§ Artaxerxes I.. we are told, killed his brother Darius, being deceived by Artabanus, who imputed the murder of Xerxes to that prince: but upon being acquainted with the truth, he put Artabanus and all his family to death. During his reign the Egyptians attempted to shake off his yoke, but were soon obliged to submit. Xerxes II. was assassinated by his brother, Sogdianus, 45 days after he ascended to the throne. Sogdianus, who assumed the government, enjoyed the fruits of his fratricide only six months and a half, when he was smothered in ashes, (a mode of torture invented on this occasion, and afterwards inflicted on great criminals,) by order of his brother Ochus, who took the name of Darius Nothus. Darius Nothus was a weak prince, in whose reign it was that the Egyptians recovered their independence. Artaxerxes II. succeeded him, who was surnamed Mnemon, by the Greeks, on account of his prodigious memory. He killed his brother Cyrus, who had taken arms against him, in single battle. The 10,000 Greeks who retreated under Xenophon, served in the army of this Cyrus. Ochus succeeded him, who poisoned his brother, and murdered all the princes of the royal family. He invaded Egypt, plundered the temples, and killed the priests. But his chief minister, enraged at the ruin of his country, poisoned him. MACEDON. 20. The kingdom of MACEDON, which was governed, during several hundred years, by the descendants of Caranus, was comparatively unknown till the time of Philip, who was also a descendant of Caranus. Philip soon gave it celebrity. Previously to the birth of his son Alexander, he had conquered Thessaly, Pæonia, and Illyricum. He had also gained a victory over the Athenians, at Mythone, 360 years B. C. § Philip ascended the throne by popular choice, in violation of the natural right of the nearer heirs to the crown; he secured his power by the success of his arms against the neighbouring nations. He was brave, artful, and accomplished, and by his intrigues gained over, at an early period of his career, many Greeks to favour his interests. In his war against the united Pæonians, Illyrians, &c. he met with singularly good fortune. Parmenio, his general, was sent against the Illyrians, and he himself marched an army into Pæonia and Thrace where he was signally successful. On his return, a messenger ar rived with news of Parmenio's victory; and soon after came another, informing him that his horses had been victorious at the Olympic games. This was a victory that he esteemed preferable to any other. Almost at the same time came a third messenger, who acquainted him that his wife, Olympias, had brought forth a son, at Pella. Philip, terrified at so signal a happiness, which the heathens generally considered as a bad omen, exclaimed, “Great Jupiter, in return for so many blessings, send me a slight misfortune." Distinguished Characters in Period VII. 1. Confucius, the great Chinese philosopher. 4. Phidias, a Greek, the most famous sculptor of antiquity. 5. Euripides, an eminent tragic poet of Greece. 6. Sophocles, an eminent tragic poet of Greece. 10. Xenophon, a celebrated general, historian, and philo sopher. § 1. Confucius was born in the kingdom of Lt, which is now the province of Chan Long, 551 years B. C. He was a man of great knowledge and extensive wisdom, was beloved on account of his virtues-rendered great service to his country by his moral maxims, and possessed much influence even with kings, as well as with his Countrymen in general. He died in the 73d year of his age. 2. Herodotus was born at Halicarnassus. His history describes the wars of the Greeks against the Persians, from the age of Cyrus to the battle of Mycale. This he publicly repeated at the Olympic games, when the names of the Muses were given to his nine books. This celebrated work, which has procured its author the title of father of history, is written in the Ionic dialect. Herodotus is among the historians, what Homer is among the poets. His style abounds with elegance, ease, and sweetness. He also wrote a history of Assyria and Arabia, but this is not extant. 3. Pindar was a native of Thebes. His compositions were courted by statesmen and princes, and his hymns were repeated in the temples, at the celebration of the festivals. Some of his odes are extant, greatly admired for grandeur of expression, magnificence of style, boldness of metaphors, and harmony of numbers. Horace calls him inimitable; and this eulogium is probably not undeserved. After his death, his statue was erected at Thebes, in the public place where the games were exhibited, and six centuries afterwards it was viewed with pleasure and admiration by the geographer Pausanias. He died B. C. 435, at the age, as some say, of 86. 4. Phidias was an Athenian. He died B. C. 432. His statue of Jupiter Olympius passed for one of the wonders of the world. That of Minerva, in the Pantheon of Athens, measured 39 feet in height, and was made of gold and ivory. 5. Euripides was born at Salamis. He was the rival of Sophocles. The jealousy between these great poets, was made the subject of successful ridicule by the comic poet Aristophanes. It is said that he used to shut himself up in a gloomy cave, near Salamis, in which he composed some of his best tragedies. During the representation of one of his pieces, the audience, dis pleased with some lines in the composition, desired the writer to strike them off. Euripides heard the reproof with indignation, and advancing forward on the stage, he told the spectators, that he came there to instruct them, and not to receive instruction. The ridicule and envy to which he was exposed in Athens induced him to retire to the court of Archelaus, king of Macedonia, where he was entertained with the greatest munificence. He was here however destined to meet a terrible end. It is said the hounds of the king attacking him, in one of his solitary walks, tore his body to pieces, 407 B. C. in the 78th year of his age. As a poet he is peculiarly happy in expressing the passions of love, especially the more tender and animated. He is also sublime, and the most common expressions have received a most perfect polish from his pen. His productions abound with moral reflections, and philosophical aphorisms. The poet was such an enemy to the fair sex, that some have called him the woman hater. In spite of his antipathy he married twice; but his connexions were so injudicious, that he was compelled to divorce both his wives. From this cause may have arisen his erroneous conceptions of the female character. Öf 75 tragedies, only 19 remain. 6. Sophocles was born about 497 B. C. He was distinguished not only as a poet, but as a statesman and general, and filled the office of archon with applause. Twenty times he obtained the prize of poetry from his competitors. Of one hundred and twenty tragedies which he wrote, seven only are extant, but these prove him to have carried the drama almost to perfection. Accused of insanity by his children, who wished to obtain his possessions, the poet composed and read his tragedy of Œdipus, at Colonos. Asking his judges whether the author of such a performance could be insane, he was at once acquitted, to the confusion of his ungrateful offspring. He died in his 91st year, through excess of joy, at hearing of his having obtained a poetical prize at the Olympic Games. 7. Socrates was a native of Athens. He followed the occupation of his father, who was a statuary, for some time; and some have mentioned the statues of the Graces, admired for their simplicity and elegance, as the work of his own hands. He was called away from this meaner employment, for which, however, he never blushed, by a friend; and philosophy soon became his study. He appeared like the rest of his countrymen in the field of battle, and he fought with boldness and intrepidity. But his character appears more conspicuous as a philosopher and moralist, than as a warrior. He was fond of labour, bore injuries with patience, and acquired that serenity of mind and firmness of countenance which the most alarming dangers could never destroy, or the most sudden calamities alter. He was attended by a number of illustrious pupils, whom he instructed by his exemplary life, as well as by his doctrines. He spoke with freedom on every subject, religious as well as civil. This independence of spirit, and that visible superiority of mind and genius over the rest of his countrymen, created many enemies to him, and at length they condemned him to death, on the false accusation or corrupting the Athenian youth, of making innovations in the religion of the Greeks, and of ridiculing the gods which the Athenians wor shipped. He drank the juice of the hemlock in the 70th year of his age, and died 401 B. C. Socrates believed the divine origin of dreams and omens, and was a supporter of the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. From his principles, enforced by his example, the celebrated sects of the Piatonists, Stoics, Peripatetics, &c. soon after rose. 8. Thucydides was born at Athens. He early appeared in the Athenian armies, but being unsuccessful in some expedition, he was banished Athens, in the 8th year of the Peloponnesian war. He then wrote his history of the important events of that war, to its 21st year. So deeply was Thucydides inspired by the muse of history, that he shed tears when he heard Herodotus repeat his history of the Persian wars, at the public festivals of Greece; the character of his interesting work is well known. He is considered highly authentic and impartial, and stands unrivalled for the fire, conciseness, and energy of his narrative. Thucydides died at Athens, where he had been recalled from exile, in his 80th year, 391 B. C. 9. Hippocrates was born in the island of Cos, B. C. 406. He im proved himself by reading in the tablets of the temples, the diseases, and means of recovery of individuals. He was skilful, and devoted his whole time to medical applications and professional duties. Some say he delivered Athens from a dreadful plague. According to Galen, his opinions were respected as oracular. His memory is still venerated, and his writings, few of which remain, procured him the epithet of divine. He died in the 99th year of his age, 361 B. C., free from all disorder of the mind and body, and after death, received the highest honours. 10. Xenophon was an Athenian. He was bred in the school of Socrates, and acquired great literary distinction. He served in the army of Cyrus the younger, and chiefly superintended the retreat of the 10,000, after the battle of the Cunaxa. He afterward followed the fortunes of Agesilaus, and acquired riches in his expeditions. In his subsequent retirement he composed and wrote for the information of posterity, and died at Corinth, in his 90th year, 359 B. C. He continued the history of Thucydides, wrote a life of Cyrus the Great, and collected Memorabilia of Socrates. The simplicity and elegance of Xenophon's style have procured him the name of the Athenian muse, and the bee of Greece. PERIOD VIII. The period of Roman Military Renown, extending from the Birth of Alexander, 356 years B. C. to the destruction of Carthage, 146 years B. C. GREECE. SECT. 1. At the commencement of this period, the GREEKS were greatly embroiled in domestic dissensions, and were fast falling from the enviable height to which their arms and national spirit had formerly raised them. They were no longer the people they had been, and were preparing to receive the yoke of a master. From that time their history is connected with that of the Macedonian monarchy. An attempt of the Phocians to plunder the temple of Delphos, excited the sacred war, in which almost all the states became involved. The assistance of Philip being solicited by the Thebans and Thessalians, he commenced hostilities by invading Phocis, the key to Attica. The eloquence of Demosthenes roused the Athenians to arms. But their struggle was unsuccessful. Philip met them at Cheronæa, gained a complete victory, and Greece fell into the hands of the conqueror. This event is dated 338 years B. C. He however chose not to treat them as a conquered people. The separate governments retained their independence, subject only, in their national acts, to the control of Philip. After his death they hoped to recover their liberty, but they only changed masters. § The sacrilege of the Phocians in robbing the temple of Delphos, subjected them to a summons to appear before the Amphictyonic council, to answer for their crime. A fine being imposed, disputes arose, which could be settled only by arms. The war continued 10 years. The interference of Philip at this juncture was, as might have been expected, fatal to the liberties of Greece. He contrived to have the Phocians expelled from the Amphictyonic council, and to be himself chosen in their place. The eloquence of Demosthenes delayed for a time the fate of Greece. He was ever stirring up the Athenians against Philip and satirizing that king. His speeches were called Philippics, since they were directed against Philip, and hence Philippics has been a term signifying "speeches against any person." Demosthenes, it is well known, had to contend against many na |