A. M. 2148.

ARGOS. The kingdom of Argos, in Peloponnesus, Ant. J. C. 1856. began 1080 years before the first Olympiad, in the time of Abraham. The first king of it was INACHUS. His successors were, his son PHORONEUS; APIS; ARGUS, from whom the country took its name; and after several others, GELANOR, who was dethroned and expelled his kingdom by DANAUS, the Egyptian. The successors of this last were LYNCEUS, the son of his Ant. J. C. 1474. brother Ægyptus, who alone, of fifty brothers, escaped the cruelty of the Danaides; then ABAS, PROTEUS, and ACRISIUS.

A. M. 2530.

Of Danae, daughter to the last, was born Perseus, who having, when he was grown up, unfortunately killed his grandfather, Acrisius, and not being able to bear the sight of Argos, where he committed that involuntary murder, withdrew to Mycenae, and there fixed the seat of his kingdom.

MYCENE. Perseus then translated the seat of the kingdom from Argos to Mycenaæ. He left several sons behind him; among others, Alcæus, Sthenelus, and Electryon. Alceus was the father of Amphitryon; Sthenelus of Eurystheus; and Electryon of Alcmena. Amphitryon married Alcmena, upon whom Jupiter begat Hercules.

Eurystheus and Hercules came into the world the same day; but as the birth of the former was by Juno's management antecedent to that of the latter, Hercules was forced to be subject to him, and was obliged by his order to undertake the twelve labours, so celebrated in fabulous history.

The kings who reigned at Mycenae, after Perseus, were, ELECTRYON, STHENELUS, and EURYSTHEUS. The last, after the death of Hercules, declared open war against his descendants, apprehending they might some time or other attempt to dethrone him; which, as it happened, was done by the Heraclidae; for, having killed Eurystheus in battle, they entered victorious into Peloponnesus, and made themselves masters of the country. But, as this happened before the time determined by fate, a plague ensued, which, with the direction of an oracle, obliged them to quit the country. Three years after this, being deceived by the ambiguous expression of the oracle, they made a second attempt, which likewise proved fruitless. This was about twenty years before the taking of Troy.

ATREUS, the son of Pelops, uncle by the mother's side to Eurystheus, was the latter's successor. And in this manner the crown came to the descendants of Pelops, from whom Peloponnesus, which before was called Apia, derived its name. The bloody hatred of the two brothers, Atreus and Thyestes, is known to all the world.

PLISTHENES, the son of Atreus, succeeded his father in the kingdom of Mycenae, which he left to his son AGAMEMNON, who was succeeded by his son ORESTES. The kingdom of Mycenae was filled with enormous and horrible crimes, from the time it came into the family of Pelops.

TISIMENES and PENTHILUS, Sons of Orestes, reigned after thoir father, and were at last driven out of Peloponnesus by the Heraclidæ.

A. M. 2448.

ATHENS. CECROPS, a native of Egypt, was the founAnt. J. C. 1556. der of this kingdom. Having settled in Attica, he divided all the country subject to him into twelve districts. He it was who established the Areopagus.

This august tribunal, in the reign of his successor CRANAUS, adjudged the famous difference between Neptune and Mars. In his time happened Deucalion's flood. The deluge of Ogyges in Attica was much more ancient, and happened 1020 years before the first Olympiad, and consequently in the year of the world 2208.

AMPHICTYON, the third king of Athens, procured a confederacy between twelve nations, which assembled twice a year at Thermopylæ, there to offer their common sacrifices, and to consult together upon their affairs in general, as also upon the affairs of each nation in particular. This convention was called the assembly of the Amphictyons.

The reign of ERECHTHEUS is remarkable for the arrival of Ceres in Attica, after the rape of her daughter Proserpine, as also for the institution of the mysteries at Eleusis.

A. M. 2720.

The reign of EGEUS, the son of Pandion, is the most Ant. J. C. 1284. illustrious period of the history of the heroes. In his time are placed the expedition of the Argonauts; the celebrated labours of Hercules; the war of Minos, second king of Crete, against the Athenians; the story of Theseus and Ariadne.

THESEUS Succeeded his father Ægeus. Cecrops had divided Attica into twelve boroughs, or twelve districts, separated from each other. Theseus brought the people to understand the advantages of common government, and united the twelve boroughs into one city or body politic, in which the whole authority was united. CODRUS was the last king of Athens: he devoted himself to die for his people.

A. M. 2934.

After him the title of king was extinguished among Ant. J. C. 1070. the Athenians. MEDON, his son, was set at the head of the commonwealth, with the title of Archon, that is to say, president or governor. The first Archontes were for life; but the Athenians, growing weary of a government which they still thought bore too great a resemblance to royal power, made their Archontes elective every ten years, and at last reduced it to an annual office.

A. M. 2549.

THEBES. Cadmus, who came by sea from the coast Ant. J. C. 1455. of Phoenicia, that is, from about Tyre and Sidon, seized upon that part of the country, which was afterwards called Bootia. He built there the city of Thebes, or at least a citadel, which from his own name he called Cadmea, and there fixed the seat of his power and dominion.

The fatal misfortune of Laius, one of his successors, and of Jocasta his wife, of Edipus their son, of Etocles and Polynices, who were born of the incestuous marriage of Jocasta with Edipus, have furnished ample matter for fabulous narration and theatrical represen

tations.

SPARTA, or LACEDEMON. It is supposed, that LELEX, the first king of Laconia, began his reign about 1516 years before the Christian æra.

TYNDARUS, the ninth king of Lacedæmon, had, by Leda, Castor and Pollux, who were twins, besides Helena, and Clytemnestra the wife of Agamemnon, king of Mycena. Having survived his two sons, the twins, he began to think of choosing a successor, by looking out for a husband for his daughter Helena. All the suitors to this princess bound themselves by oath, to abide by, and entirely submit to, the choice which the lady herself should make, who determined in favour of Menelaus. She had not lived above three years with her husband, before she was carried off by Alexander or Paris, son of Priam, king of the Trojans; which rape was the cause of the Trojan war. Greece did not properly begin to know or experience her united strength, till the famous siege of that city, where Achilles, the Ajaxes, Nestor, and Ulysses, gave Asia sufficient reason to forebode her future subjection to their posterity. The Greeks took Troy after a ten years' siege, much about the time that Jephthah governed the people of God; that is, according to Archbishop Usher, in the year of the world 2820, and 1184 years before Jesus Christ. This epocha is famous in history, and should carefully be remembered, as well as that of the Olympiads.

An Olympiad is the revolution of four complete years, from one celebration of the Olympic games to the other. We have elsewhere given an account of the institution of these games, which were celebrated every four years, near the town of Pisa, otherwise called Olympia.

The common era of the Olympiads begins in the summer of the year of the world 3228, 776 years before Jesus Christ, from the games in which Corebus won the prize in the foot-race.

Fourscore years after the taking of Troy, the Heraclidæ re-entered Peloponnesus, and siezed Lacedæmon, where two brothers, Eurysthenes and Procles, sons of Aristodemus, began to reign together, and from their time the sceptre always continued jointly in the hands of the descendants of those two families. Many years after this, Lycurgus instituted that body of laws for the Spartan state, which rendered both the legislator and republic so famous in history: I shall speak of them at large in the sequel.

A. M. 2628.

CORINTH. Corinth began later than the other cities Ant. J. C. 1376. I have been speaking of to be governed by kings of its own. It was at first subject to those of Argos and Mycene; at last, Sisyphus, the son of Eolus, made himself master of it. But his descendants were dispossessed of the throne by the Heraclidæ, about 110 years after the siege of Troy.

The regal power, after this, came to the descendants of Bacchis, under whom the monarchy was changed into an aristocracy, that is, the reins of the government were in the hands of the elders, who annually chose from among themselves a chief magistrate, whom VOL. II.

X

they called Prytanis. At last Cypselus having gained the people, usurped the supreme authority, which he transmitted to his son Periander; who held a distinguished rank among the Grecian sages, on account of the love he bore to learning, and the protection and encouragement he gave to learned men.

A. M. 3191. MACEDONIA. It was a long time before the Greeks Ant. J. C. 1813. paid any great attention to Macedonia. Her kings, living retired in woods and mountains, seemed not to be considered as a part of Greece. They pretended, that their kings, of whom CARANUS was the first, were descended from Hercules. Philip, and his son Alexander, raised the glory of this kingdom to a very high pitch. It had subsisted 471 years before the death of Alexander, and continued 155 more, till Perseus was defeated and taken by the Romans; in all, 626 years.

ARTICLE V.

Colonies of the Greeks sent into Asia Minor.

We have already observed, that fourscore years after the taking of Troy, the Heraclidæ recovered Peloponnesus, after having defeated the Pelopidæ, that is, Tisamenes and Penthilus, sons of Orestes; and that they divided the kingdoms of Mycena, Argos, and Lacedæmon, among themselves.

So great a revolution as this changed almost the whole face of the country, and made way for several very famous transmigrations. To understand these the better, and to have the clearer idea of the situation of many of the Grecian nations, as also of the four dialects, or different idioms of speech, that prevailed among them, it will be necessary to look a little farther back into history.

*

Deucalion, who reigned in Thessaly, and under whom happened the flood that bears his name, had by Pyrrha his wife two sons, Hellen and Amphictyon. The latter, having driven Cranaus out of Athens, reigned there in his place. Hellen, if we may believe the historians of his country, gave the name of Hellenes to the Greeks: he had three sons, Eolus, Dorus, and Xuthus.

Eolus, who was the eldest, succeeded his father, and besides Thessaly, had Locris and Boeotia added to his dominions. Several of his descendants went into Peloponnesus with Pelops, the son of Tantalus, king of Phrygia, from whom Peloponnesus took its name, and settled themselves in Laconia.

The country contiguous to Parnassus, fell to the share of Dorus, and from him was called Doris.

Xuthus, compelled by his brothers, upon some private quarrel, to quit his country, retired into Attica, where he married the daughter of Erechtheus, king of the Athenians, by whom he had two sons, Achæus and Ion.

An involuntary murder committed by Achæus, obliged him to re* Strab. 1. viii. p. 383, &c. Pausan. 1. vii. p. 396, &c.

tire to Peloponnesus, which was then called Egialæa, of which one part was from him called Achaia. His descendants settled at Lacedæmon.

Ion, having signalized himself by his victories, was invited by the Athenians to govern their city, and gave his name to the country; for the inhabitants of Attica were likewise called Ionians. The number of the citizens increased to such a degree, that the Athenians were obliged to send a colony of Ionians into Peloponnesus, who likewise gave their name to the country they possessed.

Thus all the inhabitants of Peloponnesus, though composed of different people, were united under the names of Achæans and Ionians. The Heraclidæ, fourscore years after the taking of Troy, resolved seriously to recover Peloponnesus, which, they imagined, of right belonged to them. They had three principal leaders, sons of Aristomachus, namely, Temenus, Cresphontes, and Aristodemus: the last dying, his two sons, Eurysthenes and Procles, succeeded him. The success of their expedition was as happy as the motive was just, and they recovered the possession of their ancient domain. Argos fell to Temenus, Messenia to Cresphontes, and Laconia to the two sons of Aristodemus.

Such of the Achæans as were descended from Æolus, and had hitherto inhabited Laconia, being driven from thence by the Dorians, who accompanied the Heraclidæ into Peloponnesus, after some wandering, settled in that part of Asia Minor which from them took the name of Æolus, where they founded Smyrna, and eleven other cities; but the city of Smyrna came afterwards into the hands of the Ionians. The Æolians became likewise possessed of several cities of Lesbos.

As for the Achæans of Mycena and Argos, being compelled to abandon their country to the Heraclide, they seized upon that of the Ionians, who dwelt at that time in a part of Peloponnesus. The latter fled at first to Athens, their original country, from whence they some time afterwards departed under the conduct of Nileus and Androcles, both sons of Codrus, and seized upon that part of the coast of Asia Minor which lies between Caria and Lydia, and from them was named Ionia; here they built twelve cities, Ephesus, Clazomenæ, Samos, &c.

The power of the Athenians,* who had then Codrus for their king, being very much augmented by the great number of refugees that had fled into their country, the Heraclide thought proper to oppose the progress of their power, and for that reason made war upon them. The latter were worsted in a battle, but still remained masters of Megaris, where they built Megara, and settled the Dorians in that country in the room of the Ionians.

One part of the Dorians continued in the country after the death of Codrus,t another went to Crete; the greatest number settled in