Solon was the only man, who, without fear or shrinking. deplored the folly of the times, and reproached the Atheni ans with their cowardice and treachery. "You might," said he, "with ease, have crushed the tyrant in the bud: but nothing now remains, but to pluck him up by the roots." A for himself, he had, at least, the satisfaction of having dis charged his duty to his country and the laws; and, as for the rest, he had nothing to fear; and, now, upon the destruction of his country, his only confidence was in his great age, which gave him hopes of not being a long survivor. In fact, he did not survive the liberty of his country above two years: he died at Cyprus, in the eightieth year of his age, lamented and admired, by every state of Greece.

Besides his skill in legislation, Solon was remarkable for several other shining qualifications. He understood eloquence, in so high a degree, that, from him, Cicero dates the origin of eloquence in Athens. He was successful also in poetry; and Plato asserts, that it was only for want of due application, that he did not dispute the prize with Homer himself.

The death of Solon served to involve Athens in new troubles and commotions. Lycurgus and Megacles, the leaders of the two opposite factions, uniting, drove Pisistratus out of the city; but he was soon after recalled by Megacles, who gave him his daughter in marriage.

New disturbances arose. Pisistratus was twice deposed, and twice found means to reinstate himself; for he had art to acquire power, and moderation to maintain it. The mildness of his government, and his implicit submission to the laws, made the people forget the means by which he acquired his power; and, caught by his lenity, they overlooked his usurpation. His gardens and pleasure grounds were free to all the citizens; and he is said to have been the first who opened a public library at Athens.

Cicero is of opinion, that Pisistratus first made the Athenians acquainted with the books of Homer; that he disposed them in the order in which they now remain, and first caused them to be read, at the feast called Panathenæa.

Being accused of murder, though it was in the time of his tyranny, he went, in person, to plead his cause, before the Areopagus; where his accuser would not venture to appear. He was master of many excellent qualities; and perverted them no farther, than as they stood in competition with empire. Nothing could be objected to him, except his having greater power than the laws: but, by not exerting that power, he almost reconciled the citizens to royalty. Upon these accounts, he was deservedly opposed to usurpers of fewer virtues · and

there seemed such a resemblance between him and a more successful invader of his country's freedom, that Julius Cæsar was called the Pisistratus of Rome.

Pisistratus, dying in tranquillity, transmitted the sovereign power to his sons, Hippias and Hipparchus. A passion for learning and its professors, had, for some time, prevailed in Athens; and this city, which had already far outgone all its contemporaries, in all the arts of refinement, seemed to submit tamely to kings, who made learning their pride and their profession. Anacreon, Simonides, and others, were invited to their courts, and richly rewarded. Schools were institu ted, for the improvement of youth in the learned professions; and Mercuries were set up, in all the highways, with moral sentences written upon them, for the instruction of the lowest vulgar. Their reign, however, lasted but eighteen years, and ended upon the following occasion.

Harmodius and Aristogiton, both citizens of Athens, had contracted a very strict friendship for each other; and resolved to revenge the injuries which should be committed against either, with common resentment. Hipparchus being naturally amorous, seduced the sister of Harmodius; and af terwards published her shame, as she was about to walk in one of the sacred processions; alleging, that she was not in a condition to assist at the ceremony.

Such a complicated indignity naturally excited the resent ment of the two friends; who formed a fixed resolution of destroying the tyrants, or falling in the attempt. Willing, how ever, to wait the most favourable opportunity, they deferred their purpose to the feast of the Panathanea, in which the ceremony required that all the citizens should attend in ar

mour.

For their greater security, they admitted only a small number of their friends into the secret of their design; conceiving, that, upon the first commotion, they should not want for abettors. Thus resolved, the day being come, they went early into the market-place, each armed with a dagger, and stedfast to his purpose.

In the mean time, Hippias was seen issuing, with his followers, from the palace, to give orders, without the city, to the guards, for the intended ceremony. As the two friends continued to follow him at a little distance, they perceived one of those to whom they had communicated the design, talking very familiarly with him, which made them apprehend their plot was betrayed. Eager, therefore, to execute their designs, they were preparing to strike the blow, but recollected that the real aggressor would thus go unpunished. They once

more, therefore, returned into the city, willing to begin their revenge upon the author of their indignities.

They were not long in quest of Hipparchus: they met him upon their return, and, rushing upon him, despatched him with their daggers; but were, soon afterwards, themselves slain in the tumult. Hippias, hearing of what was done, to prevent farther disorders, got all those disarmed whom he in the least suspected of being privy to the design; and then meditated revenge.

(Among the friends of the late assertors of freedom, was one Leona, a courtezan, who, by the charins of her beauty, and her skill in playing on the harp, had captivated some of the conspirators, and was supposed to be deeply engaged in the design. As the tyrant, for such the late attempt had rendered him, was conscious that nothing was concealed from this woman, he ordered her to be put to the torture, in order to extort the names of the accomplices. But she bore all the cruelty of their torments, with invincible constancy; and, lest she should, in the agony of her pain, be induced to a confession, she bit off her own tongue, and spit it in the tyrant's face. In this manner, she died, faithful to the cause of liberty; showing the world a remarkable example of constancy in her The Athenians would not suffer the memory of so heroic an action, to pass into oblivion. They erected a statue to her memory; in which, a lioness was represented without a tongue.)

sex.

In the mean time Hippias put no bounds to his indignation. A rebellious people ever makes a suspicious tyrant. Numbers of citizens were put to death; and, to guard himself, for the future, against a like enterprise, he endeavoured to establish his power by foreign alliances. He gave his daughter in marriage to the son of the tyrant of Lampsacus; he cultivated a correspondence with Artaphernes, governor of Sardis; and endeavoured to gain the friendship of the Lacedæmonians, who were then the most powerful people of Greece.

But he was supplanted in those very alliances from which he hoped the greatest assistance. The family of the Alcmaonide, who, from the beginning of the revolution, had been banished from Athens, endeavoured to undermine his interests at Sparta; and they at length succeeded. Possessed of great riches, and being also very liberal in their distribution, among other public services, they obtained liberty to rebuild the temple at Delphos, which they fronted, in a most magnificent manner, with Parian marble. So noble a munificence was not without a proper acknowledgment of gratitude, from the priestess of Apollo; who, willing to oblige them, made her oracle the echo of their desires.

As there was nothing, therefore, which this family se ardently desired as the downfal of regal power in Athens, the priestess seconded their intentions; and, whenever the Spartans came to consult the oracle, no promise was ever made of the gods' assistance, but upon condition that Athens should be set free. This order was so often repeated by the oracle, that the Spartans at last resolved to obey. Their first attempts were, however, unsuccessful: the troops they sent against the tyrant were repulsed with loss. A second effort succeeded. Athens was besieged; and the children of Hip pias were made prisoners, as they were secretly conveyed to a place of safety out of the city. To redeem these from slavery, the father was obliged to come to an accommodation; by which, he consented to give up his pretensions to his sovereign power; and to depart out of the Athenian territories, in five days.

Thus, Athens was once more set free from its tyrants; and obtained its liberty the very same year that the kings were A. M. expelled from Rome. The family of Alcmeon were chiefly instrumental; but the people seemed fonder of acknowledging their obligations to the two friends who

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struck the first blow.

The names of Harmodius and Aristogiton were held in the highest respect, in all succeeding ages; and scarcely considered inferior even to the gods themselves. Their statues were erected in the market-place; an honour, which had nev er been rendered to any before; and, gazing upon these, the people caught a love for freedom; and a detestation for ty ranny, which neither time nor terrors could ever after remove

CHAPTER IV.

A short Survey of the State of Greece, previous to the Persian War.

HITHERTO, We have seen the states of Greece in constam fluctuation; different states rising, and others disappearing ; one petty people opposed to another, and both swallowed up by a third. Every city emerging from the ancient form of government, which was originally imposed upon it; and, by degrees, acquiring greater freedom. We have seen the introduction of written laws; and the benefits they produced, by giving stability to government.

During these struggles for power, among their neighbouring states, and for freedom at home, the moral sciences, the arts of cloquence, poetry, and arms, were making a rapid

progress among them: and those institutions which they ori ginally borrowed from the Egyptians, were every day receiving signal improvements.

As Greece was now composed of several small republics, bordering upon each other, and differing in their laws, char acters, and customs, this was a continual source of emulation: and every city was not only desirous of warlike superiority but also of excelling in all the arts of peace and refinement Hence, they were always under arms; and continually exer cised in war: while their philosophers and poets travelled from city to city; and, by their exhortations and songs, warmed them with a love of virtue, and with an ardour of military glory.

These peaceful and military accomplishments raised them to their highest pitch of grandeur; and they now wanted only an enemy worthy of their arms, to show the world their superiority. The Persian monarchy, the greatest, at that time, in the world, soon offered itself as their opponent; and the contest ended with its total subversion.

But as Greece was continually changing, not only its gov ernment, but its customs; as, in one century, it presented a very different picture from what it offered in the preceding it will be necessary to take a second view of this confederacy of little republics, previous to their contests with Persia: as by comparing their strength with that of their opponent, we shall find how much wisdom, discipline, and valour, are s、 perior to numbers, wealth, and ostentation.

Foremost, in this confederacy, we may reckon the city of Athens, commanding the little state of Attica; their whole dominions scarcely exceeding the largest of our English counties, in circumference. But, what was wanting in extent, was made up by the citizens being inured to war, and impressed with the highest ideas of their own superiority. Their orators, their philosophers, and their poets, had already given lessons of politeness to mankind; and their generals, though engaged only in petty conflicts with their neighbours, had begun to practise new stratagems in war.

There were three kinds of inhabitants in Athens: citizens, strangers, and servants. Their number usually amounted to twenty-one thousand citizens, ten thousand strangers, and from forty to sixty thousand servants. A citizen could only

be such, by birth, or adoption. To be a natural citizen of Athens, it was necessary to be born of a father and mother, both Athenians, and. both free. The people could confer the freedom of the city upon strangers: and those whom hey had so adopted, enjoyed almost the same rights and