Sous. By these severities Agis alienated the affections of the people from him, but his collegue, Sous, the fon of Procles, gained their efteem by his bravery and new conquefts. The following inftance of his conduct is recorded very much to his honour, Being befieged by the Chlorians in a dry ftony place, he was at A noble length reduced to promife to deliver up all his conquefts, on ftratagem. condition that he and all his men fhould be allowed to drink of Labetas and Pry tanis. a fpring not far from his camp. This treaty being ratified, he called his foldiers together, and offered the kingdom to him that would forbear drinking; but fo exceffive was their thirst, that not one could be tempted to accept his offer. After he had feen all his men drink of the water, he himself only sprinkled his face with it, without drinking one drop; and thus by his abftinence having made the contract void, he could honourably refufe to refign his conquefts to the enemy. EcheftraIn the following reign of Echeftratus, the fon of Agis, and Eutus and rytion, the fon of Sous, fome differences happened between the LaEurytion, cedaemonians and Argives, which in the fucceeding reign of Labotas and Prytanis, broke out into an open war, about the town and territories of Cynofura, which was originally an Argian colony, but had been conquered by the Lacedemonians. This war feems not to have been of long duration; but though the Lacedemonians remained unmolefted by their neighbours, yet their intestine divifions threatened them with greater calamities than any fo reign war. Thefe diffenfions continued during the three following reigns of Donyffus, Agefilaus, and Archelaus, of the line of Euryfthenes; and Eunomus, Polydectes, and Charilaus, of the line of Procles, when the state was at last reformed by the wife Lycurgus. Lycurgus*. Elis, fo named from E fba. SECT. IX. The Hiftory of the ancient Kingdoms of ELIS, ÆTOLIA, LOCRIS, HOUGH thefe small kingdoms were either conquered by, or blended with the other larger ftates, yet as they are often mentioned in the Grecian hiftory, we fhall give a fhort account of their fituation, origin, antiquities, and history. The kingdom of Elis is reafonably fuppofed to have been first peopled by the defcendants of Elifba, the fon of Javan, if not by Elifba himself, who gave his name to the whole peninfula, which, by the prophet Ezekiel, is called Elisha. The Greek and Latin poets and hiftorians, indeed, give us other etymons of this name, but not fo fatisfactory as this mentioned †: Hind. hift. Græc. Meurs. antiq. Laced. ap Gedoyn. in Paufan. + Eze chap. xxvii. 7. Bochart Phaleg. 1. iii. et auctor. ab eo citat. Paufan. in Laconic. Elis Elis was wafhed by the Ionian fea on the weft, had Arcadia Its bounon the east, Achaia on the north, and the bay of Cypariffos with daries. Mycena on the fouth. Its greatest extent from east to west was about 48 miles, and from fouth to north about 60 miles. It contained several confiderable cities, the chief of which was Its cities. Elis, the capital, feated on the banks of the Peneus, and almost in the heart of the kingdom. It was famous among many other things for a large fpacious place called Xytos, where the candidates for the Olympic games were obliged to initiate themselves for fome time by diet, exercife, and other preparatives, before they were admitted to appear on the Olympic plains, Their fenate, likewife, ufed to affemble in this place, and the candidates for all kinds of dignities and employments came here to give proofs of their abilities and merit. In the city of Elis was a temple dedicated to fortune, with a coloffal ftatue of that goddefs; and in the citadel was a temple and ftatue of Minerva, and on the helmet of that goddefs was carved a cock, because he is fuppofed the moft courageous of all winged creatures. Here was alfo the palace of Augeas, one of their kings, and his famous ftables, which, though they contained 3000 oxen, and had not been cleanfed for 30 years, yet were cleared of all the filth and dung in one day by Hercules, by turning the river Alpheus into them. Of all the gods, the Eleans held Bacchus in the greatest veneration; who, they pretended, appeared to them on the day on which they celebrated his feftival, called Thya. The city of Olympia was the next in dignity to Elis. It was fituated on the famous plains where the Olympian games were celebrated. Thefe games, which were firft inftituted by The Olym Pelops, in honour of Jupiter, were celebrated every eighth year, pic games. and during five days, but with much greater folemnity, and a vafter concourse of people than any of the other Grecian games. They were at firft often interrupted, but at length fixed by Iphitus, and were greatly ferviceable afterwards for the computation of time, being obferved regularly for a confiderable number of centuries. The time for celebrating them was at the full of that moon which immediately preceded the fummer folftice. The priests of Jupiter were entrusted with the regiftring of the names of the victors at thofe games, and recording of every material occurrence which happened between each olympiad. After the computation by olympiads commenced, which did not happen till the first year of the 28th, the Grecian accounts began to be reckoned hiftorical, and thofe that preceded that period are called fabulous. The city Olympia was famed likewife for its magnificent temple of Jupiter Olympus, in which was a famous ftatue of that god 30 cubits high. The chief rivers were the Peneus, Enipheus, and the Alpheus, which laft, after running quite through Arcadia and Elis, is fwallowed up It is fuppofed to run from in the earth before it reaches the fea. thence, by a fubterranean paffage, quite into Sicily, where it mixes with the fountain Arethuja, near the city of Syracufe; things things that are thrown into it on the fide of Elis, coming out, as it is faid, at that fountain. The hif According to Paufanias, Ethlius was reputed the founder of tory of the this little monarchy, which was at firft diftinct from that of Eleans. Pifa. His fon and fucceffor Endymion, who the poets fay was beloved by the moon, married Afterodia, the grand-daughter of Amphilyon, by whom he had three fons, Paon, Epeus, and Etolus. Epus winning the prize at the Olympic games, he declared him his fucceffor. Etolus, however, ftaid with him at Elis; but Paon, unable to brook the lofs of fuch a noble prize, went and settled on the river Axus, giving the name of Paonia to that country. Epeus went to the fiege of Troy, and is fupposed to have been the architect of the Trojan horse. In his reign Olympia was taken from the Eleans, by Pelops the Lydian, who had feized on the kingdom of Pifa. Epeus dying without male iffue, was fucceeded by his brother Atolus, who at certain funeral games happening to kill Apis, the fen of Jafon, was forced to leave the Peloponnefe, and went to fettle in Etolia. He was fucceeded by Eleus, who the Greeks pretend gave his name to this kingdom, and is faid to have been the fon of Neptune, by the only daughter of Endymion. His fon and fucceffor Augeas, is faid to have promifed Hercules his daughter and fome part of his kingdom, if he would clean his ftables, or according to Paufanias, his fields, which were quite covered with the dung of his numerous herds. When Hercules had performed the tafk, by turning the river thro' them, Augeas refused to give him his hire, pretending that he had done the work more by cunning than by labour. The difpute being referred to Phyleus, the eldeft fon of Augeas, he gave it against his father, who in return banifhed him as well as Hercules. Augeas, afraid of the hero's refentment, ftrengthened himfelf by the alliance of Actor, the grandfon of Epeus, and of Amaryniaus, a warlike Theffalian, fo that Hercules, who came foon after against him with a powerful army, was obliged, after a fierce encounter, to retire. Having not long after killed Actor and Amaryncæus by furprize, as they were going to the ifthmian games, the Eleans in vain preffed the Argians, among whom he had retired to punish him. Hercules lived for fome time undisturbed at Tyrinthus, and having at length raised a powerful army of Argives, Thebans, and Arcadians, he again invaded Elis, took and facked the capital, and having conquered the whole kingdom, made a prefent of it to the banished Phyleus. Phyleus, though in quiet poffeffion of the kingdom, ftaid in it no longer than was necefiary to fettle the affairs of the ftate, and then retired to the island of Dulichium. Augeas, who, according to Paufanias, had been fpared on account of his fon, dying foon after, the crown fell to Agasthenes, the brother of Phyleus. His fon and fucceffor Polyxenus, went to the Trojan war, war, and after his return was fucceeded by Eleus II. in whofe reign the Derians and Heraclide conquered the Peloponnefe, under Oxylus the Etolian, the three-eyed general, fo called because his horfe and he had but three eyes between them. Oxylus accepted the office of general, on condition that they fhould allot him Elis, not only as a reward for his fervices, but because he had a title to that kingdom, as being the fixth in a lineal defcent from Endymion. He found more oppofition than he expected from the Elians, who were commanded by their king Dius. Both parties at length agreeing to decide the contest by fingle combat, the champion of Oxylus prevailed. Oxylus was accordingly proclaimed king of Elis, and was fucceeded by his fon Lajus, after which we hear no more of his race, nor indeed of any material tranfactions in this kingdom, till the reign of Iphitus, the reviver of the Olympic games, and cotemporary of the great Lycurgus. Greece, and particularly Elis, had fuffered for a long time by wars and peftilence, on which account the Olympic games had been interrupted. Iphitus confulting the oracle, concerning the means of appeafing the angry gods, was anfwered, that the restoration of thofe games would prove the fafety of Greece. He accordingly applied himself earnestly to the revival of the games, and having offered a facrifice to Hercules, who the Eleans believed was on fome account or other exafperated against them, he caufed the Olympic games to be proclaimed all over Greece, with a promise of free admittance to all comers. He took upon himself, likewife, to be fole judge and prefident of those games; a privilege which continued in his defcendants as long as his line and the regal dignity continued. The people after this took upon them to elect two prefidents, the number of whom in time increased to ten, and at length to twelve. Etolia is faid to have been fo called from Etolus, the fon of Etolia, Endymion, who having accidentally killed Agis, the fon of fo named Jafon, was obliged to quit the throne of Elis. Antiently it was from called Curatis and Hyanthis, from thofe people who were either tolus. fubdued or expelled by Etolus. The inhabitants of this country, with fome others in their neighbourhood, were the greatest robbers in all Greece, and continued fo many centuries after Hercules and Thefeus had expelled the banditti every where else, They were never wholly mastered till the Romans, whom they had affronted, totally fubdued them under Fulvius Nibilior. Their fmall territory was bounded on the eaft by the river [ts bounEvenus, or Lycormus, which feparated them from the Locrians daries. and Phocians, on the weft by the Achelous, which parted them from the Acarnanians, on the north by the Dorians and part of Epirus, and on the fouth by the bay of Corinth. Its utmost extent from north to fouth was about 40 miles, and from east to weft about 20. The Etolians in procefs of time enlarged their territories confiderably on the fide of Theffaly and Acarnania, but had but one fea port of any note, namely, Oenias, feated at the lians. the mouth of the Achelous*. The country is very craggy and mountainous, which rendered feveral of their cities almost impregnable; fo that the other Grecian ftates, and even the Macedonians, tried in vain to tame the turbulent inhabitants. The moft noted of its cities were Thermus and Calydon. The former was the metropolis, and fituated in the very heart of the kingdom. Though it was the place where the ftates of the country affembled, and the repofitory of their treasures in times of danger, yet it was not so much as fortified with a wall, the difficult afcents and narrow paffages of the neighbouring mountains being deemed a fufficient defence. Calydon was fituated near the foreft of that name, where Meleager flew the famed Calydo nian boar. This city, which was built by Cal,don, the ion of Etolus, was pleasantly situated in a large plain on the Evenus, The cha and was for fome time the feat of the Etolian kings. The Etoracter of lians were in general a ftout warlike people, feldom at peace the Eto with any of their neighbours. There is, however, very little to be found of any of the tranfactions of their kings. In the Their hif- reign of Oeneus, one of their kings, Hercules came to Calydon, tory. and though he had a numerous fpurious brood scattered over all Greece, yet being defirous of legitimate iffue, he married Dejanira, the king's daughter, and to oblige the Etolians, made fome improvements upon the courfe of the river Achelous, which ferved the poets for a foundation of an abfurd fable. During the reign of Meleager, the ion and fucceffor of Oeneus, Etolia was greatly infefted by a fierce and monftrous wild boar, so that the king was forced to call to his afliftance Thefeus, Telemon, Peleus, Pollux, befides a number of other Grecian heroes, to deftroy it. Meleager having at laft killed the boar (G), prefented its head to the famous Arcadian princefs Atalanta, who was the first that gave it a wound, and he was fo charmed with her courage and intrepidity, that he married her. The account of his death is altogether abfurd and fabulous. His brother Tydeus, as we have formerly mentioned, having married one of the daughters of Adraftus, king of Argos, marched with him. against the Thebans, to reftore Polinices, but was killed before that city +. Diomedes the fon of Tydeus, fignalized himself at the Trojan war; but after his return, was forced by his faithless wife Egiale, and her paramour Cometes, to retire into Apulia. From this time there is nothing confiderable recorded of this nation, till the famous Achean league. Their time was chiefly fpent in mutual excurfions between them and their neighbours. *Strabo. Melar. Cluver. † Apollod. 1. iii. preferved in the temple of Barchus, and was above a yard long. Paufan. Arcad. c. 46. Next |