XI. He was renowned for his stud, and for the number of his racing chariots. No other person, king or commoner, ever entered seven four-horse chariots for the race at Olympia except Alkibiades. His winning the first, second, and fourth prizes with these, as Thucydides tells us, though Euripides says that he won the third also, excels in glory any other successes by other persons in these races. The poem of Euripides runs as follows:

"Son of Kleinias, thee I sing, In truth it is a noble thing, First, second, and third place To win in chariot race, To hear the herald thrice thy name proclaim, And thrice to bear away the olive crown of fame."

XII. His success was rendered all the more conspicuous by the manner in which the various States vied with one another in showing him honour. Ephesus pitched a magnificent tent for his accommodation, Chios furnished his horses with provender, and himself with animals for sacrifice; and Lesbos supplied him with wine, and every thing else necessary for giving great entertainments. Yet even at this brilliant period of his life he incurred discredit, either by his own fault or through the spite of his enemies. The story is that an Athenian named Diomedes, a respectable man and a friend of Alkibiades, was desirous of winning a victory at Olympia. Hearing that there was a chariot and four which belonged to the city of Argos, and knowing that Alkibiades had great influence and many friends in that place, he persuaded him to buy the chariot for him. Alkibiades, however, bought the chariot and entered it for the race as his own, leaving Diomedes to call upon heaven and earth to witness his ill-treatment. It appears that a trial took place about this matter, and Isokrates wrote a speech about this chariot in defence of the son of Alkibiades, in which Tisias, not Diomedes, is mentioned as the prosecutor.

XIII. When, as a mere boy, Alkibiades plunged into political life, he at once surpassed most of the statesmen of the age. His chief rivals were Phaeax, the son of Erasistratus, and Nikias, the son of Nikeratus, the latter a man advanced in life, and bearing the reputation of being an excellent general, while the former, like Alkibiades himself, was a young man of good family, just rising into notice, but inferior to him in many respects, particularly in oratory. Though affable and persuasive in private circles, he could not speak equally well in public, for he was, as Eupolis says,

"At conversation best of men, at public speaking worst."

In a certain attack on Alkibiades and Phaeax, we find, among other charges, Alkibiades accused of using the gold and silver plate of the city of Athens as his own for his daily use.

There was at Athens one Hyperbolus, of the township of Peirithois, whom Thucydides mentions as a worthless man, and one who was constantly ridiculed by the comic dramatists. From his utter disregard of what was said of him, and his carelessness for his honour, which, though it was mere shameless impudence and apathy, was thought by some to show firmness and true courage, he was pleasing to no party, but frequently made use of by the people when they wished to have a scurrilous attack made upon those in power. At this time he was about to resort to the proceeding called ostracism, by which from time to time the Athenians force into exile those citizens who are remarkable for influence and power, rather because they envy them than because they fear them.

But as it was clear that one of the three, Nikias, Phaeax, and Alkibiades, would be ostracised, Alkibiades combined their several parties, arranged matters with Nikias, and turned the ostracism against Hyperbolus himself. Some say that it was not Nikias but Phaeax with whom Alkibiades joined interest, and that with the assistance of his political party he managed to expel Hyperbolus, who never expected any such treatment; for before that time this punishment had never been extended to low persons of no reputation, as Plato, the comic dramatist, says in the lines where he mentions Hyperbolus:

"Full worthy to be punished though he be, Yet ostracism's not for such as he."

We have elsewhere given a fuller account of this affair.

XIV. Alkibiades was dissatisfied at the respect shown for Nikias, both by enemies of the State and by the citizens of Athens. Alkibiades was the proxenus[A] of the Lacedaemonians at Athens, and paid especial court to those Spartans who had been captured at Pylos; yet, when the Lacedaemonians discovered that it was chiefly by Nikias's means that they obtained peace, and recovered their prisoners, they were lavish of their attentions to him. The common phrase among the Greeks of that time was that Perikles had begun the war, and Nikias had finished it; and the peace was usually called the peace of Nikias. Alkibiades, irritated beyond measure at his rival's success, began to meditate how he could destroy the existing treaty. He perceived that the Argives, hating and fearing Sparta, wished to break off from it, and he encouraged them by secret assurances of an Athenian alliance, and also both by his agents and in person he urged the leading men not to give way to the Lacedaemonians, or yield any points to them, but to turn to Athens, and await their co-operation, for the Athenians, he said, already began to regret that they had made peace at all, and would soon break it.

[Footnote A: An office resembling that of a modern consul for a foreign nation.]

When the Lacedaemonians made an alliance with the Boeotians, and delivered up Panaktus to the Athenians in a dismantled condition, not with its walls standing, as they ought to have done, Alkibiades exasperated the rage of the Athenians by his speeches, and raised a clamour against Nikias by the plausible accusation that he, when general, had hung back from capturing the enemy's forces which were cut off in the island of Sphakteria, and that when they had been captured by another, he had released them and restored them to their homes, in order to gain the favour of the Lacedaemonians. And for all that, although he was such a friend of the Lacedaemonians, he had not dissuaded them from forming alliances with Corinth and with the Boeotians, while he prevented the Athenians from becoming allies of any Greek State which might wish it, if the step did not happen to please the Lacedaemonians.

Upon this, while Nikias was smarting under these accusations, ambassadors arrived from Lacedaemon with instructions to propose reasonable terms, and announcing that they came with full powers to conclude the negotiations for peace on an equitable basis. The Senate received them willingly, and next day they were to appear before the people. Fearing that they would succeed, Alkibiades contrived to obtain a private interview with them, in which he addressed them as follows: "What is this that you do, men of Sparta! Do you not know that the Senate always treats those who appear before it in a kindly and reasonable manner, but the people are always full of pride and ambition? If you say that you have plenary powers, they will bewilder you by their violence and force great concessions from you. So come, cease this folly, if you wish to negotiate with the Athenians in a moderate way, and not to be forced into conceding points against your will. Discuss all the points at issue, but do not say that you have full power to decide them. I will do my best to assist you, as a friend to Lacedaemon." After these words he confirmed his promise by an oath, and thus completely detached them from Nikias and left them trusting him only, and admiring him as a man of remarkable sense and intelligence. On the following day the people assembled, and the ambassadors appeared before them. When they were politely asked by Alkibiades in what capacity they came, they said that they were not plenipotentiaries. Immediately upon this Alkibiades assailed them with furious invective, as though they, not he, were in the wrong, calling them faithless equivocators, who had not come either to speak or to do anything honest. The Senate was vexed at its treatment, and the people were excessively enraged, while Nikias, who knew nothing of the trick, was astounded and covered with confusion at the conduct of the ambassadors.

XV. The Lacedaemonian alliance being put an end to by this means, Alkibiades, who was now elected one of the generals of Athens, at once formed an alliance with Argos, Elis and Mantinea. No one approved of the way in which he effected this, but still the result was very important, as it agitated all the States in Peloponnesus, and set them against one another, brought so many men into line to fight the Lacedaemonians at the battle of Mantinea, and removed the scene of conflict so far from Athens, that the Lacedaemonians could gain no great advantage by victory, whereas if they failed, they would have to struggle for their very existence. After this battle the select regiment at Argos, called the "Thousand," endeavoured to overthrow the government and establish themselves as masters of the city; and with the assistance of the Lacedaemonians they destroyed the constitution. But the people took up arms again, and defeated the usurpers; and Alkibiades coming to their aid, made the victory of the popular side more complete. He persuaded the citizens to build long walls down to the sea, and to trust entirely to the Athenian naval forces for support. He even sent them carpenters and stonemasons from Athens, and showed great zeal on their behalf, which tended to increase his personal interest and power no less than that of his country. He advised the people of Patrae also to join their city to the sea by long walls; and when some one said to the people of Patrae, that the Athenians would swallow them up, he answered, "Perhaps they may, but it will be by degrees and beginning with the feet, whereas the Lacedaemonians will seize them by the head and do it at once."

However, Alkibiades ever pressed the Athenians to establish their empire by land as well as by sea, reminding them of the oath which the young men take in the Temple of Agraulos, and which it was their duty to confirm by their deeds. This oath is, that they will regard wheat, barley, vines and olives as the boundaries of Attica, by which it is hinted that they ought to make all cultivated and fruitful lands their own.

XVI. In the midst of all this display of political ability, eloquence, and statesmanlike prudence, he lived a life of great luxury, debauchery, and profuse expenditure, swaggering through the market-place with his long effeminate mantle trailing on the ground. He had the deck of his trireme cut away, that he might sleep more comfortably, having his bed slung on girths instead of resting on the planks; and he carried a shield not emblazoned with the ancestral bearings of his family, but with a Cupid wielding a thunderbolt. The leading men of Athens viewed his conduct with disgust and apprehension, fearing his scornful and overbearing manner, as being nearly allied to the demeanour of a despot, while Aristophanes has expressed the feeling of the people towards him in the line,

"They love, they hate, they cannot live without him."

And again he alludes to him in a bitterer spirit in the verse:

"A lion's cub 'tis best you should not rear, For if you do, your master he'll appear."

His voluntary contributions of money to the State, his public exhibitions and services, and displays of munificence, which could not be equalled in splendour, his noble birth, his persuasive speech, his strength, beauty, and bravery, and all his other shining qualities, combined to make the Athenians endure him, and always give his errors the mildest names, calling them youthful escapades and honourable emulation. For example, he locked up Agatharchus the painter, and when he had painted his house let him go with a present. He boxed Taurea's ears because he was exhibiting shows in rivalry with him, and contending with him for the prize. And he even took one of the captive Melian women for his mistress, and brought up a child which he had by her. This was thought to show his good nature; but this term cannot be applied to the slaughter of all the males above puberty in the island of Melos, which was done in accordance with a decree promoted by Alkibiades.

When Aristophon painted the courtesan Nemea embracing Alkibiades, all men eagerly crowded to see it; but older men were vexed at these things too, thinking them only fit for despots, and considering them to be open violations of the laws. Indeed Archestratus spoke very much to the purpose when he said that Greece could not bear more than one Alkibiades. Once, when Alkibiades had made a successful speech in the public assembly, and was being conducted home in triumph by his friends, Timon the misanthrope met him, and did not get out of his way, as he did to every one else, but came up to him and took him by the hand, saying, "Go on, my boy, increase in glory; for your increase will bring ruin to all this crowd." Some laughed, some cursed him, but others took his words to heart. So various were the opinions formed about Alkibiades, because of the inconsistency of his character.

XVII. Even during the lifetime of Perikles, the Athenians had a hankering after Sicily, and after his death they endeavoured to obtain possession of it, by sending troops to the assistance of those cities which were oppressed by the Syracusans, and thus paving the way for a greater armament. It was, however, Alkibiades who fanned their desires into a flame, and who persuaded them to abandon these half-hearted attempts, to proceed with a great force to the island, and to endeavour to subdue it. He raised great expectations among the people, but his own aspirations were far more entensive; for he regarded the conquest of Sicily not merely as an end, but as a stepping-stone to greater things. While Nikias was dissuading the people from the attempt, on the ground that it would be a difficult matter to capture the city of Syracuse, Alkibiades was dreaming of Carthage and Libya; and after these were gained, he meditated the conquest of Italy and of Peloponnesus, regarding Sicily as little more than a convenient magazine and place of arms. He greatly excited the younger Athenians by his vast designs, and they listened eagerly to the marvellous stories of the old who had served in that country; so that many of them would spend their time sitting in the gymnasia and public seats, drawing sketches of the shape of the island of Sicily, and of the position of Libya and Carthage. It is said that Sokrates the philosopher, and Meton the astronomer, did not expect that the state would gain any advantage from this expedition; the former probably receiving a presentiment of disaster, as was his wont, from his familiar spirit. Meton either made calculations which led him to fear what was about to happen, or else gathered it from the art of prophecy. He feigned madness, and seizing a torch, attempted to set his house on fire. Some say that Meton made no pretence of madness, but that he burned down his house one night, and next morning came and besought the Athenians, after such a misfortune, to exempt his son from serving with the expedition. Thus he deceived his fellow citizens and carried his point.

XVIII. Nikias, much against his will, was chosen to lead the expedition. His unwillingness was in a great measure due to the fact that Alkibiades was to act as his colleague; for the Athenians thought that the war would be conducted better if the rashness of Alkibiades was tempered by the prudence of Nikias, because the third general, Lamachus, although advanced in years, yet had the reputation of being no less daring and reckless a soldier than Alkibiades himself.

When the public assembly were debating about the number of the troops and the preparation for the armament, Nikias made another attempt to oppose the whole measure and to put a stop to the war. Alkibiades, however, took the other side and carried all before him. The orator Demostratus moved, that the generals should be empowered to demand whatever stores and war material they pleased, and have absolute power to carry on the war at their own discretion. This was agreed to by the people, and all was ready for setting sail, when unlucky omens occurred. The festival of Adonis took place at that very time, and during it the women carry about in many parts of the city figures dressed like corpses going to be buried, and imitate the ceremony of a funeral by tearing their hair and singing dirges. And besides this, the mutilation of the Hermae in one night, when all of them had their faces disfigured, disturbed many even of those who, as a rule, despised such things. A story was put about that the Corinthians, of whom the Syracusans were a colony, had done it, hoping that such an evil omen might make the Athenians either postpone or give up their expedition. But the people paid no heed to this insinuation, and still less to those who argued that there was no omen in the matter at all, but that it was the work of extravagant young men after their wine. They regarded the incident with feelings of rage and fear, imagining that it proved the existence of an organised plot aimed at greater matters. Both the Senate and the General Assembly met several times during the next few days, and inquired sharply into every thing that could throw any light upon it.

XIX. During this time, Androkles, a popular speaker, brought forward several slaves and resident aliens, who charged Alkibiades and his friends with mutilating certain other statues, and with parodying the ceremonies of initiation to the sacred mysteries when in their cups. They said that the part of the Herald was taken by Theodorus, that of the Torch-bearer by Polytion, and that of Hierophant by Alkibiades himself, while the rest of the company were present and were initiated, and were addressed by them as Mysts, which means persons who have been initiated into the mysteries. These are the charges which we find specified in the indictment drawn against Alkibiades by Thessalus the son of Kimon, in which he accuses Alkibiades of sacrilege against the two goddesses, Demeter (Ceres) and Proserpine. The people now became very much enraged with Alkibiades, and were still more exasperated by his personal enemy Androkles. Alkibiades was at first alarmed, but soon perceived that all the sailors of the fleet about to sail to Sicily were on his side, as were also the soldiers. A body of a thousand Argives and Mantineans also were heard to say that they were going to cross the seas and fight in a distant land all for the sake of Alkibiades, and that if he did not meet with fair play, they would at once desert. Encouraged by this, he appeared at the appointed time to defend himself, which disconcerted and disheartened his enemies, who feared that the people might deal leniently with him because they required his services. Matters being in this posture, they prevailed upon some of the orators who were not known to be enemies to Alkibiades, but who hated him nevertheless, to move before the people that it was an absurd proceeding for the irresponsible general of so great a force of Athenians and their allies to waste his time while the court was drawing lots for the jury, and filling water-clocks with water. "Let him sail, and may good luck attend him, and when the war is finished let him return and speak in his defence, for the laws will be the same then as now." Alkibiades saw clearly their malicious object in postponing his trial, and said publicly that it was very hard to leave such accusations and slanders behind him, and to be sent out in command of a great expedition with such a terrible fate hanging over him. If he could not prove his innocence, he ought to be put to death; and if he could clear himself of these charges, it was only just that he should be enabled to attack the enemy with a light heart, without having to fear false accusers at home.

XX. He did not, however, succeed in this, but was ordered to sail, and put to sea with his colleagues, having under their orders a fleet of nearly one hundred and forty triremes, five thousand one hundred heavy-armed troops, archers, slingers, and light-armed troops to the number of about thirteen hundred, and all other stores and provisions in proportion. After reaching Italy and capturing Rhegium, he gave his opinion as to the manner in which the war ought to be conducted; but as Nikias opposed him and was joined by Lamachus, he sailed over to Sicily and induced the city of Catana to join them, but did nothing further, because he was sent for at once to return and stand his trial at Athens. At first, as we have stated, Alkibiades was only vaguely suspected, and only the testimony of slaves and resident aliens could be obtained against him; but afterwards, during his absence, his enemies had worked hard to get up a case against him, and connected his sacrilegious conduct about the mysteries with the mutilation of the Hermae, which they argued were all the work of one body of conspirators, bent upon revolution and the destruction of the existing form of government. All those who were in any degree implicated were cast into prison without a trial, and they were much vexed they had not immediately brought Alkibiades to trial and obtained judgment against him on such grave charges as these. Any of his friends, relations, or acquaintances who fell into their hands received very harsh treatment.

Thucydides has omitted the names of those who impeached him, but others give their names as Diokleides and Teukrus, among whom is Phrynichus the comic dramatist, who writes as follows:—

"And, dearest Hermes, do not fall And break your head; and, worst of all, To some new Diokleides show the way, By slander base to swear men's lives away."

And again Hermes says:

"I will not fall. I will not for my pains Let Teukrus fatten on informers' gains."

Though really the informers brought no decided evidence forward for any important charge, one of them, when asked how he recognised the faces of the statue-breakers, answered that he saw them by the light of the moon: a signal falsehood, because it was done on the night of the new moon. This answer made the more thoughtful citizens unwilling to press the charge, but had no effect whatever on the people, who were as eager as ever, and continued to cast into prison any man who might be informed against.

XXI. One of those who was imprisoned was the orator Andokides, whom Hellanikus, the historian, reckons as a descendant of Odysseus (Ulysses). Andokides was thought to be a man of aristocratic and antipopular sentiments, and what made him particularly suspected of having taken part in the statue-breaking, was that the large statue of Hermes, near his house, the gift of the tribe Aegeis, was one of the very few which remained unbroken. Wherefore even at the present day it is called the Hermes of Andokides, and everyone speaks of it by that name in spite of the inscription on it.

It happened that Andokides, while in custody, formed an acquaintance and friendship for one of the other persons who were imprisoned on the same charge, a man of the name of Timaeus, of inferior birth and position to himself, but much cleverer and more courageous. This man persuaded Andokides to inform against himself and some few others, because, by a decree of the people, any one who acted as informer was to be given a free pardon, whereas no one could count upon the results of a trial, which the more prominent citizens had especial reasons for dreading. He pointed out that it was better to save his life by a lie than to be put to death with infamy as if he was really guilty; moreover, looking at the whole affair, it was best to sacrifice a few persons of doubtful character to the fury of the people, and thereby to save many good men from becoming its victims. Andokides was convinced by these arguments of Timaeus, and by informing against himself and some others obtained a pardon for himself, while all those whose names he mentioned were put to death, except such as had fled the country.

To procure greater credit to his information, Andokides even accused his own servants. However, the people did not abate their rage, but, ceasing to take any further interest in the statue-breakers, they turned savagely against Alkibiades. Finally, they despatched the Salaminian trireme after him, ingeniously ordering its officers not to use any personal violence, but to speak him fair and bid him return to stand his trial and set himself right with the people.

They were afraid of an outbreak, or even of a mutiny in the army in Sicily, which Alkibiades could have raised with the greatest ease, if he had wished to do so. Indeed, the soldiers became disheartened when he left them, and looked forward to long delays and periods of dull inaction under Nikias's command, now that he who used to spur matters on was gone. Lamachus, indeed, was a brave and skilful soldier, but his poverty prevented his opinions from carrying their due weight.

XXII. Alkibiades the moment he sailed away lost Messina for the Athenians. There was a party in that city ready to deliver it up, which he knew well, and by disclosing their intentions to the Syracusan party he effectually ruined the plot. At Thurii he landed, and concealed himself so that he could not be found. When one of his friends said to him, "Alkibiades, do you not trust your native country?" He answered, "Yes, in other matters; but when my life is at stake I would not trust my own mother, for fear that she might mistake a black bean for a white one." Afterwards hearing that the Athenians had condemned him to death, he said, "I will show them that I am still alive."

The indictment against him is framed thus:

"Thessalus, the son of Kimon, of the township of Lakia, accuses Alkibiades, the son of Kleinias, of the township of the Skambonidae, of sacrilege against the two goddesses, Demeter and Kora, by parodying the sacred mysteries and giving a representation of them in his own house, wearing himself such a robe as the Hierophant does when he shows the holy things, and calling himself the Hierophant, Poulytion, the Torch-bearer, Theodorus, of the township of Phegaea, the Herald, and addressing the rest of the company as Mysts and Epopts (Initiates and Novices), contrary to the rules and ceremonies established by the Eumolpidae, and Kerykes, and the priests of Eleusis." As he did not appear, they condemned him, forfeited his goods, and even caused all the priests and priestesses to curse him publicly. It is said that Theano, the daughter of Menon, the priestess of the temple of Agraulos, was the only one who refused to carry out this decree, alleging that it was to pray and not to curse that she had become a priestess.

XXIII. While these terrible decrees and sentences were being passed against Alkibiades, he was living at Argos; for as soon as he left Thurii, he fled to the Peloponnesus, where, terrified at the violence of his enemies, he determined to abandon his country, and sent to Sparta demanding a safe asylum, on the strength of a promise that he would do the Spartans more good than he had in time past done them harm. The Spartans agreed to his request, and invited him to come. On his arrival, he at once effected one important matter, by stirring up the dilatory Spartans to send Gylippus at once to Syracuse with reinforcements for that city, to destroy the Athenian army in Sicily. Next, he brought them to declare war against the Athenians themselves; while his third and most terrible blow to Athens was his causing the Lacedaemonians to seize and fortify Dekeleia, which did more to ruin Athens than any other measure throughout the war. With his great public reputation, Alkibiades was no less popular in private life, and he deluded the people by pretending to adopt the Laconian habits. When they saw him closely shaved, bathing in cold water, eating dry bread and black broth, they wondered, and began to doubt whether this man ever had kept a professed cook, used perfumes, or endured to wear a Milesian mantle. For Alkibiades, among his other extraordinary qualities, had this especial art of captivating men by assimilating his own manners and habits to theirs, being able to change, more quickly than the chameleon, from one mode of life to another. The chameleon, indeed, cannot turn itself white; but Alkibiades never found anything, good or bad, which he could not imitate to the life. Thus at Sparta he was fond of exercise, frugal and severe; in Ionia, luxurious, frivolous, and lazy; in Thrace, he drank deep; in Thessaly he proved himself a good horseman; while, when he was consorting with the satrap Tissaphernes, he outdid even the Persian splendour and pomp. It was not his real character that he so often and so easily changed, but as he knew that if he appeared in his true colours, he would be universally disliked, he concealed his real self under an apparent adoption of the ways and fashions of whatever place he was in. In Lacedaemon you would say, looking at his appearance,

"'Tis not Achilles' son, 'tis he himself."

He was just such a man as Lykurgus himself would have trained; but if you examined his habits and actions more closely, you would say:

"'Tis the same woman still."

For while King Agis was away in the wars, Alkibiades seduced his wife Timaea, so that she became pregnant by him, and did not even deny the fact. When her child was born it was called Leotychides in public, but in her own house she whispered to her friends and attendants that his name was Alkibiades, so greatly was she enamoured of him. He himself used to say in jest that he had not acted thus out of wanton passion, but in order that his race might one day rule in Lacedaemon. King Agis heard of all this from many informants, but was most convinced of its truth by a computation of the time before the birth of the child. Terrified at an earthquake, he had once quitted his wife's chamber, and for ten months afterwards had never conversed with her. As it was at the end of this period that Leotychides was born, he declared that the child was not his; and for this reason he never succeeded to the throne.

XXIV. After the Athenian disaster in Sicily, ambassadors came to Sparta from Chios, Lesbos, and Kyzikus. The claims of the Lesbians were favoured by the Boeotians, and those of the people of Kyzikus by Pharnabazus; but, at the recommendation of Alkibiades, the Lacedaemonians decided to give the preference to the Chians. He himself sailed to that island, caused nearly the whole of the cities of Ionia to revolt from Athens, and injured the Athenian cause much by constantly assisting the Lacedaemonian generals. King Agis, however, was already his personal enemy, because of Alkibiades's intrigue with his wife, and now was enraged at his successes; for it was said that scarcely anything was done without Alkibiades. The other leading men in Sparta also hated Alkibiades, because he had thrown them into the shade; and they had sufficient influence with the home government to obtain an order for his execution, to be sent to the generals in Ionia.

Alkibiades received warning of this in good time. Alarmed at the news, he still continued to co-operate with the Lacedaemonians, but utterly refused to trust his person among them. To ensure his safety, he betook himself to Tissaphernes, the satrap or viceroy for the king of Persia in that province, and at once became the most important personage amongst his followers. The barbarian being himself a lover of deceit and of crooked ways, admired his cleverness and versatility; while no man's nature could resist the fascinations and charms of the society of Alkibiades, which Tissaphernes now enjoyed daily. Although he hated the Greeks as much as any Persian, yet he was so overpowered by the flatteries of Alkibiades, that he in his turn repaid him with compliments even more excessive. He decreed that the pleasantest of his parks, a place charmingly wooded and watered, with delightful walks and summer-houses, should be called "the Alkibiades;" and all men from that time forth spoke of it by that name.

XXV. Now that Alkibiades had determined that the Spartans were not to be trusted, and that he was in fear of Agis, their king, he began to speak evil of them to Tissaphernes, withholding him from assisting them thoroughly, and enabling them to conquer the Athenians, but advising him rather to starve the Lacedaemonians forces by insufficient supplies, so as to play one side off against the other, and thus encourage them to wear each other out, in order that in the end both might be so weakened as to fall an easy prey to the Persians.

Tissaphernes at once adopted this policy, and made no secret of his regard and admiration for Alkibiades, who was now looked up to by the Greeks on both sides, while the Athenians repented of their decrees against him. He also began to fear that if their city were to be utterly destroyed he would necessarily fall into the hands of his enemies, the Lacedaemonians.

The most important post in the Athenian empire at this time was the island of Samos. Here lay the greater part of their fleet, and it was from this headquarters that they sent out expeditions to recover the revolted cities of Ionia, and guarded those which they still retained, as, in spite of their great losses, they still possessed a fleet capable of holding its own against the Lacedaemonians. They were in great fear of Tissaphernes and the Phoenician fleet of a hundred and fifty sail of triremes, which was said to be on the point of arriving, because if it really came all would be over with Athens. Alkibiades, knowing this, sent a secret message to the Athenian leaders at Samos, holding out hopes of bringing Tissaphernes over to the Athenian side. He would not, he said, do this to please the populace of Athens, because he could not trust them, but he would effect it if the nobility would, like brave gentlemen, put an end to the insolent behaviour of the lower orders, and would themselves undertake to save the city and empire of Athens.

All were eager to adopt the proposal of Alkibiades, except Phrynichus of the demos or township of Deirades, who suspected the real truth, that Alkibiades cared nothing about the form of government which might be established at Athens, but was seeking for some excuse for being restored to his native country, and thought, by his harsh language about the people, to ingratiate himself with the nobles. He was, however, overruled; and, being now clearly marked as the personal enemy of Alkibiades, sent a secret message to Astyochus, the admiral of the Lacedaemonian fleet, bidding him beware of Alkibiades, who was playing a double game. However, he met his match in perfidy. Astyochus, desirous of gaining the favour of Tissaphernes, and seeing that Alkibiades had great influence with him, betrayed Phrynichus's letter to them. Alkibiades upon this at once sent persons to Samos to charge Phrynichus with this act of treason, and he, seeing that all men were shocked at what he had done, and were indignant with him, and being at his wit's end, endeavoured to heal one mischief by another. He sent a second letter to Astyochus, reproaching him for his betrayal of confidence, and promising that he would enable him to capture the fleet and camp of the Athenians. However, the treachery of Phrynichus did no harm to the Athenians, because of the counter treachery of Astyochus, who communicated this letter also to Alkibiades. Now Phrynichus, expecting a second charge of treason from Alkibiades, was beforehand with him, in announcing to the Athenians that the enemy were about to attack them, and advising them to keep near their ships, and to fortify their camp.[A] This they proceeded to do, when there came a second letter from Alkibiades, warning them against Phrynichus, who meditated betraying the harbour to the enemy. This letter was not believed at the time, for men imagined that Alkibiades, who knew perfectly well all the movements and intentions of the enemy, was making use of that knowledge to destroy his personal enemy Phrynichus, by exciting an undeserved suspicion against him. Yet, when afterwards Hermon, one of the Athenian horse-patrol, stabbed Phrynichus with his dagger in the market-place, the Athenians, after trying the case, decided that the deceased was guilty of treason, and crowned Hermon and his comrades with garlands.

[Footnote A: The ancient trireme was not habitable, like a modern ship of war. The crew always, if possible, landed for their meals, and when stationed at any place, drew the ship up on the beach and lived entirely on shore.]

XXVI. The friends of Alkibiades being in a majority at Samos, now despatched Peisander to Athens to attempt the subversion of the republic, and to encourage the nobles to seize the government, and put an end to the democratic constitution. If this was done, they conceived that Alkibiades would make Tissaphernes their friend and ally, and this was the pretext and excuse put forward by those who established the oligarchy. When, however, the so-called Five Thousand, who really were the Four Hundred, were at the head of affairs, they paid but little attention to Alkibiades, and were very remiss in carrying on the war, partly because they distrusted the citizens, who were not yet accustomed to the new constitution, and partly because they thought that the Lacedaemonians, who were always favourable to oligarchical governments, would deal more tenderly with them on that account. The Athenian populace remained quiet, though sorely against its will, because of the terror inspired by the oligarchs, for no small number of citizens who had opposed the Four Hundred had been put to death; but the men of Samos, as soon as they heard the news, were indignant, and wished at once to sail to Peiraeus. They sent at once for Alkibiades, elected him their general, and bade him lead them on to crush this new despotism. Alkibiades on this occasion acted like a really great commander, and not at all as one would expect of a man who had suddenly been raised to power by popular favour.

He refused to curry favour with the soldiery by carrying out their wishes, regardless of their having found him a homeless exile, and having made him the commander of so many ships and so many men; but he resisted their impulse, and by preventing their committing so great an error, without doubt saved the Athenian empire. For if the fleet had left Samos, the enemy could without a battle have made themselves masters of the whole of Ionia, the Hellespont, and the islands in the Aegean while Athenians would have fought with Athenians in their own city. All this was prevented by Alkibiades alone, who not only persuaded the populace, and pointed out the folly of such proceedings in public speeches, but even entreated and commanded each individual man to remain at Samos. He was assisted in this by Thrasybulus, of the township of Steiria, who was present, and spoke in his loud voice, which was said to be the loudest of any Athenian of his time. This was a noble achievement of Alkibiades, and so, too, was his undertaking that the Phoenician fleet, which the Lacedaemonians expected would be sent by the Persian king to help them, should either be won over to the Athenian side, or at any rate prevented from joining the Lacedaemonians. In order to effect this, he sailed away in great haste, and, although the Phoenician fleet was at Aspendus, yet Tissaphernes brought it no further, and deceived the Lacedaemonians. Both parties gave Alkibiades the credit of having detained it, and more especially the Lacedaemonians, who imagined that he was teaching the Persians to allow the Greeks to destroy one another, for it was perfectly clear that such a force, if added to either of the contending parties, must have made them complete masters of the sea.

XXVII. After this the government of the Four Hundred was dissolved, as the friends of Alkibiades eagerly took the side of the popular party. Although the Athenians now wished and even commanded Alkibiades to return to his native city, yet he felt that he ought not to come home emptyhanded, and owing his restoration to the good nature of the people, but rather to return after some glorious achievement. With this intention he at first left Samos with a few ships and cruised in the seas near Knidus and Kos; then, hearing that Mindarus, the Spartan admiral, had gone to the Hellespont with all his fleet, and that the Athenian fleet had followed him, he hurried to the assistance of the Athenian commanders.

Sailing northwards with eighteen triremes he chanced to arrive towards evening, at the end of a sea-fight off Abydos, in which neither party had won any decided advantage. The appearance of his squadron caused very different feelings among the combatants, for the Athenians were alarmed, and the enemy encouraged. However, he soon hoisted an Athenian flag, and bore down upon that part of the Peloponnesian fleet which had been hitherto victorious. He put them to flight, compelled them to run their ships ashore, and then attacking them, disabled their ships, and broke them to pieces, forcing the crews to swim ashore, where Pharnabazus the satrap led a force to the water's edge to fight for the preservation of the vessels. In the end the Athenians took thirty ships, recovered those of their own which had been captured, and erected a trophy, as victors.

Alkibiades gained great glory by this splendid piece of good fortune, and at once went off with rich presents and a gorgeous military retinue, to display his fresh laurels to Tissaphernes. He met, however, with a very different reception to that which he expected, for Tissaphernes, whose mind had been poisoned against him by the Lacedaemonians, and who feared that the king might be displeased with his own dealings with Alkibiades, considered that he had arrived at a very opportune moment, and at once seized him and imprisoned him at Sardis; thinking that this arbitrary act would prove to the world that the other suspicions of an understanding between them were unfounded.

XXVIII. Thirty days afterwards, Alkibiades by some means obtained a horse, eluded his guards, and fled for refuge to Klazomenae. He gave out that he had been privately released by Tissaphernes himself, in order to disgrace that satrap, and at once sailed to the Athenian fleet in the Hellespont. Learning that Mindarus and Pharnabazus were both in the city of Kyzikus, he encouraged his soldiers by a speech, in which he told them that they would have to fight at sea, on land, and against the town walls too, for that if they were not completely victorious they could get no pay. He manned his ships and proceeded to Prokonessus, ordering all small vessels which they met to be seized and detained in the interior of the fleet, in order that the enemy might not learn his movements. It happened also that a heavy thunderstorm with rain and darkness assisted his design, as he not only was unseen by the enemy, but was never suspected of any intention of attack by the Athenians themselves, who had given up any idea of going to sea when he ordered them on board. Little by little the clouds cleared away, and disclosed the Peloponnesian fleet cruising off the harbour of Kyzikus. Alkibiades, fearing that if the enemy saw how numerous his own fleet was, they would take refuge on shore, ordered the other commanders to remain behind under easy sail, and himself with forty ships went on ahead to entice them to an engagement. The Peloponnesians, deceived by this manoeuvre, at once attacked these few ships, despising their small numbers. But the little squadron engaged them until the rest came up, when they fled ashore in terror. Alkibiades with twenty of the fastest sailing ships broke through the enemy's line, ran his ships ashore, landed their crews, and attacked the fugitives from the enemy's fleet with terrible slaughter. Mindarus and Pharnabazus now came to the rescue, but they were beaten back; Mindarus died fighting bravely, and Pharnabazus only saved himself by flight. By this battle the Athenians obtained possession of many dead bodies of their enemies,[A] many stand of arms, the whole of the hostile fleet, and the town of Kyzikus, which they took by storm, putting its Peloponnesian garrison to the sword, as soon as Pharnabazus withdrew his troops. They now not merely obtained a firm hold on the Hellespont, but were able to drive the Lacedaemonians from the sea in all quarters. A despatch was captured, written in the Laconian fashion, informing the Ephors of the disaster. "Our ships are gone; Mindarus is slain; the men are starving; we know not what to do."

[Footnote A: The Greeks attached great importance to the burial of the dead. The usual test of which party had won a battle was, which side after it demanded a truce for the burial of the dead. Here the possession of the dead bodies of the enemy is enumerated as one of the proofs of victory.]

XXIX. The men who had served under Alkibiades were so elated by this victory that they disdained to mix with the rest of the army, alleging that the others had often been defeated, and that they were invincible. Indeed, not long before, Thrasyllus had received a defeat near Ephesus, upon which the Ephesians erected the brazen trophy to the disgrace of the Athenians; so that the soldiers of Alkibiades reproached those of Thrasyllus with this, glorifying themselves and their commander, and refusing to allow the others to make use of their places of exercise or their quarters in camp. However, when Pharnabazus with a large force of infantry and calvary attacked them while they were invading the territory of Abydos, Alkibiades led them out to fight him, defeated him, and, together with Thrasyllus, pursued him till nightfall. After this the soldiers fraternised with each other and returned to their camp rejoicing together. On the following day Alkibiades erected a trophy and ravaged the country of Pharnabazus, no one daring to oppose him. He even took priests and priestesses prisoners, but released them without ransom.

The city of Chalkedon had revolted from Athens, and received a Lacedaemonian harmost[A] and garrison. Alkibiades was eager to attack them, but, hearing that they had collected all the property[B] in their country and placed it in the hands of the Bithynians, a friendly tribe, he led his whole army to the Bithynian frontier and sent a herald to that people reproaching them for what they had done. In terror, the Bithynians gave up the property to him, and entered into an alliance with him.

[Footnote A: A "harmost," [Greek: harmostes], was an officer sent from Sparta to administer a subject city. See p. 97.]

[Footnote B: Probably consisting of corn and cattle, as Clough translates it.]

XXX. He now completely invested Chalkedon, by building a wall reaching from sea to sea. Pharnabazus came down to raise the siege, and Hippokrates, the harmost of the city, led out his forces and attacked the Athenians at the same time. Alkibiades arranged his army so as to be able to fight them both at once, forced Pharnabazus to retreat with disgrace, killed Hippokrates, and put his force to flight with severe loss. He now took a cruise round the Hellespont, to raise contributions from the towns on the coast, during which he took Selymbria, where he, very unnecessarily, was exposed to great personal risk. The party who intended to betray the city had arranged to show a torch as a signal at midnight, but were compelled to do so before the appointed time, fearing one of the conspirators, who suddenly changed his mind. When then the torch was raised, the army was not ready for the assault, but Alkibiades, taking some thirty men with him, ran at full speed up to the walls, giving orders to the rest to follow. The city gate was opened for him, and, twenty peltasts[A] having joined his thirty soldiers, he entered, when he perceived the men of Selymbria under arms marching down the street to meet him. To await their onset would have been ruin, while pride forbade a hitherto invincible general to retire. Ordering his trumpet to sound, he bade one of those present proclaim aloud that the Selymbrians ought not to appear in arms against the Athenians. This speech made some of the townspeople less eager to fight, as they imagined that their enemies were all within the walls, while it encouraged others who hoped to arrange matters peaceably. While they were standing opposite to one another and parleying, Alkibiades's army came up, and he, truly conjecturing that the Selymbrians were really disposed to be friendly, began to fear that his Thracian troops might sack the city; for many of these barbarians were serving in his army as volunteers, from a particular attachment they had to his person. He therefore sent them all out of the city, and did not permit the terrified people of Selymbria to suffer any violence, but, having exacted a contribution of money and placed a garrison in the town, he sailed away.

[Footnote A: Peltasts were light-armed troops, so called because they carried light round shields instead of the large unwieldy oblong shield of the Hoplite, or heavy-armed infantry soldier. These light troops came gradually into favour with the Greeks during the Peloponnesian war, and afterward became very extensively used.]

XXXI. Meanwhile the generals who were besieging Chalkedon made an agreement with Pharnabazus, on these conditions. They were to receive a sum of money; the people of Chalkedon were to become subjects of Athens as before; Pharnabazus was not to lay waste the province; and he was to provide an escort and a safe-conduct for an Athenian embassy to the Persian king. On the return of Alkibiades, Pharnabazus desired him to swear to observe these conditions, but Alkibiades refused to do so unless Pharnabazus swore first. After this capitulation he proceeded to Byzantium, which had revolted from Athens, and built a wall round that city. Anaxilaus and Lykurgus, with some others, now offered to betray the city if the lives and property of the inhabitants were spared. Upon this Alkibiades put about a report that his presence was urgently required on the Ionian coast, and sailed away by daylight with all his fleet. The same night he landed with all his soldiers, and marched up to the walls in silence, while the fleet, with a great clamour and disturbance, forced its way into the harbour. The suddenness of this assault, entirely unexpected as it was, terrified the people of Byzantium, and gave those of them who inclined to the Athenian side an opportunity of admitting Alkibiades quietly, while the attention of every one was directed to the ships in the harbour. The town did not, however, surrender altogether without fighting; for the Peloponnesians, Megarians, and Boeotians who were in it drove the Athenians back into their ships with loss, and when they heard that the land forces had entered the town they formed in line and engaged them. A severe battle took place, but Alkibiades on the right wing, and Theramenes on the left, were at length victorious, and took prisoners the survivors, some three hundred in number. After this battle no citizen of Byzantium was either put to death or banished, those being the terms on which the conspirators had delivered up the city, namely, that they should suffer no loss of life or property.

Anaxilaus was afterwards tried at Sparta for having betrayed the city, and justified what he had done, saying that he was not a Lacedaemonian, but a Byzantine, and that he saw Byzantium, not Sparta, in danger, as the city was surrounded by the enemy's siege works, no provisions being brought in to it, and what there was in it being consumed by the Peloponnesians and Boeotians, while the people of Byzantium with their wives and children were starving. He did not, he said, betray the city to the enemy, but relieved it from the miseries of war, imitating therein the noblest Lacedaemonians, whose only idea of what was noble and just was what would serve their own country. The Lacedaemonians, on hearing this speech, were ashamed to press the charge, and acquitted him.

XXXII. Now, at length, Alkibiades began to wish to see his native country again, and still more to be seen and admired by his countrymen after his splendid series of victories. He proceeded home with the Athenian fleet, which was magnificently adorned with shields and trophies, and had many prizes in tow, and the flags of many more which he had captured and destroyed—all of them together amounting to not less than two hundred. But we cannot believe the additions which Douris the Samian, who says that he is a descendant of Alkibiades, makes to this story, to the effect that Chrysogonus, the victor at the Pythian games, played on the flute to mark the time for the rowers, while Kallipides the tragedian, attired in his buskins, purple robe, and other theatrical properties, gave them orders, and that the admiral's ship came into harbour with purple sails, as if returning from a party of pleasure. Neither Theopompus, nor Ephorus, nor Xenophon mentions these circumstances, nor was it likely that he should present himself before the Athenians in such a swaggering fashion, when he was returning home from exile, after having suffered such a variety of misfortunes. The truth is, he sailed to Athens with considerable misgivings, and on his arrival would not leave his ship until from her deck he saw Euryptolemus his cousin, with many of his friends and relatives, assembled to welcome him.

When he landed, the people seemed to have no eyes for the other generals, but all rushed towards him, and escorted him on his way, cheering him, embracing him, and crowning him with flowers. Those who could not get near him gazed upon him from a distance, and the older men pointed him out to the younger ones. Yet the joy of the citizens was mingled with tears in the midst of their rejoicings, when they thought of their past disasters, for they reflected that they would not have failed in Sicily, or met with any of their other terrible disappointments, if they had not parted with Alkibiades when in the full tide of prosperity. He had found Athens barely able to hold her own at sea, by land mistress of little more than the ground on which the city stood, and torn by internal strife; from which miserable and forlorn condition he had restored her so completely, that she was again not only omnipotent at sea, but also victorious everywhere on land.

XXXIII. Before his return a decree had been passed authorising him to do so, at the instance of Kritias, the son of Kallaeschrus, who himself alludes to it in his poems, mentioning the service which he performed for Alkibiades in the following verse:

"I moved your restoration by decree, And that you're home again you owe to me."

Immediately on the return of Alkibiades, the people assembled in the Pnyx, where he addressed them. He spoke with tears of his misfortunes, for which he partly reproached his countrymen, though he attributed them chiefly to his own unlucky fortune, and he greatly raised their hopes by speaking encouragingly about their probable successes in the future. He was honoured with golden crowns, and elected sole general with absolute power both by sea and land. A decree was also passed by which his property was restored to him, and the Eumolpidae and Kerykes were ordered to retract the curses which they had invoked upon him at the instance of the people. When all the rest obeyed, Theodorus the hierophant excused himself, saying, If he has done the State no wrong, I never cursed him.

XXXIV. While Alkibiades was in this glorious career of prosperity, some persons in spite of his success foreboded evil from the day which he had chosen for his return home; for on the day on which he sailed into the harbour the statue of Athene on the Acropolis is stripped of its garments and ornaments, which are cleaned, while it in the meanwhile is covered up to conceal it from human eyes. This ceremony takes place on the 25th of the month Thargelion, which day is considered by the Athenians to be the unluckiest of all. Moreover, the goddess did not appear to receive Alkibiades with a kindly welcome, but to turn away her face from him and drive him from her presence. Be this as it may, all went well and just as Alkibiades wished. A fleet of a hundred triremes was manned, and placed at his disposal, but he with creditable pride refused to set sail until after the celebration of the Eleusinian mysteries. Since the permanent occupation of Dekeleia and of the passes commanding the road to Eleusis by the enemy, the procession had been necessarily shorn of many of its distinctive features, as it had to be sent by sea. All the customary sacrifices, dances, and other rites which used to be practised on the road, when Iacchus is carried along in solemn procession, were of necessity omitted. It seemed therefore to Alkibiades that it would both honour the gods and increase his own reputation among men, if he restored the ancient form of this ceremony, escorting the procession with his troops and protecting it from the enemy; for he argued that Agis would lose prestige if he did not attack, but allowed the procession to pass unmolested, whereas if he did attack, Alkibiades would be able to fight in a holy cause, in defence of the most sacred institutions of his country, with all his countrymen present as witnesses of his own valour. When he determined to do this, after concerting measures with the Eumolpidae and Kerykes, he placed vedettes on the mountains and sent an advanced guard off at day-break, following with the priests, novices, and initiators marching in the midst of his army, in great good order and perfect silence. It was an august and solemn procession, and all who did not envy him said that he had performed the office of a high priest in addition of that of a general. The enemy made no attack, and he led his troops safely back to Athens, full of pride himself, and making his army proud to think itself invincible while under his command. He had so won the affections of the poor and the lower orders, that they were strangely desirous of living under his rule. Many even besought him to put down the malignity of his personal enemies, sweep away laws, decrees, and other pernicious nonsense, and carry on the government without fear of a factious opposition.

XXXV. What his own views about making himself despot of Athens may have been we cannot tell; but the leading citizens took alarm at this, and hurried him away as quickly as possible to sea, voting whatever measures he pleased, and allowing him to choose his own colleagues. He set sail with his hundred ships, reached Andros, and defeated the inhabitants of that island, and the Lacedaemonian garrison there. He did not, however, capture the city, and this afterwards became one of the points urged against him by his enemies. Indeed, if there ever was a man destroyed by his reputation, it was Alkibiades. Being supposed to be such a prodigy of daring and subtlety, his failures were regarded with suspicion, as if he could have succeeded had he been in earnest; for his countrymen would not believe that he could really fail in anything which he seriously attempted. They expected to hear of the capture of Chios, and of the whole Ionian coast, and were vexed at not at once receiving the news of a complete success. They did not take into account the want of money which Alkibiades felt, while warring against men who had the king of Persia for their paymaster, and which made frequent absences from his camp necessary to provide subsistence for his troops. It was one of these expeditions, indeed, which exposed him to the last and most important of the many charges brought against him. Lysander had been sent by the Lacedaemonians to take the command of their fleet. On his arrival, by means of the money paid by Cyrus, he raised the pay of his sailors from three obols a day to four. Alkibiades, who could with difficulty pay his men even three obols, went to Caria to levy contributions, leaving in command of the fleet one Antiochus, a good seaman, but a thoughtless and silly man. He had distinct orders from Alkibiades not to fight even if the enemy attacked him, but such was his insolent disregard of these instructions that he manned his own trireme and one other, sailed to Ephesus, and there passed along the line of the enemy's ships, as they lay on the beach, using the most scurrilous and insulting language and gestures. At first Lysander put to sea with a few ships to pursue him, but as the Athenians came out to assist him, the action became general. The entire fleets engaged and Lysander was victorious. He killed Antiochus, captured many ships and men, and set up a trophy. When Alkibiades on his return to Samos heard of this, he put to sea with all his ships, and offered battle to Lysander; but he was satisfied with his previous victory, and refused the offer.

XXXVI. Thrasybulus, the son of Thrason, a bitter personal enemy of Alkibiades, now set sail for Athens to accuse him, and to exasperate his enemies in the city against him. He made a speech to the people, representing that Alkibiades had ruined their affairs and lost their ships by insolently abusing his authority and entrusting the command, during his own absence, to men who owed their influence with him to deep drinking and cracking seamen's jokes, and that he securely traversed the provinces to raise money, indulging in drunken debauches with Ionian courtezans, while the enemy's fleet was riding close to his own. He was also blamed for the construction of certain forts in Thrace, near Bisanthe, which he destined as a place of refuge for himself, as if he could not or would not live in his native city.

The Athenians were so wrought upon by these charges against Alkibiades, that they elected other generals to supersede him, thus showing their anger and dislike for him. Alkibiades, on learning this, left the Athenian camp altogether, got together a force of foreign troops, and made war on the irregular Thracian tribes on his own account, thus obtaining much plunder and freeing the neighbouring Greek cities from the dread of the barbarians. Now when the generals Tydeus, Menander, and Adeimantus came with the entire Athenian fleet to Aegospotamoi, they used early every morning to go to Lampsakus to challenge the fleet of Lysander, which lay there, to a sea-fight. After this ceremony they would return and spend the whole day in careless indolence, as if despising their enemy. Alkibiades, who lived close by, did not disregard their danger, but even rode over on horseback and pointed out to the generals that they were very badly quartered in a place where there was no harbour and no city, having to obtain all their provisions from Sestos, and, when the ships were once hauled up on shore, allowing the men to leave them unguarded and straggle where they pleased, although they were in the presence of a fleet which was trained to act in silence and good order at the command of one man.

XXXVII. Though Alkibiades gave this advice, and urged the generals to remove to Sestos, they would not listen to him. Tydeus indeed rudely bade him begone, for they, not he, were now generals. Alkibiades, too, suspected that there was some treachery in the case, and retired, telling his personal friends, who escorted him out of the camp, that if he had not been so outrageously insulted by the generals, he could in a few days have compelled the Lacedaemonians either to fight a battle at sea against their will, or abandon their ships. To some this seemed mere boasting, while others thought that he could very possibly effect it by bringing many Thracian light-armed troops and cavalry to assault the camp on the land side. However, the result soon proved that he had rightly seen the fault of the Athenian position. Lysander suddenly and unexpectedly assailed it, and except eight triremes which escaped under Konon, took all the rest, nearly two hundred in number. Lysander also put three thousand prisoners to the sword. He shortly afterwards captured Athens, burned her ships, and pulled down her Long Walls. Alkibiades, terrified at seeing the Lacedaemonians omnipotent by sea and land, shifted his quarters to Bithynia, sending thither a great amount of treasure, and taking much with him, but leaving much more in his Thracian fortresses. In Bithynia, however, he suffered much loss at the hands of the natives, and determined to proceed to the court of Artaxerxes, thinking that the Persian king, if he would make trial of him, would find that he was not inferior to Themistokles in ability, while he sought him in a much more honourable way; for it was not to revenge himself on his fellow-citizens, as Themistokles did, but to assist his own country against its enemy that he meant to solicit the king's aid. Imagining that Pharnabazus would be able to grant him a safe passage to the Persian court, he went into Phrygia to meet him, and remained there for some time, paying his court to the satrap, and receiving from him marks of respect.

XXXVIII. The Athenians were terribly cast down at the loss of their empire; but when Lysander robbed them of their liberty as well, by establishing the government of the Thirty Tyrants, they began to entertain thoughts which never had occurred to them before, while it was yet possible that the State might be saved from ruin. They bewailed their past blunders and mistakes, and of these they considered their second fit of passion with Alkibiades to have been the greatest. They had cast him off for no fault of his own, but merely because they were angry with his follower for having lost a few ships disgracefully; they had much more disgraced themselves by losing the services of the ablest and bravest general whom they possessed. Even in their present abasement a vague hope prevailed among them that Athens could not be utterly lost while Alkibiades was alive; for he had not during his former exile been satisfied with a quiet life, and surely now, however prosperous his private circumstances might be, he would not endure to see the triumph of the Lacedaemonians, and the arrogant tyranny of the Thirty. Indeed this was proved to be no vain dream by the care which the Thirty took to watch all the motions of Alkibiades. At last, Kritias informed Lysander, that while Athens was governed by a democracy, the Lacedaemonian empire in Greece could never be safe; and if the Athenians were ever so much inclined to an oligarchical form of government, Alkibiades, if he lived, would not long suffer them to submit to it. However, Lysander was not prevailed upon by these arguments until a despatch came from Sparta bidding him make away with Alkibiades, either because the home government feared his ability and enterprise, or because they wished to please his enemy, King Agis.

XXXIX. Lysander now sent orders for his death to Pharnabazus, who entrusted their execution to his brother Magaeus and his uncle Susamithres. Alkibiades was at this time dwelling in a village in Phrygia, with Timandra the courtezan, and one night he dreamed that he was dressed in his mistress's clothes, and that she, holding his head in her arms, was painting his face and adorning him like a woman. Others say that he saw Magaeus in his dream cutting off his head, and his body all in flames. All, however, agree that the dream took place shortly before his death. His murderers did not dare to enter the house, but stood round it in a circle and set it on fire. Alkibiades, on discovering them, flung most of the bedding and clothes on to the fire, wrapped his cloak round his left arm, and with his dagger in his right dashed through the flames unhurt, not giving his clothes time to catch fire. None of the barbarians dared to await his onset, but as soon as they saw him they scattered, and from a distance shot at him with darts and arrows. After he had fallen and the barbarians were gone, Timandra took up his corpse, covered it with her own clothes, and, as far as was in her power, showed it every mark of honour and respect.

This Timandra is said to have been the mother of Lais, commonly called the Corinthian, who really was brought as a captive from Hykkara, a small town in Sicily. Some writers, although they agree in their account of the manner of his death, differ as to its cause, alleging that it was neither due to Pharnabazus nor to Lysander nor the Lacedaemonians, but that Alkibiades had debauched a girl of noble birth and was living with her, and that her relatives, enraged at this insult, during the night set fire to the house in which Alkibiades was living, and, as has been related, shot him as he leaped out through the flames.



LIFE OF CAIUS MARCIUS CORIOLANUS.

I. The patrician family of the Marcii at Rome produced many illustrious men, amongst whom was Ancus Marcius, the grandson of Numa, who became king after the death of Tullus Hostilius. To this family also belonged Publius and Quintus Marcius, who supplied Rome with abundance of excellent water, and Censorinus, twice appointed censor by the Roman people, who afterwards passed a law that no one should hold that office twice.

Caius Marcius, the subject of this memoir, was an orphan, and brought up by a widowed mother. He proved that, hard though the lot of an orphan may be, yet it does not prevent a man's becoming great and distinguished, and that the bad alone allege it as an excuse for an intemperate life. He also proves to us that a naturally noble nature, if it be not properly disciplined, will produce many good and bad qualities together, just as a rich field, if not properly tilled, will produce both weeds and good fruit. The immense energy and courage of his mind used to urge him to attempt and to perform great exploits, but his harsh and ambitious temper made it difficult for him to live on friendly terms with his companions. They used to admire his indifference to pleasure and pain, and his contempt for bribes, but in politics they were angered by his morose and haughty manner, too proud for a citizen of a republic. Indeed there is no advantage to be gained from a liberal education so great as that of softening and disciplining the natural ferocity of our disposition, by teaching it moderation, and how to avoid all extremes. However, at that period warlike virtues were valued above all others at Rome, which is proved by the Romans possessing only one word for virtue and for bravery, so that virtue, a general term, is applied by them to the particular form, courage.

II. Marcius, having an especial passion for war, was familiar from childhood with the use of arms. Reflecting that artificial weapons are of little use without a body capable of wielding them, he so trained himself for all possible emergencies that he was both able to run swiftly and also to grapple with his foe so strongly that few could escape from him. Those who entered into any contest with him, when beaten, used to ascribe their defeat to his immense bodily strength, which no exertions could tire out.

III. He served his first campaign while yet a youth, when Tarquin, the exiled King of Rome, after many battles and defeats, staked all upon one last throw, and assembled an army to attack Rome. His force consisted chiefly of Latins, but many other Italian states took his part in the war, not from any attachment to his person, but through fear and dislike of the growing power of Rome. In the battle which ensued, in which various turns of fortune took place, Marcius, while fighting bravely under the eye of the dictator himself, saw a Roman fallen and helpless near him. He at once made for this man, stood in front of him, and killed his assailant. After the victory, Marcius was among the first who received the oak-leaf crown. This crown is given to him who has saved the life of a citizen in battle, and is composed of oak-leaves, either out of compliment to the Arcadians, whom the oracle calls 'acorn eaters,' or because in any campaign in any country it is easy to obtain oak-boughs, or it may be that the oak, sacred to Jupiter the protector of cities, forms a suitable crown for one who has saved the life of a citizen. The oak is the most beautiful of all wild trees, and the strongest of those which are artificially cultivated. It afforded men in early times both food and drink, by its acorns and the honey found in it, while by the bird-lime which it produces, it enables them to catch most kinds of birds and other creatures, as additional dainties.

This was the battle in which they say that the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux, appeared, and immediately after the battle were soon in the Forum at Rome announcing the victory, with their horses dripping with sweat, at the spot where now there is a temple built in their honour beside the fountain. In memory of this, the day of the victory, the 15th of July, is kept sacred to the Dioscuri.

IV. To win distinction early in life is said to quench and satisfy the eagerness of some men whose desire for glory is not keen; but for those with whom it is the ruling passion of their lives, the gaining of honours only urges them on, as a ship is urged by a gale, to fresh achievements. They do not regard themselves as having received a reward, but as having given a pledge for the future, and they feel it their duty not to disgrace the reputation which they have acquired, but to eclipse their former fame by some new deed of prowess. Marcius, feeling this, was ever trying to surpass himself in valour, and gained such prizes and trophies that the later generals under whom he served were always striving to outdo the former ones in their expressions of esteem for him, and their testimony to his merits. Many as were the wars in which Rome was then engaged, Marcius never returned from any without a prize for valour or some especial mark of distinction. Other men were brave in order to win glory, but Marcius won glory in order to please his mother. That she should hear him praised, see him crowned, and embrace him weeping for joy, was the greatest honour and happiness of his life. Epameinondas is said to have had the same feelings, and to have considered it to be his greatest good-fortune that his father and mother were both alive to witness his triumphant success at the battle of Leuktra. He, however, enjoyed the sympathy and applause of both parents, but Marcius, being fatherless, lavished on his mother all that affection which should have belonged to his father, besides her own share. So boundless was his love for Volumnia that at her earnest desire he even married a wife, but still continued to live in the house of his mother.

V. At this time, when his reputation and influence were very considerable because of his prowess, there was a party-quarrel going on in Rome between the patricians, who wished to defend the privileges of men of property, and the people, who were suffering terrible ill-treatment at the hands of their creditors. Those who possessed a small property were forced either to pledge or to sell it, while those who were absolutely destitute were carried off and imprisoned, though they might be scarred and enfeebled from the wars in which they had served in defence of their country. The last campaign was that against the Sabines, after which their rich creditors promised to treat them with less harshness. In pursuance of a decree of the Senate, Marcus Valerius the consul was the guarantee of this promise. But when, after serving manfully in this campaign and conquering the enemy, they met with no better treatment from their creditors, and the Senate seemed unmindful of its engagements, allowing them to be imprisoned and distresses to be levied upon their property as before, there were violent outbreaks and riots in the city. This disturbed condition of the commonwealth was taken advantage of by the enemy, who invaded the country and plundered it. When the consuls called all men of military age to arms, no one obeyed, and then at last the patricians hesitated. Some thought that they ought to yield to the lower classes, and make some concessions instead of enforcing the strict letter of the law against them; while others, among whom was Marcius, opposed this idea, not because he thought the money of great consequence, but because he considered this to be the beginning of an outburst of democratic insolence which a wise government would take timely measures to suppress before it gathered strength.

VI. As the Senate, although it frequently met, came to no decision on this matter, the plebeians suddenly assembled in a body, left the city, and established themselves on what was afterwards called the Mons Sacer, or Sacred Hill, near the river Anio. They abstained from all factious proceedings, and merely stated that they had been driven from the city by the wealthy classes. Air and water and a place in which to be buried, they said, could be obtained anywhere in Italy, and they could get nothing more than this in Rome, except the privilege of being wounded or slain in fighting battles on behalf of the rich. At this demonstration, the Senate became alarmed, and sent the most moderate and popular of its members to treat with the people. The spokesman of this embassy was Menenius Agrippa, who, after begging the plebeians to come to terms, and pleading the cause of the Senate with them, wound up his speech by the following fable: Once upon a time, said he, all the members revolted against the belly, reproaching it with lying idle in the body, and making all the other members work in order to provide it with food; but the belly laughed them to scorn, saying that it was quite true that it took all the food which the body obtained, but that it afterwards distributed it among all the members. "This," he said, "is the part played by the Senate in the body politic. It digests and arranges all the affairs of the State, and provides all of you with wholesome and useful measures."

VII. Upon this they came to terms, after stipulating that five men should be chosen to defend the cause of the people, who are now known as tribunes of the people. They chose for the first tribunes the leaders of the revolt, the chief of whom were Junius Brutus and Sicinius Vellutus. As soon as the State was one again, the people assembled under arms, and zealously offered their services for war to their rulers. Marcius, though but little pleased with these concessions which the plebeians had wrung from the patricians, yet, noticing that many patricians were of his mind, called upon them not to be outdone in patriotism by the plebeians, but to prove themselves their superiors in valour rather than in political strength.

VIII. Corioli was the most important city of the Volscian nation, with which Rome then was at war. The consul Cominius was besieging it, and the Volscians, fearing it might be taken, gathered from all quarters, meaning to fight a battle under the city walls, and so place the Romans between two fires. Cominius divided his army, and led one part of it to fight the relieving force, leaving Titus Lartius, a man of the noblest birth in Rome, to continue the siege with the rest of his troops. The garrison of Corioli, despising the small numbers of their besiegers, attacked them and forced them to take shelter within their camp. But there Marcius with a few followers checked their onset, slew the foremost, and with a loud voice called on the Romans to rally. He was, as Cato said a soldier should be, not merely able to deal weighty blows, but struck terror into his enemies by the loud tones of his voice and his martial appearance, so that few dared to stand their ground before him. Many soldiers rallied round him and forced the enemy to retreat; but he, not satisfied with this, followed them close and drove them in headlong flight back to the city. On arriving there, although he saw that the Romans were slackening their pursuit as many missiles were aimed at them from the city walls, and none of them thought of daring to enter together with the fugitives into a city full of armed men, yet he stood and cheered them on, loudly telling them that fortune had opened the city gates as much to the pursuers as to the pursued. Few cared to follow him, but he, forcing his way through the crowd of fugitives, entered the city with them, none daring at first to withstand him. Soon, when the enemy saw how few of the Romans were within the gates, they rallied and attacked them. Marcius, in the confused mass of friends and foes, fought with incredible strength, swiftness, and courage, overthrowing all whom he attacked, driving some to the further parts of the town, and forcing others to lay down their arms, so that Lartius was able to march the rest of the Roman army into the gates unmolested.

IX. When the city was taken, the greater part of the soldiers fell to plundering it, which greatly vexed Marcius. He loudly exclaimed that it was a disgraceful thing, when the consul was on the point of engaging with the enemy, that they should be plundering, or, on the pretext of plunder, keeping themselves safe out of harm's way. Few paid any attention to him, but with those few he marched on the track of the main body, frequently encouraging his followers to greater speed, and not to give way to fatigue, and frequently praying to Heaven that he might not come too late for the battle, but arrive in time to share the labours and perils of his countrymen. There was at that time a custom among the Romans, when they were drawn up in order of battle, ready to take their shields in their hands, and to gird themselves with the trabea, to make their will verbally, naming their heir in the presence of three or four witnesses. The Roman army was found by Marcius in the act of performing this ceremony. At first some were alarmed at seeing him appear with only a few followers, covered with blood and sweat; but when he ran joyously up to the consul and told him that Corioli was taken, Cominius embraced him, and all the ranks took fresh courage, some because they heard, and others because they guessed the glorious news. They eagerly demanded to be led to battle. Marcius now enquired of Cominius how the enemy's line of battle was arranged, and where it was strongest. When the consul answered that he believed that the men of Antium, the proudest and bravest troops of the Volscians, were posted in the centre, he answered, "I beg of you, place us opposite to those men." The consul, filled with admiration for his spirit, placed him there. As soon as the armies met, Marcius charged before the rest, and the Volscians gave way before his onset. The centre, where he attacked, was quite broken, but the ranks on either side wheeled round and surrounded him, so that the consul feared for his safety, and despatched the choicest of his own troops to his aid. They found a hot battle raging round Marcius, and many slain, but by the shock of their charge they drove off the enemy in confusion. As they began to pursue them, they begged Marcius, now weary with toil and wounds, to retire to the camp, but he, saying that "it was not for victors to be weary," joined in the pursuit. The rest of the Volscian army was defeated, many were slain, and many taken.