2. Polybius, Histories, 1.31.8, 1.62.1, 1.62.4-1.62.6, 2.56-2.60, 6.4.7-6.4.10, 6.8.5-6.8.6, 6.43.1, 6.47.9, 6.51-6.52, 6.51.1-6.51.2, 6.56.1-6.56.5, 6.57.9, 14.5.15, 15.25-15.34, 15.26.1-15.26.8, 15.27.1, 15.27.3, 15.30.4, 15.30.9, 15.32.4, 15.33.5, 15.33.9, 27.13.1, 34.14.2, 39.7.7 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 2.56. 1. Since, among those authors who were contemporaries of Aratus, Phylarchus, who on many points is at variance and in contradiction with him, is by some received as trustworthy,,2. it will be useful or rather necessary for me, as I have chosen to rely on Aratus' narrative for the history of the Cleomenic war, not to leave the question of their relative credibility undiscussed, so that truth and falsehood in their writings may no longer be of equal authority.,3. In general Phylarchus through his whole work makes many random and careless statements;,4. but while perhaps it is not necessary for me at present to criticize in detail the rest of these, I must minutely examine such as relate to events occurring in the period with which I am now dealing, that of the Cleomenic war.,5. This partial examination will however be quite sufficient to convey an idea of the general purpose and character of his work.,6. Wishing, for instance, to insist on the cruelty of Antigonus and the Macedonians and also on that of Aratus and the Achaeans, he tells us that the Mantineans, when they surrendered, were exposed to terrible sufferings and that such were the misfortunes that overtook this, the most ancient and greatest city in Arcadia, as to impress deeply and move to tears all the Greeks.,7. In his eagerness to arouse the pity and attention of his readers he treats us to a picture of clinging women with their hair dishevelled and their breasts bare, or again of crowds of both sexes together with their children and aged parents weeping and lamenting as they are led away to slavery.,8. This sort of thing he keeps up throughout his history, always trying to bring horrors vividly before our eyes.,9. Leaving aside the ignoble and womanish character of such a treatment of his subject, let us consider how far it is proper or serviceable to history.,10. A historical author should not try to thrill his readers by such exaggerated pictures, nor should he, like a tragic poet, try to imagine the probable utterances of his characters or reckon up all the consequences probably incidental to the occurrences with which he deals, but simply record what really happened and what really was said, however commonplace.,11. For the object of tragedy is not the same as that of history but quite the opposite. The tragic poet should thrill and charm his audience for the moment by the verisimilitude of the words he puts into his characters' mouths, but it is the task of the historian to instruct and convince for all time serious students by the truth of the facts and the speeches he narrates,,12. since in the one case it is the probable that takes precedence, even if it be untrue, in the other it is the truth, the purpose being to confer benefit on learners.,13. Apart from this, Phylarchus simply narrates most of such catastrophes and does not even suggest their causes or the nature of these causes, without which it is impossible in any case to feel either legitimate pity or proper anger.,14. Who, for instance, does not think it an outrage for a free man to be beaten? but if this happen to one who was the first to resort to violence, we consider that he got only his desert, while where it is done for the purpose of correction or discipline, those who strike free men are not only excused but deemed worthy of thanks and praise.,15. Again, to kill a citizen is considered the greatest of crimes and that deserving the highest penalty, but obviously he who kills a thief or adulterer is left untouched, and the slayer of a traitor or tyrant everywhere meets with honour and distinction.,16. So in every such case the final criterion of good and evil lies not in what is done, but in the different reasons and different purposes of the doer. 2.57. 1. Now the Mantineans had, in the first instance, deserted the Achaean League, and of their own free will put themselves and their city into the hands first of the Aetolians and then of Cleomenes.,2. They had deliberately ranged themselves on his side and been admitted to Spartan citizenship, when, four years before the invasion of Antigonus, their city was betrayed to Aratus and forcibly occupied by the Achaeans.,3. On this occasion, so far from their being cruelly treated owing to their recent delinquency, the circumstances became celebrated because of the sudden revulsion of sentiments on both sides.,4. For immediately Aratus had the city in his hands, he at once issued orders to his troops to keep their hands off the property of others,,5. and next, calling an assembly of the Mantineans, bade them be of good courage and retain possession of all they had; for if they joined the Achaean League he would assure their perfect security.,6. The prospect of safety thus suddenly revealed to them took the Mantineans completely by surprise, and there was an instantaneous and universal reversal of feeling.,7. The very men at whose hands they had seen, in the fight that had just closed, many of their kinsmen slain and many grievously wounded, were now taken into their houses, and received into their families with whom they lived on the kindest possible terms.,8. This was quite natural, for I never heard of any men meeting with kinder enemies or being less injured by what is considered the greatest of calamities than the Mantineans, all owing to their humane treatment by Aratus and the Achaeans. 2.58. 1. Subsequently, as they foresaw discord among themselves and plots by the Aetolians and Lacedaemonians, they sent an embassy to the Achaeans asking for a garrison.,2. The Achaeans consented and chose by lot three hundred of their own citizens, who set forth, abandoning their own houses and possessions, and remained in Mantinea to watch over the liberty and safety of its townsmen.,3. At the same time they sent two hundred hired soldiers, who aided this Achaean force in safeguarding the established government.,4. Very soon however the Mantineans fell out with the Achaeans, and, inviting the Lacedaemonians, put the city into their hands and massacred the garrison the Achaeans had sent them. It is not easy to name any greater or more atrocious act of treachery than this.,5. For in resolving to foreswear their friendship and gratitude, they should at least have spared the lives of these men and allowed them all to depart under terms.,6. Such treatment is, by the common law of nations, accorded even to enemies;,7. but the Mantineans, simply in order to give Cleomenes and the Lacedaemonians a satisfactory guarantee of their good faith in this undertaking violated the law recognized by all mankind and deliberately committed the most heinous of crimes.,8. Vengeful murderers of the very men who previously on capturing their city had left them unharmed, and who now were guarding their liberties and lives â against such men, one asks oneself, can any indignation be too strong?,9. What should we consider to be an adequate punishment for them? Someone might perhaps say that now when they were crushed by armed force they should have been sold into slavery with their wives and children.,10. But to this fate the usage of war exposes those who have been guilty of no such impious crime.,11. These men therefore were worthy of some far heavier and more extreme penalty; so that had they suffered what Phylarchus alleges, it was not to be expected that they should have met with pity from the Greeks, but rather that approval and assent should have been accorded to those who executed judgement on them for their wickedness.,12. Yet, while nothing more serious befel the Mantineans, in this their hour of calamity, than the pillage of their property and the enslavement of the male citizens, Phylarchus, all for the sake of making his narrative sensational, composed a tissue not only of falsehoods, but of improbable falsehoods,,13. and, owing to his gross ignorance, was not even able to compare an analogous case and explain how the same people at the same time, on taking Tegea by force, did not commit any such excesses.,14. For if the cause lay in the barbarity of the perpetrators, the Tegeans should have met with the same treatment as those who were conquered at the same time.,15. If only the Mantineans were thus exceptionally treated, we must evidently infer that there was some exceptional cause for anger against them. 2.59. 1. Again he tells us that Aristomachus of Argos, a man of most noble birth, having himself been tyrant of Argos and being descended from tyrants, was led away captive to Cenchreae and there racked to death, no man deserving less such a terrible fate.,2. Exercising in this case too his peculiar talent, the author gives us a made-up story of his cries when on the rack having reached the ears of the neighbours, some of whom, horrified at the crime, others scarcely crediting their senses and others in hot indignation ran to the house.,3. About Phylarchus' vice of sensationalism I need say no more, for I have given sufficient evidence of it;,4. but as for Aristomachus, even if he had been guilty of no other offence to the Achaeans, I consider that the general tenor of his life and his treason to his own country rendered him worthy of the most severe punishment.,5. Our author, it is true, with the view of magnifying his importance and moving his readers to share his own indignation at his fate, tells us that he "not only had been a tyrant himself but was descended from tyrants.",6. It would be difficult for anyone to bring a graver or more bitter accusation against a man. Why! the very word "tyrant" alone conveys to us the height of impiety and comprises in itself the sum of all human defiance of law and justice.,7. Aristomachus, if it is true that he was subjected to the most terrible punishment, as Phylarchus tells us, did not get his full deserts for the doings on one day;,8. I mean the day on which when Aratus with the Achaeans had gained entrance to the town and fought hard to free the Argives at great risk, but was finally driven out, because none of those inside the city who had agreed to join him ventured to stir,9. owing to their fear of the tyrant, Aristomachus, availing himself of the pretext that certain persons were cognisant of the entrance of the Achaeans, put to death eighty of the leading citizens who were quite innocent, after torturing them before the eyes of their relatives.,10. I say nothing of the crimes that he and his ancestors were guilty of all through their lives: it would be too long a story. 2.60. 1. We must not therefore think it shocking if he met with treatment similar to what he had inflicted: it would have been much more so had he died in peace, without experiencing any such.,2. Nor should we charge Antigonus and Aratus with criminal conduct, if having captured him in war they had tortured and put to death a tyrant, any man who killed and punished whom even in the time of peace would have been applauded and honoured by all right-thinking people.,3. When I add that in addition to all his other offences he broke his faith with the Achaeans, what fate shall we say was too bad for him?,4. Not many years previously he had laid down his tyranny, finding himself in an embarrassed position owing to the death of Demetrius, and quite contrary to his expectation suffered no harm, being protected by the Achaeans,,5. who showed themselves most lenient and generous; for not only did they inflict no punishment on him for the crimes he had committed during his tyranny, but receiving him with the highest dignity, making him their Strategus and Commander-inâchief.,6. But instantly dismissing from his mind all these benefits, the moment it seemed to him that his prospects would be somewhat more brilliant if he sided with Cleomenes, he broke away from the Achaeans, transferring from them to the enemy at a most critical time his personal support and that of his country.,7. Surely when they got him into their hands, he should not have been racked to death at night in Cenchreae, as Phylarchus says, but should have been led round the whole Peloponnesus and tortured as a spectacle for the public until dead.,8. Yet notwithstanding his abominable character, all the harm he suffered was to be drowned in the sea by the officers in command at Cenchreae. 6.4.7. Now the first of these to come into being is monarchy, its growth being natural and unaided; and next arises kingship derived from monarchy by the aid of art and by the correction of defects. 6.4.8. Monarchy first changes into its vicious allied form, tyranny; and next, the abolishment of both gives birth to aristocracy. 6.4.9. Aristocracy by its very nature degenerates into oligarchy; and when the commons inflamed by anger take vengeance on this government for its unjust rule, democracy comes into being; and in due course the licence and lawlessness of this form of government produces mob-rule to complete the series. 6.8.5. they abandoned themselves some to greed of gain and unscrupulous money-making, others to indulgence in wine and the convivial excess which accompanies it, and others again to the violation of women and the rape of boys; and thus converting the aristocracy into an oligarchy aroused in the people feelings similar to those of which I just spoke, and in consequence met with the same disastrous end as the tyrant. 6.43.1. One may say that nearly all authors have handed down to us the reputation for excellence enjoyed by the constitutions of Sparta, Crete, Mantinea, and Carthage. Some make mention also of those of Athens and Thebes. 6.47.9. Up to the present it would be just the same thing to discuss it with a view to comparison with the constitutions of Sparta, Rome, and Carthage, as to take some statue and compare it with living and breathing men. 6.51. 1. The constitution of Carthage seems to me to have been originally well contrived as regards its most distinctive points.,2. For there were kings, and the house of Elders was an aristocratical force, and the people were supreme in matters proper to them, the entire frame of the state much resembling that of Rome and Sparta.,3. But at the time when they entered on the Hannibalic War, the Carthaginian constitution had degenerated, and that of Rome was better.,4. For as every body or state or action has its natural periods first of growth, then of prime, and finally of decay, and as everything in them is at its best when they are in their prime, it was for this reason that the difference between the two states manifested itself at this time.,5. For by as much as the power and prosperity of Carthage had been earlier than that of Rome, by so much had Carthage already begun to decline; while Rome was exactly at her prime, as far as at least as her system of government was concerned.,6. Consequently the multitude at Carthage had already acquired the chief voice in deliberations; while at Rome the senate still retained this;,7. and hence, as in one case the masses deliberated and in the other the most eminent men, the Roman decisions on public affairs were superior,,8. so that although they met with complete disaster, they were finally by the wisdom of their counsels victorious over the Carthaginians in the war. 6.51.1. The constitution of Carthage seems to me to have been originally well contrived as regards its most distinctive points. 6.51.2. For there were kings, and the house of Elders was an aristocratical force, and the people were supreme in matters proper to them, the entire frame of the state much resembling that of Rome and Sparta. 6.52. 1. But to pass to differences of detail, such as, to begin with, the conduct of war, the Carthaginians naturally are superior at sea both in efficiency and equipment, because seamanship has long been their national craft, and they busy themselves with the sea more than any other people;,2. but as regards military service on land the Romans are much more efficient.,3. They indeed devote their whole energies to this matter, whereas the Carthaginians entirely neglect their infantry, though they do pay some slight attention to their cavalry.,4. The reason of this is that the troops they employ are foreign and mercenary, whereas those of the Romans are natives of the soil and citizens.,5. So that in this respect also we must pronounce the political system of Rome to be superior to that of Carthage, the Carthaginians continuing to depend for the maintece of their freedom on the courage of a mercenary force but the Romans on their own valour and on the aid of their allies.,6. Consequently even if they happen to be worsted at the outset, the Romans redeem defeat by final success, while it is the contrary with the Carthaginians.,7. For the Romans, fighting as they are for their country and their children, never can abate their fury but continue to throw their whole hearts into the struggle until they get the better of their enemies.,8. It follows that though the Romans are, as I said, much less skilled in naval matters, they are on the whole successful at sea owing to the gallantry of their men;,9. for although skill in seamanship is of no small importance in naval battles, it is chiefly the courage of the marines that turns the scale in favour of victory.,10. Now not only do Italians in general naturally excel Phoenicians and Africans in bodily strength and personal courage, but by their institutions also they do much to foster a spirit of bravery in the young men.,11. A single instance will suffice to indicate the pains taken by the state to turn out men who will be ready to endure everything in order to gain a reputation in their country for valour. 6.56.1. Again, the laws and customs relating to the acquisition of wealth are better in Rome than at Carthage. 6.56.2. At Carthage nothing which results in profit is regarded as disgraceful; at Rome nothing is considered more so than to accept bribes and seek gain from improper channels. 6.56.3. For no less strong than their approval of money-making is their condemnation of unscrupulous gain from forbidden sources. 6.56.4. A proof of this is that at Carthage candidates for office practise open bribery, whereas at Rome death is the penalty for it. 6.56.5. Therefore as the rewards offered to merit are the opposite in the two cases, it is natural that the steps taken to gain them should also be dissimilar. 6.57.9. When this happens, the state will change its name to the finest sounding of all, freedom and democracy, but will change its nature to the worst thing of all, mob-rule. 14.5.15. Therefore of all the brilliant exploits performed by Scipio this seems to me the most splendid and most adventurous. . . . 15.25. 1. Sosibius, the pretended guardian of Ptolemy, appears to have been a dexterous instrument of evil who remained long in power and did much mischief in the kingdom.,2. He first of all compassed the death of Lysimachus, who was Ptolemy's son by Arsinoë the daughter of Lysimachus, next that of Magas, son of Ptolemy and Berenice, daughter of Magas, thirdly that of Berenice, mother of Ptolemy Philopator, fourthly that of Cleomenes of Sparta, and fifthly that of Arsinoë, the daughter of Berenice. Ambition and Fate of Agathocles,3. After four or five days, erecting a tribune in the largest colonnade of the palace, they summoned a meeting of the bodyguard and household troops as well as of the officers of the infantry and cavalry.,4. When all these had collected, Agathocles and Sosibius mounted the tribune, and in the first place acknowledged the death of the king and queen and enjoined the populace to go into mourning as was their usual practice.,5. After this they crowned the boy and proclaimed him king, and then read a forged will, in which it was written that the king appointed Agathocles and Sosibius guardians of his son.,6. They begged the officers to remain well disposed and maintain the boy on his throne; and afterwards brought in two silver urns, the one said to contain the bones of the king and the other those of Arsinoë.,7. As a fact, the one did contain the king's bones, but the other was full of spices. Hereupon they at once celebrated the funeral, and now the real circumstances of Arsinoë's fate became manifest to all.,8. For on her death being made known, everyone began to inquire how she had perished. As there was no other cause assigned when the true report began to reach people's ears, though doubt still subsisted, the truth was impressed on the minds of all, and the people were much stirred in consequence.,9. As for the king, no one cared, but concerning Arsinoë, when some recalled her orphanhood and others the insults and outrages inflicted on her during her whole life, and finally her unhappy death, the people fell into such a state of distraction and affliction that the town was full of groans, tears, and ceaseless lamentation,,10. a testimony, in the opinion of those who judged correctly, not so much of affection for Arsinoë as of hatred of Agathocles.,11. The latter, after depositing the urns in the royal vaults, ordered the public mourning to cease, and as a first step granted two months' pay to the troops, feeling sure of taking the edge off their hatred by appealing to the soldiers' spirit of avarice, and in the next place imposed on them the oath they were accustomed to take on the proclamation of a new king.,12. He also sent away Philammon who had carried out the murder of Arsinoë, making him libyarch in the Cyrenaica, and he placed the child in the care of Oethe and Agathoclea.,13. After this he dispatched Pelops, son of Pelops, to Asia, to King Antiochus to beg him to remain on friendly terms and not to transgress his treaty with the young king's father, and sent Ptolemy, son of Sosibius, to Philip to arrange for the proposed match and to beg for his help if Antiochus attempted any serious violation of his obligations.,14. He also appointed Ptolemy, the son of Agesarchus, ambassador to Rome, with the idea not of his hurrying to his post, but of his remaining in Greece when he reached that country and met his friends and relatives there,,15. the object of Agathocles being to remove all men of distinction from Egypt.,16. He also sent Scopas, the Aetolian, to Greece to hire mercenaries, providing him with a large sum of money to advance to them.,17. Two reasons underlay this plan; for in the first place, he wished to use the troops he hired for the war against Antiochus, and next to send away the existing force of mercenaries to the country forts in Egypt and to the foreign settlements, and then with these new arrivals to fill up and remodel the household troops and the guards of the court, and of the rest of the city, thinking that the men he himself had enlisted and whom he paid, as they had no political sympathies regarding past events of which they were ignorant, as they reposed their hopes of preservation and advancement on himself, would readily support him and join heartily in executing all his behests.,19. All this happened before the negotiations with Philip, as I have stated, but as the negotiations fell to be dealt with first owing to the order of my narrative, it was necessary for me to manage matters so as to give an account of the interviews and speeches of the ambassadors before mentioning their appointment and dispatch.,20. Agathocles, as soon as he had removed all the most notable men and checked to a great extent by the advance of pay the disaffection among the troops, turned to his old courses.,21. He filled up the vacant places of the royal "friends" by appointing from the body servants and other attendants those most remarkable for their effrontery and recklessness.,22. He himself spent the greater part of the day and night in drinking and the debauchery which commonly accompanies it, sparing neither women in the flower of their age nor brides nor virgins, and all this he did with the most odious ostentation.,23. So that as strong dislike against him was aroused on all sides, as no attempt was made to conciliate or help those aggrieved, but on the contrary there was a constant repetition of outrage, arrogance, and neglect,,24. the former hatred of the populace for him began to fume again, and all recalled the calamities that these men had brought on the kingdom.,25. But since they had no leader of any weight, through whom to vent their anger on Agathocles and Agathoclea, they kept quiet, their only remaining hope, to which they eagerly clung, being in Tlepolemus.,26. While the king lived, Tlepolemus attended to his own affairs, but on the death of Ptolemy, after quieting the populace, he became again military governor of the district round Pelusium;,27. and at first he consulted the king's interest in all he did, believing that there would be some council charged with the guardianship of the child and the general control of affairs.,28. But when he saw that all the men worthy of this office had been got rid of, and that Agathocles ventured to assume the reins of government, he very soon changed his attitude, as he was conscious of the danger that menaced him owing to their long-standing enmity, and collecting his forces around him took measures for providing himself with money in order that he might not fall an easy prey to any of his foes.,29. At the same time he did not despair of himself obtaining the guardianship of the child and the direction of affairs, thinking that he was, if his own judgement did not deceive him, more capable because he heard that both the troops under his own command and those in Alexandria placed in him their hopes of overthrowing the insolent domination of Agathocles.,30. Such being his opinion of himself, the difference between them became speedily more acute, since both of them contributed to this end.,31. For Tlepolemus, as he was desirous of attaching to himself the commanders, taxiarchs, and inferior officers, entertained them sedulously at banquets; and on those occasions, either flattered by those who wished to make themselves agreeable to him or on his own impulse, since he was young and they were talking over their wine, he would make remarks about the family of Agathocles, at first enigmatical, then of doubtful import, but finally quite outspoken and conveying the most venomous insults.,32. For he used to toast the wall-dauber and the sackbut-girl and the lady-barber, and the young boy who was so complaisant at the drinking-bouts when he was cupbearer to the king in his childhood's days.,33. As his guests always laughed with him and contributed something of their own to his jests, the matter soon reached the ears of Agathocles.,34. Their enmity was now avowed, and Agathocles lost no time in bringing an accusation against Tlepolemus, charging him with disaffection to the king and stating that he was inviting Antiochus to assume the government.,35. He was in no lack of specious grounds for this accusation, some resting on reports of actual facts which he distorted and some being pure inventions of his own.,36. All this he did with the object of working up the populace against Tlepolemus, but it had the contrary result. For as they had for long rested their hopes on Tlepolemus, they were exceedingly glad to see the quarrel becoming more inflamed.,37. The popular movement originated in the following manner. Nicon, who was a relative of Agathocles, had been appointed director of naval affairs during the lifetime of Ptolemy, and he now. . . . Agathocles also killed Deinon, son of Deinon, and this was, as the saying is, "the justest of his many iniquities." For at the time when dispatches reached Deinon proposing the murder of Arsinoë, it was perfectly in his power to report the criminal project and save the kingdom, but he chose to take the part of Philammon and became thus the cause of all the evils which followed. 15.26. 1. Agathocles in the first place summoned a meeting of the Macedonians and appeared together with Agathoclea and the young king.,2. At first he pretended that he could not say what he wished owing to the abundance of the tears that choked him, but after wiping his eyes many times with his chlamys and subduing the outburst, he took the child in his arms and exclaimed, "Take the child whom his father on his death-bed placed in the arms of this woman," pointing to his sister, "and confided to your faith, you soldiers of Macedon.,4. Her affection indeed is of but little moment to ensure his safety, but his fate depends on you and your valour.,5. For it has long been evident to those who judge correctly that Tlepolemus aspires to a position higher than it behoves him to covet, and now he has actually fixed the day and the hour at which he will assume the diadem.",6. And as to this he told them not to rely on his own word but on that of those who knew the truth and had just come from the very scene of action.,7. After speaking thus he brought forward Critolaus, who told them that he had himself seen the altars being erected and the victims being prepared in presence of the populace for the ceremony of proclaiming the coronation.,8. When the Macedonians heard this, not only did they feel no pity for Agathocles but paid absolutely no attention to his words, and showed such levity by hooting and murmuring to each other that he did not know himself how he got away from the meeting.,9. The same kind of thing took place at the meetings of the other regiments.,10. Meanwhile numbers of men kept on arriving by boat from the garrisons in upper Egypt, and all begged their relatives or friends to help them at the present crisis and not allow them to be thus outrageously tyrannized over by such unworthy persons.,11. The chief incentive to the soldiery to wreak their vengeance on those in power was their knowledge that any delay was prejudicial to themselves, as Tlepolemus controlled the entire supply of provisions reaching Alexandria. 15.26.1. Agathocles in the first place summoned a meeting of the Macedonians and appeared together with Agathoclea and the young king. 15.26.2. At first he pretended that he could not say what he wished owing to the abundance of the tears that choked him, but after wiping his eyes many times with his chlamys and subduing the outburst, he took the child in his arms and exclaimed, "Take the child whom his father on his death-bed placed in the arms of this woman," pointing to his sister, "and confided to your faith, you soldiers of Macedon. 15.26.4. Her affection indeed is of but little moment to ensure his safety, but his fate depends on you and your valour. 15.26.5. For it has long been evident to those who judge correctly that Tlepolemus aspires to a position higher than it behoves him to covet, and now he has actually fixed the day and the hour at which he will assume the diadem. 15.26.6. And as to this he told them not to rely on his own word but on that of those who knew the truth and had just come from the very scene of action. 15.26.7. After speaking thus he brought forward Critolaus, who told them that he had himself seen the altars being erected and the victims being prepared in presence of the populace for the ceremony of proclaiming the coronation. 15.26.8. When the Macedonians heard this, not only did they feel no pity for Agathocles but paid absolutely no attention to his words, and showed such levity by hooting and murmuring to each other that he did not know himself how he got away from the meeting. 15.27. 1. There was also one thing done by Agathocles and his party which contributed to exasperate the populace and Tlepolemus.,2. For they took Danaë, who was the latter's mother-inâlaw, from the temple of Demeter, and dragged her unveiled through the middle of the town and committed her to prison, with the express object of exhibiting their hostility to him.,3. This so irritated the people that they no longer spoke of the matter in private and secretly, but while some expressed their detestation of those in power by scribbling it all over the town at night, others even began to meet openly in groups in the day-time for this purpose.,4. Agathocles, seeing what was happening and entertaining poor hopes of his own security, began to contemplate flight; but as owing to his own imprudence he had made no preparations for this purpose he desisted from the project,,5. and his next step was to enrol conspirators ready to join in the venture, with a view to putting to death some of his enemies at once and arresting others, after which he could possess himself of tyrannical power.,6. While he was engaged in this project an accusation was brought against a certain Moeragenes, one of the bodyguards, to the effect that he informed Tlepolemus of everything and worked for his cause owing to his relationship with Adaeus, then governor of Bubastus.,7. Agathocles at once gave orders to Nicostratus, his secretary of state, to arrest Moeragenes and examine him diligently, menacing him with every kind of torture.,8. Moeragenes was instantly arrested and conducted to a remote part of the palace, where he was at first questioned directly concerning these rumours,,9. and on his denying every one of the charges was stripped. Some began to get the instruments of torture ready and others with the scourges in their hands were taking off their cloaks,,10. when one of the servants ran up to Nicostratus and after whispering something into his ear made off in haste.,11. Nicostratus immediately followed him without saying a word, but striking his thigh with his hand repeatedly. 15.27.1. There was also one thing done by Agathocles and his party which contributed to exasperate the populace and Tlepolemus. 15.27.3. This so irritated the people that they no longer spoke of the matter in private and secretly, but while some expressed their detestation of those in power by scribbling it all over the town at night, others even began to meet openly in groups in the day-time for this purpose. 15.28. 1. It is difficult to describe the strange situation in which Moeragenes found himself.,2. For some of the executioners stood there with the scourges almost raised to strike him and others were getting the instruments of torture ready before his eyes;,3. but when Nicostratus departed all remained in mute astonishment, looking at each other, and each moment expecting Nicostratus to return;,4. but after a little time had elapsed they gradually dispersed, and Moeragenes was left by himself. After that he was able, much to his surprise, to traverse the palace, and naked as he was rushed into a tent belonging to the Macedonian troops not far from the palace.,5. Finding them by chance assembled there at breakfast he told his story and the extraordinary manner in which he had been delivered.,6. They were disposed to discredit it, but afterwards seeing him naked they were compelled to believe him.,7. Availing himself of this complete change of circumstances, Moeragenes begged the Macedonians with tears not only to help him to save himself, but to save the king also and chiefly themselves.,8. He urged upon them that their destruction was inevitable if they did not avail themselves of the present opportunity, when the hatred of the populace was at its height and everyone was ready to take vengeance on Agathocles.,9. This was just the time, he said, when the feeling was most thoroughly aroused and it only wanted someone to begin. 15.29. 1. The Macedonians on hearing this were stimulated to action and finally took the advice of Moeragenes, first without delay visiting the Macedonian tents and then those of the other soldiers,,2. which are all close together, and turned towards a single part of the city.,3. As the people had long been disposed to revolt and required only some man of courage to appeal to them, once the movement began it spread like wildfire.,4. Four hours had scarcely elapsed when men of all nationalities, both soldiers and civilians, had agreed to attack the government.,5. Chance too co-operated much at this time to the accomplishment of their aim.,6. For Agathocles, when a letter reached his hands, and some spies were brought before him, and when the letter proved to be the one addressed by Tlepolemus to the troops announcing that he was on the point of coming, and the spies reported that he had actually arrived,,7. so entirely lost his head that, neglecting to take any action or to consider the news he had received, he went to carouse at his usual hour and conducted himself at the banquet in his usual manner.,8. Oethe, who was in great distress, betook herself to the Thesmophoreum, that temple being open for an annual sacrifice.,9. She first of all fell on her knees and with many gestures prayed fervently to the goddesses, and afterwards seated herself by the altar and held her peace.,10. Most of the women, pleased to see her so dejected and distressed, remained silent, but the relatives of Polycrates and some other noble ladies, who were not yet aware of the danger, came up to her to console her.,11. "Come not near me, you beasts," she cried aloud to them,"I know well that you bear us ill-will and that you pray to the goddesses that the worst may befall us,,12. but yet I trust that, if it be the will of heaven, I shall yet make you taste the flesh of your own children.",13. After saying this she bade her lictors drive them away from her and strike those who refused to leave.,14. Availing themselves of this pretext all the ladies withdrew, holding up their hands to the goddesses and praying that she might be cursed with the fate that she threatened to bring on others. 15.30. 1. The men had already decided on a revolution, but now that in each house the rage of the women was added to their own, the hatred of the usurper blazed up twice as violent.,2. When day again gave place to night, the whole town was full of disturbance and torches and movement.,3. For some collected in the stadium shouting, some were encouraging each other, others running in different directions took refuge in houses and places not likely to be suspected.,4. The open spaces round the palace, the stadium, and the great square were now filled with a mixed multitude, including all the crowd of supernumerary performers in the theatre of Dionysus,,5. and Agathocles, when he heard what was occurring, aroused himself from his drunken slumber, having broken up the banquet a short time previously, and taking all his relatives except Philo went to the king.,6. After lamenting his ill-fortune to the boy in a few words he took him by the hand and went up to the gallery between the Maeander and the palaestra leading to the entrance to the theatre.,7. After this, having made fast the first two doors, he retired to the third with a few of the bodyguard, the king, and his own relatives.,8. The doors were of pen lattice-work and one could see through them, and they were each secured by two bolts.,9. Meanwhile the populace were assembling from every part of the city, so that not only level spaces but the roofs and steps were full of people, and there was a confused hubbub and clamour, women and children being mixed with the men.,10. For in Carthage and also in Alexandria the children play no less a part in such tumults than the men. 15.30.4. The open spaces round the palace, the stadium, and the great square were now filled with a mixed multitude, including all the crowd of supernumerary performers in the theatre of Dionysus 15.30.9. Meanwhile the populace were assembling from every part of the city, so that not only level spaces but the roofs and steps were full of people, and there was a confused hubbub and clamour, women and children being mixed with the men. 15.31. 1. When the day began to break it was difficult to distinguish the various cries, but that of "Bring the king" predominated.,2. At first the Macedonians got up and seized the gate of audience of the palace,,3. but shortly after, when they discovered in what part of the building the king was, they went round and after taking the first door of the gallery off its hinges approached the second and clamoured loudly for the king.,4. Agathocles was looking now to his own safety and begged the bodyguards to convey a message on his behalf to the Macedonians, stating that he abandoned the office of regent and all his powers and dignities as well as all his revenue,,5. and begged simply for his poor life and a sufficient supply of food, so that retiring into his original obscurity he could not in future, even if he wished it, hurt anyone.,6. None of the other bodyguards consented, but Aristomenes alone, who afterwards became minister, undertook this service.,7. He was by birth an Acarian, and the adulation he had paid to Agathocles in the season of his prosperity was no less conspicuous than his admirable and scrupulous fidelity to the interests of the king and his kingdom when in later life he was at the head of affairs.,8. For he was the first who having invited Agathocles to dinner presented to him alone among the guests a crown of gold, an honour which is customarily paid only to the king,,9. and he was the first who ventured to wear a ring with Agathocles' portrait engraved on it, and when a daughter was born to him he actually called her Agathoclea.,10. Perhaps regarding his character I have said enough; but now when he had received Agathocles' commission he went out by a wicket-gate to the Macedonians.,11. After he had said a few words to them and explained the proposal, the Macedonians at once attempted to run him through, but when some few persons held their hands over him and begged them to spare him, he went back with orders either to return to them bringing the king or not to come out at all.,12. Aristomenes, then, was sent back by the Macedonians with this message, and they themselves came up to the second door and broke it in also.,13. Agathocles and his people, seeing the violence of the Macedonians both by their actions and their determined demand, at first attempted to entreat the soldiers, leaving no word unspoken that might move them to spare their lives at least, Agathocles putting out his hands through the door and Agathoclea her breasts with which she said she had suckled the king. 15.32. 1. When bitterly bewailing their evil fate they found all was useless, they sent out the boy with the bodyguard.,2. The Macedonians then took the king and at once setting him on a horse conducted him to the stadium.,3. His appearance was greeted with loud cheers and clapping of hands, and they now stopped the horse, took him off, and leading him forward placed him in the royal seat.,4. The joy of the crowd was mingled with regret, for on the one hand they were delighted at having the boy in their hands, but on the other they were displeased that the guilty persons had not been arrested and punished as they deserved.,5. So that they continued to shout, demanding that those who had caused all the evil should be taken into custody and made an example.,6. The day had now advanced, and as the people after all could find no one on whom to vent their resentment, Sosibius, who was the son of Sosibius and at the present time, being a member of the bodyguard, particularly devoted his attention to the king and to affairs of state,,7. seeing that there was no hope of appeasing the fury of the populace and that the boy was ill at ease, finding himself among strangers and amidst all the commotion of the mob, asked the king if he would give up to the people those who were in any way guilty of offences to himself or his mother.,8. When the boy nodded his head in assent Sosibius bade some of the bodyguard communicate the royal decision, and making the boy get up led him away to join his household at his own house which was quite near.,19. When the king's consent was announced, there was a deafening outburst of cheering and applause all through the stadium.,10. Meanwhile Agathocles and Agathoclea had separated and each retired to their own residence, and very soon a certain number of soldiers, some on their own initiative and others forced to go by the crowd, set off in search of both. 15.32.4. The joy of the crowd was mingled with regret, for on the one hand they were delighted at having the boy in their hands, but on the other they were displeased that the guilty persons had not been arrested and punished as they deserved. 15.33. 1. The bloodshed and murders which followed were due to the following incident.,2. Philo, one of Agathocles' attendants and parasites, came out into the stadium suffering from the effects of drink.,3. When he observed the popular excitement, he said to those next him, that if Agathocles came out they would have cause to repent again as they had done some days before.,4. Upon hearing this they began some of them to revile and others to hustle him, and when he attempted to defend himself some very soon tore off his cloak and others levelling their spears at him transpierced him.,5. Then as soon as he was ignominiously dragged still breathing into the middle of the stadium and the people had tasted blood, they all eagerly waited the arrival of the others.,6. It was not long before Agathocles was led in in fetters, and as soon as he entered some people ran up and at once stabbed him, an act of benevolence rather than enmity, for they thus saved him from suffering the fate he deserved.,7. Next Nicon was brought there and after him Agathoclea stripped naked with her sisters and then all her relatives.,8. Last of all they dragged Oethe from the Thesmophorium and led her to the stadium naked on horseback.,9. All of them were delivered into the hands of the mob, and now some began to bite them with their teeth, some to stab them and others to dig out their eyes. Whenever one of them fell they tore the body from limb to limb until they had thus mutilated them all.,10. For terrible is the cruelty of the Egyptians when their anger is aroused.,11. At the same time some young girls who had been Arsinoë's close companions, hearing that Philammon, who had directed the queen's murder, had arrived from Cyrene three days before, rushed to his house and forcing an entrance killed Philammon with clubs and stones;,12. strangled his son who was no longer a child, and dragging out his wife naked into the square slew her.,13. Such was the end of Agathocles, Agathoclea, and their kindred. 15.33.5. Then as soon as he was ignominiously dragged still breathing into the middle of the stadium and the people had tasted blood, they all eagerly waited the arrival of the others. 15.33.9. All of them were delivered into the hands of the mob, and now some began to bite them with their teeth, some to stab them and others to dig out their eyes. Whenever one of them fell they tore the body from limb to limb until they had thus mutilated them all. 15.34. 1. I am not unaware that some authors in describing these events have introduced the sensational element and worked up their material with the object of making the whole more striking to their readers, largely transgressing the bounds of what is essential to give coherence to their narrative.,2. Some of them attribute all to Fortune, and lay stress on her instability and on men's incapacity of evading her, while others take count of the strangeness of all that happened, attempting to assign reasons or probable causes to everything.,3. It was, however, not my own object to treat these matters in that manner, inasmuch as Agathocles displayed neither courage in war nor conspicuous ability,,4. nor was he fortunate and exemplary in his management of affairs, nor, finally, had he that acuteness and mischievous address which serve a courtier's ends and which made Sosibius and several others so successful until the end of their lives in their management of king after king. On the contrary it was quite different with Agathocles.,5. Owing to Philopator's incapacity as a ruler he attained an exceptionally high position;,6. and in this position finding himself after that king's death most favourably circumstanced to maintain his power, he lost both his control and his life through his own cowardice and indolence, becoming an object of universal reprobation in quite a short time. 27.13.1. Ptolemy, the Egyptian commander in Cyprus, was not at all like an Egyptian, but gifted with good sense and capacity. 34.14.2. He says it is inhabited by three classes of people, first the native Egyptians, an acute and civilized race; 39.7.7. However, in seasons of good fortune and success his mind grew relaxed and weakened, and he suffered from a sort of Egyptian waste of energy and indolence. And it was when he was in this condition that reverses used to befall him. III. From the Epilogue |
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