dered such large subsidies to Lysander, general of the Lacedemonians, as enabled him to pay his fleet, and strengthen it so far, as to put it in that condition, by virtue whereof he gained that memorable victory over the Athenians at the Goats river in the Hellespont, whereby he absolutely overthrew the Athenian state. For, after this, they being no longer able to defend themselves, he took from them all their cities in Asia, and, having besieged Athens itself, forced them to a surrender, on the very hard conditions of dismantling their city, and giving up their fleet; which did put an end to the Athenian power, and vested the government of Greece wholly in the Lacedemonians, after they and the Athenians had contended for it in a very bitter war full twenty-seven years. This was called the Peloponnesian war; and is made very famous by the excellent accounts which are written of it by Thucydides and Xenophon, two of the best historians Greece ever had their writings have ennobled it in the same manner as Homer's did the war of Troy.

About the time of the ending of this wars died Darius Nothus king of Persia, after he had reigned nineteen years. Before his death Cyrus was come to him, and his mother Parysatis the queen, to whom he was the best beloved of all her children, not being content to have made his peace with his father, whom he had greatly offended by his mal-administrations in his government, pressed hard upon the old king to have him declared the heir of his crown, upon the same pretence whereby Xerxes had obtained the preference before his elder brothers in the time of Darius Hystaspes, that is, that he was born after his father came to the crown, and the other before. But Darius refusing to comply with her herein, bequeathed to Cyrus only the government of those provinces which he had before, and left his crown to Arsaces his eldest son by the same Parysatis, who, on his ascending the throne, took the name of Artaxerxes, and is the same to whom the Greeks, for his extraordinary memory, gave the name Mnemon, i. e. the rememberer. When

g Plutarch. in Artaxerxe. Diodorus Siculus, lib. 13. Justin. lib. 5, c. 8, 11. Ctesias.

his father lay a dying and he was attending on him at his bed-side, he desired to be instructed by him, by what art it was that he had so happily managed the government, and so long preserved himself in it, to the end that he, by following the same rule, might attain the same success; to which he had this memorable answer given him by the dying king, That it was by doing in all things that which was just both towards God and man; a saying worthy to be written up in letters of gold in the palaces of princes, that, having it constantly in their view, they might be put in mind to order all their actions according to it.

An. 404.
Artax. 1.

Cyrus, being discovered to have laid a plot for the murdering of Artaxerxes in the temple at Pasargada when he was to come thither, according to the ancient custom, to be inaugurated king, was taken into custody for the treason, and ordered to be put to death for it. But his mother Parysatis was so importunate with Artaxerxes for the saving of his life, that at length, by her means, he obtained his pardon, and was sent again into Lesser Asia unto the government left him by his father's will. But carrying thither with him his ambition, and also his resentments for the danger of his life which he was put into, he took such courses for the gratifying of these passions, which soon made his brother repent of his clemency towards him.

As soon as Artaxerxes was settled in the throne, Է Statira his queen, who, for her great beauty, was very much beloved by him, made use of her power with him to be revenged on Udiastes for the death of her brother Teriteuchmes. The whole matter had its rise in the reign of Darius, and was a complication of adultery, incest, and murder, which caused great disturbances in the royal family, and ended very tragically upon all that were concerned in it. The father of Statira was Hidarnes, a noble Persian, and governour of one of the principal provinces of the empire. Artaxerxes, the king's eldest son, then called Arsaces,

h Athenæus, lib. 12.

i Plutarchus in Artaxerxe. Xenophon de Expeditione Cyri, lib. 1. Justin. lib. 5, c. 11. Ctesias. k Ctesias.

falling in love with her, took her to wife, and Teriteuchmes her brother, about the same time, married Hamestris, one of the daughters of Darius, and sister of Arsaces; by reason of which marriage, on the death of his father, he succeeded him in his government. But having a sister named Roxana, of as great beauty as Statira, and excellently skilled in archery, and the throwing of the dart, he fell desperately in love with ber, and, that he might with the greater freedom have the enjoyment of his lust upon her, he resolved to make away with Hamestris, and rebel against the king. Of which wicked designs Darius having notice, engaged Udiastes, a chief confident of Teriteuchmes, by great rewards and greater promises, to endeavour to prevent both, by cutting off Teriteuchmes. This Udiastes, to earn the rewards, readily undertook, and, falling upon Teriteuchmes, slew him, and thereon had the government of his province conferred on him for his reward. Mithridates, the son of Udiastes, being one of Teriteuchmes' guard, and engaged much in friendship and affection to him, on the hearing of this fact of his father's, bitterly imprecated vengeance upon him for it, and, in abhorrence of what was done, seized the city Zaris, and there, declaring for the son of Teriteuchmes, rebelled against the king. But Darius having soon mastered this revolt, and shut up Mithridates within his fortress, got all the family of Hidarnes, excepting the son of Teriteuchmes, whom Mithridates protected, into his power, and delivered them into the hands of Parysatis, to execute her revenge upon them for the ill usage of her daughter; who having caused Roxana in the first place to be sawn in two, who was the chief cause of all the mischief, ordered all the rest to be put to death; only, at the earnest entreaty and importunate tears of Araces, she spared Statira his beloved wife, contrary to the sentiments of Darius, who told her, that she would afterwards have reason to repent of it; and so accordingly it happened. Thus this matter stood at the death of Darius: but Arsaces was no sooner settled on the throne, but Statira prevailed with him to have Udiastes delivered into her hands; whereon she commanded

his tongue to be drawn out at his neck, and thus cruelly did put him to death in revenge for the part which he acted in the ruin of her family, and made Mithridates, his son, for the affection which he expressed to it, governour of the province in his stead. But Parysatis bitterly resenting this fact, in revenge hereof, poisoned the son of Teriteuchmes, and not long after Statira herself, in the manner as will be hereafter related. This gives us instances of the bitterness of woman's revenge, and also of the exorbitant liberties which such are apt to run into of doing all manner of wickedness, who, being put above all restraint of laws, have nothing but arbitrary will and pleasure to govern themselves by.

An. 403.
Artax. 2.

m

Cyrus, designing a war against his brother,' employed Clearchus, a Lacedemonian captain, to raise an army of Greeks for his service, which he listed with a pretence of making war with the Thracians; but they, being maintained by Cyrus' money, were kept on foot for the executing of those designs which he was forming against the king. Alcibiades the Athenian, finding out the true end for which these levies were made, passed over into the province of Pharnabazus, with purpose to go to the Persian court, there to make known to Artaxerxes what was brewing against him. But those who were the partisans of the Lacedemonians at Athens, fearing the great genius of that man, did let them know, that their affairs could not long stand unless he were cut off; whereon they sent to Pharnabazus to have him put to death, and he accordingly executed what they desired; and in his death the Athenians lost the great hopes they had conceived of speedily again recovering by him their former state: for had he got to the Persian court, he would so far have merited the favour of Artaxerxes by the discovery which he intended to make unto him, as, no doubt, he would have gotten his assistance for the restoration of his country, and, with that assistance, a person of his valour and other great abilities would

1 Plutarchus in Artaxerxe. Xenophon de Expeditione Cyri, lib. 1. Dio dor. Sic. lib. 14.

m Plutarchus in Alcibiade. Diodor. Sic. & Xenophon, ibid. Corn. Nepos in Alcibiade.

have turned the scales, and again set the Athenians as high as ever, and brought the Lacedemonians as low as they had brought them; for the preventing of which the Lacedemonians took the course of having him cut off in the manner as I have mentioned.

An. 402.

Artax. 3.

The cities that were under the government of Tissaphernes revolting from him to Cyrus," this produced a war between them; and Cyrus, under the pretence of arming against Tissaphernes, went more openly to work in getting forces together; and, to blind the matter the more, he wrote letters of heavy complaints to the king against Tissaphernes, and prayed in the humblest manner his favour and protection against him; by which Artaxerxes being deceived, thought all the preparations which he was making were against Tissaphernes only, and, not being at all displeased that they should be at variance with each other, took no farther care of the matter, but permitted his brother to go on still to raise more forces, till at length he had got an army on foot, sufficient to put his designs in execution, for the dethroning of him, and the setting up of himself in his stead. And since he had helped the Lacedemonians against the Athenians, and thereby put them into a capacity of gaining those victories over them, whereby they had made themselves masters of Greece, in confidence of the friendship which he had merited from them thereby, he communicated his designs unto them, and asked their assistance for the accomplishing of them; which they readily granted, and ordered their fleet to join that under Tamus, Cyrus' admiral, and obey such orders as that prince should give them. But this they did without declaring any thing against Artaxerxes, or pretending to know at all of the designs which Cyrus was carrying on against him. With this caution they thought fit to act while the event of the war was uncertain, that, in case Artaxerxes gained the victory, they might not, by what they did in favour of his enemy, draw on them his resentments for it.