did not consider him guilty of any dereliction of duty in that engagement; but Lysicles, the Athenian general, was brought to trial, and condemned to death. § 11. The exultation of Philip at his victory knew no bounds. He celebrated his triumph with drunken orgies; and reeling from the banquet to the field of battle, he danced over the dead, at the same time singing and beating time to the opening words of the decree of Demosthenes, which happened to have the rhythm of a comic Iambic verse. * It is said that the orator Demades put an end to this ridiculous and unroyal exhibition by reminding Philip, "That though fortune had placed him in the position of Agamemnon, he preferred playing the part of Thersites." But when Philip had returned to his sober senses, the manner in which he used his victory excited universal surprise. He dismissed the Athenian prisoners not only without ransom, but with all their baggage, and some of them he even provided with new apparel. He then voluntarily offered a peace on terms more advantageous than the Athenians themselves would have ventured to propose. They were, indeed, required to relinquish a part of their foreign dependencies; but they were in some degree compensated for this by being put in possession of Oropus, of which the Thebans were now deprived. Philip, indeed, seems to have regarded Athens with a sort of love and respect, as the centre of art and refinement, for his treatment of the Thebans was very different, and marked by great harshness and severity. They were compelled to recall their exiles, in whose hands the government was placed, whilst a Macedonian garrison was established in the Cadmea. They were also deprived of their sovereignty over the Boeotian towns, and Platea and Orchomenus were restored, and again filled with a population hostile to Thebes. § 12. But the mildness of Philip's conduct towards Athens, though it bore the appearance of magnanimity, and afforded matter for triumph to the orators of the peace party, was, after all, perhaps in no small degree the result of policy. It was by no means certain that, if Philip laid siege to Athens, he would be able to take the city; at all events, the siege would be a protracted one; the exasperated Thebans lay in his rear; and the attempt would certainly delay the more brilliant enterprise which he had long meditated against Persia. For this latter purpose he now convened a congress of the Grecian states at Corinth, though its ostensible object was the settlement of the affairs of Greece. Sparta was the only state unrepresented in * Δημοσθένης Δημοσθένους Παιανιεὺς ταδ ̓ εἶπεν. this assembly. War was declared against Persia, Philip was appointed generalissimo of the expedition, and each state was assessed in a certain contingent of men or ships. But before he returned to the north of Greece, he determined to chastise Sparta for her ill-disguised hostility. His march through Peloponnesus, and back by the western coast, though he here and there met with resistance, resembled rather a royal progress than an expedition into a hostile country. The western states north of the isthmus now submitted to his authority, and a Macedonian garrison was placed in Ambracia. Byzantium also executed a treaty with Philip, which was virtually an act of subjection. Having thus established his authority throughout Greece, he returned to Macedonia in the autumn of B.C. 338, in order to prepare for his Persian expedition. § 13. But the fortune of Philip, which had triumphed over al his foreign enemies, was destined to be arrested by the feuds which arose in the bosom of his own family. Soon after his return to Macedonia, and probably in the spring of 337, he celebrated his nuptials with Cleopatra, the beautiful niece of Attalus, one of his generals. He had already several wives, for he had adopted the eastern custom of polygamy; but it was Olympias, daughter of Neoptolemus, king of Epirus, by whom Philip had become the father of Alexander, who regarded herself as his legitimate queen; a violent and imperious woman, who prided herself on the ancient nobility of her family, which traced its descent from Pyrrhus, son of Achilles. The banquet which followed the wedding was marked by an extraordinary scene. When the cup had freely circulated, and wine had begun to unlock the hearts of the guests, Attalus uncautiously disclosed the ambitious views with which his daughter's marriage had inspired him, by calling upon the company to invoke the gods to bless the union they were celebrating with a legitimate heir to the throne. Fired at this expression, which seemed to convey a reflection on his birth, the young prince Alexander hurled his goblet at Attalus, exclaiming, "Am I then called a bastard?” Philip at these words started from his couch, and seizing his sword, rushed towards Alexander, whom he would probably have slain, had not his foot slipped and caused him to fall. Alexander rose and left the banqueting-hall; but as he withdrew levelled a taunt at his prostrate parent. "Behold the man,” he exclaimed, "who was about to pass from Europe to Asia, but who has been overthrown in going from one couch to another!" Alexander and his mother Olympias now hastened to quit Macedonia. The latter found refuge at the court of her brother Alexander, king of Epirus, whilst the former took up his abodo in Illyria. The fugitives appear to have stirred up both these countries to wage war against Philip, who however at length contrived to effect a show of reconciliation. Through the mediation of a friend, he induced Alexander to return to Pella; and he averted the hostility of his brother-in-law, the king of Epirus, by offering him the hand of his daughter, Cleopatra. Olympias was now compelled to return to Philip's court; but both she and Alexander harboured an implacable resentment against him. § 14. These domestic disturbances delayed Philip's expedition during the year 337; but in the following spring he appears to have sent some forces into Asia, under the command of Attalus, Parmenio, and Amyntas. These were designed to engage the Greek cities of Asia in the expedition, and to support the disaffected subjects of Persia. But before quitting Macedonia, Philip determined to provide for the safety of his dominions by celebrating the marriage of his daughter with Alexander of Epirus. It was solemnized at Ægæ, the ancient capital of Macedonia, with much pomp, including banquets, and musical and theatrical entertainments. Most of the Grecian towns sent their deputies to the festival, bringing crowns of gold and other presents to the king. But a terrible catastrophe was impending, which several omens are said to have predicted. The oracle of Delphi, when consulted by Philip, as head of the Amphictyons, respecting the issue of his eastern expedition, responded with its usual happy ambiguity-" The bull is crowned, everything is ready, and the sacrificer is at hand." And the player Neoptolemus, who had been engaged to recite some verses during the nuptial banquet, chose an ode which spoke of power, pride, and luxury, and of the rapid and stealthy approach of death, which terminates in a moment the most ambitious expectations. § 15. The day after the nuptials was dedicated to theatrical entertainments. The festival was opened with a procession of the images of the twelve Olympian deities, with which was associated that of Philp himself. The monarch took part in the procession, dressed in white robes, and crowned with a chaplet. A little behind him walked his son and his new son-in-law, whilst his body-guards followed at some distance, in order that the person of the sovereign might be seen by all his subjects. Whilst thus proceeding through the city, a youth suddenly rushed out of the crowd, and drawing a long sword which he had concealed under his clothes, plunged it into Philip's side, who fell dead upon the spot. The assassin was pursued by some of the royal guards, and having stumbled in his flight, was despatched before he could reach the place where horses had been provided for his escape. His name was Pausanias. He was a youth of noble birth, and we are told that his motive for taking Philip's life was that the king had refused to punish an outrage which Attalus had committed against him. Both Olympias and her son Alexander were suspected of being concerned in the murder. Olympias is said to have prepared the horses for the escape of the assassin; and it is certain that she manifested an extravagant satisfaction at Philip's death. The suspicion that Olympias was privy to her husband's assassination is considerably strengthened by the improbability that Pausanias, without incitement from some other quarter, should have avenged himself on Philip rather than on Attalus, the actual perpetrator of the injury which he had received. With regard to Alexander, however, there is no evidence worth a moment's attention to inculpate him; and though an eminent historian has not scrupled to condemn him as a parricide, yet we should hesitate to brand him, on such slender suspicions, with a crime which seems foreign to his character. Thus fell Philip of Macedon in the twenty-fourth year of his reign and forty-seventh of his age (B.c. 336). When we reflect upon his achievements, and how, partly by policy and partly by arms, he converted his originally poor and distracted kingdom into the mistress of Greece, we must acknowledge him to have been an extraordinary, if not a great man, in the better sense of that term. His views and his ambition were certainly as large as those of his son Alexander, but he was prevented by a premature death from carrying them out; nor would Alexander himself have been able to perform his great achievements had not Philip handed down to him all the means and instruments which they required. * Niebuhr. Bust of Demosthenes. § 1. Education of Alexander. § 2. Rejoicings at Athens for Philip's death. Movements in Greece. § 3. Alexander overawes the malcontents, and is appointed generalissimo for the Persian war. § 4. Alexander subdues the Triballians, Getæ, Illyrians, and Taulantians. § 5. Revolt and destruction of Thebes. 6. Alexander prepares to invade Persia. Nature of that empire. § 7. Alexander crosses the Hellespont. §8. Battle of the Granicus. § 9. Alexander overruns Asia Minor. The Gordian knot. § 10. March through Cilicia. Battle of Issus. Victory. § 11. Conquest of Phoenicia. Siege of Tyre. §12. Alexander marches into Egypt. Foundation of Alexandria. Oracle of Ammon. §13. Battle of Arbela. § 14. Alexander takes possession of Babylon, Susa, and Persepolis. 15. March to Ecbatana, and pursuit of Darius. Death of Darius. §16. March through Hyrcania, Asia, and Drangiana. Conspiracy of Philotas. $17. Alexander crosses the Oxus. Death of Bessus. Reduction of Sogdiana. Alexander marries Roxana. § 18. Murder of Clitus. § 19. Plot of the pages. Alexander invades the Penjâb, and defeats Porus. Marches as far as the Hyphasis. § 20. Descent of the Hydaspes and Indus. 21. March through Gedrosia. Voyage of Nearchus. §22. Arrival at Susa. Intermarriages of the Greeks and Persians. Mutiny of the army. § 23. Death of Hephaestion. Alexander takes up his residence at Babylon. His death. § 24. Character. § 1. NOTWITHSTANDING the suspicions of Olympias and Alexander, it does not appear that Philip had ever really entertained the design of depriving Alexander of the throne. At the time of his father's death he was in his twentieth year, having been born in B.C. 356. At a very tender age he displayed a spirit |