The Story of the Greeks

PREFACE.

This elementary history of Greece is intended for supplementary reading or as a first history text-book for young pupils. It is therefore made up principally of stories about persons; for, while history proper is largely beyond the comprehension of children, they are able at an early age to understand and enjoy anecdotes of people, especially of those in the childhood of civilization. At the same time, these stories will give a clear idea of the most important events that have taken place in the ancient world, and, it is hoped, will arouse a desire to read further. They also aim to enforce the lessons of perseverance, courage, patriotism, and virtue that are taught by the noble lives described.

A knowledge of ancient history, however superficial, is of very great value; and the classic legends are almost equally worth knowing, because of the prominent part they play in the world's literature. These tales make a deep impression on the minds of children, and the history thus learned almost in play will cling to the memory far more tenaciously than any lessons subsequently conned.

Many children leave school unacquainted with any history except that of the United States; which, dealing with less simple and primitive times than that of Greece, is apt to be so unattractive that the child never afterwards reads any historical works. It has been my intention to write a book which will give children pleasure to read, and will thus counteract the impression that history is uninteresting.

A few suggestions to teachers may not be considered superfluous. In the first place, I have found historical anecdotes an excellent aid in teaching English. Pupils find it far from irksome to relate the stories in their own words, and to reproduce them in compositions. Secondly, whenever a city or country is mentioned, every pupil should point out its location on the map. By such means only can any one properly understand an historical narrative; and in the present case there is the added reason that the practice will go far towards increasing the child's interest in geography. Lastly, the teacher should take great care that the proper names are correctly pronounced. The most common errors are provided against in the text; for, on the first occurrence of such a word, it is divided into syllables, with the accent marked. It remains for the teacher to enforce the ordinary rules as to the proper sounds of vowels and consonants.

H.A.G.

CONTENTS.

PAGE Map between 10 and 11 I. Early Inhabitants of Greece 11 II. The Deluge of Ogyges 13 III. The Founding of Many Important Cities 15 IV. Story of Deucalion 19 V. Story of Daedalus and Icarus 21 VI. The Adventures of Jason 24 VII. Theseus visits the Labyrinth 26 VIII. The Terrible Prophecy 29 IX. The Sphinx's Riddle 30 X. Blindness and Death of OEdipus 34 XI. The Brothers' Quarrel 37 XII. The Taking of Thebes 39 XIII. The Childhood of Paris 41 XIV. The Muster of the Troops 44 XV. The Sacrifice of Iphigenia 46 XVI. The Wrath of Achilles 48 XVII. Death of Hector and Achilles 50 XVIII. The Burning of Troy 52 XIX. Heroic Death of Codrus 55 XX. The Blind Poet 57 XXI. The Rise of Sparta 61 XXII. The Spartan Training 62 XXIII. The Brave Spartan Boy 64 XXIV. Public Tables in Sparta 67 XXV. Laws of Lycurgus 69 XXVI. The Messenian War 71 XXVII. The Music of Tyrtaeus 73 XXVIII. Aristomenes' Escape 76 XXIX. The Olympic Games 77 XXX. Milo of Croton 81 XXXI. The Jealous Athlete 83 XXXII. The Girls' Games 84 XXXIII. The Bloody Laws of Draco 86 XXXIV. The Laws of Solon 89 XXXV. The First Plays 92 XXXVI. The Tyrant Pisistratus 95 XXXVII. The Tyrant's Insult 97 XXXVIII. Death of the Conspirators 99 XXXIX. Hippias driven out of Athens 100 XL. The Great King 104 XLI. Hippias visits Darius 105 XLII. Destruction of the Persian Host 108 XLIII. The Advance of the Second Host 110 XLIV. The Battle of Marathon 113 XLV. Miltiades' Disgrace 115 XLVI. Aristides the Just 117 XLVII. Two Noble Spartan Youths 119 XLVIII. The Great Army 121 XLIX. Preparations for Defense 124 L. Leonidas at Thermopylae 127 LI. Death of Leonidas 128 LII. The Burning of Athens 131 LIII. The Battles of Salamis and Plataea 133 LIV. The Rebuilding of Athens 136 LV. Death of Pausanias 138 LVI. Cimon improves Athens 141 LVII. The Earthquake 143 LVIII. The Age of Pericles 146 LIX. The Teachings of Anaxagoras 151 LX. Beginning of the Peloponnesian War 152 LXI. Death of Pericles 155 LXII. The Philosopher Socrates 157 LXIII. Socrates' Favorite Pupil 159 LXIV. Youth of Alcibiades 163 LXV. Greek Colonies in Italy 165 LXVI. Alcibiades in Disgrace 167 LXVII. Death of Alcibiades 169 LXVIII. The Overthrow of the Thirty Tyrants 171 LXIX. Accusation of Socrates 173 LXX. Death of Socrates 175 LXXI. The Defeat of Cyrus 180 LXXII. The Retreat of the Ten Thousand 182 LXXIII. Agesilaus in Asia 185 LXXIV. A Strange Interview 186 LXXV. The Peace of Antalcidas 189 LXXVI. The Theban Friends 190 LXXVII. Thebes Free once more 192 LXXVIII. The Battle of Leuctra 195 LXXIX. Death of Pelopidas 197 LXXX. The Battle of Mantinea 199 XXXI. The Tyrant of Syracuse 201 XXXII. Story of Damon and Pythias 204 XXXIII. The Sword of Damocles 208 XXXIV. Dion and Dionysius 210 XXXV. Civil War in Syracuse 212 XXXVI. Death of Dion 214 XXXVII. Philip of Macedon 217 XXXVIII. Philip begins his Conquests 219 XXXIX. The Orator Demosthenes 221 XC. Philip masters Greece 224 XCI. Birth of Alexander 227 XCII. The Steed Bucephalus 229 XCIII. Alexander as King 232 XCIV. Alexander and Diogenes 234 XCV. Alexander's Brilliant Beginning 236 XCVI. The Gordian Knot 238 XCVII. Alexander's Royal Captives 241 CVIII. Alexander at Jerusalem 242 XCIX. The African Desert 244 C. Death of Darius 247 CI. Defeat of Porus 249 CII. The Return to Babylon 251 CIII. Death of Alexander the Great 252 CIV. The Division of the Realm 255 CV. Death of Demosthenes 257 CVI. The Last of the Athenians 260 CVII. The Colossus of Rhodes 262 CVIII. The Battle of Ipsus 265 CIX. Demetrius and the Athenians 266 CX. The Achaean League 268 CXI. Division in Sparta 270 CXII. Death of Agis 274 CXIII. The War of the Two Leagues 276 CXIV. The Last of the Greeks 278 CXV. Greece a Roman Province 280 INDEX 283

THE STORY OF THE GREEKS.

I. EARLY INHABITANTS OF GREECE.

Although Greece (or Hel'las) is only half as large as the State of New York, it holds a very important place in the history of the world. It is situated in the southern part of Europe, cut off from the rest of the continent by a chain of high mountains which form a great wall on the north. It is surrounded on nearly all sides by the blue waters of the Med-it-er-ra'ne-an Sea, which stretch so far inland that it is said no part of the country is forty miles from the sea, or ten miles from the hills. Thus shut in by sea and mountains, it forms a little territory by itself, and it was the home of a noted people.

The history of Greece goes back to the time when people did not know how to write, and kept no record of what was happening around them. For a long while the stories told by parents to their children were the only information which could be had about the country and its former inhabitants; and these stories, slightly changed by every new teller, grew more and more extraordinary as time passed. At last they were so changed that no one could tell where the truth ended and fancy began.

The beginning of Greek history is therefore like a fairy tale; and while much of it cannot, of course, be true, it is the only information we have about the early Greeks. It is these strange fireside stories, which used to amuse Greek children so many years ago, that you are first going to hear.

About two thousand years before the birth of Christ, in the days when Isaac wanted to go down into Egypt, Greece was inhabited by a savage race of men called the Pe-las'gi-ans. They lived in the forests, or in caves hollowed out of the mountain side, and hunted wild beasts with great clubs and stone-tipped arrows and spears. They were so rude and wild that they ate nothing but raw meat, berries, and the roots which they dug up with sharp stones or even with their hands.

For clothing, the Pelasgians used the skins of the beasts they had killed; and to protect themselves against other savages, they gathered together in families or tribes, each having a chief who led in war and in the chase.

There were other far more civilized nations in those days. Among these were the E-gyp'tians, who lived in Africa. They had long known the use of fire, had good tools, and were much further advanced than the Pelasgians. They had learned not only to build houses, but to erect the most wonderful monuments in the world,--the Pyr'a-mids, of which you have no doubt heard.

In Egypt there were at that time a number of learned men. They were acquainted with many of the arts and sciences, and recorded all they knew in a peculiar writing of their own invention. Their neighbors, the Phoe-ni'-cians, whose land also bordered on the Mediterranean Sea, were quite civilized too; and as both of these nations had ships, they soon began to sail all around that great inland sea.

As they had no compass, the Egyptian and Phoenician sailors did not venture out of sight of land. They first sailed along the shore, and then to the islands which they could see far out on the blue waters.

When they had come to one island, they could see another still farther on; for, as you will see on any map, the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Asia, is dotted with islands, which look like stepping-stones going from one coast to the other.

Advancing thus carefully, the Egyptians and Phoenicians finally came to Greece, where they made settlements, and began to teach the Pelasgians many useful and important things.

II. THE DELUGE OF OGYGES.

The first Egyptian who thus settled in Greece was a prince called In'a-chus. Landing in that country, which has a most delightful climate, he taught the Pelasgians how to make fire and how to cook their meat. He also showed them how to build comfortable homes by piling up stones one on top of another, much in the same way as the farmer makes the stone walls around his fields.

The Pelasgians were intelligent, although so uncivilized; and they soon learned to build these walls higher, in order to keep the wild beasts away from their homes. Then, when they had learned the use of bronze and iron tools, they cut the stones into huge blocks of regular shape.

These stone blocks were piled one upon another so cleverly that some of the walls are still standing, although no mortar was used to hold the stones together. Such was the strength of the Pelasgians, that they raised huge blocks to great heights, and made walls which their descendants declared must have been built by giants.

As the Greeks called their giants Cy'clops, which means "round-eyed," they soon called these walls Cy-clo-pe'an; and, in pointing them out to their children, they told strange tales of the great giants who had built them, and always added that these huge builders had but one eye, which was in the middle of the forehead.