fect; "That Pharnabasus should pay them a certain sum "of money; that the Chalcedonians should return to their "obedience and dependence upon the Athenians, and pay "them tribute; and that the Athenians should commit no "hostilities in the province of Pharnabasus, who engage for "the safe conduct of their ambassadors to the great king." Byzantium and several other cities submitted to the Athe nians. • Alcibiades, who desired with the utmost passion to see his country again, or rather to be seen by his country, after so many victories over their enemies, set out for Athens. The sides of his ships were covered with bucklers and all sorts of spoils, in form of trophies; and causing a great number of vessels to be towed after him, by way of triumph, he displayed also the ensigns and ornaments of those he had burnt, which were more in number than the others; the whole amounting to about 200 ships. It is said, that reflecting on what had been done against him, upon approaching the port, he was struck with some terror, and was afraid to quit his vessel till he saw from the deck a great number of his friends and relations, who were come to the shore to receive him, and earnestly entreated him to land. The people came out of the city in crowds to meet him, and at his appearance set up incredible shouts of joy. In the midst of an infinite number of officers and soldiers, all eyes were fixed solely on him, whom they considered as victory itself, descended from the skies: all thronging around him, caressed, blessed, and crowned him in emulation of each other. Those, who could not approach him, were never tired with contemplating him at a distance, whilst the old men showed him to their children. They repeated with the highest praises all the great actions he had done for his country; nor could they refuse their admiration even to those which he had done against it during his banishment, of which they imputed the fault to themselves alone. This public joy was mingled with tears and regret, from the remembrance of past misfortunes, which they could not avoid comparing with their present felicity. "We could not have failed," said they, "of the conquest of Sicily; our other hopes could never have proved abortive, if we had referred all our "affairs and forces to the disposal of Alcibiades alone. In "what a condition was Athens when he took upon him our protection and defence! We had not only almost entirely "lost our power at sea, but were scarce possessed of the "suburbs of our city, and, to add to our misfortunes, were "torn in pieces by a horrid civil war. He notwithstanding "has raised the republic from its ruins; and not content #6 ་་ a A. M. 3597. Ant J. C. 407. "with having reinstated it in the possession of the sove"reignty of the sea, has rendered it universally victorious "by land; as if the fate of Athens had been in his hands " alone, either to ruin or restore it, and victory was annexed "to his person, and obeyed his orders." This favourable reception of Alcibiades did not prevent his demanding an assembly of the people, in order to his justification before them; well knowing how necessary it was for his safety to be absolved in form. He appeared therefore; and after having deplored his misfortunes, which he imputed very little to the people, and entirely ascribed to his ill fortune, and some dæmon envious of his prosperity, he represented to them the designs of the enemy, and exhorted them not to conceive other than great hopes. The Athenians, transported with hearing him speak, decreed him erowns of gold, appointed him general by sea and land with unlimited power, restored him all his fortunes, and ordered thea Eumolpida and Ceryces to absolve him from the curses they had pronounced against him by the order of the people; doing their utmost to make him amends for the injury and shame of his banishment by the glory of his recall, and to efface the remembrance of the imprecations themselves had decreed, by the vows and prayers which they made in his favour. Whilst all the Eumolpida and Ceryces were employed in revoking those imprecations, Theodorus, the principal of them, had the courage to say: "As for me, I have not cursed him, if he has done no evil to his country;" insinuating by that bold expression, that the maledictions, being conditional, could not fall upon the head of the innocent, nor be averted from the guilty. In the midst of this glory and shining prosperity of Alcibiades, the majority of the people could not help being concerned, when they considered the time of his return. For it happened precisely upon the day when the Athenians celebrated a festival in honour of Minerva, adored under the name of Agraulis. The priests took off all the ornaments from the goddess's statue to wash it, from whence that feast was called Auriga, and afterwards covered it; and that day was accounted one of the most ominous and unfortunate. It was the 25th of the month Thargelion, which answers to the 2d of July. This circumstance displeased that superstitious people, because it seemed to imply, that the goddess, patroness, and protectress of Athens, did not receive Alcibiades agreeably, and with a benign aspect, since she cover a The Eumolpida and Ceryces were two families at Athens who had differ ent functions in the mysteries of Ceres. They took their names from Eumol pus and Ceryx, the first who had exercised those offices. Perhaps the employ iment of the latter had some relation to that of heraids. b N. S. ed and concealed herself, as if she would keep him off, and remove him from her. All things having however succeeded according to his wish, and the 100 ships he was to command being ready, he deferred his departure out of a laudable ambition to celebrate the great mysteries; for from the time the Lacedæmonians had fortified Decelia, and taken possession of all the ways from Athens to Eleusis, the feast had not been solemnized in all its pomp, and the procession had been obliged to go by sea. The particular ceremonies of this solemnity may be seen in the beginning of the next volume. Alcibiades believed it would be a most glorious action, and attract the blessings of the gods, and the praises of men, if he restored all its lustre and solemnity to this feast, in making the procession go by land escorted by his troops, to defend it against the attacks of the enemy. For either Agis would suffer it to pass quietly, notwithstanding the numerous troops he had at Decelia, which would considerably lessen the reputation of that king, and sully his glory; or, if he should choose to attack it, and oppose the march, he should then have the satisfaction to fight a sacred battle; a battle grateful to the gods, for the greatest and most venerable of all their mysteries, in the sight of his country and citizens, who would be witnesses of his valour, and regard for religion. It is very likely, that by this public and ostentatious act of piety, which struck the people's view in so sensible a manner, and was so extremely to their taste, Alcibiades's principal design was to efface entirely from their minds the suspicions of impiety, to which the mutilation of the statues, and profanation of the mysteries had given birth. Having taken that resolution, he gave notice to the Eumolpida and Ceryces to hold themselves in readiness, posted sentinels upon the hills, sent out scouts at the break of day, and taking with him the priests, the initiated, and the probationers, with those who initiated them, he covered them with his army, and conducted the whole pomp with wonderful order, and profound silence. Never was show, says Plutarch, more august, nor more worthy the majesty of the gods, than this warlike procession, and religious expedition; in which even those, who envied the glory of Alcibiades, were obliged to own, that he was no less happy in discharging the functions of an high priest, than those of a general. No enemy dared to appear, or disturb that pompous march, and Alcibiades reconducted the sacred troop to Athens with entire safety. This success gave him new courage, and raised the valour and boldness of his army to such a degree, that they looked upon themselves as invincible, whilst he commanded them, a Plut. in Alcib. p. 210. He acquired the affection of the poor, and the lower sort of people so much, that they most ardently desired to have him for their king. Many of them openly declared themselves to that effect; and there were some who addressed themselves to him, and exhorted him to set himself above envy, and not to trouble himself about laws, decrees, or suffrages; to put down those wordy impertinent orators that disturbed the state with their vain harangues, to make himself absolute master of affairs, and to govern with entire authority without fearing accusers. For him, what his thoughts. of the tyranny and his designs were, are unknown; but the most powerful citizens, apprehending the breaking out of a fire, of which they already saw the sparks, pressed him to depart without delay; granting whatever he demanded, and giving him for colleagues the generals most agreeable to him. He set sail accordingly with 100 ships, and steered for the island of Andros, that had revolted. His high reputation, and the good fortune which had attended him in all his enterprizes, made nothing but what was great and extraordinary to be expected from him. SECT. IV. The Lacedæmonians appoint Lysander admiral. He becomes very powerful with young Cyrus, who commanded in Asia. He beats the Athenian fleet, near Ephesus, in the absence of Alcibiades, who is deprived of the command. Ten generals are chosen in his stead. Callicratidas suceeeds Lysander. • The Lacedæmonians, justly alarmed at the return and success of Alcibiades, conceived that such an enemy requir ed to be opposed by an able general, capable of making head against him. For this reason they made choice of Lysander, and gave him the command of the fleet. When he arrived at Ephesus, he found the city very well disposed towards himself, and well affected to Sparta; but otherwise in a very unhappy situation. For it was in danger of becoming barbarous, by assuming the manners and customs of the Persians, who had great commerce with it, as well from the neighbourhood of Lydia, as because the king's generals commonly took up their winter quarters there. An idle and voluptuous life, filled up with luxury and empty show, could not fail of disgusting infinitely a man like Lysander, who had been bred from his birth in the simplicity, poverty, and severe discipline of Sparta. Having brought his army to Ephesus, he gave orders for assembling ships of burthen a Xenoph. Hellen. 1. i. p. 440-442. Plut. in Lysaml. p. 434, 435. Diod. Į. sil. p. 192-197. there from all parts, erected an arsenal for building of gallies, made the ports free for merchants, gave up the squares and public places to artificers, put all arts in motion, and held them in honour; and by these means, filled the city with riches, and laid the foundations of that grandeur and magnificence, to which it afterwards attained. So great a change can the application and ability of a single person occasion in a state! Whilst he was making these dispositions, he received advice, that Cyrus, the king's youngest son, was arrived at Sardis. That prince could not be above 16 years old at that time, being born after his father's accession to the crown, who was now in the 17th year of his reign. Parysatis, his mother, loved him to idolatry, and had the entire ascendant over her husband. It was she that occasioned his having the supreme government of all the provinces of Asia Minor given him; a command that subjected all the provincial governors of the most important part of the empire to his authority. The view of Parysatis was, without doubt, to put this young prince into a condition to dispute the throne with his brother after the king's death; as we shall see he actually did. One of the principal instructions, given him by his father, upon sending him to his government, was to give effectual aid to the Lacedæmonians against Athens; an order very contrary to the measures observed till then by Tissaphernes, and the other governors of those provinces. It had always been their maxim, sometimes to assist one party, sometimes the other, in order to hold their power in such a balance, that the one might never be able to crush the other entirely: from whence it followed, that both parties were kept weak by the war, and neither were in a condition to form any enterprises. against the Persian empire. Upon Lysander's being apprized, therefore, of the arrival of Cyrus at Sardis, he set out from Ephesus to make him a visit, and to complain of the delays and breach of faith of Tissaphernes, who, notwithstanding the orders he had received to support the Lacedæmonians, and to drive the Athenians from the sea, had always covertly favoured the latter, out of regard for Alcibiades, to whom he was entirely devoted, and had been the sole cause of the loss of the fleet, by not supplying it with the necessary quantity of provisions. This discourse pleased Cyrus, who looked upon Tissaphernes as a very bad man, and his particular enemy; and he answered, that the king had given him orders to support the Lacedæmonians powerfully, and that he had received 500 talents for that purpose. Lysander, contrary to the common character of the Spartans, was submissive and conde a 500,000 crowns, about 112,5001, sterling. |