Takes the Field against the Thebans and their Allies. Defeat and Death of Philomelus. fairs of Thrace, Macedon, and Attica. Philip's Defigns against Olynthus and Byzantium. Traverfed by the Athenians. - Phayllus takes the Command of the Phocians. Negligence and Licentiousness of the Athenians. — Philip's Demofthenes's Orations in favor of the Olynthians. - Expedition of Chares.-Philip takes Olynthus.-Celebrates the Festival of the Mufes at Dium. - Commits naval De- predations on Attica. His Embally to Athens. The Athenian Embally to Philip. - Character of the Ambasa- dors.-Their Conference with the King. — Differently re- ported to the Senate and Affembly.- Philip's Conquests in Thrace.-The Phocian War.-Negociations.--Philip's Intrigues. Decree of the Amphictyons against Phocis. — THE HISTORY O F GRE E C C E. CHAP. XXVII. Tiffaphernes makes War on the Greeks, by Order of Campaign of Ir does honor rather to the modesty than to СНАР. Tiffa XXVII. phernes prepares to make war on the Lacedæ. monian allies in Afia, by order of Artaxer xes. Olymp. XCV. 2. CHA P. of Athenian greatnefs, the Spartans were naturally XXVII. expofed to the jealousy and refentment of Persia, by their dominion in Greece, by their conquests on the coast of Asia, by the pre-eminence of their naval power, and especially by their open participation in the rebellious defigns of Cyrus. The former circumftances rendered their republic the A. C. 399. rival of the king of Perfia; but their co-operation with an ambitious rebel rendered them the perfonal enemies of Artaxerxes. His refolution to chastise their audacity was communicated to Tiffaphernes, who, after haraffing the retreat of the Greeks to the foot of the Carduchian mountains, beyond which he had not courage to follow them, returned with a powerful army towards Lower Afia, to refume the government of Caria, his hereditary province, as well as to take poffeffion of the rich spoils of Cyrus, bestowed on him by the gratitude of his master, in return for his recent and fignal fervices against that dangerous pretender to the throne. Attacks the Folian ci ties. Honored with this magnificent prefent, Tiffaphernes was farther intrusted with executing the vengeance of the great king against the Spartans. Without any formal declaration of war, which the late hoftilities in the Eaft feemed to render unneceffary, he attacked the Eolian cities; the fatrap Pharnabazus readily entered into his views, and concurred with all his meafures. The Lacedæmonian garrifon, fupported by the townfmen, defended themselves with their ufual courage, earneftly foliciting, however, a reinforcement from home, which might enable them to refift and to CHAP, furmount fuch an unexpected danger '. XXVII. The Spartans fend Thimbron with an army to their affift ance; On this important occafion, the Spartan fenate and affembly were not wanting to the affiftance of their garrifons, or to the hopes of their Æolian allies. They immediately levied a body of five thousand Peloponnefian troops, and demanded a confiderable fupply from the Athenians. The latter fent them three hundred horfemen, who having ferved under the thirty tyrants, were cheer. fully facrificed to this dangerous duty by the partifans of the new democracy. The command of the joint forces was intrusted to the Spartan Thim. bron, who had orders' as foon as he arrived in Eolis, to take into pay the Greeks who had engaged in the expedition of Cyrus, and who were actually employed in the dishonorable fervice of an ungrateful Barbarian. The mean and perfidious behaviour of Seuthes, who, in his new character of prince, ftill retained his original manners of a Thracian robber, rendered the proposal of joining who had Thimbron extremely agreeable to Xenophon, who conducted to the Lacedæmonian ftandard fix thou- per Afia, fand men, the venerable remains of an army exhaufted and ennobled by unexampled toils and dangers. Having received this powerful reinforcement, Thimbron opened the campaign against the lieutenant of Artaxerxes, at the diftance of two years after Cyrus had marched from Ephefus to difpute 1 Xenoph. Hellen. 1. iii. p. 40. Diodor. Sicul. 1. xiv. p. 416. 3 Xenoph. Anabaf. 1. vii. p. 427. which is reinforced by the Greeks returned from Up CHAP. the crown of Perfia. The first impreffions of the Grecian arms were attended with confiderable fuccefs: Thimbron took, or regained, the towns of Pergamus, Teuthrania Halifarnia Myrina, fails in the Cymé, and Grynium. But the walls of Lariffa a ftrong city in the Troade, defied his affault; the vigilant garrifon baffled all his contrivances for depriving them of fresh water; and, affifted by the inhabitants of the place, made a vigorous fally, repelled the befiegers, and burned or demolished their works. fiege of Lariffa ; recalled and difgraced; Nothing but continual action, and an uninterrupted career of victory, could reftrain the licentious paffions of the troops, composed of a motley affemblage from fo many different, and often hoftile communities. Their feditious fpirit rendered them formidable to each other, and to the Greeks of Afia. Their rapacity fpared not the territories of the Lacedæmonian allies, who loudly complained to the fenate, afcribing the violence of the troops to the weakness of the general. In confequence of this reprefentation, Thimbron was recalled and difgraced, and the command, for which he feemed is fucceed fo ill qualified, was bestowed on Dercyllidas, a ed by Der. cyllidas; man fertile in refources, who could often vary his conduct without changing his principles; who knew when to relax, and when to enforce the dif cipline of the camp, and who, to the talents of an able general, added the reputation of being the beft engineer of his times. By a judicious direc+ tion of the machines of war which he invented, or ability the improved, Dercyllidas overcame the obftinacy of who ad. minifters with equal + Xenoph. p. 481. |