III. party, on the other hand, rather than surrender CHA P. their liberties to Ophellas and their fellowcitizens who accompanied him, resolved to make peace with Thimbron, whom they had recently opposed with obstinate valour; and zealously aided him in resisting the new and more formidable invasion from Egypt. But their united strength was crushed by the powerful armament which Ptolemy had sent against them. Thimbron's army was destroyed, and himself made prisoner. Cyrené was besieged, taken, and garrisoned; the subordinate cities in the confederacy shared the same fate. 107 But Such was the termination of the Greek commonwealths in Africa, which had defied the ferocity of the Libyans, resisted the more disciplined valour of Carthage, and repelled the strength of Egypt under her ancient kings. as the submission of the Cyrenaica was reluctant, we shall see that country in the sequel frequently the scene of rebellion. It remained, however, for upwards of two centuries an appendage to the Greek kingdom in Egypt; and was governed, for the most part, by sons or younger brothers of the Ptolemies. Apion, its last viceroy, son to the Seventh Ptolemy, amidst the civil wars in Egypt assumed independent sovereignty; and, ninety-seven years before Christ, bequeathed his usurped kingdom of Cyrenaica to the Romans 108, by whom it was conjoined, about thirty years afterwards, with the neighbouring isle of Crete in the form of a province. 109 107 Diodor. l. xviii. s. 21. and Strabo, 1. xvii. p. 836. 108 Appian, Mithridat. cap. 121. 109 Plutarch in Lucull. Subsequent his tory of Cyrené, to Olymp. clxxi. 1. B. C. 96. IV. Ptolemy army of Perdiccas. Olymp. cxiv. 3. CHAP. IV. Ptolemy declines the Protectorship. Funeral Procession of Alexander. Aridaus and Python Protectors. Sedition excited by Euridicé. Resignation of the Protectors. Antipater sole Regent. - Abandonment of Alexander's great Undertakings. - New Division of the Provinces. Antigonus sent against Eumenes. — War in Pisidia. - Ptolemy conquers Syria.- Death and Character of Antipater. - Polysperchon Regent.— Opposition of Cassander. - His Intrigues with Antigonus. -The Regent endangered on all Sides. He employs Eumenes against Antigonus.— Recalls Olympias from Epirus.-Issues an Edict for restoring Democracy throughout Greece. - Phocion's Accusation and Execu tion. Battle of Byzantium. - Athens surrenders to Cassander. Is governed by Demetrius Phalereus.— Murder of Arrhidaus and Euridicé. - Trial and Execution of Olympias. - Cassander rebuilds Thebes. CHAP. THE Conquest of Cyrené, through his general Ophellas, was but a prelude to the glory which gains the Ptolemy gained in person, by his skilful defence of Egypt against Perdiccas, commanding the royal army of Alexander, till then unfoiled in any combat. The disasters of that army in the neighbourhood of Memphis, occasioned, as we have shewn, sedition among the soldiers, and a conspiracy of the officers, which ended in the murder of Perdiccas. Of this emergency, Ptolemy availed himself with equal dexterity and bold B. C. 322. ness. IV. Upon the day following his adversary's CHAP. death, he came unguarded to the hostile camp, addressed the soldiers as countrymen and old companions in arms, embraced affectionately their commanders as his dearest personal friends. His camels and waggons then made their appearance, loaded with all sorts of necessaries for men, who, having undergone incredible hardships, were invited to a peaceful entertainment instead of being challenged to a new battle.' By this pleasing transition they were filled with transports of joy and of gratitude. They saw no motive in Ptolemy but a concern for their happiness. Neither Python nor Seleucus, who were present, nor Antipater and Antigonus, who were shortly expected, nor any other of their admired commanders, could bear a competition in their affections with the brave and generous satrap of Egypt. Through the admiring acclam- He refuses ations of the multitude, he was encouraged to protecassume the envied title of protector of the kings and reand of the empire. But he prudently declined Aridæus. an insecure and anxious office, which must have withdrawn him from the government of his flourishing province; recommending however to this high dignity a friend and benefactor, who, a few months before Perdiccas's hostile invasion, had marched to Egypt on a very dif ferent errand. the torship, commends the latter By the same assembly which fixed the regency, Merit of and regulated the succession, the funeral honours in con 1 Diodor. l. xviii. s. 36. & Arrian apud Phot. p. 221. IV. ducting the fune ral procession of Alexander. CHAP. of Alexander were entrusted to Aridæus 2, an officer in high credit with the phalanx, who, employed nearly two years in preparations for this august solemnity. To convey the embalmed remains of the king from his palace in Babylon to the temple of Jupiter Hammon, where he had expressed a desire to be interred, Aridæus had provided a colossal chariot thirty-eight feet. high, fourteen in breadth, and twenty-two in length, drawn on four wheels, by sixty-four mules of conspicuous beauty; and uniting in its decorations and design the rich magnificence of the East, with the taste of Ionia, and the ingenuity of Athens. The golden canopy breathing precious perfumes, the golden throne supporting the arms of Alexander, and the burnished gold which composed its resplendent peristyle, formed but vulgar ornaments in a pageant variegated with oriental gems, profusely studding even the collars of the mules. Painting and sculpture, arts highly indebted to the discerning munificence of Alexander, outshone the rubies of Asia, while they represented, with impressive energy, the unrivalled series of his victories; and the perfection of more useful arts which he had so zealously encouraged, was displayed in the gorgeous vehicle3 itself, whose suspension on a flexible spring, that humoured every inequality 2 From similarity of name, this general is confounded with king Arrhidæus, for so the name is uniformly written by Plutarch in Alexand. Arrian, and Diodorus. The Latin writers, Curtius and Justin, write the king's name Aridæus, making it the same with the general's, which has caused the very general error of uniting into one person two men of most dissimilar characters. 3 Diodor. 1. xviii. s. 26-28. and Arrian apud Phot. p. 220. IV. of surface, so as to retain the foliated diadem CHA P. crowning the canopy, in the same horizontal position, will be more readily admired than imitated or even explained by our most skilful machinists. 4 By whatever means the exact equilibrium was preserved, and sixty-four mules were made to act in concert upon such an enormous weight, this moving mausoleum was safely transported nine hundred miles from Babylon to Memphis, and thence to Alexandria. 5 6 ander's his last cerning his In disregarding Alexander's injunctions for Why Alexburying him in the temple of Hammon, his suc- successors cessors were unanimous; but this seeming dis- disobeyed obedience was really more respectful than would will, conhave been the most implicit submission. Shortly burial. after his demise, a prophecy was circulated and believed, that the country which received his remains should surpass all other kingdoms of the earth in splendour and prosperity. Each provincial governor wished to become the depositary of so valuable a treasure; while Perdiccas, himself a native of Pella, and who hoped soon to reign in that capital, insisted with much vehemence that the bones of Alexander ought to repose near those of his fathers in Macedon. But Aridæus, who had been entrusted with a body of troops to escort the funeral convoy, persevered • Such is the opinion of Count Caylus, who, in the xxxvith ̄vol. of the Memoirs of the Academy of the Belles Lettres, has given the plan, elevation, and section of this wonderful car. His ingenious dissertation is disgraced by the error of confounding Aridæus, an enterprising officer, its contriver and conductor, with king Arrhidæus, the feeble-minded brother of Alexander. 5 Pausanias, Attic. c. 6, 7. 6 Ælian, V. H. 1. xii. c. 64. |