A Smaller History of Greece

W >> William Smith >> A Smaller History of Greece

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22

The reign of Darius, the third king of Persia. (B.C. 521-485),
is memorable in Grecian history. In his invasion of Scythia, his
fleet, which was furnished by the Asiatic Greeks, was ordered to
sail up the Danube and throw a bridge of boats across the river.
The King himself, with his land forces, marched through Thrace;
and, crossing the bridge, placed it under the care of the Greeks,
telling them that, if he did not return within sixty days, they
might break it down, and sail home. He then left them, and
penetrated into the Scythian territory. The sixty days had
already passed away, and there was yet no sign of the Persian
army; but shortly afterwards the Greeks were astonished by the
appearance of a body of Scythians, who informed them that Darius
was in full retreat, pursued by the whole Scythian nation, and
that his only hope of safety depended upon that bridge. They
urged the Greeks to seize this opportunity of destroying the
Persian army, and of recovering their own liberty, by breaking
down the bridge. Their exhortations were warmly seconded by the
Athenian Miltiades, the tyrant of the Thracian Chersonesus, and
the future conqueror of Marathon. The other rulers of the Ionian
cities were at first disposed to follow his suggestion; but as
soon as Histiaeus of Miletus reminded them that their sovereignty
depended upon the support of the Persian king, and that his ruin
would involve their own, they changed their minds and resolved to
await the Persians. After enduring great privations and
sufferings Darius and his army at length reached the Danube and
crossed the bridge in safety. Thus the selfishness of these
Grecian despots threw away the most favourable opportunity that
ever presented itself of delivering their native cities from the
Persian yoke. To reward the services of Histiaeus, Darius gave
him the town of Myrainus, near the Strymon. Darius, on his
return to Asia, left Megabazus in Europe with an army of 80,000
men to complete the subjugation of Thrace and of the Greek cities
upon the Hellespont. Megabazus not only subdued the Thracians,
but crossed the Strymon, conquered the Paeonians, and penetrated
as far as the frontiers of Macedonia. He then sent heralds into
the latter country to demand earth and water, the customary
symbols of submission. These were immediately granted by
Amyntas, the reigning monarch (B.C. 510); and thus the Persian
dominions were extended to the borders of Thessaly. Megabazus,
on his return to Sardis, where Darius awaited him, informed the
Persian monarch that Histiaeus was collecting the elements of a
power which might hereafter prove formidable to the Persian
sovereignty, since Myrcinus commanded the navigation of the
Strymon, and consequently the commerce with the interior of
Thrace. Darius, perceiving that the apprehensions of his general
were not without foundation, summoned Histiaeus to his presence,
and, under the pretext that he could not bear to be deprived of
the company of his friend, carried him with the rest of the court
to Susa. This apparently trivial circumstance was attended with
important consequences to the Persian empire and to the whole
Grecian race.

For the next few years everything remained quiet in the Greek
cities of Asia; but about B.C. 502 a revolution in Naxos, one of
the islands in the AEgean Sea, first disturbed the general
repose, and occasioned the war between Greece and Asia. The
aristocratical exiles, who had been driven out of Naxos by a
rising of the people, applied for aid to Aristagoras, the tyrant
of Miletus and the son-in-law of Histiaeus. Aristagoras readily
promised his assistance, knowing that, if they were restored by
his means, he should become master of the island. He obtained
the co-operation of Artaphernes, the satrap of western Asia by
holding out to him the prospect of annexing not only Naxos, but
all the islands of the AEgean sea, to the Persian empire. He
offered at the same time to defray the expense of the armament.
Artaphernes placed at his disposal a fleet of 200 ships under the
command of Megabates, a Persian of high rank; but Aristagoras
having affronted the Persian admiral, the latter revenged himself
by privately informing the Naxians of the object of the
expedition, which had hitherto been kept a secret. When the
Persian fleet reached Naxos they experienced a vigorous
resistance; and at the end of four months they were compelled to
abandon the enterprise and return to Miletus. Aristagoras was
now threatened with utter ruin. Having deceived Artaphernes, and
incurred the enmity of Megabates, he could expect no favour from
the Persian government, and might be called upon at any moment to
defray the expenses of the armament. In these difficulties he
began to think of exciting a revolt of his countrymen; and while
revolving the project he received a message from his father-in-
law, Histiaeus, urging him to this very step. Afraid of trusting
any one with so dangerous a message, Histiaeus had shaved the
head of a trusty slave, branded upon it the necessary words, and
as soon as the hair had grown again sent him off to Miletus. His
only motive for urging the Ionians to revolt was the desire of
escaping from captivity at Susa, thinking that Darius would set
him at liberty in order to put down an insurrection of his
countrymen. The message from Histiaeus fixed the wavering
resolution of Aristagoras. He forthwith called together the
leading citizens of Miletus, laid before them the project of
revolt, and asked them for advice. They all approved of the
scheme, with the exception of Hecataeus, one of the earliest
Greek historians. Aristagoras laid down the supreme power in
Miletus, and nominally resigned to the people the management of
their own affairs. A democratical form of government was
established in the other Greek cities of Asia, which thereupon
openly revolted from Persia (B.C. 500).

Aristagoras now resolved to cross over to Greece, in order to
solicit assistance. The Spartans, to whom he first applied,
refused to take any part in the war; but at Athens he met with a
very different reception. The Athenians sympathised with the
Ionians as their kinsmen and colonists, and were incensed against
the satrap Artaphernes, who had recently commanded them to recall
Hippias. Accordingly they voted to send a squadron of twenty
ships to the assistance of the Ionians; and in the following year
(B.C. 499) this fleet, accompanied by five ships from Eretria in
Euboea, crossed the AEgean. The troops landed at Ephesus, and,
being reinforced by a strong body, of Ionians, marched upon
Sardis. Artaphernes was taken unprepared; and not having
sufficient troops to man the walls, he retired into the citadel,
leaving the town a prey to the invaders. Accordingly they
entered it unopposed; and while engaged in pillage, one of the
soldiers set fire to a house. As most of the houses were built
of wickerwork and thatched with straw, the flames rapidly spread,
and in a short time the whole city was in flames. The Greeks, on
their return to the coast, were overtaken by a large Persian
force and defeated with great slaughter. The Athenians hastened
on board their ships and sailed home.

When Darius heard of the burning of Sardis, he burst into a
paroxysm of rage. It was against the obscure strangers who had
dared to burn one of his capitals that his wrath was chiefly
directed. "The Athenians!" he exclaimed, "who are they?" Upon
being informed he took his bow, shot an arrow high into the air,
saying, "Grant me, Jove, to take vengeance upon the Athenians!"
And he charged one of his attendants to remind him thrice every
day at dinner "Sire, remember the Athenians." Meantime the
insurrection spread to the Greek cities in Cyprus, as well as to
those on the Hellespont and the Propontis, and seemed to promise
permanent independence to the Asiatic Greeks; but they were no
match for the whole power of the Persian empire, which was soon
brought against them. Cyprus was subdued, and siege laid to the
cities upon the coast of Asia. Aristagoras now began to despair,
and basely deserted his countrymen, whom he had led into peril.
Collecting a large body of Milesians, he set sail for the
Thracian coast, where he was slain under the walls of a town to
which he had laid siege. Soon after his departure, his father-
in-law, Histiaeus came down to the coast. The artful Greek not
only succeeded in removing the suspicions which Darius first
entertained respecting him, but he persuaded the king to send him
into Ionia, in order to assist the Persian generals in
suppressing the rebellion. Artaphernes, however, was not so
easily deceived as his master, and plainly accused Histiaeus of
treachery when the latter arrived at Sardis. "I will tell you
how the facts stand" said Artaphernes to Histiaeus; "it was you
who made the shoe, and Aristagoras has put it on." Finding
himself unsafe at Sardis, he escaped to the island of Chios; but
he was regarded with suspicion by all parties. At length he
obtained eight galleys from Lesbos, with which he sailed towards
Byzantium, and carried on piracies as well against the Grecian as
the barbarian vessels. This unprincipled adventurer met with a
traitor's death. Having landed on the coast of Mysia, he was
surprised by a Persian force and made prisoner. Being carried to
Sardis, Artaphernes at once caused him to be crucified, and sent
his head to Darius, who ordered it to be honourably buried,
condemning the ignominious execution of the man who had once
saved the life of the Great King.

In the sixth year of the revolt (B.C. 495), when several Grecian
cities had already been taken by the Persians, Artaphernes laid
siege to Miletus by sea and by land. A naval engagement took
place at Lade a small island off Miletus, which decided the fate
of the war. The Samians deserted at the commencement of the
battle, and the Ionian fleet was completely defeated. Miletus
was soon afterwards taken, and was treated with signal severity.
Most of the males were slain; and the few who escaped the sword
were carried with the women and children into captivity (B.C.
494). The other Greek cities in Asia and the neighbouring
islands were treated with the same cruelty. The islands of
Chios, Lesbos, and Tenedos were swept of their inhabitants; and
the Persian fleet sailed up to the Hellespont and Propontis,
carrying with it fire and sword. The Athenian Miltiades only
escaped falling into the power of the Persians by a rapid flight
to Athens.

The subjugation of Ionia was now complete. This was the third
time that the Asiatic Greeks had been conquered by a foreign
power: first by the Lydian Croesus; secondly by the generals of
Cyrus; and lastly by those of Darius. It was from the last that
they suffered most, and they never fully recovered their former
prosperity.

Darius was now at liberty to take vengeance upon the Athenians.
He appointed Mardonius to succeed Artaphernes as satrap in
western Asia, and he placed under his command a large armament,
with injunctions to bring to Susa those Athenians and Eretrians
who had insulted the authority of the Great King. Mardonius,
after crossing the Hellespont, commenced his march through Thrace
and Macedonia, subduing, as he went along, the tribes which had
not yet submitted to the Persian power. He ordered the fleet to
double the promontory of Mount Athos, and join the land forces at
the head of the gulf of Therma; but one of the hurricanes which
frequently blow off this dangerous coast overtook the Persian
fleet, destroyed 300 vessels and drowned or dashed upon the rocks
20,000 men. Meantime the land forces of Mardonius had suffered
so much from an attack made upon them by a Thracian tribe, that
he could not proceed farther. He led his army back across the
Hellespont, and returned to the Persian court covered with shame
and grief (B.C. 492).

The failure of this expedition did not shake the resolution of
Darius. He began to make preparations for another attempt on a
still larger scale, and meantime sent heralds to most of the
Grecian states to demand from each earth and water as the symbol
of submission. Such terror had the Persians inspired by their
recent conquest of Ionia, that a large number of the Grecian
cities at once complied with the demand; but the Athenians cast
the herald into a deep pit, and the Spartans threw him into a
well bidding him take earth and water from thence.

In the spring of B.C. 490 a large army and fleet were assembled
in Cilicia, and the command was given to Datis, a Median, and
Artaphernes, son of the satrap of Sardis of that name. Warned by
the recent disaster of Mardonius in doubling the promontory of
Mount Athos, they resolved to sail straight across the AEgean to
Euboea, subduing on their way the Cyclades. These islands
yielded a ready submission; and it was not till Datis and
Artaphernes reached Euboea that they encountered any resistance.
Eretria defended itself gallantly for six days, and repulsed the
Persians with loss; but on the seventh the gates were opened to
the besiegers by the treachery of two of its leading citizens.
The city was razed to the ground, and the inhabitants were put in
chains. From Eretria the Persians crossed over to Attica, and
landed on the ever memorable plain of Marathon, a spot which had
been pointed out to them by the despot Hippias, who accompanied
the army.

As soon as the news of the fall of Eretria reached Athens, a
courier had been sent to Sparta to solicit assistance. This was
promised; but the superstition of the Spartans prevented them
from setting out immediately, since it wanted a few days to the
full moon, and it was contrary to their religious customs to
commence a march during this interval. Meantime the Athenians
had marched to Marathon, and were encamped upon the mountains
which surrounded the plain. They were commanded, according to
the regular custom, by ten generals, one for each tribe, and by
the Polemarch, or third Archon, who down to this time continued
to be a colleague of the generals. Among these the most
distinguished was Miltiades, who, though but lately a tyrant in
the Chersonesus, had shown such energy and ability, that the
Athenians had elected him one of their commanders upon the
approach of the Persian fleet. Upon learning the answer which
the courier brought from Sparta, the ten generals were divided in
opinion. Five of them were opposed to an immediate engagement
with the overwhelming number of Persians, and urged the
importance of waiting for the arrival of the Lacedaemonian
succours. Miltiades and the remaining four contended that not a
moment should be lost in fighting the Persians, not only in order
to avail themselves of the present enthusiasm of the people, but
still more to prevent treachery from spreading among their ranks.
Callimachus, the Polemarch, yielded to the arguments of
Miltiades, and gave his vote for the battle. The ten generals
commanded their army in rotation, each for one day; but they now
agreed to surrender to Miltiades their days of command, in order
to invest the whole power in a single person. While the
Athenians were preparing for battle, they received unexpected
assistance from the little town or Plataea, in Boeotia. Grateful
to the Athenians for the assistance which they had rendered them
against the Thebans, the whole force of Plataea, amounting to
1000 heavy-armed men, marched to the assistance of their allies
and joined them at Marathon. The Athenian army numbered only
10,000 hoplites, or heavy-armed soldiers: there were no archers
or cavalry, and only some slaves as light-armed attendants. Of
the number of the Persian army we have no trustworthy account,
but the lowest estimate makes it consist of 110,000 men.

The plain of Marathon lies on the eastern coast of Attica, at the
distance of twenty-two miles from Athens by the shortest road.
it is in the form of a crescent, the horns of which consist of
two promontories running into the sea, and forming a semicircular
bay. This plain is about six miles in length, and in its widest
or central part about two in breadth. On the day of battle the
Persian army was drawn up along the plain about a mile from the
sea, and their fleet was ranged behind them on the beach. The
Athenians occupied the rising ground above the plain, and
extended from one side of the plain to the other. This
arrangement was necessary in order to protect their flanks by the
mountains on each side, and to prevent the cavalry from passing
round to attack them in rear. But so large a breadth of ground
could not be occupied with a small a number of men without
weakening some portion of the line. Miltiades, therefore, drew
up the troops in the centre in shallow files, and resolved to
rely for success upon the stronger and deeper masses of his
wings. The right wing, which was the post of honour in a Grecian
army, was commanded by the Polemarch Callimachus; the hoplites
were arranged in the order of their tribes, so that the members
of the same tribe fought by each other's side; and at the extreme
left stood the Plataeans.

Miltiades, anxious to come to close quarters as speedily as
possible, ordered his soldiers to advance at a running step over
the mile of ground which separated them from the foe. Both the
Athenian wings were successful, and drove the enemy before them
towards the shore and the marshes. But the Athenian centre was
broken by the Persians, and compelled to take to flight.
Miltiades thereupon recalled his wings from pursuit, and charged
the Persian centre. The latter could not withstand this combined
attack. The rout now became general along the whole Persian
line; and they fled to their ships, pursued by the Athenians.

The Persians lost 6400 men in this memorable engagement: of the
Athenians only 192 fell. The aged tyrant Hippias is said to have
perished in the battle, and the brave Polemarch Callimachus was
also one of the slain. The Persians embarked and sailed away to
Asia. Their departure was hailed at Athens with one unanimous
burst of heartfelt joy. Marathon became a magic word at Athens.
The Athenian people in succeeding ages always looked back upon
this day as the most glorious in their annals, and never tired of
hearing its praises sounded by their orators and poets. And they
had reason to be proud of it. It was the first time that the
Greeks had ever defeated the Persians in the field. It was the
exploit of the Athenians alone. It had saved not only Athens but
all Greece. If the Persians had conquered at Marathon, Greece
must, in all likelihood, have become a Persian province; the
destinies of the world would have been changed; and oriental
despotism might still have brooded over the fairest countries of
Europe.

The one hundred and ninety-two Athenians who had perished in the
battle were buried on the field, and over their remains a tumulus
or mound was erected, which may still be seen about half a mile
from the sea.

Shortly after the battle Miltiades requested of the Athenians a
fleet of seventy ships, without telling them the object of his
expedition, but only promising to enrich the state. Such
unbounded confidence did the Athenians repose in the hero of
Marathon, that they at once complied with his demand. This
confidence Miltiades abused. In order to gratify a private
animosity against one of the leading citizens of Paros, he sailed
to this island and laid siege to the town. The citizens repelled
all his attacks; and having received a dangerous injury on his
thigh, he was compelled to raise the siege and return to Athens.
Loud was the indignation against Miltiades on his return. He was
accused by Xanthippus, the father of Pericles, of having deceived
the people, and was brought to trial. His wound had already
begun to show symptoms of gangrene. He was carried into court on
a couch, and there lay before the assembled judges, while his
friends pleaded on his behalf. They could offer no excuse for
his recent conduct, but they reminded the Athenians of the
services he had rendered, and, begged them to spare the victor of
Marathon. The judges were not insensible to this appeal; and
instead of condemning him to death as the accuser had demanded,
they commuted the penalty to a fine of fifty talents. Miltiades
was unable immediately to raise this sum and died soon afterwards
of his wound. The fine was subsequently paid by his son Cimon.
The melancholy end of Miltiades must not blind us to his offence.
He had grossly abused the public confidence, and deserved his
punishment. The Athenians did not forget his services at
Marathon, and it was their gratitude towards him which alone
saved him from death.

Soon after the battle of Marathon a war broke out between Athens
and AEgina. This war is of great importance in Grecian history,
since to it the Athenians were indebted for their navy, which
enabled them to save Greece at Salamis as they had already done
at Marathon. AEgina was one of the chief maritime powers in
Greece; and accordingly Themistocles urged the Athenians to build
and equip a large and powerful fleet, without which it was
impossible for them to humble their rival. There was at this
time a large surplus in the public treasury, arising from the
produce of the silver-mines at Laurium. It had been recently
proposed to distribute this surplus among the Athenian citizens;
but Themistocles persuaded them to sacrifice their private
advantage to the public good, and to appropriate the money to
building a fleet of 200 ships.

The two leading citizens of Athens at this period were
Themistocles and Aristides. These two eminent men formed a
striking contrast to each other. Themistocles possessed
abilities of the most extraordinary kind; but they were marred by
a want of honesty. Aristides was inferior to Themistocles in
ability, but was incomparably superior to him in honesty and
integrity. His uprightness and justice were so universally
acknowledged that he received the surname of the "Just."
Themistocles was the leader of the democratical, and Aristides of
the conservative party at Athens. After three or four years of
bitter rivalry, the two chiefs appealed to the ostracism, and
Aristides was banished (B.C. 483). We are told that an
unlettered countryman gave his vote against Aristides at the
ostracism, because he was tired of hearing him always called the
Just.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE PERSIAN WARS.--THE BATTLES OF THERMOPYLAE, SALAMIS,
AND PLATAEA, B.C. 480-479.

The defeat of the Persians at Marathon served only to increase
the resentment of Darius. He now resolved to collect the whole
forces of his empire, and to lead them in person against Athens.
For three years busy preparations were made throughout his vast
dominions. In the fourth year his attention was distracted by a
revolt of the Egyptians; and before he could reduce them to
subjection he was surprised by death, after a reign of 37 years
(B.C. 485). Xerxes, the son and successor of Darius, had
received the education of an eastern despot, and been surrounded
with slaves from his cradle. In person he was the tallest and
handsomest man amidst the vast hosts which he led against Greece;
but there was nothing in his mind to correspond to this fair
exterior. His character was marked by faint-hearted timidity and
childish vanity. Xerxes had not inherited his father's animosity
against Greece; but he was surrounded by men who urged him to
continue the enterprise. Foremost among these was Mardonius, who
was eager to retrieve his reputation, and to obtain the conquered
country as a satrapy for himself after subduing Egypt (B.C. 484),
Xerxes began to make preparations for the invasion of Greece.
For four years the din of preparation sounded throughout Asia.
Troops were collected from every quarter of the Persian empire,
and were ordered to assemble in Cappadocia. As many as forty-six
different nations composed the land-force, of various
complexions, languages, dresses, and arms. Meantime Xerxes
ordered a bridge to be thrown across the Hellespont, that his
army might march from Asia into Europe: and he likewise gave
directions that a canal should be cut through the isthmus of
Mount Athos, in order to avoid the necessity of doubling this
dangerous promontory, where the fleet of Mardonius had suffered
shipwreck. The making of this canal, which was about a mile and
a half long employed a number of men for three years.

In the spring of B.C. 480 Xerxes set out from Sardis with his
vast host. Upon reaching Abydos on the Hellespont the army
crossed over to Europe by the bridge of boats. Xerxes surveyed
the scene from a marble throne. His heart swelled within him at
the sight of such a vast assemblage of human beings; but his
feelings of pride and pleasure soon gave way to sadness, and he
burst into tears at the reflection that in a hundred years not
one of them would be alive. Xerxes continued his march through
Europe along the coast of Thrace. Upon arriving at the spacious
plain of Doriscus, which is traversed by the river Hebrus, he
resolved to number his forces. He found that the whole armament,
both military and naval, consisted of 2,317,610 men. In his
march from Doriscus to Thermopylae he received a still further
accession of strength; and accordingly when he reached
Thermopylae the land and sea forces amounted to 2,641,610
fighting men. The attendants are said to have been more in
number than the fighting men; but if they were only equal, the
number of persons who accompanied Xerxes to Thermopylae reaches
the astounding figure of 5,283,220! The number is quite
incredible; but though the exact number of the invading army
cannot be determined, we may safely conclude, from all the
circumstances of the case, that it was the largest ever assembled
at any period of history.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22