Delphi Complete Works of Cornelius Nepos

by Cornelius Nepos

  In the meantime Dionysius fell ill of some disease, and when he was labouring under the severity of it, Dion inquired of the physicians “how he was,” and begged them, at the same time, “if he should happen to be in extreme danger, to acquaint him of it; for he wished to speak to him about a division of the realm, as he thought that the sons of his sister by him ought to have a share in the dominions.” This request the physicians did not keep secret, but reported the words to Dionysius the younger, who, taking alarm at it, compelled the physicians to give his father a sleeping potion, that Dion might have no opportunity of addressing him. The sick man, having taken the draught, ended his life like one buried in deep sleep.

  III. Such was the commencement of the dissension between Dion and Dionysius; and it was increased by many circumstances; yet in the beginning of his reign there subsisted for a time an assumed friendship between them; and as Dion persisted in soliciting Dionysius to send for Plato from Athens, and follow his counsels, he, who was willing to imitate his father in something, complied with his wishes. At the same time, also, he brought back Philistus the historian to Syracuse, a man not more friendly to the tyrant than to tyranny itself. But of this author more has been said in the work of mine which is written “On Historians.” Plato, however, had so much influence over Dionysius by his authority, and produced such an effect on him by his eloquence, that he persuaded him to put an end to his tyranny, and to restore liberty to the Syracusans; but being dissuaded from his intention by the representations of Philistus, he began to grow somewhat more cruel.

  IV. Being conscious that he was surpassed by Dion in ability, influence, and in the affection of the people, and fearing that, if he kept Dion with him, he might give him some opportunity of overthrowing him, he gave him a trireme to sail to Corinth, declaring that he did so for both their sakes, lest, as they were afraid of each other, one of them might take the other by surprise. As many people were indignant at this proceeding, and as it was the cause of great hatred to the tyrant, Dionysius put on board some vessels all the property of Dion that could be removed, and sent it after him; for he wished it to be thought that he had adopted that course, not from hatred of the man, but for the sake of his own safety. But when he heard that Dion was levying troops in the Peloponnesus, and endeavouring to raise a war against him, he gave Arete, Dion’s wife, in marriage to another man, and caused his son to be brought up in such a manner, that he might, through indulgence, be imbued with the most disgraceful propensities; for mistresses were brought him when but a boy, before he was full grown; he was overwhelmed with wine and luxuries, nor was any time allowed him to be sober. He was so little able to bear such a change in his way of life, which was altered after his father returned to his country (for keepers were set over him to draw him from his former mode of living), that he threw himself from the top of a house and so perished. But I return to the point from whence I digressed.

  V. When Dion had arrived at Corinth, and Heraclides, who had been commander of the cavalry, had also come thither (having been likewise banished by Dionysius), they began to prepare for war in every possible way; but they made but little progress; for a tyranny of many years’ standing was thought to be of great strength, and for that reason few were induced to join in so perilous an undertaking. But Dion, who trusted not so much to his troops as to the general hatred towards the tyrant, setting out, with the greatest courage, in two transport vessels, to attack a power of fifty years’ growth, defended by five hundred ships of war, ten thousand cavalry, and a hundred thousand infantry, so easily made an impression upon it (what seemed wonderful to all people), that he entered Syracuse the third day after he touched the coast of Sicily. Hence it may be understood that no government is safe, unless guarded by the love of its subjects. Dionysius at that time was absent, and waiting for his fleet in Italy, supposing that none of his enemies would come against him without a great force; a supposition which deceived him; for Dion curbed the tyrant’s pride with those very men that had been under the rule of his adversary, and gained possession of all that part of Sicily which had been under the government of Dionysius; and with like success he secured the city of Syracuse, except the citadel and the island adjoining the town, and brought matters to such a state, that the tyrant consented to make peace on such terms as these: that Dion should have Sicily, Dionysius Italy,100 and Apollocrates, in whom alone Dionysius 101 had great confidence, Syracuse.

  VI. A sudden change followed close upon such eminent and unexpected success, for fortune, through her fickleness, endeavoured to sink him whom she had just before exalted. In the first place she exercised her power over his son, of whom I have previously made mention; for after he had taken back his wife, who had been given to another, and wished to recall his son, from his abandoned course of sensuality, to habits of virtue, he received, as a father, a most severe affliction in the death of that son. A disagreement next arose between him and Heraclides, who, refusing to yield the supremacy to Dion, organized a party against him; nor had he indeed less influence than Dion among the aristocracy, with whose sanction he commanded the fleet, while Dion had the direction of the land forces. Dion could not endure this opposition patiently, but retorted with that verse of Homer in the second book of the Iliad,102 in which is this sentiment, “That a state cannot be managed well by the government of many.” Much ill feeling, on the part of the people, followed this remark; for he appeared to have let it escape him that he wished everything to be under his own authority. This feeling he did not try to soften by conciliation, but to overcome by severity, and caused Heraclides, when he came to Syracuse, to be put to death.

  VII. This act struck extreme terror into every one; for nobody, after Heraclides was killed, considered himself safe. Dion, when his adversary was removed, distributed among his soldiers, with greater freedom, the property of those whom he knew to have been unfavourable to him. But after this division had taken place, money, as his daily expenses grew very great, began to fail him; nor was there anything on which he could lay his hands but the property of his friends; a circumstance which was attended with this effect, that while he gained the soldiery, he lost the aristocracy. At this state of things he was overcome with anxiety, and, being unaccustomed to be ill spoken of, he could not patiently endure that a bad opinion of him should be entertained by those by whose praises he had just before been extolled to the skies. The common people, however, when the feelings of the soldiers were rendered unfavourable towards him,103 spoke with less restraint, and said that “he was a tyrant not to be endured.”

  VIII. While he knew not, as he contemplated this state of things, how he should put a stop to it, and was apprehensive as to what it might end in, a certain Callicrates, a citizen of Athens, who had accompanied him from the Peloponnesus to Sicily, a man of address, subtle enough for any artifice, and without any regard for religion or honour, went to him, and told him that “he was in great danger on account of the disaffection of the people and the hostile feelings of the soldiers; which danger he could by no means escape, unless he commissioned some one of his friends to pretend that he was an enemy to him; and that, if he found him fit for the undertaking, he would learn the feelings of every one, and cut off his enemies, as his opponents would readily disclose their thoughts to any one disaffected towards him.” This suggestion being approved, Callicrates himself undertook this part, and armed himself through the unsuspiciousness of Dion; he sought for accomplices to join in killing him; he held meetings with his enemies, and formed an actual conspiracy against him. But these proceedings, as many were privy to what was going on, became known, and were communicated to Aristomache, Dion’s sister, and his wife Arete; who, being struck with alarm, sought an interview with him for whose danger they were concerned. Dion assured them that no plot was concerted against him by Callicrates, but that what was done, was done by his own directions. The women, notwithstanding, took Callicrates into the temple of Proserpine, and obliged him to swear that “there should be no danger to Dion from
him.” But Callicrates, by this oath, was not only not deterred from his design, but was stimulated to hasten the execution of it, fearing that his plot might be laid open before he had effected his purpose.

  IX. With this resolution, on the next festival day, while Dion was keeping himself at home, secluded from the assembly of the people, and was reposing in an upper room,104 he committed to his accomplices the stronger parts of the city, surrounded Dion’s house with guards, and stationed trusty persons at the door, who were not to leave it; he also manned a trireme with an armed force, entrusted it to his brother Philocrates, and gave directions that it should be rowed about in the harbour, as if he wished to exercise the rowers, with a view, if fortune should baffle his attempts, to have a vessel in which he might flee to a place of safety. He then chose from among his followers some young men of Zacynthus, of great courage and extraordinary strength, whom he ordered to go to Dion’s house unarmed, so that they might seem to have come for the sake of speaking with him. These youths, as being well known, were admitted, but as soon as they had crossed the threshold, they bolted the door, seized him as he lay on his couch, and bound him. A great noise ensued, so that it was distinctly heard out of doors. And here it was easy to be understood, as has often been said before, how unpopular absolute power is, and how unhappy the life of those who had rather be feared than loved; for those very guards,105 if they had been favourably inclined towards him, might have saved him by breaking open the door, as the Zacynthians, who were unarmed, were holding him still alive, calling to those without for a weapon. Nobody coming to his rescue, one Lyco, a Syracusan, gave them a sword through the window, with which Dion was slain.

  X. When the murder was consummated, and the people came in to view the scene, some were killed as guilty by those who were ignorant of the real actors; for a report being soon spread abroad that violence had been offered to Dion, many, to whom such a deed was detestable, ran together to the spot; and these persons, prompted by a false suspicion, killed the innocent as if they had been the delinquents. But as soon as his death became publicly known, the feeling of the populace was wonderfully altered, for those who had called him a tyrant while he was alive, called him now the deliverer of his country and the expeller of a tyrant. So suddenly had pity succeeded to hatred, that they wished to redeem him from Acheron, if they could, with their own blood. He was therefore honoured with a sepulchral monument in the city, in the most frequented part of it, after having been interred at the public expense. He died at the age of about fifty-five years, four years after he had returned from the Peloponnesus into Sicily.

  XI. IPHICRATES.

  Iphicrates eminent for skill in military discipline, I. His acts in Thrace, at Corinth, against the Lacedaemonians, in Egypt, and against Epaminondas, II. His abilities and character, III.

  I. IPHICRATES of Athens has become renowned, not so much for the greatness of his exploits, as for his knowledge of military tactics; for he was such a leader, that he was not only comparable to the first commanders of his own time, but no one even of the older generals could be set above him. He was much engaged in the field; he often had. the command of armies; he never miscarried in an undertaking by his own fault; he was always eminent for invention, and such was his excellence in it, that he not only introduced much that was new into the military art, but made many improvements in what existed before. He altered the arms of the infantry; for whereas, before he became a commander, they used very large shields, short spears, and small swords, he, on the contrary, introduced the pelta instead of the parma 106 (from which the infantry were afterwards called peltastae), that they might be more active in movements and encounters; he doubled the length of the spear, and made the swords also longer. He likewise changed the character of their cuirasses, and gave them linen ones instead of those of chain-mail and brass; a change by which he rendered the soldiers more active; for, diminishing the weight, he provided what would equally protect the body, and be light.

  II. He made war upon the Thracians, and restored Seuthes, the ally of the Athenians, to his throne. At Corinth 107 he commanded the army with so much strictness, that no troops in Greece were ever better disciplined, or more obedient to the orders of their leader; and he brought them to such a habit, that when the signal for battle was given them by their general, they would stand so regularly drawn up, without any trouble on the part of the commander, that they seemed to have been severally posted by the most skilful captain. With this army he cut off a mora 108 of the Lacedaemonians; an exploit which was highly celebrated through all Greece. In this war, too, he defeated all their forces a second time, by which success he obtained great glory.

  Artaxerxes, when he had resolved to make war upon the king of Egypt, 109 asked the Athenians to allow Iphicrates to be his general, that he might place him at the head of his army of mercenaries, the number of whom was twelve thousand. This force he so instructed in all military discipline, that as certain Roman soldiers were formerly called Fabians,110 so the Iphicrateans were in the highest repute among the Greeks.

  Going afterwards to the relief of the Lacedaemonians, he checked the efforts of Epaminondas; for, had not he been drawing near,111 the Thebans would not have retreated from Sparta until they had taken and destroyed it by fire.

  III. He was a man of large mind and large body, and of an appearance indicating the commander so that by his very look he inspired every one with admiration of him. But in action he was too remiss, and too impatient of continued exertion, as Theopompus has recorded. Yet he was a good citizen, and a person of very honourable feelings, as he showed, not only in other transactions, but also in protecting the children of Amyntas 112 the Macedonian; for Eurydice, the mother of Perdiccas and Philip, fled with these two boys, after the death of Amyntas, to Iphicrates, and was secure under his power. He lived to a good old age, with the feelings of his countrymen well affected towards him.

  He was once brought to trial for his life, at the time of the Social war, 113 together with Timotheus, and was acquitted.

  He left a son named Menestheus, whom he had by a Thracian woman, the daughter of King Cotys. When this son was asked whether he had more regard for his father or his mother, he replied, “For his mother.” As this answer appeared strange to all who heard it, he added, “I do so with justice; for my father, as far as was in his power, made me a Thracian, but my mother, as far as she could, made me an Athenian.”

  XII. CHABRIAS.

  Chabrias becomes celebrated for a new mode of fighting, I. His acts in Egypt and Cyprus; his command of the Egyptian fleet, II. His recal; he lived but little at home in consequence of the envious feelings of his countrymen, III. He is killed in the Social war, IV.

  I. CHABRIAS the Athenian was also numbered among the most eminent generals, and performed many acts worthy or record. But of these the most famous is his manoeuvre in the battle which he fought near Thebes, when he had gone to the relief of the Boeotians; for in that engagement, when the great general Agesilaus felt sure of victory, and the mercenary troops had been put to flight by him, Chabrias forbade the rest of his phalanx 114 to quit their ground, and instructed them to receive the attack of the enemy with the knee placed firmly against the shield, and the spear stretched out. Agesilaus, observing this new plan, did not dare to advance, and called off his men, as they were rushing forward, with sound of trumpet. This device was so extolled by fame throughout Greece, that Chabrias chose to have the statue, which was erected to him at the public charge by the Athenians in the forum, made in that posture. Hence it happened that wrestlers, and other candidates for public applause,115 adopted, in the erection of their statues, those postures in which they had gained a victory.

  II. Chabrias also, when he was general of the Athenians, carried on many wars in Europe; and he engaged in one in Egypt of his own accord; for setting out to assist Nectanabis, 116 he secured him the throne. He performed a similar exploit in Cyprus, but he was then publicly sent to support Evagoras; nor did he return from thence till h
e had conquered the whole island; from which achievement the Athenians obtained great glory.

  In the meantime a war broke out between the Egyptians and Persians, when the Athenians formed an alliance with Artaxerxes, and the Lacedaemonians with the Egyptians, from whom their king Agesilaus received a large share of spoil.117 Chabrias, seeing Agesilaus’s good fortune, and thinking himself in no respect inferior to him, set out to assist them of his own accord, and took the command of the Egyptian fleet, while Agesilaus held that of the land forces.

  III. In consequence, the officers of the king of Persia sent deputies to Athens, to complain that Chabrias was warring against their king on the side of the Egyptians. The Athenians then prescribed a certain day to Chabrias, before which if he did not return home, they declared that they would condemn him to die. On receiving this communication he returned to Athens; but did not stay there longer than was necessary; for he did not willingly continue under the eyes of his countrymen, as he was accustomed to live splendidly, and to indulge himself too freely to be able to escape the envy of the populace. For this is a common fault in great and free states, that envy is the attendant on glory, and that the people willingly detract from those whom they see raised above others; nor do the poor contemplate with patience the lot of others who are grown rich. Chabrias, therefore, when he could, was generally away from home. Nor was he the only one that willingly absented himself from Athens, but almost all their great men did the same, for they thought that they should be as far removed from envy as they were distant from their native country. Conon, in consequence, lived very much in Cyprus, Iphicrates in Thrace, Timotheus in Lesbos, Chares at Sigeum. Chares, indeed, differed from the others in conduct and character, but was nevertheless both distinguished and powerful at Athens.