Chapter XVIII: Part 18

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 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 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 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 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, 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.

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 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. 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.

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 Troezene 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.

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 palæstra, 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 work[586] 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 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 Ætolians, 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 guests[587] 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 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, 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 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 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 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, 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.