THE BATTLE OF MARATHON.--_Mardonius_, the son-in-law of Darius, moved with a fleet and an army along the aegean coast. A storm shattered the fleet upon the rocky promontory of Athos, and the land force was partly destroyed by the Thracians. Mardonius retreated homeward. The heralds who came to demand, according to the Persian custom, "water and earth" of Athens and Sparta, were put to death. Enraged at these events, Darius sent a stronger fleet under _Datis_ and _Artaphernes_. They forced _Naxos_ and the other _Cyclades_ to submission, captured and destroyed _Eretria_, and sent off its inhabitants as slaves to the interior of Asia. Guided on their path of destruction by the Athenian refugee, _Hippias_, the Persians landed on the coast of Attica, and encamped on the sh.o.r.e adjacent to the plain of _Marathon_. The Athenians sent _Philippides_, one of the swiftest of couriers, to Sparta for a.s.sistance, who reached that city, a hundred and thirty-five or a hundred and forty miles distant, the next day after he started. He brought back for answer that the Spartans were deterred by religious scruples from marching to war before the full moon, which would be ten days later. There was a Greek, as well as a Judaic, Pharisaism. Left to themselves, the Athenians were fortunate in having for their leader _Miltiades_, an able and experienced soldier, who had been with the Persians in the Scythian campaign. At the head of the Athenian infantry, ten thousand in number, whose hearts were cheered before the onset by the arrival of a re-inforcement of one thousand men, comprising the whole fighting population of the little town of _Plataea_, Miltiades attacked the Persian army, ten times as large as his own. The Athenians ran down the gentle slope at Marathon, shouting their war-cry, or paean, and, after a fierce conflict, drove the Persians back to their ships, capturing their camp with all its treasures (Sept. 12, 490 B.C.). This brilliant victory was not the end of danger. The Greek watchmen saw a treacherous signal, a glistening shield, on _Mount Pentelicus_, put there to signify to the Persians that Athens was open to their attack. In that direction, round Cape Sunium, the Persian fleet sailed. But _Miltiades_, by a rapid march of twenty-three miles, reached the city in season to prevent the landing. _Datis_ and _Artaphernes_ sailed away. The traitor, _Hippias_, died on the return voyage. The patriotic exultation of the Athenians was well warranted. Never did they look back upon that victory without a thrill of joyful pride. It proved what a united free people were capable of achieving. More than that, MARATHON was one of the decisive battles which form turning-points in the world"s history. It was a mortal conflict between the East and the West, between Asia and Europe,--the coa.r.s.e despotism under which individual energy is stifled, and the dawning liberty which was to furnish the atmosphere required for the full development and culture of the human mind.
ARISTIDES AND THEMISTOCLES.--_Miltiades_ subsequently failed in an attempt against _Paros_, one of the aegean islands which had submitted to the Persians, and which he sought to conquer. Accused of making false promises to the people, he was fined fifty talents, but died before the sum could be collected (489 B.C.). His son _Cimon_ paid the fine. The two leading men in Athens at that time were _Aristides_ and _Themistocles_. The former, from his uprightness, was styled "the just." _Themistocles_ was a man of genius, of an ambitious spirit, whom the laurels of _Miltiades_ robbed of sleep. Devoted to Athens, he was not scrupulous in regard to the means of advancing her prosperity and glory. Duplicity and intrigue were weapons in the use of which he was not less willing than expert. He aspired to make Athens a great naval and maritime power. _Aristides_ believed that the strength of the country lay in the landholders and in the land forces. In the attainment of public ends, he would not deviate from a straightforward course. Themistocles was by far the more captivating of the two men; and, in 484 B.C., Aristides was ostracised. Themistocles was thus left free to build up a powerful fleet.
THE WAR WITH XERXES: THERMOPYLae.--_Darius_ died while he was preparing another grand expedition against Greece. He left his successor, _Xerxes_ (485 B.C.), to complete and carry out the plan. This proud monarch drew together from his immense dominions an army which tradition, as given in Herodotus, made to number one million seven hundred thousand men and a fleet of twelve hundred large vessels. He had for a counselor, _Demaratus_, a fugitive king of Sparta. The vast array of troops was a.s.sembled near _Sardes_, and thence marched to the _h.e.l.lespont_. Seven days were spent by this mighty gathering of nations in pa.s.sing over the two bridges of boats. They marched through Thrace, Macedonia, and Thessaly, the Persian fleet proceeding along the coast. _Baeotia_ and several smaller states yielded without resistance. The most of the other Greek states, inspired by Themistocles, joined hands for defense under the hegemony of Sparta. In July, 480, the Persian army arrived at the narrow pa.s.s of _Thermopylae_. There the Lacedaeemonian king, _Leonidas_, with his three hundred Spartans and some thousands of allies, had taken his stand, to stem the vast current that was pouring down to overwhelm Greece. To the Persian command to give up their weapons, the "laconic" reply was given by Leonidas, "Come and get them." For several days the band of Spartans defended the pa.s.s, beating back the Persians, thousands of whom were slain, and repulsing, even, the ten thousand "immortals," who const.i.tuted the royal guard. At length a treacherous Greek showed the enemy a by-path, which enabled them to fall on the rear of the gallant troops, every one of whom fell, bravely fighting, with his weapon in his hand. A lion made of iron was afterwards placed on the spot where the heroes had died, "obedient to the commands of Sparta." The Persians pushed forward to _Athens_, and burned the city. All citizens capable of bearing arms were on board the fleet: the women, children, and movable property had been conveyed to _Salamis_, _aegina_, and _Traezcne_.
SALAMIS.--The Greek fleet, under the Spartan _Eurybiades_, had come from victory at Artemisium into the Gulf of Salamis. By means of a device of Themistocles, the Spartans were prevented from withdrawing their forces to the Corinthian isthmus, where they had built a wall for their own protection; and a sea-fight was brought on, of which the Athenians in Salamis, and Xerxes himself from a hill on the mainland, were anxious spectators (Sept. 27, 480). Once more the cause of civilization was staked on the issue of a conflict. The Greeks were completely victorious, and their land was saved. Xerxes hastily marched towards home, thousands of his army perishing on the way from hunger, cold, and fatigue. The _Spartiatae_ gave to _Eurybiades_ the prize of valor, to _Themistocles_ an olive crown for his wisdom and sagacity.
PLATaeA: MYCALE: EURYMEDON.--Xerxes left three hundred thousand men behind in Thessaly, under the command of _Mardonius_. In the spring, incensed at the proud rejection of his overtures, he marched to Athens, whose people again took refuge in Salamis. In the great battle of _Plataea_ (479 B.C.), the Greeks, led by the Spartan _Pausanias_, inflicted on him such a defeat that only forty thousand Persians escaped to the h.e.l.lespont. On the same day at _Mycale_, the Persian fleet was vanquished in a sharp encounter where a Spartan commanded, but where the Athenians were the most efficient combatants. Sestos, Lemnos, Imbros, and Byzantium were taken by the Greeks; and a double victory of _Cimon_, the son of Miltiades, at the Pamphylian river, _Eurymedon_, over both the land and naval forces of the Persians, brought the war to an end (467 B.C.).
CHAPTER II. THE ASCENDENCY OF ATHENS.
PAUSANIAS AND THEMISTOCLES.--Both of the generals by whom the Persians had been overcome, fell under the displeasure of the states to which they belonged. _Pausanias_ was so far misled by ambition as to engage in a negotiation with the Persians for the elevation of himself, by their aid, to supreme power in Greece. His plots were discovered, and he was compelled by his countrymen to starve to death in a temple to which he had fled for refuge. _Themistocles_ caused Athens to be surrounded by a wall, and built long walls from the city to the _Piraeus_. This provoked the hatred of the Spartans, so jealous were they of the power of Athens. In conjunction with his Athenian enemies, they contrived to procure his banishment for ten years (471 B.C.). Themistocles fled to Persia, where he was treated with honor and favor. _Artaxerxes I._ gave him a princely domain in Asia Minor where he died (458 B.C.). Grave as his faults were, Themistocles was the founder of the historical greatness of Athens.
CONFEDERACY OF DELOS.--It was through the influence of _Aristides_ that the confederacy of Delos was formed, in which the Grecian islands and seaports combined with Athens, and under her leadership, for the further prosecution of the war. By this means, the Athenians, already so efficient on the sea, were enabled still more to strengthen their fleet, and gradually to bring the aegean islands and smaller maritime states under their sway. _Cimon_ rendered great service as a naval commander. He drove the Persians out of Thrace altogether, and he conquered _Scyros_. He wrested the Chersonese from the Persians, and freed the Greek cities on the coast. In the single battle on the _Eurymedon_, he sunk or captured two hundred galleys (467 B.C.).
TO THE PEACE OF PERICLES.--Under the leadership of such men, the Athenian Republic became more and more powerful. _aegina_, a rich and prosperous island, was conquered, and planted with Athenian colonists. _Megara_ became a dependency of Athens. Sparta, partly in consequence of a struggle with Argos, a state friendly to the Persians, and still more on account of an earthquake which laid the most of the city in ruins (465 B.C.), was so crippled as not to be able to check the progress of the rival community. She was even obliged to invoke Athenian help against the revolting Messenians and helots; but after the troops of Athens had joined them, the Spartans, jealous and afraid of what they might do, sent them back. This indignity led to the banishment of _Cimon_, who had favored the sending of the force, and to the granting of aid to the Spartans. The Spartans now did their best to reduce the strength and dominion of Athens by raising _Thebes_ to the hegemony over the Boeotian cities. Everywhere, in all the conflicts, Sparta was the champion of the _aristocratic_ form of government; Athens, of the _democratic_. The Athenians were defeated at _Tanagra_ (457 B.C.). This induced them to recall _Cimon_, a great general and a worthy citizen. Two months after her victory, Sparta was defeated by _Myronides_; and the Athenians became masters of Phocis, Locris, and Boeotia. Cimon brought about a truce between Athens and Sparta. He left his country on a high pinnacle of power and dominion. Nearly all the allies in the confederacy of Delos had fallen into the position of tributaries, whose heavy contributions were carried no longer to the sanctuary at Delos, but to the temple of Athena on the Acropolis, and who had no power to decide on questions of peace and war. The n.o.bles, however, who were driven into exile in all conquered places, were the mortal enemies of Athens. At _Coronea_ (447 B.C.), the Boeotian refugees and aristocrats were so strong that the Athenians experienced a disastrous defeat. The peril of the situation moved _Pericles_ to secure, by astute management, a peace with Sparta, the terms of which were that each of the two cities was to maintain its hegemony within its own circle, and the several states were to attach themselves at their option to either confederacy. In market and harbor, there was to be a free intercourse of trade (445 B.C.).
THE AGE OF PERICLES.--Pericles belonged to one of the princ.i.p.al Athenian families, but was democratic in his politics, and made himself a popular leader. By his influence the _Areopagus_ was stripped of high prerogatives that had belonged to it. He caused it to be enacted, that every citizen, when engaged in the public service, even in attending the popular a.s.sembly, should receive a stipend. For fifteen years, as the first citizen of Athens, with none of the trappings of power, he virtually ruled the commonwealth. One of his works was the building the third of the _long walls_ which protected the _Piraeus_ and the neighboring ports on the land side, and connected them with Athens. His patriotism was as sincere as his talents were versatile and brilliant. He was at once a soldier, an orator, a statesman of consummate ability, and a man imbued with the best appreciation of letters and of art. In his hospitable house, where _Aspasia_ from Miletus, a beautiful and cultured woman, was his companion, men of genius found a welcome. Under him, Athens became the metropolis of literature, philosophy, and art for the whole h.e.l.lenic race, and, considering the influence of Athens, it might almost be said for mankind in all ages. Magnificent buildings--of which the _Parthenon_, the temple of Athena that crowned the Acropolis, whose ruins are the model of architectural perfection, was one--gave to the city an unrivaled beauty. _Sculpture_ vied with architecture in this work of adornment. _Phidias_, who wrought the frieze of the Parthenon, counted among his wonderful creations the colossal sitting statue of Zeus at Olympia. It was the blossoming season of the Greek intellect, as regards _literature_ and the _fine arts_. The _drama_ reached its perfection in the masterly tragedies of _Aeschylus, Sophocles,_ and _Euripides_, and in the comedies of _Aristophanes_. The Athenian community, through its political eminence, its intellectual character, so original and diversified, its culture,--such that almost every citizen was qualified for civil office,--has no parallel in history. It is the elevation, not of a select cla.s.s of the citizens, but of the whole society, which gives to Athens its unique distinction. Public spirit and enterprise, which made her navy dominant in the Aegean and over the sea-coast of Asia Minor, went hand in hand with delight in eloquence and in the creations of genius. There was not, however, as some have affirmed, in the prevalent absorption in the affairs of state, a neglect of the labors of agriculture and of mechanical industry.
THE ACROPOLIS--It was customary for a Greek town to be built about an acropolis,--an eminence by which it was commanded, and on which stood the citadel. On the acropolis at Athens were the buildings and statues in which the glory of Athenian art was impressively displayed. There were three edifices which excelled all the rest in splendor. On the south side of the elevated area was the _Parthenon_, built of Pentelic marble, two hundred and twenty-eight feet in length, and of faultless proportions. On the northern edge was the _Erechtheum_, an Ionic temple of extraordinary beauty. The _Propylcea_, approached by sixty marble steps, was a n.o.ble gateway: it stood on the western end of the acropolis, which it magnificently adorned.
ATHENS--No other description of Athens, in the age of Pericles, equals his own in the _Funeral Oration_ (431 B.C.), as given by Thucydides, for those who had fallen in the war. It shows how an Athenian looked upon his city.
"It is true that we are called a democracy; for the administration is in the hands of the many, and not of the few. But while the law secures equal justice to all alike in their private disputes, the claim of excellence is also recognized; and when a citizen is in any way distinguished, he is preferred to the public service, not as a matter of privilege, but as the reward of merit. Neither is poverty a bar; but a man may benefit his country, whatever be the obscurity of his condition. There is no exclusiveness in our public life; and in our private intercourse we are not suspicious of one another, nor angry with our neighbor if he does what he likes: we do not put on sour looks at him, which, though harmless, are not pleasant. While we are thus unconstrained in our private intercourse, a spirit of reverence pervades our public acts: we are prevented from doing wrong by respect for authority and the laws, having an especial regard to those which are ordained for the protection of the injured, as well as to those unwritten laws which bring upon the transgressor of them the reprobation of the general sentiment.
"And we have not forgotten to provide for our weary spirits many relaxations from toil. We have regular games and sacrifices throughout the year. At home the style of our life is refined, and the delight which we daily feel in all these things helps to banish melancholy. Because 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.
"Then, again, our military training is in many respects superior to that of our adversaries. Our city is thrown open to the world; and we never expel a foreigner, or prevent him from seeing or learning any thing of which the secret, if revealed to an enemy, might profit him. We rely not upon management or trickery, but upon our own hearts and hands. And in the matter of education, whereas they from early youth are always undergoing laborious exercises which are to make them brave, we live at ease, and yet are equally ready to face the perils which they face. And here is the proof,--the Lacedaemonians come into Attica, not by themselves, but with their whole confederacy following; we go alone into a neighbor"s country; and, although our opponents are fighting for their homes, and we are on a foreign soil, we have seldom any difficulty in overcoming them. Our enemies have never yet felt our united strength. The care of a navy divides our attention, and on land we are obliged to send our own citizens everywhere. But they, if they meet and defeat a part of our army, are as proud as if they had routed us all; and, when defeated, they pretend to have been vanquished by us all.
"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? since we do not antic.i.p.ate the pain, although, when the hour comes, we can be as brave as those who never allow themselves to rest. And thus, too, our city is equally admirable in peace and war; for we are lovers of the beautiful, yet simple in our tastes, and we cultivate the mind without loss of manliness. Wealth we employ, not for talk and ostentation, but when there is 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 harmless, but as a useless character; and, if few of us are originators, we are all sound judges of policy. The great impediment to action is, in our opinion, not discussion, but the want of that knowledge which is gained by discussion preparatory to action. For we have a peculiar power of thinking before we act, and of acting too; whereas other men are courageous from ignorance, but hesitate upon reflection. And they are surely to be esteemed the bravest spirits who, having the clearest sense both of the pains and pleasures of life, do not on that account shrink from danger. In doing good, again, we are unlike others: we make our friends by conferring, not by receiving, favors. Now, he who confers a favor is the firmer friend, because he would fain by kindness keep alive the memory of an obligation; but the recipient is colder in his feelings, because he knows that in requiting another"s generosity he will not be winning grat.i.tude, but only paying a debt. We alone do good to our neighbors, not upon a calculation of interest, but in the confidence of freedom, and in a frank and fearless spirit. To sum up, I say that Athens is the school of h.e.l.las, and that the individual Athenian in his own person seems to have the power of adapting himself to the most varied forms of action with the utmost versatility and grace. This is no pa.s.sing and idle word, but truth and fact; and the a.s.sertion is verified by the position to which these qualities have raised the State. For in the hour of trial Athens alone among her contemporaries 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 a.s.suredly not be without witnesses; there are mighty monuments of our power, which will make us the wonder of this and of succeeding ages. We shall not need the praises of Homer or of any other panegyrist, whose poetry may please for the moment, although his representation of the facts will not bear the light of day; for we have compelled 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. Such is the city for whose sake these men n.o.bly fought and died: they could not bear the thought that she might be taken from them, and every one of us who survive should gladly toil on her behalf."
RELIGION.--We find in _Sophocles_ a much purer tone of moral and religious feeling than in _Homer_. Greek thought upon divine things is expanded and purified, (i) _Higher Conception of the G.o.ds_. The G.o.ds are still conceived of as in bodily form. Their images abide in their temples. Take them away, and the G.o.d leaves his abode. The divinities need not be present, as in Homer, in order to exert their power. The monotheistic tendency is manifest. The "G.o.ds"
are referred to as if a single agency were in the writer"s mind. The regal sway of Zeus is emphasized. He is less subject to Fate. (2) _Divine Government_. The G.o.ds, especially _Zeus_, are the fountain of law. The righteousness of the divine government is especially evinced in the punishment of evil-doers. Transgressors generally, and not those of the worst cla.s.s alone, as in Homer, are punished in _Hades_. Pride and insolence call down the vengeance of the G.o.ds. Unsleeping justice pursues the criminal. The theory of _Nemesis_, which pursues the prosperous, if they are proud, to their hurt and ruin, is held. (3) _Number of the G.o.ds_. The number of divinities is multiplied as time advances. The worship of the heroes, children of the G.o.ds or G.o.ddesses, grows in importance. (4) _Revelation_. There was direct revelation, it was believed, by prophecy, uttered now in an ecstatic, and now in a tranquil, mood. _Oracles_ acquired a new and vast importance. (5) _Rites_. Visible objects of devotion were multiplied; religious ceremonies ramified in all directions; sacred processions, festivals, amus.e.m.e.nts involving religious observances, abounded. (6) _Morality_. Moral excellence centered in moderation and self-government, through which the individual keeps both his own nature as to its parts, and himself in relation to others, within due limits. This spirit includes temperance and justice. The stern spirit of law prevails: the requital of injuries is approved. Yet feelings of compa.s.sion find a beautiful expression. At Athens, there was public provision for orphans and for the help of the poor. (7) _Domestic Life: Patriotism_. The wife lived in retirement, and in submission to her husband. When he entertained friends at his table, she was absent; yet domestic affection was evidently strong. Every other duty merged in patriotism. The Greek placed a great gulf between himself and the "barbarian." He was conscious of higher intellectual gifts, superior culture, better customs. (8) _Sin. The Future Life_. There was a deeper sense of sin than in the Homeric era. There was a pathetic consciousness of the trouble and sorrow that beset human life. _Hades_ was regarded as a scene of trial and judgment, and of rewards as well as sufferings. The soul was not so closely identified with the body. Death was an object of gloomy antic.i.p.ation. _Pericles_, in his funeral oration for the fallen patriots, is silent as to a future life. In the tragic poets, it is only the select few whose lot is blessed. As concerns the ma.s.s of the people, it is probable that the Homeric notions respecting the state of the dead still prevailed. Generally speaking, we are not warranted in ascribing the more elevated views of religion entertained by the best minds to the ma.s.s of the people.
THE TRAGIC DRAMA.--The songs which were sung in the worship of Dionysus (dithyrambs) were accompanied with dance and pantomime. The custom followed of mingling speeches and dramatic action with these lyrics. The change is ascribed to _Thespis_ (about 536 B.C.), a little later than Solon. Thespis is said to have brought in the stage for the performers. The Greek theaters were large, open to the sky, and sometimes on sites which commanded fine views. There was the amphitheater, with graded seats for spectators, and the stage, together with the orchestra where the choir in song or musical recitation reflected the sympathies and views of the spectators of the play. At first there was only one actor, and, of course, a monologue. _Aeschylus_ is said to have brought in a second actor, and _Sophocles_ a third. These, with _Euripides_, were the three great dramatists of Greece. The choral song, which had been the chief thing, was made secondary to the dialogue. Aeschylus, at the age of forty-five, fought in the battle of Salamis; Sophocles, then fifteen years old, took part in the festival in honor of the victory; and Euripides was born, it was supposed, on the very day of the battle. These three brought the tragic drama to perfection. Of the productions of Aeschylus (525-456 B.C.), seven remain. They are inspired with the heroic and elevated mood which was engendered by the great struggle against the Persians. Of the numerous plays of Sophocles (495-406 B.C.), the number of those extant is also seven. They so combine vigor and force with refinement of thought and style that they are surpa.s.sed, if indeed they are equaled, by the literary products of no age or country. In Euripides (480-406 B.C.), while there is an insight into the workings of the heart, and the antique n.o.bleness of sentiment, there is less simplicity, and there is manifest the less earnest and believing tone of the later day. In the dramas, the "unities" of time, place, and action are observed. The acts together seldom stretch over a single day.
COMEDY--Comedy, in which _Aristophanes_ (452-388 B.C.), a great poet as well as a great wit, was the princ.i.p.al author, dealt largely in satire. Conspicuous men, and those active in public affairs, were represented on the stage in satirical pieces, so that they were at once identified. The spirit of the "old comedy" was patriotic, although it might be unjust, as in the case of Socrates, who was a target for the wit of Aristophanes. The "middle comedy" was nothing really distinct from the "new comedy." The "new comedy," in which Menander (342-290 B.C.) was an eminent author, ceased to present actual persons, and dealt with imaginary characters alone. Among the Greeks in Lower Italy and Sicily, mimes were much in vogue.
GREEK ART: ARCHITECTURE--The Greeks more and more broke away in a free and joyous spirit from the stiff and conventional styles of Egyptian and Oriental art. In the room of the somber, ma.s.sive edifices of Egypt, they combined symmetry and beauty with grandeur in the temples which they erected. The temples were originally colored within and without. Three styles were developed,--the _Doric_, the _Ionic_, and the _Corinthian_. In the _Doric_, the column and entablature have the most solid and simple form. The column has no other base than the common platform on which the pillars rest, and the capital that surmounts it is a plain slab.
In the _Ionic_ style, the column has a distinct base, is more tall and slender, and its capital has two _volutes_, or spiral moldings. The capital of the _Corinthian_ column is peculiar, representing flower calices and leaves, "pointing upwards, and curving like natural plants." The _acanthus_, on account of its graceful form, was generally copied. The most ancient Doric temples, of a date prior to the Persian war, of which the ruined temple of Neptune at Paestum is one, are, in comparison with later edifices, of a severe and ma.s.sive style. In the period extending from the Persian war to the Macedonian rule, the stern simplicity of the Doric is modified by the softer and more graceful character of the Ionic. The temple of _Theseus_ at Athens is an example. The _Parthenon_ was the most beautiful specimen of the Doric, which has appropriated the grace of the Ionic column without losing its own distinctive character. In the later period, after freedom was lost, there was much more ornamentation. It was then that the more decorated Corinthian style flourished.
SCULPTURE.--Before the Persian wars, in the earliest sculpture the restraint of Egyptian and Oriental styles is perceptible in the sculptors, of whom Daedalus is the mythical representative. The oldest statues were of wood, which was subsequently covered with gold and ivory, or painted. The lofty style of _Phidias_ (488-432 B.C.), and of _Polycletus_ of Argos, became prevalent in the flourishing period of Greek liberty. _Myron_, to whom we owe the _Discobolus_ (Disk-Thrower), belongs to the school of Aegina. Statues were now made in bra.s.s and marble. They were everywhere to be seen. The pediments and friezes of the temples were covered with exquisitely wrought sculptures. The most beautiful sculptures that have come down from antiquity are the marbles of the Parthenon. The Greeks appreciated to the full the beauty of nature. They gave to their G.o.ds ideal human forms, in which were blended every attribute of majesty and grace which are conceived to belong to perfected humanity. Sculpture in Greece, as elsewhere, was ally to religion; "but whilst the religion of the Egyptians was a religion of the tomb, and their ideal world a gloomy spot peopled by sleeping lions, dreamy sphinxes, or weird unearthly monsters, the mythology of the Greeks, rightly understood, is an exquisite poem, the joint creation of the master-minds of infant Greece; and their art is a translation of that poem into visible forms of beauty." In the _third period_, which may be made to terminate with the death of _Alexander the Great_ (323 B.C.), there were masters in sculpture, among whom _Praxiteles_ and _Scopas_ are at the head. More and more, as we come down to the Roman period, while extraordinary technical perfection is still manifested, the loftier qualities of art tend to disappear.
PAINTING.--In Greece, painting first ceased to be subordinate to architecture, and became independent. In early days, there was skill in the ornamentation of vases and in mural painting. Yet, with much spirit and feeling, there was a conventional treatment. The earliest artist of whom we know much is _Polygnotus_ (about 420 B.C.), whose groups of profile figures were described as remarkable for their life-like character and fine coloring. _Apollodorus_ of Athens was distinguished, but _Zeuxis_ of Heraclea is said to have been the first to paint movable pictures. He is famed for his marvelous power of imitation: the birds pecked at a bunch of grapes which he painted. But even he was outdone by _Parrhasius_. Zeuxis, however, had far higher qualities than those of a literal copyist. The most successful of the Greek painters was _Apelles_. Among his masterpieces was a painting of Venus rising from the waves, and a portrait of Alexander the Great. We have not in painting, as in sculpture, a store of monuments of Greek art; but the skill of the Greeks in painting fell behind their unequaled genius in molding the human form in bronze and marble.
CHAPTER III. THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR.
I. TO THE PEACE OF NICIAS (421 B.C.).
TO THE DEATH OF PERICLES.--Wonderful as was the growth of Athens under Pericles, it is obvious that she stood exposed to two princ.i.p.al sources of danger. Her allies and dependants, the stay of that naval power in which her strength lay, were discontented with her spirit of domination and of extortion. The _Peloponnesian Alliance_, which was led by _Sparta_, the bulwark of the aristocratic interest, comprised, with the Dorian, most of the Aeolian states,--as Boeotia, Phocis, Locris, etc. Its military strength lay mainly in its heavy-armed infantry. Thus Sparta had the advantage of strong allies. The motive at the bottom of this alliance was what Thucydides tells was the real cause of the Peloponnesian war,--the jealousy which the growth of Athens excited in other states. This feeling really involved a conviction of the need of maintaining in Greece that which in modern times is called a "balance of power." When Greece was no longer one, as in the best days of the wars with Persia, but was divided into two opposite camps, watchful and jealous of one another, an occasion of conflict could not fail to arise. It was complained that Athens gave help to _Corcyra_ in a war with _Corinth_, its mother city, made war upon _Potidaea_ in Macedonia, a Corinthian colony, and also shut out _Megara_ from the harbors of Attica.
The demands made by Sparta, which included the granting of independence to _Aegina_, were rejected. Attica was ravaged by Spartan troops, and the coast of Peloponnesus by the Athenian fleet (431 B.C.). This desolating warfare was kept up until a frightful pestilence broke out at Athens,--a plague having its origin in Egypt, and pa.s.sing thence over Asia and the Greek islands. Two of the sons of Pericles died, and an acc.u.mulation of public burdens and private sorrows brought on his own death (Sept., 429).
THE PESTILENCE.--The horrors of the pestilence are thus described in a celebrated pa.s.sage of the best of the Greek historians, _Thucydides:_ "The crowding of the people out of the country into the city aggravated the misery, and the newly arrived suffered most. For, haying no houses of their own, but inhabiting, in the height of summer, stifling huts, the mortality among them was dreadful, and they perished in wild disorder. The dead lay as they had died, one upon another; while others, hardly alive, wallowed in the streets, and crawled about every fountain, craving for water. The temples in which they lodged were full of the corpses of those who died in them; for the violence of the calamity was such that men, not knowing where to turn, grew reckless of all law, human and divine. The customs which had hitherto been observed at funerals were universally violated, and they buried their dead, each one as best he could. Many, having no proper appliances, because the deaths in their household had been so frequent, made no scruple of using the burial-place of others. When one man had raised a funeral-pile, others would come, and, throwing on their dead first, set fire to it; or, when some other corpse was already burning, before they could be stopped, would throw their own dead upon it, and depart.
"There were other and worse forms of lawlessness which the plague introduced at Athens. Men who had hitherto concealed their indulgence in pleasure, now grew bolder. For, seeing the sudden change,--how the rich died in a moment, and those who had nothing, immediately inherited their property,--they reflected that life and riches were alike transitory, and they resolved to enjoy themselves while they could, and to think only of pleasure. Who would be willing to sacrifice himself to the law of honor when he knew not whether he would ever live to be held in honor? The pleasure of the moment, and any sort of thing which conduced to it, took the place both of honor and of expediency: no fear of G.o.d or law of man deterred a criminal. Those who saw all perishing alike, thought that the worship or neglect of the G.o.ds made no difference. For offenses against human law, no punishment was to be feared: no one would live long enough to be called to account. Already a far heavier sentence had been pa.s.sed, and was hanging over a man"s head: before that fell, why should he not take a little pleasure?"
TO THE TRUCE WITH SPARTA.--The loss of Pericles, coupled with the terrible calamities which had befallen Athens, let loose the winds of party pa.s.sion. New leaders of the democracy, of whom _Cleon_ was the most noted, who lacked the refinement and self-restraint of Pericles, took his place. The Athenians were not able to save _Plataea_, to which they owed so much, from destruction at the hands of the _Spartans_ and _Boeotians_ (427 B.C.); but _Lesbos_ they recovered, and captured _Mytilene_, the bulk of whose citizens, against the will of Cleon, they spared. To the cruelties of war, which the revengeful temper of the Spartans promoted, there was added another plague at Athens, besides an earthquake, and tremendous rain-storms, alternating with drought.
_Demosthenes_, a brave and enterprising Athenian general, took possession of Pylos in Messenia. The Spartans, under _Brasidas_, were on the island of _Sphacteria_ opposite; and their retreat was cut off by the fleet under _Nicias_, who was the leader of the more aristocratic faction at Athens. _Cleon_, made strategus in the room of Nicias, took Sphacteria by storm, contrary to general expectation, and brought home nearly three hundred Spartan prisoners. Athens had other successes; but when her forces had been defeated by the Boeotians at _Delium_, and Brasidas had captured _Amphipolis_, and when in a battle there (422 B.C.) Brasidas was victorious over _Cleon_, who fell during the flight, the aristocratic party, which was desirous of peace, gained the upper hand. _Nicias_ concluded a truce with Sparta for fifty years. Each party was to restore its conquests and prisoners.
II. THE INFLUENCE OF ALCIBIADES.
THE SICILIAN EXPEDITION.--From this time, _Alcibiades_, a relative of Pericles, but lacking his sobriety and disinterested spirit, plays an active part. Beautiful in person, rich, a graceful and effective orator, but restless and ambitious, he quickly acquired great influence. Three years after the peace of Nicias, he persuaded Athens to join a league of disaffected Peloponnesian allies of Sparta; but in the battle of _Mantinea_ (418 B.C.) the Spartans regained their supremacy. It was at the suggestion of Alcibiades that the Athenians undertook the great _Sicilian Expedition_, which resulted in the worst disasters they ever suffered. This expedition was aimed at the Dorian city of _Syracuse_, and the hope was that all Sicily might be conquered. It consisted of about forty thousand men, besides the sailors. The commanders were _Alcibiades_, _Nicias_, and _Lamachus_. Alcibiades was recalled to answer a charge of sacrilege. At Thurii he managed to escape and went over to the side of Sparta. _Gylippus_ went with a small Spartan fleet to aid Syracuse. The Athenians were repulsed in their attack on the city. Although re-inforced by land and naval forces under a gallant and worthy general, _Demosthenes_, they fought under great disadvantages, so that their fleet was destroyed in the Syracusan harbor. Their retreating forces on land were cut to pieces or captured. _Nicias_ and _Demosthenes_ died either at the hands of the executioner or by a self-inflicted death.
NAVAL CONTESTS.--No such calamity had ever overtaken a Grecian army. The news of it brought anguish into almost every family in Athens. The Spartans had fortified the village of _Decelea_ in Attica, and sought on the sea, with Persian help, to annihilate the Athenian navy. The allies of Athens, _Chios_, _Miletus_, etc., revolted. The oligarchs at Athens overthrew the democratic const.i.tution, and placed the Government in the hands of a _Council of Four Hundred_. The popular a.s.sembly was limited to five thousand members, and was never called together. The object was to make peace with Sparta. But the army before Samos, of which _Thrasybulus_, a patriotic man, was the leader, refused to accept this change of government. _Alcibiades_, who had left the Spartans out of anger on account of their treatment of him, was recalled, and a.s.sumed command. The oligarchical rule was overturned in four months after its establishment, and the democracy restored,--the a.s.sembly being still limited, however, to five thousand citizens. Three brilliant naval victories, the last at _Cyzicus_ (410 B.C.), were won over the Spartans by Alcibiades who came back to Athens in triumph (408 B.C.). _Lysander_ was the commander of the Spartan fleet on the coast of Asia Minor, and (407 B.C.) gained a victory over the Athenian ships during a temporary absence of Alcibiades. Alcibiades was not reelected general. He now withdrew, and, three years later, died. The new Spartan admiral, _Callicratidas_, surrounded the Athenian fleet under _Conon_ at Mitylene. By very strenuous exertions of the Athenians, a new fleet was dispatched to the help of Conon; and in the battle of _Arginusae_ (406 B.C.), the Peloponnesians were completely vanquished. The public spirit of Athens and the resources of a free people were never more impressively shown than in the prodigious efforts made by the Athenians to rise from the effect of the crushing disaster which befell the Sicilian expedition on which their hopes were centered. But these exertions only availed to furnish to coming generations an example of the heroic energy and love of country which are possible under free government.
III. THE FALL OF ATHENS.
_Lysander_ once more took command of the Spartan fleet. Shrewd in diplomacy, as well as skillful in battle, he strengthened his naval force by the aid of _Cyrus_ the Younger, the Persian governor in Asia Minor. Watching his opportunity, he attacked the Athenians at _aegospotami_, opposite Lampsacus, when soldiers and sailors were off their guard (405 B.C.). Three thousand of them, who had not been slain in the a.s.sault, were slaughtered after they had been taken captive. _Conon_ escaped to Cyprus with only eight ships. One fast-sailing trireme carried the news of the overwhelming defeat to Athens. Lysander followed up his success cautiously, but with energy. Islands and seaports surrendered to him, and in them he established the aristocratic rule. The Athenians were shut in by land and by sea. A treacherous aristocratic faction within the walls was working in the interest of the Spartans. Famine conspired with other agencies to destroy the mult.i.tude of homeless and dest.i.tute people who had crowded into the city. Starvation compelled a surrender to the Spartan general. The long walls and fortifications were demolished by the ruthless conqueror, the work of destruction being carried on to the sound of the flute. All but twelve vessels were given up to the captors. The democratic system was subverted, and thirty men--the "_Thirty Tyrants_"--of the oligarchical party were established in power, with _Critias_, a depraved and pa.s.sionate, though able, man, at their head (404-403 B.C.). They put a Spartan garrison in the citadel, and sought to confirm their authority by murdering or banishing all whom they suspected of opposition. _Thrasybulus_, a patriot, collected the democratic fugitives at _Phyle_, defeated the Thirty, and seized the _Piraeus_. Critias was slain. _Ten oligarchs_ of a more moderate temper were installed in power. In co-operation with the Spartan king, _Pausanias_, the two parties at Athens were reconciled. An amnesty was proclaimed, and democracy in a moderate form was restored, with a revision of the laws, under the archonship of _Euclides_ (403 B.C.). It was shortly after this change that the trial and death of _Socrates_ occurred, the wisest and most virtuous man of ancient times (399 B.C.).
PHILOSOPHY: SOCRATES.--At the head of the Greek philosophers is the ill.u.s.trious name of _Socrates_. He was the son of Sophroniscus, a sculptor, and was born 469 B.C., just as Pericles was a.s.suming the leadership at Athens. Socrates was the founder of moral philosophy. He was original, being indebted for his ideas to no previous school. He was as sound in body as in mind. His appearance was unique. His forehead was ma.s.sive, but his flat nose gave to his countenance an aspect quite at variance with the Greek ideal of beauty. He looked, it was said, like a satyr. He taught, in opposition to the _Sophists_, a cla.s.s of men (including _Gorgias, Protagoras_, and others) who instructed young men in logic and grammar, taking fees,--which was contrary to the custom of the Greek philosophers,--and cultivating intellectual keenness and dexterity, often at the expense of depth and sincerity. Their work as thinkers was negative, being confined mainly to pointing out fallacies in existing systems, but providing nothing positive in the room of them. _Socrates_ had been called by the oracle at Delphi the wisest of men. He could only account for this by the fact, that, in contrast with others, he did not erroneously deem himself to be knowing. "Know thyself" was his maxim. His daily occupation was to converse with different cla.s.ses, especially young men, on subjects of highest moment to the individual and to the state. By a method of quiet cross-examination, the "_Socratic irony_," he made them aware of their lack of clear ideas and tenable, consistent opinions, and endeavored to guide them aright. The _soul_ and its moral improvement was his princ.i.p.al subject. He a.s.serted _Theism_ and the spiritual nature and obligations of religion, without calling in question the existence of the various divinities. He taught the doctrine of a universal _Providence_. Absolute loyalty to conscience, the preference of virtue to any possible advantage without it, he solemnly inculcated. He believed, perhaps not without a mingling of doubt, in the immortality of the soul. Taking no part in public affairs, he devoted his time to this kind of familiar instruction,--to teaching by dialogue, in compliance with what he believed to be an inward call of G.o.d. An impulse within him, which he called a divine "voice," checked him when he was about to take a wrong step. He was charged with corrupting the youth by his teaching, and with heresy in religion. His rebukes of the shallow and the self-seeking had stung them, and had made him many enemies. Such men as _Alcibiades_ and _Critias_, who had been among his hearers, but for whose misconduct he was really not in the least responsible, added to his unpopularity. The _Apology_, as given by Plato, contains the substance of his most impressive defense before his judges. He took no pains to placate them or his accusers, or to escape after he was convicted. Conversing with his disciples in the same genial, tranquil tone which he had always maintained, he drank the cup of hemlock, and expired (May, 399 B.C.). An account of his teaching and of his method of life is given by his loving scholar, _Xenophon_, in the _Memorabilia_. The dialogues of _Plato_, in which Socrates is the princ.i.p.al interlocutor, mingle with the master"s doctrine the pupil"s own thoughts and speculations.
PLATO.--_Plato_ (427-347 B.C.), the foremost of the disciples of Socrates, founded the philosophical school known as the _Academy_ from the place where his pupils were wont to meet him. One of his prominent tenets was the doctrine of _ideas_ which he regarded as spiritual realities, intermediate between G.o.d and the world, of which all visible things are the manifestation. They are the shadow, so to speak, of which ideas are the substance. He defined virtue in man to be resemblance to G.o.d according to the measure of our ability. In the _Republic_, he sets forth his political views, and sketches the ideal state. More speculative than Socrates, Plato, from the wide range of his discussions, from their poetic spirit as well as their depth of thought, not less than their beauty of style, is one of the most inspiring and instructive of all authors. No other heathen writer presents so many points of affinity with Christian teaching.
ARISTOTLE.--Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) studied under Plato, but elaborated a system of his own, which was on some points dissonant from that of his instructor. His investigations extended over the field of material nature, as well as over the field of mind and morals. With less of poetry and of lofty sentiment than Plato, he has never been excelled in intellectual clearness and grasp. He was possessed of a wonderful power to observe facts, and an equally wonderful talent for systemizing them, and reasoning upon them. He is the founder of the science of _Logic_. His treatises on _Rhetoric_ and on _Ethics_ have been hardly less important in their influence. His _Politics_ is a masterly discussion of political science, based on a diligent examination of the various systems of government. In truth, in all departments of research he exhibits the same capacity for scientific observation and discussion. In religion he was a theist; but he is less spiritual in his vein of thought, and more reserved in his utterances on this theme, than Plato. The names of these two philosophers have been very frequently coupled. Their influence, like their fame, is imperishable.
LATER SCHOOLS: THE CYNICS.--The impulse given by Socrates gave rise to still other schools of philosophers. _Aristippus_ of Cyrene (about 380 B.C.) founded a sect which held that happiness is the chief end, the goal of rational effort. _Antisthenes_, who was born 422 B.C., and especially _Diogenes_, went to the opposite extreme, and founded the school of _Cynics_, who looked with disdain, not only on luxuries, but on the ordinary comforts of life, and inured themselves to do without them. Their manners were often as savage as their mode of living.
HISTORICAL WRITINGS.--The three princ.i.p.al historical writers were _Herodotus_ (c. 484-0.425 B.C.), the charming but uncritical chronicler of what he heard and saw, by whom the interference of the G.o.ds in human affairs is devoutly credited; _Thucydides_, who himself took part in the Peloponnesian war, the history of which he wrote with a candor, a profound perception of character, an insight into the causes of events, a skill in arrangement, and a condensation and eloquence of style, which are truly admirable; and _Xenophon_, an author characterized by naturalness, simplicity, and a religious spirit.
GREEK LIFE.--It will be convenient to bring together here some features of Greek life, (1) _Public Buildings and Dwellings_. The Greeks almost always preferred to live in cities. These grew up about an _Acropolis_, which was a fort on a hill, generally a steep crag. This was a place of refuge, and the site of the oldest temple. It became often, therefore, a sacred place from which private dwellings were excluded. At the nearest harbor, there would be a seaport town. The _Piraeus_ was more than four miles from Athens,--a mile farther than the nearest sh.o.r.e, but was chosen as being an excellent harbor. Sparta, alone, had no citadel,--the access from the plain being easily defended,--and no walls. The attractive buildings in a Greek town were the public edifices. Private houses, as to the exterior, were very plain, with flat roofs, with few stories, and low. Towards the street "the house looked like a dead wall with a strong door in it," It was built round an open court: in the case of the best houses, round two courts,--one bordered by apartments for the men, the other with the rooms for women. Bedrooms and sitting-rooms were small, admitting but little light. Fresco-painting on the walls and ceilings came to be common. The furniture of the house was plain and simple, but graceful and elegant in form. The poorer cla.s.ses slept on skins; the richer, on woolen mattresses laid on girths. The Greeks lived so much in the open air that they took less pains with their dwellings. The public buildings were costly and substantially built. (2) _Meals, Gymnastics, etc._ The Greeks rose early. There are no notices of a morning bath. The first meal was light. It was succeeded, as was the custom at Rome, by calls on friends. Business might follow until noon, the hour of the _dejeuner_, or breakfast, which, in the case of the rich, was a substantial meal. Later in the day, males went to the practice of gymnastics, which were followed, in later times, by a warm bath. Towards sunset came the princ.i.p.al meal of the day. Conversation and music, or the attending of a feast with friends, took up the evening; if there was a festal company, often the whole night. At the dinner-table, the Greeks reclined on couches. Ladies, if allowed to be present, and children, were required to sit. Spoons, sometimes knives, but never forks, were used. (3) _Costume: Use of Wine._ The dress of the Greeks, both of men and women, was simple and graceful. The men were generally bareheaded in the streets. In bad weather they wore close-fitting caps, and, in traveling, broad-brimmed hats. In Athens and Sparta they always carried walking-sticks. The use of wine was universal. It was always mixed with water. (4) _Slaves_. Slaves were regarded as chattels. No one objected to slavery as wrong. Slaves were better treated at Athens than elsewhere, but even at Athens they were tortured when their testimony was required. They were let out, sometimes by thousands, to work in pestiferous mines. (5) _Women and Children_. In Athens, the wife had seldom learned any thing but to spin and to cook. She lived in seclusion in her dwelling, and was not present with her husband at social entertainments, either at home or elsewhere. She had few if any legal rights, although at Athens she might bring a suit against her husband for ill-treatment. Concubinage was not condemned by public opinion. There was no law against exposing infants whom the parents did not wish to bring up,--that is, leaving them where they would perish. When found and brought up, they were the slaves of the person finding them. This cruelty was frequent in the case of daughters, or of offspring weak or deformed. There were toys and games for children. _Archytas_, a philosopher, was said to have invented the child"s rattle. Dolls, hoops, b.a.l.l.s, etc., were common playthings. Boys and girls played hide and seek, blind man"s buff, hunt the slipper, etc. Older people played ball, and gambled with dice. (6) _Education_. The education of boys was careful; that of girls was neglected. The boy went to or from school under the care of a slave, called _pedagogue_, or leader. Teachers were of different social grades, from the low cla.s.s which taught small children, to the professors of rhetoric and philosophy. It is needless to say how much stress was laid on gymnastic and aesthetic training. Boys read _Homer_ and other authors at an early age, committing much of them to memory. They were taught to play on the harp or the flute, and to sing. Lyric poems they learned by heart. _Music_ held a very high place in the esteem of the Greeks for its general influence on the mind. Running, wrestling, throwing the dart, etc., the games practiced at the public contests, were early taught. Boys at sixteen or eighteen came of age, and were enrolled as citizens. (7) _Musical Instruments: the Dance_. Instrumental music was common among the Greeks at games and meals, and in battle. They used no bows on the stringed instruments, but either the fingers or the _plectrum_,--a stick of wood, ivory, or metal. There were three sorts of stringed instruments, the lyre, the cithara (or zithern), and the harp. The wind-instruments were the pipe, the clarionet, and the trumpet. Besides these, there were clanging instruments which were used chiefly in religious ceremonies: such were castanets, the cymbal, and the tambourine. Dancing was originally connected with religious worship. Mimetic dances were a favorite diversion at feasts. There were warlike dances by men in armor, who went through the movements of attack and defense. In mimetic dances the hands and arms played a part. There were peaceful dances or choral dances, marked by rhythmic grace. Sometimes these were slow and measured, and sometimes more lively. Specially brisk were the dances at the festivals of Dionysus (Bacchus). Symbolic dances of a religious character, these Bacchic dances were the germ of the drama. Recitations were first introduced between hymns that attended the choric dances. Then, later, followed the dialogue. (8) _Weddings and Funerals_. Marriage was attended by a religious ceremonial. There was a solemn sacrifice and a wedding-feast. The bride was conveyed to her husband"s house, accompanied on the way with music and song. When a person died, his body was laid out for one day, during which the relatives and hired mourners uttered laments round the bier. Burial was at the dawn of day. In later times, a coin was put into the mouth of the corpse, with which to pay his pa.s.sage to the world below. There was a funeral procession, and at the tomb a solemn farewell was addressed to the deceased by name. There was then a funeral-feast. Mourning garments were worn for a short period. The dead were buried in the suburbs of the cities, generally on both sides of a highway. In the tomb many little presents, as trinkets and vases, were deposited. (9) _Courts of Law_. At law men pleaded their own causes, but might take advice or have their speeches composed for them by others. In some cases, friends were allowed to speak in behalf of a litigant. Men like _Demosthenes_ received large fees for services of this kind. There being no public prosecutor, informers were more numerous. They became odious under the name of _sycophants_, which is supposed to have been first applied to those who informed against breakers of an old law forbidding the exportation of figs from Athens.
CHAPTER IV. RELATIONS WITH PERSIA.--THE SPARTAN AND THEBAN HEGEMONY.