arrangement and perspicuity of his matter, or the purity and correctness of his style. Obscurity and ambiguity—inaccuracy and impurity-confusion and indelicacy-are every where visible, in his historical productions; upon which, alone, had he relied for reputation, his name would, now, after the lapse of half a century, be unknown.

Harrisburg, June 1, 1826,

*

Accompanying this edition, there is a small Book of Historical Questions, for the use of schools, also, for the convenience of Teachers, a Key, containing the Answers.

THE

HISTORY OF GREECE.

CHAPTER I.

Of the earliest state of Greece.

THE first notices we have, of every country, are fabulous and ncertain. Among an unenlightened people, every imposture is likely to be practised; for ignorance is the parent of credulity. Nothing, therefore, which the Greeks have transmitted to us, concerning their earliest state, can be relied on.

Poets were the first who began to record the actions of their countrymen; and it is a part of their art to strike the imagination, even at the expense of probability. For this reason, in the earliest accounts of Greece, we are presented with the machinations of gods and demi-gods, the adventures of heroes and giants, the ravages of monsters and dragons, and all the potency of charms and enchantments. Man, plain historical man, seems to have no share in the picture; and, while the reader wanders through the most delightful scenes the imagination can offer, he is scarcely once presented with the actions of such a being as himself.

It would be vain, therefore, and beside the present purpose, to give an historical air to accounts, which were never meant to be transmitted as true. Some writers, indeed, have laboriously undertaken to separate the truth from the fable, and to give us an unbroken narrative, from the first dawning of tradition, to the display of undoubted history. They have levelled down all mythology to their own apprehensions : every fable is made to look with an air of probability. In stead of a golden fleece, Jason goes in pursuit of a great treasure; instead of destroying a chimera, Bellerophon reclaims a mountain; instead of a hydra, Hercules overcomes a robber.

Thus, the fanciful pictures of a strong imagination, are faught to assume a serious severity; and tend to deceive the reader still more, by offering, in the garb of truth, what had been meant only to delight and allure him.

The fabulous age, therefore, of Greece, must have no place

in history. It is now too late, to separate those parts which may have a real foundation in nature, from those which owe their existence wholly to the imagination. There are no traces left, to guide us in that intricate pursuit. The dews of the morning are past, and it is in vain to attempt continuing the chase, in meridian splendour. It will be suffi cient, therefore, for us to observe, that Greece, like most other countries, of whose origin we have any notice, was at first divided into a number of petty states, each commanded by its own sovereign,

Ancient Greece, which is now the southern part of Turkey in Europe, is bounded, on the east, by the Egæan sea, now called the Archipelago; on the south, by the Cretan or Candian sea; on the west, by the Ionian sea; and, on the north, by Illyria and Thrace, Of so very narrow extent, and so very contemptible, with regard to territory, was that country, which gave birth to all the arts of war and peace; which produced the greatest generals, philosophers, poets, painters, architects, and statuaries, that the world ever boast ed; which overcame the most powerful monarchs, and dis persed the most numerous armies that were ever brought into the field, and at last became the instructer of all mankind.

It is said, in scripture, that Javan, the son of Japeth, was the father of all those nations that went under the general denomi nation of Greeks. Of his four sons, Elisha, or Elias, is said to have given name to the Hellenes, a general name by which the Greeks were known. Tharsis, the second son, is thought to have settled in Achaia; Chittim in Macedonia; and Dodanim, the fourth son, in Thessaly and Epirus. How they portioned out the country, what revolations they experienced, or what wars they maintained, are utterly unknown • and, indeed, the history of petty barbarous states, if known, would hardly recompense the trouble of inquiry.

In those early times, kingdoms were inconsiderable. A single city, with a few leagues of land, was often honoured with that magnificent appellation; it would therefore embar rass history, to enter into the domestic privacy of every little state; as it would be a subject rather for the economist, than the politician. It will suffice, to observe, that Sicyon is said to have been the most ancient kingdom of Greece. The beginning of this petty sovereignty, is placed, by historians, in the year of the world, one thousand nine hundred and fifteen; before Jesus Christ, two thousand eighty-nine; and before the first Olympiad, one thousand three hundred and thirteen. The first king, was Egialeus. Its duration is said to have been a thousand years.

1

The kingdom of Argos, in Peloponnesus, began a thousand and eighty years before the first Olympiad, in the time of Abraham. The first king was Inachus.

A. M.

2148.

The kingdom of Mycænæ succeeded. The seat of gov ernment was translated thither, from Argos, by Perseus, the grandson of Acrisius, the last king of that country; whom Perseus unfortunately slew. The kings who reigned at My cænæ, after Perseus, were Electryon, Sthenelus, and Eurys theus; the latter of whom was driven out by the Heraclidæ, or the descendants of Hercules, who made themselves masters of Peloponnesus.

A. M.

2448

The kingdom of Athens was first founded by Cecrops, an Egyptian. This prince, having settled in Attica, divided the whole country, subject to him, into welve districts, and also established a court for judging causes, entitled the Areopagus. Amphictyon, the third king of Athens, procured a confederacy among the twelve states of Greece, which assembled twice a year, at Thermopylæ; there, 10 offer up common sacrifices, and to consult for the common interests of the association. Theseus, one of the succeeding kings of this state, united the twelve boroughs of Cecrops into one city.

Codrus was the last of. this line: he devoted himself to death for his people. The Heraclidæ having made an irruption as far as the gates of Athens, the oracle declared that they should be conquerors, whose king should fall in this contest. To take the earliest advantage, therefore, of this answer, Codrus disguised himself in the habit of a peasant; and, provoking one of the enemy's soldiers, was killed by him.

Whereupon, the Athenians sent a herald to demand the body of their king, which message struck such a damp into the enemy, that they departed, without striking another blow.

After Codrus, the title of king was extinguished among the Athenians. Medon, his son, was set at the head of the commonwealth, with the title of archon; which signifies chief governor. The first of this denomination, had their places for life; but the Athenians, growing weary of a government, which repressed their love of freedom, abridged the term of the archon's power, to ten years; and at last made the office elective every year.

A. M.

The kingdom of Thebes was first founded by Cadmus. This hero, coming, by sea, from the coast of 2549. Phoenicia, settled in that part of the country which was afterwards called Boeotia. He there built the city of Thebes, which, from his own name, he called Cadmæa, and there fixed his seat of power and dominion. The adventures of

his unhappy posterity, Laius, Jocasto, Oedipus, Eteocles, and Polynices, make a shining figure among the poetical fictions of that period.

The kingdom of Sparta or Lacedæmon, is supposed to have been first instituted by Lelia. Helena, the tenth in succession from this monarch, is equally famous for her beauty and infidelity. She had not lived above three years with her husband, Menelaus, before she was carried off by Paris, the son of Priam, king of Troy. This seems to be the first occasion in which the Greeks united in one common cause. The Greeks took Troy, after a ten years' siege, much about the time that Jephthah was the judge in Israel. Corinth began later than the other cities above mentioned, to be formed into a state, or to be governed by its kings. It was, at first, subject to Argos and Mycænæ; but Sisyphus, the son of Eolus, made himself master of it; and, when his descendants were dispos sessed, Bachis assumed the reins of power.

A. M.

2628.

A. M. 2930.

The

government, after this, became aristocratical; a chief magistrate being annually chosen, by the name of prytanni At last, Cypselus having gained the people, usurped the supreme authority, which he transmitted to his son Periander; who was ranked among the seven wise men of Greece, from the love he bore to learning, and his encouragement of its professors.

The kingdom of Macedonia was first governed by Caranus, descended from Hercules; and subsisted from his time till the defeat of Perseus by the Romans, a space of six hundred and twenty-six years.

Such, is the picture Greece offers, in its earliest infancy. A combination of little states, each governed by its respective sovereign, yet all uniting for their mutual safety and general advantage. Still, however, their intestine contentions were carried on with great animosity; and, as it happens, in all petty states, under the dominion of a single commander, the jealousies of the princes were a continual cause of discord. From this distressful situation, those states, by degrees began to emerge; a different spirit began to seize the people, and, sick of the contentions of their princes, they desired to be free. A spirit of liberty prevailed all over Greece; and a general change of government was effected, in every part of the country, except in Macedonia. Thus, monarchy gave way to a republican government; which, however, was diversified into as many various forms, as there were different cities, according to the different genius and peculiar character of each people.