Wandering Greeks

by Garland, Robert

  403

  With the restoration of democracy Athenian deportees and refugees who had been living in the Piraeus staged a triumphal return to Athens. Those who had been sympathetic to the Thirty Tyrants and feared for their lives were permitted to relocate in Eleusis, which now became a semi-independent polity (Xen. Hell. 2.4.38–9; see chapter 5).

  401/400

  The Spartan king Agis deported “a vast number of slaves” from Elis (Xen. Hell. 3.2.26). Dionysius I of Syracuse enslaved the dêmoi of both Catania and Naxos (D.S. 14.15.1–2). The Spartans expelled the Messenians from Cephallenia and Naupactus “because of their longstanding enmity toward the Spartans.” The Messenians “departed from mainland Greece with their arms.” Some sailed to Sicily and served as mercenaries under Dionysius I, tyrant of Syracuse; the rest, about 3,000 in all, sailed to Cyrene, where they joined forces with exiles who were seeking to recover the city. In the ensuing conflict, however, almost all the Messenians were slain (D.S.14.34.2–5).

  399

  Following an outbreak of stasis the Spartans expelled the Oetaeans from Heraclea Trachinia, a polis in Thessaly they had founded in 426. The majority fled to Thessaly, but after five years they were restored by the Boeotians (D.S. 14.38.4–5; see Gehrke 1985, 73; Malkin 1994, 221–27; Hansen and Nielsen 2004, 711).

  395

  The Boeotians and Argives seized Heraclea Trachinia. They slew the Spartan garrison but allowed the other Peloponnesians to depart with their possessions. They then recalled the Trachinians whom the Spartans had expelled and permitted them to reside in the city (D.S. 14.82.6–7).

  392

  Dionysius I of Syracuse deported most of the Sicels from Tauro-menium, a polis on the east coast of Sicily (D.S. 14.96.4). We do not know where they subsequently settled.

  385/4

  After being defeated by a Spartanled coalition, the inhabitants of Mantinea were forced to raze their city to the ground and return to their original four villages (D.S. 15.12.2; Xen. Hell. 5.2.7; see chapter 4).

  ca. 385

  The inhabitants of Thasos were exiled from their island on the orders of Sparta.

  382–79

  The dêmos of Phlius expelled its oligarchic population. Fearing reprisals from Sparta, it later invited the oligarchs to return and reclaim their property. However, the democrats reneged on the deal, so the oligarchs went into exile a second time. The latter appealed to the Spartans, who successfully besieged the city and restored them to power. An unknown number of democrats were condemned to death (Xen. Hell. 5.2.9; 5.3.10. 5.3.25; see chapter 11).

  ca. 373

  The Thebans made a surprise attack on the Plataeans, destroyed their town for the second time, and annexed their territory. As in 427, the surviving Plataeans sought refuge in Athens. The Thespians, who had also been expelled, begged the Athenians not to leave them “without a city” (Xen. Hell. 6.3.1).

  ca. 370

  At the foundation of the Arcadian League “800 Tegeans fled to Sparta” according to Xenophon (Hell. 6.5.10), whereas Diodorus Siculus claims that “1,400 fled, some to Sparta, others to Pallantium” (15.59.2). Those who fled to Pallantium were slaughtered, whereas those who fled to Sparta prevailed upon the Spartans to invade Tegea. The exiled Tegeans participated in the invasion and were probably restored as a result.

  365?

  The Athenian general Timotheus, while assisting the Persian satrap Ariobarzanes, successfully besieged Samos in order to strengthen Athenian control of the Aegean. The Athenians deported the Samians and established a cleruchy on the island. According to the fourth-century historian Heraclides Ponticus, quoted by Aristotle (fr. 611.35 Rose), the Athenians “exiled everyone.” Shipley (1987, 164) states, “The exodus in 365 no doubt ran into many hundreds, possibly thousands.” Most of the refugees settled in Ionia, Aeolis, and Caria. See Habicht (1957, 152–237) for a collection of Samian inscriptions thanking the “benefactors of Samos” for their support in their years of wandering. The Samians were still in exile 43 years later in 324, when Alexander promulgated the so-called Exiles’ Decree (D.S. 18.8.7; see chapter 11).

  363/2

  The Athenians decreed that the rebellious Iulietae of Ceos “are to be banished from Ceos and Athens and their possessions are to belong to the dêmos of the Iulietae” (IG II2 111.41–2 = SIG3 173 = Harding 55 = Rhodes and Osborne 39). The details are not fully understood, but it may be that rebels from Iulis had sided with the Thebans in their attempt to supplant Athens’s mastery of the sea (D.S. 15.78.4–79.1).

  358–47

  After Philip II of Macedon had successfully besieged Potidaea, he “humanely” sent the Athenian garrison back to Athens, sold the citizens into slavery, and handed the city “with all its buildings” over to the Olynthians (D.S. 16.8.5). No numbers are given. The Athenian general Chares, having captured Sestos, slew all the adult males and enslaved the remainder of the population (D.S. 16.34.3). No numbers are given.

  357

  Philip II captured Amphipolis and “ephugadeuse [exiled] those who were unfavorably disposed toward him” (D.S. 16.8.2). A decree of the dêmos of Amphipolis that exiled leading opponents of Philip may either predate or postdate his capture of the city (Tod 150 = Harding 63 = Rhodes and Osborne 49).

  354

  After successfully besieging Methone, a polis in Macedonia, Philip II permitted its citizens to depart “with one cloak each.”No numbers are given, and the fate of the refugees is unknown. Philip then razed the city to the ground and divided up its territory among the Macedonians (Dem. 4.4; D.S. 16.31.6 and 34.4–5).

  352

  The Phocian general Phaüllus razed to the ground Naryka, a polis in East Locris (D.S. 16.38.5). No numbers are given, and the fate of its inhabitants is unknown.

  339/8

  Timoleon “slaughtered” the Campanians living in Aetna (D.S.16.82.4) and deported the Syracusans from Leontini (D.S.16.82.7).

  338

  After Philip II had exiled the Troezenians, the latter appealed to the Athenians, who granted them citizenship and other privileges. They did so in recognition of the fact that the Troezenians had provided refuge for their women and children before the Battle of Salamis 150 years prior (Hyp. Ath. 31–33). No numbers are given.

  336/5

  Shortly after coming to power Alexander the Great put down a revolt in Thebes. He then ordered the massacre of over 6,000 Thebans. The rest—some 30,000 in all—were sold into slavery “with the exception of the priests, the guest-friends of the Macedonians, the descendants of Pindar, and those who had opposed the vote for revolt” (Plu. Alex. 11.6). A decree passed by the so-called League of Corinth included the provision that “Theban phugades should be deported from the whole of Greece and no Greek should offer refuge to a Theban” (D.S. 17.14.3). The oligarchs in Ephesus expelled the democrats for supporting Alexander the Great. When the king arrived in Ephesus in 334, he recalled the exiles, overthrew the oligarchs, and set up a democracy. Rarely, according to Arrian, did he gain a higher reputation than in consequence of his treatment of the Ephesians (Anab. 1.17.10–12).

  335?

  Certain Chians, who were hostile to the Macedonians, betrayed their city to the Persians and deported their opponents (Arr. Anab. 2.1.1). Alexander recovered the island the following year and in an edict probably dated 334 declared that “All the exiles from Chios shall return and the constitution in Chios be democratic” (SIG3 283 = Tod 192 = Rhodes and Osborne 84).

  APPENDIX D

  CATALOGUE OF EXILES

  As noted earlier, it is not always possible to distinguish between exiles, fugitives, and those who choose to “retire” abroad.

  Aeschines, Athenian politician: Left Athens and retired to Rhodes after being defeated by his adversary Demosthenes in 330.

  Agathocles, tyrant and later king of Syracuse: Exiled from Syracuse in ca. 330 by his oligarchic opponents because of his democratic leanings; recalled by the Syracusan dêmos but again exiled by the oligarchs; reinstated in 319/8 in Syracuse, where h
e ruled as tyrant; remained in control until his death in 289.

  Alcaeus of Mytilene, lyric poet: Went into exile from Mytilene in ca. 600 after he was discovered to be plotting against the tyrant Myrsilus, though he remained on the island of Lesbos; went into exile two more times as a result of his opposition to the tyrant Pittacus (fr. 114, 130 B Campbell). For full discussion of the testimonia, see Bowie (2007, 33–34).

  Alcibiades, Athenian politician, grandfather of the more famous Alcibiades: Ostracized in 460.

  Alcibiades, Athenian politician and general: Fled from Athens to Sparta in 415/4 to avoid prosecution for his involvement in religious scandals; subsequently condemned to death; tried unsuccessfully to engineer his return by obtaining the support of Persia; reappointed general in 411; returned to Athens to a rapturous welcome in 407; withdrew to Thrace in 406 when one of his subordinates was defeated by the Spartans; attempted unsuccessfully to give advice to the Athenians before the Battle of Aegospotami in 405; took refuge with the Persian satrap Pharnabazus but was murdered on his host’s orders in 404/3.

  Anaxagoras, Ionian philosopher: Put on trial for impiety in Athens in ca. 450; subsequently retired to Lampsacus in the northern Troad.

  Andocides, Athenian politician: Charged with being implicated in the mutilation of the herms and the profanation of the Mysteries in 415; secured immunity by confessing to his role in the mutilation; being debarred from entering sanctuaries or the Agora, he left Athens and became a merchant; made two unsuccessful attempts to regain his citizenship in 411 and 410; took advantage of the amnesty of 403 to return to Athens; successfully defended himself in 400 or 399 against a further attempt to debar him from entry into sanctuaries or the Agora in his famous speech titled “On the Mysteries”; prosecuted for treason because of his role in negotiating terms with the Spartans in 392/1; fled from Athens before the verdict was given, after which nothing more is heard of him.

  Androtion, Athenian politician and local historian: Exiled in 346 after being prosecuted for making an illegal proposal; lived out his days in Megara.

  Aristides, Athenian politician and general: Ostracized in 482, in part because of his intense rivalry with Themistocles (Hdt. 8.79.2); recalled in 480 when an amnesty was announced in advance of Xerxes’ invasion of Greece (Forsdyke 2005, 166–67).

  Aristotle of Stagira, philosopher: Settled in Athens in 367 at the age of 17 to study under Plato; left Athens on Plato’s death in 348/7 and journeyed first to Assos and then to Mytilene; became tutor to Alexander the Great in 342 at the invitation of Philip II of Macedon; returned to Athens in 335, where he became a metic and established his philosophical school called the Lyceum; fled to Chalcis in 323 to escape the anti-Macedonian sentiment that broke out on the death of Alexander; later claimed that his flight was occasioned by the desire to prevent the Athenians from “sinning twice against philosophy”—an allusion to the trial and execution of Socrates; died in Chalcis in 322.

  Cimon, Athenian general and politician: Ostracized in 461, in part because of his intense rivalry with Pericles’ political ally Ephialtes.

  Cleisthenes, Athenian politician: Forced to withdraw from Athens for a short period by his political rival Isagoras in 508/7.

  Cleomenes I, Spartan king: Took refuge in Thessaly after being accused of intriguing against his fellow-king Demaratus; invited back to Sparta, where he allegedly committed suicide, perhaps suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.

  Critias, Athenian politician: Exiled in 406, possibly because of his association with Alcibiades; withdrew to Thrace, where he is said to have worked to establish democracy and to have fought on behalf of a servile group known as the penestai (Xen. Hell. 2.3.36); recalled in 404 in accordance with Athens’s peace treaty with Sparta at the end of the Peloponnesian War; became the leader of the Thirty Tyrants; killed fighting against Thrasybulus in 403.

  Demaratus, Spartan king: Fled to Persia in ca. 491 as the result of rivalry with his fellow-king Cleomenes I; accompanied Xerxes on his invasion of Greece (Hdt. 6.61–70, 73–75).

  Democedes, physician from Croton: Fled from Croton when the city was engulfed in stasis; settled in Plataea.

  Demosthenes, Athenian orator and politician: Went into voluntary exile in 323 after being found guilty of misappropriating public money; recalled soon afterward; exiled by Antipater, who became ruler of Macedon after the death of Alexander the Great; subsequently condemned to death; under pursuit from Antipater’s henchmen, he took refuge in the sanctuary of Poseidon on the island of Calauria, where he committed suicide in 322.

  Diagoras, poet from Melos: Condemned to death for impiety by the Athenians; fled first to Pallene and later to Corinth.

  Diogenes of Sinope, Cynic philosopher: Sent into exile (or alternatively fled) after 362 because either he or his father had defaced the coinage (D.L. 6.20–1; see Branham [2007, 72–73] for numismatic evidence in support of the testimony); spent the remainder of his life in Athens and Corinth.

  Dion, tyrant of Syracuse: Exiled from Syracuse by his nephew Dionysius II in 366; went to live in Athens; returned in 357 to Syracuse, where he established himself as tyrant; became unpopular and went into exile at Leontini; invited to return to Syracuse when Dionysius II sought to reestablish his power; later assassinated.

  Dionysius II, tyrant of Syracuse: Withdrew (or was exiled) to Locri Epizephyrii in 356; recovered Syracuse, but in 344 withdrew to Corinth under pressure from Timoleon, who had control of Greek-dominated Sicily.

  Ducetius, Sicel leader: Exiled in 450 to Corinth by the Syracusans after being defeated in battle; returned to Sicily in 446; founded Kale Acte on its north coast.

  Euripides: Accepted invitation from Archelaus, king of Macedon, to reside permanently at his court in 408, having left Athens possibly on account of his unpopularity.

  Harpalus, Macedonian general: Fled from Babylon to Cilicia on Alexander’s return from the East, suspected of abusing his position as Alexander’s treasurer; fled to Athens in 324, perhaps hoping to stir up a rebellion against Alexander; fled from Athens to Crete, where he was murdered in 323.

  Hermocrates, Syracusan politician: Exiled from Syracuse in 410 following a quarrel with the Persian satrap Tissaphernes; returned to Sicily in 409; died in battle in 407 while trying unsuccessfully to secure his return to Syracuse.

  Herodotus, historian from Halicarnassus: Possibly exiled as a result of his opposition to the Persian-backed tyrant Lygdamis of Naxos (Sud. s.v.; disputed by Dillery [2007, 53–54, 63–64]).

  Hipparchus, relative of former tyrant Hippias: Ostracized in 487, the first victim of the procedure.

  Hippias, tyrant of Athens: Escaped from Athens to Sigeum in 510 when the Spartans invaded Attica to oust him; took up residence at the court of the Persian king Darius I; remained in Persia for the rest of his life; accompanied the Persians to Marathon in 490, hoping to be reinstated in Athens as tyrant (Thuc. 6.59.4).

  Hipponax, Ephesian poet: exiled in ca. 450 from Ephesus by the tyrant Athenagoras and settled in Clazomenae.

  Histiaeus, tyrant of Miletus: Being suspected of treason by the Persian king Darius I, he was detained in Susa; eventually allowed to leave Persia to negotiate an end to the Ionian Revolt; turned to piracy and died in 493.

  Hyperbolus, Athenian politician: Ostracized in ca. 417, the last victim of this procedure, when seeking to secure the banishment of one of his political opponents (Forsdyke [2005, 170–74]).

  Isagoras, political leader: Withdrew (or fled) from Athens in 508/7 after his attempt to establish a narrow oligarchy had been defeated by his opponent, Cleisthenes.

  Leotychidas II, Spartan king: Went into voluntary exile in Tegea in 477 to escape the charge of bribery; remained in Tegea till his death.

  Lysias, Athenian orator: Expelled from Thurii in 412/11 because of his pro-Athenian sentiments; resided in Athens as a metic; arrested by the Thirty Tyrants, but escaped from prison; gave support to the democrats in exile; was rewarded with citizenship on the restoration of democracy in 403, but the
grant was revoked as unconstitutional.

  Megacles, Athenian politician and nephew of Cleisthenes: Ostracized in 486.

  Miltiades the Younger, Athenian politician and general: Fled from the Thracian Chersonese to Athens at the end of the Ionian Revolt in 493; elected one of the ten generals for 490/89; tradition held him primarily responsible for the Athenian victory over the Persians at Marathon; fined fifty talents for having failed in an attack on the island of Paros as it supposedly sided with the Persians; died of gangrene in 489 before he could discharge his debt.

  Orestes, son of Thessalian king: Fled to Athens, from which in 454(?) he unsuccessfully attempted to make a comeback (Thuc. 1.111.1).

  Pausanias, Spartan regent: Accused of treason in 471 or 470, fled to a sanctuary of Athena, where he was starved nearly to death; died outside the sanctuary soon afterward.

  Pausanias II, Spartan king: To avoid execution for a military failure, in 395 fled to Tegea, where he died many years later.

  Phidias, Athenian sculptor: Fled from Athens to Olympia in 438 after being accused of embezzlement and impiety; murdered in Olympia according to the tradition preserved by Philochorus (FGrH 328 F 121), though Plutarch (Per. 31.5) reports, less plausibly, that he died in prison.