barren province The Dorian mountains were ill-calculated to satisfy men whose ancestors had inherited the fertile plains of the Peloponnésus. When the consequences of the Trojan war filled Greece with confusion, the Heracleída were encouraged to make an effort to regain their ancient rights; twice they attempted to break through the Corinthian isthmus, but were each time repulsed with considerable loss. Warned by these misfortunes, they abandoned the design of entering the Peloponnésus by land, and resolved to try their fortune in a naval expedition.

Their rendezvous was Naupac'tus (Lepanto), on the Corinthian gulf, where they were joined by a body of Ætolians, and by several of the Dorian tribes. By secret intrigues, a party was gained in Lacedæ'mon. A favorable gale, in the meantime, wafted their armament to the eastern coast of the Peloponnésus. Lacónia was betrayed to the invaders; Ar'golis, Messénia, E'lis, and Córinth, submitted to their authority; the mountainous districts of Arcádia, and the coast province, Ægialeía (afterward Achaía), were the only parts of the peninsula that remained unsubdued. The revolution was effected with lit tle bloodshed; but not without great oppression of the ancient inhab itants, many of whom emigrated, while those who remained were reduced to slavery.

The associated victors divided the conquered provinces among themselves by lot. Aristodémus, who obtained Lacónia, happening to die, the kingdom was secured for his twin children, Eurys'thenes and Prócles, and from that time forth Sparta was governed by two kings. The commander of the Pelop'id forces at the isthmus, instead of attempting to recover his kindgom, invaded Ægialeía, expelled the Ionians, and gave that province the name of Achaía, which it ever after retained (B. c. 1104). Many of the fugitives sought refuge in At'tica, where they were hospitably entertained by the Athenians, who were alarmed by the success and ambition of the Dorians. A still greater number passed over into Asia Minor, and founded the colonies of Iónia, Æólia, and Cária.

The jealousy of the Athenians was soon proved to be derived from reasonable fears. In the reign of Códrus the Dorians passed the boundaries of Attica, and seized the territory of Meg'ara, on the northern coast of the Saronic gulf. A cruel war ensued; Códrus in vain attempted to drive the intruders from their stronghold: at length, hearing that a superstitious rumor prevailed among them, that they would be successful as long as they refrained from injuring the Athenian king, he entered their camp in disguise, provoked a quarrel with a Dorian soldier, and suffered himself to be slain. On recognising the body, the superstitious Peloponnesians, despairing of success, abandoned their hostilities; and the Athenians, out of respect for his memory, declared that none of the human race was worthy to succeed Códrus, and therefore abolished royalty altogether (B. c. 1068).

Two of the Pelop'idæ, having unsuccessfully traversed the northern part of Greece in search of new settlements, finally crossed the Hellespont eighty-eight years after the taking of Troy, and established themselves along the coast of the ancient kingdom of Priam. Their colonies gradually extended from the peninsula of Cyzicus on the Propontis to the

mouth of the river Her'mus, which delightful country, together with the island of Les'bos, received the name of Æólia. The younger sons of Códrus, dissatisfied with the abolition of royalty, collected a numerous band of Athenians and Ionian exiles, with which they crossed the sea, and established themselves along the coast from the river Her'mus to the promontory of Posideíon, expelling the ancient inhabitants. The islands of Chíos and Sámos were subsequently seized, and all these countries were united by the common name of Iónia, or, as it was some times called, the Pan-Ionian confederacy.

The renewal of hostilities between the Athenians and Dorians led to the establishment of a third series of Greek colonies in Asia (B. C. 994). The Dorians having been driven from their stronghold in Meg'ara, were ashamed to return to the Peloponnésus ; part of them sailed to the islands of Creté and Rhodes, already peopled by Doric tribes; the rest settled in the peninsula of Cária, to which, in honor of their mother-country, they gave the name of Doris.

At a later period, the tide of emigration turned toward the west, and colonies were established in Sicily, and on the coasts of southern Italy. The Greeks seldom made settlements in the interior of the country; for most of their colonies were designed to extend commerce rather than conquests. Most of these colonies were independent states, and their institutions were generally improvements on those of the parent-country Owing to their freedom and their superiority to their neighbors in the arts of civilized life, many of the colonies not only equalled but greatly surpassed their parent states in wealth and power.

CHAPTER IX.

THE HISTORY OF

THE GRECIAN STATES AND COLONIES,

BEFORE THE PERSIAN WAR.

SECTION I.-Topography of Sparta.

THE city of Spar'ta, called also Lacedæ'mon, a name properly belonging to the suburbs, was built on a series of hills, whose outlines are varied and romantic, along the right bank of the Eurótas, within sight of the chain of Mount Taygétum. We have already mentioned, that it was not originally surrounded by walls; but the highest of its eminences served as a citadel, and round this hill were ranged five towns, separated by considerable intervals, occupied by the five Spartan tribes. The great square or forum, in which the principal streets of these towns terininated, was embellished with temples and statues : it contained also the edifices in which the senate, the ephori, and other bodies of Spartan magistrates, were accustomed to assemble: there was besides a splendid portico, erected by the Spartans from their share of the spoils taken at the battle of Plate'a, where the Persians were finally overthrown. Instead of being supported by pillars, the roof rested on gigantic statues, representing Persians habited in flowing robes.

On the highest of the eminences stood a temple of Miner'va, which, as well as the grove that surrounded it, had the privileges of an asylum. It was built of brass, as that at Delphi had formerly been.

The greater part of these edifices had no pretensions to architectural beauty; they were of rude workmanship, and destitute of ornament. Private houses were small and unadorned; for the Spartans spent the greater part of their time in porticoes and public halls. On the south side of the city was the Hippodromos, or course for horse and foot races; and at a little distance from that, the Platanis'tæ, or place of exercise for youth, shaded by beautiful palm-trees.

SECTION II.-Legislation of Lycurgus, and Messenian Wars.

FROM B. C. 880 TO B. c. 500.

THE DORIAN Conquerors of Lacónia formed themselves into a permanent ruling caste, and reduced the greater part of the inhabitants of the country to a state of vassalage, or rather perfect slavery. During two centuries the Spartans were engaged in tedious wars with the Argives,

and their state was agitated by domestic broils, resulting from the un equal division of property, the ambition of rival nobles, and the diminished power of the kings. At length, Lycur'gus having obtained the supreme authority, as a guardian of his nephew Chariláus, directed his attention to establishing a system of law, which might prevent the recurrence of such disorders. The legislation of Lycurgus was not a written code; and many things of later origin, have been erroneously attributed to this lawgiver. His great object, was to insure the continuance of the Spartans as a dominant military caste, by perpetuating a race of athletic and warlike men; and hence his laws referred rather to domestic life and physical education than to the constitution of the state, or the form of its government.

He continued the relation of caste between the Spartans and Laconi ans, and the double line of kings as leaders in war and first magistrates in peace. He is said to have instituted the gerúsia, or senate, of which no one could be a member who had not passed the age of sixty; but it is uncertain whether he founded the college of the five eph'ori, or inspectors, chosen annually, with powers somewhat similar to those of the Roman tribunes; he certainly did not invest them with the power they assumed in later ages. There were also popular assemblies; but they could originate no law, nor make any alteration in the resolutions submitted to them by the kings and the senate, their power being con. fined to a simple approbation or rejection.

The chief regulations in private life were, the equal distribution of lands, the removal of every species of luxury, the arrangement of do mestic relations so as to insure a race of hardy citizens, and the complete establishment of slavery. Thus a military commonwealth was established in Greece, which for ever banished a chance of tranquillity; since the Spartan citizens must have been impelled to war by the restlessness common to man, when all the occupations of household life and of agriculture were intrusted to the care of the Hélots, as their slaves were usually called. The strength of the Spartan army lay in its heavy-armed infantry; they usually fought in a phalanx or close column, and were remarkable for the skill and rapidity of their evolutions. They marched to the charge with a measured regular step, and never broke their ranks either to plunder or pursue a flying enemy. After battle, every soldier was obliged to produce his shield, as a proof that he had behaved bravely and steadily.

The first great war in which the Spartans engaged was with their neighbors the Messenians (B. c. 743). After a long series of sanguinary engagements, whose horrors were aggravated by cruel superstitions, the Messenians were totally subdued, and forced to give up half the revenue of their lands to the Spartans (B. c. 722). During this war, the Spartan army, consisting of the greater part of the citizens who had attained the military age, bound themselves by a voluntary oath not to return home until they had subdued their enemies. The war being protracted beyond expectation, the senate, fearing that the Spartan race would become extinct, invited the young men, who had not taken the obligation, to return home, and permitted them to have promiscuous intercourse with the women. The offspring of these irregular connexions were called Parthen'iæ; they had no certain father, nor were they.

though citizens of Sparta, entitled to any inheritance. Finding themselves despised by the other Spartans, they entered into a conspiracy with the Hélots, which was detected at the moment it was about to explode. The senate, however, was afraid to punish so powerful a body; sufficient means of transport, arms, and munitions, were supplied to the Parthen'iæ, who, under the guidance of Phalan'tus, proceeded to south ern Italy, where they founded the city of Taren'tum.

The oppression of the Spartans drove the Messenians to revolt, and they found a worthy leader in Aristom'enes, a youth descended from the ancient line of Messenian kings. So rapid and decisive were his successes, hat the Spartans sought the advice of the oracle, and received the mortifying response, that they should solicit a general from the Athenians. Ambassadors were sent to urge this request; and the Athenians sent back the poet Tyrtæ'us, who had, indeed, borne arms, but was never distinguished as a warrior. His patriotic odes roused the spirit of the Spartan soldiers, and they renewed the war with more zeal and greater success than ever. Notwithstanding these advantages acquired by the Spartans, Aristom'enes protracted the defence of his country more than eleven years; but at length Messéne was taken by treachery, aud its heroic defenders forced to seek refuge in Arcadia. Here Aristom'enes planned an expedition against Sparta, whose citizens were engaged in plundering Messénia; but he was betrayed by the Arcadian monarch, and his last plan for the redemption of his country frustrated (B. c. 671).

Sparta had conquered, but the struggle had greatly weakened the strength of the state; and in her subsequent wars with the Tegeans and Argives, she was far from maintaining her ancient superiority in arms The important island of Cythéra was, however, wrested from the Argives, about B. c. 550.

sea.

SECTION III.-Topography of Athens.

ATHENS was situated in a plain, which on the southwest, extended for about four miles toward the sea and the harbors, but on the other side was enclosed by mountains. Several rocky hills arose in the plain itself; the largest and highest of which was fortified by Cécrops as the citadel, or Acropolis, and was sometimes called Cecrópia. Around this the city was built, most of the buildings, however, spreading toward the The summit of the hill was nearly level for a space of about eight hundred feet in length and four hundred in breadth; as if Nature herself had prepared a fit locality for those masterpieces of architecture which announced at a distance the splendor of Athens. The only road that led to the Acrop'olis passed through the Propylæa, a magnificent gateway adorned with two wings, and two temples full of the finest pieces of sculpture and painting. It was erected under the administration of Per'icles, by the architect Mnesic'les, and was decorated with admirable sculptures of Phid'ias. Through these splendid portals was an ascent by marble steps to the summit of the hill, on which were erected the temples of the guardian deities of Athens. On the left was the temple of Pallas Athene (Minerva), the protectress of cities, containing a column fabled to have fallen from heaven, and an olive-tree