Listed 51 sub titles with search on: Ancient literary sources for wider area of: "ATTIKI Region GREECE" .
THRIA (Ancient demos) ASPROPYRGOS
The gods resolved to take possession of cities in which each of them should receive
his own peculiar worship. So Poseidon was the first that came to Attica, and with
a blow of his trident on the middle of the acropolis, he produced a sea which
they now call Erechtheis. After him came Athena, and, having called on Cecrops
to witness her act of taking possession, she planted an olive tree, which is still
shown in the Pandrosium. But when the two strove for possession of the country,
Zeus parted them and appointed arbiters, not, as some have affirmed, Cecrops and
Cranaus, nor yet Erysichthon, but the twelve gods. And in accordance with their
verdict the country was adjudged to Athena, because Cecrops bore witness that
she had been the first to plant the olive. Athena, therefore, called the city
Athens after herself, and Poseidon in hot anger flooded the Thriasian plain and
laid Attica under the sea.
FYLI (Ancient demos) FYLI
In Athens the Thirty Tyrants, who were in supreme control, made no end of daily
exiling some citizens and putting to death others. When the Thebans were displeased
at what was taking place and extended kindly hospitality to the exiles, Thrasybulus
of the deme of Stiria, as he was called, who was an Athenian and had been exiled
by the Thirty, with the secret aid of the Thebans seized a stronghold in Attica
called Phyle. This was an outpost, which was not only very strong but was also
only one hundred stades distant from Athens, so that it afforded them many advantages
for attack. The Thirty Tyrants, on learning of this act, at first led forth their
troops against the band with the intention of laying siege to the stronghold.
But while they were encamped near Phyle there came a heavy snow, and when some
set to work to shift their encampment, the majority of the soldiers assumed that
they were taking to flight and that a hostile force was at hand; and the uproar
which men call Panic struck the army and they removed their camp to another place.
The Thirty, seeing that those citizens of Athens who enjoyed no political
rights in the government of the three thousand were elated at the prospect of
the overthrow of their control of the state, transferred them to the Peiraeus
and maintained their control of the city by means of mercenary troops; and accusing
the Eleusians and Salaminians of siding with the exiles, they put them all to
death. While these things were being done, many of the exiles flocked to Thrasybulus;
(and the Thirty dispatched ambassadors to Thrasybulus) publicly to treat with
him about some prisoners, but privately to advise him to dissolve the band of
exiles and to associate himself with the Thirty in the rule of the city, taking
the place of Theramenes; and they promised further that he could have licence
to restore to their native land any ten exiles he chose. Thrasybulus replied that
he preferred his own state of exile to the rule of the Thirty and that he would
not end the war unless all the citizens returned from exile and the people got
back the form of government they had received from their fathers. The Thirty,
seeing many revolting from them because of hatred and the exiles growing ever
more numerous, dispatched ambassadors to Sparta for aid, and meanwhile themselves
gathered as many troops as they could and pitched a camp in the open country near
Acharnae, as it is called.
Thrasybulus, leaving behind an adequate guard at the stronghold, led
forth the exiles, twelve hundred in number, and delivering an unexpected attack
by night on the camp of his opponents, he slew a large number of them, struck
terror into the rest by his unexpected move, and forced them to flee to Athens.
After the battle Thrasybulus set out straightway for the Peiraeus and seized Munychia,
which was an uninhabited and strong hill; and the Tyrants with all the troops
at their disposal went down to the Peiraeus and attacked Munychia, under the command
of Critias. In the sharp battle which continued for a long time the Thirty held
the advantage in numbers and the exiles in the strength of their position. At
last, however, when Critias fell, the troops of the Thirty were dismayed and fled
for safety to more level ground, the exiles not daring to come down against them.
When after this great numbers went over to the exiles, Thrasybulus made an unexpected
attack upon his opponents, defeated them in battle, and became master of the Peiraeus.
At once many of the inhabitants of the city who wished to be rid of the tyranny
flocked to the Peiraeus and all the exiles who were scattered throughout the cities
of Greece, on hearing of the successes of Thrasybulus, came to the Peiraeus, so
that from now on the exiles were far superior in force. In consequence they began
to lay siege to the city.
The remaining citizens in Athens now removed the Thirty from office
and sent them out of the city, and then they elected ten men with supreme power
first and foremost to put an end to the war, in any way possible, on friendly
terms. But these men, as soon as they had succeeded to office, paid no attention
to these orders, but established themselves as tyrants and sent to Lacedaemon
for forty warships and a thousand soldiers, under the command of Lysander. But
Pausanias, the king of the Lacedaemonians, being jealous of Lysander and observing
that Sparta was in ill repute among the Greeks, marched forth with a strong army
and on his arrival in Athens brought about a reconciliation between the men in
the city and the exiles. As a result the Athenians got back their country and
henceforth conducted their government under laws of their own making; and the
men who lived in fear of punishment for their unbroken series of past crimes they
allowed to make their home in Eleusis.
This extract is from: Diodorus Siculus, Library (ed. C. H. Oldfather, 1989). Cited Aug 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains comments & interesting hyperlinks.
EGALEO (Mountain) ATTIKI
The hill in Attica whence Xerxes saw the battle of Salamis.
VRAVRON (Ancient city) ATTICA, EAST
When the Pelasgians were driven out of Attica by the Athenians, whether justly
or unjustly I cannot say, beyond what is told; namely, that Hecataeus the son
of Hegesandrus declares in his history that the act was unjust; for when the Athenians
saw the land under Hymettus, formerly theirs, which they had given to the Pelasgians
as a dwelling-place in reward for the wall that had once been built around the
acropolis--when the Athenians saw how well this place was tilled which previously
had been bad and worthless, they were envious and coveted the land, and so drove
the Pelasgians out on this and no other pretext. But the Athenians themselves
say that their reason for expelling the Pelasgians was just. The Pelasgians set
out from their settlement at the foot of Hymettus and wronged the Athenians in
this way: Neither the Athenians nor any other Hellenes had servants yet at that
time, and their sons and daughters used to go to the Nine Wells (eneacrounos)
for water; and whenever they came, the Pelasgians maltreated them out of mere
arrogance and pride. And this was not enough for them; finally they were caught
in the act of planning to attack Athens. The Athenians were much better men than
the Pelasgians, since when they could have killed them, caught plotting as they
were, they would not so do, but ordered them out of the country. The Pelasgians
departed and took possession of Lemnos, besides other places. This is the Athenian
story; the other is told by Hecataeus.
These Pelasgians dwelt at that time in Lemnos and desired vengeance
on the Athenians. Since they well knew the time of the Athenian festivals, they
acquired fifty-oared ships and set an ambush for the Athenian women celebrating
the festival of Artemis at Brauron. They seized many of the women, then sailed
away with them and brought them to Lemnos to be their concubines. These women
bore more and more children, and they taught their sons the speech of Attica and
Athenian manners. These boys would not mix with the sons of the Pelasgian women;
if one of them was beaten by one of the others, they would all run to his aid
and help each other; these boys even claimed to rule the others, and were much
stronger. When the Pelasgians perceived this, they took counsel together; it troubled
them much in their deliberations to think what the boys would do when they grew
to manhood, if they were resolved to help each other against the sons of the lawful
wives and attempted to rule them already. Thereupon the Pelasgians resolved to
kill the sons of the Attic women; they did this, and then killed the boys' mothers
also. From this deed and the earlier one which was done by the women when they
killed their own husbands who were Thoas' companions, a ?Lemnian crime? has been
a proverb in Hellas for any deed of cruelty.(Hdt. 6.137.1-138.4)
Commentary:
The Pelasgians were driven into Attica by the Boeotian immigration, about sixty years after the Trojan war according to legend.
SKANDIA (Ancient city) KYTHIRA
A town in Cythern, which is mentioned by Homer (Il. 10.268).
AGRYLI (Ancient demos) ATHENS
Across the Ilisus is a district called Agrae and a temple of Artemis Agrotera (the Huntress). They say that Artemis first hunted here when she came from Delos, and for this reason the statue carries a bow. A marvel to the eyes, though not so impressive to hear of, is a race-course of white marble, the size of which can best be estimated from the fact that beginning in a crescent on the heights above the Ilisus it descends in two straight lines to the river bank. This was built by Herodes, an Athenian, and the greater part of the Pentelic quarry was exhausted in its construction.. Paus. 1.19.6
ALIMOUS (Ancient demos) ALIMOS
The small parishes of Attica, which were founded severally as chance would have it, presented the following noteworthy features. At Alimus is a sanctuary of Demeter Lawgiver and of the Maid, and at Zoster (Girdle) on the coast is an altar to Athena, as well as to Apollo, to Artemis and to Leto. The story is that Leto did not give birth to her children here, but loosened her girdle with a view to her delivery, and the place received its name from this incident.(Paus. 1.31.1)
ANAGYRUS (Ancient demos) VARI
A deme of Attica.
ARIOS PAGOS (Hill) ATHENS
The unhewn stones on which stand the defendants and the prosecutors, they call the stone of Outrage and the stone of Ruthlessness.
Hill at Athens, origin of name, Ares tried for murder in the, Cephalus tried for homicide in the, Daedalus tried for murder in the, Orestes tried and acquitted of murder in the, council of A. dedicate bull, persons acquitted by A. offer sacrifice, tribunal of A. degraded by Ephialtes, Messenians willing to refer case to.
EGOSTHENA (Ancient fortress) ATTICA, WEST
City of Megaris.
ELEFTHERES (Ancient city) ERYTHRES
When you have turned from Eleusis to Boeotia you come to the Plataean land, which
borders on Attica. Formerly Eleutherae formed the boundary on the side towards
Attica, but when it came over to the Athenians henceforth the boundary of Boeotia
was Cithaeron. The reason why the people of Eleutherae came over was not because
they were reduced by war, but because they desired to share Athenian citizenship
and hated the Thebans. In this plain is a temple of Dionysus, from which the old
wooden image was carried off to Athens. The image at Eleutherae at the present
day is a copy of the old one. A little farther on is a small cave, and beside
it is a spring of cold water. The legend about the cave is that Antiope after
her labour placed her babies into it; as to the spring, it is said that the shepherd
who found the babies washed them there for the first time, taking off their swaddling
clothes. Of Eleutherae there were still left the ruins of the wall and of the
houses. From these it is clear that the city was built a little above the plain
close to Cithaeron. (Paus.+1.38.8-9)
FALIRON (Ancient demos) PIRAEUS
A port of Attica, old seaport of Athens, distant twenty furlongs from Athens, scene of a battle between the Pisistratids and the Spartans, destroyed by Aeginetans, Xerxes' fleet there, flight of Persian ships thither.
FLYA (Ancient demos) CHALANDRI
Deme of Attica.
FREATYS (City quarter) PIRAEUS
Athenian court of justice in Piraeus
GERANIA MOUNTAINS (Mountain) ATTIKI
Mountain in Megaris.
KYNOSARGOUS (Square) ATHENS
A place in Attica with a shrine of Herakles.
METHANA (Ancient city) METHANA
Stretching out far into the sea from Troezenia is a peninsula, on the coast of
which has been founded a little town called Methana. Here there is a sanctuary
of Isis, and on the market-place is an image of Hermes, and also one of Heracles.
Some thirty stades distant from the town are hot baths. They say that it was when
Antigonus, son of Demetrius, was king of Macedon that the water first appeared,
and that what appeared at once was not water, but fire that gushed in great volume
from the ground, and when this died down the water flowed; indeed, even at the
present day it wells up hot and exceedingly salt. A bather here finds no cold
water at hand, and if he dives into the sea his swim is full of danger. For wild
creatures live in it, and it swarms with sharks.
I will also relate what astonished me most in Methana. The wind called
Lips (a S.W. wind), striking the budding vines from the Saronic Gulf, blights
their buds. So while the wind is still rushing on, two men cut in two a cock whose
feathers are all white, and run round the vines in opposite directions, each carrying
half of the cock. When they meet at their starting place, they bury the pieces
there.
Such are the means they have devised against the Lips. The islets,
nine in number, lying off the land are called the Isles of Pelops, and they say
that when it rains one of them is not touched. If this be the case I do not know,
though the people around Methana said that it was true, and I have seen before
now men trying to keep off hail by sacrifices and spells.
Methana, then, is a peninsula of the Peloponnesus. (Paus. 2.34.1-4)
NISSEA (Ancient port) MEGARA
Port of Megara, called after Nisus, besieged and taken by Minos, Megarians defeat Athenians at, taken by the Athenians.
PAGES (Ancient city) MEGARA
Town of Megaris.
SFITOS (Ancient demos) KROPIA
Deme of Attica.
SKANDIA (Ancient city) KYTHIRA
Seaport in Cythera.
SOUNIO (Cape) ATTIKI
Cape in Attica, the southern promontory of Attica, Menelaus puts in at, pilot of Menelaus dies at, crest of Athena's helmet on Acropolis visible to mariners sailing from, Athenian festival there, settlement of banished Aeginetans on Sunium, rounding of Sunium by Datis after Marathon, Greek trophy set up there, occupied by Macedonian garrison.
TRIPODISKOS (Ancient settlement) MEGARA
Village of Megaris.
TRIZIN (Ancient city) GREECE
City, founded by Pittheus, Herakles ascends from Hades at, Theseus at, Aegeus lodges with Pittheus at, in Argolis, entrusted with the island of Hydrea, mother-city of Halicarnssus, its contingent in the Greek fleet, in the force at the Isthmus, in Pausanias' army, Troezenians in the battle of Mycale, receives Dorian colony, subject to Argos, city described.
VRAVRON (Ancient city) ATTICA, EAST
Township of Attica, Athenian women carried off thence by Pelasgians, old image of Artemis at B. said to have been brought by Iphigenia from land of Taurians, image of Artemis at B. taken by Xerxes to Susa, afterwards given by Seleucus to Syrians of Laodicea.
YMITOS (Mountain) ATTIKI
Attic mountain, its honey, image of Zeus, altars of Zeus and Apollo.
ATHENS (Ancient city) GREECE
Capital of Attica, described, sacred to Athena.
MARATHON (Ancient demos) ATTICA, EAST
On the N.E. coast of Attica, the Cretan bull at, the Heraclids retire to, Herakles first worshipped as god at, the bull of, kills Androgeus, son of Minos, the bull of, Theseus sent against, Pisistratus' landing there after exile, Persian landing under Datis, preliminaries to the battle, and the battle itself, number of Athenians at battle of, Athenians who fell at Marathon buried on the field, people of M. worship the dead warriors, Athenians bury Medes at, Athenians proudest of victory at, picture of battle of, offerings from spoils taken at.
PARNITHA (Mountain) ATTIKI
Attic mountain, image and altars of Zeus on.
AEGINA, AIGINA (Island) GREECE
Aegina is the name of a place in Epidauria;
and it is also the name of an island lying off this part of the mainland--the
Aegina of which the poet means to speak in the verses just cited; and it is on
this account that some write "the island Aegina" instead of "who held Aegina,"
thus distinguishing between places of the same name. Now what need have I to say
that the island is one of the most famous? for it is said that both Aeacus and
his subjects were from there. And this is the island that was once actually mistress
of the sea and disputed with the Athenians
for the prize of valor in the sea fight at Salamis
at the time of the Persian War. The island is said to be one hundred
and eighty stadia in circuit; and it has a city of the same name that faces southwest;
and it is surrounded by Attica,
Megaris, and the Peloponnesus
as far is Epidaurus, being
distant about one hundred stadia from each; and its eastern and southern sides
are washed by the Myrtoan
and Cretan Seas; and around
it lie small islands, many of them near the mainland, though Belbina
extends to the high sea. The country of Aegina is fertile at a depth below the
surface, but rocky on the surface, and particularly the level part; and therefore
the whole country is bare, although it is fairly productive of barley. It is said
that the Aeginetans were called Myrmidons,--not as the myth has it, because, when
a great famine occurred, the ants became human beings in answer to a prayer of
Aeacus, but because they excavated the earth after the manner of ants and spread
the soil over the rocks, so as to have ground to till, and because they lived
in the dugouts, refraining from the use of soil for bricks. Long ago Aegina was
called Oenone, the same name as that of two demes in Attica,
one near Eleutherae, "to
inhabit the plains that border on Oenone
and Eleutherae;" and another,
one of the demes of the Marathonian
Tetrapolis, to which is applied the proverb, "To Oenone
--the torrent." Aegina was colonized successively by the Argives,
the Cretans, the Epidaurians,
and the Dorians; but later the Athenians
divided it by lot among settlers of their own; and then the Lacedaemonians
took the island away from the Athenians
and gave it back to its ancient settlers. And colonists were sent forth by the
Aeginetans both to Cydonia
in Crete and to the country
of the Ombrici.
Ephorus says that silver was first coined in Aegina, by Pheidon; for the island,
he adds, became a merchant center, since, on account of the poverty of the soil,
the people employed themselves at sea as merchants, and hence, he adds, petty
wares were called "Aeginetan merchandise." (Strabo 8.6.16)
The poet (Homer)... connects Mases
with Aegina, although it is in Argolis
on the mainland.(Strabo 8.6.17)
AFIDNES (Ancient demos) AFIDNES
Most of the demes, if not all, have numerous stories of a character both mythical and historical connected with them; Aphidna, for example, has the rape of Helen by Theseus, the sacking of the place by the Dioscuri and their recovery of their sister;
This extract is from: The Geography of Strabo (ed. H. L. Jones, 1924), Cambridge. Harvard University Press. Cited Sep 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains comments & interesting hyperlinks.
ANAFLYSTOS (Ancient demos) ANAVYSSOS
In the neighborhood of Anaphlystus is also the shrine of Pan, and the temple of Aphrodite Colias, at which place, they say, were cast forth by the waves the last wreckage of the ships after the Persian naval battle near Salamis, the wreckage concerning which Apollo predicted "the women of Colias will cook food with the oars".
ILISSOS (River) ATTIKI
The rivers of Attica are the Cephissus, which has its source in the deme Trinemeis; it flows through the plain (hence the allusions to the "bridge" and the "bridge-railleries ") and then through the legs of the walls which extend from the city to the Peiraeus; it empties into the Phaleric Gulf, being a torrential stream most of the time, although in summer it decreases and entirely gives out. And such is still more the case with the Ilissus, which flows from the other part of the city into the same coast, from the region above Agra48 and the Lyceium, and from the fountain which is lauded by Plato in the Phaedrus.
This extract is from: The Geography of Strabo (ed. H. L. Jones, 1924), Cambridge. Harvard University Press. Cited Sep 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains comments & interesting hyperlinks.
KIFISSOS (River) ATTIKI
The rivers of Attica are the Cephissus, which has its source in the deme Trinemeis; it flows through the plain (hence the allusions to the "bridge" and the "bridge-railleries ") and then through the legs of the walls which extend from the city to the Peiraeus; it empties into the Phaleric Gulf, being a torrential stream most of the time, although in summer it decreases and entirely gives out. And such is still more the case with the Ilissus, which flows from the other part of the city into the same coast, from the region above Agra48 and the Lyceium, and from the fountain which is lauded by Plato in the Phaedrus.
This extract is from: The Geography of Strabo (ed. H. L. Jones, 1924), Cambridge. Harvard University Press. Cited Sep 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains comments & interesting hyperlinks.
MARATHON (Ancient demos) ATTICA, EAST
One of these sons, Dorus, united the Dorians about Parnassus into one state, and at his death left them named after himself; another, Xuthus, who had married the daughter of Erechtheus, founded the Tetrapolis of Attica, consisting of Oenoe, Marathon, Probalinthus, and Tricorynthus.
Now Eurystheus made an expedition to Marathon against Iolaus and the sons of Heracles, with the aid of the Athenians, as the story goes, and fell in the battle, and his body was buried at Gargettus, except his head, which was cut off by Iolaus, and was buried separately at Tricorynthus near the spring Marcaria below the wagon road.
METHANA (Ancient city) METHANA
Between Troezen and Epidaurus there was a strong hold called Methana, and also a peninsula of the same name. In some copies of Thucydides the name is spelled "Methone," the same as the Macedonian city in which Philip, in the siege, had his eye knocked out. And it is on this account, in the opinion of Demetrius of Scepsis, that some writers, being deceived, suppose that it was the Methone in the territory of Troezen against which the men sent by Agamemnon to collect sailors are said to have uttered the imprecation that its citizens might never cease from their wall-building, since, in his opinion, it was not these citizens that refused, but those of the Macedonian city, as Theopompus says; and it is not likely, he adds, that these citizens who were near to Agamemnon disobeyed him. (Strabo 8.6.1)
PSAFIS (Ancient demos) OROPOS
After Marathon one comes to Tricorynthus; then to Rhamnus, the sanctuary of Nemesis; then to Psaphis, the land of the Oropians. In the neighborhood of Psaphis is the Amphiaraeium, an oracle once held in honor, where in his flight Amphiaraus, as Sophocles says, "with four-horse chariot, armour and all, was received by a cleft that was made in the Theban dust."
SALAMINA (Island) ATTIKI
On the voyage from Nisaea to Attica one comes to five small islands. Then to Salamis,
which is about seventy stadia in length, though some say eighty. It contains a
city of the same name; the ancient city, now deserted, faces towards Aegina and
the south wind (just as Aeschylus has said, "And Aegina here lies towards the
blasts of the south wind"), but the city of today is situated on a gulf, on a
peninsula-like place which borders on Attica. In early times it was called by
different names, for example, "Sciras" and "Cychreia," after certain heroes. It
is from one of these heroes that Athena is called "Sciras," and that a place in
Attica is called "Scira," and that a certain sacred rite is performed in honor
of "Scirus," and that one of the months is called "Scirophorion."
And it is from the other hero that the serpent "Cychreides"
took its name--the serpent which, according to Hesiod, was fostered by Cychreus
and driven out by Eurylochus because it was damaging the island, and was welcomed
to Eleusis by Demeter and made her attendant. And the island was also called Pityussa,
from the tree. But the fame of the island is due to the Aiacidae, who ruled over
it, and particularly to Aias, the son of Telamon, and also to the fact that near
this island Xerxes was defeated by the Greeks in a naval battle and fled to his
homeland. And the Aeginetans also shared in the glory of this struggle, since
they were neighbors and furnished a considerable fleet. And there is in Salamis
a river Bocarus, which is now called Bocalia.
At the present time the island is held by the Athenians, although
in early times there was strife between them and the Megarians for its possession.
Some say that it was Peisistratus, others Solon, who inserted in the Catalogue
of Ships immediately after the verse, "and Aias brought twelve ships from
Salamis," the verse, "and, bringing them, halted them where the battalions
of the Athenians were stationed," and then used the poet as a witness that
the island had belonged to the Athenians from the beginning. But the critics do
not accept this interpretation, because many of the verses bear witness to the
contrary. For why is Aias found in the last place in the ship-camp, not with the
Athenians, but with the Thessalians under Protesilaus, "Here were the ships
of Aias and Protesilaus."
And in the Visitation of the troops, Agamemnon "found Menestheus
the charioteer, son of Peteos, standing still; and about him were the Athenians,
masters of the battle-cry. And near by stood Odysseus of many wiles, and about
him, at his side, the ranks of the Cephallenians." And back again to Aias
and the Salaminians, "he came to the Aiantes," and near them, "Idomeneus
on the other side," not Menestheus. The Athenians, then, are reputed to have
cited alleged testimony of this kind from Homer, and the Megarians to have replied
with the following parody: "Aias brought ships from Salamis, from Polichne,
from Aegeirussa, from Nisaea, and from Tripodes"; these four are Megarian
places, and, of these, Tripodes is called Tripodiscium, near which the present
marketplace of the Megarians is situated.
Some say that Salamis is foreign to Attica, citing the fact that the
priestess of Athena Polias does not touch the fresh cheese made in Attica, but
eats only that which is brought from a foreign country, yet uses, among others,
that from Salamis. Wrongly, for she eats cheese brought from the other islands
that are admittedly attached to Attica, since those who began this custom considered
as "foreign" any cheese that was imported by sea. But it seems that
in early times the present Salamis was a separate state, and that Megara was a
part of Attica. And it is on the seaboard opposite Salamis that the boundaries
between the Megarian country and Atthis are situated--two mountains which are
called Cerata.
SARONIC GULF (Gulf) ATTIKI
Then comes the Saronic Gulf; but some call it a sea and others a strait; and because of this it is also called the Saronic Sea. Saronic Gulf is the name given to the whole of the strait, stretching from the Hermionic Sea and from the sea that is at the Isthmus, that connects with both the Myrtoan and Cretan Seas. To the Saronic Gulf belong both Epidaurus and the island of Aegina that lies off Epidaurus; then Cenchreae, the easterly naval station of the Corinthians; then, after sailing forty-five stadia, one comes to Schoenus, a harbor. From Maleae thither the total distance is about eighteen hundred stadia. Near Schoenus is the "Diolcus," the narrowest part of the Isthmus, where is the temple of the Isthmian Poseidon.
This extract is from: The Geography of Strabo (ed. H. L. Jones, 1924), Cambridge. Harvard University Press. Cited Sep 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains comments & interesting hyperlinks.
SCIRONID ROAD (Location) MEGARA
After Crommyon, rising above Attica, are the rocks called Scironides, which afford
no passage along the sea-side. Over them, however, is a road which leads to Megara
and Attica from the Isthmus. The road approaches so near the rocks that in many
places it runs along the edge of precipices, for the overhanging mountain is of
great height, and impassable. Here is laid the scene of the fable of Sciron, and
the Pityocamptes, or the pine-breaker, one of those who infested with their robberies
the above-mentioned mountainous tract. They were slain by Theseus. The wind Argestes,
which blows from the left with violence, from these summits is called by the Athenians
Sciron. After the rocks Scironides there projects the promontory Minoa, forming
the harbour of Nisaea. (Strabo 9.1.4)
SOUNIO (Cape) ATTIKI
On doubling the cape of Sunium one comes to Sunium, a noteworthy deme;
TRINEMIA (Ancient demos) ANIXI
The rivers of Attica are the Cephissus, which has its source in the deme Trinemeis (Strabo 9.1,24)
TRIZIN (Ancient city) GREECE
Troezen is sacred to Poseidon, after whom it was once called Poseidonia. It is
situated fifteen stadia above the sea, and it too is an important city. Off its
harbor, Pogon by name, lies
Calauria, an isle with a circuit
of about one hundred and thirty stadia. Here was an asylum sacred to Poseidon;
and they say that this god made an exchange with Leto, giving her Delos
for Calauria, and also with
Apollo, giving him Pytho
for Taenarum. And Ephorus
goes on to tell the oracle:
"For thee it is the same thing to possess Delos
or Calauria, most holy Pytho
or windy Taenarum."
And there was also a kind of Amphictyonic League connected with this temple, a
league of seven cities which shared in the sacrifice; they were Hermion,
Epidaurus, Aegina,
Athens, Prasieis,
Nauplieis, and Orchomenus
Minyeius; however, the Argives
paid dues for the Nauplians,
and the Lacedaemonians for
the Prasians. The worship
of this god was so prevalent among the Greeks that even the Macedonians,
whose power already extended as far as the temple, in a way preserved its inviolability,
and were afraid to drag away the suppliants who fled for refuge to Calauria;
indeed Archias, with soldiers, did not venture to do violence even to Demosthenes,
although he had been ordered by Antipater to bring him alive, both him and all
the other orators he could find that were under similar charges, but tried to
persuade him; he could not persuade him, however, and Demosthenes forestalled
him by suiciding with poison. Now Troezen and Pittheus, the sons of Pelops, came
originally from Pisatis;
and the former left behind him the city which was named after him, and the latter
succeeded him and reigned as king. But Anthes, who previously had possession of
the place, set sail and founded Halicarnassus;
but concerning this I shall speak in my description of Caria
and Troy. (Strabo 8.6.14)
VRAVRON (Ancient city) ATTICA, EAST
It suffices, then, to add thus much: According to Philochorus, when the country was being devastated, both from the sea by the Carians, and from the land by the Boeotians, who were called Aonians, Cecrops first settled the multitude in twelve cities, the names of which were Cecropia, Tetrapolis, Epacria, Deceleia, Eleusis, Aphidna (also called Aphidnae, in the plural), Thoricus, Brauron, Cytherus, Sphettus, Cephisia. And at a later time Theseus is said to have united the twelve into one city, that of today.
DEKELIA (Ancient demos) ACHARNES
...The Corinthians, Syracusans, and Alcibiades, pressing all the same request
in the assembly of the Lacedaemonians, succeeded in persuading them; but as the
Ephors and the authorities, although resolved to send envoys to Syracuse to prevent
their surrendering to the Athenians, showed no disposition to send them any assistance,
Alcibiades now came forward and inflamed and stirred the Lacedaemonians by speaking
as follows: (Thuc. 6.88.10)
'... Meanwhile you must carry on the war here more openly, that the Syracusans
seeing that you do not forget them, may put heart into their resistance, and that
the Athenians may be less able to reinforce their armament. You must fortify Decelea
in Attica, the blow of which the Athenians are always most afraid and the only
one that they think they have not experienced in the present war; the surest method
of harming an enemy being to find out what he most fears, and to choose this means
of attacking him, since every one naturally knows best his own weak points and
fears accordingly. The fortification in question, while it benefits you, will
create difficulties for your adversaries, of which I shall pass over many, and
shall only mention the chief. Whatever property there is in the country will most
of it become yours, either by capture or surrender; and the Athenians will at
once be deprived of their revenues from the silver mines at Laurium, of their
present gains from their land and from the law courts, and above all of the revenue
from their allies, which will be paid less regularly, as they lose their awe of
Athens, and see you addressing yourselves with vigour to the war. (Thuc.+6.91.5-7)
'The zeal and speed with which all this shall be done depends, Lacedaemonians,
upon yourselves; as to its possibility, I am quite confident, and I have little
fear of being mistaken. Meanwhile I hope that none of you will think any the worse
of me if after having hitherto passed as a lover of my country, I now actively
join its worst enemies in attacking it, or will suspect what I say as the fruit
of an outlaw's enthusiasm. I am an outlaw from the iniquity of those who drove
me forth, not, if you will be guided by me, from your service: my worst enemies
are not you who only harmed your foes, but they who forced their friends to become
enemies; and love of country is what I do not feel when I am wronged, but what
I felt when secure in my rights as a citizen. Indeed I do not consider that I
am now attacking a country that is still mine; I am rather trying to recover one
that is mine no longer; and the true lover of his country is not he who consents
to lose it unjustly rather than attack it, but he who longs for it so much that
he will go all lengths to recover it. For myself, therefore, Lacedaemonians, I
beg you to use me without scruple for danger and trouble of every kind, and to
remember the argument in every one's mouth, that if I did you great harm as an
enemy, I could likewise do you good service as a friend, inasmuch as I know the
plans of the Athenians, while I only guessed yours. For yourselves I entreat you
to believe that your most capital interests are now under deliberation; and I
urge you to send without hesitation the expeditions to Sicily and Attica; by the
presence of a small part of your forces you will save important cities in that
island, and you will destroy the power of Athens both present and prospective;
after this you will dwell in security and enjoy the supremacy over all Hellas,
resting not on force but upon consent and affection.' (Thuc. 6.92.1-5)
Such were the words of Alcibiades. The Lacedaemonians, who had themselves before
intended to march against Athens, but were still waiting and looking about them,
at once became much more in earnest when they received this particular information
from Alcibiades, and considered that they had heard it from the man who best knew
the truth of the matter. (Thuc.+6.93.1-3)
...In the meantime the Lacedaemonians prepared for their invasion of Attica, in
accordance with their own previous resolve, and at the instigation of the Syracusans
and Corinthians, who wished for an invasion to arrest the reinforcements which
they heard that Athens was about to send to Sicily. Alcibiades also urgently advised
the fortification of Decelea, and a vigorous prosecution of the war. (Thuc. 7.18.1)
...In the first days of the spring following, at an earlier period than usual,
the Lacedaemonians and their allies invaded Attica, under the command of Agis,
son of Archidamus, king of the Lacedaemonians. They began by devastating the parts
bordering upon the plain, and next proceeded to fortify Decelea, dividing the
work among the different cities. Decelea is about thirteen or fourteen miles from
the city of Athens, and the same distance or not much further from Boeotia; and
the fort was meant to annoy the plain and the richest parts of the country, being
in sight of Athens. (Thuc. 7.19.1-2)
...This same summer arrived at Athens thirteen hundred targeteers, Thracian swordsmen
of the tribe of the Dii, who were to have sailed to Sicily with Demosthenes. Since
they had come too late, the Athenians determined to send them back to Thrace,
whence they had come; to keep them for the Decelean war appearing too expensive,
as the pay of each man was a drachma a day. Indeed since Decelea had been first
fortified by the whole Peloponnesian army during this summer, and then occupied
for the annoyance of the country by the garrisons from the cities relieving each
other at stated intervals, it had been doing great mischief to the Athenians;
in fact this occupation, by the destruction of property and loss of men which
resulted from it, was one of the principal causes of their ruin. Previously the
invasions were short, and did not prevent their enjoying their land during the
rest of the time: the enemy was now permanently fixed in Attica; at one time it
was an attack in force, at another it was the regular garrison overrunning the
country and making forays for its subsistence, and the Lacedaemonian king, Agis,
was in the field and diligently prosecuting the war; great mischief was therefore
done to the Athenians. They were deprived of their whole country: more than twenty
thousand slaves had deserted, a great part of them artisans, and all their sheep
and beasts of burden were lost; and as the cavalry rode out daily upon excursions
to Decelea and to guard the country, their horses were either lamed by being constantly
worked upon rocky ground, or wounded by the enemy. (Thuc. 7.27.1-5)
Besides, the transport of provisions from Euboea, which had before
been carried on so much more quickly over land by Decelea from Oropus, was now
effected at great cost by sea round Sunium; everything the city required had to
be imported from abroad, and instead of a city it became a fortress. Summer and
winter the Athenians were worn out by having to keep guard on the fortifications,
during the day by turns, by night all together, the cavalry excepted, at the different
military posts or upon the wall. But what most oppressed them was that they had
two wars at once, and had thus reached a pitch of frenzy which no one would have
believed possible if he had heard of it before it had come to pass. For could
any one have imagined that even when besieged by the Peloponnesians entrenched
in Attica, they would still, instead of withdrawing from Sicily, stay on there
besieging in like manner Syracuse, a town (taken as a town) in no way inferior
to Athens, or would so thoroughly upset the Hellenic estimate of their strength
and audacity, as to give the spectacle of a people which, at the beginning of
the war, some thought might hold out one year, some two, none more than three,
if the Peloponnesians invaded their country, now seventeen years after the first
invasion, after having already suffered from all the evils of war, going to Sicily
and undertaking a new war nothing inferior to that which they already had with
the Peloponnesians? These causes, the great losses from Decelea, and the other
heavy charges that fell upon them, produced their financial embarrassment; and
it was at this time that they imposed upon their subjects, instead of the tribute,
the tax of a twentieth upon all imports and exports by sea, which they thought
would bring them in more money; their expenditure being now not the same as at
first, but having grown with the war while their revenues decayed. (Thuc.7.28.1-4)
...While both parties were thus engaged, and were as intent upon preparing for
the war as they had been at the outset, the Euboeans first of all sent envoys
during this winter to Agis to treat of their revolting from Athens. Agis accepted
their proposals, and sent for Alcamenes, son of Sthenelaidas, and Melanthus from
Lacedaemon, to take the command in Euboea. These accordingly arrived with some
three hundred Neodamodes, and Agis began to arrange for their crossing over. But
in the meanwhile arrived some Lesbians, who also wished to revolt; and these being
supported by the Boeotians, Agis was persuaded to defer acting in the matter of
Euboea, and made arrangements for the revolt of the Lesbians, giving them Alcamenes,
who was to have sailed to Euboea, as governor, and himself promising them ten
ships, and the Boeotians the same number. All this was done without instructions
from home, as Agis while at Decelea with the army that he commanded had power
to send troops to whatever quarter he pleased, and to levy men and money. During
this period, one might say, the allies obeyed him much more than they did the
Lacedaemonians in the city, as the force he had with him made him feared at once
wherever he went. (Thuc. 8.5.1-3)
...Upon the Council withdrawing in this way without venturing any objection, and
the rest of the citizens making no movement, the Four Hundred entered the council
chamber, and for the present contented themselves with drawing lots for their
Prytanes, and making their prayers and sacrifices to the gods upon entering office,
but afterwards departed widely from the democratic system of government, and except
that on account of Alcibiades they did not recall the exiles, ruled the city by
force; putting to death some men, though not many, whom they though it convenient
to remove, and imprisoning and banishing others. They also sent to Agis, the Lacedaemonian
king, at Decelea, to say that they desired to make peace, and that he might reasonably
be more disposed to treat now that he had them to deal with instead of the inconstant
commons.
Agis, however, did not believe in the tranquillity of the city, or
that the commons would thus in a moment give up their ancient liberty, but thought
that the sight of a large Lacedaemonian force would be sufficient to excite them
if they were not already in commotion, of which he was by no means certain. He
accordingly gave to the envoys of the Four Hundred an answer which held out no
hopes of an accommodation, and sending for large reinforcements from Peloponnese,
not long afterwards, with these and his garrison from Decelea, descended to the
very walls of Athens; hoping either that civil disturbances might help to subdue
them to his terms, or that, in the confusion to be expected within and without
the city, they might even surrender without a blow being struck; at all events
he thought he would succeed in seizing the Long Walls, bared of their defenders.
However, the Athenians saw him come close up, without making the least disturbance
within the city; and sending out their cavalry, and a number of their heavy infantry,
light troops, and archers shot down some of his soldiers who approached too near,
and got possession of some arms and dead. Upon this Agis, at last convinced, led
his army back again, and remaining with his own troops in the old position at
Decelea, sent the reinforcement back home, after a few days' stay in Attica. After
this the Four Hundred persevering sent another embassy to Agis, and now meeting
with a better reception, at his suggestion despatched envoys to Lacedaemon to
negotiate a treaty, being desirous of making peace. (Thuc. 8.70.1-71.3)
This extract is from: Thucydides. The Peloponnesian War (ed. Richard Crawley, 1910). Cited July 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains comments & interesting hyperlinks.
ANAFLYSTOS (Ancient demos) ANAVYSSOS
Thoricus and Anaphlystus were the fortresses that protected the Laurian mines
FYLI (Ancient demos) FYLI
At Athens the Thirty had been chosen as soon as the long walls and the walls round
Piraeus were demolished; although chosen, however, for the purpose of framing
a constitution under which to conduct the government, they continually delayed
framing and publishing this constitution, but they appointed a Senate and the
other magistrates as they saw fit. Then, as a first step, they arrested and brought
to trial for their lives those persons who, by common knowledge, had made a living
in the time of the democracy by acting as informers and had been offensive to
the aristocrats; and the Senate was glad to pronounce these people guilty, and
the rest of the citizens--at least all who were conscious that they were not of
the same sort themselves--were not at all displeased. When, however, the Thirty
began to consider how they might become free to do just as they pleased with the
state, their first act was to send Aeschines and Aristoteles to Lacedaemon and
persuade Lysander to help them to secure the sending of a Lacedaemonian garrison,
to remain until, as they said, they could put "the scoundrels" out of
the way and establish their government; and they promised to maintain this garrison
at their own charges. Lysander consented, and helped them to secure the dispatch
of the troops and of Callibius as governor. But when they had got the garrison,
they paid court to Callibius in every way, in order that he might approve of everything
they did, and as he detailed guardsmen to go with them, they arrested the people
whom they wished to reach,--not now "the scoundrels" and persons of
little account, but from this time forth the men who, they thought, were least
likely to submit to being ignored, and who, if they undertook to offer any opposition,
would obtain supporters in the greatest numbers.
Now in the beginning Critias and Theramenes were agreed in their policy
and friendly; but when Critias showed himself eager to put many to death, because,
for one thing, he had been banished by the democracy, Theramenes opposed him,
saying that it was not reasonable to put a man to death because he was honoured
by the commons, provided he was doing no harm to the aristocrats. "For",
said he, "you and I also have said and done many things for the sake of winning
the favour of the city". Then Critias (for he still treated Theramenes as
a friend) replied that it was impossible for people who wanted to gain power not
to put out of the way those who were best able to thwart them. "But if",
he said, "merely because we are thirty and not one, you imagine that it is
any the less necessary for us to keep a close watch over this government, just
as one would if it were an absolute monarchy, you are foolish". But when,
on account of the great numbers continually -and unjustly- put to death, it was
evident that many were banding together and wondering what the state was coming
to, Theramenes spoke again, saying that unless they admitted an adequate number
of citizens into partnership with them in the management of affairs, it would
be impossible for the oligarchy to endure. Accordingly Critias and the rest of
the Thirty, who were by this time alarmed and feared above all that the citizens
would flock to the support of Theramenes, enrolled a body of three thousand, who
were to share, as they said, in the government. Theramenes, however, objected
to this move also, saying that, in the first place, it seemed to him absurd that,
when they wanted to make the best of the citizens their associates, they should
limit themselves to three thousand, as though this number must somehow be good
men and true and there could neither be excellent men outside this body nor rascals
within8 it. "Besides", he said, "we are undertaking, in my opinion,
two absolutely inconsistent things, to rig up our government on the basis of force
and at the same time to make it weaker than its subjects".
This was what Theramenes said. As for the Thirty, they held a review,
the Three Thousand assembling in the market-place and those who were not on "the
roll" in various places here and there; then they gave the order to pile
arms, and while the men were off duty and away, they sent their Lacedaemonian
guardsmen and such citizens as were in sympathy with them, seized the arms of
all except the Three Thousand, carried them up to the Acropolis, and deposited
them in the temple. And now, when this had been accomplished, thinking that they
were at length free to do whatever they pleased, they put many people to death
out of personal enmity, and many also for the sake of securing their property.
One measure that they resolved upon, in order to get money to pay their guardsmen,
was that each of their number should seize one of the aliens residing in the city,
and that they should put these men to death and confiscate their property. So
they bade Theramenes also to seize anyone he pleased; and he replied: "But
it is not honourable, as it seems to me", he said, "for people who style
themselves the best citizens to commit acts of greater injustice than the informers
used to do. For they allowed those from whom they got money, to live; but shall
we, in order to get money, put to death men who are guilty of no wrong-doing?
Are not such acts altogether more unjust than theirs were?" Then the Thirty,
thinking that Theramenes was an obstacle to their doing whatever they pleased,
plotted against him, and kept accusing him to individual senators, one to one
man and another to another, of injuring the government. And after passing the
word to some young men, who seemed to them most audacious, to be in attendance
with daggers hidden under their arms, they convened the Senate. Then when Theramenes
arrived, Critias arose and spoke as follows:
"Gentlemen of the Senate, if anyone among you thinks that more
people than is fitting are being put to death, let him reflect that where governments
are changed these things always take place; and it is inevitable that those who
are changing the government here to an oligarchy should have most numerous enemies,
both because the state is the most populous of the Greek states and because the
commons have been bred up in a condition of freedom for the longest time. Now
we, believing that for men like ourselves and you democracy is a grievous form
of government, and convinced that the commons would never become friendly to the
Lacedaemonians, our preservers, while the aristocrats would continue ever faithful
to them, for these reasons are establishing, with the approval of the Lacedaemonians,
the present form of government. And if we find anyone opposed to the oligarchy,
so far as we have the power we put him out of the way; but in particular we consider
it to be right that, if any one of our own number is harming this order of things,
he should be punished.
"Now in fact we find this man Theramenes trying, by what means
he can, to destroy both ourselves and you. As proof that this is true you will
discover, if you consider the matter, that no one finds more fault with the present
proceedings than Theramenes here, or offers more opposition when we wish to put
some demagogue out of the way. Now if he had held these views from the beginning,
he was, to be sure, an enemy, but nevertheless he would not justly be deemed a
scoundrel. In fact, however, he was the very man who took the initiative in the
policy of establishing a cordial understanding with the Lacedaemonians; he was
the very man who began the overthrow of the democracy, and who urged you most
to inflict punishment upon those who were first brought before you for trial;
but now, when you and we have manifestly become hateful to the democrats, he no
longer approves of what is going on, -just so that he may get on the safe side
again, and that we may be punished for what has been done. Therefore he ought
to be punished, not merely as an enemy, but also as a traitor both to you and
to ourselves. And treason is a far more dreadful thing than war, inasmuch as it
is harder to take precaution against the hidden than against the open danger,
and a far more hateful thing, inasmuch as men make peace with enemies and become
their trustful friends again, but if they catch a man playing the traitor, they
never in any case make peace with that man or trust him thereafter.
"Now to let you know that this man's present doings are nothing
new, but that he is, rather, a traitor by nature, I will recall to you his past
deeds. This man in the beginning, although he had received honours at the hands
of the democracy, was extremely eager, like his father Hagnon, to change the democracy
into the oligarchy of the Four Hundred, and he was a leader in that government.
When, however, he perceived that some opposition to the oligarchy was gathering,
he look the lead again--as champion of the democrats against the oligarchs! That
is the reason, you know, why he is nicknamed 'Buskin': for as the buskin seems
to fit both feet, so he faces both ways. But, Theramenes, the man who deserves
to live ought not to be clever at leading his comrades into dangerous undertakings
and then, if any hindrance offers itself, to turn around on the instant, but he
ought, as one on shipboard, to hold to his task until they come into a fair breeze.
Otherwise, how in the world would sailors reach the port for which they are bound,
if they should sail in the opposite direction the moment any hindrance offered
itself? It is true, of course, that all sorts of changes in government are attended
by loss of life, but you, thanks to your changing sides so easily, share the responsibility,
not merely for the slaughter of a large number of oligarchs by the commons, but
also for the slaughter of a large number of democrats by the aristocracy. And
this Theramenes, you remember, was the man who, although detailed by the generals
to pick up the Athenians whose ships were disabled in the battle off Lesbos, failed
to do so, and nevertheless was the very one who accused the generals and brought
about their death in order that he might save his own life!
"Now when a man clearly shows that he is always looking out for
his own advantage and taking no thought for honour or his friends, how in the
world can it be right to spare him? Ought we not surely, knowing of his previous
changes, to take care that he shall not be able to do the same thing to us also?
We therefore arraign him on the charge of plotting against and betraying both
ourselves and you. And in proof that what we are thus doing is proper, consider
this fact also. The constitution of the Lacedaemonians is, we know, deemed the
best of all constitutions. Now in Lacedaemon if one of the ephors should undertake
to find fault with the government and to oppose what was being done instead of
yielding to the majority, do you not suppose that he would be regarded, not only
by the ephors themselves but also by all the rest of the state, as having merited
the severest punishment? Even so you, if you are wise, will not spare this Theramenes,
but rather yourselves; for to leave him alive would cause many of those who hold
opposite views to yours to cherish high thoughts, while to destroy him would cut
off the hopes of them all, both within and without the city."
When Critias had so spoken, he sat down; and Theramenes rose and said:
"I will mention first, gentlemen, the last thing Critias said against me.
He says that I brought about the death of the generals by my accusation. But it
was not I, as you know, who began the matter by accusing them; on the contrary,
it was they who accused me, by stating that although that duty was assigned me
by them, I failed to pick up the unfortunates in the battle off Lesbos. I said
in my defence that on account of the storm it was not possible even to sail, much
less to pick up the men, and it was decided by the state that my plea was a reasonable
one, while the generals were clearly accusing themselves. For though they said
it was possible to save the men, they nevertheless sailed away and left them to
perish. I do not wonder, however, that Critias has misunderstood the matter; for
when these events took place, it chanced that he was not here; he was establishing
a democracy in Thessaly along with Prometheus, and arming the serfs against their
masters. God forbid that any of the things which he was doing there should come
to pass here.
"I quite agree with him, however, on this point, that if anyone
is desirous of deposing you from your office and is making strong those who are
plotting against you, it is just for him to incur the severest punishment. But
I think you can best judge who it is that is doing this, if you will consider
the course which each of us two has taken and is now taking. Well then, up to
the time when you became members of the Senate and magistrates were appointed
and the notorious informers were brought to trial, all of us held the same views;
but when these Thirty began to arrest men of worth and standing, then I, on my
side, began to hold views opposed to theirs. For when Leon the Salaminian was
put to death -a man of capacity, both actually and by repute- although he was
not guilty of a single act of wrong-doing, I knew that those who were like him
would be fearful, and, being fearful, would be enemies of this government. I also
knew, when Niceratus, the son of Nicias, was arrested -a man of wealth who, like
his father, had never done anything to curry popular favour- that those who were
like him would become hostile to us. And further, when Antiphon, who during the
war supplied from his own means two fast-sailing triremes, was put to death by
us, I knew that all those who had been zealous in the state's cause would look
upon us with suspicion. I objected, also, when they said that each of us must
seize one of the resident aliens; for it was entirely clear that if these men
were put to death, the whole body of such aliens would become enemies of the government.
I objected likewise when they took away from the people their arms, because I
thought that we ought not to make the state weak; for I saw that, in preserving
us, the purpose of the Lacedaemonians had not been that we might become few in
number and unable to do them any service; for if this had been what they desired,
it was within their power, by keeping up the pressure of famine a little while
longer, to leave not a single man alive. Again, the hiring of guardsmen did not
please me, for we might have enlisted in our service an equal number of our own
citizens, until we, the rulers, should easily have made ourselves masters of our
subjects. And further, when I saw that many in the city were becoming hostile
to this government and that many were becoming exiles, it did not seem to me best
to banish either Thrasybulus or Anytus or Alcibiades; for I knew that by such
measures the opposition would be made strong, if once the commons should acquire
capable leaders and if those who wished to be leaders should find a multitude
of supporters.
"Now would the man who offers openly this sort of admonition
be fairly regarded as a well-wisher, or as a traitor? It is not, Critias, the
men who prevent one's making enemies in abundance nor the men who teach one how
to gain allies in the greatest numbers,--it is not these, I say, who make one's
enemies strong; but it is much rather those who unjustly rob others of property
and put to death people who are guilty of no wrong, who, I say, make their opponents
numerous and betray not only their friends but also themselves, and all to satisfy
their covetousness. And if it is not evident in any other way that what I say
is true, look at the matter in this way: do you suppose that Thrasybulus and Anytus
and the other exiles would prefer to have us follow here the policy which I am
urging by word, or the policy which these men are carrying out in deed? For my
part, I fancy that now they believe every spot is full of allies, while if the
best element in the state were friendly to us, they would count it difficult even
to set foot anywhere in the land! Again, as to his statement that I have a propensity
to be always changing sides, consider these facts also: it was the people itself,
as everybody knows, which voted for the government of the Four Hundred, being
advised that the Lacedaemonians would trust any form of government sooner than
a democracy. But when the Lacedaemonians did not in the least relax their efforts
in prosecuting the war, and Aristoteles, Melanthius, Aristarchus, and their fellow-generals
were found to be building a fort on the peninsula, into which they proposed to
admit the enemy and so bring the state under the control of themselves and their
oligarchical associates,--if I perceived this plan and thwarted it, is that being
a traitor to one's friends?
"He dubs me 'Buskin', because, as he says, I try to fit both
parties. But for the man who pleases neither party,--what in the name of the gods
should we call him? For you in the days of the democracy were regarded as the
bitterest of all haters of the commons, and under the aristocracy you have shown
yourself the bitterest of all haters of the better classes. But I, Critias, am
forever at war with the men who do not think there could be a good democracy until
the slaves and those who would sell the state for lack of a shilling should share
in the government, and on the other hand I am forever an enemy to those who do
not think that a good oligarchy could be established until they should bring the
state to the point of being ruled absolutely by a few. But to direct the government
in company with those who have the means to be of service, whether with horses
or with shields, -this plan I regarded as best in former days and I do not change
my opinion now. And if you can mention any instance, Critias, where I joined hands
with demagogues or despots and undertook to deprive men of standing of their citizenship,
then speak. For if I am found guilty either of doing this thing now or of ever
having done it in the past, I admit that I should justly suffer the very uttermost
of all penalties and be put to death."
When with these words he ceased speaking and the Senate had shown
its good will by applause, Critias, realizing that if he should allow the Senate
to pass judgment on the case, Theramenes would escape, and thinking that this
would be unendurable, went and held a brief consultation with the Thirty, and
then went out and ordered the men with the daggers to take their stand at the
railing in plain sight of the Senate. Then he came in again and said: "Senators,
I deem it the duty of a leader who is what he ought to be, in case he sees that
his friends are being deceived, not to permit it. I, therefore, shall follow that
course. Besides, these men who have taken their stand here say that if we propose
to let a man go who is manifestly injuring the oligarchy, they will not suffer
us to do so. Now it is provided in the new laws that while no one of those who
are on the roll of the Three Thousand may be put to death without your vote, the
Thirty shall have power of life or death over those outside the roll. I, therefore",
he said, "strike off this man Theramenes from the roll, with the approval
of all the Thirty. That being done", he added, "we now condemn him to
death".
When Theramenes heard this, he sprang to the altar and said: "And
I, sirs", said he, "beg only bare justice, -that it be not within the
power of Critias to strike off either me or whomsoever of you he may wish, but
rather that both in your case and in mine the judgment may be rendered strictly
in accordance with that law which these men have made regarding those on the roll.
To be sure", said he, "I know, I swear by the gods, only too well, that
this altar will avail me nothing, but I wish to show that these Thirty are not
only most unjust toward men, but also most impious toward the gods. But I am surprised
at you", he said, "gentlemen of the aristocracy, that you are not going
to defend your own rights, especially when you know that my name is not a whit
easier to strike off than the name of each of you". At this moment the herald
of the Thirty ordered the Eleven to seize Theramenes; and when they came in, attended
by their servants and with Satyrus, the most audacious and shameless of them,
at their head, Critias said: "We hand over to you", said he, "this
man Theramenes, condemned according to the law. Do you, the Eleven, take him and
lead him to the proper place and do that which follows".
When Critias had spoken these words, Satyrus dragged Theramenes away
from the altar, and his servants lent their aid. And Theramenes, as was natural,
called upon gods and men to witness what was going on. But the senators kept quiet,
seeing that the men at the rail were of the same sort as Satyrus and that the
space in front of the senate-house was filled with the guardsmen, and being well
aware that the former had come armed with daggers. So they led the man away through
the market-place, while he proclaimed in a very loud voice the wrongs he was suffering.
One saying of his that is reported was this: when Satyrus told him that if he
did not keep quiet, he would suffer for it, he asked: "Then if I do keep
quiet, shall I not suffer?" And when, being compelled to die, he had drunk
the hemlock, they said that he threw out the last drops, like a man playing kottabos,
and exclaimed: "Here's to the health of my beloved Critias". Now I am
not unaware of this, that these are not sayings worthy of record; still, I deem
it admirable in the man that when death was close at hand, neither self-possession
nor the spirit of playfulness departed from his soul.
So, then, Theramenes died; but the Thirty, thinking that now they
could play the tyrant without fear, issued a proclamation forbidding those who
were outside the roll to enter the city and evicted them from their estates, in
order that they themselves and their friends might have these people's lands.
And when they fled to Piraeus, they drove many of them away from there also, and
filled both Megara and Thebes with the refugees.
Presently Thrasybulus set out from Thebes with about seventy companions and seized
Phyle, a strong fortress. And the Thirty marched out from the city against him
with the Three Thousand and the cavalry, the weather being very fine indeed. When
they reached Phyle, some of the young men were so bold as to attack the fortress
at once, but they accomplished nothing and suffered some wounds themselves before
they retired. And while the Thirty were planning to invest the place, so as to
force them to surrender by shutting off their avenues for receiving provisions,
a very heavy snow storm came on during the night and continued on the following
day. So they came back to the city in the snow, after losing a goodly number of
their camp-followers by the attacks of the men in Phyle. Then the Thirty, knowing
that the enemy would also gather plunder from the farms if there were no force
to protect them, sent out all but a few of the Laconian guardsmen and two divisions
of the cavalry to the outlying districts about fifteen stadia from Phyle. These
troops made their camp in a bushy spot and proceeded to keep guard. Now by this
time about seven hundred men were gathered at Phyle, and during the night Thrasybulus
marched down with them; and about three or four stadia from the guardsmen he had
his troops ground their arms and keep quiet. Then when it was drawing towards
day and the enemy were already getting up and going away from their camp whithersoever
each one had to go, and the grooms were keeping up a hubbub as they curried their
horses, at this moment Thrasybulus and his men picked up their arms and charged
on the run. They struck down some of the enemy and turned them all to flight,
pursuing them for six or seven stadia; and they killed more than one hundred and
twenty of the hoplites, and among the cavalry Nicostratus, nicknamed "the
beautiful", and two more besides, catching them while still in their beds.
Then after returning from the pursuit and erecting a trophy and packing up all
the arms and baggage they had captured, they went back to Phyle. And when the
cavalry from the city came to the rescue, there were none of the enemy left to
be seen; so after waiting until their relatives had taken up the bodies of the
dead, they returned to the city.
After this the Thirty, deeming their government no longer secure,
formed a plan to appropriate Eleusis, so as to have a place of refuge if it should
prove necessary. Accordingly Critias and the rest of the Thirty, having issued
orders to the cavalry to accompany them, went to Eleusis. There they held a review
of the townspeople under guard of the cavalry, pretending that they wanted to
know how numerous they were and how large an additional garrison they would require,
and then ordered them all to register; and each man when he had registered had
to pass out by the gate in the town wall in the direction of the3 sea. Meanwhile
they had stationed the cavalry on the shore on either side of the gate, and as
each man passed out their servants bound him fast. And when all had thus been
seized, they ordered Lysimachus, the cavalry commander, to take them to Athens
and turn them over to the Eleven. On the following day they summoned to the Odeum
the hoplites who were on the roll and the cavalry also. Then Critias rose and
said: "We, gentlemen", said he, "are establishing this government
no less for you than for ourselves. Therefore, even as you will share in honours,
so also you must share in the dangers. Therefore you must vote condemnation of
the Eleusinians who have been seized, that you may have the same hopes and fears
as we". Then he showed them a place and bade them cast their ballots therein,
in plain sight of everybody. Now the Laconian guardsmen were in one half of the
Odeum, fully armed; and these proceedings were pleasing also to such of the citizens
as cared only for their own advantage.
Soon after this Thrasybulus took the men of Phyle, who had now gathered
to the number of about one thousand, and came by night to Piraeus. When the Thirty
learned of this, they at once set out against him, with the Laconian guardsmen
and their own cavalry and hoplites; then they advanced along the carriage road
which leads up to Piraeus. And for a time the men from Phyle tried to prevent
their coming up, but when they saw that the line of the town wall, extensive as
it was, needed a large force for its defence, whereas they were not yet numerous,
they gathered in a compact body on the hill of Munichia. And the men from the
city, when they came to the market-place of Hippodamus, first formed themselves
in line of battle, so that they filled the road which leads to the temple of Artemis
of Munichia and the sanctuary of Bendis; and they made a line not less than fifty
shields in depth; then, in this formation, they advanced up the hill. As for the
men from Phyle, they too filled the road, but they made a line not more than ten
hoplites in depth. Behind the hoplites, however, were stationed peltasts and light
javelin-men, and behind them the stone-throwers. And of these there were many,
for they came from that neighbourhood.
And now, while the enemy were advancing, Thrasybulus ordered his men
to ground their shields and did the same himself, though still keeping the rest
of his arms, and then took his stand in the midst of them and spoke as follows:
"Fellow-citizens, I wish to inform some of you and to remind others that
those who form the right wing of the approaching force are the very men whom you
turned to flight and pursued four days ago, but the men upon the extreme lef -they,
yes they, are the Thirty, who robbed us of our city when we were guilty of no
wrong, and drove us from our homes, and proscribed those who were dearest to us.
But now, behold, they have found themselves in a situation in which they never
expected to be, but we always prayed that they might be. For with arms in our
hands we stand face to face with them; and the gods, because once we were seized
while dining or sleeping or8 trading, because some of us also were banished when
we were not only guilty of no offence, but were not even in the city, are now
manifestly fighting on our side. For in fair weather they send a storm, when it
is to our advantage, and when we attack, they grant us, though we are few in number
and our enemies are many, to set up trophies of victory; and now in like manner
they have brought us to a place where the men before you, because they are marching
up hill, cannot throw either spears or javelins over the heads of those in front
of them, while we, throwing both spears and javelins and stones down hill, shall
reach them and strike down many. And though one would have supposed that we should
have to fight with their front ranks at least on even terms, yet in fact, if you
let fly your missiles with a will, as you should, no one will miss his man when
the road is full of them, and they in their efforts to protect themselves will
be continually skulking under their shields. You will therefore be able, just
as if they were blind men, to strike them wherever you please and then leap upon
them and overthrow them. And now, comrades, we must so act that each man shall
feel in his breast that he is chiefly responsible for the victory. For victory,
God willing, will now give back to us country and homes, freedom and honours,
children, to such as have them, and wives. Happy, indeed, are those of us who
shall win the victory and live to behold the gladdest day of all! And happy also
he who is slain; for no one, however rich he may be, will gain a monument so glorious.
Now, when the right moment comes, I will strike up the paean; and when we call
Enyalius to our aid, then let us all, moved by one spirit, take vengeance upon
these men for the outrages we have suffered."
After saying these words and turning about to face the enemy, he kept
quiet; for the seer bade them not to attack until one of their own number was
either killed or wounded. "But as soon as that happens", he said, "we
shall lead on, and to you who follow will come victory, but death, methinks, to
me". And his saying did not prove false, for when they had taken up their
shields, he, as though led on by a kind of fate, leaped forth first of all, fell
upon the enemy, and was slain, and he lies buried at the ford of the Cephisus;
but the others were victorious, and pursued the enemy as far as the level ground.
In this battle fell two of the Thirty, Critias and Hippomachus, one of the Ten
who ruled in Piraeus, Charmides, the son of Glaucon, and about seventy of the
others. And the victors took possession of their arms, but they did not strip
off the tunic11 of any citizen. When this had been done and while they were giving
back the bodies of the dead, many on either side mingled and talked with one another.
And Cleocritus, the herald of the initiated, a man with a very fine voice, obtained
silence and said: "Fellow citizens, why do you drive us out of the city?
why do you wish to kill us? For we never did you any harm, but we have shared
with you in the most solemn rites and sacrifices and the most splendid festivals,
we have been companions in the dance and schoolmates and comrades in arms, and
we have braved many dangers with you both by land and by sea in defense of the
common safety and freedom of us both. In the name of the gods of our fathers and
mothers, in the name of our ties of kinship and marriage and comradeship,--for
all these many of us share with one another,--cease, out of shame before gods
and men, to sin against your fatherland, and do not obey those most accursed Thirty,
who for the sake of their private gain have killed in eight months more Athenians,
almost, than all the Peloponnesians in ten years of war. And when we might live
in peace as fellow citizens, these men bring upon us war with one another, a war
most utterly shameful and intolerable, utterly unholy and hated by both gods and
men. Yet for all that, be well assured that for some of those now slain by our
hands not only you, but we also, have wept bitterly".
Thus he spoke; but the surviving officials of the oligarchy, partly
because their followers were hearing such things, led them back to the city. On
the following day the Thirty, utterly dejected and with but few adherents left,
held their session in the council-chamber; and as for the Three Thousand, wherever
their several detachments were stationed, everywhere they began to quarrel with
one another. For all those who had done any act of especial violence and were
therefore fearful, urged strenuously that they ought not to yield to the men in
Piraeus; while those who were confident that they had done no wrong, argued in
their own minds and set forth to the others that there was no need of their suffering
these evils, and they said that they ought not to obey the Thirty or allow them
to ruin the state. In the end they voted to depose the Thirty and choose others.
And they chose ten, one from each tribe.
The Thirty thereupon retired to Eleusis; and the Ten, with the aid
of the cavalry commanders, took care of the men in the city, who were in a state
of great disquiet and distrust of one another. In fact, even the cavalry did guard
duty by night, being quartered in the Odeum and keeping with them both their horses
and their shields; and such was the suspicion that prevailed, that they patrolled
along the walls from evening onwards with their shields, and toward dawn with
their horses, fearing continually that they might be attacked by parties of men
from Piraeus. The latter, who were now numerous and included all sorts of people,
were engaged in making shields, some of wood, others of wicker-work, and in painting
them. And having given pledges that whoever fought with them should be accorded
equality in taxation with citizens even if they were foreigners, they marched
forth before ten days had passed, a large body of hoplites with numerous light
troops; they also got together about seventy horsemen; and they made forays and
collected wood and produce, and then came back to spend the night in Piraeus.
As for the men in the city, none of them went forth from the walls under arms
except the cavalry, who sometimes captured foraging parties made up of the men
from Piraeus and inflicted losses upon their main body. They also fell in with
some people of Aexone who were going to their own farms after provisions; and
Lysimachus, the cavalry commander, put these men to the sword, although they pleaded
earnestly and many of the cavalrymen were much opposed to the proceeding. In retaliation,
the men in Piraeus killed one of the cavalrymen, Callistratus, of the tribe of
Leontis, having captured him in the country. For by this time they were very confident,
so that they even made attacks upon the wall of the city. And perhaps it is proper
to mention also the following device of the engineer in the city: when he learned
that the enemy were intending to bring up their siege-engines by the race-course
which leads from the Lyceum, he ordered all his teams to haul stones each large
enough to load a wagon and drop them at whatever spot in the course each driver
pleased. When this had been done, each single one of the stones caused the enemy
a great deal of trouble.
And now, when the Thirty in Eleusis sent ambassadors to Lacedaemon,
and likewise those in the city who were on the roll, and asked for aid on the
plea that the commons had revolted from the Lacedaemonians, Lysander, calculating
that it was possible to blockade the men in Piraeus both by land and by sea and
to force them to a quick surrender if they were cut off from provisions, lent
his assistance to the ambassadors, with the result that a hundred talents was
loaned to the Athenian oligarchs and that Lysander himself was sent out as governor
on land and his brother Libys as admiral of the fleet. Accordingly, Lysander proceeded
to Eleusis and busied himself with gathering a large force of Peloponnesian hoplites;
meanwhile the admiral kept guard on the sea, to prevent any supplies from coming
in by water to the besieged; so that the men in Piraeus were soon in difficulties
again, while the men in the city again had their turn of being confident, in reliance
upon Lysander. While matters were proceeding in this way, Pausanias the king,
seized with envy of Lysander because, by accomplishing this project, he would
not only win fame but also make Athens his own, persuaded three of the five ephors
and led forth a Lacedaemonian army. And all the allies likewise followed with
him, excepting the Boeotians and the Corinthians; and the plea of these was that
they did not think they would be true to their oaths if they took the field against
the Athenians when the latter were doing nothing in violation of the treaty; in
fact, however, they acted as they did because they supposed that the Lacedaemonians
wanted to make the territory of the Athenians their own sure possession.
So Pausanias encamped on the plain which is called Halipedum, near
Piraeus, himself commanding the right wing, while Lysander and his mercenaries
formed the left. Then, sending ambassadors to the men in Piraeus, Pausanias bade
them disperse to their homes; and when they refused to obey, he attacked them,
at least so far as to raise the war-cry, in order that it might not be evident
that he felt kindly toward them. And when he had retired without accomplishing
anything by his attack, on the next day he took two regiments of the Lacedaemonians
and three tribes of the Athenian cavalry and proceeded along the shore to the
Still Harbour, looking to see where Piraeus could best be shut off by a wall.
As he was returning, some of the enemy attacked him and caused him trouble, whereupon,
becoming angry, he ordered the cavalry to charge upon them at full speed, and
the infantrymen within ten years of military age to follow the cavalry; while
he himself with the rest of his troops came along in the rear. And they killed
nearly thirty of the enemy's light troops and pursued the rest to the theatre
in Piraeus. There, as it chanced, the whole body of the light troops and likewise
the hoplites of the men in Piraeus were arming themselves. And the light troops,
rushing forth at once, set to throwing javelins, hurling stones, shooting arrows,
and discharging slings; then the Lacedaemonians, since many of them were being
wounded and they were hard pressed, gave ground, though still facing the enemy;
and at this the latter attacked much more vigorously. In this attack Chaeron and
Thibrachus, both of them polemarchs, were slain, and Lacrates, the Olympic victor,
and other Lacedaemonians who lie buried before the gates of Athens in the Cerameicus.
Now Thrasybulus and the rest of his troops--that is, the hoplites--when they saw
the situation, came running to lend aid, and quickly formed in line, eight deep,
in front of their comrades. And Pausanias, being hard pressed and retreating about
four or five stadia to a hill, sent orders to the Lacedaemonians and to the allies
to join him. There he formed an extremely deep phalanx and led the charge against
the Athenians. The Athenians did indeed accept battle at close quarters; but in
the end some of them were pushed into the mire of the marsh of Halae and others
gave way; and about one hundred and fifty of them were slain.
Thereupon Pausanias set up a trophy and returned to his camp; and
despite what had happened he was not angry with them, but sent secretly and instructed
the men in Piraeus to send ambassadors to him and the ephors who were with him,
telling them also what proposals these ambassadors should offer; and they obeyed
him. He also set about dividing the men in the city, and gave directions that
as many of them as possible should gather together and come to him and the ephors
and say that they had no desire to be waging war with the men in Piraeus, but
rather to be reconciled with them and in common with them to be friends of the
Lacedaemonians. Now Naucleidas also, who was an ephor, was pleased to hear this.
For, as it is customary for two of the ephors to be with a king on a campaign,
so in this instance Naucleidas and one other were present, and both of them held
to the policy of Pausanias rather than to that of Lysander. For this reason they
eagerly sent to Lacedaemon both the envoys from Piraeus, having the proposals
for peace with the Lacedaemonians, and the envoys from the city party as private
individuals, namely, Cephisophon and Meletus. When, however, these men had departed
for Lacedaemon, the authorities in the city also proceeded to send ambassadors,
with the message that they surrendered both the walls which they possessed and
themselves to the Lacedaemonians, to do with them as they wished; and they said
they counted it only fair that the men in Piraeus, if they claimed to be friends
of the Lacedaemonians, should in like manner surrender Piraeus and Munichia. When
the ephors and the members of the Lacedaemonian assembly had heard all the ambassadors,
they dispatched fifteen men to Athens and commissioned them, in conjunction with
Pausanias, to effect a reconciliation in the best way they could. And they effected
a reconciliation on these terms, that the two parties should be at peace with
one another and that every man should depart to his home except the members of
the Thirty, and of the Eleven, and of the Ten who had ruled in Piraeus. They also
decided that if any of the men in the city were afraid, they should settle at
Eleusis.
When these things had been accomplished, Pausanias disbanded his army
and the men from Piraeus went up to the Acropolis under arms and offered sacrifice
to Athena. When they had come down, the generals convened an Assembly. There Thrasybulus
spoke as follows: "I advise you", he said, "men of the city, to
'know yourselves'. And you would best learn to know yourselves were you to consider
what grounds you have for arrogance, that you should undertake to rule over us.
Are you more just? But the commons, though poorer than you, never did you any
wrong for the sake of money; while you, though richer than any of them, have done
many disgraceful things for the sake of gain. But since you can lay no claim to
justice, consider then whether it is courage that you have a right to pride yourselves
upon. And what better test could there be of this than the way we made war upon
one another? Well then, would you say that you are superior in intelligence, you
who having a wall, arms, money, and the Peloponnesians as allies, have been worsted
by men who had none of these? Is it the Lacedaemonians, then, think you, that
you may pride yourselves upon? How so? Why, they have delivered you up to this
outraged populace, just as men fasten a clog upon the necks of snapping dogs and
deliver them up to keepers, and now have gone away and left you. Nevertheless,
my comrades, I am not the man to ask you to violate any one of the pledges to
which you have sworn, but I ask you rather to show this virtue also, in addition
to your other virtues,--that you are true to your oaths and are god-fearing men".
When he had said this and more to the same effect, and had told them that there
was no need of their being disturbed, but that they had only to live under the
laws that had previously been in force, he dismissed the Assembly.
So at that time they appointed their magistrates and proceeded to
carry on their government; but at a later period, on learning that the men at
Eleusis were hiring mercenary troops, they took the field with their whole force
against them, put to death their generals when they came for a conference, and
then, by sending to the others their friends and kinsmen, persuaded them to become
reconciled. And, pledged as they were under oath, that in very truth they would
not remember past grievances, the two parties even to this day live together as
fellow-citizens and the commons abide by their oaths.
This extract is from: Xenophon, Hellenica. Cited Aug 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlink
VISSA (Ancient demos) LAVREOTIKI
But I reckon that, even in the event of war, the mines (of Laurion) need not be
abandoned. There are, of course, two fortresses in the mining district, one at
Anaphlystus on the south side, the other at Thoricus on the north. The distance
between them is about seven miles and a half. Now suppose that we had a third
stronghold between them on the highest point of Besa. The works would then be
linked up by all the fortresses, and at the first intimation of a hostile movement,
every man would have but a short distance to go in order to reach safety. In case
an enemy came in force, he would, no doubt, seize any corn or wine or cattle that
he found outside; but the silver ore, when he had got it, would be of as much
use to him as a heap of stones. And how could an enemy ever go for the mines?
The distance between Megara, the nearest city, and the silver mines, is of course
much more than five hundred furlongs; and Thebes, which is next in proximity,
lies at a distance of much more than six hundred furlongs from them. Let us assume,
then, that an enemy is marching on the mines from some such point. He is bound
to pass Athens; and if his numbers are small, he is likely to be destroyed by
our cavalry and patrols. On the other hand, to march on them with a large force,
leaving his own property unprotected, is no easy matter; for when he arrived at
the mines the city of Athens would be much nearer to his own states than he himself
would be. But even supposing that he should come, how is he to stay without supplies?
And to send part of their forces in search of food may mean destruction to the
foraging party and failure to achieve the ends for which he is contending; or
if the whole force is continually foraging it will find itself blockaded instead
of blockading.
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