wider train- ing, in the political debates of the Assembly, in the lecture halls of the Sophists, in the many festivals and religious processioiis, in the plays of the great dramatists at the theaters, and in the constant enjoyment of the noblest and purest works of art. Physical training began with the child and continued through old age. No Greek youth would pass a day without devoting some hours to developing his body and to overcoming any physical defect or awkwardness that he might have. All classes of citizens, except those bound by necessity to the work- shop, met for exercise. The result was a perfection of physical power and beauty never attained so universally by any other people. Imaginative Exercises. — This period affords excellent material for exercises based upon the training of the historic imagination. Let the student absorb all the information he can find upon some historical topic, until he is filled with its spirit, and then reproduce it /row the inside, with the dramatic spirit — as though he lived in that time — not in the descrip- tive method of another age. The following topics are suggested (the list can be indefinitely extended, and such exercises may be arranged for any period) : — 1. A captive Persian's letter to a friend after Plataea. 2. A dialogue between Socrates and Xanthippe. 3. An address by a Messenian to his fellows in their revolt against Sparta. 4. Extracts from a diary of Pericles. 6. A day at the Olympic games (choose some particular date). CHAPTER XV THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR (431-404 B.C.) 241. Causes. — Athens and Sparta were at the opposite poles of Greek civilization. Athens stood for progress. Sparta was the champion of old ways. A like contrast ran through the two leagues of which these cities were the heads. The cities of the Athenian empire were Ionian in blood, democratic in politics, commercial in interests. Most of the cities of the Peloponnesian league were Dorian in blood and aristocratic in politics, and their citizens were landowners. This difference between the Athenian and Spartan states gave rise to mutual distrust. It was easy for any misunderstanding to ripen into war. Still, if none of the cities of the Peloponnesian league had had any interests on the sea, the two powers might each have gone its own way without crossing the other's path. But Corinth and Megara (members of Sparta's league) were trading cities, like Athens ; and, after the growth of the Athenian empire, they felt the basis of their prosperity slipping from under them. They had lost the trade of the Aegean, and Athens had gained it. And now Athens was reaching out also for the commerce of the western coasts of Greece. Next to Sparta, Corinth was the most powerful city in the Peloponnesian league ; and she finally persuaded Sparta to take up arms against Athens, hf fore the Thirty Years' Truce (§ 202) had run quite half its length. 242. The immediate occasion for the struggle was found in some aid which Athens gave Corcyra against an attack by Corinth in 432 b.c. 242 §243] RESOURCES AND PLANS 243 Corcyra was the third naval power in Greece. Corinth was second only to Athens. Corinth and Corcyra had come to blows, and Corcyra asked to be taken into the Athenian league. Athens finally promised defensive aid, and sent ten ships with instructions to take no part in offensive operations, A great armament of 150 Corinthian vessels appeared off the southern coast of Corcyra. Corcyra could muster only 110 ships. In the battle that followed, the Corinthians were at first completely -victorious. They sank or captured many ships, and seemed about to destroy the whole Corcyran fleet. Then the little Athenian squadron came to the rescue, and by their superior skill quickly restored the fortune of the day. But in the negotiations that followed, between Athens and the Peloponnesian league, this matter of Corcyra fell out of sight, and the quarrel was joined on broader issues.^ Sparta finally sent a haughty ultimatum, posing, herself, as the champion of a free Hellas against tyrant Athens, which had en- slaved the Aegean cities. " Let Athens set those cities free, and she might still have peace with Sparta." A timid party, of Athenian aristocrats, wished peace even on these terms. But the Assembly adopted a dignified resolution moved by Pericles : — "Let us send the ambassadors away," said he, "with this answer: That we will grant independence to the cities ... as soon as the Spartans allow their subject states [Messenia and the subject towns of Laconia] to be governed as they choose, and not by the will and interest of Sparta. Also, that we are willing to offer arbitration, according to the treaty [the treaty of the Thirty Years' Truce]. And that we do not want to begin the war, but shall know how to defend ourselves if we are attacked." As Pericles frankly warned the Assembly, this reply meant conflict. And so in 431 began the " Peloponnesian War." 243. Resources and Plans. — The Peloponnesian league could muster a hundred thousand hoplites, against whom in that day no army in the world could stand ; bu^^ it could not keep many men in the field longer than a few weeks. Sparta could 1 Special report : the narrative of the deliberations at Sparta regarding war or peace (note especially Thucydides' account of the Corinthian speech re- garding Sparta and Athens in Davis' Readings, Vol. I, No. 77). 244 THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR [§244 not capture Athens, therefore, and must depend upon ravaging Attic territory and inducing Athenian allies to revolt. Athens had only some twenty-six thousand hoplites at her command, and half of these were needed for distant garrison duty. But she had a navy even more unmatched on the sea than the Peloponnesian army was on land. Her walls were impreg- nable. The islands of Euboea and Salamis, and the open sj)aces within the Long AValls, she thought, could receive her country people with their flocks and herds. The corn* trade of south Russia was securely in her hands. The grain ships could enter the Piraeus as usual, however the Spai'tans might hold the open country of Attica. Athens could easily alford to support her population for a time from her annual revenues, to say nothing of the immense surplus of 6000 talents ($6,000,000) in the treasury. , When war began, the Spartans marched each year into Attica with overwhelming force, and remained there for some weeks, laying waste the crops, burning the villages, and cut- ting down the olive groves, up to the very walls of Athens. At first, with frenzied rage, the Athenians clamored to march out against the invader; but Pericles strained his great au- thority to prevent . such a disaster, and finally he convinced the people that they must bear this insult and injury with patience. Meantime, an Athenian fleet was always sent to ravage the coasts and harbors of Peloponnesus and to conquer various exposed allies of Sparta. Each party could inflict considerable damage, hut neither could get at the other to strike a vital bloiv. The war promised to be a matter of endurance. • Here Athens seemed to have an advantage, since she had the stronger motive for holding out. She was fighting to preserve her empire, and could not give up without ruin. Sparta could cease fighting without loss to herself ; and Pericles hoped to tire her out. 244. The Plague in Athens. — The plan of Pericles might have been successful, had the Spartans not been encouraged by a tragic disaster which fell upon Athens and which no one §244] THE PLAGUE IN ATHENS 245 in that day could have foreseen. A terrible plague had been ravaging western Asia, and in the second year of the war it reached the. Aegean. In most parts of Hellas it did no great harm ; but in Athens it was peculiarly deadly. The people of all Attica, crowded into the one city, were living under unusual and unwholesome conditions ; and the pestilence returned each summer for several years. It slew more than a fourth of the population, and paralyzed industry and all ordinary activ- ities. Worse still, it shattered, for years, the proud and joy- ous self-trust which had come to the Athenian people after Marathon. Thucydides, an eye witness, has described the ravages of the plague and exjjlained their cause. " When the country people of Attica arrived in Athens," he says, " a few had homes of their own, or found friends to take them in. But far the greater number had to find a place to live on some vacant spot or in the temples of the gods and chapels of the heroes. . . . Many also camped down in the towers of the walls or .wherever else they could; for the city proved too small to hold them." Thucydides could see the unhappy results of these conditions, after the plague had fallen on the city; and he adds, with grim irony, that " while these country folk were dividing the spaces between the Long Walls and settling there," the govern- ment (Generals and Council) were " paying great attention to mustering a fleet for ravaging the Peloponnesian coasts." Then, in dealing with the horrible story of the plague, Thucydides shows how these conditions prepared for it. " The new arrivals from the country were the greatest sufferers, — lodged during this hot season in stifling huts, where death raged without check. The bodies of dying men lay one upon another, and half-dead creatures reeled about the streets, poi- soning all the fountains and wells with their bodies, in their longing for water. The sacred places in which they had camped were full of corpses [a terrible sacrilege, to Greeks] ; for men, not knoiving what was to become of them, became wholly careless of everything." 246 THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR [§245 245. Twenty-seven Years of War. — Still, the Athenians did recover their buoyant hope ; and the war dragged along with varying success for twenty-seven years, with one short and ill-kept truce, — a whole generation growing up from the cradle to manhood in incessant war. A story of the long strug- gle in detail would take a volume. The contest was not of such lasting impoHance as the preceding struggle between the Greek and Persian civilizations; and only a few incidents require mention. 246. Athenian Naval Supremacy. — On the sea the superiority of Athens consisted not merely in the size of her navy, hut even more in its skill. The other Greeks still fought, as at the time of Salamis, by dashing their ships against each other, beak against beak, and then, if neither was sunk, by grappling the vessels together, and fighting as if on land. The Athenians, however, had now learned to maneuver their ships, rowing swiftly about the enemy with many feints, and seizing the opportunity to sink a ship by a sudden blow at an exposed point. Their- improved tactics revolutionized naval warfare ; and for years small fleets of Athenian ships proved equal to three times their number of the enemy.^ Gradually, however, the Peloponnesians learned something of the Athenian tactics, and this difference became less marked. 247. New Leaders. — The deadliest blow of the plague was the striking dojwn qf__J*mcles, who died of the disease, in the third year of the war. Never had the Athenians so needed his controlling will and calm judgment. He was fol- lowed by a new class of leaders, — men of the people, like Cleo n the tanner, and Hyperholus the lampmaker, — men of strong will and much force, but rude, untrained, unscrupulous, and ready to surrender their own convictions, if necessary, to win the favor of the crowd. Such men were to lead Athens into many blunders and crimes. Over against them stood only a group of incapable aristocrats, led by Nicias, a good but stupid man, and Alcibi^des. a brilliant, unprincipled adventurer. 1 Special report to illustrate these points : the story of Phormio's victories in the Corinthian Gulf in 431. § 249] ATHENIAN DISASTER 247 Athens was peculiarly unfortunate in her statesmen at this period. She produced no Themistocles, or Aristides, or Cimon, or Pericles ; and Phormio and Demosthenes, her great admirals, were usually absent from the city. Sparta, on the other hand, produced two greater generals than ever before in her history: Brasidas, whose brilliant campaigns overthrew Athenian supremacy on the coast of Thrace ; and Lysander, who was finally to bring the war to a close^ 248. Athenian Disaster in Sicily. — The turning-point in the war was an unwise and misconducted Athenian expedition against Syracuse.^ Two hundred perfectly equipped ships and over forty thousand men — among them eleven thousand of the flower of the Athenian hoplites — were pitifully sacrificed by the superstition and miserable generalship of their leader, Nicias (413 b.c). * Even after this crushing disaster Athens refused peace that should take away her empire. Every nerve was strained, and the last resources and reserve funds exhausted, to build and man new fleets. The war lasted nine years more, and part of the time Athens seemed as supreme in the Aegean as ever. Two things are notable in the closing chapters of the struggle, — the attempt to overthrow democracy in Athens, and Sparta's betrayal of the Asiatic Greeks to Persia (§§ 249, 250). 249. The Rule of the Four Hundred. —For a century, the oli- garchic party had hardly raised its head in Athens ; but in 411, it attempted once more to seize the government. Wealthy men of moderate opinions were wearied by the heavy taxation of the war. The democracy had blundered sadly and had shown itself unfit to deal with foreign relations, where secrecy and dispatch were essential ; and its new leaders were particularly offensive to the old Athenian families. Under these conditions, the officers of the fleet conspired with secret oligarchic societies at home. Leading democrats were assassinated ; and the Assembly was terrorized into sur- 1 Syracuse, a Dorian city and a warm friend to Sparta, had been encroach- ing upon Ionian allies of Athens in Sicily. 248 THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR [§250 rendering its powers to a council of Four Hundred of the oli- garchs. But this body proved generally incompetent, except in murder and plunder, and it permitted needless disasters in the war. After a few months, the Athenian fleet at Samos de- posed its oligarchic officers ; and the democracy at home expelled the Four Hundred and restored the old government. Route of the Long Walls, looking southwest to the harbor, some three and one half miles distant. From a recent photograph. 250. Sparta betrays the Asiatic Greeks. — In 412, immediately after the destruction of the Athenian army and fleet in Sicily, Persian satraps appeared again upon the Aegean coast. Sparta at once bought the aid of their gold by promising to betray the freedom of the Asiatic Greeks, — to whom the Athenian name had been a shield for seventy years. Persian funds now built fleet after fleet for Sparta, and slowly Athens was exhausted, despite some brilliant victories. 251. Fall of Athens. — In 405, the last Athenian fleet was surprised and captured at Aegospotami ( Goat Elvers). Appar- ently the officers had been plotting again for an oligarchic revolu- tion; and the sailors had been discouraged and demoralized, even if they were not actually betrayed by their commanders. § 251] FALL OF ATHENS 249 Lysander, the Spartan commander, in cold blood put to death the four thousand Athenian citizens among the captives.* This slaughter marks the end. AtSens still held out despair- ing but stubborn, until starved into submission by a terrible siege. In 404, the proud city surrendered to the mercy of its foes. Corinth and Thebes wished to raze it from the earth; but Sparta had no mind to do away with so useful a check upon those cities. She compelled Athens to renounce all claims to empire, to give up all alliances, to surrender all her ships but twelve, and to promise to ^' follow Sparta " in peace and war. The Long Walls and the defenses of the Piraeus were demol- ished, to the music of Peloponnesian flutes; and Hellas was declared free ! Events w^ere at once to show this promise a cruel mockery. The one power that could have grown into a free and united Greece had been ruined, and it remained to see to whxU foreign master Greece should fall. For Further Beading. — Specially suggested: Davis' Readings, Vol. I, Nos. 81-86 (16 pages), gives the most striking episodes of the war, as they were told by the Athenian historians of the day, Thucydides and Xenophon. Plutarch's Lives (" Alcibiades," "Nicias," and "Ly- sander") is the next most valuable authority. The following modern authorities continue to be useful (and may be consulted for special reports upon the period, if any are assigned) : Bury, chs. X, xi ; the closing parts of Grant's Age of Pericles and of Abbott's Pericles; and Cox's Athenian Empire. Bury gives 120 pages to Uie struggle, — too long an account for reading, but useful for special topics. 1 Special reports: (1) Cleon's leadership. (2) The trial of the Athenian generals after the victory of Arginusae. (3) The massacre of the Mytilenean oligarchs (story of the decree and the reprieve). (4) Massacre of the Melians by Athens, 415 B.C. (5) Note the merciless nature of the struggle, as shown by other massacres of prisoners : i.e., Thebans by Plataeans, 431 B.C. ; Pla- taeans by Thebans, 427 B.C.; thousands of Athenians in the mines of Syracuse; the four thousand Athenians after Aegospotami. (6) The career of Alcibi- ades. (7) The Thracian campaigns. (8) The Sicilian expedition. (9) The Siege of Plataea. Material for such reports will be easily found in the books named at the end of this chapter. CHAPTER XVI FROM THE FALL OF ATHENS TO THE FALL OF HELLAS (404^338 B.C.) 252. Decline of Hellas. — The Athenian empire had lasted seventy glorious years. Nearly an equal time was yet to elapse before Hellas fell under Macedonian sway; but it need not detain us long. Persia had already begun again to enslave the Greeks of Asia ; Carthage again did the like in Sicily ; and in the European peninsula the period was one of shame or of profitl^s wars. It falls into three parts : thirty -three years of Spartan supremacy; nin^ years of Theban supremacy; and some twenty years of anarchy. SPARTAN SUPREMACY, 404-371 B.C. 253. " Decarchies." — After Aegospotami, Sparta was mis- tress of Greece more completely than Athens had ever been, but for only half as long ; and most of that time vas given to wars to maintain her authority. She had promised to set Hellas free ; but the cities of the old Athenian empire found that they had exchanged a mild, wise rule for a coarse and stupid despotism.^ Their old tribute was doubled; their self-gov- ernment was taken away ; bloodshed and confusion ran riot in their streets. Everywhere Sparta overthrew the old democracies, and set up oligarchic governments. Usually the management of a city was given to a board of ten men, called a decarchy (" rule of ten"). These oligarchies, of course, were dependent upon Sparta.^ To defend them against any democratic rising, there 1 ^oTi Ji^ft^y?f^?Ti y^^i^ij^Vffj ??n '^rll, gives an admirable contrast between the Athenian and the Spartan systems. 2 Note the likeness between this Spartan method and the Persian practice of setting up tyrannies, dependent upon Persia, in tlie Ionian cities (§ 164). 250 § 255] SPARTAN TYKANNY OVER GREECE 251 was placed in many cities a Spartan garrison, with a Spartan military governor called a harmost. The garrisons plundered at will ; the harmosts grew rich from extortion and bribes ; the decarchies were slavishly subservient to their masters, while they wreaked upon their fellow-citizens a long pent-up aristo- cratic vengeance, in confiscation, outrage, expulsion, assassina- tion, and massacre. 254. Spartan Decay. — In Sparta itself luxury and corruption replaced the old simplicity. As a result, the number of citi- zens was rapidly growing smaller. Property was gathered into the hands of a few, while many Spartans grew too poor to support themselves at the public mess (§ 130). These poorer men ceased to be looked upon as citizens. They were not per- mitted to vote in the Assembly; and were known as " In- feriors." The 10,000 citizens, of the Persian War period, shrank to 2000. The discontent of the "Inferiors" added to the standing danger from the Helots. A plot was formed between these classes to change the government ; and only an accident pre- vented an armed revolution.^ Thus, even at home, the Spartan rule during this period rested on a volcano. 255. The " Thirty jTyrants " at Athens. — For a time even Athens remained a victim to Spartan tyranny, like any petty Ionian city. After the surrender, in 404, Lysander appointed a committee of thirty from the oligarchic dubs of Athens " to reestablish • the constitution of the fathers." Meantime, they were to hold absolute power. This committee was expected to undo the reforms of Pericles and Clisthenes and even of Solon, ana to restore the ancient ofigarphy. As a matter of fact they did worse than that: they published no constitution at all, but instead they filled all ofiices with their own followers and plotted to make their rule permanent. These men were kno^n as "the Thirty Tyrants." They called in a Spartan harmost and garrison, to whom they gave the fortress of the Acropolis. They disarmed' the citizens, ex-r ' 1 Special report : the conspiracy of Cinadon at Sparta. \ 252 SPARTAN SUPREMACY [§256 cept some three thousand of their own adherents. Then they began a bloody and greedy rule. Rich democrats and alien merchants were put to death or driven into exile, in order that their property might be confiscated.^ The victims of this pro- scription were counted by hundreds, perhaps by thousands. Larger numbers fled, and, despite the orders of Sparta, they were sheltered by Thebes. That city had felt aggrieved that her services in the Peloponnesian War received no reward from Sparta, and now she would have been glad to see Athens more powerful again. 256. Athens again Free. — This reign of terror at Athens lasted over a year. Then, in 403, one of the democratic exiles, Thrasybulus, with a band of companions from Thebes, seized the Piraeus. The aliens of the harbor rose to his support. The Spartan garrison and the forces of the Thirty were defeated. A quarrel between Lysander and the Spartan king prevented serious Spartan interference, and the old Athenian democracy recovered the government- The aliens and sailors of the Piraeus had fought valiantly with the democrats against the Thirty. Thrasybulus now urged that they be made full citizens. That just measure would have made up partly for Athens' terrible losses in the Pelopon- nesian War. Unfortunately, it was not adopted ; but in other respects, the restored democracy showed itself generous as well as moderate. A few of the most guilty of the Thirty were punished, but for all others a general amnesty was declared. The good faith and moderation of the democracy contrasted so favorably with the cut-throat rule of the two recent experi- ments at oligarchy, that Athens was undisturbed in future by revolution. Other parts of Greece, however, were less fortu- nate, and democracy never again became so generally established in Hellenic cities as it had been in the age of Pericles. 257. " March of the Ten Thousand." — Meantime, important events were taking place in the East. In 401, the weakness of 1 Davis' Readings, Vol. I, No. 100, gives a famous instance. §259] LEAGUE AGAINST SPARTA 253 the Persian empire was strikingly shown. Cyrus the Younger , brother of the king Artaxerxes, endeavored to seize the Persian throne. While a satrap in Asia Minor, Cyrus had furnished Sparta the money to keep her fleet together before the battle of Goat Eivers ; and now, through Sparta's favor, he was able to enlist ten thousand Greeks in his army. Cyrus penetrated to the heart of the Persian empire ; but in the battle of Cunaxa, near Babylon, he was killed, and his Asiatic troops routed. The Ten Thousand Greeks, however, proved unconquerable by the Persian host of half a million. By treachery the leaders were entrapped and murdered ; but under the inspiration of Xenophon ^ the Athenian, the Ten Thousand chose new generals and made a remarkable retreat to the Greek districts on the Black Sea. ^ 258. Renewal of the Persian Wars. — Until this time the Greeks had waged their contests with Persia only along the coasts of Asia. After the Ten Thousand had marched, almost at will, through so many hostile nations, the Greeks began to dream of conquering the Asiatic continent. Seventy years later, Alexander the Great was to make this dteam a fact. First, however, the attempt was made by Agesilaus, king of Sparta. Sparta had brought down upon herself the wrath of Persia, anyway, by favoring Cyrus ; and Agesilaus burned with a noble ambition to free the Asiatic Greeks, who, a little before (§ 250), had been abandoned to Persia by his country. Thus war began between Sparta and Persia. In 396, Agesilaus invaded Asia Minor with a large army, but was checked, in full career of conquest, by events at home (§ 259). 259. A Greek League against Sparta, 395 B.C. —No sooner was Sparta engaged with Persia than enemies rose up in Greece it- self. Thebes, Corinth, Athens, and Argos formed an alliance against her, and the empire she had gained at Goat Rivers was shattered by Conon. Conon was the ablest of the Athenian generals in the latter period of the Peloponnesian War. At iCf. § 224 and § 41. Xenophon's Anabasis is our authority for these events. 254 SPARTAN SUPREMACY [§260 Goat Rivers he was the only one who had kept his squadron in order ; and after all was lost, he had escaped to Rhodes and entered Persian service. Now, in 394, in command of a Persian fleet (mainly made up of Phoeni- cian ships) he com- pletely destroyed the Spartan naval power at the battle of Cni- dus. Spartan authority in the Aegean van- ished. Conon sailed from island to island, expelling the Spartan garrisons, and restor- ing democracies ; and in the next year he anchored in the Pi- raeus and rebuilt the Long Walls. Athens again became one of the great powers ; and Sparta fell back into her old position as mere head of the in- land Peloponnesian league. After a few more years In 387, The Hermes of Praxiteles. The arms and legs of the statue are sadly muti- lated, but the head is one of the most famous remains of Greek art. Cf . § 220, note. 260. Peace of Antalcidas, 387 b.c of indecisive war, Sparta sought peace with Persia, the two powers invited all the Greek states to send deputies to Sardis, where the Persian king dictated the terms. The document read : — " King Artaxerxes deems it just that the cities in Asia, with the islands of Clazomenae and Cyprus^ should belong to himself. The rest of the Hel- lenic cities, both great and small, he will leave independent, save Lemnos, §262] THEBES — LEUCTllA 255 Imbros, and Scyros, which three are to belong to Athens as of yore. Should any of the parties not accept this peace, I, Artaxerxes, together with those who share my views [the Spartans], will war against the offenders by land and sea." — Xenephon, Hellenica^ v, 1. Sparta held that these terms dissolved all the other leagues (like the Boeotian, of which Thebes was the head), but that they did not affect her own control over her subject towns in Laconia, nor weaken the Peloponnesian confederacy. Thus Persia and Sparta again consjyired to betray Hellas. Persia helped Sparta to keep the European Greek states divided and weak, as they were before the Persian War ; and Sparta helped Persia to recover her old authority over the Asiatic Greeks. By this iniquity the tottering Spartan supremacy was bolstered up a few years longer. Of course the shame of betraying the Asiatic Greeks must be shared by the enemies of Sparta, who had used Persian aid against her ; but the policy had been first introduced by Sparta in seeking Persian assistance in 412 against Athens (§ 250) ; and so far no other Greek state had offered to surrender Hellenic cities to barbarians as the price of such aid. 261. Spartan Aggressions. — Sparta had saved her power by infamy. She used it, with the same brutal cunning as in the past, to keep down the beginnings of greatness elsewhere in Greece. Thus, Arcadia had shown signs of growing strength; but Sparta now broke up the leading Qity^-Mantinea, and dispersed the inhabitants in villages. In Chalcidice^^he city of Olynthus had organized its neighbors into a promising league. A Spartan army compelled this league to break up. While on the way to Chalcidice, part of this army, by treachery, in time of peace, seized the citadel of Thebes. And, when the Athenian naval power began to revive, a like treacherous though unsuccessful, attempt was made upon the Piraeus. 262. Thebes a Democracy. — These high-handed outrages were to react upon the offender. First there came a revolution at Thebes. The Spartan garrison there had set up an oligarchic Theban government which had driven crowds of citizens into \ 256 SPARTAN SUPREMACY [§263 exile. Athens received them, just as Thebes had sheltered Athenian fugitives in the time of the Thirty Tyrants; and^ from Athens Pelopidas, a leader of the exiles, struck the return blow.^ In 379, Thebes was surprised and seized by the exiles, and the government passed into the hands of the democrats. Then Thebes and Athens joined in a new war upon Sparta. 263. Leuctra ; the Overthrow of Sparta. — The war dragged along for some years ; and in 371 b.c, the contending parties, wearied with fruitless strife, concluded peace. But when the treaty was being signed, JEmamji^dn/ das, the ' Theban repre- sentative, demanded the right to sign for all Boeo- tia, as Sparta had signed for all Laconia. Athens would not support Thebes in this position. So Thebes was excluded from the peace; and Sparta turned to crush her. A powerful army at once invaded Boeotia, — and met with an overwhelming defeat by a smaller Theban force at Leuctra. This amazing result was due to the military genius of Epam- inondas. Hitherto the Greeks had fought in long lines, from eight to twelve men deep. Epaminondas adopted a new arrangement that marks a step in warfare. He massed his best troops in a solid column, fifty men deep, on the left, oppo- site the Spartan wing in the Peloponnesian army. His other troops were spread out as thin as possible. The solid phalanx 1 The story is full of adventure. Pelopidas and a number of other daring young men among the exiles returned secretly to Thebes, and, through the aid of friends there, were admitted (disguised as dancing girls) to a banquet where the Theban oligarchs were already deep in wine. They killed the drunken traitors with their daggers. Then, running through the streets, they called the people to expel the Spartans from the citadel. § 265] EPAMINONDAS 257 was set in motion first ; then the thinner center and right wing 'dvanced more slowly, so as to engage the attention of the enemy opposite, but not to come into action until the battle should have been won by the massed column. In short, Epaminondas massed his force against one part of the enemy. The weight of the Theban charge crushed through the Spartan line, and trampled it under. Four hundred of the seven hundred Spartans, with their king and with a thousand other Peloponnesian hoplites, went down in ten minutes. The mere loss of men was fatal enough, now that Spartan citizenship was so reduced (the number of full citizens after this battle did not exceed fifteen hundred) ; but the effect upon the military prestige of Sparta was even more deadly. At one stroke Sparta sank into a second-rate power. None the less. Spartan character never showed to better advantage. Sparta was always greater in defeat than in victory, and she met her fate with heroic composure. The news of the overthrow did not interfere with a festival that was going on, and only the relatives of the survivors of the battle appeared in mourning. THEBAN SUPREMACY 264. Epaminondas. — For nine years after Leuctra, Thebes was the head of Greece. This position she owed to her great leader, Epaminondas^ whose life marks one of the fair heights to which human nature can ascend. Epaminondas was great as general, statesman, and philosopher ; but he was greatest as a man, lofty and lovable in nature. In his earlier days he had been looked upon as a dreamer; and when the oligarchs of Thebes drove out Pelopidas and other active patriots (§ 262), they only sneered while Epaminondas continued calmly to talk of liberty to the young. Later, it was recognized that, more than any other man, he had prepared the way for the over- throw of tyranny ; and after the expulsion of the oligarchs he became the organizer of the democracy. 265. Sparta surrounded by Hostile Cities. — Epaminondas sought to do for Thebes what Pericles had done for Athens. 258 THEBAN SUPREMACY [§266 While he lived, success seemed possible. Unhappily, the few- years remaining of his life he was compelled to give mainly to war. Laconia was repeatedly invaded. During these cam- paigns Epaminondas freed Messenia,^ on one side of Sparta, and organized Arcadia, on the other side, into a federal union, — so as to "surround Sparta with a perpetual blockade." The great Theban aided the Messenians to found a^new cap- ital, Messene; and in Arcadia he restored Maikiriefxf which Sparta had destroyed (§ 261). In this district he also founded Megalopolis, or "the Great City," by combining forty scattered villages. 266. Athens (jealous of Thebes) saved Sparta from complete destruction, but drew Theban vengeance upon herself. Epam- inondas built fleets, swept the Athenian navy from the seas, and made Euboea a Theban possession. Thessaly and Macedonia, too, were brought under Theban influence; and the young Philip^ prince of Macedon, spent some years in Thebes as a hostage. 267.. Mantinea. — The leadership of Thebes, however, rested solely on the supreme genius of her one great statesman, and it vanished at his death. In 362, for the fourth time, Epami- nondas marched against Sparta, and at Mantinea won another great victory. The Spartans had been unable to learn; and went down again before the same tactics that had crushed them nine years earlier at Leuctra. Mantinea was the greatest land battle ever fought between Hellenes, and nearly all the states of Greece took part on one side or the other. But the victory bore no fruit ; for Epaminondas himself fell on the field, and his city sank at once to a slow and narrow policy. No state was left in Greece to assume leadership. A turbu- lent anarchy, in place of the stern Spartan rule, seemed the only fruit of the brief glory of the great Theban. 268. Failure of the City-state. — The failure of the Greek cities to unite in larger states made it certain that sooner or later they must fall 1 Messenia had been a mere district of Laconia for nearly two centuries and a half. Its loss took from Sparta more than a third of her whole territory. "< i o Q, §270] MACEDON AND PHILIP II 259 to some outside power. Sparta and Thebes (with Persian aid) had been able to prevent Athenian leadership; Thebes and Athens had overthrown Sparta ; Sparta and Athens had been able to check Thebes. Twenty years of anarchy followed ; and then Greece fell to a foreign master. On the north there had been growing up a nation-state; and the city-state could not stand before that stronger organization. For Further Reading. — Specially suggested : Davis' Headings, Vol. I . Nos. 100 r'^ Thirty 7]j n;aTits_'\^. 101 (Epairiiiiondas), and 102 (Leuctra). Plutarch's Lives (" Agesilaus " and " Pelopidas "). Additional : Bury, 514-628. / THE MACEDONIAN CONQUEST \ 69. Macedon. — The Macedonians were part of the " outer rim of the Greek race." They were still barbaric, and perhaps were mixed somewhat with non-Hellenic elements. Shortly before this time, they were only a loose union of tribes ; but Philip II (§ 270) had now consolidated them into a real nation. The change was so recent that Alexander the Great, a little later, could say to his army : — " My father, Philip, found you a roving, destitute people, without fixed homes and without resources, most of you clad in the skins of animals, pasturing a few sheep among the mountains, and, to defend these, waging a luckless warfare with the Illyrians, the Triballans, and the Thracians on your borders. He gave you the soldier's cloak to replace the skins, and led you down from the mountains into the plain, making you a worthy match in war against the barbarians on your frontier, so that you no longer trusted to your strongholds, so much as to your own valor, for safety. He made you to dwell in cities and provided you with wholesome laws and institutions. Over those same barbarians, who before had plundered you and carried off as booty both yourselves and your substance, he made you masters and lords." ^ 270. Philip II of Macedon is one of most remarkable men in history. 2 He was ambitious, crafty, sagacious, persistent, un- scrupulous, an unfailing judge of character, and a marvelous organizer. He set himself to make his people true Greeks by 1 See the rest of this passage in Davis' Readings, Vol. I, No. 107. 2 Wheeler's characterization, Alexander the Great, 5-7, Is admirable. 260 MACEDONIAN CONQUEST [§271 making them the leaders of Greece. He was determined to secure that headship for which Athens, Sparta, and Thebes had striven in vain. 271. Philip's Methods. — At Philip's accession Macedon was still a poor country without a good harbor. The first need was an outlet on the sea. Philip found one by con- quering the Chalcidic pen- insula. Then his energy developed the gold mines of the district until they furnished him a yearly revenue of a thousand tal- ents — as large as that of Athens at her greatest power. Next Philip turned to Greece itself. Here he used an adroit mingling of cunning, bribery, and force. In all Greek states, among the pretended patriot statesmen, there were secret servants in his pay. He set city against city ; and the constant tendency to quarrels among the Greeks played into his hands. 272. Demosthenes. — The only man who saw clearly the designs of Philip, and constantly opposed them, was Demos- thenes the Athenian. Demosthenes was the greatest orator of Greece. To check Macedonia became the one aim of his life ; and the last glow of Greek independence flames up in his passionate appeals to Athens that she defend Hellas against Macedon as she had once done against Persia. " Suppose that you have one of the gods as surety that Philip will leave you untouched, in the name of all the gods, it is a shame for you in ignorant stupidity to sacrifice the rest of Hellas I " The noble orations (the Philippics) by which Demosthenes sought to move the Athenian assembly to action against Philip Philip II. From a gold medallion by Alexander. 273] THE MACEDONIAN ARMY 261 are still unrivaled in literature,^ but they had no permanent practical effect. '- 273. The Macedonian Army. — The most important work of Philip was his army. This was as superior to the four-months Macedonia at the beginning of PhUip'B Reign. citizen armies of Hellas as Philip's steady and secret diplomacy was superior to the changing councils of a popular assembly. The king's wealth enabled him to keep a disciplined force ready for action. He had become familiar with the Theban phalanx during his stay at Thebes as a boy (§ 266). Now he 1 Cf . § 223. Special report : Demost±ienes. 262 MACEDONIAN CONQUEST [§274 enlarged and improved it, so that the ranks presented five rows of bristling spears projecting beyond the front soldier. The flanifis were protected by light-armed troops, and the Macedonian nobles furnished the finest of cavalry. At the same time a field " artillery ^' first appears, made up of curious engines able to throw darts and great stones three hundred yards. Such a mixture of troops, and on a permanent footing, was altogether novel, Philip created the instrument with which his son was to conquer the world. 274. Chaeronea and the Congress of Corinth. — In 338 e.g. Philip threw off the mask and invaded Greece. Athens and Thebes c6mbined against him, — to be hopelessly crushed at the battle of Chaeronea. Then a congress of Greek states at Corinth recognized Macedonia as the h^a^ of Greece. It was agreed that the separate states should Keep their local self- government, but that foreign matters, including war and peace, should be committed to Philip. Philip was also declared gen- eral in chief of the armies of Greece for a war against Persia. 275. The History of Hellas Ended. — Thus Philip posed, wisely, not as the conqueror, but as the champion of Greece against the foe of all Hellenes. He showed a patient mag- nanimity, too, toward fickle Greek states, and in particular he strove to reconcile Athens. He was wise enough to see that he needed, not reluctant subjects, but willing followers. None the less, the history of Hellas had closed. Greece there- after, until a hundred years ago, was only a province of this or that foreign power. The history of Hellenic culture, however, was not closed. The Macedonian conquest was to spread that civilization over the vast East. The history of Hellas merges in the history of a wider Hellenistic world. - Fob Further Reading. — Specially suggested : Davis* Beadings, Vol. I, Nos. 103-107. Bury, ch. xvi ; or (better if accessible) Wheeler's Alexander the Great, 14-18 and 64-80. Exercise. — Review the period from Aegospotami to Chaeronea by " catch-words " (see Exercise on page 186). J PART III THE GEAEOO-OEIENTAL WOELD With Alexander the stage of Greek influence spreads across the worlds and Greece becomes only a small item in the heritage of the Greeks. — Mahaffy. The seed-ground of European civilization is neither Greece nor the Orient, but a world joined of the two. — Benjamin Ide Wheelek. CHAPTER XVII THE MINGLING OF EAST AND WEST 276. Alexander the Great. — Philip of Macedon was assassi- nated in 336, two years after Chaeronea. He was just ready to begin the invasion of Asia ; and his work was taken up by his son Alexander. Father and son were both among the greatest men in his- tory, but they were very unlike. In many ways Alexander resembled his mother, Olympias, a semi-barbaric princess from Epirus, — a woman of intense passions and generous enthusi- asms. Says Benjamin Ide Wheeler : — " "While it was from his father that Alexander inherited his sagacious insight into men and things, and his brilliant capacity for timely and determined action, it was to his mother that he undoubtedly owed that passionate warmth of nature which betrayed itself not only in the furious outbursts of temper occasionally characteristic of him, but quite as much in a romantic fervor of attachment and love for friends, a delicate tender- ness of sympathy for the weak, and a princely largeness and generosity of soul toward all, that made him so deeply beloved of men and so enthusiastically followed." — Alexander the Great, 5. 263 264 GREEK CONQUESTS IN THE ORIENT [§277 As a boy, Alexander had been fearless, self-willed, and rest- less, with fervent affections.^ These traits marked his whole career. He was devoted to Homer, and he knew the Iliad by heart. Homer's Achilles he claimed for an ancestor and took for his ideal. " His later education was directed by Aristotle (§ 315), and from this great teacher he learned to admire Greek art and science and to come closely into sympathy with the best Greek culture. 277. Restoration of Order. — At his father's death Alexander was a stripling of twenty years. He was to prove' a rare mili- Alexander. Alexander in a Lion-hunt. Two sides of a gold medallion of Tarsus. tary genius. He never lost a battle and never refused an engagement ; and, on occasion, he could be shrewd and adroit in diplomacy ; but at this time he was known only as a rash boy. No one thought that he could hold together the empire that had been built up by the force and cunning of the great Philip. Revolt broke out everywhere; but the young king showed himself at once both statesman and general. With marvelous rapidity he struck crushing blows on this side and on that. ' A hurried expedition restored order in Greece ; the savage tribes of the north were quieted by a rapid march beyond the Danube ; 1 Special report: anecdotes from Plutarch regarding Alexander's boyhood. §278] ALEXANDER THE GREAT 265 then, turning on rebellious Illyria, Alexander forced the mountain passes and overran the country. Meanwhile it was reported in the south that Alexander was killed or defeated among the barbarians. Insurrection again blazed forth ; but with forced marches he suddenly appeared a second time in Greece, falling with swift and terrible vengeance upon Thebes, the center of the revolt. The city was taken by storm and leveled to the ground, except the house of Pindar (§ 129), while the thirty thousand survivors of the popula- tion were sold as .slaves. The other states were ter- rified j^o abject submis- sion, and were treated generously. Then, with his authority firmly re- established, Alexander turned, as the champion of Hellas^ to attack Persia. 278. The Persian Cam- paigns. — In the spring of 334 B.C. Alexander crossed the Hellespont with thirty-five thousand disciplined troops. The army was quite enough to scatter any Oriental force, and as large as any general could then handle in long and rapid marches in a hostile country ; but its size contrasts strangely with that of the huge horde Xerxes had led against Greece a century and a half before. The route of march and the immense distances traversed can- be best traced by the map. The conquest of the main empire occupied five years, and the story falls into three distinct chapters, each marked by a world-famous battle. Alexander. The " Copenhagen " head. Probably by a pupil of the sculptor Skopas. 266 GREEK CONQUESTS IN THE ORIENT [§ 278 a. Asia Minor : Battle of the Granicus. — The Persian satraps of Asia Minor met the invaders at the Granicus, a small stream in ancient Troyland. With the personal rash- ness that was the one blot upon his military skill, Alexander himself led the Macedonian charge through the river and up the steep bank into the midst of the Persian cavalry, where he barely escaped death. The Persian nobles fought, as always, with gallant self-devotion, but in the end they were utterly routed. Then a body of Greek mercenaries in Persian pay was surrounded and cut down to a man. No quarter was to be given Hellenes fighting as traitors to the cause of Hellas. The victory cost Alexander only 120 men, and it made him master of all Asia Minor. During the next few months he set up democracies in the Greek cities, and organized the govern- ment of the various provinces. b. The Mediterranean Coast : Battle of Issus. — To strike at the heart of the empire at once would have been to leave be- hind him a large Persian fleet, to encourage revolt in Greece. Alexander wisely determined to secure the entire coast, and so protect his rear, before marching into the interior. Ac- cordingly he turned south, just after crossing the mountains that separate Asia Minor from Syria, to reduce Phoenicia and Egypt. Meantime the Persians had gathered a great army; but at Issus Alexander easily overthrew their host of six hun- dred thousand men led by King Darius in person. Darius allowed himself to be caught in a narrow defile between the mountains and the sea. The cramped space made the vast numbers of the Persians an embarrassment to themselves. They soon became a huddled mob of fugitives, and the Mace- donians wearied themselves with slaughter. Alexander now assumed the title, King of Persia. The siege of Tyre (§ 57) detained him a year ; but Egypt welcomed him as a deliverer, and by the close of 332, all the sea power of the Eastern Mediterranean icas his} While in Egypt he showed his 1 Carthage dominated the western waters of the Mediterranean — beyond Italy J but she had nothing 16 do with naval rivalries farther east. §279] PERSIAN CAMPAIGNS 267 constructive genius by founding Alexandria at one of the mouths of the Nile — a city destined for many centuries to be a commercial and intellectual center for the world, where before there had been only a haunt of pirates. c. The Tigris-Euphrates District : Battle of Arhela. — Darius now proposed that he and Alexander should divide the empire between them. Eejeeting this offer contemptuously, Alexander took up his march for the interior. Following the ancient route from Egypt to Assyria (§ 6), he met Darius near Arhela^ not far from ancient Nineveh. The Persians are said to have numbered a million men. Alexander purposely allowed them choice of time and place, and by a third decisive victory proved the hopelessness of their resistance. Darius never gathered another army. The capitals of the empire — Babylon, Susa, Ecbatana, Persepolis — surrendered, with enormous treasure in gold and silver, and the Persian Empire had fallen (331 B.C.). The Granicus, Issus, and Arbela rank with Marathon, Salamis, and Plataea, as " decisive " battles. The earher set of three great battles gave Western civilization a chance to develop. This second set of three battles resulted in a new type of civilization, springing from a union of East' and West. No battle between these two periods had anywhere near so great a significance. 279. Campaigns in the Far East. — The next six years went, however, to much more desperate warfare in the eastern moun- tain regions, and in the Punjab.^ Alexander carried his arms as far east from Babylon as Babylon was from Macedonia. He traversed great deserts ; subdued the warlike and princely chiefs of Bactria and Sogdiana up to the steppes of the wild Tartar tribes beyond the Oxus; twice forced the passes of the Plindukush (a feat almost unparalleled); conquered the valiant mountaineers of what is now Afghanistan; and led his army into the fertile and populous plains of north- ern India. He crossed the Indus, won realms beyond the ancient Persian province of the Punjab, and planned still 1 A district of northern India. 268 THE HELLENISTIC AGE [§280 more distant empires; but on the banks of the Hyphasis River his faithful Macedonians refused to be led farther, to waste away in inhuman perils ; and the chagrined conqueror was compelled to return to Babylon. This city he made his capital, and here he died of a fever two years later (323 b.c.) in the midst of preparations to extend his conquests both east and west.^ These last years, however, were given mainly to organizing the empire (§ 280). 280. Merging of East and West. — Alexander began his con- quest to avenge the West upon the East. But he came to see excellent and noble qualities in Oriental life, and he rose rapidly to a broader view. He aimed no longer to hold a world in subjection by the force of a small conquering tribe but rather to mold Persian and Greek into one people on terms of equality. He wished to marry the East and the West, — " to bring them together into a composite civilization, to which each should contribute its better elements." Persian youth were trained by thousands in Macedonian fashion to replace the veterans of Alexander's army ; Persian nobles were welcomed at court and given high offices ; and the government of Asia was intrusted largely to Asiatics, On a system similar to that of Darius the Great (§ 76). Alexander himself adopted Persian manners and customs, and he bribed and coaxed his officers and soldiers to do the like. All this was part of a deliberate design to encourage the fusion of the two peoples. The Macedonians protested jealously, and even rebelled, but were quickly reduced to obedience. " The dream of his youth melted away, but a new vision in larger perspective arose with ever strengthening outlines in its place. The champion of the West against the East faded in mist, and the form of a world monarch, standing above the various worlds of men and belong- ing to none, but molding them all into one, emerged in its stead." — Wheeler, Alexander the Great, 376. 4-*^ Ta •■■>'.i 1 Topic : anecdotes of Alexander's later years ; the change in his character*, Wheeler's Alexander gives an ardent defense. \ §282] GREEK CITIES IN THE EAST 269 281. Hellenism the Active Element. — At the same time Alex- ander saw that to fulfill this mission he must throw open the East to Greek ideas. The races might mingle their blood ; the Greek might learn much from the Orient, and in the end be absorbed by it ; hut the thought and art of little Hellas^ with its active energy, must leaven the vast passive mass of the East. One great measure, for this end, was the found- ing of chains of cities, to bind the conquests to- gether and to become the homes of Hellenic influ- ence. Alexander himself built seventy of these towns (usually called from his name, like the Alex- andria in Egypt). Their walls sprang up under the pick and spade of the sol- diery along the lines of march. One great city, we are told, walls and houses, was completed in twenty days. Sometimes these places were mere garrison towns on dis- tant frontiers, but oftener they became mighty emporiums at the intersection of great lines of trade. There was an Alexandria on the Jaxartes, on the Indus, on the Euphrates, as well as on the Nile. The sites were chosen wisely, and many of these cities remain great capitals to this day, like Herat and Kandahar.^ 282. Greek Coldhies in the Orient. — This building of Greek cities was continued by Alexander's successors. Once more, and on a vaster scale than ever before, the Greek genius for Alexander as Apollo. . Now in the Capitoline Museum. 1 Iskandar, or Kandahar, is an Oriental form of the Greek name Alexander 270 THE HELLENISTIC AGE [§282 colonization found vent. Each new city had a Greek nucleus. Usually this consisted only of worn-out veterans, left behind as a garrison ; but enterprising youth, emigrating from old Hellas, continued to reinforce the Greek element. The native village people roundabout were gathered in to make the bulk of the inhabitants; and these also soon took on Greek character. From scattered, ignorant rustics, they became artisans and merchants, devotedly attached to Greek rule and zealous disciples of Greek culture. The cities were all built on a large and comfortable model. They were well paved. They had ample provisiqn for light- ing by night, and a good wat«r • supply. They had police arrangements, and good thoroughfares. Even in that despotic East, they received extensive privileges and enjoyed a large amount of self-government : they met in their own assemblies, managed their own courts, and collected their own taxes. For centuries they made the backbone of Hellenism throughout the world. Greek was the ordinary speech of their streets ; Greek architecture built their temples, and Greek sculpture adorned them ; they celebrated Greek games and festivals ; and, no longer in little Hellas alone, but over the whole East, in Greek theaters, vast audiences were educated b}^ the plays of Euripides. The culture developed by a small people became the heritage of a vast world. The unity of this widespread civilization cannot be insisted upon too strongly. Political unity was soon lost ; but the oneness of culture en- dured for centuries, and kept its character even after Roman conquest. Over all that vast area there was for all cultivated men a common lan- guage, a common literature, a common mode of thought. The mingling of East and West produced a new civilization, — a Graeco-Oriental world. In our own day, Western civilization is again transforming the Orient, leaving the railroad, the telegraph, free schools, ai^ republican govern- ment in its line of march, — a march that reaches even farther than Alexander ever did. Between Alexander's day and ours, no like phe- nomena has been seen on any scale so vast. But this time the West does not give so large a part of its blood to the East ; nor does the East react upon the West, as it did after Alexander (§ 283) . §285] REACTION UPON GREECE 271 283. Reaction upon Hellas. — Hellas itself lost importance. It was drained of its intellect and enterprise, because adven turous young Greeks wandered to the East, to win fortune and distinction. And the victorious Hellenic civilization was modified by its victory, even in its old home. Sympathies were broadened. The barrier between Greek and barbarian faded away. Greek ideals were affected by Oriental ideals. In particular, we note two forms of reaction upon Greek life, — the economic and the scientific (§§ 284, 285). 284. Economic Results. — Wealth was enormously augmented. The vast treasure of gold and silver which Oriental monarchs had hoarded in secret vaults was thrown again into circulation, and large sums were brought back to Europe by returning adventurers. These adventurers brought back also an increased desire for Oriental luxuries. Thus, trade was stimulated; a higher standard of living arose; manifold new comforts and enjoyments adorned and enriched life. Somewhat later, perhaps as a result of this increase of wealth, there came other less fortunate changes. Extremes of wealth and poverty appeared side by side, as in our modern society : the great cities had their hungry, sullen, dangerous mobs; and socialistic agitation began on a large scale. These last phe- nomena, however, concerned only the ' closing days of the Hellenic world, just before its absorption by Rome. 285. Scientific Results. — A new era of scientific progress began. Alexander himself had the zeal of an explorer, and one of the most important scientific expeditions ever sent out by any government is due to him while he was in India. When he first touched the Indus, he thought it the upper course of the Nile ; but Tie built a great fleet of two thousand vessels, sailed down the river to the Indian Ocean, and then sent his friend Nearchus to explore that sea and to trace the coast to the mouth of the Euphrates. After a voyage of many months, Nearchus reached Babylon. He had mapped the coast line, made frequent landings, and collected a mass of observations and a multitude of strange plants and animals. 272 THE HELLENISTIC AGE [§286 Like collections were made by Alexander at other times, to be sent to his old instructor Aristotle, who embodied the results of his study upon them in a Natural History of fifty volumes. The Greek intellect, attracted by the marvels in the new worlr opened before it, turned to scientific observation and arrange- ment of facts. This impulse was intensified by the discovery of a long series of astronomical observations at Babylon (§ 49) and of the historical records and traditions of the Orientals, reaching back to an antiquity of which the Greeks had not dreamed. The active Greek mind, seizing upon this confused wealth of material, began to put in order a great system of knowledge about man and nature. 286. Summary. — Thus the mingling of East and West gave a product different from either of the old factors. Alexander's victories are not merely events in military history. They make an epoch in the onward march of humanity. They en- larged the map of the world once more, and they made these vaster spaces the home of a higher culture. They grafted the new West upon the old East, — a graft from which sprang the plant of our later civilization. Alexander died at thirty-two, and his empire at once fell into fragments. Had he lived to seventy, it is hard to say what he might not have done to provide for lasting political union, and perhaps even to bring India and China into the current of our civilization. " No single personality, excepting the carpenter's son of Nazareth, has done so much to make the world we live in what it is as Alexander of Macedon. He leveled the terrace upon which European history built. Whatever lay within the range of his conquests contributed its part to form that Mediterranean civilization, which under Rome's administration became the basis of European life. What lay beyond was as if on an- other planet." — Wheeler, Alexander the Great. Foe Further Reading. — Sjjecially suggested : Davis' Beadings, Vol. I, Nos. 108-118 (24 pages, mostly from Arrian, a second century writer and the earliest authority who has left us an account of Alexander). Bury, 736-836, or (better, if accessible) Wheeler's Alexander the Gfreat. CHAPTER XVIII THE GRAECO-ORIENTAL WORLD THE POLITICAL STORY 287. Wars of the Succession. — Alexander left no heir old enough to succeed him. On his deathbed, asked to whom he would leave his throne, he replied grimly, ^' To the strongest." As he foresaw, at his death his leading generals instantly began to strive with each other for his realm ; and for nearly half a century the political history of the civilized world was a horrible welter of war and assassination. These struggles are called the Wars of the Succession (323-280 B.C.). 288. The Third Century B.C. — Finally, about 280 b.c, some- thing like a fixed order emerged; then followed a period of sixty years, known as the Glory of Hellenism. The Hellenistic ^ world reached from the Adriatic to the Indus, and consisted of: (1) three great kingdoms, Syria, Egypt, and Macedonia; (2) a broken chain of smaller monarchies scattered from Media to Epirus'^ (some of them, like Pontus and Armenia^ under dynasties descended from Persian princes) ; and (3) single free cities like Byzantium. Some of these free cities united into leagues, which sometimes became great military powers — like one famous confederation under the leadership of Rhodes. 289. Resemblance to Modern Europe. — Politically in many ways all the vast district bore a striking resemblance to modem Eiirope. There was a like division into great and small states, ruled by dynasties related by intermarriages ; there was a com- mon civilization, and a recognition of common interests as 1 Hellenic refers to the old Hellas ; Hellenistic, to the wider world, of mixed Hellenic and Oriental character, after Alexander. 2 There is a full enumeration in Mahaffy's Alexander's Empire, 90-92. 273 274 THE GRAECO-ORIENTAL WORLD [§290 against outside barbarism or as opposed to auy non-Hellenic power, like Rome ; and there were jealousies and conflicts similar to those in Europe in recent centuries. There were shifting alliances, and many wars to preserve "the balance of power" or to secure trade advantages. There was a likeness to modern society, too, as we shall see more fully later, in the refinement of the age, in its excellences and its vices, the great learning, The Dying Gaul. Sometimes incorrectly called the Dying Gladiator. the increase in skill and in criticism. (Of course the age was vastly inferior to that of modern Europe.) 290. The Invasion by the Gauls. — It follows that the history of the third * century is a history of many separate countries- (§§ 292 fp.), but there was one event of general interest. This was the great Gallic invasion of 278 b.c. It was the first formidable barbarian attack upon the Eastern world since the Scythians had been chastised by the early Persian kings (§ 75). A century before, hordes of these same Gauls had devastated northern Italy and sacked the rising city of Rome. Now (fortunately not until the ruinous Wars of the Succession were § 292] SYRIA 275 over) they poured into exhausted Macedonia, penetrated into Greece as far as Delphi, and, after horrible ravages there, car- ried havoc into Asia. For a long period every great sovereign of the Hellenic world turned his arms upon them, until they were finally settled as peaceful colonists in a region of Asia Minor, which took the name Galatia from these new inhabitants. Perhaps we are most interested in noting that the Hellenistic patriotism roused by the attack — like that in little Hellas two hundred years earlier by the Persian invasions (§ 187) — played a part in a splendid outburst of art and literature which followed. The Dyiyig Gaul and the Apollo Belvidere,^ among the noblest surviving works of the period, commemorate inci- dents in the struggle. 291. Decline of the Hellenic World. — About 220, the wide- spread Hellenistic world began a rapid decline. In that one year the thrones of Syria, Egypt, and Macedonia fell to youth- ful heirs ; and all three of these new monarchs showed a degeneracy which is common in Oriental ruling families after a few generations of greatness. Just before this year, as we shall see (§ 310), the last promise of independence in Greece itself had flickered out. Just after it, there began an attack from Eome, which was finally to absorb this Hellenistic East into a still larger world. Before turning to the growth of Rome, however, we will note (i) the history, in brief, of the leading Hellenic states from Alexander to the Roman sway ; (2) with more detail, an interesting attempt at federal government in Greece itself ; and (3) the character of Hellenistic culture in this period. SOME SINGLE EASTERN STATES IN OUTLINE 292. Syria was the largest of the great monarchies. It com- prised most of Alexander's empire in Asia, except the small 1 The Gauls made a raid upon the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, but in some way were routed in disorder. The legend arose that Apollo himself drove them away with a thunderbolt. The statue, the Apollo Belvidere, is sup- posed to represent the god in the act of defending his temple. 276 THE GRAECO-ORIENTAL WORLD 292 states in Asia Minor. In the Wars of the Succession, it fell to JSeleucus, one of the Macedonian generals ; and his descend- ants (Seleucidae) ruled it to the Roman conquest. They Pylon of Ptolemy III at Karnak. The reliefs represent that conquerur in religious thanksgiving, sacrificing, praying, offering trophies to the gods. At the top is the " conventionalized " winged sundisk. Cf. page 36. Note the general likeness to the older Egyptian architecture. excelled all other successors of Alexander in building cities and extending Greek culture over distant regions. Seleucus alone founded seventy-five cities. § 294] EGYPT 277 About 250 B.C. Indian princes reconquered the Punjab, and the Parthians arose on the northeast, to cut off the Bactrian provinces from the rest of the Greek world. Thus^yria shrank to the area of the ancient Assyrian Empire, — the Euphrates-Tigris basin and old Syria proper, — but it was still, in common opinion, the greatest world-power, until its might was shattered by Eome in 190 b.c. at Magnesia. 293. Egypt included Cyprus, and possessed a vague control over many coast towns of Syria and Asia Minor. Immedi- ately upon Alexander's death, one of his generals, Ptolemy , chose Egypt for his province. His descendants, all known as Ptolemies, ruled the land until Cleopatra yielded to Augustus Caesar (30 b.c), though it had become a Eoman protectorate ^ somewhat before that time. The early Ptolemies were wise, energetic sovereigns. They aimed to make Egypt the commercial emporium of the world, and to make their capital, Alexandria, the world's intellectual center. Ptolemy I established a great naval power, improved harbors, and huilt the first lighthouse. Ptolemy II (better known as Ptolemy Philadelphus) restored the old canal from the Ked Sea to the Nile (§§ 28, 32), constructed roads, and fostered learning more than any great ruler before him (§ 319). Ptolemy III, in war with Syria, carried his arms to Bactria, and on his return mapped the coast of Arabia. Unlike earlier conquerors, he made no attempt to add territory to his realm by his victories, but only to secure trade advantages and a satisfactory peace. The later Ptolemies were weaklings or infamous monsters, guilty of every folly and crime; but even they continued to encourage learning. 294. Macedonia ceased to be of great interest after the death of Alexander, except from a military point of view. Its posi- tion made it the first part of the Greek world to come into hostile contact with Rome. King Philip V joined Carthage in a war against Rome, a little before the year 200 b.c. 1 That is, Rome had come to control all the relations of Egypt with foreign countries, although its government continued in name to he independent. 278 THE GRAECO-ORIENTAL WORLD [§ 295 A series of struggles resulted; and Macedonia, with parts of Greece, became Roman in 146 B.C. 295. Rhodes and Pergamum. — Among the many small states, two deserve special mention. Rhodes headed a confederacy of cities in the Aegean, and in the third century she became the leading commercial state of the Mediterranean. Her policy was one of peace and freedom of trade. Pergamum was a small Greek kingdom in Asia Minor, which the genius of its rulers (the Attalids) made prominent in politics and art. When the struggles with Rome began, Pergamum allied itself with that power, and long remained a favored state. THE ACHAEAN LEAGUF: IN GREECE 296. The Political Situation. — During the ruinous Wars of the Succession, Greece had been a favorite battleground for the great powers, Egypt, Syria, and Macedonia. Many cities were laid waste, and at the close of the contests, the country was left a vassal of Macedonia. To make her hold firmer, Macedonia set up tyrants in many cities. Fl'om this humilia- tion, Greece was lifted for a time by a new power, the Achaean League, which made a last effort for the freedom of Hellas. 297. Earlier Confederations. — In early times, in the more backward parts of Greece, there had been many rude federa- tions of tribes, as among the Phocians and Locrians; but in city-Greece no such union had long survived. The failure of the Confederacy of Delos has been told. During the supremacy of Sparta (about 400 b.c.) another still more interesting federal union appeared for a brief time on the northern coast of the Aegean. Olynthus, a leading Greek city in the Chalcidic district, built up a con- federacy of forty states, to check the Thracian and Macedonian barbarians, who had begun to stir themselves after the fall of the Athenian power. This league is called the Olynthian Confederacy. Its cities kept their local independence ; but they were merged, upon equal terms, into a large state more perfect than any preceding federal union. The citizens of any one city could intermarry with those of any other, and they could dwell and acquire landed property anywhere within the league ; while no one city had superior privileges over the others, as Athens had had in the § 299] THE ACHAEAN LEAGUE 279 Delian League. .After only a short life, as we have seen, this promising union was crushed ruthlessly by jealous Sparta (§ 261). 298. Aetolian League. — Now, after 280 b.c, two of the an- cient tribal federations which had survived in obscure corners of Greece — Achaea and Aetolia — began to play leading parts in history. Of these two, the Aetolian League was the less important. Originally it seems to have been a loose union of mountain districts for defense. But the Wars of the Succession made the Aetolians famous . as bold soldiers of fortune, and the wealth brought home by the thousands of such adventurers led to a more aggressive policy on the part of the league. The people remained, however, rude mountaineers, " brave, boast- ful, rapacious, and utterly reckless of the rights of others." They played a part in saving southern Greece from the invad- ing Gauls (§ 290), but their confederacy became more and more an organization for lawless plunder. 299. Achaean League : Origin. — In Achaea there was a nobler history. A league of small towns grew into a formidable power, freed most of Greece, brought much of it into a federal union, with all members on equal terms, and for a glorious half century maintained Greek freedom successfully. The story offers curious contrasts to the period of Athenian leadership two hundred years earlier. Greece could no longer hope to become one of the great military powers ;. we miss the intellectual brilliancy, too, of the fifth century ; but the period affords even more instructive political lessons — especially to Americans, interested, as we are, in federal in- stitutions. The most important political matter in Greek history in the third century B.C. is this experiment in federal government. The people of Achaea were unwarlike, and not very enter- prising or intellectual. In all Greek history they produced no great writer or great artist. They did not even furnish great statesmen, — for all the heroes of the league were to come from outside Achaea itself. Still, the Achaean League is one of the most remarkable federations in history before the adoption of the present Constitution of the United States. 280 THE GRAECO-ORIENTAL WORLD [§ 300 We know that there was some kind of a confederation in Achaea as early as the Persian War. Under the Macedonian rule, the league was destroyed and tyrants were set up in several of the ten Achaean cities. But, about 280 b.c, four small towns revived the ancient confederacy. This union swiftly drove out the tyrants from the neighboring towns, and absorbed all Achaea. One generous incident belongs to this part of the story: Iseas, tyrant of Cerynea, voluntarily gave up his power and brought his city into the league. So far Macedonia had not interfered. The Gallic invasion just at this time spread ruin over all the north of Hellas, and probably prevented hostile action by the Macedonian king. Thus the federation became securely established. 300. Government. — During this period the constitution was formed. The chief authority of the league was placed in a Federal Assembly. This was not a representative body, but a mass meeting: it was made up of all citizens of the league who chose to attend. To prevent the city where the meeting was held from outweighing the others, each city was given only one vote. That is, ten or twelve men — or even one man — from a distant town cast the vote of that city, and counted just as much as several hundred from a city nearer the place of meeting. The Assembly was held twice a year, for only three days at a time, and in some small city, so that a great capital should not overshadow the re§t of the league. It chose yearly a Council of Ten, a Senate, and a General (or president), with various subordinate officers. The same General could not be chosen two years in succession. This government raised federal taxes and armies, and rep- resented the federation in all foreign relations. Each city remained a distinct state, with full control over all its internal matters — but no city of itself could make peace or war, enter into alliances, or send ambassadors to another state. That is, the Achaean League was a true federation, and not a mere alliance ; and its cities corresponded closely to the American States under our old Articles of Confederation. §302] THE ACHAEAN LEAGUE 281 301. Faults in the Government. — In theory, the constitution was extremely democratic : in practice, it proved otherwise. Men attended the Assembly at their own expense. Any Achaean might come, but only the wealthy could afford to do so, as a regular thing. Moreover, since the meetings of the As- sembly were few and brief, great authority had to be left ito the General and Council. Any Achaean was eligible to these offices ; but poor men could hardly afford to take them, because they had no salaries. The Greek system of a primary assembly was suited only to single cities. A 2^ri7nary assembly made the city of Athens a perfect democracy : the same institution made the Achaean League intensely aristocratic. The constitution was an advance over all other Greek federa- tions, but it had two other faults. (1) It made little use of representation, which no doubt would have seemed to the Achaeans undemocratic (§ 128), but which in practice would have enabled a larger part of the citizens to have a voice in the government; and (2) all cities, great or small, had the same vote. This last did not matter much at first, for the little Achaean towns did not differ greatly in size; but it became a plain injustice when .the union came later to contain some of the most powerful cities in Greece. However, this feature was almost universal in early confederacies,^ and it was the prin- ciple of the American Union until 1789. 302. First Expansion beyond Achaea. — The power of the Gen- eral was so great that the history of the league is the biog- raphy of a few great men. The most remarkable of these 1 The one exception was the Lycian Confederacy in Asia Minor. The Lycians were not Greeks, apparently ; but they had taken on some Greek culture, and their federal union was an advance even upon the Achaean. It was absorbed by Rome, however, in 54 a.d., before it played an important part in history. In its Assembly, the vote was taken by cities, hut the cities were divided into three classes : the largest had three votes each, the next class two each, and the smallest only one. In the Philadelphia Convention, in 1787, several American statesmen wished to adopt this Lycian plan for our States in the Federal Congress. 282 THE GRAECO-ORIENTAL WORLD [§ 303 leaders was Aratus of Sicyon. Sicyon was a city just outside Achaea, to the east. It had been ruled by a vile and bloody tyrant, who drove many leading citizens into exile. Among these exiles was the family of Aratus. When a youth of twenty years (251 b.c.) Aratus planned, by a night attack, to overthrow the tyrant and free his native city. The daring venture was brilliantly successful; but it aroused the hatred of Macedon, and, to preserve the freedom so nobly won, Aratus brought Sicyon into the Achaean federation. 303. Aratus.^ — Five years later, Aratus was elected Gen- eral of the league, and thereafter, he held that office each alternate year (as often as the constitution permitted) until his death, thirty-two years later. Aratus hated tyrants, and longed for a free and united Greece. He extended the league far beyond the borders of Achaea, and made it a champion of Hellenic freedom. He aimed at a noble end, but did not refuse base means. He was incorruptible himself, and he lavished his vast wealth on the union; but he was bitterly jealous of other leaders. With plenty of daring in a dashing project, as he many times proved, he lacked nerve to command in battle, and he never won a real victory in the field. Still, despite his many defeats, his per- suasive power and his merits kept him the confidence of the union to the end of a long public life. 304. Growth of the League; Lydiadas. — In his second gen- eralship, Aratus freed Corinth from her Macedonian tyrant by a desperate night attack upon the garrison of the citadel. That powerful city then entered the union. So did Megara, which itself drove out its Macedonian garrison. The league now commanded the isthmus, and was safe from attack by Macedonia. Then several cities in Arcadia joined, and, in 234, Megalopolis (§ 265) was added, — at that time one of the leading cities in Greece. 1 Aratus is the first statesman known to us from his own memoirs. That work itself no longer exists, but Plutarch drew upon it for his Life, as did Polybius for his History. §305] THE ACHAEAN LEAGUE 283 Some years earlier the government of Megalopolis had be-' come a tyranny : Lydiadas, sl gallant and enthusiastic youth, seized despotic power, meaning to use it for good ends.^ The growth of the Achaean League opened a nobler way : Lydiadas resigned his tyranny, and as a private citizen brought the Great City into the union. This act made him a popular hero, and Aratus became his bitter foe. The new leader was the more lovable figure, — gen- erous and ardent, a soldier as well as a statesman. Several times he became Gen- eral of the league, but even in office he was often thwarted by the disgraceful trickery of the older man. 305. The Freeing of Athens and Argos. — For many years Ara- tus had aimed to free Athens and Argos — sometimes by heroic endeavors, sometimes by assassination and poison. In 229, he succeeded. He bought the withdrawal of Macedonian troops from the Piraeus, and Athens became an ally, though not a member, of the league. ^ The tyrant of Argos was persuaded or frightened into following the example THE ACHAEAN AND AETOLI AN LEAGUES, ABOUT 225 B.C. 1 This was true of several tyrants in this age, and it was due no doubt in part to the new respect for monarchy since Alexander's time, and in part to new theories of government taught by the philosophers. 2 The old historic cities, Athens and Sparta, could not be brought to look favorably upon such a union. 284 THE GRAECO-ORIENTAL WORLD [§306 of Iseas and Lydiadas, — as had happened meanwhile in many- smaller cities, — and Argos joined the confederacy. The league now was the commanding power in Hellas. It included all Peloponnesus except Sparta and Elis. Moreover, all Greece south of Thermopylae had become free, — largely through the influence of the Achaean league, — and most of the states not inside the union had at least entered into friendly alliance with it. But now came a fatal conflict with Sparta. 306. Need of Social Reforms in Sparta. — The struggle was connected with a great reform within that ancient city„ The forms of the "Lycurgan" constitution had survived through many centuries, but now Sparta had only seven hundred full citizens (cf. §§ 254, 263). This condition brought about a violent agitation for reform. And about the year 243, Agis, one of the Spartan kings, set himself to do again what Lycurgus had done in legend. 307. Agis was a youthful hero, full of noble daring and pure enthusiasm. He gave his own property to the state and per- suaded his relatives and friends to do the like. He planned to abolish all debts, and to divide the land among forty-five hundred Spartan " Inferiors " (§ 254) and fifteen thousand other Laconians, so as to refound the state upon a broad and democratic basis. Agis could easily have won by violence; but he refused such methods, and sought his ends by con- stitutional means only. The conservative party rose in fierce opposition. By order of the Ephors, the young king was seized, with his noble mother and grandmother, and murdered in prison, — " the purest and noblest spirit that ever perished through deeming others as pure and noble as himself." 308. Cleomenes. — But the ideals of the martyr lived on. His wife was forced to marry Cleomenes, son of the other king; and, from her, this prince adopted the hopes of Agis. Cleomenes became king in 236. He had less of high sensitiveness and of stainless honor than Agis, but he is a grand and colossal figure. He bided his time ; and then, when the Ephors were planning to use force against him, he struck first. §310] THE ACHAEAN LEAGUE 285 Aratus had led the Achaean League into war ^ with Sparta in order to unite all the Peloponnesus ; but the military genius of Cleomenes made even enfeebled Sparta a match for the great league. He won two great victories. Then, the league being helpless for the moment, he used his popularity to secure reform in Sparta. The oligarchs were plotting against him, but he was enthusiastically supported by the disfranchised multitudes. Leaving his Spartan troops at a distance, he hurried to the city by forced marches with some chosen followers. There he seized and slew the Ephors, and pro- claimed a new constitution, which contained the reforms of Agis. 309. Sparta Victorious over the League. — Cleomenes designed to make this new Sparta the head of the Peloponnesus. He and Aratus each desired a free, united Greece, but under different leadership. Moreover, Sparta now stood forth the advocate of a kind of socialism, and so was particularly hate- ful to the aristocratic government of the league. The struggle between the two powers was renewed with fresh bitterness. Cleomenes won more victories, and then, with the league at his feet, he offered generous terms. He demanded that Sparta be admitted to the union as virtual leader. This would have created the greatest power ever seen in Greece, and, for the time, it would have made a free Hellas sure. The Achaeans were generally in favor of accepting the proposal; but Aratus — jealous of Cleomenes and fearful of social reform — broke off the negotiations by underhanded methods. 310. Aratus calls in Macedon. — Then Aratus bought the aid of Macedon against Sparta, hy betraying Corinth, a free member of the league and the city connected with his own most glorious exploit. As a result, the federation became a protector- ate of Macedonia, holding no relations with foreign states except through that power. The war now became a struggle • 1 In a battle in this war Aratus held back the Achaean phalanx, while Lydiadas, heading a gallant charge, was overpowered by numbers. 286 THE GRAECO-OBIENTAL WORLD [§311 for Greek freedom, waged by Sparta under her hero king against the overwhelming power of Macedon assisted by the confederacy as ji vassal state. Aratus had undone his own great work?7 I The date* (222 b.c.) coincides jwith the general decline of the Hellenic world (§ 291). For a while, Sparta showed surprising vigor, and Cleomenes was marvelously successful. The league indeed dwindled to a handful of petty cities. Bui in the end Macedonia prevailed. Cleomenes fled to Egypt, to die in exile ; and Sparta opened her gates for the first time to a con- quering army. The league was restored to its old extent, but its glory was gone. It still served a useful purpose in keeping peace and order over a large part of Peloponnesus, but it was no longer the champion of a free Hellas. 311. Final Decline. — Soon after, war followed between Achaea and Aetolia. This contest became a struggle between Macedonia and her vassals on the one side, and Aetolia aided by Rome on the other ; for as Achaea had called in Macedonia against Sparta, so now Aetolia called in Rome against Achaea and Macedonia, — and Greek history closed. Some gleams of glory shine out at the last in the career of Philopoemen of Megalopolis, the greatest general the Achaean League ever produced, and one of the noblest characters in history ; but the doom of Achaea was already sealed. " Philo- poemen," says Freeman, " was one of the heroes who struggle against fate, and who are allowed to do no more than to stave off a destruction which it is beyond their power to avert." These words are a fitting epitaph for the great league itself. ^ HELLENISTIC SOCIETY 312. General Culture. — From 280 to 150 b.c. was the period of chief splendor for the new, widespread Hellenism. It was a great and fruitful age. Society was refined ; the position of woman improved; private fortunes abounded, and private houses possessed works of art which, in earlier times, would have been found only in palaces or temples. For the reverse § 314] LITERATURE 287 side, there was corruption in high places, and hungry and threatening mobs at the base of society. Among the countless cities, all homes of culture, five great intellectual centers appeared — Athens, Alexandria, Rhodes, Pergamos, Antioch. The glory of Alexandria extended over the whole period, which is sometimes known as the Alexan- drian age; the others held a special preeminence, one at one time, one at another. Athens, however, always excelled in philosophy, and Rhodes in oratory.^ 313. Literature. — The many-sided age produced new forms in art and literature : especially, (1) the prose romance, a story of love and adventure, the forerunner of the modern novel; (2) the pastoral poetry of Theocritus, which was to influence Virgil and Tennyson; and (3) personal memoirs. The old Attic comedy, too, became the "New Comedy" of Menander and his followers, devoted to satirizing gently the life and manners of the time. In general, no doubt, the tendency in literature was toward critical scholarship rather than toward great and fresh crea- tion. Floods of books appeared, more notable for style than matter. Treatises on literary criticisj»n abounded ; the science of grammar was developed ; and poets prided themselves*upon writing all kinds of verse equally well. Intellectually, in its faults, as in its virtues, the time strikingly resembles our own. 314. Painting and Sculpture. — Painting gained prominence. Zeux\s, ParrMsius, and Apelles are the most famous Greek names connected .with this art, which was now carried to great perfection. According to popular stories, Zeuxis painted a cluster of grapes so that birds pecked at them, while Apelles painted a horse so that real horses neighed at the sight. Despite the attention given to painting, Greek sculpture produced some of its greatest work in this period. Multitudes of splendid statues were created — so abundantly, indeed, that even the names of the artists are not preserved. Among the famous pieces that survive, besides the Dying Gaul and the 1 Caesar and Cicero studied oratory at Rhodes. 288 THE GRAECO-ORIENTAL WORLD IS Apollo Belvidere (§ 290), are the Venus of Milo (Melos) the Laocoon group. Venus of Melos. — A statue now in the Louvre. 315. Greek philosophy after Socrates had three distinct periods, corresponding to the three chief divisions of remain- ing Greek history. m] LITERATURE 289 (For the period of Spartan and Theban leadership.) The ost famous disciple of Socrates is known to the world by his nickname Plato, the " broad-browed." His name, and that of his pupil and rival, Aristotle, of the next period, are among greatest in the history of ancient thought, — among the ry greatest, indeed, in all time. Plato taught that things e merely the shadows of ideas, and that ideas alone are real, ut this statement gives a very imperfect picture of his beau- tiful and mystical philosophy — which is altogether too com- plex to treat here. (For the Macedonian period.) Aristotle, on the other hand, cared more about things. Besides his philosophical treatises, he wrote upon rhetoric, logic, poetry, politics, physics and chemistry, and natural history ; and he built up all the knowl- edge gathered by the ancient world into one complete system. For the intellectual world of his day he worked a task not unlike that of his pupil Alexander in the political world. More than any other of the ancients, too, he was many-sided and modern in his way of thinking (cf. also §§ 285, 320). (For the period after Alexander.) During the Wars of the Succession, two new philosophical systems were born, — Epicureanism and Stoicism. Each called itself highly " prac- tical." Neither asked, as older philosophies had done, " what is true ? " Stoicism asked (in a sense following Socrates), — "What is right?" and Epicureanism asked merely, "What is expedient ?'v One sought virtue; the other, happiness, Neither sought knowledge. These two "schools" need a somewhat fuller treatment (§§ 316^18). 316. EpiGurus was an Athenian citizen. He taught that every man must pursue happiness as an end, but that the highest pleasure was to be obtained by a wise choice of the refined pleasures of the mind and of friendship, — not by gratifying the lower appetites. He advised temperance and virtue as means to happiness ; and he himself lived a frugal life, saying that with a crust of bread and a cup of cold water he could rival Zeus in happiness. Under cover of his theories, however, 290 THE GRAECO-ORIENTAL WORLD [§316 some of his followers taught and practiced a grossness which Epicurus himself would have earnestly condemned. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^1 ^H 1 i^ I^^^^^^H ^s^^ ^^^HM^^H^^ ■^ jOM ^ H|^I' ^^I^H ,,P ■H^^^H| The Laocoon Group. A representation in marble of an incident in the story of the fall of Troy. The Epicureans denied the supernatural altogether, and held death to be the end of all things. Epicureanism produced some lovable characters, but no exalted ones. §319] PHILOSOPHY 291 317. Zeno the Stoic ^ also taught at Athens. His followers made virtue, not happiness, the end of life. If happiness were to come at all, it would come, they said, as a result, not as an end. They placed emphasis upon the dignity of human nature : the wise man should be superior to the accidents of fortune. The Stoics believed in the gods as manifestations of one Divine Providence that ordered all things well. The noblest characters of the Greek and Roman world from this time be- longed to this sect. Stoicism was inclined, however, to ignore the gentler and kindlier side of human life ; and with bitter natures it merged into the philosophy of the Cynics, of whom Diogenes, with his tub and lantern, is the great example.^ 318. New Importance of Philosophy. — Both Stoics and Epi- cureans held to a wide brotherhood of man. This teaching, no doubt, was one result of the union of the world in the new Graeco-Oriental culture. Such a doctrine would have been unthinkable before the battle of Arbela. Moreover, for the educated classes^jil ylosophy now took the pla ce of religion as a guide to life. The philosophers were the clergy of the next few mturies much more truly than the priests of the temples were. 19. Libraries and " Museums " ( " Universities '' ) . — The clos- ing age oi Hellenistic history saw the forerunner of the modern university. The beginning was made at Athens. Plato (§ 315), by his will, left his gardens and other property to his followers, organized in a club. Athenian law did not recognize the right of any group ^^^^aleto hold property, unless it were a re- ligious body. ^^^Pi^ this club claimed to be organized for the worship of \Mm[uses, who were the patrons of literature and learning ; and the name Museum was given to the institu- tion. This-was the first endowed academy, and the first union of teachers and learners into a corporation} 1 Zeno taught in the painted porch {stoa) on the north side of the market- place : hence the name of his philosophy. See also the description of the map of Athens on page 202. ^ SpewaLxep o r t r t h e otori eat rf Di ogerres. 8 A corporation is a body of men recognized by the law as a " person " so far as property rights go. cen- 292 THE GRAECO-ORIENTAL WORLD [§320 The idea has never since died out of the world. The model and name were used a little later by the Ptolemies at Alexan- dria in their Museum. This was a richly endowed institution, with large numbers of students. It had a great library of over half a million volumes (manuscripts), with scribes to make careful copies of them and to make their meaning more clear, when necessary, by explanatory notes. It had also observa- tories and botanical and zoological gardens, with collections of rare plants and animals from distant parts of the world. The librarians, and the other scholars who were gathered about the institution, devoted their lives to a search for knowledge and to teaching; and so they corresponded to the faculty of a modern university. c- "The external appearance [of the l^useum] was that of a group of buildings which served a common purpose — temple of the Muses, library, porticoes, dwellings, and a hall for meals, which were taken together. The inmates were a community of scholars and poets, on whom the king bestowed the honor and privilege of being allowed to work at his expense with all imaginable assistance ready to hand. . . . The managing board was composed of priests, but the most influential post was that of libra- rian." — Holm, History of Greece^ IV, 307. One enterprise, of incalculable benefit to the later world, shows the zeal of the Ptolemies in collecting and translating texts. Alexandria had many Jews in its population, but they were coming to use the Greek language. Philadelphus, for their benefit, had the Hebrew Scriptures translated into Greek. This is the famous JSeptuaaint translation, so called from the tradition that it was the work of j^^^^cholars. 320. Science made greater strides tha^^^r before in an equal length of time. Medicine, surgery, bo^iny, and mechan- ics became real sciences for the first time. Archimedes of Syracuse discovered the principle of the lever, and of specific gravity, and constructed burning mirrors and new hurling engines which made effective siege artillery.^ Euclid, a Greek at Alexandria, building upon the old Egyptian knowledge, pro- duced the geometry which is still taught in our schools with 1 See Davis' /fffffrffwff'r-"^"^ H, No. 27. 320] SCIENCE 293 little addition. Eratosthenes (born 276 B.C.), the librarian at Alexandria, wrote a systematic work on geography, invented delicate astroilomical instruments, and devised the present way of measuring the circumference of the earth — with results nearly correct. A little later, Aristarchus taught that the earth moved round the sun ; and Hijoparchus calculated eclipses, catalogued the stars, wrote books on astronomy, and founded the science of trigonometry. Aristotle had already given all the pi^s of the sphericity of the earth that are common in our text-books now (except that of actual circum- navigation) and had asserted that men could probably reach Asia by sailing west from Europe. The scientific spirit gave rise, too, to actual voyages of exploration into many regions ; and daring discoverers brought back from northern regions what seemed wild tales of icebergs gleaming in the cold aurora of the polar skies. The lighthouse built by. the first Ptolemy on the island of Pharos, in the harbor of Alexandria, shows that the new civilization had begun to make practical use of science to 294 THE GRAECO-ORIENTAL WORLD [§ 321 advance human welfare. The tower rose 325 feet into the air, and from the summit a group of polished reflecting mirrors threw its light at night far out to sea. It seemed to the Jew- ish citizens of Alexandria to make real once more the old Hebrew story of the Pillar of Cloud by day and of Fire by night, — to guide wanderers on the wastes of waves. "All night," said a Greek poet, " will the sailor, driving before the storm, see the fire gleam from its top." 321. The Greek contributions to our oij^i^zation cannot be named and counted, as we did those from the preceding Oriental peoples. Egypt and Babylon gave us some very im- portant outer features, — garments, if we choose so to speak, for the body of our civilization. But the Greeks gave us its soul. This is the truth in the noble sentences quoted at the head of Greek history in this volume (page 95): "We are all Greeks," and " There is nothing that moves in the world to- day that is not Greek in origin." Because the Greek contributions are of the spirit, rather than of the body, they are harder to describe in a brief sum- mary. One supreme thing, however, must be mentioned. The Greeks gave us the ideal of freedom, regulated by self-control, — freedom in thought, in religion, and in politics. Keferences for Further Study. — Special$lf$ suggested: Davis' Headings, Vol. I, Nos. 119-125 (19 pages, mostly from Polybius, Arrian, and Plutarch, the three Greek historians of that age). Additional: Plutarch's Lives ("Aratus," " Agis," " Cleomenes," " Philopoemen ") ; Mahaffy's Alexander's Empire. Exercise. — Review the various confederacies, — Peloponnesian, De- lian, Olynthian, Achaean, noting likenesses and contrasts. Review the period from Chaeronea to the death of Alexander by "catch words." §321] REVIEW EXERCISES 295 REVIEW EXERCISES ON PARTS 11 AND III A. Fact Drills on Greek History 1. The class should form a Table of Dates gradually as the criti<$al points are reached, and should then drill upon it until it says itself as the alphabet does. The following dates are enough for this drill in Greek history. The table should be filled out as is done for the first two dates. 776 B.C. First recorded Olympiad 338 b.c. •^••*^^^'*^, 1*^ 490 " Marathon 222 " ^♦•^ ^^^'^'J ft^ 405 " ,. • 146 " yn^«*^-^^*^ ^ 371 tc^^*^^ l^rv****^ 2. Name in order fifteen battles, between 776 and 146 b.c, stating for each the parties, leaders, result, and importance. (Such tables also should be made by degrees as the events are reached. ) 3. Explain concisely the following terms or names: Olympiads, Ephors, Mycenaean Culture, Olympian Religion, Amphictyonies, Sappho. (Let the class extend the list several fold.) B. Topical Reviews This is a good point at which to review certain " culture topics," — i.e., agriculture, industrial arts, life of rich and poor, philosophy, litera- tyj-e, ayjt, religion, science, — tracing each separately from the dawn of history. 40-l)0-M Oft^^O'^l 00 jSO-oO-^l 00>^1 OO^-SO-*-!! «> < Q;. H O ♦» J[r ^ X\ ^ c Pm^ ^v- G^des. CORSICA* .SARDINIA^;;' // ^Placentla '^^a^W ^«re. 31 p ^l£ Rome* Cai'ua ^"■^ THE MEDITERRANEAN LANDS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SECOND PUNIC WAR SCALE OF MILES 50 100 200 300 400 Roman Possessions and Allies Carthaginian " " Macedonian «• •' Hannibal's Route — /■ • 6 Longitude West Free Greek StateB Syrian Possessions Egyptian •• _1 Longitude Greenwich §441] .WINNING THE WEST, 264-146 B.C» 373 438. Hannibal at Saguntum; Rome declares War, 218 B.C. — Hannibal continued the work of his great father in Spain. He made the southern half of that rich land a Carthaginian province and organized it thoroughly. Then he rapidly carried the Carthaginian frontier to the Ebro, collected a magnificent army of over a hundred thousand men, and besieged Saguntum, an ancient Greek colony near the east coast. Fearing Carthagin- ian advance, Saguntum had sought Roman alliance; and now, when Carthage refused to recall Hannibal, Rome, in alarm and anger, declared war (218 B.C.). 439. Hannibal's Invasion of Italy. — The Second Punic War (218-202 B.C.) was somewhat shorter than the First, but it was an even more strenuous struggle. Rome had intended to take the offensive. Indeed, she dispatched one consul in a leisurely way to Spain, and started the other for Africa by way of Sicily. But Hannibal's audacious rapidity threw into con- fusion all his enemy's plans. In live months he had crossed the Pyrenees and the Rhone, fighting his- way through the Gal- lic tribes; forced the unknown passes of the Alps, under con- ditions that made it a feat paralleled only by Alexander's passage of the Hindukush; and, leaving the bones of three fourths of his army between the Ebro and Po, startled Italy by appearing in Cisalpine Gaul, with twenty-six thousand '^heroic shadows." 440. His First Victories. — With these "emaciated scare- crows " the same fall Hannibal swiftly destroyed two hastily gathered Roman armies — at the Ticinus and at the Trebia. Then the recently pacified Gallic tribes rallied turbulently to swell his ranks. The following spring he crossed the Apen- nines, ambushed a Roman army of forty thousand men, blinded with morning fog, near Lake Trasimene, and annihilated it, and len carried fire and sword through Italy. 41. Quintus Fabius Maximus was now named dictator, to Rome. That wary old general adopted the wise policy 'elay ("Fabian policy") to wear out Hannibal and gain - athing time for Rome. He would not give battle, but he 374 ROMAN EXPANSION BEYOND ITALY [§442 followed close at the Carthaginian's heels, from place to place. Even Hannibal could not catch Fabins unawares ; and he did not dare to attack the intrenched Roman camps. But Hannibal had to win victories to draw the Italian "Allies" from Rome, or he would have to flee from Italy. He ravaged savagely, as he marched, to provoke the Roman commander to battle, but in vain; and his position grew critical. So far, not a city in Italy had opened its gates to him as a shelter. 442. Cannae. — But in Rome many of the common people murmured impatiently, nicknaming Fabius Ciinctator (the Lag- gard). Popular leaders, too, began to grumble that the Senate protracted the war in order to gain glory for the aristocratic generals ; and the following summer the new consuls were given ninety thousand men — by far the largest army Rome had ever put in the field, and several times Hannibal's army — with orders to crush the daring invader. The result was the battle of Cannae — "a carnival of cold steel, a butchery, not a battle." Hannibal lost six thousand men. Rome lost sixty thousand dead and twenty thousand prisoners. A consul, a fourth of the senators, nearly all the officers, and over a fifth of the fighting population of the city perished. Hannibal sent home a bushel of gold rings from the hands of fallen Ro- man nobles.^ 443. Fidelity of the Latins and Italians to Rome. — The vic- tory, however, yielded little fruit. Hannibal's only real chance within Italy had been that brilliant victories might break up the Italian confederacy and bring over to his side the subjects of Rome. Accordingly, he freed his Italian prisoners without ransom, proclaiming that he warred only on Rome and that he came to liberate Italy. The mountain tribes of the south, eager for plunder, did join him, as did one great Italian city, Capua. Syracuse, too, re- nounced its Roman alliance and joined its ancient enemy Car- thage. And three years later, a cruel Roman blunder drove 1 There is an excellent account of the battle in How and Leigh, 194-198. § 444] WINNING THE WEST, 264-146 B.C. 375 some of the Greek towns of south Italy into Hannibal's arms. But the other cities — colonies, Latins, or Allies — closed their gates against him as resolutely as Rome herself, — and so gave marvelous testimony to the excellence of Roman rule and to the national spirit it had fostered. 444. Rome's Grandeur in Disaster. — Rome's own greatness showed grandly in the hour of terror after Cannae, when any other people would have given up the conflict in despair. A plot among some faint-hearted nobles to abandon Italy was stifled in the camp; and the surviving consul, Varro, coura- geously set himself to reorganize the wreckage of his army. Varro had been elected, in a bitter partisan struggle, as the champion of the democratic party, against the unanimous opposition of the aris- tocracy. With undoubted merits in personal character, he had proved utterly lacking in military talent. Indeed, he had forced his wiser col- league to give battl^, and his poor generalship was largely responsible for the disaster. He now returned to Roms, expecting to face stem judges. At Carthage, a general, so placed, would have been nailed to a cross or thrown under the feet of enraged elephants. Even in Athens, as Dr. Davis says, he would probably have had to drink the fatal cup of hemlock. At Rome, faction and criticism were silenced, and the aristo- cratic Senate showed its nobility by publicly giving thanks to the democratic and luckless general " because he had not despaired of the Republic." Even Cannae was not- the end of disaster. Before the close of the year another army under a new consul was cut to pieces, and by losses elsewhere the Senate had fallen to less than half its numbers ; ^ but with stern temper and splendid tenacity Re me refused even to receive Hannibal's envoys or to consider his moderate proposals for peace. According to one story, Rome refused in this crisis to ransom prisoners. Much as she needed her soldiers back, she preferred, so the story goes, to teach her citizens that they ought at such a time to die for the Republic, rather than surrender. A third of the adult males of Italy had fallen in battle within 1 The next year 177 new members were added, to bring the number up to the normal 300. 376 ROMAN EXPANSION BEYOND ITALY [§445 three years, or were in camp, so that all industry was demoral- ized. Still, taxes were doubled, and the rich gave cheerfully, even beyond these crushing demands. The days of mourning for the dead were shortened by a decree of the government. Rome refused to recall a man from Sicily or Spain. Instead she sent out new armies to those plax^es, and by enrolling slaves, old men, boys, and the criminals from the prisons (arming them with the sacred trophies in the temples), she managed to put two hundred and fifty thousand troops into the field. Rome learned, too, from disaster. The legions and generals sent to Spain, Sicily, and other distant lands were no longer recalled at the end of the year. They were enlisted " for the war." Here lay the beginnings of important constitutional changes (§ 406). 445. Lack of Concerted Action by Rome's Foes. — Hannibal was now in no peril in Italy. He could maintain himself there indefinitelj^, with his allies in the south of the peninsula. But he made no more headway. His possible chances for success lay in arousing a general Mediterranean war against Rome, or in receiving himself strong reinforcements from Carthage. Philip V of Macedonia did ally himself with Hannibal, but he acted timidly and too late. Carthage showed a strange apathy when victory was within her grasp. She made no real attempt even to regain her ancient command of the sea, and so could not send troops to Hannibal, or defend her ally, Syracuse, from Roman vengeance. 446. The War in Sicily. — Meantime Rome guarded her coasts with efficient fleets and transported her armies at will. Especially did she strain every nerve for success abroad, where HannibaPs superb genius could not act against her. Syracuse had been besieged promptly by land and sea, and (212) after a three years' siege, it was taken by storpi. This siege is mem- orable for the scientific inventions of Archimedes (§ 320), used in the defense.^ The philosopher himself was killed during the 1 See Davis' Readings, II, No. 27, for the fullest account by an ancient authority. §449] WINNING THE WEST, 264-146 B.C. 377 sack of the city, and one more commercial rival of Kome was wiped from the map. Its works of art (the accumulations of centuries) were destroyed or carried to Rome,- and it never recovered its old eminence in culture, commerce, or power. 447. The War in Spain. — Hannibal's one remaining chance lay in reinforcements by land, from his brother, Hasdrubal, whom he had left in command in Spain. But, step by step, the Roman Scipio brothers, with overwhelming forces, pushed back the Carthaginian frontier in that peninsula, and for many years ruined all Hannibal's hopes. At last, in 211, Hasdrubal won a great victory, and the two Scipios perished; but Rome promptly hurried in fresh forces under the young Publius Cornelias Scipio, who, in masterly fashion, for three years more, continued the work of his father and uncle. 448. Changed Character of the War in Italy. — In Italy itself, the policy of Fabius was again adopted, varied by the telling blows of the vigorous soldier, Marcellus, who was called the " Sword " of Rome, as Fabius was called her " Shield." Han- nibal's hopes had been blasted in the moment of victory. Rome fell back upon an iron constancy and steadfast caution. Her Italian subjects showed a steady fidelity even more ominous to the invader. Carthage proved neglectful, and her allies luke- warm. Against such conditions all the great African's genius in war and in diplomacy wore itself out in vain. For thirteen years after Cannae he maintained himself in Italy without reinforcement in men or money, — always winning a battle when he could engage the enemy in the field, — and directing operations as best he might in Spain, Sicily, Macedonia, and Africa. But it was a war waged by one supreme genius against the most powerful and resolute nation in the world. Says Dr. Davis, " The greatest military genius who ever lived attacked the most military people which ever existed — and the genius was defeated after a sixteen years' war." 449. "Hannibal at the Gates." — One more dramatic scene marked Hannibal's career in Italy. The Romans had besieged 378 ROMAN EXPANSION BEYOND ITALY [§ 450 Capua. In a daring attempt to relieve his ally, Hannibal marched to the very walls of Rome, ravaging the fields about the city. The Romans, however, were not to be enticed into a rash engagement, nor could the army around Ca-pua be drawn from its prey. The only result of Hannibal's desperate stroke was the fruitless fright he gave Rome, — such that for genera- tions Roman mothers stilled their children by the terror-bear- ing phrase, " Hannibal at the Gates ! " Roman stories relate, however, that citizens were found, even in that hour of fear, to show a defiant confidence by buying eagerly at a public sale the land where the invader lay encamped. And even Hannibal must have felt misgivings when his scouts reported that from another gate a Roman army had just marched away contemptuously, with colors flying, to reinforce the Roman troops in Spain. 450. Capua. — Hannibal finally drew off, and Capua fell, — to meet a fate more harsh even than that of Syracuse. That " second city of Italy " ceased to exist as a city. Its leading men were massacred ; most of the rest of the population were sold as slaves ; and colonies of Roman veterans were planted on its lands. The few remaining inhabitants were governed by a prefect from Rome. Syracuse and Capua had been faithless allies. They had been also rivals in trade ; and their cruel fate was due quite as much to Roman greed as to Roman vengeance. Cf . § 374. 451. Hannibal's Forces Worn Out. — And so the struggle entered upon its last, long, wasting stage. It became a record of sieges and marches and countermarches. HannibaPs genius shone as marvelous as ever, earning him from modern military critics the title, " Father of Strategy '' ; but there are no more of the dazzling results that mark the first campaigns. HannibaPs African and Spanish veterans died off, and had to be replaced as best they might by local recruits in Italy ; and gradually the Romans learned the art of war from their great enemy. " "With the battle of Cannae the breathless interest in the war ceases ; its surging mass, broken on the walls of the Roman fortresses, . . . foams away in ruin and devastation through south Italy, — ever victorious, ever § 4531 WINNING THE WEST, 264-146 B.C. 379 receding. Rome, assailed on all sides by open foe and forsworn friend, driven to her last man and last coin, ' ever great and greater grows ' in the strength of her strong will and loyal people, widening the circle round her with rapid blows in Sicily, Sardinia, Spain, and Macedon, while she slowly loosens the grip fastened on her throat at home, till in the end ... the final fight on African sands at the same moment closes the struggle for life and seats her mistress of the world." — How and Leigh, 199. 452. The Second Carthaginian Invasion. — Meantime, in Spain, Hannibal's brother, Hasdrubal, had been contending against the crushing force of the Scipios, with the skill and devotion of his family. Finally, in 208, by able maneuvers, he eluded the Eoman generals, and started with a veteran army to rein- force Hannibal. Eome's peril was never greater than when this second son of Barca crossed the Alps successfully with iifty-six thousand men and fifteen elephants. Just before, several of the most important ^' Latin colonies " had given notice that they could not much longer sustain the ravages of the war. If the two Carthaginian armies joined, Hannibal would be able to' march at will through Italy, and Rome's faithful allies would no longer close their gates against him. 453. The Metaurus. — The Republic put forth its supreme ef- fort. One hundred and fifty thousand men were thrown between the two Carthaginian armies, which together numbered some eighty thousand. By a fortunate chance the Romans captured a messenger from Hasdrubal and so learned his plans, while Hannibal was still ignorant of his approach. This gave a de- cisive advantage. The opportunity was well used. The consul, Claudius Nero, with audacity learned of Hannibal himself, left part of his force to deceive that leader, and, hurrying northward with the speed of life and death, joined the other consul and fell upon Hasdrubal with crushing numbers at the Metaurus. The ghastly head of his long-expected brother, flung with brutal contempt into his camp,^ was the first notice to Hannibal of the ruin of his family and his cause. 1 This deed was in strange contrast to the chivalrous treatment that Han- nibal gave to the bodies of Marcellus and of the Roman generals at Cannae and elsewhere. 380 ROMAN EXPANSION BEYOND ITALY [§454 454. The War in Africa. — Still Hannibal remained invincible in the mountains of southern Italy. But Eome now carried the war into Africa. After Hasdrubal left Spain, Scipio rapidly- subdued the whole peninsula, and, in 204, he persuaded the Senate to send him with a great army against Carthage itself. Two years later, to meet this peril, Carthage recalled Hannibal. That great leader obeyed sadly, " leaviug the country of his enemy," says Livy, " with more regret than many an exile has left his own." This event marks the end of all hope of Carthaginian success. The same year (202 b.c.) the struggle closed with Hannibal's first and only defeat, at the battle of Zama} Carthage lay at the mercy of the victor, and sued for peace. She gave up Spain and the islands of the western Mediterranean ; surren- dered her war elephants and all her ships of war save ten ; paid a huge war indemnity, which was intended to keep her poor for many years ; and became a dependent ally of Eome, prom- ising to wage no war -without Roman consent. Scipio received the proud surname Africanus} The Greek cities of the south and the mountain tribes that had joined Hannibal lost lands and privileges. And Cisalpine Gaul was thoroughly Romanized by many a cruel campaign. 465. Rome Mistress of the West. — Rome had been fighting for existence, but she had won world-dominion. In the West no rival remained. Her subsequent warfare there was to be only 1 Zama was a village a little to the south of Carthage. Read the story of the battle in Davis' Headings, II, No. 28. Special report : the career of Han- nibal after the war. 2 A Roman had at least three names. The gentile name was the nomen, the most important of the three ; it came in the middle. The third (the cog- nomen) marked the family. The first {praenonien) was the individual name (like our baptismal name). Then a Roman often received also a surname for some achievement or characteristic. Thus Puhlius Cornelius Scipio Africanus was the individual Puhlius of the Scipio family of the great Cornelian gens, surnamed Africanus for his conquest of Africa. The first name was often abbreviated in writing. The most common of these abbreviations were: C. for Caius (Gaius) ; Cu. for Guaeus; L. for Lucius; M. for Marcus; P. for Publius; Q. for Quintus; T. for Titus. §455] WINNING THE WEST, 264-146 B.C. 381 with unorganized barbarians. In the East the result was to show more slowly; but there, too, Roman victory was now only a matter of time. No civilized power was again to threaten Rome by invading Italy, and the mighty kingdoms of Alexan- der's realms were to be absorbed, one by one, into her empire. This imperial destiny was more than Rome had planned. Italy she had designed to rule. The West had fallen to her as the heir of Carthage. In the East she hesitated honestly, until events thrust dominion upon her there also (ch. xxxi). This hesitancy in the East was due, in part at least, to respect for Greek civilization, to which Rome was beginning to owe more and more. It is quite true, though, that, even this early, the commercial interests at Rome, excited by greed for fresh booty, used much secret influence to fonient new wars and extend Roman dominion. This commercial greed was later to become a main cause of Roman expansion (cf. § 483). CHAPTER XXX THE WEST FROM 201 TO 146 B.C. SPAIN 456. Spain's Heroic War for Independence. — Rome's rule in Spain was still largely a rule only in name. To make it real, there was much work yet to do. A land route to that country had to be secured; and the mountain tribes in the peninsula and in its bordering islands had to be thoroughly subdued. This involved tedious wars, not always waged with credit to Roman honor. In Spain two new provinces were created, for which two governors were elected annually by the Roman Senate. Some of these governors proved rapacious ; others were incompetent ; and the proud and warlike tribes of Spain were driven into a long war for independence. The struggle was marked by the heroic leadership of the Spanish patriot, Viriathns, and by contemptible Roman base- ness. A Roman general massacred a tribe which had submitted. Another general procured the assassination of Viriathus by hired murderers. Rome itself rejected treaties after they had saved Roman armies. Spanish towns, which had been cap- tured after gallant resistance, were wiped from the face of the earth, so that other towns chose wholesale suicide rather than surrender to Roman cruelty. 457. Final Romanization. — Still, despite these miserable means, Roman conquest in the end was to be a blessing to Spain. The struggle in the most inaccessible districts went on until 133, but long before that year the greater part of the land had been Romanized. Traders and speculators flocked to the seaports. For more than half a century twenty thousand 382 § 459] THE WEST, 201-146 B.C. 383 soldiers were left under arms in the province. These legion- aries, quartered in Spain for many years at a time, married Spanish wives, and when relieved from military service, they gladly received lands in Spain, as a sort of pension, and settled down in military colonies, to spread Roman language and customs among the neighboring natives.^ No sooner were the restless interior tribes fully subdued than there appeared the promise — to be well kept later — that Spain would become " more Roman than Rome itself.'' 458. South Gaul. — Meantime (about 188) Rome had secured a land road, through southern Gaul, from Italy to Spain. This was obtained in the main by friendly alliance with the ancient Greek city Massilia ; but there was also some warfare with the native tribes, which laid the foundations for a new Roman province in South Gaul in the near future. THE THIRD PUNIC WAR (The War tor Africa) 459. Rome seeks Perfidious Pretext against Carthage. — Even before Spain was pacified, hatred and greed had led Rome to seize the remaining realms of Carthage. That state was now powerless for harm. But Roman fear was cruel ; commercial envy was rapacious and reckless ; and (after some fifty years) a long series of persecutions forced a needless conflict upon the unhappy Carthaginians. The Third Punic War was marked by black perfidy on the part of Rome and by the final desperate heroism of Carthage. First, that city was called upon to surtender Hannibal to Roman vengeance.^ Then it was vexed by constant annoyances in Africa on the part of Massinissa, Prince of Numidia. Mas- sinissa had been Rome's ally in the latter part of the Second 1 It was in this way that communities of Roman citizens were to be spread over other provinces, as they were acquired, one by one, /o Italianize the world, as a like system of colonization had formerly Romanized Italy. 2 Hannibal escaped to the East. But Roman petty hatred followed him from country to country, until, to avoid falling into Roman hands, he took his own life, " proving in a lifelong struggle with fate, that success is in no way necessary to greatness." 384 ROMAN EXPANSION BEYOND ITALY [§460 Punic War, and had been rewarded by new dominions carved out of Carthaginian territory. Now, encouraged by Home, he encroached more and more, seizing piece after piece of the dis- trict that had been left to the vanquished city. Repeatedly Carthage appealed to Rome, but her just com- plaints brought no redress. The Roman commissioners that were sent to act as arbiters — with secret orders beforehand to favor Massinissa — carried back to Rome only a greater fear of the reviving wealth of Carthage, and told the astonished Roman Senate of a city with crowded streets, with treasury and arsenals full, and with its harbors thronged with shipping. From this time (157 b.c.) the narrow-minded but zealous Cato closed every speech in the Senate, no matter what the subject, with the phrase " Delenda est Carthago'^ (Carthage must be blotted out). More quietly but more effectively, the Roman merchant class strove to the same end, to prevent Carthage from recovering its ancient trade in the Mediterranean. 460. Carthage is treacherously Disarmed. — Carthage was cau- tious, and gave no handle to Roman hate, until at last, when Massinissa had pushed his seizures almost up to her gates, she took up arms against his invasion. By her treaty with Rome she had promised to engage in no war without Roman permis- sion ; and Rome at once snatched at the excuse to declare war. In vain, terrified Carthage punished her leaders and offered abject submission. The Roman Senate would only promise that the city should be left independent if it complied with the further demands o^ Rome, to be announced on African soil. The Roman fleet and army proceeded to Carthage, and an act of masterful treachery was played out by successive steps. First, at the demand of the Roman general, Carthage sent as hostages to the Roman camp three hundred boys from the no- blest families, amid the tears and outcries of the mothers. Then, on further command, the city dismantled its walls and stripped its arsenals, sending, in long lines of wagons, to the Roman army 3000 catapults and 200,000 stand of arms, with vast mili- tary supplies. Next the shipping was all surrendered. Finally, §462] THE WEST, 201-146 B.C. 385 now that the city was supposed to be utterly defenseless, came the announcement that it must be destroyed and the people removed to some spot ten miles inland from the sea, on which from dim antiquity they had founded their wealth and power. 461. Heroic Resistance. — Despair blazed into passionate wrath, and the Carthaginians fitly chose death rather than ruin and exile. Carelessly enough, the Roman army remained at a distance for some days. Meanwhile the dismantled and disarmed town became one great workshop for war. Women gave their hair to make cords for catapults ; the temples were ransacked for arms, and torn down for timber and metal ; and to the angry dismay of Rome, Carthage stood a four years' siege, holding out heroically against famine, pestilence, and war. At last the legions forced their way over the walls. For seven days more the fighting continued from house to house, until at last a miserable remnant surrendered. The commander at the last moment made his peace with the Roman general ; but his disdainful wife, taunting him from the burning temple roof as he knelt at Scipio's feet, slew their two boys and cast herself with them into the ruins. 462. Carthage is "blotted out": the Province of Africa. — For many days the city was given up to pillage. Then, by ex- press orders from Rome, it was burned to the ground, and its site was plowed up, sown to salt, and cursed (146 b.c). To carry out this crime fell to the lot of one of the purest and noblest characters Rome ever produced, — PMins Scipio Aemilianus, the nephew and adopted grandson of Scipio Africa- nus, known himself as Africanus the Younger. As he watched the smoldering ruins (they burned for seventeen days) with his friend Polybius the historian, Scipio spoke his fear that some day Rome might suffer a like fate, and he was heard to repeat Homer's lines : — " Yet come it will, the day decreed by fate, The day when thou, Imperial Troy, must bend, And see thy warriors fall, thy glories end." 386 ROMAN EXPANSION BEYOND ITALY [§462 What was left of the ancient territory of Carthage became the Province of Africa, with the capital at Utica. Two centu- ries later, under the Roman Empire, North Africa became a chief seat of Roman civilization. For Further Beading. — Specially recommended : Davis' Beadings, II, Nos. 20-29 (extracts from Livy and Polybius) ; Pelham, 122-133, or, much better for this subject, How and Leigh, chs. 19-22. Additional material of value and interest will be found in Smith's Borne and Car- thage (Epoch series) ; W. W. How's Hannibal ; and especially in Plu- tarch's Lives ("Fabius" and " Marcellus"). Review Exercise. — Catchword review of Roman expansion in the West from 264 to 146. CHAPTER XXXI THE WINNING OF THE EAST, 201-146 B.C. The expansion of Rome in the fifty years after the Second Punic War went on continuously both west and east. The two stories, however, had little connection ; and they are given in this book in separate chapters. We have dealt with the West for that half century in Chapter XXX. Now we turn to the East. AN ATTEMPT AT PROTECTORATES 463. Earlier Beginnings : the First Macedonian War. — Ever since the repulse of Pyrrhus, Rome had been drifting into con- tact with the Greek kingdoms of the East. With Egypt she had a friendly alliance and close commercial intercourse. Be- tween the First and the Second Punic War, too, she had chas- tised the formidable pirates of the Illyrian coasts, and so, as the guardian of order, had come into friendly relations with some of the cities in Greece (§ 432). Further than this, Rome showed no desire to go. But, in 214, Philip V of Macedonia joined himself to Hannibal against Rome (§ 432). The war with Macedonia which followed is known as the First Macedonian War, Rome entered upon it only to prevent a Macedonian invasion of Italy, and she waged it by means of her Aetolian allies.^ It closed in 205, before the end of the Second Punic War, without any especial change in eastern affairs ; but it made later struggles natural. 464. Second Macedonian War. — In 205, Philip V of Macedon and Antiochus of Syria tried to seize Egypt, left just then to a boy king. Egypt was an ally of Rome. Moreover, it was 1 Aetolia had sought Roman protection against Macedonia and had been recognized as an " ally " (§ 310). 387 388 ROMAN EXPANSION BEYOND ITALY [§465 already becoming the granary of the Mediterranean, and Rome could not wisely see it pass into hostile hands. Philip also attacked Athens, another of Rome's allies. So, as soon as Rome's hands were freed by the peace with Carthage, the Sen- ate persuaded the wearied Assembly to enter upon the Second Macedoman War (201-196 b.c). At first Philip won some success ; but in 198 the Senate in- trusted the war to Flamininus, who was to be the first Roman conqueror in the East. Plamininus was one of the group of young Romans around Scipio Aemilianus imbued with Hellenic culture and chivalrous ideals. His appointment proved par- ticularly grateful to the Greek allies of Rome, and his excel- lent generalship quickly put Philip on the defensive. The decisive battle was fought at Cynoscephalae (Dog's heads), a group of low hills in Thessaly ; and the result was due, not to generalship, but to the fighting qualities of the soldiery. The two armies were of nearly equal size. They met in mist and rain, and the engagement was brought on by a chance encounter of scouting parties. The flexible legion proved its superiority over the unwieldy phalanx (§ 403). The Roman loss was 700 ; the Maced onian, 13,000. Philip was left at the mercy of the victor, but the chivalrous !Flamininus gave generous terms. Macedonia, it is true, sank into a second-rate power, and became a dependent ally of Rome. But Rome herself took no territory. Macedonia's possessions in Greece were taken from her, and Flamininus proclaimed that the Greeks were "free." The many Greek states, along with Rhodes and Pergamum and the other small states of Asia, became Rome's grateful allies. In name they were equals of Rome ; in fact, they were Roman protectorates. That is, Rome controlled all the foreign relations of each of them, — at least, whenever she cared to do so. 465. The War with Antiochus of Syria. — Meanwhile Anti- ochus had sheltered Hannibal and had been plundering Egypt's possessions in Asia. Now he turned to seize Thrace, Greece, Pergamum, and Rhodes. Rome sincerely dreaded a conflict §466] WINNING THE EAST, 201-146 B.C. 389 with the " Great King," the Lord of Asia, but she had no choice. The struggle proved easy and brief. In the second campaign, in 190, Roman legions for the first time invaded Asia, and at Magnesia,^ in Lydia, they shattered the power of Syria. That kingdom was reduced in territory and power, somewhat as Macedonia had been, but Borne still kept 7io territory for herself. Her allies were rewarded \Yith gifts of territory ; and the Hel- lenic cities and small states of Asia were declared free, and really became friendly dependents of Rome. 466. The System of Protectorates.^ — Thus, in eleven years {200-190 B.C.) after the dose of the Second Panic War, Rome had set up a virtual protectorate over all the realms of Alex- ander's successors. To Rome herself, this expansion of power was to prove a curse; but to her dependent realms it was a blessing. The Greek states were embroiled ceaselessly in petty quarrels among themselves, and they were endangered constantly by the greed of their greater neighbors. From all sides came appeals to Rome to prevent injustice. The disturbing powers were Macedonia, Syria, and the Aetolian and Achaean Leagues. The forces which stood for peace were Egypt, Rhodes, Perga- mum, and the small states of European Greece. It was these pacific states which especially claimed protection from Rome. The weakness of the eastern states drew the great western power on and on, and her own methods became less and less scrupulous. Cruelty and cynical disregard for obligations more and more stamped her conduct. But, after all, as How and Leigh well say, " compared with the Ptolemies, Seleucids, and Antigonids,'' her hands were clean and her rule bearable. In that intolerable eastern hubbub, men's eyes turned still with envy and wonder to the stable and well-ordered Republic of the West." 1 The Roman commander was Lucius Scipio, who took the name Asiaticus ; but credit was really due to his brother Publius, who accompanied him. 2 Cf . § 203. 5 A ruling family in Macedonia. 390 ROMAN EXPANSION BEYOND ITALY [§467 " The Roman Senate, which so lately sat to devise means to save Rome from the grasp of Hannibal, now sits as a Court of International Justice for the whole civilized world, ready to hear the causes of every king or commonwealth that has any plaint against any other king or common- wealth. . . . The Roman Fathers judge the causes of powers which in theory are the equal allies of Rome ; they judge by virtue of no law, of no treaty ; they judge because the common instinct of mankind sees the one universal judge in the one power which has strength to enforce its judg- ments." — Freeman, Chief Periods^ 58, 467. Rome and Judea. — An interesting ilkistration of this feeling of the small Oriental States for Rome i||tound in Jewish history. Antiochus IV of Syria sought ardently to Hellenize completely all parts of his dominions'. In Judea he felt himself thwarted by the strong national feeling of the people and especially by the Jewish religion. So, in 168 e.g., he ordered the Jews to renounce their worship for that of the Greeks, and he even dedicated to Zeus the holy Temple which Solomon had built to Jehovah. This sacrilege drove the gallant little people into revolt, under the hero Judas Maccabee. The Jewish historian of the time tells how this leader naturally turned his eyes toward Rome. (1 Maccabees, viii) • " And Judas heard of the fame of the Romans, — that they are valiant men . . . and that with their friends they keep friendship . . . More- over, whomsoever they will to succor and to make kings, these do they make kings ; and whomsoever they will, do they depose ; and, for all this, none of them ever did put on a diadem^ neither did they clothe them- selves icith purple, to be magnified thereby . . . and how they had made for themselves a Senate-House, and day by day three hundred men sat there in council, consulting alway for the people . . . and how they com- mit their government to one man year by year [the consuls] . . . and all are obedient to that one ; and neither is there envy nor emulation among them^ The Jews did win their freedom, and remained one of the small independent kingdoms of the East from 145 to 63 b.c. Then they were made a tributary kingdom, and, not long after, they became a province of Rome (§ 582). § 470] WINNING THE BAST, 201-146 B.C. 391 THE PROTECTORATES ARE ANNEXED AS PROVINCES 468. A Gradual Change. — Conditions in the East were un- stable. Kome could not stop with protectorates. They had neither the blessings of real liberty nor the good order of true provinces. And so gradually Rome was led to a process of annexation of territory in the civilized East, as before in the barbarous West. By 146 e.g. this change was well under way. In the next hundred years — before the day of the Caesars — the original influlhnce over " allies " had everywhere been trans- formed into dominion over subject provinces. 469. A deplorable change in Roman character took place early in this period. Appetite for power grew with its exercise. Jealousy appeared toward the prosperity of even the truest ally. A class of ambitious nobles craved new wars of conquest for the sake of glory and power ; and the growing class of merchants and money lenders (who now indirectly dominated the govern- ment) hungered raveningly for conquests in order to secure more special privileges in the form of trade monopolies and the management of finances in new provinces. . Thus, to extend her sway in the East, where at first she had hesitated so mod- estly, Rome finally sank to violence and perfidy as high-handed and as base as had marked her treatment of Carthage in the , West, at the beginning of the same period. We can note here only three or four chief steps in the long process of Eastern annexation. 470. Macedonia. — Rome's gentle treatment of the Greek states after the Second Macedonian War (§ 464) was due largely to a true admiration for Greek civilization and Greek history. But this feeling was soon lost in contempt for Greek fickleness and weakness and inability for concerted action — and in greed for Greek riches. On their side, the Greek cities at first had welcomed Rome joyfully as a guardian of Hellenic liberty. But high-handed Roman officials, with their assumption of mas- tery, and their frequent contemptuous disregard of treaties, soon made these cities look back regretfully to the rule of 392 ROMAN EXPANSION BEYOND ITALY [§471 Macedonia, which at least had had understanding and sympathy for Greek character. Perseus of Macedonia (son of Philip V) took advantage of this revulsion of feeling to form alliances with the Greek states in the hope of recovering a true national independence. This brought on a Third Macedonian War, and the Eoman victory of Pydna (168 b.c.) closed the life of the ancient king- dom of Macedonia.^ That state was broken up into four petty " republics," which were declared free, but which were provinces of Rome in all but name and good order. They paid tribute, were disarmed, and were forbidden intercourse with one another ; but they did not at first receive a Roman governor. Some years later a pretended son of Perseus tried to restore the monarchy ; and this attempt led to the full establishment of the Roman " Province of Macedonia," with a Roman magistrate at its head (146 b.c). • 471. Rearrangements in Greece. — Pydna had been followed also by important rearrangements in Greece, and the factions there, which had sympathized with Perseus in his hopeless strug- gle, had been cruelly punished. In the succeeding years the Roman Senate was called upon to listen to ceaseless weari- 1 Plutarch {Life of Aemilius Faulus) describes the gorgeous " triumph " of the Roman general on his return. For three days a festal procession pa- raded the city, to the temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline. Throngs of white- robed citizens watched the procession from scaffolds, which had been erected for the purpose in all convenient places. On the first day, two hundred and fifty wagons carried by the statues and paintings which had been plundered from Macedonian cities. On the next day passed many wagons, carrying Macedonian standards and armor, followed by three thousand men loaded with the silver money and silver plate which had been secured in the booty. On the third day came a procession of men carrying gold spoil, followed by the conqueror in a splendid chariot, behind which walked the conquered king with his three young children. Rome so filled her coffers with treasure by this plunder that the Republic never thereafter taxed her citizens. And besides this public plunder, the Roman general had paid his soldiers by permitting them to sack seventy helpless rich cities in Epirus. The unspeakable suffering and misery, — the ruined lives and broken families, — in every such city is simply beyond the power of the imagination to picture. § 471] WINNING THE EAST, 201-146 B.C. 393 some complaints from one Greek city or party against another. The Roman policy was sometimes vacillating, sometimes con- temptuous. Finally the Achaeans were goaded into open rebel- lion. The Achaean League fell easily before Eoman arms, in 146 B.C. Corinth had been the chief offender. By order of ^^^^^H|K^^^,- -^ "•'■ /9^ ^1 Ruins at Corinth, as they appeared in 1905. The Roman destruction was so complete that the site of Corinth has yielded less to the modem ex- cavator than almost any other famous ancient center. The building in the foreground was a temple of Apollo — the only Doric temple known whose columns are monolith's. In the background is the ancient citadel, Acrocorinth. the Senate that city was burned and its site cursed, and its people murdered or sold as slaves. Greece was not yet made a province, but it was treated as Macedon had been just after Pydna, and was virtually ruled by the Roman governor of Macedon. Thus the one year 146 B.C. saw the last territory of Carthage made a Roman province and the first province formed in the old empire of Alexander, together with the destruction of the ancient cities of Carthage and Corinth. A century later Greece became the Province of Achaea. 394 ROMAN EXPANSION BEYOND ITALY [§472 The destruction of Corinth was a greater crime than that of Carthage, Syracuse, Capua, or the other capitals that Roman envy laid low. Corinth was a great emporium of Greece, and its ruin was due mainly to the jealousy of the commercial class in Rome. Its art treasures, so far as preserved, be- came the plunder of the Roman state ; but much was lost. Polybius saw common soldiers playing at dice, amid the still smoking ruins, on the paintings of the greatest masters. 472. The Province of Asia. — A few years after Macedonia became a province, the king of Pergamum willed to Rome his realms, which became the Province of Asia (133 b.c). After the battle of Magnesia (§ 470), Pergamum had been enlarged so that it included most of western Asia Minor. This region was now known as " Asia." It is in this sense that the word " Asia " is used in the Acts of the Apostles ; as, for instance, when Paul says, that, after going through Phrygia, he was forbidden " to pass into Asia," and again later, that " all they who dwelt in Asia " heard the word. 473. Rhodes and Roman Greed. — Further progress in the East in this period consisted in jealously reducing friendly allies, like Rhodes, to the condition of subjects, and in openly setting up protectorates over Egypt and Syria. It is in this series of events that Rome's lust for power and greed for money begin to show most hatefully. She had no more generosity for a faithful ally than she had magnanimity toward a fallen foe ; and her treatment of Rhodes gains little by contrast with her perfidious dealings with Carthage. Rhodes, of course, never had been or could be a danger to Rome's power. Indeed she had been a most faithful and trusting friend. But the Roman merchants looked avariciously upon her wide-spread commerce ; and a sham excuse was seized upon greedily to rob that help- less friend of her territory and trade. SUMMARY 474. Rome the Sole Great Power. — In 264 b.c. Rome had been one of Jive Great Powers (§ 357). By the peace of 201 after Zama, Carthage disappeared from that list. In the next fifty years Cynoscephalae, Magnesia, Pydna, and arrogant 475] WINNING THE EAST. 201-146 B.C. 395 Roman diplomacy removed three of the others. In 146, Rome was the sole Great Power. She had annexed as provinces all the dominions of Carthage and of Macedonia. Egypt and Syria had become protectorates and were soon to be made prov- inces. All the smaller states had been brought within the Roman " sphere of influence." Rome held the heritage of Alex- ander as well as that of Carthage. There remained no state able to dream of equality with her. Hie civilized world had become a Graeco-Roman World, under Roman sway. 475. The Latin West and the Greek East. — At the same time, while Rome was really mistress in both East and West, her relations with the two sections were widely different. In the West, Rome ap- peared on the stage as the successor of Carthage ; and to the majority of her Western subjects, despite terrible cruelties in war, she brought better order and higher civilization than they had known. Thus the Western world became Latin. In the East, Rome appeared first as the liberator of the Greeks. The provincial system and the good Roman order were introduced slowly; and to the last, the East remained Greek, not Latin, in language, customs, and thought. The Adriatic continued to divide the Latin and Greek civilizations when the two shared the world under the sway of Rome. For Further Reading. — Specially recommended : An admirable brief treatment of the expansion in the East is given in Pelham, 140-157. The student will do well to read either this or the longer treatment, with 396 ROMAN EXPANSION BEYOND ITALY [§475 more story, in How and Leigh, chs. 25-27. Additional : riutarch's Lives (" Aemilius Paulus," " Flamininus ") as usual, and Mahaffy's Alexander's Empire, chs. 27-^L There is a noble suiiimary of the whole period of Roman expansion in Freeman's Chief Periods, 45-69, but the book is not very likely to be found in a high school library. Review Exercises. — 1. Catchword review of Rome's progress in the East. 2. Connected review of the general topic of Rome's growth by large periods ; thus, — (1) Growth under the Kings. (2) Growth during the strife between patricians and plebeians, 610-367. (3) Growth of united Rome (under the guidance of the Senate), 367-146. 3. Catchword review of the same topic — Roman expansion — from legendary times to 146 b.c. 4. Catchword review of each of the three great eastern kingdoms, — Macedonia, Syria, and Egypt, — from the Wars of the Succession (§ 287) to the condition of a Boman province. 5. The following Table of Dates will help the student to see the parallelism in time between Greek and Roman history, down to the merging of East and West. GREECE B.C. 510 . . Expylsion of the Pisis- tratidae 509 . . Constitution of Clis- thenes 500-^94 . The Ionic revolt 492-479. Attack by Persia and Carthage 490 . . Marathon 480 . . Thermopylae, Salamis, Himera '477 . . Confederacy of Delos 468 . . Eurymedon 461-429 . Leadership of Pericles 458 . . Long Walls at Athens B.C. 510 . 494 . ROME Legendary Expulsion of the Tarquins First secession of the plebs : Tribunes . 486 . . Agrarian proposal of Ji Spurius Cassius 462 . . Proposal for written laws §475] ROMAN AND GREEK EVENTS 397 B.C. 454 . 445 GREECE Athenian disaster in Egypt Thirty Years' Trace 444 . 443 . 438 . The Parthenon com- pleted 431-404 Peloponnesian War 415-413 The Sicilian expedition • 411 . The "Four Hundred" at Atliens. 409 . 405 . Aegospotami 404-371 Supremacy of Sparta 401 . March of the Ten Thou- sand Greeks 400 . 399 . Execution of Socrates 396 . Agesilaus invades Asia . 394 . Cnidus 393 . Athens' Long Walls re- built 390 . 387 . •^eace of Antalcidas 383-379 Sparta crushes the Chal- cidic Confederacy 371 . Leuctra 367 . 371-302 Theban leadership 362 . Battle of Mantinea 35(5 . 359-336 Philip king of Macedon 351 . First Philippic of Demos- thenes 351 . 348 . Death of Plato 343-341 338 . Chaeronea 340-338 337 . 336-323 . Rule of Alexander the Great 334 . . The Granicus 333 . . Issus B.C. 451-449 445 ROME The Decemvirs; the Twelve Tables ; second secession of the plebs Intermarriage between the orders legalized Consular tribunes J 2^ Censors . Plebeians attain the quaestorship Plebeians attain the con- sular tribuneship Gauls sack Rome The Licinian Laws J 3 / Plebeians attain the dic- tatorship Plebeians attain the cen- sorship First Samnite War ^ '* The Latin War The plebeians attain the praetorship 398 ROMAN AND GREEK EVENTS f§ 47r) GREECE B.C. 332 . . Siege of Tyre ; Alexan- dria founded 331 . . Arbela 325 . . Expedition of Nearchus 323-276 . Wars of the Succession 285-247 . Ptolemy Philadelphus 280 . . The Achaean League 278 , . The Gallic invasion 246 . . Aratus, general of the Achaean League 241 . . Agis at Sparta 235 . , Struggle between Achaean League and Sparta; Cleomenes' reforms 220 . . Marked decline in the Graeco-Oriental king- doms ROME B.C. 332 . . The Tribes increased to twenty-nine 326-304 . Second Samnite War 321 . . Caudine Forks 312 . . Appius Claudius, censor 300 . . Plebeians become augurs and pontiffs 298-290 . -Third Samnite War 280-275 . War with Pyrrhus 266 . . Conquest of the Gauls to the Rubicon 264-241 . First Punic War : Sicily becomes Roman 241-238 . The Mercenary War 225-222 . Cisalpine Gaul becomes Roman 218-201 . Second Punic War ; Spain a Roman province 216 . . Cannae 215-205 201-196 197 . 192-188 189 . 171-167 168 . 149-146 146 . 133 First Macedonian War 207 . . Battle of the Metaurus 202 . . Zama Second Macedonian War Cynoscephalae ; Macedonia a dependent ally War with Syria Magnesia ; Syria a dependent ally Third Macedonian War Pydna Third Punic War Destruction of Carthage and Corinth; Macedonia and Africa become Roman provinces ; Greece dependent The Province of Asia CHAPTER XXXII NEW STRIFE OF CLASSES, 146-49 B.C. PRELIMINARY SURVEY 476. The history qf the Roman Republic falls into three great divisions : — a. TJie internal coyijiict bettveen plebeians and patricians (a century and a half, 510-367). This period closed with the fusion of the old classes into a united people. b. The expansion of this united Borne (a little more than two centuries) : over Italy, 367-266 ; over the Mediterranean coasts, 264-146. c. A new internal strife (less than a century, 146-49). T7ie first two periods we have already siirveyed. TJie third is the subject of the present chapter and the two following ones. 477. New Period of Class Conflicts. — The senatorial oligarchy (§ 400) carried Rome triumphantly through her great wars, but it failed to devise. a plan of government fit for the con- quests outside Italy. It knew how to conquer, but not how to rule. Gross misgovernment followed abroad. This corrupted the citizens and lowered the moral tone at home, until the Republic was no longer fit to rule even Italy or herself. Tliere resulted a threefold conflict: in Homey betiveen rich and poor ; ^ in Italy, between Rome and the ^'Allies" ; in the empire at large, betiveen Italy and the 2)rovinces. 2n ** * 3 478. New External Danger. — Moreover, Rome had left no other state able to keep the seas free from pirates or to guard the frontiers of the civilized world against barbarians. It was therefore her plain duty to police the Mediterranean lands 1 This class struggle, unlike that between patricians and plebeians, bears closely upon that of our day. 399 / 400 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC [§479 herself. But erelong this simple duty was neglected ; the seas swarmed again with pirate fleets, and new barbarian thunderclouds, unwatched, gathered on all the frontiers. 479. The Plan of Treatment. — Each of these evils will be sur- veyed in detail (§§ 480-505). Then we shall notice how the senatorial "^ oligarchy grew more and more irresponsible and incompetent. It was not able itself to grapple with the new problems which expansion had brought, and it jealously crushed out each individual statesman who tried to heal the diseases of the state in constitutional ways (§§ 507- 530). Thus, when the situation became unbearable, power fell to a series of military chiefs — Marius, Sulla, Pompey, Caesar. The despotic usurpations of these leaders led to a new system of government which we call the Empire. THE EVILS IN ROME 480. Industrial and Moral Decline due to the Great Wars. — Rome had begun to decline in morals and in industries before the end of the Second Punic War. Even a glorious war tends to demoralize society. It corrupts morals and creates extremes of wealth and poverty. Extreme poverty lowers the moral tone further. So does quick-won and unlawful wealth. Then the moral decay of the citizens at both extremes shows in the state as political disease. The Second Punic War teaches this lesson to the full. In that war Italy* lost a million lives — the flower of the citizen body, including thousands of her most high-spirited and great- souled youth, who, in peace, would have served the state nobly through a long life. The race was made perma- nently poorer by that terrible hemorrhage. The adult Roman citizens fell off from 298,000 to 214,000. Over much of the peninsula th^^homesteads had been hopelessly devastated; ^ , while years of camp life, with plunder for pay, had corrupted the simple tastes of the old yeomen. In the ruin of the small farmer, Hannibal had dealt his enemy a deadlier blow than he ever knew. ^' Trade, too, had stagnated ; and so illegitimate profits were eagerly sought. The merchants who had risked their wealth § 482] A CAPITALISTIC SYSTEM 401 so enthusiastically to supply their country in her dire nojjd after Cannae (§ 444) began to indemnify themselves, as soon as that peril was over, by fraudulent war contracts. We are told even that sometimes they over-insured ships, supposed to be loaded with supplies for the army in Spain or Africa, and then scuttled ttem, to get the insurance money/from the state. Thus the farmers had beeri impoverished. In the cities there gathered a starving rabble. And between these masses and the old senatorial oligarchy there sprang up a neiv aristocracy tof wealth. Its members \ were known as equites (knights).^ Its riches were based on rapacious plunder of conquered countries, on fraudulent contracts with the government at home, on reckless speculation, and on unjust appropriation of the public lands (for the restriction of the Licinian law (§ 370) had be- come a dead letter, and the wealthy classes again used the state lands as private property). 481. This new "capitalistic" system demands further notice. Rome became the money center of the world. Its capitalists, organized in partnerships and in stock companies, had their central offices in Rome, along the Via Sacra (the first "Wall Street "), and branch offices in the most important provincial centers, like Alexandria, Ephesus, and Antioch. Through numerous agents, scattered over the Roman world, they man- aged the " public works " • (the construction of aqueducts, theaters, sewers, etc.) for distant provincial cities — at huge profits — or they loaned the cities the money for such neces- sary improvements — at from 12 to 50 per cent interest. A specially profitable business of such companies was " farming f the taxes" of rich provinces (§ 500). 482. Trade Monopolies. — Some of these companies were or- ganized to engross the trade or the production of certain com- modities, so as unduly to raise the price. About 200 b.c. we read of an " oil trust " in Rome (olive oil, of course, which was an important -element in Italian and Greek living). Plainly i This order must not be confused withi the early militijiry knights (§ ."US) . 402 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC (§483 these illegal " combinations in restraint of trade '' '(such as the United States has been trying to control since 1890) were common in Rome after the Second Punic War. In 191 b.c, a Roman drama refers incidentally to a " corner in grain " which was then distressing the people. Two years later, this trade monopoly had become so serious tUat the govern- ^^7 nient had to step in, for the public safety. The aediles prose- cuted the " malefactors of great wealth" under an ancient law of "the Twelve Tables, and heavy fines were imposed upon them. Plainly the government could not let speculators so directly rob the Roman populace of bread, without danger of revolution ; but ordinarily the capitalistic syndicates went their extortionate ways unhind^ered. 483. The Money Power and the Government. — The senatorial families were forbidden by law (in 218) to engage in foreign trade or to take government contracts. Therefore the " money kings " who desired a certain policy by the government could not themselves enter the Senate to secure it (as they some- times have done in America). But none the less, indirectly, the moneyed interests did control the government. This condition began in the Punic Wars; and, as in part has been shown, it began with the patriotic action of the men of wealth. Year by year, during that long and desperate struggle, the Senate needed immense sums of money, such as the Roman treasury had never before known. There was no time to build up a new state system of finance. The Senate asked aid from the companies of capitalists. These com- panies equipped Roman fleets and armies, and furnished the " sinews of war " by which Hannibal was held in check. But, in return, the state came to depend upon the moneyed powers even after the danger was past. Then grew up a very real, though wholly informal, alliance between the " interests " and the government. The capitalists kept in close touch with the governing class in various ways. They loaned money to aspiring young nobles, to help them attain their political ends ; and in return they §484] MONEY POWER AND THE GOVERNMENT 403 expected and received favors when these nobles became influ- ential leaders at Rome or the governors of provinces abroad. A provincial governor could easily induce a rich city to give fat contracts to his favorite Roman syndicate ; or he could enable the syndicate to squeeze from a debtor city the last penny of extortionate interest which its government had care- lessly or foolishly or wrongfully promised. The syndicates were of no political party. Like " big busi- ness " in our own time, they sought to control or own every leader and party which might be sometime able to serve them. Moreover, small shares of the stock companies were widely distributed, so that the whole middle class of citizens was interested in every prospect of enlarged dividends. Such citizens could be counted upon to support any project of the moneyed interests with their votes in the Assembly, and with their shoutings in the street mobs. Indeed there were many striking resemblances between the relation of Roman "big business " to the Roman state and the relation between the great corporations and the government in our own day and country.* 484. The Rise of Luxury. — With the equites and the nobles, the old Roman simplicity gave way to sumptuous luxury. There was a growing display in dress and at the table, in rich draperies and couches and other house furnishings, in the houses them- selves, in the celebration of marriages, and at funerals. As the Roman Juvenal wrote later: "Luxury has fallen upon us — more terrible than the sword ; the conquered East has avenged her- self by the gift of her vices." The economic phenomena, good and bad, that had occurred in the Greek world (§§ 283-286) after the conquests of Alexander, were now repeated on a larger scale in Italy — with a difference : the coarser Roinan re- sorted too often to tawdry display and to gluttony or other brutal excesses from which the temperate Greek turned with disgust. » In this treatment of Roman capitalism after 200 B.C., the author has drawn freely from two recent books of great value, — Dr. William Steams Davis' Influence of Wealth in Imperial Rome, and Dr. Frank Frost Abbott's Common People of Ancient Rome. 404 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC [§4^5 From this time, the Romans indulged in extremes of luxury which had not been dreamed of by the Athenians of Pericles' day. They had far more elegant houses, bigger troops of slaves, and much more ostentation of all sorts. Exaggerated copies of the Greek public baths (§ 238) ap- peared in Rome. These became great public clubhouses, where the more voluptuous and idle citizens spent many hours Ruins of the House of M. Olconius at Pompeii. ^ a day. Besides the various rooms for baths, — hot, tepid, or cold, — there were in a bathing house swimming pools, libraries, and, often, museums. There were also many colonnades with benches and couches; and the extensive gardens contained delightful shady walks, along whose borders stood, now and then, noble statues, the booty of some Hellenic city. " 485. Excursus : Homes. — Rome's narrow streets seemed narrower than ever, now that buildings rose several stories 1 Cf . § 583 for the preservation of Pompeian remains. §486] HOME LIFE 405 high, to house the growing city population. They were dirty, too, and, as in Greek cities (§ 233), they ran between blank walls, so far as the lower stories of the houses were concerned. The private houses of wealthy men had come to imitate the Greek type. We have already noticed (§ 411) that the original "house" had become a central hall {atrium) with rooms on the sides and rear. This atrium now became di, front hall, where the master of the house received his guests. It was shut off from the street by a vestibule and porter's room. Its central opening to the sky still admitted light and air, and it now held a marble basin to catch the rain. Often an ornamental foun- tain was now introduced, to play constantly into this basin, surrounded by statues. In the rear was a second court, more fully open to the sky, with flower beds and blooming shrubbery. About this court {peristyle), which was bordered by rows of columns, stood many rooms for the women and for various domestic occupations. Each house had its kitchens and se-veral dining rooms, large and small, where stood tables, each sur- rounded on three sides by luxurious couches, in place of the old-fashioned hard benches. The Romans had now adopted the Greek practice of reclining at meals. Each fashionable house, too, had its bathrooms, one or more, and its library. The pavement of the courts, and many floors, were orna- mented with artistic mosaic. The walls were hung with costly, brilliantly colored tapestries, and ceilings were richly gilded. Sideboards held beautiful vases and gold and silver plate, and in various recesses stood glorious statues. Each such house now had its second story. Besides his town house, each rich Roman had one or more country houses {villas), with all the comforts of the city — baths, libraries, museums, ^ and also with extensive park-like grounds, containing fishponds, vineyards, and orchards. To care for the complex needs of this new luxurious life, every man of wealth kept troops of slaves in his household. 486. Gladiatorial Games. — Alongside this private luxury, there grew the practice of entertaining the populace ivith shows. 406 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC [§487 These were often connected with religious festivals, and were of many kinds. It was the special duty of the aediles to care for public entertainment, but gradually many candidates for popular favor began to give shows of this kind. Among these new shows were the horrible gladiatorial games. These came, not from the Greek East, but from neighbors in Italy. They were an old Etruscan custom (§ 331, close), and were introduced into Rome about the beginning of the Punic Wars. A gladiatorial contest was a combat in which two men fought each other to the death for the amusement of the spec- tators. The practice was connected with ancient human sacri- fices for the dead, and at Rome the first contests of this kind took place only at the funerals of nobles. By degrees, how- ever, they became the most popular of the public amusements and were varied in character. A long series of combats would be given at a single exhibition, and many couples, armed in different ways, would engage at the same time. Sometimes wild beasts, also, fought one another, and sometimes beasts fought with men. At first the gladiators were captives in war, and fought in their native fashion, for the instruction as w-ell as the enter- tainment of the spectators. Later, slaves and condemned criminals were used. Finally this fighting became a profes- sion, for which men prepared by careful training in gladiatorial schools. 487. Greek Culture — Alongside these evil features there was some compensation in a new inflow of Greek culture. Men like Flamininus and the Scipios absorbed much of the best spirit of Greek thought ; and there was a general admira- tion for Greek art and literature. For a long 'time to come, however, this did not make Rome herself productive in art or literature. Greek became the fashionable language; Greek marbles and pictures were carried off from Greek cities 'to adorn Roman palaces. But Rome, in this period, produced few great sculptors or painters, and such books as appeared were mainly the work of Greek adventurers (§ 624). 488] DECLINE OF THE YEOMANRY 407 488. Continued Decline of the Yeomanry — The rift between rich and poor went on widening after the great wars were over. Kome soon had its hungry masses of unemployed laborers in the city and its land question in the country. Those of the yeomanry who had survived the ruin of war (§ 480) were fast squeezed off the land by economic conditions Remains of a Court of a Private Residence at Pompeii. {House of the Vettii.) resulting from Kome's conquests. The nobles, who could not invest their riches in trade, secured vast landed estates in the provinces out of confiscated lands sold by the state or by cheap purchase from the ruined natives. From such large farms in Sicily and in the African " grain provinces " they supplied Italian cities with grain cheaper than the Italian farmer could raise it on his less fertile soil. The large landlord in Italy turned to cattle grazing or sheep raising or to wine and oil culture. The small farmer had no such escape; for these forms of industry called for large tracts and slave labor. For 408 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC [§489 grazing, or often simply for pleasure resorts, the new capital- ists and the nobility wanted even vaster domains. So they bought out the near-by small farmers. 489. Force and Fraud by the Rich. — The decreased profits in grain raising made many small farmers (already ruined) will- ing to sell — though they could look forward to no certain future, and must expect a total change in their life. And when the small farmer would not sell, the rich and grasping landlord sometimes had recourse to force or fraud, to get the coveted patch of land. This was especially true in the more secluded regions, where, despite all discouragements, the yeo- men clung stubbornly to their ancestral fields. In pathetic words the Latin poet Horace (§ 626 ) describes the violence and trickery used by the great man toward such helpless victims.^ The yeoman's cattle were likely to die mysteriously, or his growing crops were trampled into the ground over night ; or constant petty annoyances wore down his spirit, until he would sell at the rich man's price. Redress at law, as in our own times, was usually too costly and too uncertain for a poor man in conflict with a rich one. 490. Summary. — The wars in the East continued to supply cheap slaves for the landlords ; and the dispossessed yeoman could find no employment in the country. Thus we have a series of forces all tending to the same end : — a. the cheap grain from the provinces ; b. the introduction of a new industry better suited to large holdings and to slave labor ; c. the growth of large fortunes eager for landed investment ; d. the growth of a cheap slave supply. In some parts of Italy, of course, especially in the north, many yeomen held their places. But over great districts, only large ranches could be seen, each with a few half-savage slave herdsmen and their flocks, where formerly there had nestled i See Davis' Readings, II, No. 38, for this process of the disappearance of the yeomen, and note the reference there also to violence by the rich. §492] DECLINE OP THE YEOMANRY 409 numerous cottages on small, well-tilled farms, each supporting its independent family of Italian citizens. As a class^ the small farmers, formerly the backbone of Italian society in peace and war alike, drifted from the soil. 491. Emigration. — What became of this dispossessed yeo- manry, from whom formerly had come conquerors, statesmen, and dictators ? Many had foresight and energy enough to make their way at once to Gaul or Spain, while their small capital lasted. In these semi-barbarous western provinces, for a century, a steady stream of sturdy peasant emigrants from Italy spread the old wholesome Roman civilization and confirmed the Roman rule, while at the same time they built up comfortable homes or even large fortunes for themselves. But to Italy their strength was lost. 492. A City Mob. — But a whole class of people could not be expected to leave their native land. For multitudes, lack of money, or sickness in the family, or other misfortune would make this impossible. Love of the homeland and mere custom would hold larger numbers. Thus the great bulk of the ex- farmers merely drifted to the cities of Italy, and especially to the capital. If Italy had been a manufacturing country, they might finally have found a new kind of work in these city homes. But the Roman conquests in the East prevented this. In the Eastern provinces manufacturing of all sorts was much more developed than in Italy ; and now Roman merchants found it cheaper to import Oriental goods than to build up a system of factories at home. Rome had become the center of exchange for the Roman world, but not a producer of wealth. It ceased to develop home resources and fed upon the provinces. Some increase in simple manufactures there was, of course ; but such work was already in the hands mainly of skilled Oriental slaves or freedmen, of which an ever growing supply was brought to Rome. Thus the ex-farmers found no more employment in the city than in the country. However willing or eager to work, there 410 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC [§493 was no place for them in the industrial system. They soon spent the small sums they had received for their lands, and then they and their sons sank into a degraded city rabble which became the ally and finally the master of cunning politicians, who amused it with festivals and gladiatorial shows, and who were finally to support it, at state expense, with free grain. The lines of an English poet, almost two thousand years later, regarding similar phenomena in his own country, apply to this Italy : — " 111 fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, Where wealth accumulates, and men decay ! " i 493. Political Results: Decay of the Constitution — The eco- nomic changes, we have seen, had replaced the rugged citizen farmer with an incapable, effeminate nobility and a mongrel, hungry mob, reinforced by freed slaves. With this moral de- cline came political decay. The constitution in theory remained that of the conquerors of Pyrrhus and of Hannibal, but in reality it had become a plaything, tossed back and forth between factions in the degenerate state. Old ideas of loyalty, obedi- ence, regard for law, self-restraint, grew rare. Young nobles flattered and caressed the populace for votes.^ Bribery grew rampant Statesmen came to disregard all checks of the con- stitution in order to carry a point. 494 Decay of the Assembly. — Indeed, had Rome kept all its old virtue, the old constitution would no longer have served good ends. It was outgrown. By the close of the Punic Wars Rome was a mighty city of perhaps a million people, and the mistress of an empire that reached from the Atlantic to the Euphrates. But she still tried to govern herself and her 1 The student may find this interesting and important change in Italian life easier to understand by comparing it with the like change in England just before the time of Shakspere. There is a brief three-page account in West's Modern History, §§ 234 ff. 2 Few were those who could defy the hissings of the mob as did the younger Africanus : " Silence, ye step-children of Italy. Think ye I fear those whom I myself brought in chains to Rome! " . § 495] DECAY OF THE OLD CONSTITUTION 411 dominions by the simple machinery which had grown up be- fore 367, when she was a little village in Latium. To rule the larger Rome of 266 b.c , mistress of Italy only, had tasked this form of government and had shown some weaknesses. For its present task it was wholly unfitted. Nowhere did this show more clearly than in the Assembly. Rome was too large to decide public questions by mass meet- ing ; and it did not know how to invent our modern democratic machinery of balloting in small X3recincts, with such devices as the referendum and the recall. But there were other reasons, also, apart from mere size, why the Assembly failed. The new city mob controlled the four city tribes. The other seventeen of the older rural " tribes " (§ 365) were originally made up of small yeomanry near Rome. That class had mainly disap- peared ; and Roman nobles or bankers, who had bought up its lands, now made most of the voters in these tribes. To some extent, the like was true of the fourteen other rural tribes which had been added later (§ 386) and which were scattered up and down Italy. In these, it is true, the great majority of voters were still the small farmers — if only they could all be got to- gether at the Assembly in Rome. But this was almost impos- sible. Ordinarily the wealthy class of Italian landowners could control the votes of these tribes also. Thus the old stronghold of democracy in the government had been seized, for most pur- poses, by the aristocracy. 495. Decline of the Senate. — Meantime the senatorial oli- garchy closed up its ranks still further. By custom, the lowest curule office, the aedileship, was so burdened with costly spectacles for the populace that only men of great wealth, or the most reckless gamesters, could start upon a political career. This was even worse than the undemocratic Greek practice (outside Athens) of paying no salaries to officials. Secure in their own fortunes, the nobles let things go at will, grasping for themselves the profits of empire, but shirking its responsibilities. Among the cowardly and dis- solute aristocrats there were noble exceptions ; but Mommsen, 412 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC I§496 who so generously applauded the Senate of 200 b.c. (§ 400), says of its successor eighty years later : — " It sat on the vacated throne with an evil conscience and divided hopes, indignant at the institutions of the state vv^hich it ruled, and yet incapable of even systematically assailing them, vacillating in all its con- duct except where its own material advantage prompted a decision, a picture of faithlessness toward its own as well as the opposite party, of inward inconsistency, of the most pitiful impotence, of the meanest selfishness, — an unsurpassed ideal of misrule." EVILS IN ITALY 496. The distinction between citizens and subjects (§§ 388 fp.) was drawn more sharply. Admission to Roman citizenship frojn An Excavated Street in Pompeii. without almost ceased. New Latin colonies were no longer founded, because the wealthy classes wanted to engross all vacant land in Italy. Laws restricted the old freedom of §498] EVILS IN THE PROVINCES 413 Latin migration to Rome, and confounded the Latins with the other " Allies." 497. Roman Insolence toward "Subject Italians." — This sharp- ening of the line between " Romans " and " subjects " tended to create envy on one side and haughtiness on the other. Rome began openly to treat the " Allies " as subjects. They were given a smaller share of the plunder in war than formerly, and they were ordered to double their proportion of soldiers for the army. Roman citizens, on the other hand, had their old burdens lightened. Taxation upon them ceased wholly after the Second Punic War, when the Carthaginian " war indemnity " glutted the treasury. Worse than such distinctions was the occasional insolence or brutality of a Roman official. In one town the city consul was stripped and scourged because the peevish wife of a Roman magistrate felt aggrieved that the public baths were not vacated quickly enough for her use. In another, a young Roman idler, looking on languidly from his litter, caused a free herdsman to be whipped to death for a light jest at his expense.^ Such tyranny was the harder to bear because, more than Rome, the Italian towns had kept their old customs and old virtues. It was a poor return, in any case, for the Italian loyalty that had saved Rome from Hannibal. EVILS IN THE PROVINCES 2 J r498 The Provincial System and its Deterioration. — By 133, there were eight provinces, — Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, Hither Spain, Farther Spain, Africa, Illyria (which had been conquered after the third Macedonian War), Macedonia, and Asia. Cisalpine Gaul, Southern Gaul, and Greece were 1 These incidents were stated by Caius Gracchus (§ 514) in the year 123, in his fiery pleas for i-eform. 2Pelham, 174r-186, 327-329; Arnold, Roman Provincial Administration, 40-88. On the governor's tyranny, Cicero's Oration against Verres, or the chapter on " A Roman Magistrate " in Church's Roman Life in the Days of Cicero. 414 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC [§499 Roman possessions and were soon to be provinces. The growth of provincial government had been a matter of patch- work and makeshifts. There had been no comprehensive view of Roman interests and no earnest desire to govern for the good of the provincials. Both these things had to wait for the Caesars. At first, to be sure, the Roman administration was more honest, capable, and just than the Carthaginian or the Greek. But irresponsible power bred recklessness and corruption. Deterioration soon set in; and, before the year 100, it was doubtful whether the West had gained by the fall of Carthage. It took the Empire with its better aims and methods to dispel the doubt. 499. Marks of a Province. — At the worst, existing institu- tions were everywhere respected, with true Roman tolerance. As in Italy, however, the different cities were jealously iso- lated from one another. As in Italy, too, there were various grades of cities. To most of them was left their self-control for purely local concerns, and some were, in name, independent " allies," with special exemption from taxes. But in general, the distinctive marks of a province, as opposed to Italian communities, were (1) payment of tribute in money or grain,^ {2) disarmament, and (3) the absolute rule of a Roman, governor, 500. Tax Farming. — Rome adopted for her provinces the method of taxation which she found in force in many of them. She did not herself at this time build up a system of tax col- lectors. She " farmed out " the right to collect taxes from each province. That is, she sold the right, usually at public sale, to the highest bidder. Of course, the Senate first fixed the proportion of produce or amount of money which each part of the province was to pay. Then the contractor, or " farmer," paid down a lump sum, and had for himself all that he could squeeze from the province, above that sum and the expenses, of his agent. 1 The " Allies " in Italy furnished men, but did not pay tribute. The posi- tion of the provincial cities was less honorable in Roman eyes, and it was more liable to abuse (§500). §501] EVILS IN THE PROVINCES 415 The evil was that this arrangement constantly tempted the contractor to extort too much from the helpless provincials, — which was especially easy when the tax was collected "in kind." If an agent seized twice the allowed " tenth," it would be practically impossible afterward to prove the fact; even if there had been a fair judge to hear the case. But the only judge was the Roman governor of the province, who often was hand- in-glove with the contracting Roman capitalist, from whom, perhaps, he received a share of the plunder. The whole corrupt and tyrannical system was essentially the same as that by which Turkey has ground down her Christian provinces in southwestern Europe for five hundred years. 501. The Governor. — The actual working of the whole pro- vincial system rested with the governor, and everything tended to make him a tyrant. He was appointed by the Senate from those who had just held consulships or praetorships, and he had the title of pro-consul or pro-praetor. His power over his district, even in peace, was as great as the consul exercised at the head of an army. He had no colleague. There was no appeal from his decrees. There was no tribune to veto his act. He had soldiery to enforce his commands. His whole official staff went out from Rome with him, and were strictly subordi- nate to him. The persons of the provincials were at his mercy. In Cis- alpine Gaul a governor caused a noble Gaul, a fugitive in his camp, to be beheaded, merely to gratify with the sight a worth- less favorite who lamented that he had missed the gladiatorial games at Rome.^ There was even less check upon the gov- ernor's financial oppression. All offices were unpaid ; the way to them was through vast expense; and the plundering of a province came to be looked upon as the natural means of re- paying one's self for previous outlay and for a temporary exile from Rome. Provincial towns were ordered by Roman law to supply the governor's table (including all his staff, of course). 1 See Davis' Readings, II, No. 37. 41G THE lATER ROMAN REPUBLIC [§502 Under color of this, the governor often seized priceless art treasures (costly vases and statuary), as table ornaments, bring- ing them back with him to Rome. In short, the senatorial nobility passed around the provinces among themselves as so much spoil. 502. The Trial of Corrupt Governors. — A governor might be brought to trial, it is true; but only after his term had expired; and only at Rome. Poor provincials, of course, had to endure any abuse without even seeking redress ; and in any case it was rarely possible to secure conviction even of the grossest offend- ers. The only court for such trials was made up of senators. Thus many of the judges were themselves interested in similar plunderings, either in person, or through a son or brother or cousin ; and with the best of them, class spirit stood, in the way of convicting a noble. When other means failed to secure acquittal, the culprit could fall back on bribery. When a certain Verres was given the province of Sicily for three years, Cicero tells us, he cynically declared it quite enough : " In the first year he could secure plunder for himself; in the second for his friends; in the third for his judges." 503. The Provinces the "Estates of the Roman People." — It was not the senatorial class alone, however, who enriched them- selves from the provinces. All Rome, and indeed all Italy, drew profit from them. The state now secured its immense revenues from taxation of the provincials, and from its domains and mines in the prov- inces. The equites, organized in companies (" publicans ") or as private speculators, swarmed in by thousands, to conduct all public works with corrupt contracts, to " farm " the taxes, to loan money at infamous interest, and to rob the unhappy pro- vincials mercilessly in many other ways. The populace looked to the provinces for cheap grain and for wild-beast shows and other spectacles. "Italy was to rule and feast: the provinces were to obey and pay." And withal it was nobody's business in particular §504] SLAVE RISINGS 417 to see that these " farms of the Koman people " were not rapidly and wasteful ly exhausted. SLAVERY We have now surveyed the three great evils mentioned in § 477. The fourth peril (the danger of barbarian inroads) can be best dealt with in the narrative to follow (§§ 523, 547, etc.)- But Rome's most dangerous barbarians were in her midst; and a few words must be given now to the evils of Roman slavery. 504. Extent and Brutal Nature.^ — In the last period of the Republic, slavery was unparalleled in its immensity and deg- radation. Mommsen is probably right in saying that in com- parison with its abyss of suffering all Negro slavery is but as a drop. Captives in war were commonly sold by the state or given away to wealthy nobles. To keep up the supply of slaves, man hunts were regularly organized on the frontiers, and some of the provinces themselves were desolated by kid- nappers. At the market in Delos ten thousand slaves were sold in a single day. The student must not think of slaves in ancient times as usually of a different color and race from the masters. The fact that they were commonly of like blood, and often of higher culture, gave to ancient slavery a peculiar character, when compared with more modern slavery. The slaves came in part from the cultured East, but they came also from the wildest and most ferocious barbarians, — Gauls, Goths, Moors. The more favored ones became schoolmasters, secretaries, stewards. The most unfortunate were savage herdsmen and the hordes of branded and shackled laborers, who were clothed in rags and who slept in underground dungeons. The maxim of even the model Roman, Cato (§ 506), was to work slaves like so many cattle, selling off the old and infirm. " The slave," said he, " should be always either working or 1 Beesly, The Gracchi, 10-14 ; Davis' Readings, II, Nos. 32-34. 418 THE LATER ROMAN REPUBLIC [§505 sleeping." With the worst class of masters the brutal Roman nature vented itself in inhuman cruelties. The result, was expressed in the saying — " So many slaves, so many enemies." The truth of this maxim was to find too much proof. 505. Slave Wars. — In the year 135 came the first of a long series of slave revolts. Seventy thousand insurgent slaves were masters of Sicily for four years. They defeated army after army that Rome sent against them, and desolated the island with indescribable horrors before the revolt was stamped out. Thirty years later, when Rome was trembling before a Teutonic invasion (§ 523), occurred a Second Sicilian Slave War — more formidable even than the first, lasting five years. Other slave risings took place at the same time. Another thirty years, and there came a terrible slave re- volt in Italy itself, headed by the gallant Spartacus. Sparta- cus was a Thracian captive who had been forced to become a gladiator. Escaping from the gladiatorial school at Capua, with a few companions, he fled to the mountains. There he was joined by other fugitive slaves and outlaws until he was at the head of an army of seventy thousand men. He kept the field three years, and for a time threatened Rome itself. CHAPTER XXXIir THE GRACCHI {Attempts at Peaceful Beform) y TIBERIUS GRACCHUS, 133 B.C. 506. Attempts at Reform before the Gracchi. — The evils that have been described had not come upon Rome without being noted by thoughtful men. The chief needs of the state may be summed up under two heads. First, the government needed to be taken from the incapable senatorial class and given to some organization that would more truly represent all classes of citizens. Second, the poor in the cities needed to be re- stored to the land as farmers. No attempt had been made Jjo accomplish either of these things, but there had been one notable effort at another kind of reform. This was the work of Marcus Porcius Cato. Cato was a Roman of the old school, — austere, upright, energetic, patriotic, but coarse and narrow. From a simple Sabine farmer, he had risen to the highest honors of the state. He had been just old enough to join the army at the beginning of the Second Punic War, in which he fought valiantly for sixteen years from Trasi- mene to Zama ; and, half a century later, as we saw (§ 459), he had a chief part in bringing on the Third Punic War. Thus his long public life covered the period of chief Roman decline. Cato longed ardently to restore " the good old days " of Roman simplicity. As censor (195 b.c.) he tried in a way to bring back those days. He repressed luxury sternly, and struck from the Senate some of the proudest names because of private vices. But he had no far-reaching views. He tried, not to direct the stream of change into wholesome channels, but to dam it. He spent his force foolishly in fighting the 419 420 ROMAN REPUBLIC: FALL [§507 new Hellenic culture and the rising standard of comfort. He did not touch the real evils, or suggest any remedy for their causes. Indeed, instead of himself remaining a yeoman farmer, like the Manius (§ 409) whom he took for his model, he be- came the owner of great plantations worked by slave labor.^ For a time there seemed one other chance. After 146 b.c. Scipio Africanus the Younger was the foremost man in Rome. He was liberal, virtuous, cultivated. Many looked hopefully to him for reform. But though more of a statesman than Cato, he lacked Cato's courage. He shrank from a struggle with his order ; and when he laid down his censorship, he be- trayed his despair by praying the gods, not in the usual words, to enlarge the glory of Rome, but to preserve the state. Some slight reforms there were. For instance, the ballot was introduced into the Assembly, so that the rich might have less chance for bribery. But such measures did not reach the root of the disease of the state. The older statesmen were too narrow or too timid ; and the great attempt fell to two youths, the Gracchi brothers, throbbing with noble en- thusiasm and with the fire of genius. 507. Tiberius Gracchus ^ was still under thirty at his death. He was one of the brilliant circle of young Romans about Scipio. His father had been a magnificent aristocrat. His mother, Cornelia, a daughter of the older Africanus, is as famous for her fine culture and noble nature as for being the " Mother of the Gracchi." Tiberius himself was early distin- guished in war and marked by his uprightness and energy. This ivas the first man to strike at the root of the economic^ moral, and political decay of Italy, by trying to rebuild the yeoman class. 508. The Agrarian ^ Proposals of Tiberius. — Tiberius obtained the tribuneship for the year 133, and at once brought forward 1 The student should read Plutarch's " Cato " in the Lives. See, too, Davis' Readings, II, Nos. 33, 3