his country's safety to his own life, disguised himself in the habit of a peasant, and went to a place not far from the enemy's camp, where picking a quarrel with some of the people, he obtained the death he desired. The Athenians being informed of what had happened, sent a herald to demand the body of their king: the enemy, being acquainted with the sentence of the oracle, were se disheartened by this unexpected event, that they immediately broke up their camp, and gave up their enterprize without striking a blow:

The Athenians, out of reverence to the memory of Codrus, would never more have any governor, by the title of king, but were afterwards governed by archons, whom they allowed, indeed to continue in their office as long as they lived; and when they died to leave it to their children; and therefore most writers, reckon them rather amongst the kings, than the archontes that came after them, who were permitted to rule only for a certain time; they however differed from the kings, in this, that they were, in a manner subject to the people, being obliged to render an account of their management, when it should be demanded of them. The first of these was Medon, the eldest son of Codrus, from whom the thirteen following archontes, were surnamed Medontidæ, as being decended from him. During their government, the Athenian state suffered no considerable alteration, but was carried on with such ease and tranquillity, that scarcely any mention is made of any memorable action done by any of them, and the very names of some of them are almost forgotten.

From Ogyges the first king of Athens to Alemænon the last of the thirteen archons descended from Medon the son of Codrus, is a period of one thousand and twelve years, including an interregnum of one hundred and ninety years, in which no footsteps of any government are to be found.

THE people of Athens appear to have gained some advantage, by every change which took place in the government, till by degrees the supreme power became wholly vested in the hands of the commons. Theseus

and Medon made considerable sacrifices of the power they possessed from their regal offices, but they still retained no small portion of influence in their own hands, and transmitted the same entire to their posterity. But, in the first year of the seventh Olympiad, both the power and the succession devolved on the people, who the better to curb the pride, and retain the power of their archons, limited the duration of their office to ten years: The first of these decennial archons was Charaps, the son of Eschylus. But not contented with this curb on their rulers, the people about seventy years after

farther curtailed the influence of the archons, by restricting their continuance in office to one year; at the expiration of which they were to give an account of their administration. The first annual archon was Cleon, who entered upon his office, in the third year of the twenty-fourth Olympiad.

In the thirty-ninth Olympiad Draco was archon, famous for being the author of many sanguinary and even cruel and inhuman laws, so that one remarked respecting them, that they were written with blood rather than ink.

When Solon became archon, in the third year of the forty-sixth Olympiad; he repealed the whole of these cruel laws, with the exception of that which applied to murder.

Solon, finding the Athenians varying in their opinions respecting the best form of government, some inclining to a monarchy, others to an oligarchy, others to a democracy; and that the rich men were powerful and haughty, making the poor groan under their insolence and oppression; endeavoured, as much as possible, so to reform the abuses that prevailed and to alleviate the burdens of the poor, as that every reasonable person might have cause to be satisfied. In order to this he divided the Athenians into four classes according to their property.

Those who were worth five hundred medimns of liquid and dry commodities he ranked in the first class. In the next class were the horsemen, or those who were able to furnish out a horse, or were worth three hundred. The third class were of those, who possessed two hundred medimns. In the last class he placed all the rest of the people, whom he excluded from holding any office, in the government, but reserved to them the liberty of giving their votes on all public occasions; which though at the first view, might appear, of not much value, was afterwards found to be a very important privilege; for as it was allowed to every person to appeal

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from the decision of the magistrates, to the votes of the people, matters of considerable importance were frequently brought before them.

Thus, though the chief power was in the hands of the magistrates, the people had a share of the government. Of this equality he himself speaks thus.

What power was fit, I did on all bestow,

Nor rais'd the poor too high, nor press'd too low;
The rich, that ruled, and every office bore,
Confined by laws, could not oppress the poor:
Both parties I secured from lawless might,
Thus none prevail'd upon another's right.

CREECH.

Not many years after, the city being divided into factions, Pisistratus seized upon the government by the following stratagem, having purposely wounded himself, he was carried into the market place in a chair, where exposing his wounds to the people, he informed them that he had thus been treated by the adverse party for leaning to the side of the people. Imposed upon by this artifice the people excited by compassion and indignation, granted him, at the suggestion of one Ariston, fifty men, armed with clubs to protect his person. This decree being passed Pisistratus enlisted the number of men granted to him, adding to the number as he pleased, till at length, he requited the care and compassion of the people by seizing the citadel, and depriving them of their liberty. After this event Pisistratus lived thirty years, seventeen of which he was in possession of the government of Athens; but the state continued all that time unsettled, sometimes the popular party prevailing against Pisistratus, and expelling him; and he vanquishing them and returning to his government, in triumph.

Pisistratus was succeeded by his sons Hipparchus and Hippias, whom Heraclides calls Thessalus; the former of these was slain by Aristogiton, and the latter, about three or four years after, was compelled by Clisthenes, assisted by the banished Alemæonidæ and

and the Lacedamonians to secure himself by a dishonourable flight. Being thus expelled from his country, Hippias fled into Persia, where he lived many years, and at length succeeded in persuading Darius to invade Athens; an enterprize which ended in the eternal dishonour of the Persian monarch and his vanquished army; for entering the Athenian territory with the largest army that ever was assembled, he was disgracefully defeated and his numerous host put to flight, by a mere handful of men, under the command of the valiant and skilful Miltiades. This ever memorable battle was fought on the plains of Marathon, in the vicinity of Athens, about twenty years after the flight of Hippias. The effect of this effort of the Athenians, for the defence of their country, was, the recovery of their laws and liberties, about sixty years after they had been deprived of them by Pisistratus.

After this success, the state of Athens continued in a flourishing condition for three and thirty years, when it fell from the highest pitch of honour and prosperity to the lowest degree of adversity; for Xerxes, in revenge of his predecessor's defeat, and to wipe away the stain of his country, invaded Attica with an army of seventeen hundred thousand men, according to the statement of some, and forcing the Athenians to abandon their city, the barbarians took possession of it, and reduced it to ashes; and in the following year, his lieutenant, Mardonius, following the example of his master, burned it a second time.

In this deplorable state of their country, Themistocles and Aristides came forth, and, exerting their superlative talents and wisdom, rescued it from the storm with which it was threatened; for they, in the first place, attacked and defeated the Persian fleet at Salamis; and then followed up this success by completely vanquishing the army of Mardonius at Plataea. By these signal victories the Persians were completely driven out of the country, and Athens, restored to her ancient government, arose out of her ruins, and shone with a bright