Oracle respecting him. History of his family. confederates, in the twenty-first year of the reign of Codrus, had With the death of this gallant monarch ended the regal sovereignty of Athens, which, between the reign of Cecrops and that of Codrus, is stated to have extended over a period of nearly five hundred years. On the principle of high veneration for the memory of Codrus, the Athenians are said to have made an express declaration that they deemed none worthy to bear the title of king after him, and thus arose the government of the Archons; a title which they first conferred on The Archons, Mēdōn, the eldest son of Codrus. But the election of Mēdōn being opposed by his brother Neileus, on the plea of his intellectual incompetency, and from his lameness, the Athenians applied to the oracle, which confirmed the title of the elder son, who, in consequence, enjoyed the chief magistracy for his own life, and transmitted it to his heirs for twelve generations: the Archontes derived from Mēdōn were commonly known in history by the name of the Mēdōntidæ. Attic population increases. The population of Attica had now very considerably increased, and many of the superior families being admirers and supporters of Neileus, a younger son of Codrus, the brothers placed themselves at the head of considerable bands of the Athenians, and formed various settlements in the neighbourhood. To these adventurers have been attributed the founding and peopling of twelve cities of Ionia, on the coast of Lesser Asia-Ephesus, Milētus, Priēnē, Colophōn, Myus, Teos, Lebedos, Clazomena, Erythræ, Phocæa, Chios (situated in an island), and Samos; at first governed each by its separate king, but afterwards united into one state, which attained considerable celebrity. In the mean time the Mēdōntidæ enjoyed their dignity in undisturbed succession, until the archonship of Alcmon, or Alemaon, the son of Eschylus, who died after having exercised his office only two years. Archonship The Athenians were now ambitious of strengthening the democratic part of their constitution, by limiting the duration of the archonship to ten years, and subsequently a still further alteration was made in elective. favour of the people, who declared the office in future to be elective and annual. Hippomenēs, the last of the line of Codrus, is said to have been deposed for his cruelty to his own family, having had his son torn to pieces by wild horses, and his daughter stoned to death. THE IONIC EMIGRATION. On the death of Codrus, his two sons, Mēdōn and Neileus, having Emigration quarrelled about the succession, the latter resolved on emigrating. In of Neileus. his resolution he was confirmed by the decision of the Delphic oracle, which assigned the throne to Mēdōn. Under the guidance of several members of the Codrid family, headed by Neileus, the memorable Ionic emigration sailed forth to the shores of Asia Minor. In this extensive movement, not only did the Ionians recently driven from the Components Peloponnesus join, but the unsettled population which had been for a considerable time crowding towards Attica increased its numbers; while many distinct races, such as the legendary Cadmeians, the Abantes of Euboea, the Boeotians, and the Arcadian Pelasgians, helped to swell the vast moving throng who now sought to settle on more prosperous lands. of the Ionic emigration. maritime power of This great occidental confluence of various races, and the facility Early with which such large bodies were transported across the Ægaan, demonstrate alike the unsettled state of the Hellenic race and the early Athens. maritime ascendancy of Athens. She colonized the Cyclades, the islands of Chios, Samos, and ten important cities on the Asiatic coast, ranging from Phocæa on the north to Milētus on the south. Lycian chiefs, also, the descendants of Glaucus and other princes celebrated in Homeric song, were distinguished leaders in this enterprise. These settlements, however, were not always of a peaceful nature, the Carians and Leleges, who then inhabited a considerable part of the coast, being expelled with much slaughter. colonies The twelve colonies thus formed were Samos, Chios, Milētus, Priēnē, Twelve Ephesus, Colophon, Lebedus, Teōs, Erythræ, Clazomēna, and Phocæa. founded. Miletus, the position chosen by Neileus himself, of all these settlements laid claim to the purest Ionic blood. Here the followers of the Athenian prince slaughtered all the males whom they found, compelling the women to become their wives, an action which these females Settlement treasured up as a bitter legacy to their daughters, whom they bound by oaths never to share their meals with their husbands, nor salute them of Miletus. by their names. In the state of society then subsisting, the cruel onslaught of these invaders appeared an honourable action, nor was it reprobated by Isocrates, who afterwards, even in the prime of Gre- Opinion of cian civilization, applauds his Athenian ancestors for having by this emigration provided a home for his countrymen at the expense of colonization barbarians. Prior to the settlement of Milētus, Ephesus, and Colophon, the worship of Apollo Didymæus existed among the Asiatic population of Isocrates on the of Miletus. Advantageous position of the Ionic towns. Androclus founder of Ephesus. these towns, and the continuance of the local rites harmonized with the feelings of the Greeks, by whose energetic superintendence they derived increased renown. Milētus, Priēnē, and Myus being situated near the river Mæander, and Ephesus adjoining the embouch ure of the Caïster, the advantages of such a valuable communication with the interior gave a most rapid development to their nascent prosperity; whilst, together with the neighbouring island of Samas, they exercised at an early period the chief influence in the Pan-Ionic Amphictyony, who held their meetings on the north side of the promontory of Mycale, at the temple of Poseidōn. The chief founder of Ephesus was Androclus, who, after lingering on the isle of Samos, received at length an oracular intimation to colonize part of the hill of Coressus, at the fountain of Hypelæon, near the temple of Artemis; and so rapidly did the resources of Androclus increase that he soon effected the conquest of Samos, expelling from that island Leōgorus, its prince. After various fortunes, however, Androclus perished in a fierce conflict fought in defence of Priēnē, and his dead body, being brought from the field of battle, was buried near the gates of Ephesus. Soon after his death, a revolt broke out against his sons, and the popular party, aided by reinforcements from Teos, established a repub EDECIAN His descend- lican government, permitting the descendants of Androclus to retain the hereditary priesthood of the Eleusinian Dēmēter. ants retain the priesthood. of Miletus. Though the legendary grouping of the Ionic emigration points alone to one grand political movement of that enterprising offshoot of the Hellenic race, its historical analogies lead us to consider the effects Ionic produced as the results of distinct and successive settlements, gradually settlements blending with Lydians and Carians. The whole Ionic sea-board was gradual. at the height of prosperity between 700 and 500 B.C., when the comImportance mercial splendour of Milētus almost rivalled that of Tyre and Carthage. Her trade by sea was principally carried on in the Euxine and the Palus Mæotis, whose shores were studded with her colonies, by means of which she monopolised the northern trade in slaves, dry fish, pulse, and furs. Her land trade flourished by the great military road conland and sea. structed by the Persians into the heart of Asia, whilst so great was the expansion of her naval power, that four harbours scarcely sufficed to contain the mercantile and warlike armaments which left her coasts. Trade by Commercial Phocæa. Contemporaneous with this magnificent period of her prosperity, enterprise of Phocæa carried her commercial enterprise to the west as vigorously as did the Milesians towards the north. Her navigation stretched to Gades, and her commercial spirit founded colonies in Italy, Corsica, emigrate to Corsica. position. and Gaul. On the rise of the Persian dominion, 540 B.C., this The spirited people, rather than succumb to the yoke of Persia, forsook the Phocans land of their fathers and migrated to Corsica. Under the sway of Polycrates, 540-523 B.C., Samos was distin- Samos and guished by its trade and naval power. A century subsequent to the its political former date we find Samos dependent upon Athens, which, together with the introduction of a democratic government, made this the grand rendezvous for her fleets and troops during her war with Sparta. festival of But we must not only contemplate with admiration the vast commercial energy developed by these colonies of Hellas, we shall also be deeply impressed by the noble spirit of brotherhood which animated their vigorous maturity. The central festival of Delos was the grand Grand Ionic theatre where the Ionic race, both continental and insular, assembled Delos. to foster those feelings of kindred which were so deeply felt by the mother state and her children. From 660-560 B.C. this festival was At its height at its greatest height, and the Homeric Hymn to Apollo presents us B. C. 660with a most imposing description of that great solemnity, in which 560. both Peisistratus of Athens, and Polycrates of Samos, took a deep interest. For the concluding history of this great commercial community, the reader is referred to "The Ionic Revolt," the term of the independence of the Asiatic Greeks. B. C. 621. THE early history of Attica, like that of the other Grecian States, is involved to such an extent in fable, that it is difficult to select any ancient narration on which a reader may, with confidence, rely. So numerous, indeed, and contradictory, are the marvels recounted concerning the founders and restorers of these states, in respect and in proportion to their subsequent consequence and splendour, that we can hardly repress our incredulity as to the simplest facts that are related concerning them. Nine archons We have had occasion repeatedly to notice these disadvantages in the study of ancient history; and with regard to Athens, from the age of Theseus to the period at which we are now arrived, six centuries elapsed, whose records furnish us but with the single name of Codrus as a subject of biography; and of his life, as we have seen, the materials are few. On the close of the archonship of Eryxias, and some time after the appointed. death of Hippomenes, the last of the Medōntida, the people having made the office of archon elective and annual, nominated nine of the richest citizens to the chief magistracy, and assigned to each his peculiar duties. The title of Archon was confined to the first of these magistrates, and the year in which he was chosen was distinguished by his name; the second was honoured with the title of Basileus, or king, and had his distinct tribunal for the administration of justice; the third was called Polemarchos, and his chief occupation was the management of the military affairs of the country; the six remaining archontes were called indiscriminately Thesmothetæ. Right of electing the Archontes. From the commencement of the Athenian republic, it is worthy of remark, that although both the nobles and the people joined in the wish to limit the powers of their rulers, yet there existed a contention between themselves for power and authority; which, indeed, though always fluctuating, was not unequally divided. For the right of electing the supreme magistrates, the archontes, was settled in the people; but it was from amongst the nobility alone that these officers could be chosen. The first of the nobles who exercised this office, under the new limitations, was Creōn; to him succeeded Tlesias; then Lysias; |