A Manual of Ancient History Part 15

Unimportant wars with Tegea and Argos; and disputes with Messene, 783-745.

First Messenian war, 742-722, terminated by the capture of the frontier fortress Ithome, after the voluntary death of the Messenian king, Aristodemus.--The Messenians become tributary to the Spartans, and are obliged to give up one half of the revenues of their lands.--Occurrences during this war: 1. Inst.i.tution, according to some authorities, of the college of Ephori as vicegerents of the kings in their absence, and arbitrators in the quarrels which might arise between the kings and the senate. 2. The power of the people so far limited as to restrain the popular a.s.semblies from making alterations in the resolutions proposed to them by the senate or the kings, and confining them merely to a vote of approval or rejection. 3. Insurrection of the Parthenii and Helots becomes the motive for sending out colonies; a measure to which Sparta had more than once resorted for the purpose of maintaining domestic tranquillity.

Second Messenian war, 682-668, waged by the Messenians under the command of their hero Aristomenes, by the Spartans under that of Tyrtaeus, who fanned the flame of war until the contest was terminated by the capture of the strong town Ira. The Messenian territory is divided among the conquerors, and the conquered inhabitants become, like the helots, agricultural slaves.

11. Although the territory of the Spartans was greatly increased by these Messenian wars, the nation seems to have been a long time before it recovered from the struggle, and to have raised itself by slow steps to the first rank among the Dorian states, extending its boundaries at the expense of the Argives and Arcadians.

Wars with Tegea for the most part unsuccessful; and with Argos, for the possession of Thyrea and the island of Cythera; by the accession of which the Spartan territory received an important augmentation, about 550.

12. These wars within Peloponnesus were not of such a nature as to give rise to any remarkable changes in the Spartan const.i.tution, and for a long time the nation refused to take any share in foreign affairs. But no sooner did king Cleomenes, who in the end procured the deposition of his colleague, Demaratus, interfere in the affairs of the Athenians, than the seeds of strife were sown between these two republics. The Persian war next ensued, in which Sparta was obliged to bear a part, although Cleomenes had refused to partic.i.p.ate in the insurrection of Aristagoras: that struggle, together with the idea of supremacy in Greece which now took its rise, introduced a series of political relations before unknown.

13. The history of Athens during this period is rendered important rather by domestic revolutions, which gradually tended to convert the state into a republic, than by external aggrandizement. The situation and peculiarities of Attica, which rendered it less exposed than other parts of Greece to the attacks and forays of wandering hordes, favoured the gradual and tranquil growth of national prosperity; the traces of which are incontestable, though it would be difficult for the most profound research to point out the whole course of its progress so perspicuously as the historian might wish.

The history of Athens, of course, const.i.tutes a main part of the works mentioned above, p. 119. Besides which:

W. YOUNG, _The history of Athens politically and philosophically considered_. London, 1796. 4to. Argumentation rather than history.

CORSINI, _Fasti Attici_. Florent. 1747. 4 vols. 4to. A most careful chronological essay.

1. Period of kingly government down to 1068. The history of Athens as a state begins properly with Theseus, who succeeded his father aegeus, about B. C. 1300. Although certain inst.i.tutions, such as that of the areopagus, the division of the people into n.o.bles, ([Greek: eupatridai],) husbandmen, ([Greek: georgoi],) and mechanics: ([Greek: demiourgoi;]) a division which recals to our memory the Egyptian inst.i.tution of castes, are perhaps of an earlier date, and may be ascribed to the colony of Cecrops. Theseus was, however, in some measure the founder of the state, since, instead of the four districts, ([Greek: demoi],) hitherto independent of one another, he const.i.tuted the city of Athens as the only seat of government. Among his successors the attention of the student is directed to Mnestheus, who fell before Troy; and the last king, Codrus, who by a voluntary sacrifice of his life rescued Attica from the inroads of the Dorians, 1068.

2. Period of archons for life, taken from the family of Codrus, thirteen of whom ruled; 1068-752. The first was Medon, the last, Alcmaeon. These archons succeeded, like the kings, by inheritance, but were accountable for their administration, ([Greek: hypeuthynoi].)--At the commencement of this period occur the migrations of the Ionians from Attica to Asia Minor, 1044. See below.

3. Period of the decennial archons, seven of whom succeeded between 752-682. These likewise were taken from the family of Codrus. This period is devoid of any remarkable occurrences.

4. Period extending to Solon, 682-594. that of nine archons yearly chosen, but so arranged that the prerogatives of the former kings, and the preceding archons, were divided among the three first of the nine. With respect to this, as well as to the other changes above mentioned, we know little of the causes which produced them, or of the manner in which they were brought about. Rise of an oppressive aristocracy, (like that of the patricians at Rome, immediately after the expulsion of the kings,) both the archons and the members of the areopagus being elected only from n.o.ble families. First attempt at legislation by Draco, 622, which appears only to have consisted in a criminal code, rendered unavailing by its severity.--The insurrection of Cylon, 598, in consequence of the manner in which it was quelled, turned out most injurious to the aristocratical party, inasmuch as the n.o.bles drew upon themselves the pollution of blood, which, even after the purification of Epimenides, 593, was long used as a pretext for commotion. The political factions of the Pediaei, of the Diacrii, and of the Parhali, produced an anarchy at Athens, during which the neighbouring Megarians took possession of the island of Salamis; a conquest which, however, was subsequently wrested from them by Solon.

14. From this state of anarchy Athens was rescued by Solon; a man to whom not only Athens, but the whole human race, are deeply indebted. He was chosen archon, and at the same time commissioned to remodel the const.i.tution of Athens: and the successful manner in which he executed this task, laid the foundation of the happiness of his native country.

_Review of the prominent features in Solon's legislation._ Its main object was to abolish the oppressive aristocracy, without however introducing a pure democracy. 1. Provisional laws: abolition of the statutes of Draco, those against murder excepted: law enacted for the relief of debtors, ([Greek: seisachtheia], novae tabulae,) not so much by cancelling the debts as by diminishing their amount by a rise in the value of money; and likewise by ensuring the personal liberty of the debtor. 2. Fundamental laws, both in reference to the const.i.tution and in reference to private life and private rights.--Const.i.tution of the state. (_a_) Organization of the people by means of divisions: according to property into four cla.s.ses; the Pentacosimedimni, or those who had a yearly income of 500 medimni; the Equites, ([Greek: hippeis],) who had 400; the Zeugitae, who had 300; and the Thetes, (capite censi,) whose yearly revenue did not amount to so much.--The ancient divisions according to heads, into wards, ([Greek: phylai],) of which there were four, and according to residence into demi, (hundreds,) of which a hundred and seventy are enumerated, were preserved. (_b_) None but citizens of the three first cla.s.ses could fill all the offices of state; but all were admitted to the popular a.s.semblies, and had a right of voting in the courts of judicature. (_c_) The nine archons annually chosen, who acted as supreme magistrates, although not permitted to a.s.sume military office at the same time, remained at the head of the state; the first bearing the name of [Greek: eponumos], the second of [Greek: basileus], the third of [Greek: polemarchos], the remaining six that of [Greek: thesmothetai].

Combined with the archons was (_d_) The council, ([Greek: boule],) which consisted of a body of four hundred persons annually taken from the three first cla.s.ses of citizens; (a hundred from each ward;) these were chosen by lot, but were obliged to submit to a rigid examination ([Greek: dokimasia]) before they entered upon office. The archons were obliged to consult the four hundred on every occurrence; and nothing could be carried down to the commons until it had been previously debated in this council. (_e_) To the people, consisting of the whole four cla.s.ses, was reserved the right in its a.s.semblies ([Greek: ekklesiai]) of confirming the laws, of electing the magistrates, of debating all public affairs referred to them by the council, and likewise the public distribution of justice. (_f_) The areopagus was, according to Solon's plan, to be the main b.u.t.tress of the const.i.tution; that tribunal had hitherto been a mere tool in the hands of the aristocracy. It was composed of retired archons, and remained not only the supreme tribunal in capital cases, but likewise was charged with the superintendence of morals, with the censorship upon the conduct of the archons who went out of office, and had the prerogative of amending or rescinding the measures that had been approved of by the commons. The power of this court, which might easily have become equal to the college of Ephori at Sparta, might at first have been supposed too extensive, had not experience shown the fatal consequences of the reduction of that power by Pericles.

This alloy of aristocracy and democracy certainly gives proof of a deep insight into the nature of republican const.i.tutions; but Solon is not less ent.i.tled to praise for his endeavours to place the helm of government in the hands only of the most enlightened and prudent citizens. It must likewise be observed, that the code for private life given by Solon exhibits the genius of a man who regarded polity as subordinate to morals, and not, like Lycurgus, morals as subordinate to polity.

SAM. PEt.i.tUS, _De Legibus Atticis_, 1635. fol. The best compilation and ill.u.s.tration of the fragments remaining of the Attic law.

CHR. BUNSEN, _De jure Atheniensium hereditario, ex Isaeo caeterisque oratoribus Graecis ducto_, Goett. 1812. The law of inheritance was a princ.i.p.al feature in Solon's legislation; the explanation of it requires a profound acquaintance with the const.i.tution, so far as it was connected with government by clans or families.

An explanation of the Athenian const.i.tution will be likewise found in the above-mentioned works of t.i.ttmann, Kruse, and Wachs.m.u.th.

15. The legislation of Solon, like all other state reforms, was not followed by the total extinction of party spirit. It was natural that the commons, now free, should wish to try their strength with the aristocratical party, and that, after the defeat of the latter, Pisistratus, who headed the commons, should grasp the rudder of the state without, therefore, necessarily abrogating the const.i.tution of Solon. Modern history has proved with sufficient evidence, that the frame-work of a republic may easily subsist under the rule of an usurper. And would that no republics might fall into the hands of a worse tyrant than Pisistratus!

First exaltation of Pisistratus, 561, procured by his obtaining a body guard; flight of the Alcmaeonidae under Megacles. Pisistratus expelled, 560. Second exaltation of Pisistratus procured by his matrimonial connection with the family of Megacles, 556-552.--His second expulsion by Megacles, 552-538.--His third exaltation; obtains the power by force of arms, and preserves it to the day of his death, 538-528. Flight of the Alcmaeonidae into Macedonia, where they attach the malcontents to their party. Pisistratus is succeeded by his sons Hipparchus and Hippias, who rule conjointly until 514, when the elder is murdered by Harmodius and Aristogiton.

The exiled Alcmaeonidae, having bribed the Delphian oracle, gain over the Spartans to their interest: backed by a Spartan army, they take possession of Athens in 510; Hippias is deposed, and flies over to the Persians.

16. This return of the Alcmaeonidae was followed by a change in the const.i.tution of Solon. Clisthenes, the son of Megacles, with a view of quenching party spirit by a new combination of the citizens, increased the number of wards to ten, and that of the members of the council to five hundred.--But the Athenians had to purchase the continuance of their freedom by a struggle with Sparta, who, united with the Boeotians and Chalcidians, and aided by aegina, sought to reestablish monarchy in Attica; first in the person of Isagoras, the rival of Clisthenes, and afterwards in that of the exiled Hippias. But the glorious success of the republic in this first struggle in the cause of liberty, gave an additional impulse to the national spirit. Impelled by that spirit, Athens suffered herself to be induced to share in the war of freedom carried on by the Asiatic Greeks under Aristagoras; and the audacity which led to the firing of Sardis, drew upon Attica the vengeance of the Persians, without which, doubtless, neither Athens or Greece would ever have risen to that degree of eminence which they ultimately attained.

17. Of the history of the other states of Greece we have at best but few data, and even these in most instances are very scanty. Towards the end of this period Sparta and Athens had, undoubtedly, exalted themselves above the rest, and were recognized, one as the first among the Dorian, the latter as the first among the Ionian states; yet did Sparta more than once meet with rivals in Messene, Argos, and Tegea: while Athens had to contend with Megara and aegina. Sparta and Athens had, nevertheless, not only the best const.i.tutions, but possessed also a more extended territory than any other of the great cities.

_Princ.i.p.al data for the history of the smaller states._

I. _Within the Peloponnesus._

_a._ Arcadia. The Arcadian traditions enumerate a line of kings or hereditary princes, said to have ruled over the whole of Arcadia; the line commences with Arcas and his son Lycaon, whose successors kept possession of the supreme power, and shared more or less in the ancient feuds of the h.e.l.lenic princes. Upon the conquest of Peloponnesus by the Dorians, Arcadia was the only land that did not suffer by the irruption: an advantage for which it was probably indebted more to its mountains, than to the skill of Cypselus its king. The successors of that prince took a part in the wars between the Messenians and Spartans, siding with the former: but in the second Messenian war, the last Arcadian king, Aristocrates II.

having betrayed his allies, was in consequence stoned to death by his subjects, and the regal dignity was abolished in 668. Arcadia now became divided into as many small states as it contained cities with their respective districts; among these Tegea and Mantinea were the chief, and probably held the others in a certain state of control, without, however, depriving them wholly of their independence. As might have been expected in a pastoral nation, the const.i.tution was democratical. In Mantinea there were wardens of the people, ([Greek: demiourgoi],) and a senate, ([Greek: boule].) The wars of separate cities are frequently mentioned, but no general confederation united them.

# See A. VON BREITENBAUCH, _History of Arcadia_, 1791.

_b._ Argos. Even previously to the Dorian migration, the country of Argolis was parcelled out into several small kingdoms, such as those of Argos, Mycenae, and Tiryns. In Argos, the oldest Grecian state next to Sicyon, ruled the forefathers of Perseus, who exchanged the kingdom of his ancestors for Tiryns: here his successors continued to reign till the time of Hercules, whose sons, expelled by Eurystheus, sought an asylum among the Dorians.--In Mycenae, said to have been built by Perseus, the throne was occupied by the family of Pelops: and at the period of the Trojan war, this little state, to which Corinth and Sicyon then belonged, was the most powerful in Greece, and governed by Agamemnon. The migration into this country by Pelops from Asia Minor, must have been attended with important consequences, since it has given a name to the whole peninsula: the object of Pelops, as we may infer from the riches he brought with him, was probably to establish a trading settlement.--At the Dorian conquest Argos fell to the share of Temenus, the Achaeans were expelled, and the country was peopled by Dorians. As early as the reign of Cisus, son of Temenus, the royal power was so limited, that the successors of that prince hardly preserved any thing but the mere name: about 984 the regal dignity was wholly abrogated, and its place supplied by a republican const.i.tution, concerning the domestic organization of which we know nothing more than that at Argos the government was in the hands of a senate, ([Greek: boule],) of a college of eighty citizens, ([Greek: hoi ogdoekonta],) and of magistrates, who bore the name of [Greek: artynoi]: in Epidaurus, however, there was a body of one hundred and eighty citizens who chose from among themselves the senate, the members of which were called [Greek: artynoi]. As in the other states of Greece so in Argolis, there were as many independent states as there were cities; in the north Argos, Mycenae, and Tiryns; in the south Epidaurus and Troezen. The two last preserved their independence; but Mycenae was destroyed by the Argives in 425, and the inhabitants of Tiryns were forcibly transplanted to Argos. The district of Argos, therefore, comprised the northern portion of the country called Argolis; but not the southern portion, which belonged to the towns situated therein.

_c._ Corinth. In this place, previous to the time of the Dorian migration, the house of Sisyphus held the royal power; and even at that early period Corinth is extolled by Homer for its wealth. The Dorians drove out the original inhabitants; and Aletes, belonging to the race of Hercules, became king about 1089; the posterity of that prince held the sceptre down to the fifth generation. After the death of the last king, Telessus, 777, the family of the Bacchiadae, likewise a branch of the family of Hercules, took possession of the government and introduced an oligarchy, electing annually from among themselves a Prytane. At last, in 657, Cypselus got the upper hand; he was succeeded, 627, by his son Periander; both father and son were equally conspicuous for their avarice and cruelty. Periander (_d._ 587) was succeeded by his nephew Psammetichus, who reigned till 584, when the Corinthians a.s.serted their freedom. With regard to the internal organization of the republic, little more is known than that there were at Corinth a.s.semblies of the commons and a senate, ([Greek: gerousia]): the government appears to have been the aristocracy of a trading state; for even the Bacchiadae, at least some of them, were merchants.--The Corinthian commerce consisted chiefly in the exchange of Asiatic and Italian goods, and therefore was mostly carried on by sea: for such a trade the city of Corinth offered many advantages, particularly if we consider the state of navigation in those times; but the sea trade of Corinth, however profitable to the citizens, and even to the state, in consequence of the customs, cannot be considered as very extensive.--The colonies of Corinth in the west were princ.i.p.ally Corcyra, Epid.a.m.nus, Leucas, Syracuse; in the east Potidaea: these colonies would fain have a.s.serted a sort of independence, but never succeeded for any length of time in so doing.

From the possession of these colonies, and from the necessity of protecting the trader from pirates, Corinth grew to be a naval power; she invented triremes, and at the early date of 664 gave battle to the Corcyraeans at sea. On the other hand, her wars by land were generally waged with the a.s.sistance of foreign subsidiaries; and from the facility with which she was enabled to pay her mercenary troops, she was the more ready to interfere in the domestic wars of Greece.

_d._ Sicyon. Tradition represents this state, together with Argos, as the most ancient in Greece; the catalogues of early kings and princes, who are said to have reigned at this place, make it probable that in early antiquity some settlements of priests were made in this quarter. In the times previous to the migration of the Dorians, Sicyon was first inhabited by the Ionians; at the Trojan war, however, it made part of Agamemnon's kingdom. At the Dorian irruption, Phalces, son of Temenus, took possession of Sicyon, which then became a Dorian city. After the abrogation of the kingship, the date of which is not precisely known, the const.i.tution a.s.sumed the form of an uncurbed democracy, which, as usual, paved the way for the usurpation of one individual.

Orthagoras and his posterity, the last and most celebrated of whom was Clisthenes, ruled over Sicyon during a whole century; 700-600.

After the restoration of her freedom, Sicyon frequently suffered from revolutions; and the period of her highest splendour was during the latter days of Greece, when she became a member of the Achaean league.

_e._ Achaia. During the spread of the h.e.l.lenes, this country, which till then had borne the name of aegialus, was taken possession of by Ion, who had been expelled from Athens, and his tribe, who from their leader took the name of Ionians: the country remained in the hands of the Ionians until the Dorian migration, when the Achaeans, driven out of Argos and Laconia, pressed into the northern parts of Peloponnesus under Tisamenus, son of Orestes: they settled in the land of the Ionians, and the power of the chieftain descended to his posterity, until the tyranny of the last sovereign of that race, Gyges, (of date undetermined,) produced the abolition of monarchy. Achaia thereupon was parcelled into twelve small republics, or so many cities with their respective districts, each of which comprised seven or eight cantons. All these republics had democratic const.i.tutions, and were mutually united by a league, founded on the most perfect equality, and which nothing but the policy of the Macedonian kings could dissolve; and even this dissolution gave rise to the _Achaean_ league, of such high importance in subsequent times. The Achaeans lived in peace and happiness, inasmuch as they had not the vanity, before the Peloponnesian war, to interfere in the affairs of foreign states: their const.i.tutions were so renowned, that they were adopted by several other Grecian cities.

_f._ Elis. The inhabitants in earlier times bore the name of Epeans, which, like that of Eleans, was traced to one of their ancient kings. The names of their most ancient hereditary princes, Endymion, Epeus, Eleus, Augias, are celebrated by the poets. It appears that this country was divided into several small kingdoms, since, at the period of the Trojan war it contained four, to which however must be added Pylus in Triphylia, a territory usually reckoned as belonging to Elis. At the epoch of the Dorian migration the aetolians, who had accompanied the Dorians, headed by their chieftain Oxylus, settled in Elis; but permitted the ancient inhabitants to remain in the country. Among the successors of Oxylus was Iphitus the contemporary of Lycurgus, and celebrated as the restorer of the Olympian games, to the celebration of which Elis was indebted for the tranquil splendour that distinguished her from this time: her territory being regarded as sacred, although she had occasional disputes with her neighbours, the Arcadians, for precedence at the games. After the abolition of the royal power supreme magistrates were chosen, to whose office was added the charge of superintending the games: (h.e.l.lanodicae). These magistrates were at first two; they were afterwards increased to ten, one from each tribe, although their number frequently changed with that of the tribes themselves. There must likewise have been a senate, consisting of ninety persons, who held their places for life, since Aristotle makes mention of that branch of the Elean const.i.tution. The city of Elis was first built in 477, before which time the Eleans resided in several small hamlets.

II. _Central Greece, or h.e.l.las._

_a._ Megaris. Until the epoch of the Dorian migration, this state generally formed part of the domain of the Attic kings; or at least was governed by princes of that house. Immediately previous to that event, the Megarians, after the a.s.sa.s.sination of their last sovereign, Hyperion, placed the government in the hands of magistrates elected for stated periods. At the time of the Dorian irruption, under the reign of Codrus, Megara was occupied by Dorians, more especially those of Corinth, who consequently reckoned the city among their colonies, and during the sway of the Bacchiadae endeavoured to keep it in a state of dependency; a circ.u.mstance which gave rise to several wars. Nevertheless Megara supported her rank as a separate state, both in those and many subsequent wars among the Greeks, in which she took a share both by sea and land. About the year 600, Theagenes, step-father of the Athenian Cylon, had possessed himself of the supreme power: after the expulsion of that tyrant, the republican const.i.tution was once more restored, but soon after merged into the lowest species of democracy. Megara, however, even at the period of the Persian war, in which it took a glorious share, appears to have recovered the character of a well-ordered state, although we have no information respecting its internal organization.

_b._ Boeotia. History mentions several very early races in Boeotia, such as the Aones, Hyantes, etc.; with these were mingled Phoenician emigrants, who had come into the country under the guidance of Cadmus. The stock of Cadmus became the ruling family, and remained so for a long time: the history of his descendants, who were kings of Thebes, and comprised under their dominion the greatest part of Boeotia, const.i.tutes a main branch of Grecian mythology: among them were Oedipus, Laus, Eteocles, and Polynices. After the capture of Thebes by the Epigoni, 1215, the Boeotians were expelled by Thracian hordes, and settled at Arne in Thessaly; at the time of the Dorian migration they returned to the land of their forefathers, and mingled with the aeolians of those quarters. Not long after, upon the death of Xuthus, royalty was abolished, 1126. Boeotia was now divided into as many small states as it contained cities; of these, next to Thebes, the most eminent were the towns of Plataeae, Thespiae, Tanagra, and Chaeronea, each of which had its own separate district and peculiar form of government; but all those const.i.tutions appear to have been commuted into oligarchies about the time of the Persian war. Such had been the case even with Thebes, although she had received as a legislator, Philolaus from Corinth; but the code given by this individual cannot have been attended with the desired effect, as the government was continually fluctuating between a licentious democracy and an overbearing oligarchy. The Boeotian cities were, however, mutually united by a league, at the head of which stood Thebes, who gradually converted her right of precedence into a right of power, although her ambitious attempts were resisted to the last extremity by the separate cities, and by Plataeae in particular: hence sprung many wars. The general affairs were decided upon in four a.s.semblies, ([Greek: boulai],) held in the four districts into which Boeotia was divided; these a.s.semblies in conjunction elected eleven Boeotarchs, who stood at the head of the federation as supreme magistrates and field marshals. The great extent and population of their territory might have enabled the Boeotians to act the first part on the theatre of Greece, had they not been impeded by their pernicious form of government, by the envy felt against Thebes, and by the want of union which naturally ensued. Yet in subsequent times the example of Epaminondas and Pelopidas gave proof that the genius of two men was sufficient to surmount all these obstacles.

_c._ Phocis was originally ruled by kings descended, it is said, from Phocus, the leader of a colony from Corinth. The sovereign power was abolished about the time of the Dorian migration; but the form of the republican const.i.tution which succeeded remains undetermined; and of the undertakings of the Phocians previous to the Persian invasion, we know nothing more than that they waged war with the Thessalians, and were successful. As history never mentions the Phocians but in the aggregate, the whole territory must have formed but one independent state. To that state, however, the city of Delphi, which had its own const.i.tution, did not belong: the city of Crissa with its fertile district, and the harbour of Cirrha, const.i.tuted a separate state, which became opulent by practising extortions upon the pilgrims to Delphi: this state lasted till 600, when, in consequence of the insults of the Crissaeans to the Delphian oracle, a war was proclaimed against them by the Amphictyons, which ended in 590 with the rasing of Crissa; the land of which was thenceforward added to the sacred glebe of Delphi.

_d._ Locris. Although we learn from early history that the Locrians also had their kings,--among whom Ajax, the son of Oileus, is renowned in the Trojan war,--and that they likewise in subsequent times adopted a republican form of government; yet the date of that revolution, and the manner in which it was brought about, are not known. The three tribes of Locrians remained politically distinct. The Locri Ozolae, west of Phocis, possessed the most extensive territory; each city of which stood independent, though Amphissa is mentioned as the capital. The country of the Locri Opuntii, eastward, consisted of the district appertaining to the city of Opus; of their domestic organization, as well as that of their neighbours, the Locri Epicnemidii, we know nothing.

_e._ aetolia. The aetolians remained the most rude and uncivilized of all the h.e.l.lenic races; they were little more than a band of freebooters, and carried on their predatory excursions both by sea and land. Renowned as are the names of their earliest heroes, aetolus, Peneus, Meleager, Diomede, the nation has no place in the history of the flourishing times of Greece. Nor did they acquire any celebrity until the Macedo-Roman period, when the various insignificant tribes of which they were composed gathered themselves together and chose one common leader, for the purpose of carrying on a war with the Achaeans. The earlier period of their history seems, however, to afford no previous example of such an union; their political const.i.tution in those times is wholly unknown.

_f._ Acarnania. This country derived its name from Acarnan, son of Alcmaeon, both of whom are adduced as its earliest kings. In the Trojan age it appears beyond a doubt, that some part at least of this country was subject to the governors of the island of Ithaca.

When and how a republican government was introduced among the Acarnanians, and what were the peculiarities of that government we know not. All that can be distinguished through the veil of time is, that here likewise the different cities, the most important of which was Stratus, had each its own form of government. Those cities upon particular emergencies were wont to combine; and out of that practice in later times, during the Macedonian period, grew up a permanent confederation. The city and district of Argos Amphilochic.u.m const.i.tuted a separate state, which endured a long time, and flourished greatly; it derived its name from Amphilochus, the founder. The inhabitants, however, being driven out by the Ambracians, whom they had themselves called in, sought a.s.sistance at the hands of the Acarnanians, who with the help of Athens, replaced the exiles in possession of their city, which thenceforward was inhabited in common by Amphilochians and Acarnanians, and was almost constantly engaged in war with Ambracia.

III. _Northern Greece._

_a._ The importance of Thessaly in the earliest history of Greece, may be gathered from the princ.i.p.al data enumerated above for the history of the Pelasgi and the h.e.l.lenes. From this country it was that the h.e.l.lenes proceeded and spread over Greece; and here likewise they maintained their original seat. In the Trojan age Thessaly contained ten small kingdoms, governed by hereditary princes, several of whom, such as Achilles and Philoctetes, were among the most renowned heroes of the time. In the period subsequent to the Trojan war and the Dorian migration, Thessaly must have experienced political revolutions similar to those of the other Grecian countries; but neither the time nor the manner in which those revolutions occurred can be ascertained. All that can be deduced from the subsequent history is, that if the Thessalian cities ever did recover their political freedom, they were unable to maintain it; for in the two most eminent cities, Pherae and Larissa, with whose history that of the whole country is closely connected, the supreme power had fallen into the hands of arbitrary individuals, who appear to have kept possession of it almost without interruption. Even before the breaking out of the Persian war, Larissa was under the rule of the Aleuadae; a family who claimed descent from Hercules, and are specially denominated by Herodotus kings of the Thessalians. They preserved their power until the Macedonian period.--In Pherae there arose about the year 380, a tyrant, by the name of Jason, who extended his dominion not only over Thessaly, but likewise over several of the neighbouring barbarous tribes. The sceptre of Jason pa.s.sed rapidly and successively into the hands of his three brothers, Polydorus, Polyphron, and Alexander. The last was first driven out of Larissa by the Aleuadae, a.s.sisted by the Macedonians; was afterwards worsted in war by Pelopidas; and finally, at the instigation of his wife Thebe, was murdered, 356, by her brothers, Lycophron and Tisiphonus. The two murderers then a.s.sumed the supreme power, but were, in compliance with the request of the Aleuadae, deposed by Philip of Macedon.--Some other such tyrants are met with at intervals in the rest of the Thessalian cities, such as _Pharsalus_, etc.

_b._ Epirus. This country was occupied by several tribes, partly Greek and partly barbarian. The most powerful of these was that of the Molossi, who were governed by kings of the house of the aeacidae, descendants of Pyrrhus, the son of Achilles. This Greek family was the only one that held the kingly power for a permanency; it must be observed, however, that previous to the Macedonian period, those sovereigns were by no means lords of the whole of Epirus; for the other non-h.e.l.lenic races, such as the Thesprotii, Orestii, etc. had their own separate kings. Moreover the Corinthian colony of Ambracia const.i.tuted a distinct state, generally governed as a republic, although sometimes subject to the rule of tyrants. But, in consequence of an alliance framed with the Macedonian kings, the whole of Epirus, and even Ambracia itself, was placed under the sceptre of the Molossian kings; and some of those princes, Pyrrhus II. more especially, rose to be mighty conquerors. See below.

IV. _Grecian Islands._

Both the islands off the coast of Greece, and those of the Archipelago, all underwent the same political revolutions as occurred in the states on the main land. But those events did not take place till after the more ancient non-h.e.l.lenic inhabitants, such as the Phoenicians, Carians, etc. had been driven out, and the land had been taken possession of by the h.e.l.lenes. In the more extensive islands, which contained several cities, there generally arose as many small republics as there were towns, and those little states were wont to enter into mutual alliances. The smaller islands, containing but one city, formed each one small independent state, the territory of which comprised the whole island. The respective independence of these islands ceased to exist at the period of the Trojan war; for after the Athenians had by their success placed themselves at the head of confederate Greece, and possessed themselves of the sovereignty of the sea, these smaller states, although called confederates, were treated little better than subjects, except that their political const.i.tutions were not changed.--Among the islands of the Grecian coast, the most remarkable in history are the following:

_a._ Corcyra, a colony of Corinth, important for its naval power and trade, in which it rivalled the mother state itself: a rivalry which occasioned many feuds and wars, and was even one of the princ.i.p.al motives that led to the Peloponnesian war. About the time this struggle began Corcyra had attained the height of her power, being able, without foreign aid, to man a fleet of 120 galleys. The const.i.tution appears, as at Corinth, to have been aristocratic, or oligarchical: but after the Persian war a democratic faction arose, which produced the most violent internal commotions, and ended in the total ruin of Corcyra.