A Manual of Ancient History Part 16

_b._ aegina. This small island was, after the Dorian migration, occupied by colonists from Epidaurus; it however soon shook off the yoke of the mother city, and rapidly grew by commerce and navigation, to be one of the first Grecian states. aegina was for a long time the rival of Athens; over whom her naval power enabled her to maintain a superiority until the time of the Persian war.

Humbled, however, by Themistocles, 485, she could no longer support herself against the preponderating influence of Athens; and although subsequently she made another stand for independence, 458, the consequences were but an increase of oppression. Neither must it be forgotten, that aegina suffered much, even before the Persian war, from internal broils, caused by the bitterness of party spirit engendered between the aristocratic and democratic factions.

C. O. MUELLER, _aegineticorum liber_, 1817. This treatise contains not only the political history, but likewise that of trade and arts.

_c._ Euboea. The different cities of this island, Chalcis and Eretria in particular, had each its separate domestic const.i.tution: in the two towns above mentioned the const.i.tution was aristocratic, since the government was in the hands of the opulent, (Hippobatae;) nevertheless we hear of tyrants in Chalcis.

After the Persian war Euboea became dependent upon Athens, which drew from that island a portion of her supplies and provisions.

The oppression of the Athenians stirred up the minds of the Euboeans to rebellion, and the islanders were in the sequel ever ready to throw up their allegiance when a suitable opportunity presented itself; such an opportunity was seized in 446, when the island was recovered by Pericles; and the attempt was renewed in the Peloponnesian war.

_d._ The Cyclades were first colonized by Crete, during the reign of Minos. The Carian race had in earlier times spread over these islands, but were gradually driven out by h.e.l.lenic invaders, belonging princ.i.p.ally to the Ionian and Dorian families. The most important was Delos, chief seat of the Ionians. Sheltered under the protection of Apollo, this place became the centre of an extensive trade, and during the Persian war, 479, was selected for the treasury of Greece. Next was Paros, famed for its marble, and for the stand it made against Miltiades, 489, although it afterwards shared the fate of the other islands, and pa.s.sed under the dominion of the Athenians. We know little of the const.i.tution of the other smaller islands; each of them contained one city of the same name as the island which const.i.tuted its territory.

_e._ Crete. The inhabitants of Crete were not pure h.e.l.lenes, but of alloyed origin, such as Curetes, Pelasgi, etc. mingled with whom were h.e.l.lenes, of the Dorian and aeolian stock. In the earlier periods, Crete had her kings, the most celebrated of whom were Minos, about 1300, probably first sovereign of the whole island; his brother Rhadamanthus, Idomeneus, Meriones, who followed Idomeneus to the Trojan war, and succeeded him upon the throne: the last king Etearchus, about 800, after whose death a republican form of government was introduced. Under these kings Crete was powerful on sea: to Minos is ascribed the honour of having by his fleets purged the aegaean of pirates, occupied the islands, and ensured security to the mariner. To him likewise is attributed the Cretan legislation, the model, it is said, of that given to Sparta by Lycurgus. But the uncertainty as to what does and what does not belong to Minos, is in this case even greater than in that of Lycurgus; many of the laws referred to Minos are probably nothing more than ancient Dorian inst.i.tutions. The insular situation which in some measure ensured Crete from foreign inroads, and the proximity of Egypt and Phoenicia must indubitably have contributed to expand the germ of political civilization. The abolition of the kingly office seems to have been the effect of internal commotions, to which Crete continued to be frequently exposed, even under a republican form of government. Those commotions originated in the jealousy between the two largest cities, Gortina and Cnossus, which, when united, ruled the rest; but when at war, shook the whole island, until the city of Cydonia, pa.s.sing over to one of the sides, gave a turn to the balance. The laws inst.i.tuted by Minos respecting private life were enforced in all the cities of the island; but declined at an earlier period than in the country. Each city had its own const.i.tution; each possessed it senate, ([Greek: gerousia],) at the head of which were ten censors, ([Greek: kosmoi],) chosen from certain families: these cosmi were not only prime magistrates, but likewise invested with the command in war, not often, it is true, waged by the Cretans against other nations, but, for that reason, more frequently with one another; a circ.u.mstance which must have necessarily contributed to corrupt, not only their const.i.tution, but likewise their national character.

MEURSII _Creta, Rhodus, Cyprus_, 1675, 4to. Very laborious compilations. New light, however, has been thrown upon the subject by the inscriptions published in

CHISHULL'S _Antiq. Asiaticae_; 1728, folio. A work which has been made use of by

ST. CROIX, _Des anciens gouvernemens_, etc. (See above, p. 131.) The princ.i.p.al work upon Crete.

# C. HOECK, Crete. An attempt to explain the mythology, history, etc. of this island, 1823.

_f._ Cyprus. This island, like Crete, was inhabited by a race of mixed origin, who, even in the time of Herodotus, traced their descent from Phoenicians, Africans, (Ethiopians,) from Greeks out of Arcadia, Attica, and the island of Salamis; of which last the city of Salamis, founded by Teucer about 1160, was a colony. There can be no doubt, that in earlier times the Phoenicians were for a long period the dominant race in the island; since in the flouris.h.i.+ng days of Tyre the Cyprians rebelled against their oppressors, at the same time that Psalmanezer led an expedition against the former city, about 720: moreover, even in the present day, Phoenician monuments are still found in the island. From that time to the Persian period, there appears to have been a close connection between this island and the Phoenicians, although the Cyprians preserved their independence. Several smaller kingdoms afterwards arose in various cities of the island; the number of which in subsequent times amounted to nine, and under Amasis, about 550, were tributary to the Egyptians; and under Cambyses, 525, to the Persians: notwithstanding this species of subjection, the various states preserved their own kings. During the Persian dominion, the Cyprians more than once joined in the insurrections against the Persians; more particularly the kings of Salamis, now become the most powerful. So early as the year 500, Onesilus joined the Ionian rebels, but was defeated. In the wars which afterwards ensued between the Persians and Greeks, Cyprus was frequently attacked by the combined Grecian fleets; as in 470 by Pausanias, and during the reign of Evagoras I. 449, by Cimon, who died at the siege of Citium; yet the Persians were not driven out, but appear to have kept their footing even after the peace of 449.

Among the subsequent kings of Salamis was Evagoras II. (400-390,) who was master of the greatest portion of the island; but as in the peace of Antalcidas Cyprus was ceded to the Persians, he was obliged to wage a hot war against them, in which he lost every thing but Salamis. Finally, the Cyprians, in 356, took a part in the insurrection of the Phoenicians and Egyptians: thereupon the Persians sent an army against them, under the command of a younger Evagoras, (who had been banished by his uncle Protagoras,) and under that of the Athenian Phocion Salamis was besieged, but matters were made up by a negotiation. The nine small kingdoms of the island continued to exist till the time of Alexander, whom they voluntarily joined during the siege of Tyre, 332, and thenceforward Cyprus const.i.tuted a part of the Macedonian monarchy.

2. _History of the Grecian Colonies._

To a.s.sist the student in obtaining a general view of the events connected with the Greek colonies, the history of them will be here carried on through the subsequent period.

RAOUL ROCHETTE, _Histoire critique de l'etabliss.e.m.e.nt des Colonies Grecques_, Paris, 1815, 4 vols. The most comprehensive treatise on the subject: it comprises the earlier Pelasgian and the later Macedonian colonies, as well as those of the h.e.l.lenes. There is much erudition displayed in this work, but sufficient attention is not paid to the value of the authorities made use of.

# D. H. HEGEWISCH, _Geographic and Historic Doc.u.ments relative to the Colonies of the Greeks_, Altona, 1808, 8vo. A brief review of the subject.

ST. CROIX, _De l'etat et du sort des Colonies des anciens peuples_, Paris, 1786. A series of valuable and important enquiries.

1. No nation of antiquity ever founded so many colonies as the Greeks: these colonies became so important in various respects, that an acquaintance with them is indispensably requisite towards understanding the more early history of the world. Not only is the history of the civilization of the mother country and that of early trade intimately connected with these settlements, but some of them grew to such power as to have the greatest influence on political history.

2. The Grecian colonies, to which the following observations apply, are those founded by the h.e.l.lenes in the time which elapsed between the Dorian migration and the Macedonian period. It appears certain that before the date of that migration some Pelasgian, and perhaps even some h.e.l.lenic settlers pa.s.sed over into Italy. The history of these colonies however is not only involved in obscurity, but it is besides known that they ceased after a time to be Greek. The later settlements of the Macedonians were of a quite different nature from those of the h.e.l.lenes, to which we now allude.

3. The h.e.l.lenic race spread alike to the east and to the west of Greece, their settlements, however, were confined to the sh.o.r.es of the Mediterranean and Black sea. The countries in which their princ.i.p.al colonies were established, were Asia Minor and Thrace in the east; the coasts of Lower Italy and Sicily in the west. Nevertheless particular settlements were to be found scattered here and there on the sh.o.r.es of most other countries.

4. The Grecian colonies had their origin either in political motives, being generally made in accordance with the express command or advice of an oracle, (for the propagation of the religion of the parent state was always connected therewith,) or, in commercial speculations; the former was the case, almost without exception, with the settlements made by the mother country herself; the latter, with those which had branched out of such colonies as had already exalted themselves by their commerce. In fact, almost all the Grecian colonies applied more or less to trade, even when that was not the sole object of their foundation.

5. The connection existing between the colonies and the mother cities was generally determined by the same causes that led to their foundation. In those cases where a city had been founded by malcontent or banished emigrants, all dependence on the mother country was naturally out of the question; and even in the colonies established for the purposes of trade, that dependence was but feeble and brief; the mother cities failing in power, if not in will, to enforce it. The very independence of so many colonies, made (almost without exception) in countries preeminently favoured by nature in productions and climate, and so situated as to oblige the inhabitants to navigation and commerce, must have given a great impulse to the civilization of the h.e.l.lenic race, and may be regarded as the main cause of its rapid progress and wide extension; wider indeed than that of any other nation of the ancient world. What a variety of political ideas must have been formed among a people whose settlements, more than a hundred in number, had each its own peculiar form of government.

6. Of the Greek colonies, the most ancient, and in many respects the most important, were those along the western coast of Asia Minor, extending from the h.e.l.lespont to the boundary of Cilicia. Here, ever since the Trojan war, which first made these countries generally known, h.e.l.lenes of the three great families, aeolians, Ionians, and Dorians had planted settlements. These were the most important for trade; and here likewise in the native country of Homer, the father of Grecian civilization, of Alcaeus, and of Sappho, poesy, both epic and lyric, expanded her first and fairest blossoms; and hence too, the mother country herself received the first impulse of moral and cultivated taste.

1. The aeolian colonies. Their original foundation dates about 1124: they appear to have been a consequence of the Dorian migration, having been established during that great movement in Greece. The Pelopidae, who had been driven out of Peloponnesus, Orestes, his son Penthilus, his grandson Archelaus, and his great grandson Grais, successively headed the emigrants, who proceeded slowly by land, divided, it appears, into several companies, with which some Boeotians and others gradually coalesced. In Asia they occupied the coasts of Mysia and Caria; a strip of land which from thence derived the appellation of aeolis. They moreover possessed the islands of Lesbos, Tenedos, and the Hecatonnesi. On the main land, in the quarter named from them aeolis, they erected twelve cities, the most eminent of which were Cyme and Smyrna; the latter, however, afterwards fell into the hands of the Ionians. But their chief settlements were on the island of Lesbos; here they inhabited five cities, at the head of which, and likewise of all their other colonies, stood Mitylene. They had likewise spread inland as far as mount Ida. All these towns were independent of one another, and possessed their own peculiar forms of government: our information, however, respecting these const.i.tutions extends no further than to enable us to ascertain that they were subject to many disorders, which it was often attempted to quell by nominating rulers of unlimited power, under the t.i.tle of aesymnetae. These were elected sometimes for a stipulated period, at others for life; the most celebrated of the number was Pittacus of Mitylene, who flourished about 600, and was the contemporary of Sappho and Alcaeus. The aeolians maintained their independence till the time of Cyrus, with the exception of Smyrna, which as early as 600, was captured and destroyed by the Lydians, and not rebuilt till four hundred years afterwards, when it was restored by Antigonus, and entered upon its flouris.h.i.+ng period. The cities of the main land were compelled to acknowledge the supremacy of the Persian conqueror; but not the islands. The aeolian cities were not leagued together by any permanent bond; it was only in peculiar cases that they debated in common. Mitylene, which they all regarded as their capital, was the only one of their colonies that became rich by trade, and formidable by its naval power. Yet in 470 it was tributary to Athens; having seceded in 428, at the time of the Peloponnesian war, it was recaptured and almost levelled to the earth by the Athenians.

2. The Ionian colonies. These were, no doubt, founded at a later period than those of the aeolians; like them, however, they were a consequence of the Dorian migration. The Ionians, driven out of Peloponnesus by the Achaeans, had withdrawn to Athens, from whence, sixty years afterwards, that is to say about 1044, they proceeded by sea to Asia, headed by Neleus and others of the sons of Codrus.

They were joined, however, by some Thebans, Phocians, Euboean Abantes, and various other Greeks. In Asia they settled on the southern coast of Lydia and the northern sh.o.r.e of Caria; which, together with the islands of Samos and Chios, took from them the name of Ionia. Here they built twelve cities on the main land; namely, reckoning from north to south, Phocaea, Erythrae, Clazomene, Teos, Lebedus, Colophon, Ephesus, Priene, Myus, Miletus, and in the islands, Samos and Chios. They possessed in common one sanctuary, the Panionium temple of Neptune, built on the headland of Mycale.

Here they celebrated their festivals, and a.s.sembled to deliberate upon matters affecting the general interest, although it must still be remembered that each city was in itself independent. This independence was maintained until the time of the Lydian dynasty of the Mermnadae, and that of Cyrus, under whose reign they were compelled to submit to the Persian yoke. Still, under the Persian rule, they for the most part preserved their own form of government, and were subject only so much as they had to pay tribute. Nevertheless they seized every opportunity of delivering themselves from this species of thraldom; and hence their history in the following period is closely interwoven with that of Greece.

The political const.i.tution was, no doubt, at an early period republican in all; but these colonies likewise were oppressed by continual factions, and frequently by tyrants. Among the towns situate on the continent, the most remarkable were Miletus, Ephesus, and Phocaea. Miletus was the princ.i.p.al seat of trade. It had been founded by the Carians before the arrival of the Ionians; but was by the latter raised to opulence and power. The most flouris.h.i.+ng period of its existence was between 700-500: in the latter year it was implicated in the insurrection of Aristagoras against the Persians, in consequence of which it was destroyed in 496. From that time Miletus never recovered its ancient splendour.

Nevertheless, in the days of her prosperity Miletus was, next to Tyre and Carthage, the first emporium of the world. Her sea trade was chiefly carried on in the Euxine, and the Palus Maeotis, whose sh.o.r.es, on all sides, were occupied by her colonies, amounting, according to some authorities, to more than a hundred. By means of these settlements she monopolized the whole of the northern trade in pulse, dry fish, slaves, and furs. Her land trade was carried on by the great _military_ road, constructed by the Persians, far into the interior of Asia. Four harbours admitted her vessels; and her naval power was so great, that she had been known, more than once, to fit out, unaided, fleets of from eighty to a hundred sail.--Phocaea. The flouris.h.i.+ng period of this establishment was contemporary with that of Miletus; but ended at the rise of the Persian dominion, 540, when the Phocaeans, rather than submit to the Persian yoke, chose to forsake the city of their fathers and migrate to Corsica, although one half of the inhabitants repented of their resolution and returned. Phocaea had the most extensive trade by sea of all the Grecian cities; they were to the west what the Milesians were to the north. Their navigation extended as far as Gades; and they not only visited the coasts of Italy, Gaul, and Corsica, but even founded colonies in these countries; as for instance, Aleria in Corsica, Elea in Italy, and, above all, Ma.s.silea, (Ma.r.s.eilles,) on the coast of Gaul.--Ephesus. This city was likewise originally founded by the Carians, but subsequently occupied by the Ionians. Its independence was maintained until the time of Croesus, who annexed it to his other conquests about 560.

The const.i.tution was aristocratic; the government being in the hands of a senate, ([Greek: gerousia],) combined with the magistrates, ([Greek: epikletoi]): and the family which had once possessed the throne preserved certain prerogatives. Ephesus was not so important in a commercial point of view as Phocaea and Miletus; but was much celebrated for its temple of Diana, which in 355 was fired by Erostratus, and afterwards rebuilt with more sumptuous splendour. The flouris.h.i.+ng period of Ephesus appears to have commenced at this time, long after that of Miletus and Phocaea had terminated; for both in the Macedonian and Roman ages Ephesus was regarded as the first city of Asia Minor.--Of the cities on the islands, Samos was the most important, for its trade, and for its naval power. The period of its splendour was under the reign of the tyrant Polycrates, 540-523, whose sway extended over the sea and islets of the neighbourhood. Syloson, brother to the tyrant, having by the a.s.sistance of the Persians, 517, obtained possession of Samos, the island was almost depopulated. Soon afterwards Samos became dependent upon the Athenians, who in 440 introduced a democratic form of government, and made it the rendezvous for her troops and fleets during the war with Sparta.--Chios was scarcely inferior to Samos, either in power or wealth. It submitted to the Persian yoke with the rest of the Ionian colonies; but was so powerful, that in 500, at the insurrection of Aristagoras, ninety-eight sail of the combined fleet belonged to Chios. After the defeat of Xerxes, 469, it entered into the Athenian league, from which it endeavoured to secede in the Peloponnesian war, 412.

The naval power of the Chians was still considerable; and those islanders had the high honour of not suffering prosperity to inflate them with overweening ambition.

F. G. RAMBACH, _De Mileto ejusque coloniis_, 1790, 4to.

3. The Dorian colonies. These were situated in Asia Minor, upon the southern coast of Caria, and in the islands of Cos and Rhodes, but were all planted at a later period than the Ionian colonies, and, no doubt, were the result of successive migrations. The Dorians appear to have gradually spread beyond Peloponnesus, over the islands of the Archipelago to the Asiatic coast: in Rhodes they erected the cities of Ialyssus, Camirus, and Lindus; in Cos a city of the same name; on the main land two cities, Halicarna.s.sus and Cnidus. These six ancient colonies had, like the Ionians, one common sanctuary, the temple of Apollo Triopius, where they celebrated their festivals and held their deliberative a.s.semblies.

Halicarna.s.sus, however, was afterwards excluded from the confederation. They remained independent until the Persian period, although the const.i.tutions of the separate cities were subject to violent revolutions; thus at Cnidus the oligarchy was converted into a democracy; Halicarna.s.sus was likewise generally subject to the Carian sovereigns, among whom Mausolus and Artemisia are names familiar to all.--The three cities in Rhodes appear never to have grown to any importance; that of Rhodes, not built till after the irruption of Xerxes into Greece, 480, soon eclipsed the others: its flouris.h.i.+ng period began after the death of Alexander. At no period of early history could the Dorian colonies, or those of the aeolians, compete in wealth and commerce with the Ionians.

7. The sh.o.r.es of the Propontis, the Black sea, and the Palus Maeotis, were likewise covered with Grecian settlements. Nearly all these were colonies of the city of Miletus alone, and were, without exception, all of them the marts of a prosperous trade. Although the date of each cannot be precisely defined, they must have arisen between the eighth and sixth centuries before the Christian era. They were not only sovereigns of the Black sea, but likewise extended their trade over the whole of southern Russia, and eastward to the regions beyond the Caspian sea; that is, to great Bukharia.

On the Propontis stood Lampsacus (adjoining the h.e.l.lespont) and Cyzicus, on an island connected with the continent by means of bridges. The latter town certainly was one of the most beautiful and flouris.h.i.+ng cities of Asia; but this did not occur until the Roman age, and was in consequence of the fostering protection of the Romans.--Opposite to Cyzicus, on the Thracian coast, was Perinthus, subsequently called Heraclea; at the mouth of the Thracian Bosporus stood Byzantium, over against which was Chalcedon. The prosperity of all these towns affords sufficient proof of the skill with which sites were chosen for the establishment of colonies.

HEYNE, _Antiquities Byzantina: Commentationes duae_, 1809. The first of which contains the fragments of the earlier history of Byzantium.

The colonies of the Black sea were: on the southern coast of Bithynia, Heraclea, in the territory of the Maryandini. This place preserved its republican const.i.tution amid frequent broils and revolutions, brought about by the oligarchic and democratic factions, until about B. C. 370, when the democrats having gained the upper hand, a path was opened to Clearchus, who became tyrant, and abrogated the senate, ([Greek: boule?]) the family of the tyrant continued for a long time in possession of power, after he himself had been murdered by two disciples of Plato.--In Paphlagonia was Sinope, the most powerful of all the Grecian settlements on the Black sea, of which it long held the sovereignty. The freedom and independence of this place lasted to about 100, when it fell under the dominion of the kings of Pontus, and afterwards under that of the Romans. The princ.i.p.al source from which it derived its wealth were the shoals of migratory fish ([Greek: pelamydes],) which, issuing from the Palus Maeotis, spread along the sh.o.r.e of the Black sea down to the Thracian Bosporus.--In Pontus was Amisus, the mother city of Trapezus, and which shared the fate of Sinope.--On the eastern coast stood the cities of Phasis, Dioscurias, and Phanagoria: this last was the princ.i.p.al mart of the slave trade, and, during the Macedonian period, the staple for Indian commodities imported across the Oxus and the Caspian sea.--In the Chersonesus Taurica stood Panticapaeum, capital city of the little Grecian kingdom of Bosporus, whose kings (among whom Spartacus, about 439, and more especially Leucon, about 350, are celebrated) remained in alliance with Athens till Mithridates the Great laid there the foundation of his dominion.--On the northern coast was the city of Tanais, on the mouth of a river of the same name at the bottom of the Palus Maeotis. Olbia was situated at the mouth of the Borysthenes. These two places, and Olbia in particular, were of the highest importance for the inland trade, which issuing from thence in a northern and easterly direction, was extended to the very centre of Asia.--The colonies of the western coast, such as Apollonia, Tomi, and Salmidessus, were of less notoriety.

8. The coast of Thrace and Macedonia, washed by the aegaean sea, was likewise covered with Grecian colonies, from various cities, and especially from Corinth and Athens. The Athenians having obtained in the Persian war the sovereignty of the sea, endeavoured to establish their dominion in this part of the world; hence the cities in that quarter were closely implicated in the quarrels and wars excited, first by the jealousy between Sparta and Athens, and afterwards by that which sprang up between Athens and Macedonia, in the reign of Philip.

On the Thracian coast of the Chersonesus, regarded as the key of Europe, and ranging along the h.e.l.lespont, were the towns of Sestos, Cardia, and aegospotamos; farther to the west stood Maronea and Abdera, the latter a colony of Teos. Of far greater importance, however, were the towns on the Macedonian coast, Amphipolis, Chalcis, Olynthus, Potidaea. The first of these towns, founded about B. C. 464, was a colony from Athens, which endeavoured to keep it in a state of dependence. Chalcis was a colony from a city of the same name in Euboea. In 470 it was dependent on Athens; but in 432, the inhabitants having raised the standard of rebellion, forsook their houses and voluntarily withdrew to Olynthus.--Olynthus derived its name from the founder, one of the sons of Hercules: in the course of time it ranked among the most powerful cities of Thrace, although it was tributary to the Athenians. It took a share in the war between Athens and Sparta, and continued to be a flouris.h.i.+ng city until 348, when it was taken by Philip of Macedon, and destroyed.--Potidaea was a colony of Corinth, from which it received annual magistrates, ([Greek: epidemiourgoi],) having become tributary to Athens after the Persian war, it revolted in 431: obliged to yield to the Athenian arms, its inhabitants were expelled, and their place supplied by an Athenian colony. It now became a possession of Athens, and remained so till it was taken by Philip in 358.

9. The Grecian settlements westward of the mother country were, almost without exception, made at a later period than those in the aegean and Black seas: they reached nevertheless to an equal degree of splendour; and though their trade was not so extensive, it was equally profitable: these colonies not only rivalled those we have above described, in wealth, but surpa.s.sed them in power, being generally characterized by the wisdom and prudence displayed in their respective const.i.tutions. The foundation of most of them may be dated between B. C. 750 and 650; consequently at a period when all the cities in the mother country had already been republicanized: and at a time when there could be no lack of domestic troubles, which would furnish sufficient motives for emigration.

1. Grecian settlements in Lower Italy. The most numerous and important of these were scattered around the bay of Tarentum; they extended likewise along the western coast of Italy up to Naples.

These colonies were variously traced to the Dorian, Achaean, and Ionian families: they were likewise distinguished by political characteristics, the government in the Dorian settlements being generally more aristocratic, in the rest more democratic: it must be observed, however, that, with respect to the various revolutions which the respective const.i.tutions underwent, it is hardly possible to give any general information, excepting so far as regards the earliest times. Of Dorian origin were Tarentum, and its colonies Heraclea and Brundusium. Of Achaean origin were Sybaris and Croton, together with the colonies of the latter, Laus, Metapontum, Posidonia; which last founded in its turn, Terina, Caulonia, and Pandosia. Of Ionian origin were Thurii, (built on the site where Sybaris had formerly stood,) Rhegium, Elea, c.u.mae, and its branch settlement of Neapolis. Locri Epizephyrii, a colony of the Locri Ozolae, may be regarded as an aeolian city. The most remarkable of these cities in respect of general history are:

_a._ Tarentum, founded by the Parthenii, from Sparta, about 707. It waged several wars with the aboriginal tribes in the vicinity, the Messapians, Lucanians, etc. and grew to be one of the richest and most powerful of the maritime towns. The brilliant period of Tarentum appears to have fallen between 500 and 400. Excess of wealth subsequently introduced luxury, which extinguished the national spirit. Nevertheless Tarentum preserved its independence until 273, when, after the war with Pyrrhus, it fell under the Roman dominion. The const.i.tution was originally a moderate aristocracy; but was commuted soon after the Persian war into a democracy, which was, however, curbed by prudent restrictions.

Tarentum had its senate, ([Greek: boule],) without whose consent war could not be undertaken; its magistrates elected half by lot, half by majority of votes given in the a.s.semblies of the commons.

Among its most celebrated citizens is reckoned the Pythagoraean Archytas, who, after the year B. C. 390, was frequently at the head of the state, filling the offices of general and supreme magistrate. The const.i.tution appears to have preserved its form until the Roman period, although the national spirit was greatly corrupted by a luxury almost exceeding the limits of credibility.

_b._ Croton, founded 710 by the Achaeans, under the guidance of Myscellus from Rhype in Achaia. This city must have attained to very great power during the very first century of its existence; since in the battle of Sagra against the Locrians, which may with probability be dated about 600, the Crotoniates were able to set on foot an army of 120,000 men. Neither does the defeat which they there suffered appear to have debilitated the settlement for any length of time; for in 510, with nearly the same number of forces, they attacked the Sybarites, and destroyed their city. The original const.i.tution was, no doubt, a moderate democracy; but we are unacquainted with the details of its organization. Pythagoras was the reformer of customs, moral and political, not only at Croton, but in several other of the Italico-Greek cities. This philosopher arrived at Croton about 540, and there laid the foundation of the league or secret a.s.sociation named after him; the object of which was, not to change the form of government in the Italian cities, but to create men capable of managing the helm of state. This reform and influence of the Pythagoraeans lasted about thirty years, when their order underwent the same fate as generally befalls a secret a.s.sociation founded with a political view. Probably about 510 the Pythagoraeean league was broken asunder by the democratic faction under Cylon. The consequence was universal anarchy, not only in Croton, where, about 494, a certain Clinias usurped the supreme power, but likewise in the other cities: these disorders, however, were quelled by the intervention of the Achaeans; and the Achaean colonies not only adopted the laws of their mother cities, but likewise soon afterwards signed a league in the temple of Jupiter h.o.m.orius, about 460: it appears that Croton, having already recovered from the blow it had received, was at the head of this league. In this happy posture affairs remained till about 400.

After the kings of Syracuse had commenced their attacks on Magna Graecia, Croton was repeatedly captured; as in B. C. 389 by Dionysius I. and about 321; and again, in 299, by Agathocles.

Finally, after the war with Pyrrhus, 277, it became dependent on Rome.

_c._ Sybaris was founded about 720, like the foregoing, by the Achaeans, who were mingled with Troezenians: this settlement existed till 510, when it was destroyed by Croton. Soon after its foundation it became one of the most extensive, populous, and luxurious cities, so much so, that the effeminacy of the Sybarites became proverbial. Sybaris appears to have been at the height of her prosperity from about 600-550; she then possessed a respectable territory, comprising four of the neighbouring tribes, and twenty-five cities or places. The extraordinary fertility of the soil, and the admission of all strangers to the rights of citizens.h.i.+p, tended to increase the population so much, that Sybaris, in the war against Croton, is said to have brought into the field 300,000 men. The vast wealth possessed, not only by Sybaris, but by the other cities in this quarter, was probably derived from the great trade in oil and wine carried on with Africa and Gaul: that such was the case at Agrigentum we know with certainty. The const.i.tution of Sybaris was likewise, it appears, a moderate democracy: towards the year 510 one Telys took possession of the supreme power, and drove out five hundred of the optimates, who fled to Croton. The Crotoniates received the exiles, and the Sybarites having put to death their amba.s.sadors, a war was kindled between the two cities, and ended in 510 by the defeat of the Sybarites and the destruction of their city.

_d._ Thurii, founded near the site of ancient Sybaris in 446 by Athens, although the inhabitants were of mixed origin; a circ.u.mstance which gave rise at first to many domestic broils, the citizens disputing as to who was the real founder; at last, 433, the Delphian oracle declared the city to be a colony of Apollo. The const.i.tution was at first a moderate democracy; but this was soon converted into an oligarchy, all the power and the best lands having been taken possession of by the Sybarite families who had joined the settlement. The Sybarites were, however, again expelled, and Thurii grew into importance by the confluence of several new colonies out of Greece; its const.i.tution was meliorated by the adoption of the laws of Charondas of Catana. The princ.i.p.al enemies of the Thurians were the Lucanians, by whom they were beaten, 390.

The desultory attacks of that tribe obliged them, 286, to crave the a.s.sistance of the Romans, which soon after afforded the Tarentines an excuse for attacking them. Thurii now formed a part of the Roman dependencies, and after suffering much in the Carthaginian wars, was at last, B. C. 190, occupied by a Roman colony.

_e._ Locri Epizephyrii. The question of their origin is subject to dispute: the causes of this uncertainty are, that here, as in most other of the cities, various bands of colonists arrived at various times, and those bands themselves were composed of a mixture of several Grecian stocks. The chief colony was sent out, B. C. 683, by the Locri Ozolae. After suffering much from violent internal commotions, Locri found, about 660, a lawgiver in Zaleucus, whose inst.i.tutions remained more than two centuries inviolate. The const.i.tution was aristocratic, the administration being in the hands of a hundred families. The supreme magistrate was called cosmopolis. The senate consisted of a thousand members, probably elected from the commons, with whom resided, either wholly or partially, the legislative power. The maintenance of the laws was, as in other Grecian cities, committed to the nomophylaces. Locri was certainly neither so wealthy nor so luxurious as the cities above mentioned; but she was honourably distinguished by the good manners and quiet conduct of her citizens, who were contented with their government. The flouris.h.i.+ng period of this city lasted till the time of Dionysius II. who having been driven out of Syracuse, fled with his dependents to Locri, the native country of his mother: by his insolence and licentiousness of manners the city was brought to the verge of ruin; after his return to Syracuse, 347, the Locrians avenged their wrongs upon his family. Locri afterward maintained its recovered independence until the time of Pyrrhus, who, 277, placed a garrison in the town; the Locrians, however, put the troops to the sword, and pa.s.sed over to the Roman side: the city was in consequence sacked by Pyrrhus in 275. From that time Locri remained a confederate town dependent on Rome, and suffered much in the second Punic war.

_f._ Rhegium, a colony from Chalcis in Euboea, 668: here also the government was aristocratic, the supreme power being in the hands of a council of a thousand men, selected only from Messenian families, which had joined the original settlers. Hence arose an oligarchy, of which Anaxilaus took advantage to a.s.sume the sole dominion, 494, in which he was succeeded by his sons. These having been driven out, 464, commotions ensued, which, after a time, were quelled by adopting the laws of Charondas. Rhegium now enjoyed a period of happiness, which lasted till B. C. 392, when it was captured and destroyed by Dionysius I. Dionysius II. restored it in some measure; but in 281 the city was taken possession of by a Roman legion, who being sent for the purpose of garrisoning the place, murdered the inhabitants. The soldiers were punished with death, 271; but Rhegium thenceforth remained in a state of dependence upon Rome.

_g._ c.u.mae, founded as early as 1030, from Chalcis in Euboea. This city attained at an early period to a high degree of power and prosperity; its territory being of considerable extent, its navy respectable, and Neapolis and Zancle (or Messana) among its colonies. The government was a moderate aristocracy: this const.i.tution was subverted about 544, by the tyrant Aristodemus; but restored after his a.s.sa.s.sination. c.u.mae was subject to repeated annoyances from the petty Italian nations; and in 564 she was invaded and defeated by the Etruscans and Daunians combined; in 474 she beat the Etruscans at sea: but in 420 was captured by the Campanians; together with whom she became a dependent of Rome in 345. c.u.mae, nevertheless, in consequence of its harbour of Puteoli, preserved a share of importance, even under the Roman dominion.

HEYNE, _Prolusiones 16 de civitatum Graecarum per magnam Graeciam et Siciliam inst.i.tutis et legibus_. Collected in his _Opuscula_, vol.

vii.