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39. X. Deinon says that when Artagerses fell, Cyrus charged violently
among the troops round the king, and wounded the king’s horse.
Artaxerxes was thrown from his horse, but Teribazus quickly
mounted him upon another horse, saying, “My king, remember this
day, for you ought not to forget it.” Artaxerxes, he states, was again
thrown from his horse by the vehement onset of Cyrus, and again
mounted. At the third charge the king who was violently enraged,
and cried out to those around him that it was better to die than be
treated thus, rode straight against Cyrus, who rashly and heedlessly
exposed himself to the missiles of his enemies. The king hurled a
dart at Cyrus, and so did, all his followers. Cyrus fell, struck, some
say by the king himself, but according to others he was slain by a
Carian soldier, on whom the king afterwards, as a reward for this
feat of arms, bestowed the honour of marching at the head of the
army, carrying a golden cock upon a spear. Indeed the Persians call
the Carians themselves cocks, because of the plumes with which
they ornament their helmets.
XI. The story of Ktesias, reduced to a succinct form, is as follows:—
Cyrus, after slaying Artagerses, rode towards the king himself, and
the king rode towards him, both of them in silence. Ariaeus, the
friend of Cyrus, struck the king first but did not wound him. The king
hurled his spear and missed Cyrus, but struck Satiphernes, a man of
noble birth and a trusted friend of Cyrus, and slew him. Cyrus hurled
his javelin at the king, drove it through his breastplate, making a
wound in his breast two fingers’ breadths deep, and cast him from
his horse. Upon this there was much disorder, and many took to
flight. The king rose, and with a few followers, among whom was
Ktesias, took refuge on a hill hard by. Meanwhile Cyrus was carried
by his horse a long distance forward into the midst of his enemies,
and, as it was now growing dark, he was not recognised by his foes,
and was being sought for in vain by his friends. Excited by his
victory, and full of spirit and pride, he rode about through the ranks,
crying, “Out of my way, wretches.” As Cyrus shouted these words in
Persian, some made way for him, but the tiara fell from his head,
and a young man named Mithridates, not knowing who he was,
40. hurled a javelin and struck him on the temple near the eye. The
wound bled profusely, and Cyrus became dizzy and faint, so that he
fell from his horse. The horse rushed away from him and was lost,
but the servant of the man who struck Cyrus took up his saddle-
cloth, which fell from his horse, and which was drenched with blood.
When Cyrus began to recover from the effects of this blow, some
few of his eunuchs tried to mount him upon another horse and get
him safe away from the field. As, however, he could not mount, he
proposed to walk, and the eunuchs supported him as he went, faint
and weak in his body, but still imagining himself to be the victor as
he heard the fugitives calling Cyrus their king and begging him for
mercy. At this time certain men of Kaunus, of mean and low
condition, who followed the king’s army to perform menial services,
happened to join the party with Cyrus, supposing them to be friends.
When, however, they managed to distinguish that the surcoats which
they wore over their armour were purple, while all the king’s soldiers
wore white ones, they perceived that they were enemies. One of
them ventured to strike Cyrus from behind with a spear, not knowing
who he was. The javelin struck Cyrus behind the knee, cutting the
vein there, and in his fall he also struck his wounded temple against
a stone, and so died. This is the story of Ktesias, in which he seems,
as it were, to hack poor Cyrus to death with a blunt sword.
XII. When Cyrus was dead it happened that Artasyras, who was
called the king’s eye,583
rode past. Recognising the eunuchs who
were mourning over the body, he asked the most trusted of them,
“Pariskas, who is this beside whom you sit weeping?” He answered,
“Artasyras, do you not see that it is Cyrus, who is dead?” Artasyras
was astonished at this news, bade the eunuch be of good courage
and guard the body, and himself rode in haste to Artaxerxes, who
had given up all hope of success, and was in great bodily suffering
from his wound and from thirst. Artasyras, with great delight, told
him that he had seen Cyrus lying dead. On hearing this Artaxerxes at
first wished to go to see it himself, and bade Artasyras lead him to
the spot; but as there was much talk and fear of the Greeks, who
41. were said to be advancing and carrying all before them; he decided
to send a party to view the body; and thirty men went carrying
torches. Meanwhile, as the king himself was almost dying of thirst
the eunuch Satibarzanes went in search of drink for him; for there
was no water in the place where he was, nor indeed anywhere near
the army. After much trouble the eunuch at length fell in with one of
the low Kaunian camp followers, who had about four pints of putrid
water in a skin, which he took from the man and carried it to the
king. When the king had drunk it all, he asked him if he was not
disgusted with the water; and the king swore by the gods that he
never had drank either wine or the purest of water with such
pleasure. “So,” added he, “if I be not able to find the man who gave
you this water and reward him for it, I pray that the gods may make
him rich and happy.”
XIII. While they were talking thus, the thirty men rode up in high
spirits, announcing to him his unlooked-for good fortune. Artaxerxes
now began to recover his courage from the number of men who
began to assemble round him, and descended from the hill amidst
the glare of many torches. When he reached the body, the head and
right hand were cut off, in accordance with some Persian custom. He
ordered the head to be brought to him, took hold of it by the long
thick hair, and showed it to those who were still wavering or fleeing.
They all were filled with amazement, and did homage to him, so that
he soon collected a force of seventy thousand men, accompanied by
whom he re-entered his camp. He had left it in the morning,
according to Ktesias, with an army of four hundred thousand men;
though Deinon and Xenophon both estimate the forces actually
engaged at a higher figure. Ktesias states that the number of the
dead was returned to Artaxerxes as nine thousand, but that he
himself thought that the corpses which he saw lying on the field
must amount to more than twenty thousand. This point admits of
discussion; but Ktesias tells an obvious untruth when he says that he
was sent on an embassy to the Greeks, together with Phalinus of
Zakynthus, and some other persons. Xenophon knew that Ktesias
was at the king’s court, for he makes mention of him, and has
42. evidently read his history; so that he never would have passed him
over, and only mentioned Phalinus of Zakynthus, if Ktesias had really
come as interpreter on a mission of such importance. But Ktesias,
being a wonderfully vain man, and especially attached to the
Lacedæmonians and to Klearchus, constantly in his history
introduces himself, while he sings the praises of Lacedæmon and of
Klearchus.
XIV. After the battle, Artaxerxes sent most splendid and valuable
presents to Artagerses, the son of the man who had been slain by
Cyrus, and handsomely rewarded Ktesias and the rest of his
companions. He sought out the Kaunian from whom he had received
the water-skin, who was a poor and humble man, and made him
rich and honoured. He also took pains to appoint suitable
punishments to those who had misconducted themselves. One
Arbakes, a Mede, deserted to Cyrus during the battle, and when
Cyrus fell again returned to his allegiance. Artaxerxes, perceiving
that he had done so not from treachery but from sheer cowardice,
ordered him to carry a naked courtesan about the market-place
upon his shoulders for the whole of one day. Another deserter, who
besides changing sides falsely boasted that he had slain two of the
enemy, was condemned by the king to have his tongue pierced with
three needles. As Artaxerxes believed, and wished all men to think
that he had himself slain Cyrus, he sent presents to Mithridates, who
was the first man that wounded Cyrus, and bade those who carried
the presents say, “The king honours you with these presents,
because you found Cyrus’s saddle-cloth and brought it to him.” And
when the Carian, who had struck Cyrus under the knee, demanded a
present, he bade those who carried the presents say, “The king
gives you these for having been second to bring him the good news;
for Artasyras first, and you next, brought him the news of the death
of Cyrus.” Mithridates retired in silence, much vexed at this; but the
unhappy Carian, as often happens, was ruined by his own folly.
Excited by his good fortune into trying to obtain more than became
him, he refused to take what was offered him for having brought
good news, but remonstrated loudly, declaring that he, and no one
43. else, slew Cyrus, and that he was most unjustly being deprived of
the credit of the action. The king, when he heard this, was greatly
angered, and ordered the man’s head to be struck off. His mother,
Parysatis, who was present, said, “My king, do not thus rid yourself
of this pestilent Carian. He shall receive from me a fitting
punishment for what he has dared to say.” The king handed him
over to her, and Parysatis ordered the executioners to torture him for
ten days, and then to tear out his eyes and pour molten copper into
his ears until he died.
XV. Mithridates also came to an evil end after a few days by his folly.
He came dressed in the robe, and adorned with the ornaments
which he had received from the king, to a banquet at which the
eunuchs of the king and of the king’s mother were present. When
they began to drink the most influential of the eunuchs of Parysatis
said to him: “What a fine dress, Mithridates, and what fine necklaces
and bracelet the king has given you! How valuable is your scimitar?
Indeed, he has made you fortunate and envied by all men.”
Mithridates, who was already in liquor, answered: “What are these
things, Sparamixes? I proved myself on that day worth more than
these to the king.” Sparamixes smiled and said, “I do not grudge you
them, Mithridates, but come—as the Greeks say that there is truth in
wine—tell us how it can be so great or brilliant an achievement to
find a saddle-cloth that has fallen off a horse, and to bring it to the
king.” This the eunuch said, not because he did not know the truth,
but because he wished to lead Mithridates, whose tongue was
loosened by wine, to expose his folly before the company.
Mithridates could not restrain himself, and said: “You may say what
you please about saddle-cloths and such nonsense; I tell you plainly,
that it was by my hand that Cyrus fell. I did not hurl my javelin in
vain, like Artagerses, but I just missed his eye, struck him through
the temple, and felled him to the ground; and with that blow he
died.” All the rest of the guests, foreseeing the miserable end to
which Mithridates would certainly come, cast their eyes upon the
ground; but the host said: “My good Mithridates, let us now eat and
44. drink, adoring the fortune of the king, but let us not talk about
subjects which are too high for us.”
XVI. After this, the eunuch told Parysatis what Mithridates had said,
and she told the king, who was much enraged, because he was
proved not to have spoken the truth, and had been deprived of the
sweetest part of his victory; for he wished to persuade all men,
Asiatics and Greeks alike, that in the skirmish when he and his
brother met he himself had been wounded by Cyrus, but had struck
him dead. He therefore condemned Mithridates to the punishment of
the boat. This is as follows:—Two wooden boats are made, which fit
together. The criminal is placed on his back in one of them, and then
the other is placed over him, and the two are fastened so as to leave
his head, feet, and hands outside, but covering all the rest of his
body. They give him food, and if he refuses it, they force him to eat
it by pricking his eyes. When he has eaten they pour a mixture of
milk and honey into his mouth and over his face. They then keep
turning his eyes towards the sun, his whole face becomes
completely covered with flies. As all his evacuations are necessarily
contained within the boat, worms and maggots are generated from
the corruption, which eat into his body; for when the man is
certainly dead, they take off the upper boat and find all his flesh
eaten away, and swarms of these animals clinging to his bowels and
devouring them. In this way Mithridates died, after enduring his
misery for seventeen days.
XVII. The only remaining object of the vengeance of Parysatis was
Masabates, the king’s eunuch who cut off the head and hand of
Cyrus. As he gave no handle against himself, Parysatis devised the
following plot against him. She was naturally a clever woman, and
was fond of playing with the dice. Before the war, she had often
played with dice with the king; and after the war when she became
reconciled to him she took part in his amusements, played at games
with him, encouraged his amours, and altogether permitted Statira
to have but very little of his society; for Parysatis hated Statira more
than any one else, and wished to have most influence with
45. Artaxerxes herself. Finding Artaxerxes one day eager for
amusement, as he had nothing to do, she challenged him to play for
a thousand darics. She purposely allowed her son to win, and paid
him the money: and then pretending to be vexed at her loss, called
on him to cast the dice afresh for a eunuch. Artaxerxes agreed, and
they agreed to play upon the condition that each of them should set
apart five of their most trusty eunuchs, and that the winner was to
have his choice of the rest. On these terms they played; and
Parysatis, who gave the closest attention to her game, and was also
favoured by fortune, won, and chose Masabates, who was not one
of the excepted ones. Before the king suspected her purpose she
had Masabates arrested, and delivered him to the executioners with
orders to flay him alive, impale his body sideways upon three stakes,
and hang up his skin separately. This was done; and as the king was
greatly grieved at it and was angry with her, she smiled and said
ironically: “How pleasant and well-mannered you are, to be angry
about a miserable old eunuch, whereas I have lost a thousand darics
at dice and say nothing about it.” The king, though he was sorry to
have been so cheated, yet remained quiet; but Statira, who indeed
often on other occasions openly braved Parysatis, was very indignant
with her for so cruelly and unjustly putting the king’s faithful eunuch
to death for Cyrus’s sake.
XVIII. When Tissaphernes betrayed Klearchus and the other
generals, broke his plighted word, seized them and sent them away
in chains, Ktesias tells us that Klearchus asked him to provide him
with a comb. When Klearchus received it and combed his hair with
it, he was so much pleased that he gave Ktesias his ring, to be a
token to all Klearchus’s friends and relatives in Lacedæmon of his
friendship for Ktesias. The device engraved upon the ring was a
dance of Karyatides. At first the soldiers who were imprisoned with
Klearchus took away the provisions which were sent to him and ate
them themselves, giving him but a small part of them. Ktesias says
that he remedied this also, by arranging that a larger portion should
be sent to Klearchus, and that a separate allowance should be given
to the soldiers. All these services Ktesias states that he rendered in
46. consequence of the favour of Parysatis for the captives, and at her
instigation. He says, also, that as he sent Klearchus a joint of meat
daily in addition to his other provisions, Klearchus begged him and
assured him that it was his duty to hide a small dagger in the meat,
and send it to him, and not to allow him to be cruelly put to death
by the king; but he was afraid, and did not dare to do it. Ktesias
says that the king’s mother pleaded with him for the life of
Klearchus, and that he agreed to spare him, and even swore to do
so, but that he was again overruled by Statira, and put them all to
death except Menon. It was in consequence of this, according to
Ktesias, that Parysatis began to plot against Statira, and devised the
plan for poisoning her, though it seems very unlikely that it was only
for the sake of Klearchus that she dared to do such wickedness as to
murder the lawful wife of her king, who was the mother of the heirs
to the throne. But clearly all this was written merely for dramatic
effect, to do honour to the memory of Klearchus. Ktesias writes, too,
that when the generals were put to death the remains of the others
were thrown away to be devoured by the dogs and fowls of the air;
but that a violent storm of wind heaped much earth over the body of
Klearchus, and that from some dates which were scattered around
there soon sprung up a fair and shady grove above the place where
he lay, so that the king sorely repented of what he had done,
thinking that in Klearchus he had slain one who was a favourite of
the gods.
XIX. Parysatis, who had long been jealous of Statira and hated her,
and who saw that her own power depended merely on the respect
with which she was regarded by the king, who loved and trusted
Statira, now determined to destroy her, though at the most terrible
risk to herself. She had a faithful maid-servant, named Gigis, who
was high in her favour, whom Deinon accuses of having assisted to
administer the poison, though Ktesias says that she was only privy
to the plot, and that against her will. Ktesias says that the man who
procured the poison was named Belitaris, but Deinon calls him
Melantas. Now the two queens, leaving off their former hatred and
suspicion, began again to visit one another and to dine together, but
47. yet mistrusted each other so much that they only ate the same food
from the same dishes. There is in Persia a small bird, which has no
excrements, but all its entrails are filled with solid fat; it is supposed
that it feeds upon air and dew; the name of it is rhyntakes. Ktesias
states that Parysatis cut this bird in two with a small knife, one side
of which was smeared over with the poison. As she cut it, she wiped
the poison off the blade on to one piece of the bird, which she gave
to Statira, while she ate the untouched portion herself. Deinon,
however, says that it was not Parysatis, but Melantas, who cut off
the poisoned part of the meat and gave it to Statira. As Statira
perished in dreadful agonies and convulsions, she herself perceived
that she had been poisoned, and directed the suspicions of the king
against his mother, knowing, as he did, her fierce and rancorous
disposition. He at once began to search for the author of the crime,
seized all his mother’s servants and the attendants at her table, and
put them to the torture, except Gigis, whom Parysatis kept for a long
time at home with herself, and refused to deliver up, though
afterwards, when Gigis begged to be sent to her own home, the king
heard of it, laid an ambuscade, caught her, and condemned her to
death. Poisoners are put to death in Persia in the following manner:
their heads are placed upon a flat stone, and are then beaten with
another stone until the face and skull is crushed. Gigis perished in
this manner; but Artaxerxes said and did nothing to Parysatis, except
that he sent her to Babylon, at her own request, saying that he
himself should not see Babylon as long as she lived. Such were the
domestic troubles of Artaxerxes.
XX. Though the king was as anxious to get the Greek troops, who
accompanied Cyrus, into his power as he had been to conquer Cyrus
himself and to save his throne, yet he could not do so: for though
they had lost their leader, Cyrus, and all their generals, yet they got
away safe after having penetrated almost as far as the king’s palace
itself, proving clearly to the world that the Persian empire, in spite of
all its gold and luxury and beautiful women, was mere empty
bombast without any real strength. Upon this all Greece took
courage and despised the Asiatics, while the Lacedæmonians felt
48. that it would be a disgrace to them not to set free the enslaved
Greeks of Asia Minor, and put a stop to the insolence of the Persians.
Their army was at first commanded by Thimbron, and afterwards by
Derkyllidas, but as neither of these effected anything of importance,
they entrusted the conduct of the war to their king Agesilaus. He
crossed over to Asia with the fleet, and at once began to act with
vigour. He gained much glory, defeated Tissaphernes, and set free
the Greek cities from the Persians. Artaxerxes, upon this, having
carefully considered how it would be best for him to contend with
the Greeks, sent Timokrates of Rhodes into Greece with a large sum
of money, and ordered him to corrupt the most important persons in
each city by offering bribes to them, and to stir up the Greeks to
make war against Lacedæmon. Timokrates did so, and as the
greatest states formed a league, and Peloponnesus was in great
confusion, the government ordered Agesilaus to return from Asia. On
his departure on this occasion he is said to have remarked to his
friends that he was being driven out of Asia by the King of Persia
with thirty thousand archers; for the Persian coins bear the device of
an archer.
XXI. Artaxerxes also chased the Lacedæmonians from the sea,
making use for this purpose of Konon, the Athenian, as his admiral
in conjunction with Pharnabazus. Konon, after the battle of
Ægospotami, had retired to Cyprus, where he remained, not so
much in order to ensure his own safety as to watch for a favourable
opportunity, as one waits for the turn of the tide. Observing that
while he possessed skill without power, the King of Persia possessed
power without an able man to direct it, he wrote a letter to the king
expressing these ideas. He ordered the man who carried the letter to
make it reach the king, if possible, by the hands of Zeno the Cretan,
or of Polykritus of Mende. Of these men, Zeno was a dancer, and
Polykritus a physician. If these men should be absent he ordered the
man to give the letter to Ktesias the physician. It is said that Ktesias
received the letter and that he added to what Konon had written a
paragraph bidding the king send Ktesias to him, as he would be a
useful person to superintend naval operations. Ktesias, however,
49. says that the king of his own accord appointed him to this service.
Artaxerxes, now, by means of Pharnabazus and Konon, gained the
sea-fight of Knidos, deprived the Lacedæmonians of the empire of
the sea, and established so great an ascendancy over the Greeks
that he was able to conclude with them the celebrated peace which
was known as the peace of Antalkidas. This Antalkidas was a
Spartan, the son of Leon; and he being entirely in the interests of
the King of Persia, prevailed upon the Lacedæmonians to allow him
to possess all the Greek cities in Asia, and all the islands off the
coast, as his subjects and tributaries, as the result of the peace, if
that can be called a peace, which was really an insult and betrayal of
Greece to the enemy; for no war could have ended more
disgracefully for the vanquished.
XXII. It follows from this that Artaxerxes, who, we learn from
Deinon, always disliked all other Spartans, and thought them the
most insolent of mankind, when he visited Persia, showed especial
favour to Antalkidas. Once, after dinner, he took a garland of
flowers, dipped it in the most valuable perfume, and sent it to
Antalkidas. All men wondered at this mark of favour; but, it appears,
Antalkidas was just the man to receive such presents, and to be
corrupted by the luxury of the Persians, as he did not scruple to
disgrace the memory of Leonidas and Kalikratidas by his conduct
among them. When some one said to Agesilaus, “Alas for Hellas,
when the Lacedæmonians are Medising.” Agesilaus answered “Is it
not rather the Medes that are Laconising.” Yet the cleverness of this
retort did not take away the disgrace of the transaction, for, though
the Lacedæmonians lost their empire at the battle of Leuktra by
their bad generalship, yet the glory of Sparta was lost before, by
that shameful treaty. While Sparta was the leading state in Greece,
Artaxerxes made Antalkidas his guest, and spoke of him as his
friend; but when after the defeat at Leuktra the Lacedæmonians
were humbled to the dust, and were in such distress for money that
they sent Agesilaus to Egypt to serve for hire, Antalkidas again came
to the court of Artaxerxes to beg him to help the Lacedæmonians.
But Artaxerxes treated him with such neglect, and so
50. contemptuously refused his request, that Antalkidas, on his return,
jeered at by his enemies, and afraid moreover of the anger of the
Ephors, starved himself to death. There went also to the King of
Persia Ismenias of Thebes, and Pelopidas who had just won the
battle of Leuktra. Pelopidas would not disgrace himself by any show
of servility; but Ismenias, when ordered to do reverence to the king,
dropped his ring, and then stooped to pick it up, so that he
appeared to bow to the earth before him. Artaxerxes was so much
pleased with Timagoras of Athens, who gave some secret
intelligence in a letter which he sent by a secretary named Beluris,
that he gave him a thousand darics, and, as he was in weak health
and required milk sent eighty milch cows to accompany him. He also
sent him a bed with bed-clothes and attendants to make it, as
though Greeks did not know how, and bearers to carry him in a litter
down to the sea-coast, on account of his indisposition. When he was
at court, also, the king sent him a magnificent banquet, so that the
king’s brother, Ostanes, said to him, “Timagoras, remember this
table; for it is not for slight services that it is so splendidly set out.”
This he said rather to reproach him for his treachery than to remind
him to be grateful. However, the Athenians put Timagoras to death
for taking bribes from the king.
XXIII. Although many of the acts of Artaxerxes grieved the Greeks,
yet they were delighted with one of them, for he put to death
Tissaphernes, their bitterest enemy. This he did in consequence of
an intrigue of Parysatis; for Artaxerxes did not long continue angry
with his mother, but became reconciled with her, and sent for her to
his court, as he felt that her understanding and spirit would help him
to govern, while there remained no further causes of variance
between them. Henceforth she endeavoured in everything to please
the king, and gained great influence with him by never opposing any
of his wishes. She now perceived that he was violently enamoured of
one of his own daughters, named Atossa, but that, chiefly on his
mother’s account, he concealed his love and restrained himself,
though some historians state that he had already had some secret
commerce with the girl. When Parysatis suspected this, she caressed
51. the girl more than ever, and was continually praising her beauty and
good qualities to the king, saying that she was a noble lady and fit
to be a queen. At last she persuaded him into marrying the girl and
proclaiming her as his lawful wife, disregarding the opinions and
customs of the Greeks, and declaring that he himself was a law to
the Persians and able to decide for himself what was right and
wrong. Some writers, however, amongst whom is Herakleides of
Kyme, state that Artaxerxes, besides Atossa, married another of his
daughters, named Amestris, of whom I shall shortly afterwards
make mention. Atossa lived with her father as his wife, and was so
much beloved by him, that when leprosy broke out over her body he
was not at all disgusted with her, but prayed for her to Hera alone of
all the goddesses, prostrating himself in her temple and grasping the
earth with his hands, while he ordered his satraps and friends to
send so many presents to the goddess, that all the space between
the palace and the temple, a distance of sixteen stadia (two English
miles) was filled with gold and silver, and horses, and purple dyed
stuffs.
XXIV. He appointed Pharnabazus and Iphikrates to conduct a war
against Egypt,584
which failed through the dissensions of the
generals; and he himself led an army of three hundred thousand
foot and ten thousand horse against the Kadousians.585
On this
occasion he insensibly placed himself in a position of great peril as
he entered a difficult and foggy country, which produces no crops
that grow from seed, but is inhabited by a fierce and warlike race of
men who feed upon apples, pears, and other fruits which are found
upon trees. No provisions could be found in this country, nor yet be
brought into it from without, and the army was reduced to
slaughtering the beasts of burden, so that an ass’s head sold for
more than sixty drachmas. The king’s own table was scantily
furnished; and but few of the horses remained alive, all the rest
having been eaten. At this crisis Teribazus, a man who had often
made himself the first man in the state by his bravery, and as often
fallen into disrepute by folly, and who was then in a very humble and
despicable position, saved both the king and his army. The
52. Kadousians had two kings, each of whom occupied a separate camp.
Teribazus, after having explained to Artaxerxes what he was about
to do, himself went to one of these camps, and sent his son to the
other. Each of them deceived the king to whom he went, by saying
that the other king was about to send an embassy to Artaxerxes,
offering to make peace and contract an alliance with him for himself
alone. “If, then, you are wise,” said they, “you will be beforehand
with your rival, and I will manage the whole affair for you.” Both of
the kings were imposed upon in this manner, and, in their eagerness
to steal a march upon one another, one of them sent ambassadors
to the Persians with Teribazus, and the other with his son. As
Teribazus was a long while absent, Artaxerxes began to suspect his
fidelity, and he fell into a very desponding condition, regretting that
he had trusted Teribazus, and listening to his detractors. When,
however, Teribazus arrived, and his son arrived also, each bringing
ambassadors from the Kadousians, and a treaty of peace was
concluded, Teribazus became again a great and important
personage. In this campaign Artaxerxes proved that cowardice and
effeminacy arise only from a depraved disposition and natural
meanness of spirit, not, as the vulgar imagine, from wealth and
luxury; for in spite of the splendid dress and ornaments, valued at
twelve thousand talents, which he always wore, the king laboured as
hard, and suffered as great privations, as any common soldier, never
mounting his horse, but always leading the way on foot up steep
and rugged mountain paths, with his quiver on his shoulder, and his
shield on his left arm, so that all the rest were inspirited and
encouraged by seeing his eagerness and vigour; for he accomplished
every day a march of upwards of two hundred stadia.
XXV. When during cold weather the army, encamped in a royal
domain, which was full of parks and fine trees, while all the rest of
the country was bare and desert, he permitted the soldiers to gather
wood from the royal park, and gave them leave to cut down the
trees, without sparing either fir trees or cypresses. As they
hesitated, and wished to spare the trees because of their size and
beauty, he himself took an axe and cut down the largest and finest
53. tree of all. After this they provided themselves with wood, lighted
many fires, and passed a comfortable night.
On his return from this campaign he found that he had lost many
brave men, and almost all his horses. He fancied that he was
regarded with contempt because of his failure, and began to view all
the great men of the kingdom with suspicion. Many of them he put
to death in anger, but more because he feared them—for fear makes
kings cruel, while cheerful confidence renders them gentle, merciful,
and unsuspicious. For this reason, the beasts that start at the least
noise are the most difficult to tame, while those which are of a more
courageous spirit have more confidence and do not shrink from
men’s advances.
XXVI. Artaxerxes, who was now very old, perceived that his sons
were caballing with their friends and with the chief nobles of the
kingdom to secure the succession. The more respectable of these
thought that Artaxerxes ought to leave the crown to his eldest son
Darius, as he himself had inherited it, but Ochus his younger son,
who was of a vehement and fierce disposition, had a very
considerable party, who were ready to support his claims, and hoped
to be able to influence his father by means of Atossa; for he paid her
especial attention, and gave out that he intended to marry her and
make her his queen after his father’s death. It was even said that he
intrigued with her during his father’s life. Artaxerxes knew nothing of
this: but as he wished to cut off the hopes of Ochus at once, for fear
that he might do as Cyrus had done, and again plunge the kingdom
in wars and disorders, he proclaimed Darius his heir, and allowed
him to wear his tiara erect. There is a custom among the Persians
that whoever is declared heir to the throne may ask for anything
that he pleases, and that the king who has nominated him must, if
possible, grant his request. Darius, in accordance with this custom,
asked for Aspasia, the favourite of Cyrus, who was at that time living
in the harem of Artaxerxes. This lady was a native of the city of
Phokæa in Ionia, born of free parents, and respectably brought up.
When she was introduced to Cyrus at supper, with several other
54. women, the others sat down beside him, permitted him to touch
them and sport with them, and were not offended at his familiarities,
but she stood in silence near the couch on which Cyrus reclined, and
refused to come to him when he called her. When his chamberlains
approached her, meaning to bring her to him by force, she said,
“Whoever lays hands on me shall smart for it.” The company thought
her very rude and ill-mannered, but Cyrus was pleased with her
spirits, and said, with a smile, to the man who had brought her, “Do
you not see that this is the only ladylike and respectable one of them
all.” After this he became much attached to her, loved her above all
other women, and used to call her “Aspasia the wise.” When Cyrus
fell and his camp was plundered she was taken prisoner.
XXVII. Now, Darius vexed his father by asking for this lady; for the
Persians are excessively jealous about their women; indeed, not only
all who approach and speak to one of the king’s concubines, but
even any one who drives past or crosses their litters on the high
road, is punished with death. Yet, Artaxerxes, through sheer passion,
had made Atossa his wife, and kept three hundred most beautiful
concubines. However, when Darius made this request, he replied
that Aspasia was a free woman, and said that if she was willing he
might take her, but that he would not force her to go against her
will. When she was sent for, as she, contrary to the king’s
expectation, chose to go to Darius, the king let her go, for the law
compelled him to do so, but he soon afterwards took her away from
him again: for he appointed her priestess of the temple of Artemis,
called Anäitis, at Ekbatana, in order that she might spend the rest of
her life in chastity. This he considered to be not a harsh, but rather a
playful way of reproving his son; but Darius was much enraged at it,
either because he was so deeply enamoured of Aspasia, or because
he thought that he was being wantonly insulted by his father.
Teribazus, perceiving his anger, confirmed him in it, because he saw
in the treatment which Darius had received the counterpart of that
which had befallen himself. The king, who had several daughters,
promised Apama to Pharnabazus, Rhodogoune to Orontes, and
Amestris to Teribazus. He kept his word with the two former, but
55. broke it to Teribazus by marrying Amestris himself, and betrothing
his youngest daughter Atossa to him in her stead. When, as has
been related, he fell in love with her also and married her, Teribazus
became bitterly enraged against him, being of an unstable and fickle
disposition, without any steady principles. For this reason he never
could bear either bad or good fortune, but at one time he was
honoured as one of the greatest men in the kingdom, and then
swaggered insufferably, while when he was disgraced and reduced
to poverty he could not bear his reverse of fortune with a good
grace, but became insolent and offensive.
XXVIII. It may be imagined that the company of Teribazus was to
Darius as fuel to fire, for Teribazus was constantly repeating to him
that it was of no use for him to wear his tiara upright if he did not
mean to advance his own interests, and that he was a fool if he
imagined that he could inherit the crown without a struggle when his
brother was bringing female influence to bear to secure his own
succession, and when his father was in such a vacillating and
uncertain frame of mind. He who could break the laws of the
Persians—which may not be broken—out of his passion for a Greek
girl, cannot be urged, be trusted, to keep the most important
engagements. It was, moreover, a very different thing for Ochus not
to obtain the crown, and for him to be deprived of it, for there was
no reason why Ochus should not live happily in a private station,
whereas he, having been appointed heir to the throne, must either
become king or perish.
Generally speaking, perhaps we may say with Sophocles, “Swift
runneth evil counsel to its goal,” for men find the path smooth and
easy towards what they desire, and most men desire what is wrong,
because of their ignorance and low mindedness. Yet, besides all
these considerations, the greatness of the empire, and the fear with
which Ochus inspired Darius, also afforded arguments to Teribazus.
Nor was the goddess of Love entirely blameless in the matter, for
Darius was already incensed at the loss of Aspasia.
56. XXIX. He, therefore, placed himself entirely in the hands of
Teribazus; and many joined in their conspiracy. But the plot was
betrayed to the king by a eunuch, who had a perfect knowledge of
their plans, and knew that they had determined to break into the
king’s chamber by night and murder him in his bed. When
Artaxerxes heard this he was perplexed; for he felt that it would be
wrong for him to neglect the information which he had received of
so great a danger, and yet that it would be even worse to believe the
eunuch’s story without any proofs of its truth. He therefore ordered
the eunuch to join the conspirators, and to enter his chamber with
them. Meanwhile he had a door made in the wall behind his bed,
and concealed it with tapestry. When the appointed time arrived, of
which he was warned by the eunuch, he lay upon his bed, and did
not rise before he had seen the faces of the conspirators and clearly
recognised each of them. But when he saw them draw their daggers
and rush upon him, he quickly raised the tapestry, passed into the
inner room, and slammed the door, crying aloud for help. The would-
be murderers, having been seen by the king, but having effected
nothing, rushed away through the gates of the palace, and
especially warned Teribazus to fly, as he had been distinctly seen.
The others dispersed and escaped, but Teribazus was surrounded,
and after killing many of the king’s body guard with his own hand
was at last despatched by a javelin hurled from a distance. Darius
and his children were brought before a court formed of the royal
judges, who were appointed by the king to try him. As the king
himself did not appear but impeached him by proxy, he ordered
clerks to write down the decision of each judge and to bring it to
him. As all decided alike, and sentenced Darius to death, the officers
of the court removed him into a prison hard by. The executioner now
came, bearing in his hand the razor, with which the heads of
criminals are cut off, but when he saw Darius he was dismayed, and
ran back to the door with his face averted, declaring that he could
not and dared not lay hands upon his king. As, however, he was met
outside by the judges, who threatened him and ordered him to do
his duty, he returned, took hold of Darius’s hair with his left hand,
dragged down his head, and severed his neck with the razor. Some
57. historians state that the king himself was present at the trial, and
that Darius, when proved guilty, fell on his face and begged for
mercy: at which the king sprung up in anger, drew his dagger, and
stabbed him mortally. They add that Artaxerxes, after he had
returned to his palace, came forward publicly, did obeisance to the
sun, and then said aloud, “Men of Persia, be of good cheer, and go,
tell the rest of my subjects that the great Oromasdes has executed
judgment upon those who formed a wicked and treasonable plot.”
XXX. This was the end of the conspiracy; and now Ochus was
encouraged by Atossa to form high hopes, though he still feared his
remaining legitimate brother Ariaspes, and his natural brother
Arsames. The Persians wished Ariaspes to be their king, not because
he was older than Ochus, but because he was of a gentle and kind
disposition; while Ochus observed that Arsames was of a keen
intellect, and was especially beloved by his father. He, therefore,
plotted against both of them, and as he was by nature both crafty
and cruel, he indulged his cruelty in his treatment of Arsames, while
he made use of his cunning to ruin Ariaspes. He kept sending to this
latter eunuchs and friends of the king, who, with an affection of
secrecy, continually told him frightful tales of how his father had
determined to put him to death with every circumstance of cruelty
and insult. These messengers, by daily communicating these
fabrications to him, saying that the king was on the very eve of
carrying them into operation, threw the unhappy man into such a
terrible state of despair and excitement of mind that he ended his
life by poison. The king, on hearing of the manner of his death,
lamented for him, and had some suspicions about how he came by
his end; but as he was unable to verify them and discover the truth,
on account of his great age, he attached himself all the more warmly
to Arsames, so that he was well known to trust and confide in him
above all others. Yet, Ochus was not discouraged by this, but finding
a suitable instrument in Arpates the son of Teribazus, induced him to
assassinate Arsames. Artaxerxes, when this happened, was so old
that his life hung by a mere thread; and when this last blow fell, he
could bear up no longer, but sunk at once through grief and misery.
58. He lived ninety-four years, and reigned sixty-two, and was thought
to be a mild prince, and a lover of his subjects, though this was
chiefly because of his successor, Ochus, who was the most savage
and cruel tyrant that ever ruled in Persia.
59. LIFE OF ARATUS.
I. It seems to me, my Polykrates, that it was in order to avoid the ill-
omened sound of the old proverb, that the philosopher Chrysippus
altered it into what he thought a better version:
“Who vaunt their fathers, save the best of sons?”
but Dionysodorus of Trœzene proves him to be wrong, and restores
the proverb to its original form:
“Who vaunt their fathers, save the worst of sons?”
and explains that the proverb was intended to apply to those who
are utterly worthless in themselves, but who shelter their own evil
lives behind the virtues of their ancestors, and who pride themselves
on their ancestors’ glory as though it were their own. Yet, in one
who, like yourself, “by birth inherits glory from a noble race,” as
Pindar has it, and who, as you do, imitates in his own life the noblest
examples of his ancestry, may well take pleasure in discoursing upon
the lives of well-born men, and in listening to the remarks of others
about them. They do not depend for praise upon the lives of other
men, because there is nothing to be admired in themselves, but they
combine the glory of their ancestors with their own, and honour
them both as having founded their families and as having set
examples to be imitated. For this reason I have sent to you the life
of Aratus, which I have compiled, not that I was not aware that you
had carefully studied all his achievements and were well acquainted
with them, but with the hope that your sons, Polykrates and
Pythokles, might be brought up to imitate the glorious example of
their forefathers, and might learn to walk in their footsteps by
reading and discussing the history of their exploits. Indeed, to
imagine that one has already arrived at perfection, argues self-
conceit rather than true greatness of character.
60. II. The city of Sikyon, as soon as it lost its original oligarchic Dorian
constitution, became distracted by internal faction, and at last fell
into the hands of a series of despotic rulers. After the last of these,
named Kleon, had been put to death, the citizens placed the
government in the hands of Timokleides and Kleinias, two of their
most honourable and influential men. But as soon as a settled form
of government began to be established, Timokleides died, and
Abantidas, the son of Paseas, in order to obtain the supreme power
for himself, assassinated Kleinias, and either banished or put to
death all his relatives and friends. He endeavoured to kill Kleinias’s
son, Aratus, who was left an orphan at the age of seven; however,
during the confusion which prevailed in the house, the child
wandered out into the city, and, terrified and helpless, made his way
unnoticed into the house of Soso, Abantidas’s sister, whose husband
was Prophantus, the brother of Kleinias. She was naturally a high-
souled lady, and thought also that the child must have been directed
by heaven to take refuge in her house. She hid him from his
enemies, and that night sent him away to Argos.
III. This adventurous escape from so terrible a danger produced in
the mind of Aratus the fiercest hatred of all despots. He was brought
up by his father’s friends at Argos in a manner becoming his birth,
and as he grew up tall and strong, he devoted himself to gymnastic
exercises in the palaestra, and even gained a crown for success in
the pentathlum. We can trace the effects of this training in his
statues, which represent an intellectual and commanding
countenance, and also the effects of the liberal diet and work586
with
the spade practised by the professional athlete. For this reason he
paid less attention to oratory than became a public man; yet he was
a better speaker than some suppose, which is proved by the study
of his hastily and plainly-written memoirs.
As time went on, Deinias and Aristotle the logician formed a plot
against Abantidas, who was accustomed to come and spend his
leisure time in the open market-place with them, listening to their
discourse and arguing with them. They drew him into a discussion
61. and assassinated him. He was succeeded by his father, Paseas, who
was soon treacherously slain by Nikokles, who now declared himself
despot of Sikyon. We are told that this man was singularly like
Periander, the son of Kypselus, just as the Persian Orontes bore a
striking resemblance to Alkmæon, the son of Amphiaraus, and a
certain young Spartan so closely resembled Hector, that he was
trampled to death by the multitudes who came to see him and
satisfy their curiosity.
IV. Nikokles reigned four months, during which time he did the city
much hurt, and very nearly lost it to the Aetolians, who had formed
a plot to surprise it. Aratus was now nearly grown up, and possessed
great influence, both on account of his noble birth, and because he
was already well known to be possessed of an enterprising spirit,
combined with a prudence beyond his years. In consequence of this,
all the other Sikyonian exiles looked upon him as their leader, and
Nikokles himself regarded him with apprehension, and quietly took
precautions against him, never supposing that he would attempt so
audacious an enterprise as he did, but thinking he would probably
make overtures to some of the successors of Alexander, who had
been guests587
and friends of his father. Indeed, Aratus did attempt
to obtain assistance from some of them; but since Antigonus,
though he promised his aid, temporised and hesitated to act, and his
hopes from Egypt and Ptolemy were too remote, he determined to
overthrow the despot alone.
V. The first persons to whom he communicated his design were
Aristomachus and Ekdelus, of whom the former was an exile from
Sikyon, while Ekdelus was an Arcadian of Megalopolis, a man of
culture as well as of action, who had been an intimate friend of
Arkesilaus, the Academic philosopher at Athens. As both these men
readily accepted his proposals, Aratus began to discuss the project
with the other exiles. Some few felt ashamed to abandon all hope of
restoration to their country, and joined Aratus, but most of them
tried to hinder him from making the attempt, alleging that his daring
was the result of inexperience. While Aratus was meditating whether
62. he could not seize some strong place within the territory of Sikyon,
and make it the base of his operations against the despot, there
came to Argos a certain Sikyonian who had escaped from prison.
This man was the brother of Xenokles, one of the exiles; and when
brought to Aratus by his brother, told him that the city wall, at the
place where he himself climbed over it and made his escape, was
very nearly level with the ground on the inside, as it was built up
against high and rocky ground, while on the outside it was not so
high as to be beyond the reach of scaling-ladders. Aratus, when he
heard this, sent Xenokles with two of his own servants, named
Seuthas and Technon, to reconnoitre the spot, for he was
determined, if possible, to risk everything by one sudden and secret
assault, rather than openly to engage in what might prove a long
and tedious war, waged, as it would be by a private man against the
despotic ruler of a state. Xenokles, on his return, reported that he
had measured the height of the walls, and that the ground
presented no difficulties for their attempt, but he said that it would
be difficult to reach the place unobserved, because of the dogs of a
gardener who dwelt near, which, though small, were peculiarly
ferocious and savage. Upon hearing this, Aratus at once began to
prepare for the attempt.
VI. The use of arms was, at that period, familiar to all men, because
of the constant marauding incursions which each state continually
made upon the territory of its neighbours. The scaling-ladders were
made openly by Euphranor the carpenter, one of the exiles, whose
trade enabled him to construct them without exciting suspicion.
The Argive friends of Aratus each contributed ten men from their
own households; while he himself was able to arm thirty slaves of
his own. He also hired from Xenokrilus, the well-known captain of
robbers, a small band of soldiers, who were told that the object of
the incursion into the Sikyonian territory was to carry off some
horses belonging to King Antigonus. Most of the band were ordered
to make their way in scattered parties to the tower of Polygnotus,
and there to wait for their leaders. Kaphisias, in light marching order,
63. with four others, was sent on in advance, with instructions to
present himself at the house of the gardener about nightfall. Under
the pretext of being wayfaring men seeking for hospitality, they were
to obtain lodgings there for the night, and secure both the man and
his dogs, for unless this was done it would be impossible to reach
the walls. The scaling-ladders, which were made to take to pieces,
were packed in chests, covered over, and sent forward in waggons.
Meanwhile, as several spies sent by Nikokles had appeared in Argos,
who were said to be quietly watching the movements of Aratus, he
rose at daybreak, and spent the day in the open market-place,
conversing with his friends. Towards evening he anointed himself in
the palæstra, and then went home, taking with him several of the
companions with whom he was accustomed to drink and amuse
himself. Soon after this his servants were seen crossing the market-
place, one carrying garlands, another buying torches, and another
bargaining with the female musicians who were wont to attend at
banquets. The spies, seeing all these preparations, were deceived
and laughingly said to one another, “Surely there is nothing more
cowardly than a tyrant, if Nikokles, with such a city and armed force
at his disposal, really fears this youth, who wastes the income on
which he has to subsist in exile, on amusements and on wine parties
before it is even dark.”
VII. Thus the spies were thrown off their guard; but Aratus,
immediately after supper, sallied forth, met his men at the tower of
Polygnotus, and led them to Nemea where he explained, to most of
them for the first time, what he was about to attempt. After
promising them rewards in case of success, and addressing to them
a few words of encouragement, he gave Propitious Apollo as the
watchword, and proceeded towards the city, regulating his march
according to the moon, so that he was able to make use of its light
to march by, and when it was setting arrived at the garden outside
the walls. Here Kaphisias met him, with the news that he had not
been able to secure the dogs, which had run away, but that he had
locked up the gardener in his house. On hearing this most of the
conspirators became disheartened, and demanded to be led back
64. again; but Aratus pacified them by promising that, if the dogs
attacked them and gave the alarm, he would give up the attempt.
He now sent forward a party with the scaling-ladders, under the
command of Ekdelus and Mnesitheus, and himself proceeded at a
leisurely pace. The dogs at once set upon the party under Ekdelus,
and kept up a continuous barking; nevertheless they reached the
wall and placed the ladders against it undisturbed. While the
foremost were mounting, the officer who was being relieved by the
morning guard passed that way carrying a bell, and there was a
great flashing of lights and trampling of marching soldiers. The
conspirators remained where they were, crouching upon their
ladders, and without difficulty escaped the notice of this patrol, but
they were terribly near being discovered by a second body of guards
marching in the opposite direction. As soon as this also had passed
by without noticing them, the leaders, Mnesitheus and Ekdelus, at
once mounted upon the walls, secured the passage along the walls
both on the right and on the left, and despatched Technon to Aratus,
bidding him hasten to the spot.
VIII. At no great distance from the garden there stood a tower upon
the walls, in which a great hound was kept for a watch. This hound
had not noticed the approach of the escalading party, either because
he was dull of hearing, or because he was tired with exercise the
day before. When, however, the gardener’s little dogs roused him by
their clamour at the foot of the wall, he at first set up a low
growling, and then, as the party drew nearer, began to bark
furiously. He made so much noise that the sentry on the next tower
called out in a loud voice to the huntsman in charge of the dog,
asking him at what the hound was barking so savagely, and whether
anything was wrong. The huntsman replied from his tower that all
was well, only that the hound had been disturbed by the lights of
the patrol and the sound of their bell. This gave great
encouragement to Aratus’s party, who imagined that the huntsman
spoke thus because he had seen them and wished to screen them
from observation and assist their plot, and that many others in the
city might be willing to do the same. Yet, the scaling of the walls was
65. a long and dangerous operation, as the ladders were too weak to
bear the weight of more than one man mounting slowly at a time,
yet time pressed, for the cocks had already begun to crow, and soon
the country people might be expected to arrive, bringing their wares
to market. So, now, Aratus, himself hastily mounted, after forty of
his men had reached the top, and while the remainder were still
mounting, he marched straight to the despot’s house, and the
guard-room in which his mercenary troops passed the night. By a
sudden assault he took them all prisoners without killing one of
them, and at once sent messengers to summon his own friends from
their houses. Day was breaking while they assembled, and soon the
theatre was filled with an excited crowd without any distinct idea of
what was happening, until a herald came forward and announced to
the people that Aratus, the son of Kleinias, invited his fellow-citizens
to regain their liberty.
IX. The people now, at last, believed that their long-looked-for
deliverers had indeed come, and rushed in a body to set fire to the
despot’s house. The burning house made such a prodigious blaze
that it was seen as far as Corinth, where the citizens were so much
astonished, that they were within a little of setting out to rescue
Sikyon from the flames. Nikokles himself escaped by a subterranean
passage, and got clear away from the city, and his soldiers, with the
assistance of the citizens, put out the fire and plundered his house.
Aratus did not attempt to stop this proceeding, and distributed the
remainder of the despot’s treasure among the citizens. No one was
killed or wounded, either of the attacking or defending party, but by
good fortune this great exploit was accomplished without spilling a
drop of blood. Aratus now restored the citizens whom Nikokles had
banished, who were eighty in number, and also those who had been
driven into exile by his predecessors, who amounted to no less than
five hundred. These latter had been forced to wander from place to
place for a period of nearly fifty years. They now returned, very poor
for the most part, and at once laid claim to the property which had
once been theirs. Their attempts to gain possession of their houses
and lands caused the greatest disquietude to Aratus, who saw the
66. city plotted against from without, and viewed with dislike by
Antigonus on account of its free constitution, while within it was full
of faction and disturbance. Under these circumstances he did what
he thought was best, by making the city a member of the Achæan
league: and the people of Sikyon, Dorians as they were, willingly
adopted the name and entered into the confederacy of the
Achæans, who at that time were neither famous nor powerful. Most
of them dwelt in small towns, and their territory was both confined
and unproductive, while the sea-shore, near which they lived, was
without harbours, and for the most part exposed to a terrible surf.
Yet these men, more than any others, proved that Greeks are
invincible wherever they are collected into regularly organised
communities, and with a capable general to lead them. They were
but an insignificant fraction of the mighty Greece of former times,
and had not altogether the strength of one single considerable city;
yet, by wise counsel and agreement among themselves, and by
following and obeying their greatest man, instead of being jealous of
his power, they not only preserved their own liberties, although
surrounded by so many powerful cities and despots, but were
constantly able to assist the rest of the Greeks in recovering and
defending their freedom.
X. Aratus was by nature a politician, and was of a magnanimous
disposition, more careful of the interests of the state than of his
own. He regarded all despots with a peculiarly rancorous hatred, but
in respect to other persons, made his personal likes and dislikes
subordinate to the good of his country. For this reason his zeal for
his friends does not appear to have been so remarkable as his mild
and forgiving treatment of his enemies; for he regulated his private
feelings entirely by considerations of public expediency. He loved to
form alliances between states, to connect cities into confederations,
and to teach the leaders and the people alike to act together with
unanimity. Singularly timid and faint-hearted in open war and in
battles fought by daylight, he nevertheless was most dexterous at
planning surprises, winning cities, and overthrowing despots. For
this reason he often succeeded in his rashest enterprises, and often,
67. through excessive caution, failed when success would have been
comparatively easy. Some wild animals see best in the dark, and are
nearly blind during the daytime, because the moist nature of their
eyes cannot endure the dry and searching rays of the sun; and so,
too, it appears that some men lose their courage and are easily
disconcerted when they are fighting openly in broad daylight, but yet
recover all their bravery as soon as they engage in secret stratagems
and midnight surprises. These anomalies must be attributed to a
want of philosophic reflection in noble minds, which effect great
things naturally, and without acting by rule or method, just as we
see good fruit produced by wild and uncultivated trees. I will now
proceed to prove this by examples.
XI. Aratus, after he had joined himself and his native city to the
Achæan league, served in the cavalry force, and made himself
generally beloved by the ready obedience which he showed to his
commanders; for he, although he had rendered the league such
important services in putting his own illustrious name and the power
of the city of Sikyon at its disposal, yet, as if he were a mere private
man, obeyed whoever might be in command, even though he were
a citizen of Dyme, or of Tritæa, or even some more insignificant city.
Aratus was now presented with the sum of five-and-twenty talents
by the king.588
This he received, but spent it all on relieving his
destitute fellow-countrymen, and in ransoming them from slavery.
XII. As the returned exiles could not be withheld from attacking
those whom they found in possession of their property, and by doing
so seemed likely to bring the state to ruin, Aratus, thinking that
nothing but the kindness of Ptolemy could save his country, started
upon a voyage to Egypt, to beg the king to furnish him with a sum
of money, by means of which he might persuade the contending
parties to come to an amicable agreement. He started from the port
of Mothone, and sailed beyond Cape Millea, meaning to cross
directly over the sea to Egypt. However, the sea was very rough, and
the wind contrary, which, caused the captain of the ship to bear up,
and run along the coast until, with great difficulty, he reached
68. Adria,589
which was an enemy’s country, for it was in the possession
of Antigonus, who had placed a Macedonian garrison in it. Aratus
contrived to keep out of the way of the garrison, and, leaving the
ship, proceeded a long way inland, accompanied by one single
friend, named Timanthes. They concealed themselves in a thick
wood, and passed the night as best they could. Shortly afterwards
the Macedonian officer in charge appeared, and endeavoured to find
Aratus, but was put off the scent by the slaves of Aratus, who had
been instructed to say that their master, as soon as he left them,
had sailed in another vessel bound to Eubœa. However, the
Macedonian declared the cargo, the vessel, and the slaves to be a
lawful prize, as being enemy’s property, and detained them as such.
A few days after this, when Aratus was almost at his wit’s end, by
good fortune a Roman ship touched at the place where he was
spending his time in looking out for means of escape by sea, and in
trying to conceal himself from his enemies on land. The ship was
bound for Syria, but Aratus would not sail in it until he had
persuaded the captain to land him in Karia. On his voyage thither he
again encountered great dangers: but at length he succeeded in
obtaining a passage from Karia to Egypt, where he was warmly
received by the king, who had always had a favourable opinion of
him, and who had lately received from him many drawings and
paintings by Greek artists. Aratus, who had considerable taste in
these matters, constantly purchased and collected the works of the
most skilful and famous painters, especially those of Pamphilus and
Melanthus, and used to send them as presents to King Ptolemy.
XIII. At that time the Sikyonian school of painting was still
celebrated throughout Greece, and was thought more than any
other to have preserved the purity of the ancient style. Even the
great Apelles, when already famous, had come to Sikyon and paid a
talent for some lessons from the masters there, although by doing
so he hoped to increase his reputation rather than to improve his
art. When Aratus set the city free, he at once destroyed all the
portraits590
of the despots, except that of Aristratus, who flourished
in the time of Philip,591
about which he hesitated for a long time; for
69. the picture in which Aristratus was represented standing beside the
chariot which won him a prize in the games, was the joint work of all
the pupils of Melanthus, and we are told by Polemon the geographer,
that some parts of it were painted by Apelles himself. The execution
was so admirable that Aratus for a moment relented, but soon
afterwards his fierce hatred of all the despots made him order it to
be destroyed. However, Nealkes the painter, who was a friend of
Aratus, interceded for the picture with tears, and as he could not
move Aratus, at last said, “We ought to make war against despots
themselves, but not against their surroundings. Let us leave the
chariot and the figure of Victory, and I will deliver up Aristratus to
you, by wiping him out of the picture.” Aratus allowed Nealkes to do
this, and he effaced the figure of Aristratus, and painted a palm tree
in its place, without venturing to add anything else. It is said that
after destroying the figure of Aristratus, the painter forgot his feet,
and that they were still to be seen under the chariot. By presents of
such paintings as these Aratus had already disposed Ptolemy to
regard him with favour; and when they met, Aratus so charmed the
king by his conversation that he received from him a present of one
hundred and fifty talents for the use of his native city. Aratus carried
forty talents home with him at once to Peloponnesus, and afterwards
received the rest of the sum in instalments from the king.
XIV. It was a truly great action for Aratus to bestow so much money
upon his fellow-countrymen, especially at a time when for much
smaller sums the kings were usually able to bribe the other chiefs
and popular leaders to betray their native cities and sacrifice their
constitutional liberties; but it was even more admirable that by
means of this money he reconciled the rich and the poor, and saved
the state from all the danger of revolution, while his own conduct
was marked by the greatest moderation in spite of his enormous
power. When he was appointed as sole arbitrator with unlimited
authority, to decide upon the claims of the exiled families to their
inheritances, he refused to act alone, and associated fifteen of the
other citizens with himself, with whose help, after much labour and
difficulty, he restored peace and union amongst his countrymen. For
70. these services the state bestowed upon him fitting honours, but in
addition to these the exiles gave him a special mark of their regard
by erecting a brazen statue, upon which was inscribed the following
verses:—
71. “For wisdom, valour, and great deeds in war
Thy fame, Aratus, has been noised afar.
We, that unhappy exiles were of late,
Brought home by thee, this statute dedicate
To all the gods who helped thee to restore
Peace and goodwill amongst us as before.”
XV. By this important measure Aratus so thoroughly earned the
gratitude of his countrymen as to be placed above the reach of party
jealousy; but King Antigonus was much displeased at his success,
and with the object either of making him his friend, or of causing
him to be distrusted by Ptolemy, bestowed upon him several marks
of favour, and when sacrificing to the gods at Corinth even sent
some of the meat of the victim to Sikyon as a present for him. At
dinner that evening he said aloud in the hearing of many guests: “I
thought this young Sikyonian was merely a well-bred and patriotic
youth; but it seems that he is a very shrewd judge of the lives and
politics of us kings. At first he used to despise me, and looked
beyond me to Egypt, because he had heard so much about the
elephants and fleets of Ptolemy, and about the splendour of his
court, but now that he has been admitted behind the scenes there
and has discovered it to be all empty show and parade, he has
thrown himself into my arms without reserve. So now I receive the
youth into my own service, and shall employ him in all my affairs;
and I beg you all to treat him as a friend.”
All those who were jealous of Aratus and who wished him ill, as soon
as they heard these words, vied with one another in sending letters
to Ptolemy, full of abuse of Aratus, until at length Ptolemy himself
wrote to Aratus and reproached him for his disloyalty. So much
jealousy and ill-feeling does the friendship of kings produce among
those who most eagerly struggle to gain it.
XVI. Aratus, who was now for the first time elected general of the
Achæans, invaded and plundered the countries of Kalydonia and
Lokris on the other side of the Corinthian gulf, but though he
marched with ten thousand men to help the Bœotians he came too
late to take part in the battle, in which they were defeated near
72. Chæronea by the Ætolians. In this battle a thousand Bœotians
perished, amongst whom was Aboeokritus the Bœotarch himself.
Next year Aratus was again chosen general, and began to arrange
his plot for the capture of the Akrocorinthus, or citadel of Corinth. He
made this attempt not to benefit the Achæans, or his own city of
Sikyon, but solely with the object of driving out the Macedonian
garrison, which was established there as the common despot over all
Greece. The Athenian Chares, after gaining some success in battle
over the generals of the King of Persia, sent home a despatch to the
Athenian people in which he declared that he had won the sister
victory to that of Marathon: and this exploit of Aratus may be most
truly described as sister to those of Pelopidas the Theban and of
Thrasybulus the Athenian, in which they each killed the despots of
their respective cities; except that this assault was not delivered
against Greeks, but against a foreign and alien sovereignty. Now the
isthmus, which bars out the two seas, connects together the two
parts of our continent; but the Acrocorinthus, which is a lofty
mountain placed in the middle of Greece, if it be held by an armed
force, cuts off the land beyond the isthmus from all intercourse with
the rest of Greece, whether for warlike or commercial purposes, and
places the whole country at the mercy of the commander of its
garrison; so that the younger Philip was not in jest but in earnest
when he called the city of Corinth the “key of Greece.”
XVII. The possession of this place was always coveted by all princes
and rulers, but the desire of Antigonus for it became a frantic
passion, and his whole thoughts were occupied with plots to obtain
it by stratagem, since it was hopeless to attempt to take it by force.
After the death of Alexander,592
who originally held it, and who, it is
said, was poisoned by Antigonus, his wife Nikæa succeeded to his
kingdom, and held the Acrocorinthus. Antigonus now at once sent
his son Demetrius to her, and by holding out the dazzling prospect of
a royal alliance and a handsome young husband to a woman
somewhat past her prime, made a conquest of her by means of his
son, whom he employed without scruple to tempt his victim. As,
however, she would not give up the citadel, but kept it strongly
73. guarded, Antigonus pretended to be indifferent to it, and prepared a
wedding feast in Corinth, spending the whole day in attendance at
spectacles and in wine-drinking, as if he had entirely given himself
up to pleasure and enjoyment. When the time drew near for the
attempt, he himself accompanied Nikæa to the theatre to hear
Amœbeus sing. They were carried together in royal state in a
splendidly ornamented litter, and she was delighted at the respect
which he showed her, and was as far as possible from guessing his
real purpose. When they arrived at the point where the road turned
off towards the citadel, he begged her to proceed alone to the
theatre, and without troubling himself further about Amœbeus or
the marriage, ran up to the Acrocorinthus faster than one would
have expected in a man of his age. Finding the gate shut, he
knocked at it with his stick, bidding the garrison open it; and they,
astounded at his audacity, threw it open. When he had thus
obtained possession of the place he could no longer restrain himself,
but although he was now an old man, and had experienced great
vicissitudes of fortune, he drank wine and jumped for joy in the
streets, and swaggered riotously across the market-place, crowned
with flowers, and accompanied by singing-girls, greeting and shaking
hands with every one whom he met. So true it is that unexpected
joy disturbs the right balance of the mind more than either grief or
terror.
XVIII. Now Antigonus, having, as above related, gained possession
of the Acrocorinthus, entrusted the place to some of his most faithful
officers, among whom was Persæus the philosopher. Aratus, during
the life of Alexander, had begun to form a plan for surprising the
citadel, but desisted from his plot when Alexander became an ally of
the Achæans. He now began to form fresh schemes, in the following
manner:—There were in Corinth four brothers, Syrians by birth, one
of whom, named Diokles, was serving in the garrison, and quartered
in the citadel. The other three, having robbed the king’s treasury,
came to Sikyon to dispose of the plunder to a banker named Ægias,
who was well known to Aratus from having had dealings with him.
They disposed of a considerable part of their plunder at first, and
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