A Smaller History of Greece

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The hour of their fate was now ripe. The conspirators, disguised
with veils, and in the ample folds of female attire, were ushered
into the room. For men in the state of the revelers the
deception was complete; but when they attempted to lift the veils
from the women, their passion was rewarded by the mortal thrust
of a dagger. After thus slaying the two polemarchs, the
conspirators went to the house of Leontiades whom they also
despatched.

The news of the revolution soon spread abroad. Proclamations
were issued announcing that Thebes was free, and calling upon all
citizens who valued their liberty to muster in the market-place.
As soon as day dawned, and the citizens became aware that they
were summoned to vindicate their liberty, their joy and
enthusiasm were unbounded. For the first time since the seizure
of their citadel they met in public assembly; the conspirators,
being introduced, were crowned by the priests with wreaths, and
thanked in the name of their country's gods; whilst the assembly,
with grateful acclamation, unanimously nominated Pelopidas,
Charon, and Mellon as the first restored Boeotarchs.

Meanwhile the remainder of the Theban exiles, accompanied by a
body of Athenian volunteers, assembled on the frontiers of
Boeotia; and, at the first news of the success of the conspiracy,
hastened to Thebes to complete the revolution. The Thebans,
under their new Boeotarchs, were already mounting to the assault
of the Cadmea, when the Lacedaemonians capitulated, and were
allowed to march out with the honours of war. The Athenians
formed an alliance with the Thebans, and declared war against
Sparta.

From this time must be dated the era of a new political
combination in Greece. Athens strained every nerve to organize a
fresh confederacy. Thebes did not scruple to enrol herself as
one of its earliest members. The basis on which the confederacy
was formed closely resembled that of Delos. The cities composing
it were to be independent, and to send deputies to a congress at
Athens, for the purpose of raising a common fund for the support
of a naval force. Care was taken to banish all recollections
connected with the former unpopularity of the Athenian empire.
The name of the tribute was no longer PHOROS, but SYNTAXIS, or
"contribution." The confederacy, which ultimately numbered 70
cities, was chiefly organised through the exertions of Chabrias,
and of Timotheus the son of Conon. Nor were the Thebans less
zealous, amongst whom the Spartan government had left a lively
feeling of antipathy. The military force was put in the best
training, and the famous "Sacred Band" was now for the first time
instituted. This band was a regiment of 300 hoplites. It was
supported at the public expense and kept constantly under arms.
It was composed of young and chosen citizens of the best
families, and organized in such a manner that each man had at his
side a dear and intimate friend. Its special duty was the
defence of the Cadmea.

The Thebans had always been excellent soldiers; but their good
fortune now gave them the greatest general that Greece had
hitherto seen. Epaminondas, who now appears conspicuously in
public life, deserves the reputation not merely of a Theban but
of a Grecian hero. Sprung from a poor but ancient family,
Epaminondas possessed all the best qualities of his nation
without that heaviness, either of body or of mind, which
characterized and deteriorated the Theban people. By the study
of philosophy and by other intellectual pursuits his mind was
enlarged beyond the sphere of vulgar superstition, and
emancipated from that timorous interpretation of nature which
caused even some of the leading men of those days to behold a
portent in the most ordinary phenomenon. A still rarer
accomplishment for a Theban was that of eloquence, which he
possessed in no ordinary degree. These intellectual qualities
were matched with moral virtues worthy to consort with them.
Though eloquent, he was discreet; though poor, he was neither
avaricious nor corrupt; though naturally firm and courageous, he
was averse to cruelty, violence, and bloodshed; though a patriot,
he was a stranger to personal ambition, and scorned the little
arts by which popularity is too often courted. Pelopidas, as we
have already said, was his bosom friend. It was natural
therefore, that, when Pelopidas was named Boeotarch, Epaminondas
should be prominently employed in organizing the means of war;
but it was not till some years later that his military genius
shone forth in its full lustre.

The Spartans were resolved to avenge the repulse they had
received; and in the summer of B.C. 378 Agesilaus marched with a
large army into Boeotia. He was unable, however, to effect any
thing decisive, and subsequent invasions were attended with the
like result. The Athenians created a diversion in their favour
by a maritime war, and thus for two years Boeotia was free from
Spartan invasion, Thebes employed this time in extending her
dominion over the neighbouring cities. One of her most important
successes during this period was the victory gained by Pelopidas
over a Lacedaemonian force near Tegyra, a village dependent upon
Orchomenus (B.C. 375). Pelopidas had with him only the Sacred
Band and a small body of cavalry when he fell in with the
Lacedaemonians, who were nearly twice as numerous. He did not,
however, shrink from the conflict on this account; and when one
of his men, running up to him, exclaimed, "We are fallen into the
midst of the enemy," he replied, "Why so, more than they into the
midst of us?" In the battle which ensued the two Spartan
commanders fell at the first charge, and their men were put to
the rout. So signal a victory inspired the Thebans with new
confidence and vigour, as it showed that Sparta was not
invincible even in a pitched battle, and with the advantage of
numbers on her side. By the year 374 B.C. the Thebans had
succeeded in expelling the Lacedaemonians from Boeotia, and
revived the Boeotian confederacy. They also destroyed the
restored city of Plataea, and obliged its inhabitants once more
to seek refuge at Athens.

The successes of the Thebans revived the jealousy and distrust of
Athens. Prompted by these feelings, the Athenians opened
negotiations for a peace with Sparta; a resolution which was also
adopted by the majority of the allies.

A congress was accordingly opened in Sparta in the spring of 371
B.C. The Athenians were represented by Callias and two other
envoys; the Thebans by Epaminondas, then one of the polemarchs.
The terms of a peace were agreed upon, by which the independence
of the various Grecian cities was to be recognised; and the
Spartan harmosts and garrisons everywhere dismissed. Sparta
ratified the treaty for herself and her allies; but Athens took
the oaths only for herself, and was followed separately by her
allies. As Epaminondas refused to sign except in the name of the
Boeotian confederation, Agesilaus directed the name of the
Thebans to be struck out of the treaty, and proclaimed them
excluded from it.

The peace concluded between Sparta, Athens, and their respective
allies, was called the PEACE OF CALLIAS. The result with regard
to Thebes and Sparta will appear in the following chapter.

CHAPTER XVII.

THE SUPREMACY OF THEBES, B.C. 371-361.

In pursuance of the treaty, the Lacedaemonians withdrew their
harmosts and garrisons, whilst the Athenians recalled their fleet
from the Ionian sea. Only one feeling prevailed at Sparta--a
desire to crush Thebes. This city was regarded as doomed to
destruction; and it was not for a moment imagined that, single-
handed, she would he able to resist the might of Sparta. At the
time when the peace was concluded Cleombrotus happened to be in
Phocis at the head of a Lacedaemonian army; and he now received
orders to invade Boeotia without delay. The Thebans on their
side, were equally determined on resistance. The two armies met
on the memorable plain of Leuctra, near Thespiae. The forces on
each side are not accurately known, but it seems probable that
the Thebans were outnumbered by the Lacedaemonians. The military
genius of Epaminondas, however, compensated any inferiority of
numbers by novelty of tactics. Up to this time Grecian battles
had been uniformly conducted by a general attack in line.
Epaminondas now first adopted the manoeuvre, used with such
success by Napoleon in modern times, of concentrating heavy
masses on a given point of the enemy's array. Having formed his
left wing into a dense column of 50 deep, so that its depth was
greater than its front, he directed it against the Lacedaemonian
right, containing the best troops in their army, drawn up 12
deep, and led by Cleombrotus in person. The shock was terrible.
Cleombrotus himself was mortally wounded in the onset, and with
difficulty carried off by his comrades. Numbers of his officers,
as well as of his men, were slain, and the whole wing was broken
and driven back to their camp. The loss of the Thebans was small
compared with that of the Lacedaemonians. Out of 700 Spartans in
the army of the latter, 400 had fallen; and their king also had
been slain, an event which had not occurred since the fatal day
of Thermopylae.

The victory of Leuctra was gained within three weeks after the
exclusion of the Thebans from the peace of Callias. The effect
of it throughout Greece was electrical. It was everywhere felt
that a new military power had arisen--that the prestige of the
old Spartan discipline and tactics had departed. Yet at Sparta
itself though the reverse was the greatest that her arms had ever
sustained, the news of it was received with an assumption of
indifference characteristic of the people. The Ephors forbade
the chorus of men, who were celebrating in the theatre the
festival of the Gymnopaedia, to be interrupted. They contented
themselves with directing the names of the slain to be
communicated to their relatives, and with issuing an order
forbidding the women to wail and mourn. Those whose friends had
fallen appeared abroad on the morrow with joyful countenances,
whilst the relatives of the survivors seemed overwhelmed with
grief and shame.

Immediately after the battle the Thebans had sent to Jason of
Pherae in Thessaly to solicit his aid against the Lacedaemonians.
This despot was one of the most remarkable men of the period. He
was Tagus, or Generalissimo, of all Thessaly; and Macedonia was
partially dependent on him. He was a man of boundless ambition,
and meditated nothing less than extending his dominion over the
whole of Greece, for which his central situation seemed to offer
many facilities. Upon receiving the invitation of the Thebans,
Jason immediately resolved to join them. When he arrived the
Thebans were anxious that he should unite with them in an attack
upon the Lacedaemonian camp; but Jason dissuaded them from the
enterprise, advising them not to drive the Lacedaemonians to
despair, and offering his mediation. He accordingly succeeded in
effecting a truce, by which the Lacedaemonians were allowed to
depart from Boeotia unmolested.

According to Spartan custom, the survivors of a defeat were
looked upon as degraded men, and subjected to the penalties of
civil infamy. No allowance was made for circumstances. But
those who had fled at Leuctra were three hundred in number; all
attempt to enforce against them the usual penalties might prove
not only inconvenient, but even dangerous; and on the proposal of
Agesilaus, they were, for this occasion only, suspended. The
loss of material power which Sparta sustained by the defeat was
great. The ascendency she had hitherto enjoyed in parts north of
the Corinthian gulf fell from her at once, and was divided
between Jason of Pherae and the Thebans. Jason was shortly
afterwards assassinated. His death was felt as a relief by
Greece, and especially by Thebes. He was succeeded by his two
brothers, Polyphron and Polydorus; but they possessed neither his
ability nor his power.

The Athenians stood aloof from the contending parties. They had
not received the news of the battle of Leuctra with any pleasure,
for they now dreaded Thebes more than Sparta. But instead of
helping the latter, they endeavoured to prevent either from
obtaining the supremacy in Greece, and for this purpose called
upon the other states to form a new alliance upon the terms of
the peace of Antalcidas. Most of the Peloponnesian states joined
this new league. Thus even the Peloponnesian cities became
independent of Sparta. But this was not all. Never did any
state fall with greater rapidity. She not only lost the dominion
over states which she had exercised for centuries; but two new
political powers sprang up in the peninsula, which threatened her
own independence.

In the following year (B.C. 370) Epaminondas marched into
Laconia, and threatened Sparta itself. The city, which was
wholly unfortified, was filled with confusion and alarm. The
women, who had never yet seen the face of an enemy, gave vent to
their fears in wailing and lamentation. Agesilaus, however, was
undismayed, and saved the state by his vigilance and energy. He
repulsed the cavalry of Epaminondas as they advanced towards
Sparta; and so vigorous were his measures of defence, that the
Theban general abandoned all further attempt upon the city, and
proceeded southwards as far as Helos and Gythium on the coast,
the latter the port and arsenal of Sparta after laying waste with
fire and sword the valley of the Eurotas, he retraced his steps
to the frontiers of Arcadia.

Epaminondas now proceeded to carry out the two objects for which
his march had been undertaken; namely, the consolidation of the
Arcadian confederation, and the establishment of the Messenians
as an independent community. In the prosecution of the former of
these designs the mutual jealousy of the various Arcadian cities
rendered it necessary that a new one should be founded, which
should be regarded as the capital of the confederation.
Consequently, a new city was built on the banks of the Helisson,
called Megalopolis, and peopled by the inhabitants of forty
distinct Arcadian townships. Here a synod of deputies from the
towns composing the confederation, called "The Ten Thousand" was
to meet periodically for the despatch of business. Epaminondas
next proceeded to re-establish the Messenian state. The
Messenians had formerly lived under a dynasty of their own kings;
but for the last three centuries their land had been in the
possession of the Lacedaemonians, and they had been fugitives
upon the face of the earth. The restoration of these exiles,
dispersed in various Hellenic colonies, to their former rights,
would plant a bitterly hostile neighbour on the very borders of
Laconia. Epaminondas accordingly opened communications with
them, and numbers of them flocked to his standard during his
march into Peloponnesus. He now founded the town of Messene.
Its citadel was placed on the summit of Mount Ithome, which had
three centuries before been so bravely defended by the Messenians
against the Spartans. The strength of its fortifications was
long afterwards a subject of admiration. The territory attached
to the new city extended southwards to the Messenian gulf, and
northwards to the borders of Arcadia, comprising some of the most
fertile land in Peloponnesus.

So low had Sparta sunk, that she was fain to send envoys to beg
the assistance of the Athenians. This request was acceded to;
and shortly afterwards an alliance was formed between the two
states, in which Sparta waived all her claims to superiority and
headship. During the next two years the Thebans continued
steadily to increase their power and influence in Greece, though
no great battle was fought. In B.C. 368 Pelopidas conducted a
Theban force into Thessaly and Macedonia. In Thessaly he
compelled Alexander, who, by the murder of his two brothers, had
become despot of Pherae and Tagus of Thessaly, to relinquish his
designs against the independence of Larissa and other Thessalian
cities, and to solicit peace. In Macedonia he formed an alliance
with the regent Ptolemy: and amongst the hostages given for the
observance of this treaty was the youthful Philip, son of
Amyntas, afterwards the celebrated king of Macedon, who remained
for some years at Thebes.

In the following year Pelopidas and Ismenias proceeded on an
embassy to Persia. Ever since the peace of Antalcidas the Great
King had become the recognised mediator between the states of
Greece; and his fiat seemed indispensable to stamp the claims of
that city which pretended to the headship. The recent
achievements of Thebes might entitle her to aspire to that
position: and at all events the alterations which she had
produced in the internal state, of Greece, by the establishment
of Megalopolis and Messene, seemed to require for their stability
the sanction of a Persian rescript. This was obtained without
difficulty, as Thebes was now the strongest state in Greece; and
it was evidently easier to exercise Persian ascendency there by
her means, than through a weaker power. The Persian rescript
pronounced the independence of Messene and Amphipolis; the
Athenians were directed to lay up their ships of war in ordinary;
and Thebes was declared the head of Greece.

It was, in all probability, during a mission undertaken by
Pelopidas and Ismonias, for the purpose of procuring the
acknowledgment of the rescript in Thessaly and the northern parts
of Greece, that they were seized and imprisoned by Alexander of
Pherae. The Thebans immediately despatched an army of 8000
hoplites and 600 cavalry to recover or avenge their favourite
citizen. Unfortunately, however, they were no longer commanded
by Epaminondas. Their present commanders were utterly
incompetent. They were beaten and forced to retreat, and the
army was in such danger from the active pursuit of the
Thessalians and Athenians, that its destruction seemed
inevitable. Luckily, however, Epaminondas was serving as a
hoplite in the ranks. By the unanimous voice of the troops he
was now called to the command, and succeeded in conducting the
army safely back to Thebes. Here the unsuccessful Boeotarchs
were disgraced; Epaminondas was restored to the command, and
placed at the head of a second Theban army destined to attempt
the release of Pelopidas. Directed by his superior skill the
enterprise proved successful, and Pelopidas (B.C. 367) returned
in safety to Thebes.

In B.C. 364 Pelopidas again marched into Thessaly against
Alexander of Pherae. Strong complaints of the tyranny of that
despot arrived at Thebes, and Pelopidas, who probably also burned
to avenge his private wrongs, prevailed upon the Thebans to send
him into Thessaly to punish the tyrant. The battle was fought on
the hills of Cynoscephalae; the troops of Alexander were routed:
and Pelopidas, observing his hated enemy endeavouring to rally
them, was seized with such a transport of rage that, regardless
of his duties as a general, he rushed impetuously forwards and
challenged him to single combat. Alexander shrunk back within
the ranks of his guards, followed impetuously by Pelopidas, who
was soon slain, fighting with desperate bravery. Although the
army of Alexander was defeated with severe loss, the news of the
death of Pelopidas deprived the Thebans and their Thessalian
allies of all the joy which they would otherwise have felt at
their victory.

Meantime a war had been carried on between Elis and Arcadia which
had led to disunion among the Arcadians themselves. The
Mantineans supported the Eleans, who were also assisted by the
Spartans; whilst the rest of the Arcadians, and especially the
Tegeans, favoured Thebes. In B.C. 362 Epaminondas marched into
Peloponnesus to support the Theban party in Arcadia, The Spartans
sent a powerful force to the assistance of the Mantineans in
whose territory the hostile armies met. In the battle which
ensued Epaminondas formed his Boeotian troops into a column of
extraordinary depth, with which he bore down all before them.
The Mantineans and Lacedaemonians turned and fled, and the rest
followed their example. The day was won; but Epaminondas, who
fought in the foremost ranks, fell pierced with a mortal wound.
His fall occasioned such consternation among his troops, that,
although the enemy were in full flight, they did not know how to
use their advantage, and remained rooted to the spot.
Epaminondas was carried off the field with the spear-head still
fixed in his breast. Having satisfied himself that his shield
was safe, and that the victory was gained, he inquired for
Iolaidas and Daiphantus, whom he intended to succeed him in the
command. Being informed that both were slain: "Then" he
observed "you must make peace." After this he ordered the spear-
head to be withdrawn; when the gush of blood which followed soon
terminated his life. Thus died this truly great man; and never
was there one whose title to that epithet has been less disputed.
Antiquity is unanimous in his praise, and some of the first men
of Greece subsequently took him for their model. With him the
commanding influence of Thebes began and ended. His last advice
was adopted, and peace was concluded probably before the Theban
army quitted Peloponnesus. Its basis was a recognition of the
STATUS QUO--to leave everything as it was, to acknowledge the
Arcadian constitution and the independence of Messene. Sparta
alone refused to join it on account of the last article, but she
was not supported by her allies.

Agesilaus had lived to see the empire of Sparta extinguished by
her hated rival. Thus curiously had the prophecy been fulfilled
which warned Sparta of the evils awaiting her under a "lame
sovereignty." But Agesilaus had not yet abandoned all hope; and
he now directed his views towards the east as the quarter from
which Spartan power might still be resuscitated. At the age of
80 the indomitable old man proceeded with a force of 1000
hoplites to assist Tachos, king of Egypt, in his revolt against
Persia. He died at Cyrene on his return to Greece. His body was
embalmed in wax and splendidly buried in Sparta.

CHAPTER XVIII.

HISTORY OF THE SICILIAN GREEKS FROM THE DESTRUCTION OF THE
ATHENIAN ARMAMENT TO THE DEATH OF TIMOLEON.

The affairs of the Sicilian Greeks, an important branch of the
Hellenic race, deserve a passing notice. A few years after the
destruction of the Athenian armament, Dionysius made himself
master of Syracuse, and openly seized upon the supreme power
(B.C. 405). His reign as tyrant or despot was long and
prosperous. After conquering the Carthaginians, who more than
once invaded Sicily, he extended his dominion over a great part
of the island, and over a considerable portion of Magna Graecia.
He raised Syracuse to be one of the chief Grecian states, second
in influence, if indeed second, to Sparta alone. Under his sway
Syracuse was strengthened and embellished with new
fortifications, docks, arsenals, and other public buildings, and
became superior even to Athens in extent and population.

Dionysius was a warm patron of literature, and was anxious to
gain distinction by his literary compositions. In the midst of
his political and military cares he devoted himself assiduously
to poetry, and not only caused his poems to be publicly recited
at the Olympic games, but repeatedly contended for the prize of
tragedy at Athens. In accordance with the same spirit we find
him seeking the society of men distinguished in literature and
philosophy. Plato, who visited Sicily about the year 389 from a
curiosity to see Mount AEtna, was introduced to Dionysius by
Dion. The high moral tone of Plato's conversation did not
however prove so attractive to Dionysius as it had done to Dion;
and the philosopher was not only dismissed with aversion and
dislike, but even, it seems through the machinations of
Dionysius, seized, bound, and sold for a slave in the island of
AEgina. He was, however, repurchased by Anniceris of Cyrene, and
sent back to Athens.

Dionysius died in B.C. 367, and was succeeded by his eldest son,
commonly called the younger Dionysius, who was about 25 years of
age at the time of his father's death. At first he listened to
the counsels of Dion, who had always enjoyed the respect and
confidence of his father. At the advice of Dion he invited Plato
to Syracuse, where the philosopher was received with the greatest
honour. His illustrious pupil immediately began to take lessons
in geometry; superfluous dishes disappeared from the royal table;
and Dionysius even betrayed some symptoms of a wish to mitigate
the former rigours of the despotism. But now the old courtiers
took the alarm. It was whispered to Dionysius that the whole was
a deep-laid scheme on the part of Dion for the purpose of
effecting a revolution and placing his own nephews on the throne.
[The elder Dionysius had married two wives at the same time: one
of these was a Locrian woman named Doris; the other, Aristomache,
was a Syracusan, and the sister of Dion. The younger Dionysius
was his elder son by Doris; but he also had children by
Aristomache.] These accusations had the desired effect on the
mind of Dionysius, who shortly afterwards expelled Dion from
Sicily. Plato with difficulty obtained permission to return to
Greece (B.C. 366). Dionysius now gave way to his vices without
restraint, and became an object of contempt to the Syracusans.
Dion saw that the time had come for avenging his own wrongs as
well as those of his country. Collecting a small force, he
sailed to Sicily, and suddenly appeared before the gates of
Syracuse during the absence of Dionysius on an expedition to the
coasts of Italy. The inhabitants, filled with joy, welcomed Dion
as their deliverer: and Dionysius on his return from Italy found
himself compelled to quit Syracuse (B.C. 356), leaving Dion
undisputed master of the city. The latter was now in a condition
to carry out all those exalted notions of political life which he
had sought to instil into the mind of Dionysius. He seems to
have contemplated some political changes; but his immediate and
practical acts were tyrannical, and were rendered still more
unpopular by his overbearing manners. His unpopularity continued
to increase, till at length one of his bosom friends--the
Athenian Callippus--seized the opportunity to mount to power by
his murder, and caused him to be assassinated in his own house.
This event took place in 353, about three years after the
expulsion of the Dionysian dynasty. Callippus contrived to
retain the sovereign power only a twelvemonth. A period of
anarchy followed, during which Dionysius made himself master of
the city by treachery, about B.C. 346. Dionysius, however, was
not able to re-establish himself firmly in his former power.
Most of the other cities of Sicily had shaken off the yoke of
Syracuse, and were governed by petty despots. Meantime the
Carthaginians prepared to take advantage of the distracted
condition of Sicily. In the extremity of their sufferings,
several of the Syracusan exiles appealed for aid to Corinth,
their mother-city. The application was granted, and Timoleon was
appointed to command an expedition destined for the relief of
Syracuse.

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