which Homer takes notice of, without burdening the fubject with taxes and impofitions. After a reign of 46, according to fome, or of 75 years, according to others, he left the kingdom of Phrygia to his only fon Tros in a most flourishing condition.

In the very beginning of his reign Tros laid the foundations of Tros. a city, which foon became the most famous of all Afta. All the neighbouring princes, except Tantalus king of Sipylus, being invited to affift at the folemn dedication of the new city, the affronted monarch foon after wrecked his refentment upon the king's fon Ganymedes, a youth of extraordinary beauty, and the darling of his father, who being fent with a fplendid retinue to carry prefents of great value to Jupiter Europaus, in paffing thro' the territories of Tantalus, was not only detained, but abused by that vicious and impious king. This indignity the generous youth took fo to heart, that he died foon after of pure grief. Others tell us that Ganymedes was killed in a battle against Tantalus, and his body not being found amongst the dead, the poets feigned that he had been taken up into Heaven by Jupiter; but the fable, according to Natales Comes, was invented by the Greeks, to give a kind of sanction to the unnatural luft that greatly prevailed among them. Tros did not long outlive his beloved fon: for the war against Tantalus proving unfuccefsful, he was fo loaded with affliction, that he died, in the 60th, or, according to others, in the 49th year of his reign. By his wife Acalide, or Callirhoe, he had three fons, Ilus, Ganymedes, and Affaracus, and one daughter, named Cleomneftra, or Cleopatra.

From these were defcended the chief commanders of the Tro- The projan troops, whofe names are of great renown in antient hifgeny of tory: we shall therefore give a fuccinct account of the progeny Tros. of Affaracus and Cleomneftra, Ganymedes having died without iffue, and Ilus having fucceeded his father on the throne of Phrygia. Alfaracus had one fon, named Capys, from whom the city of Caphia in Arcadia borrowed its name. He married one Themis, by whom he had Anchifes, who was famous for the comelinefs of his perfon; which gave rife to the fable of his amours with Venus. Troy, during his life, was twice taken and plundered. In the firft fiege, he is faid to have behaved with great gallantry; but in the time of the fecond, he was worn out with old age and infirmities, occafioned by the lewdness and diffoluteness of his youth, to which his blindness is also afcribed. He had two fons, Eneas, who carried him out of the city when it was in flames, and Elymas, and one daughter, named Hippodamia, married to Alcathous, who fell in battle by the hand of Idomeneus. Elymus, according to Suidas, imparted his name to the Elymei, a people of Sicily. Cleomneftra had but one fon, by name Lyerfus, father to Antenor. As to Lyerfus, antient history is quite filent; but Antenor is greatly commended for his prudence and wifdom. Being fent by Priam as

affador into Greece, the Greeks treated him more like a

fpy

Ilus fucceeds to

fpy than an ambaffador; whereupon, returning to Afia, he inflamed Priam and his fons against that nation. However, fome time after, he not only entertained in his house the Greek ambaffadors that came to demand Helena, but protected them against the treacherous attempts of Priam's fons. He was fent on a fecond embafly to Greece, when, it is believed, he betrayed the truft repofed in him, as it is alleged he afterwards betrayed the city. It is agreed that the Greeks, when they stormed Troy, fhewed a tender and friendly regard to him, and even caused the skin of a panther to be hung up before his gate, left thro' mistake any violence fhould be offered to his houfe or perfon by the incenfed foldiery. Many, however, clear him from all treachery, and put a more favourable conftruction on the kindness fhewn him by the Greeks, faying, that they spared him merely in compliance with the laws of hofpitality, which, in those days, were deemed facred, even by the most favage nations. Be that as it will, the Trojans that remained in the country after the destruction of Troy were fo prejudiced against him, that they obliged him to withdraw from Troas. He accordingly put to fea with a few Trojans and the Heneti, who were then driven out of Paphlagonia; and landing at the bottom of the Adriatic gulph, drove out the antient inhabitants, and fettled his people in their room, under the common name of Veneti. He built a small town where he landed, and called it Troy, and is fuppofed alfo to have built Padua. Antenor had by his wife Theano, fifter to Hecuba, Iphidamas, Coon, Heliacon, Laodocus, Acamas, Archilocus, Polybus, Agenor, Laodamas, Demoleon, Glaucus, and Crino. Iphidamas was brought up in Thrace, under the care of his grandfather, and came with twelve fhips to the relief of Troy, where he was flain by Agamemnon, who alfo flew Coon, by whom he was dangerously wounded. Heliacon married Laodice, Priam's daughter. Archilochus and Acamas commanded, in conjunction with Eneas, the troops of Dardania. Agenor attended Hector in his boldeft undertakings, and was not afraid to encounter with Achilles himself. Nothing worth relating is mentioned of the others. As to Theano, Antenor's wife, Suidas and Cedrenus inform us, that fhe was the chief prieftefs of Pallas, and that the betrayed the Palladium to Diomedes and Ulyffes.

Ilus, the eldest fon of Tros, fucceeded his father on the throne; and vigoroufly profecuting the war against Tantalus, the crown was fo fuccessful as to drive him out of Afia, and poffefs himself of Troy. of his kingdom. Pelops the fon of Tantalus having in vain endeavoured to recover his father's dominions, was obliged to follow him into Greece. Ilus having thus revenged the affront offered to his brother, applied himself intirely to civil affairs, and is faid to have made a great many ufeful laws. He enlarged Troy, and adorned it with many ftately buildings; and dying in the 40th year of his reign, left two fons, Tithonus and Laomedon.

Tithonus,

Tithonas, whom fome believe to have been the fon, and not His two the brother of Laomedon, was, from his earliest years, greatly fons, Tiaddicted to hunting; and betaking himself to a military life, thonus and went to ferve among the Affyrians. His courage and conduct Laomedon. foon raifed him to the firft pofts in the army, in which he acquitted himself fo well, that he was ranked among the Titanes, or chief lords of the Affyrian monarchy, and made governor of Perfia. When he heard that the Greeks had invaded Phrygia, he fent his fon Memnon, at the head of a confiderable body of chofen troops, to affift his countrymen, with the permiffion of Teutamus king of Affyria. Memnon was flain by the Theffalians; and soon after Tithonus, who was worn out with old age, died of grief. The comeliness of his perfon, his rifing early in the morning, as being a great fportfinan, the old age he lived to, and his pining away at laft with grief, may have given rife to the many fables which the poets relate of him; which our readers may find in Athenæus, Tzetzes, Natalis Comes, and other mythologifts.

His fon Memnon, who was cut off before Troy, was a brave, wife, and experienced_commander. He repulfed the Ethiopians, who had invaded Egypt; and having made them tributary to the Egyptians, and conquered part of their country, the Egyptians made him king of his conquefts, and refigned the tribute to him. Returning to Perfia, he was there made fatrapa, or governor, and built the city Sufa, and another, to which he imparted his own name. His ftatue near Thebes in Egypt was famous for the found it was faid to yield at the rifing of the fun. Paufanias informs us that his fword was kept at Nicomedia, mentioning the fact as an argument to prove that the arms used by the antients were of brafs. Heliodorus makes him the progenitor of the kings of Ethiopia. His brother Emathion lived with his uncle Laomedon, and was killed in the war that broke out between him and Hercules.

While Tithonus was ferving the king of Affyria, his elder Laomedon brother Laomedon fucceeded his father Ilus on the throne of fucceeds Phrygia. He built the citadel of Troy, being affifted therein his father by Apollo and Neptune; that is, he carried on the work with Ilus. the treasures that were confecrated to them and lodged in their temples. Several inundations are faid to have happened in his reign, and great numbers of the inhabitants to have been carried off by a plague, which were looked upon as punishments from the gods whofe temples he had plundered. He treated Troy taken Jafon and the other Argonauts, who had landed on the coaft of by HerTroas, in a very inhofpitable manner; to revenge which affront, cules. Hercules, who was one of the Argonauts, returned, fome time after, with twelve gallies to Troy, which he befieged, took and plundered, and flew Laomedon, and four of his fons. The poets feign that Apollo and Neptune built the walls of Troy; and being cheated of their wages by Laomedon, the one fent a plague, and the other drowned part of the country. Laomedon, to atone for his crime, expofed his daughter Hefione to a fea

monster,

Priam

monfter, from which fhe was delivered by Hercules; but the king refufing him the reward he had promifed, Hercules took Troy, killed the king, and gave Hefione in marriage to Telamon.

Priam, the only furviving fon of Laomedon, fucceeded to the fucceeds throne, having been ranfomed from the Greeks with a great fum of His firft care, after his acceffion to the throne, was Laomedon. money. to encompass the city of Troy with a ftrong wall, to prevent fuch calamities as had happened in his father's reign. A mine of gold being difcovered, in the beginning of his reign, near Abydus, he was thereby enabled to undertake and carry on many public works. He embellifhed the city with stately edifices, towers, caftles, aqueducts, &c. Having reduced moft of the neighbouring ftates, he was rather confidered as fovereign of all Afia Minor than king of Treas. By his firft wife Arifba, or Alyxothoe, he had but one fon, named facus; but by his fecond wife Hecuba, daughter to Ciffeus king of Thrace, he had Hector, Alexander or Paris, Deiphobus, Helenus, Polites, Antiphus, Hipponous, Polydorus, and Troilus; befides four daughters, Creufa, Laodice, Polyxena, and Caffandra. He had alfo many children by concubines, in all to the number of fifty.

war.

Different His name will be ever memorable in hiftory, for the war caufes of which happened in his reign between the Greeks and Trojans. the Trojan As to the caufe of this deftructive war, it is agreed on all hands that the rape of Helen firft kindled it; but what encouraged Paris to fuch an attempt, and induced his father Priam to ftand by him, at the expence of fo much blood and treasure, is not determined by antient writers. According to Herodotus, all the Afiatics had been long at enmity with the Greeks. The Phoenicians firft carried off lo, daughter of Inachus king of Argos, with many other Greek women; and the Greeks, by way of reprifals, carried off Europa, daughter of the king of Tyre, and afterwards Medea, daughter to the king of Colchis; which encouraged Paris, in the next fucceeding age, to ravish Helen; perfuading himself that he fhould not be constrained to make any reparation. This relation, however, is frivolous, and feems invented by the Perfians, to account for the animofity betwixt them and the Greeks. From Thucydides it is plain that the dif tinction of Greeks and Barbarians was not introduced even in Homer's time, and confequently highly improbable that the Greeks fo long before, when they had not even one common name to diftinguifh themfelves from other nations, fhould nevertheless look upon all of them as their enemies, by reason of an injury done by one. Others fay that Priam fent two embaffies to Greece to demand his fifter Hefione, who was ill used by her husband Telamon; and that Paris, who went on the fecond embaffy, was hofpitably entertained by Menelaus king of Sparta ; but nevertheless in his abfence bafely enticed away his wife. But it is hardly probable that Priam would fend a folemn embafly to Greece, to claim his fifter, after the had lived 30 years with her husband. We may therefore conclude, that Paris in ravishing

ravishing Helen never thought of Europa, Medea, or Hefione; but falling in love with her, as fhe was the most beautiful woman in Greece, was prompted to do what in those days was commonly practifed both by Greeks and Barbarians. Thus Helen herfelf had been ftolen before by Thefeus; and fuch practices of stealing women were fo common, as Thucydides informs us, that none durft venture to live near the fea-coaft. The fame author tells us, that moft of the princes of Greece being fuitors to Helen, her father obliged them to bind themselves by an oath to rescue her, if the fhould be taken from her husband; and then giving her her free choice, fhe preferred Menelaus. Befides the oaths of thofe princes, the great power of Agamemnon doubtless influenced many of the Greeks to engage in the war, which was agreed to in a general affembly of all the princes of Greece; and this was the firft enterprize the Greeks undertook with common confent. Agamemnon was appointed commander in chief of the whole army, and each prince was enjoined to fend his quota of fhips and troops to Egium, a city in Peloponnefus, which was fixed upon for the place of the general rendezvous.

The best and most rational account we have of this great war, is that which we gather from Homer, whofe hiftorical accounts are attefted and confirmed by moft creditable hiftorians, and by all the monuments of antiquity, namely, by the Arundelian marbles. Homer defcribes the ftate of Greece at that time, and informs us, that it was divided into a great many dynasties: he enumerates and names the several nations and princes that fided with the Trojans, and gives us an infight into the art of war practifed in that age; difclofes the laws and religion of the Greeks; gives us the character of their leaders; defcribes the fituation of their country and cities, &c. all which are purely hiftorical; fo that his poems may defervedly be confidered as the most antient hiftory of the Greeks.

The number of ships employed by the Greeks in this expedi- The num tion, according to Euripides, Lycophron, and Virgil, amounted ber of to 1000. Homer enumerates 1186; and Thucydides raifes the ships fent number to 1200. The Beotian fhips, that were the largeft, against carried 120 men each; and those of the Philofteta, which were Troy. the smallest, carried 50 men each. Every man, excepting the commanders, was both a mariner and a foldier; fo that fuppofing the fleet to have confifted of 1200 fail, carrying one with another 85 men, we shall find the Greek army to have been 102,000 men ftrong: no great army, confidering that all the powers of Greece, except the Acarnanes alone, were engaged in this war. Against this army the Trojans held out ten years; but the Trojans, as Homer makes Agamemnon fay, were not the tenth part of the enemies which the Greeks had to contend with; for all Phrygia, Lycia, Myfia, and the greatest part of Afia Minor, fided with the Trojans; and Rhefus king of Thrace marched at the head of a confiderable body to their affiftance. Before the commencement of hoftilities, the Greeks fent Menelaus and hostilities VOL. II.

Ulyffes