a smaller history of greece-第58部分

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　the　bidding　of　Periander；　came　forward；　the　sailors　owned　their　guilt；　and　were　punished　according　to　their　desert。　　The　great　improvement　in　lyric　poetry　ascribed　to　Arion　is　the　invention　of　the　Dithyramb。　　This　was　a　choral　song　and　dance　in　honour　of　the　god　Dionysus；　and　is　of　great　interest　in　the　history　of　poetry；　since　it　was　the　germ　from　which　sprung　at　a　later　time　the　magnificent　productions　of　the　tragic　Muse　at　Athens。

ALCAEUS　and　SAPPHO　were　both　natives　of　Mytilene　in　the　island　of　Lesbos；　and　flourished　about　B。C。　610…580。　　Their　songs　were　composed　for　a　single　voice；　and　not　for　the　chorus；　and　they　were　each　the　inventor　of　a　new　metre；　which　bears　their　name；　and　is　familiar　to　us　by　the　well…known　odes　of　Horace。　　Their　poetry　was　the　warm　outpouring　of　the　writers'　inmost　feelings；　and　present　the　lyric　poetry　of　the　AEolians　at　its　highest　point。

Alcaeus　took　an　active　part　in　the　civil　dissensions　of　his　native　state；　and　warmly　espoused　the　cause　of　the　aristocratical　party；　to　which　he　belonged　by　birth。　　When　the　nobles　were　driven　into　exile；　he　endeavoured　to　cheer　their　spirits　by　a　number　of　most　animated　odes；　full　of　invectives　against　the　popular　party　and　its　leaders。

Of　the　events　of　Sappho's　life　we　have　scarcely　any　information；　and　the　common　story　that；　being　in　love　with　Phaon　and　finding　her　love　unrequited；　she　leaped　down　from　the　Leucadian　rock；　seems　to　have　been　an　invention　of　later　times。

ANACREON　was　a　native　of　the　Ionian　city　of　Teos。　　He　spent　part　of　his　life　at　Samos；　under　the　patronage　of　Polycrates；　and　after　the　death　of　this　despot　he　went　to　Athens　at　the　invitation　of　Hipparchus。　　The　universal　tradition　of　antiquity　represents　Anacreon　as　a　consummate　voluptuary；　and　his　poems　prove　the　truth　of　the　tradition。　　His　death　was　worthy　of　his　life；　if　we　may　believe　the　account　that　he　was　choked　by　a　grape…stone。

SIMONIDES；　of　the　island　of　Ceos；　was　born　B。C。　556；　and　reached　a　great　age。　　He　lived　many　years　at　Athens；　both　at　the　court　of　Hipparchus；　together　with　Anacreon；　and　subsequently　under　the　democracy　during　the　Persian　wars。　　The　struggles　of　Greece　for　her　independence　furnished　him　with　a　noble　subject　for　his　muse。　He　carried　away　the　prize　from　AEschylus　with　an　elegy　upon　the　warriors　who　had　fallen　at　the　battle　of　Marathon。　　Subsequently　we　find　him　celebrating　the　heroes　of　Thermopylae；　Artemisium；　Salamis；　and　Plataea。　　He　was　upwards　of　80　when　his　long　poetical　career　at　Athens　was　closed　with　the　victory　which　he　gained　with　the　dithyrambic　chorus　in　B。C。　477；　making　the　56th　prize　that　he　had　carried　off。　　Shortly　after　this　event　he　repaired　to　Syracuse　at　the　invitation　of　Hiero。　　Here　he　spent　the　remaining　ten　years　of　his　life；　not　only　entertaining　Hiero　with　his　poetry；　but　instructing　him　by　his　wisdom；　for　Simonides　was　a　philosopher　as　well　as　a　poet；　and　is　reckoned　amongst　the　sophists。

PINDAR；　though　the　contemporary　of　Simonides；　was　considerably　his　junior：　　He　was　born　either　at；　or　in　the　neighbourhood　of；　Thebes　in　Boeotia；　about　the　year　522　B。C。　　Later　writers　tell　us　that　his　future　glory　as　a　poet　was　miraculously　foreshadowed　by　a　swarm　of　bees　which　rested　upon　his　lips　while　he　was　asleep；　and　that　this　miracle　first　led　him　to　compose　poetry。　　He　commenced　his　professional　career　at　an　early　age；　and　soon　acquired　so　great　a　reputation；　that　he　was　employed　by　various　states　and　princes　of　the　Hellenic　race　to　compose　choral　songs。　He　was　courted　especially　by　Alexander；　king　of　Macedonia；　and　by　Hiero；　despot　of　Syracuse。　　The　praises　which　he　bestowed　upon　Alexander　are　said　to　have　been　the　chief　reason　which　led　his　descendant；　Alexander　the　Great；　to　spare　the　house　of　the　poet　when　he　destroyed　the　rest　of　Thebes。　　The　estimation　in　which　Pindar　was　held　is　also　shown　by　the　honours　conferred　upon　him　by　the　free　states　of　Greece。　　Although　a　Theban；　he　was　always　a　great　favourite　with　the　Athenians；　whom　he　frequently　praised　in　his　poems；　and　who　testified　their　gratitude　by　making　him　their　public　guest；　and　by　giving　him　10；000　drachmas。　　The　only　poems　of　Pindar　which　have　come　down　to　us　entire　are　his　Epinicia　or　triumphal　odes；　composed　in　commemoration　of　victories　gained　in　the　great　public　games。　　But　these　were　only　a　small　portion　of　his　works。　　He　also　wrote　hymns；　paeans；　dithyrambs；　odes　for　processions；　songs　of　maidens；　mimic　dancing　songs；　drinking　songs；　dirges　and　encomia；　or　panegyrics　on　princes。

The　Greeks　had　arrived　at　a　high　pitch　of　civilization　before　they　can　be　said　to　have　possessed　a　HISTORY。　　The　first　essays　in　literary　prose　cannot　be　placed　earlier　than　the　sixth　century　before　the　Christian　aera；　but　the　first　writer　who　deserves　the　name　of　an　historian　is　HERODOTUS；　hence　called　the　Father　of　History。　　Herodotus　was　born　in　the　Dorian　colony　of　Halicarnassus　in　Caria；　in　the　year　484　B。C。；　and　accordingly　about　the　time　of　the　Persian　expeditions　into　Greece。　　He　resided　some　years　in　Samos；　and　also　undertook　extensive　travels；　of　which　he　speaks　in　his　work。　　There　was　scarcely　a　town　in　Greece　or　on　the　coasts　of　Asia　Minor　with　which　he　was　not　acquainted；　he　had　explored　Thrace　and　the　coasts　of　the　Black　Sea；　in　Egypt　he　had　penetrated　as　far　south　as　Elephantine；　and　in　Asia　he　had　visited　the　cities　of　Babylon；　Ecbatana；　and　Susa。　　The　latter　part　of　his　life　was　spent　at　Thurii；　a　colony　founded　by　the　Athenians　in　Italy　in　B。C。　443。　According　to　a　well…known　story　in　Lucian；　Herodotus；　when　he　had　completed　hia　work；　recited　it　publicly　at　the　great　Olympic　festival；　as　the　best　means　of　procuring　for　it　that　celebrity　to　which　he　felt　that　it　was　entitled。　　The　effect　is　described　as　immediate　and　complete。　　The　delighted　audience　at　once　assigned　the　names　of　the　nine　Muses　to　the　nine　books　into　which　it　is　divided。　　A　still　later　author　（Suidas）　adds；　that　Thucydides；　then　a　boy；　was　present　at　the　festival　with　his　father　Olorus；　and　was　so　affected　by　the　recital　as　to　shed　tears；　upon　which　Herodotus　congratulated　Olorus　on　having　a　son　who　possessed　so　early　such　a　zeal　for　knowledge。　　But　there　are　many　objections　to　the　probability　of　these　tales。

Herodotus　interwove　into　his　history　all　the　varied　and　extensive　knowledge　acquired　in　his　travels；　and　by　big　own　personal　researches。　　But　the　real　subject　of　the　work　is　the　conflict　between　the　Greek　race；　in　the　widest　sense　of　the　term；　and　including　the　Greeks　of　Asia　Minor；　with　the　Asiatics。　　Thus　the　historian　had　a　vast　epic　subject　presented　to　him；　which　was　brought　to　a　natural　and　glorious　termination　by　the　defeat　of　the　Persians　in　their　attempts　upon　Greece。　　The　work　concludes　with　the　reduction　of　Sestos　by　the　Athenians；　B。C。　478。　Herodotus　wrote　in　the　Ionic　dialect；　and　his　style　is　marked　by　an　ease　and　simplicity　which　lend　it　an　indescribable　charm。

THUCYDIDES；　the　greatest　of　the　Greek　historians；　was　an　Athenian；　and　was　born　in　the　year　471　B。C。　　His　family　was　connected　with　that　of　Miltiades　and　Cimon。　　He　possessed　gold…　mines　in　Thrace；　and　enjoyed　great　influence　in　that　country。　　He　commanded　an　Athenian　squadron　of　seven　ships　at　Thasos；　in　424　B。C。；　at　the　time　when　Brasidas　was　besieging　Amphipolis；　and　having　failed　to　relieve　that　city　in　time；　he　went　into　a　voluntary　exile；　in　order　probably　to　avoid　the　punishment　of　death。　　He　appears　to　have　spent　20　years　in　banishment；　principally　in　the　Peloponnesus；　or　in　places　under　the　dominion　or　influence　of　Sparta。　　He　perhaps　returned　to　Athens　in　B。C。　403；　the　date　of　its　liberation　by　Thrasybulus。　　According　to　the　unanimous　testimony　of　antiquity　he　met　with　a　violent　end；　and　it　seems　probable　that　he　was　assassinated　at　Athens；　since　it　cannot　be　doubted　that　his　tomb　existed　there。　　From　the　beginning　of　the　Peloponnesian　war　he　had　designed　to　write　its　history；　and　he　employed　himself　in　collecting　materials　for　that　purpose　during　its　continuance；　but　it　is　most　likely　that　the　work　was　not　actually　composed　till　after　the　conclusion　of　the　war；　and　that　he　was　engaged　upon　it　at　the　time　of　his　death。　The　first　book　of　his　History　is　introductory；　and　contains　a　rapid　sketch　of　Grecian　history　from　the　remotest　times　to　the　breaking　out　of　the　war。　　The　remaining　seven　books　are　filled　with　the　details　of　the　war；　related　according　to　the　division　into　summers　and　winters；　into　which　all　campaigns　naturally　fall；　and　the　work　breaks　off　abruptly　in　the　middle　of　the　21st　year　of　the　war　（B。C。　411）。　　The　materials　of　Thucydides　were　collected　with　the　most　scrupulous　care；　the　events　are　related　with　the　strictest　impartiality；　and　the　work　probably　offers　a　more　exact　account　of　a　long　and　eventful　period　than　any　other　contemporary　history；　whether　ancient　or　modern；　of　an　equally　long　and　important　aera。　The　style　of　Thucydides　is　brief　and　sententious；　and　whether　in　moral　or　political　reasoning；　or　in　description；　gains　wonderful　force　from　its　condensation。　　But　this　characteristic　is　sometimes　carried　to　a　faulty　extent；　so　as　to　render　his　style　harsh；　and　his　meaning　obscure。

XENOPHON；　the　son　of　Gryllus；　was　also　an　Athenian；　and　was　probably　born　about　B。C。　444。　　He　was　a　pupil