XI. and the circumstances that led to it, deserve to be LETTER related, as they will throw light on the state of the Asiatic Greeks under the Persian government. I have formerly had occasion to mention the planting of the Grecian colonies on the coast of Asia Minort; to speak of their early proficiency in arts and literature; their prosperity under the Lydian monarchy; and their brave, but ineffectual resistance, against the Persian forces under Harpagus, the general of Cyrus. During that struggle for independency, and even after their submission to the Persian power, many of the Grecian inhabitants of Ionia abandoned their settlements, and took refuge with their contrymen in the neighbouring islands of the Ægean sea'. Those islands had never owned the sway of Crœsus; and Cyrus, who confined his ambition to the Asiatic continent, made no attempt to subdue them3. The naval force of Cambyses, as we have seen', was directed against other objects; so that the Greeks in the Asiatic islands, enjoying uninterrupted commerce, and enriched by the very misfortunes of their countrymen on the coast of Asia Minor, had risen, in the course of a century, to an extraordinary height.of opulence and naval grandeur. Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Rhodes, were accordingly crowned with superb temples, adorned with the polished beauties of architecture; with splendid palaces, magnificent quays, and fortified cities, furnished with all the luxuries and conveniences of life, while the greater part of the European Greeks, perpetually embroiled in public or private wars, had made few removes from barbarism 10. PART I. Unfortunately, however, for the inhabitants of those islands, they were not permitted to enjoy their good fortune without allay. Inequality of wealth, the natural consequence of commercial prosperity,necessarily introduced among them inequality of power. And as that wealth could not be acquired without talents, some oppulent and powerful man, in almost every island, usually obtained dominion over his fellow-citizens, and was branded with the odious name, but envied rank of tyrant". This tyranny became more general after the conquest of Asia Minor by the captains of Cyrus; who, conformable to his general policy, gave the government of every Grecian city and its territory, on the continent, to some principal citizen, under the controul of the satrap of Sardis'. Nor was that pernicious example, in conjunction with inequality of fortune, the only cause of the change of government in the Asiatic islands. Those islands had formerly a close connexion with the free states on the continent, with one or other of which they were in alliance; almost every contiguous island belonging either to the Eolian, Ionian, or Dorian confederacy. But after the Persian conquest of Asiatic Greece, that confederacy was broken. The islanders, therefore, had thenceforth no check upon the ambition of an usurping fellow-citizen, but the virtue of their particular communities; for commercial jealousy prevented the people of one island from interfering in favour of the liberties of those of another 3. Hence the prevalence of tyranny, or petty despotism, in the principal islands of the Egean sea. 11. Ibid. 12. Herodot. Historiar. lib. i. iii. passim. 13. Id. ibid. Of XI. Of all the despots that reigned in those islands, LETTER the most illustrious was Polycrates, tyrant of Samos. This extraordinary man, having usurped the government over his fellow citizens, formed an alliance with Amasis, king of Egypt; who had, like himself, as we have seen '4, risen to the sovereignty from a private station. And, by his attention to naval affairs, Polycrates raised himself to a degree of power unknown to any other Grecian prince of his time 5. He maintained a fleet of one hundred gallies, of fifty oars each, on board of which he embarked a thousand archers. With this fleet he acquired the dominion of the Ægean sea; subdued many of the islands; and took and pillaged several cities on the continent. Every place, he attacked submitted to his arms 18; and no ship could escape his pyratical cruisers, which were so constructed as to cut the water quicker than any other vessels then in use!9. Polycrates was no less magnificent and liberal, than opulent and powerful. His superb palace was thought worthy of admiration as late as the Augustine age 20. He lived in the utmost splendour; delighted in the conversation of men of learning and genius, who experienced his generosity, and were encouraged by his patronage. Anacreon, the lyric poet, was his constant companion'; and the philosopher, Pythagoras, a Samian by birth, was by him recommended to his royal friend Amasis 22. 14. Lett. x. 15. Herodot. Historiar. lib. iii. cap. xxxix-cxxv. 16. Id. lib. iii. cap. xxxix. 17. Id. ibid. Strabo, lib. xiv. p. 637. Edit Lutet. Paris. 18. Herodot. lib. iii. cap. xxxix. 19. Id. ibid. et Plut. Vit. Pericles. 20. Sueton. Vit. Caligula. 21. Strabo, ubi sup. And 7 22. Diog. Laert. Vit. Pythag. et Rollin, de la Philosoph. Art. Pythag although PART Í. although that philosopher did not choose to reside at the court of Samos after his return from his travels, he was indebted to the recommendation of Polycrates for the favour that was shewn him in Egypt23; where he was admitted into the arcana of the priests, and is supposed to have acquired the principles of that sublime philosophy, which he afterward taught with so much reputation and success, at Crotona, in Italy24. The great, and uninterrupted prosperity of Polycrates, alarmed the fears of Amasis, if we may credit tradition, for the future fate of his Grecian friend and ally. He accordingly wrote to him a letter, which is preserved by Herodotus, desiring him to part with some thing that he highly valued; and if his prosperity still continued, to repeat the experiment, in order to arm himself against an awful reverse of fortune, which he had reason to apprehend. "For I know," says Amasis, "the envy of the "Gods25." This opinion, that the gods are envious of human happiness, prevailed very generally in Greece, in early times; and seems to have arisen from the frequent vicissitudes of fortune, in that unsettled country, connected with a secret consciousness, that opulence and power were too often acquired by such crimes as deserved the vengeance of heaven. A similar sentiment, however, has been common in all ages and countries. "Ah, tremble at the peril of "unmixed prosperity!" has ever been the language of men of melancholy dispositions, or desponding tempers; and of men of the firmest minds, during the influence of low spirits, or under the pressure of unexpected misfortune. 23. Id. ibid. 24. Isocrat. Paneg. Basir. Strabo, lib. x. 25. Herodot. lib. iii. cap. xl. p. 263. Diog. Laert. ubi sup. Whatever XI. Whatever might be the thoughts of Polycrates on LETTER that subject, he is said to have thrown a favourite signet, or seal-ring, into the sea, in compliance with the advice of the king of Egypt. But that signet, consisting of an emerald curiously sculptured and set in gold, was soon after found in the belly of a fish; which had been presented to him, by the person that caught it, because of its size and beauty". Proud of his good fortune, the Samian chief communicated the intelligence to Amasis; who instantly sent a herald to Samos, with orders to renounce all friendship and alliance with Polycrates; that he might not be involved in the future calamities of that prince, which he now considered as inevitable28. Such is the account given, by Herodotus, of this matter. But circumstances make it probable, that the king of Egypt was induced to renounce the friendship of Polycrates, for other reasons than those assigned by the Greek historian; than the fear of having occasion to sympathize with the sufferings of an ally in distress, or even of being obliged to support his desperate cause. Amasis was a great encourager of commerce, and took peculiar pride in patronizing the Greeks, both European and Asiatic, as we have already seen29; and as appears by the magnificent presents, which he made to their temples, in different countries3o. He must, therefore, have been offended at the piracy of Polycrates, and alarmed at the growth of his naval power; and consequently would wish to throw off all connexion with a predatory prince, whom it was the common interest of all commercial nations to humble. Viewed in this light, his conduct was wise, political, and 27. Herodot. Historiar. lib. iii. cap. xli. xlii. 28. Id. lib. iii. cap. xliii. 29. Lett. x. 30. Herodot. lib. ii. cap. clxxx-clxxxii. honourable; |