[[201]]
CHAPTER XII
EROS TYRANNUS
The Melian Dialogue, as we have already seen, suggested to an ancient
critic the parallel between the imperial people and the Eastern monarch.
Thucydides, by perpetual coincidences of thought and phrase, and by the turn
and colour of all this part of his narrative, has with evident design
emphasized this parallel, and so turned against Athens the tremendous moral
which his countrymen delighted to read in the Persians of Aeschylus and the
History of Herodotus. Looking back upon the development of the Empire in the
previous fifty years, he saw, as we noted in our study of the first Book, the
defection of Athens from the old, glorious ideal of the union of Hellas against
the outer darkness of barbarism. The downward process led to this mad war of
conquest between Greek and Greek. Athens, tempted by Fortune, deluded by Hope,
and blinded by covetous Insolence, was attempting an enterprise comparable with
that which it was her boast to have repulsed and broken at Salamis. In the
debate upon the expedition we shall hear Nikias reiterate the warnings
addressed in vain by Artabanus to the infatuate monarch, and Alcibiades echo
the eager tones of Mardonius, who, `ever desirous of some new enterprise and
wishing himself to be regent of Hellas, persuaded Xerxes.' (note 1)
`Nikias, appointed against his will, saw that Athens was ill-advised and
on a flimsy and fall-seeming pretext was bent on a great enterprise, desiring
the whole of Sicily.' He attempted to `avert' their purpose, (note 2)
with little hope of success,
[1. Herod. vii. 6 nevtdeg.rvn [[paragraph]]rgvn
[[section]]piyumhtØw [[section]][[Delta]]n ka< ydeg.lvn
aÈtÚw t[[infinity]]w ÑEllãdow Ïparxow
e[[perthousand]]nai...éndeg.peise Jdeg.rjhn. [2. Thuc. vi. 8. 4
épotrdeg.cai, `avert,' has religious associations. It recalls the story
of Artabanus who is threatened by the vision (Herod. vii 17) in these terms,
`Thou shalt not escape scatheless, either now or in the time to come, for
seeking to avert that which must happen' (épotrãpvn
tÚ xreÚn gendeg.syai). Cassandra's fate was partly a punishment
for her attempts to avert by warnings the vengeance of God. No one would
listen. Cf. Herod. ix. 18 ~ ti de> gendeg.syai [[section]]k toË
yeoËm, émÆxanon épotrdeg.cai ényr~p[[florin]]:
oÈdcents går pistå ldeg.gousi [[section]]ydeg.lei
pe[[currency]]yesyai oÈde[[currency]]w. The word is still reminiscent of
a belief that Ruin is an evil spirit to be charmed away by rites of magical
`aversion'.]
[[202]]
for he saw that the people were not in a mood to hear reason. `I have
never,' he said, `out of ambition spoken contrary to what I thought, nor will I
now; but I will tell you what in my judgement is best. If I exhorted you to
preserve what you have, instead of risking things present for the sake of
things future and uncertain, (note 1) my words would be powerless against a
temper like yours. Yet I must show you that your haste is ill-timed and that
the object for which you are so eager is not easy to grasp.' The position of
Athens at home is by no means secure. `We ought to think of this and not run
into danger while the state is far from the desired haven, or grasp at a new
empire before we have secured the old. Even if we conquer, we could hardly rule
so many cities at such a distance. It is madness for men to attack a land
which, if they prevail, they cannot hold, while failure would not leave them
where they were before the attempt. ...Because your first fears of Lacedaemon
have not been realized and you have unexpectedly got the better of them, now
you despise them and desire Sicily. You ought not to be elated at the chance
mishaps of an enemy; conquer them in skill before you are confident.' (note 2)`If there is one who, in delight at his appointment, urges you
to sail, looking only to his own interest; especially one who is too young as
yet to hold a command, and wants to
[1. vi. 9.3 per< t<<n éfav<<n ka< mellÒntvn
kinduneÊein, echoing the Athenians' last words in the Me]ian dialogue
(above, p. 185), tå mcentsn mdeg.llonta t<<n irvmdeg.nvn
safdeg.stera kr[[currency]]nete, tå dcents éfan[[infinity]] t"
boÊlesyai ...w gignÒmena >=dh yeçsye, ktl. [2. vi.
11. 5 diå tÚ parå gn~mhn aÈt<<n prÚw
ì [[section]]fobe>sye tÚ pr<<ton perigegen[[infinity]]syai,
katafronÆsantew >=dh ka< Sikel[[currency]]aw
[[section]]f[[currency]]esye. Compare the passage (iv. 65. 4) quoted above, p.
170, which connects the desire for Sicily with the fortune of Pylos, and ends:
afit[[currency]]a dÉ [[Sigma]]n <= parå lÒgon t<<n
pleÒnvn eÈprag[[currency]]a aÈto>w Ípotiye>sa
fisxÁn t[[infinity]]w [[section]]lp[[currency]]dow.]
[[203]]
be admired for his stud of horses and to make something by his position
to maintain him in his extravagance, do not indulge him with the opportunity to
display his personal brilliance at Athens' risk. Remember that such men, as
well as spending their private substance, do public harm. This is a great
enterprise and not one which a mere youth can plan and rashly undertake. (note 1)`There, beside the man of whom I speak, I see now men of this
kind whom he has summoned to hiri support, and I am afraid. I appeal against
them to you elder citizens; if any of you has one such sitting beside him, let
him not be ashamed or fear to seem a coward if he does not vote for war. Do
not, like them, fall sick of a fatal passion for what is beyond your
reach. (note 2) Bethink you that desire gains few successes, and
forethought many. (note 3) For your country's sake, now on the brink of the
greatest danger she has known, hold up your hands to vote against them. There
is no fault to find with the boundaries which the Sicilians now observe in this
section--the Ionian Gulf on the coast voyage, and the Sicilian Ocean by the
open sea. Confirm these limits by your vote, and leave Sicily to manage her own
affairs'....
`President, if you believe that the welfare of Athens is entrusted to you and
you wish to be a good citizen, put the question over again and lay the proposal
once more before the Athenians. If you hesitate to put a question already once
decided, remember that with so many witnesses present there can be no question
of breaking the law, and that you would be the physician of the state when her
thoughts are sick. He proves himself a good magistrate who does all he can to
help his country, or to the best of his wlll at least does her no harm.'
The speech is charged with allusions to, themes which are
[1. Compare the effect of this personsl reference to Alcibiades with
Artabanus' concluding address to Mardonius, Herod. vii. 10. section 7. [2.
vi. 13. 1 mhdÉ ~per ín aÈto< pãtoien, dusdeg.rvtaw
e[[perthousand]]nai t<<n épÒntvn.
[3. Thuc. vi. 13
[[section]]piyum[[currency]]& mcentsn [[section]]lãxista
katoryoËntai, prono[[currency]]& dcents ple>sta. Herod. vii. 10, Artabanus
says: [[section]]peixy[[infinity]]nai mcentsn pçn pr[[infinity]]gma
t[[currency]]ktei sfãlmata...[[section]]n dcents t" [[section]]pisxe>n
[[paragraph]]nesti égayã.]
[[204]]
now familiar to us. Only one or two call for comment. The reference to
the natural boundary fixed by the Ionian and Sicilian seas is significant in
the mouth of the pious Nikias. Some superstitious feeling still lingered about
the impiety of crossing the far, inviolable seas. (note 1) To pass the pillars
of Heracles is to Pindar a symbol of ambition that outruns the limits of divine
appointment. In this way Xerxes had offended: the bridge over the Hellespont
and the canal at Athos (note 2) had led his armament to the deep waters of
Artemisium and Salamis. The sea too had risen, `not without Heaven's wrath,'
(note 3) on his prototype, Agamemnon, returning, flown with insolence, from the
conquest of the East. In the herald's tremendous description of the storm we
hear the rolling thunder of outraged gods, which we heard before in the
Persians. It is echoed again by Poseidon himself in the prologue to the
Trojan Women, which was performed within a month or two of Nikias'
speech: (note 4) These mine hands
Shall stir the waste Aegean; reefs that cross
The Delian pathways, jag-torn Myconos,
Scyros and Lemnos, yea, and storm-driven
Caphêreus with the bones of drowned men
Shall glut him.--Go thy ways, and bid the Sire
Yield to thine hand tile arrows of his fire.
Then wait thine hour, when the last ship shall wind
Her cable coil for home!
The warnings of Nikias fell, as he anticipated, upon deaf
[1. There seems to be some trace of this feeling in the anger of
Poseidon at the nautical skill of the Phaeacians, Hom. Od. y. 565; n.
162. It remains as a commonplace in Augustan poetry. Hor. Od. i. iii.
21:--Nequidquam deus abscidit
prudens Oceano dissociabili
terras, si tamen impiae
non tangenda rates transiliunt uada.
Plut. Nic. xii,
describing this speech, says that Nikias énaståw
épdeg.trepe ka< diemartÊreto, ka< teleut<<n dideg.bale
tÚn ÉAlkibiãdhn fid[[currency]]vn ßneka
kerd<<n ka< folotim[[currency]]aw tØn pÒlin efiw
xalepÚn [[section]]jvye>n ka< diapÒntion k[[currency]]ndunon.
[2. Herodotus (viii. 24) regards the making of the canal as unnecessary, and an
exhibition of pride.
[3. Aesch. Agam. 654.
[4. Eurip. Trojan
Women 87. Mr. Gilbert Murray's version.]
[[205]]
ears; for the thought of the city was sick and it was vain to call for a
physician. The name of her sickness was Eros, the fatal, passionate lust for
what is out of reach. She has caught the infection from the band of spendthrift
youths, sitting there in the assembly at the summons of one who outshines them
all. He, pleased with the command he is as yet too young to hold, nourishes
hopes of new wealth to feed the stream of his extravagance; he is ambitious to
display his brilliance at Athens' risk, and he is hot for an enterprise too
great for a mere youth to plan. And yet, is not the planning of great schemes
the very office of Youth and ever-young Desire? When delusive Hope is busy
Battering men with glimpses of the treasure in Fortune's store, then Desire too
is never wanting--Eros, who `leads the way and devises the
attempt'.`Of the beauty of Alcibiades,' says Plutarch, `one need
only say that it blossomed with every season of his life as boy and youth and
man, and bloomed upon his body, making him lovely and pleasant to look upon.'
(note 1) And not only in his body ; for `while the rest of his thronging lovers
were smitten with the brilliance of his outward beauty, the love of Socrates
was a great witness to the boy's excellent and fair nature, which he discerned
shining within his beautiful form and flashing through it'. The pure and
watchful attachment of this strange friend was returned with as much fidelity
as the wayward moods of the younger allowed. `Despising himself, and wondering
at Socrates, whose wisdom delighted him and whose virtue he reverenced,
Alcibiades, in Plato's words, was unwittingly possessed of Anteros, who is the
counterpart of Eros, so that all were amazed to see him taking his meals with
Socrates, and wrestling with him, and sharing his tent, while to the rest of
his lovers he was harsh and untameable.' (note 2) But in other moods he would
`slip away from Socrates and play the truant, surrendering himself to the
pleasures with which flatterers allured him'. (note 3) Then he would become
possessed of another Eros than that which the discernment of Socrates divined
through the radiant brilliance of his form.
[1. Plut. Alc. i. [2. Ibid. iv.
[3. Ibid. vi.]
[[206]]
When Nikias describes Alcibiades and his friends as `sick of a fatal
passion for what is out of reach', he is quoting from Pindar's story of
Coronis, who, not content with one lover, `fell into a passion for what was out
of reach, as many do. (note 1) Of all men the most foolish sort are they who
are ashamed of what is homely and fix their eyes on what is afar off, a-chase
of bubbles, with Hopes ([[section]]lp[[currency]]sin) unachievable. Such utter
blindness (èWãtan) the spirit of fair-robed Coronis caught.' This
Eros is near akin to Elpis; and the two are often coupled with Youth and
Wealth. `He that wins some fresh honour in the time of luxurious youth, out of
great Hope soars on the wings of prowess, with a dream that rises beyond
wealth. But the joy of mortals in a short while ripens to the full, and soon
again falls earthward, shaken by adverse doom. Creatures of a day, something or
nothing, man is the shadow of a dream. Only, when a gleam from God comes, a
shining light rests on men and life is sweet.' (note 2) So again, in a more
obscure passage, (note 3) Pindar speaks of wealth giving splendid opportunities
and inspiring `a wilder dream'. Its light is a sure beacon, if, but only if,
`he who has it knows what shall be.' If not, if his hopes are blind, and
soar too high towards the unknown future--we know the rest. `For each one has
Hope with him, Hope, that shoots up in a young man's breast. So long as he has
the lovely flower of Youth and his heart is light, a mortal has many dreams
that cannot be fulfilled.' (note 4) And Eros brings Madness in his train:
`Appetite, doubled, is Eros; and Eros, doubled, becomes Madness.' (note 5) `The
Spirits of Madness are swift to overtake the Loves that cannot be attained.'
(note 6)
[1. Pind. Pyth. iii. 20 éllã toi >=rato
t<<n épeÒntvn: o[[perthousand]]a ka< pollo< pãyon.
Thuc. vi. 13 mhdÉ ~per ín aÈto< pãyoien,
dusdeg.rvtaw e[[perthousand]]nai t<<n épÒntvn; Plut.
Per. xx polloÁw dcents ka< Sikel[[currency]]aw i dusdeg.rvw
[[section]]ke>now >=dh ka< dÊspotmow [[paragraph]]rvw
e[[perthousand]]xen, [[breve]]n Ïsteron [[section]]jdeg.kausan ofl per<
tÚn ÉAlikbiãdhn =Ætorew. [2. Pind. Pyth.
viii. 88.
[3. Ol. ii. 58.
[4. Simonides c. (Gaisf.).
[5.
Stob. 84. 29 Prod[[currency]]kou: ÉEpiyum[[currency]]an mcentsn
diplasiasye>san ÖErvta e[[perthousand]]nai, ÖErvta dcents
diplsiasydeg.nta Man[[currency]]an g[[currency]]gnesyai.
[6. Pind.
Nem. xi. 48 épros[[currency]]ktvn dÉ ÉEr~tvn
ÙjÊterai Man[[currency]]ai (cf. Ùje>É
ÉErinÊw. Ol. ii 45).]
[[207]]
Eros is more particularly the passion of the tyrant. Note how Plato
(note 1) describes the genesis of the `tyrannical man', who is the successor of
a `democratical' parent, or `man of the people'.
`Imagine then again, said that the "democratical" man is now advanced in years
and that once moie a young son has been brought up, in his habits of
life.
`Good.
`Imagine further that the old story of his father's experiences is repeated in
his case. He is led away into every sort of lawlessness, (note 2)--or liberty,
as his seducers call it. His father and the rest of his family come to the
assistance of those appetites which belong to his half-way position, while his
seducers reinforce them on the other side. When these wicked sorcerers and
tyrant-makers despair of gaining possession of the youth by any other spell,
suppose that they contrive to raise in him a spilit of passionate desire
(ÖErvta), to champion the rabble of those idle appetites which divide
among themselves whatever is available. (note 3) It will be like a great winged
drone;--unless you can think of a better comparison for the spirit of desire in
such men as these?
`No, he said, I can think of none better.
`This done, the other appetites, humming like bees round the drone, laden with
incense and perfumes and garlands and wines and the loose pleasures of
convivial luxury, feeding and nursing him to full growth, implant in him a
sting of longing that cannot be satisfied (pÒlou kdeg.ntrou). From this
moment, with madness for his body-guard, this champion of the soulmob is goaded
to frenzy; and whenever he catches within
[1. Plato, Rep. 573. [2. paranom[[currency]]an. Cf. Plut.
Alc. xvi ofl mcentsn [[paragraph]]ndojoi...[[section]]foboËnto
tØn Ùligvr[[currency]]an aÈtoË ka<
paranom[[currency]]an, ...w turannikã... but the Athenian people used
tå prãotata t<<n Ùnomãtvn for his misdeeds.
[3. The allusion is to the evil which arises in an oligarchical state, when men
are allowed to sell all their property and become paupers, while the purchasers
become extravagantly rich. Thus arises a class of drones, analogous to the idle
appetites here. See 552 B. Eros becomes' champion' (prostãthw) of the
desires, as the aspirant to tyranny champions the proletariate.]
[[208]]
himself any thoughts or passions that are of good report and still
sensible of shame, he slays them and casts them out from himself as unclean,
until he is purged of temperance and has brought in a complement of madness to
fill its place.`A complete description, said he, of how a "
tyrannical" man comes to be.
`Is not this, then, I said, the reason why "tyrant" is quite an old appellation
of Eros?
`Probably, he replied.
`Also, my friend, said I, when a man becomes intoxicated, he begins to have a
"tyrannical" temper, does he not?
`Yes.
`And then again, the madman, when his wits are deranged, will attempt lordship
over gods as well as men, and be confident ([[section]]lp[[currency]]zei) of
his power to achieve it.
`Very true, he replied.
`So, said I, to be precise, a "tyrannical" man comes into being whenever,
either by temperament or by habits of life or by both together, he falls under
the dominion of wine or of love or of insanity.'
That Plato had Alcibiades in his mind is probable from hiffi language in
another dialogue. Alcibiades is living on the hope
([[section]]lp[[currency]]di) of becoming like Cyrus and Xerxes (note 1); and
he has a passion ([[section]]rçn) for becoming the most famous man among
all Greeks and barbarians. (note 2) Socrates promises not to give him up unless
his worst fear should be realized, namely, that Alcibiades `should be corrupted
by becoming the Lover of the Demos'. (note 3) Plato has coined a
word--dhmerastÆw--to express the relation which Eros, the tyrant passion,
has to the lower desires, and which Alcibiades will have to the democracy. At
the end of the dialogue Socrates proves that a man ought not to seek a
tyranny for himself or for his city. (note 4)
[1. Plat. Alc. i. 1051, cf. E tosaut[[infinity]]w
[[section]]lp[[currency]]dow gdeg.mein. [2. Ibid. 124 E.
[3. Ibid. 132
A.
[4. Ibid. 135 B. Plutarch, keenly alive to the mythical side of Plato's
thought, seized on this connexion of ideas. Recording one of the later
brilliant achievements of Alcibiades, he says, >=ryh mcentsn
aÈtÚw t" fronÆmati ka< tØn stratiån
[[section]]p[[infinity]]ren ...w êmaxon ka< éÆtthyon
oÔan [[section]]ke[[currency]]nou strathgoËntow, toÁw dcents
fortikoÁw ka< pdeg.nhtaw oÏtaw [[section]]dhmag~ghsen Àste
[[section]]rçn [[paragraph]]rvta yaumastÚn ÍpÉ
[[section]]ke[[currency]]nou turanne>syai, Alc. xxxiv.]
[[209]]
This association of Eros with `tyranny' gives a fresh meaning to
Thucydides' references to Athens as the tyrant city. Each of the two earlier
leaders of the people, Pericles and Cleon, uses the expression; (note 1) but
Pericles would have had the citizens be lovers of Athens; (note 2) and
`tyranny' meant in his original ideal what it had meant to many states of
Greece: the supremacy of art and civilization. To Cleon it had meant the iron
rule of force over unwilling subjects always plotting rebellion. Alcibiades is
the Lover, not of Athens, but of the People; (note 3) he was suspected of
designs for personal despotism, and filled with the tyrant's passion, the lust
of conquest and of personal glory.
In the relief, (note 4) here reproduced, Eros with his great wings stands
leaning his hand on the shoulder of Paris, who points upward, whither his
dreams are soaring. Over against them sits Helen, scarcely listening to
Aphrodite who is beside her, but with eyes fascinated by the love-light from
the eyes of Paris; above her is Peitho, with a bird--perhaps the bird of
love-magic, the Iynx--in her hand. As Paris swept Helen across the seas, so now
the Lover of the People is `kindling the flame of Desire in Athens, and
persuading them to under- take a great expedition to conquer Sicily, suggesting
great hopes to the People, and himself coveting yet greater things. (note 5)
[1. Thuc. ii. 63 (Pericles) ...w turann[[currency]]da går >=dh
[[paragraph]]xete aÈtØn (tØn érxÆn), iii. 37
(Cleon) ...w turann[[currency]]da [[paragraph]]xete tØn
èrxØn ka< prÚw [[section]]pibouleÊontaw
aÈtoÁw ka< êkontaw érxomdeg.nouw. [2. Thuc. ii.
43 (Pericles) *raståw gignomdeg.nouw aÈt[[infinity]]w
(t[[infinity]]w pÒlevw, not toË dÆmou).
[3. Thuc. vi. 89
(Alcibiades) t" dÆm[[florin]] proseke[[currency]]mhn mçllon.
[4. This marble relief, now in the Naples Museum, is assed to the middle of the
fourth century at earliest; `die bier zum Ausdruck kommende Bedeutung Peithos
ist aber sicher viel älter,' Weizsäcker, Roscher, Lex. Myth.
s.v. Peitho. The types of the several figures are probably earlier than
this grouping of them.
[5. Plut. Alc. xvii i dcents pantãpasi
tÚn [[paragraph]]rvta toËton énafldeg.jaw
aÈt<<n ka< pe[[currency]]saw mØ katå mhdcents
katå mikrÚn éllå megãl[[florin]]
stÒl[[florin]] pleÊsantaw [[section]]pixeire>n ka<
katastrdeg.fesyai tØn n[[infinity]]son, ÉAlkibiãdhw
[[Sigma]]n, tÒn te d[[infinity]]mon megãla pe[[currency]]saw
[[section]]lp[[currency]]zein, aÈtÒw te meizÒnvn
ÙregÒmenow. Note how Plutarch preserves all the key-phrases of
Thucydides.]
[[210]]
In the debate which followed the speech of Nikias (note 1) `he who most
eagerly urged the expedition was Alcibiades the son of Cleinias. He wished to
oppose Nikias, who was always his political antagonist and just now had
referred to him disparagingly; but above all he thirsted to command, and hoped
(note 2) that he might be instrumental in seizing Sicily and even Carthage, and
at the same time that his success might repair his private fortunes and gain
him money as well a fame. For being in conspicuous repute among the citizens,
he indulged his desires beyond his means in the upkeep of his horses and other
extravagances--a temper which later had much to do in bringing about the utter
ruin (note 3) of Athens. For the people took alarm at the extreme lawlessness
of his bodily self-indulgence, and at the far-reaching conceptions which
animated his conduct in every detail of any action in which he took part, and
thinking he was desirous of becoming tyrant, they set themselves to oppose him.
Hence although his management of the war was excellent, individuals took
umbrage at his private behaviour, and so they entrusted the war to others and
800n shipwrecked the state' ([[paragraph]]sfhlan tØn pÒlin).
Alcibiades begins by asserting his claims to command, and defending his
personal magnificence as a public benefit. No other private individual had ever
sent seven chariots into the lists at Olympia; and, though a display of this
kind may excite murmurs at home, it impresses foreigners with the strength of
Athens. Such `folly' (ênoia) is not useless. One who knows his own
superiority cannot be expected to treat others a equals. Men of a lofty and
disdainful spirit are hated during their lives, but when they are dead their
country boats of them and posterity are eager to claim descent from them. (note 4) Such are his ambitions; and as for his
[1. Thuc. vi. 15. [2. [[section]]piyum<<n ka<
[[section]]lp[[currency]]zvn.
[3. kaye>len, a technical word for Ate.
Aesch. Agam. 404 tÚn dÉ [[section]]p[[currency]]strofon
t<<n | fÇtÉêdikon kayaire>. Of Elpis Thuc. v. 103
kín blãc[[dotaccent]], oÈ kaye>len.
[4. Bruns has
remarked a reference to the exaggerated cult of Alcibiades after his death--a
proof that this speech was written later than that event. Busolt iii. 2674 n.
Aristotle's remark: on heredity furnish a strange comment: `There is a kind of
crop in the families of men (forã, as Cope observes, here implies an
alternation of forã and éfor[[currency]]a of good and bad crops),
just as there is in the produce of the soil; for a certain time remarkable men
grow up in them, and then (after an interval of unproductiveness) they begin
again to produce them. When clever families degenerate, their characters
acquire a tendency to madness, as for instance the descendants of
Alcibiades and Dionysius the Elder, whereas those of a steady character
degenerate into sluggishness or dullness, as in the ease of those of Conon and
Pericles and Socrates.' Ar. Rhet. b. xv, Cope's version. Cf. Plato,
Alcib. I. 118 E, Alcibiades calls Pericles' sons +/-liy[[currency]]v,
and his own brother Cleinias mainÒmenon ênyrvpon.]
[[211]]
public policy hitherto, who can show a better record? His youth and
`folly', now held to be so monstrous, won the Peloponnesians with well-sounding
words and his heartiness gained confidence for his persuasions. (note 1) Let
them not take alarm now; but while this youth of his, like Nikias' reputation
for success, is still in its flower, (note 2) take full advantage of
both.Alcibiades proceeds to make light of the power of Sicily.
They are a motley rabble, disunited and unable to defend themselves; the
numbers of their heavy infantry have been greatly exaggerated. (note 3) And at
home Athens, strong in her navy, has little to fear. The Peloponnesians were
never more hopeless than now. Athens has no excuse for hanging back from
helping her allies in Sicily, on whose assistance she relied for harassing her
own enemies there. Our empire, like others, was acquired by readiness to
respond to invitations for help. We cannot play the housewife with an empire
and pick and choose how far it shall extend. We must keep our grasp on what we
have and contrive occasions against others. (note 4) If we do not rule, others
will rule us. (note 5)
[1. Ùrg[[ordfeminine]] p[[currency]]stin parasxomdeg.nh
[[paragraph]]peisen.. [2. ßvw [[paragraph]]ti ékamãzv
metÉ aÈt[[infinity]]w (t[[infinity]]w neÒthtow). Cf. Plut.
Nic. xiv pr [3. Thuc.
vi. 17. 2 ^xloiw jumme[[currency]]ktoiw polu ndroËsi... 4 tÚn
toioËton ~milon. So Mardonius: The Ionians in Europe are `worthless'
(énãjioi) and their method of fightiug is foolish, Herod. vii. 9.
Artabanus reproves him for slanderously making light of the Greeks in order to
`exalt' ([[section]]pae[[currency]]rein) Xerxes' self-confidence. [4. Thuc.
vi. 18. 3 (Alcibiades) énãgkh... to>w mcentsn
[[section]]pibouleÊein, toÁw dcents mØ énideg.nai.
iii. 45 (Diodotus) i mcentsn (ÖErvw) tØn [[section]]piboulØn
[[section]]kfront[[currency]]zvn. Compare iv. 60 (Hermocrates)
[[section]]pibouleuomdeg.nhn tØn pçsan Sikel[[currency]]an
ÍtÉ ÉAyhna[[currency]]vn, coming just after the allusion
to Diodotus' speech (iii. 45 fin.): oÎte fÒb[[florin]], un
o[[daggerdbl]]hta[[currency]] ti pldeg.on sxÆsein, épotrdeg.petai
(iv. 59).
[5. Thuc. vi. 18. 3 diå tÚ
érxy[[infinity]]nai ín ÍrÉ *tdeg.rvn aÈto>w
k[[currency]]ndunon e[[perthousand]]nai, efi mØ aÈto< êllvn
êrxoimen. Herod. vii. 11, Xerxes says: poideg.en u paye>n prokdeg.etai
ég~n, .na u tãde pãnta ÍpÚ ÜEllhsi u
[[section]]ke>na pãnta ÍpÚ Pdeg.rs[[dotaccent]]si
gdeg.nhtai.]
[[212]]
A display of activity in attacking Sicily will lay the pride of the
Peloponnesians in the dust (note 1); and the conquest of the island will lead
to the conquest of all Hellas. (note 2) As masters of the sea we can withdraw
safely at any time. Do not be diverted by Nikias' doctrine of indolence or his
attempts to set old against young. Our fathers, old and young taking counsel
together, brought Athens to her present greatness: you should endeavour to lead
her yet further in the same way. (note 3) Inaction will lead to internal
friction and decay; conffict and exercise bring gain of experience and new
strength for active defence.
The most remarkable part of this speech is the opening defence of the speaker's
lavish magnificence, as being a public benefit; following as it does
immediately upon the historian's statement that this very quality was a
principal cause of Athens, utter downfall. It seems very unlikely that
Alcibiades at such a moment would have actually used language so offensively
boastful. Once more Thucydides is straining piobability in order to give the
impression of a certain state of mind. The case is analogous to the Melian
dialogue, where the speeches of the Athenian representative were used to
portray the insolent and impious cruelty, hardly distinguishable from madness,
which was exhibited by Athens as a whole in the massacre of Melos. Now, this
early part of Alcibiades' speech----the rest of it may be very much what was
actually said--is similarly designed to illustrate, in & typical way,
another condition----that which we distinguished
[1. Thuc. vi. 18. 4 .na Peloponnhs[[currency]]vn te stordeg.svmen
tÚ frÒnhma. The humbling of pride is God's business: ZeÊw
toi kolastØw t<<n ÍperkÒmpvn êgan |
fronhmãtvn [[paragraph]]pesti, Aesch. Persae, 827. [2. Cf.
Xerxes: `We shall extend the Persian territory till it is conterminous with the
ether of Zeus. The sun will shine on no land beyond our borders' &c. Herod.
vii. 8.
[3. Xerxes: `I but follow a custom handed down by our fathers. Our
older men tell me our race has never reposed since we conquered the Medes... I,
since I mounted the throne, have not ceased to the how I might rival chose who
have gone before in this honour, and increase the power of Persia as much as
any of them.' Herod. vii. 11.]
[[213]]
as the sanguine, hot-spirited kind of `Insolence' (Hybris). The pride of
illustrious birth, the sp]endour of an Olympian victory su1h as no private
person had ever gained, the superiority which cannot be expected to treat
acknowledged inferiors as equals, the successful treachery practised on the
Sp&rtans--all these are the subjects of almost fatuous boasting; and, as we
have seen, there is hardly a point in the speeches of Mardonius and Xerxes
which is not echoed in the words of Alcibiades.
The effect of the speech was that the Athenians `were much more eager
than before for the expedition'. (note 1) We need not linger over Nikias'
second speech, in which, seeing that `he could not avert (note 2) their
purpose by repeating the same arguments', he tried to win over the assembly by
insisting on the greatness of the armament required. We will only note the
peroration where Nikias' `formula' is once more repeated:
`Such are my fears. I know that we have much need of good counsel, and yet more
of good luck--a hard thing for mortals to ensure. Hence I desire to trust
myself as little as possible to fortune on the expedition, and to start
upon it with the security of reasonable preparations. This I think the surest
course for the whole state, and for us who are to be sent it means
preservation. If any one thinks otherwise, to him I resign my command.'
The next chapter describes in very remarkable language the fevered excitement
of the Athens. Once more all the leading ideas we have dwelt upon are
reiterated.
`Nikias said thus much, thinking that by dwelling on the vastness of the
undertaking he would either avert the purpose (épotrdeg.cein) of
the Athenians, or, if he were compelled to go on the expedition, he would thus
have the best chance of starting safely. But the Athenians were not delivered
of their passion for the voyage (note 3) by the burdensome nature
[1. vi. 19. 1 Àrmhnto strateÊein; 20. 1 (Nikias)
pãntvw ir<< Ímçw ...rmhmÄnouw
strateÊein. [2. vi. 19. 2 épotrdeg.pein again.
[3. vi. 24.
2 tÚ [[section]]piyumoËn toË ploË.]
[[214]]
of the preparation needed; rather they were much more eagerly bent upon
it (Àrmhnto). So Nikias found his position reversed; (note 1) for they
thought his advice sound and that now at any rate there would be complete
safety. And a passion seized upon all alike to start upon the voyage;
(note 2)--the elder men being confident either that they would conquer the
power against which they were sailing or else that no disaster could befall so
large a force; the youth longing to see the marvels of that distant land,
and in high hopes of a safe return. (note 3) The general mass of the
soldiers hoped to gain money at once and further to acquire an inexhaustible
mine - of pay for the -future. Thus owing to their eessive desire for
more, (note 4) even if there were any who disapproved, they kept quiet,
fearing to be thought unpatriotic if they voted on the other
side.'The most striking sentence in this paragraph--`a passion
seized upon all alike for the voyage'--recalls by the very turn of the phrase
the sinister foreboding of Clytemnestra, in the passage already quoted, where
she is speaking of the return of the conquering army from
Troy.Yet may some passion seize upon the host,
Some lust of rapine and forbidden gain;
I fear, it ;--half their race is yet to run,
Ere they win home in safety. (note 5)
Must not Thucydides have
intended this dark allusion which so terribly fits the sequel ?--`Of the many
who went few
[1. toÈnant[[currency]]on perideg.sth aÈt". Another
curious dramatic detail of resemblance tween Nikias and Artabanus, who, in
consequence of the vision, `whereas he had formerly been the only person openly
to oppose the expedition, now appeared as openly to urge it.' Herod. vii.
18. [2. ÖErvw [[section]]ndeg.pese to>w pçsin imo[[currency]]vw
[[section]]kpleËsai.
[3. to>w dcents [[section]]n t[[ordfeminine]]
<=lik[[currency]]& t[[infinity]]w te époÊshw
pÒy[[florin]] ^cevw ka< yevr[[currency]]aw, ka< eÈdeg.lpidew
^ntew svyÆsesyai.
[4. diå tØn êgan t<<n
pleÒnvn [[section]]piyum[[currency]]an.
[5. Aesch. Agam.
353:ÖErvw dcents mÆ tiw prÒteron
Émp[[currency]]pt[[dotaccent]] strat"porye>n í mØ
xrØ kdeg.rdesin nikvmdeg.nous:de> går prÚw
o[[daggerdbl]]kouw nost[[currency]]mou svthr[[currency]]awkãmcai
diaÊlou yãteron k<<lon pãlin.]
[[215]]
returned home again. Thus ended what happened concerning Sicily.' (note 1)Another curious phrase: `the youth, longing to see the marvels
of that distant land' (t[[infinity]]w époÊshw pÒy[[florin]]
^cevw ka< yevr[[currency]]aw) not only reminds us of Nikias' reference to `the
fatal passion for what is out of reach'; there is also a hint of the lust of
the eye which accompanies the pride of life. Besides urging the motive of
vengeance, Mardonius too had dwelt upon the `exceeding beauty' of Europe with
its variety of cultivated trees and the great excellence of its soil, worthy
only for the king to possess. (note 2) Pothos is the special name for
the desire of what is distant; (note 3) Love in absence is the brother of Love
in presence, Himeros. (note 4) Both, like Eros, are associated with the eye,
which was popularly regarded as the channel through which the image or phantom
(e[[daggerdbl]]dvlon) of the desired object entered to inspire love in the
soul. (note 5)
An allusion to the lust of the eye is suggested by the occurrence of a similar
phrase (again in conjunction with high hopes) where the magnificent spectacle
of the departing fleet is described: (note 6) `the armament excited wonder no
less by its astonishing daring and the brilliance of the sight than by
the great disproportion of the force to the power against which it was sent,
and because never had a greater voyage been undertaken across the seas from
home, (note 7) and never was enterprise
[1. Thuc. vii. fin., Ùl[[currency]]goi épÚ
poll<<n [[section]]pÉ o[[daggerdbl]]kou épenÒsthsan.
taËta mcentsn tå per< Sikel[[currency]]an genÒmena. [2.
Herod. vii. 5 perikallØw x~ra. Xerxes recurs to this point vii. 8
[[section]] 1.
[3. ka< mØn pÒyow aÔ kale>tai
shma[[currency]]nvn oÈ toË parÒntow e[[perthousand]]nai,
éllå toË êlloy[[currency]] pou ^ntow ka<
épÒntow, ~yen pÒyow [[section]]pvnÒmastai,
[[breve]]w tÒte [[breve]]tan par[[ordfeminine]] oÔ tiw
[[section]]f[[currency]]eto, ,,merow [[section]]kale>to, Plato,
Cratylus, 420 A. Pind. Pyth. iii 20 (quoted above, p. 206) ~stiw
afisxÊnvn [[section]]pix~ria papta[[currency]]nei tå pÒrsv.
Compare also the pÒyou kdeg.ntron which is implanted in the drone and
goads him to frenzy, in the description of the tyrant passion quoted above (p.
207) from Plato, Rep. 572.
[4. Himeros is used of Mardonius'
desire to take Athens; Herod. ix. 3 éllã ofl deinÒw tiw
[[section]]ndeg.stakto .merow tåw ÉAyÆnaw deÊtera
*le>n.
[5. Plato, Phaedrus, 250 C. Cf. also Xen. Symp. i. 9,
and Plato, Cratylus, 420 A, Eros derived from [[section]]sre>n, `flowing
in.'
[6. 31. 6 tÒlmhw te yãmbei ka< ^cevw
lamprÒthti.
[7. Herod. vii. 20 `Of all the expeditions known to us
this (of Xerxes) was by far the greatest.']
[[216]]
undertaken with higher hope in the future in proportion to present
power.' (note 1)
Thucydides, we are told, did not believe in omens: certainly he treats
oracle-mongering with ironic scorn. But whatever the cool opinion of the
rationalist may have been, the artist cannot forgo the opportunity offered by
the mutilation of the Hermae, occurring a it did on the eve of the fleet's
departure. It would have been perfectly consistent with his earlier method to
omit all mention of this incident until the moment when it affected the course
of `what actually happened in the war', by causing the recall of Alcibiades.
The Thucydides of the first two Books would have postponed the episode and
briefly recurred to it at that point; but the Thucydides of Book VI is alive to
its indispensable value as an element in his effect. The impenetrable mystery
which will never be solved, the stir and outbreak of superstitious panic, the
atmosphere tainted with sacrilege and poisoned by suspicion--all these are
needed to cast a shadow, just here, across the brilliant path of Alcibiades.
The art with which this impression is given culminates in the concluding
sentence of the paragraph--one of the most characteristic in the whole history.
It cannot be rendered in any other language, for besides its bare simplicity,
its effect depends partly on the order of words and partly on the use of the
definite article with a proper name: ka< [[paragraph]]doje ple>n tÚn
ÉAlkibiãdhn.
The disregard of omens is another constant motive in the legend of Hybris, and
we can predict its appearance at the proper place. Xerxes, at the moment of
crossing into Europe, just after he has allowed himself, without reproof, to be
addressed as Zeus, makes no account of a prodigy which might easily have been
interpreted. He had neglected a similar warning while still at Sardis. (note 2)
Whether Thucydides
[1. Cf. also above, 30. 2 metÉ [[section]]lp[[currency]]dow te
ëma fiÒntew ka< Ùlufurm<<n, and 31. 1 t[[ordfeminine]]
^cei éneyãrsoun. [2. Herod. vii. 57. So also Mardonius before
Plataea obstinately rejects good advice, refuses to take notice of the adverse
omens of the victims, and misinterprets an oracle predicting the Fate of the
Persians, Herod. ix. 39-42.]
[[217]]
believed in omens or not, the bulk of the Athenians did; and their
disregard of them is a note of the peculiar state of mind portrayed in the
Melian dialogue. `The affair of the Hermae was construed in an exaggerated way,
for it was thought to be an omen for the voyage and to have been part of a
conspiracy for revolution and the overthrow of the democracy.' (note 1) Charges
of another act of profanation were rife against Alcibiades, but by the
contrivance of his enemies they were left suspended and not brought to trial.
Ka< [[paragraph]]doje ple>n tÚn ÉAlkibiãdhn--that is the
last we hear of him till the fleet has sailed.
`And after this, when midsummer had come, they set about the dispatching
of the fleet to Sicily.' (note 2) The pages that follow are a masterpiece of
description. In the lumbering roll of these Thucydidean sentences (note 3) we
hear the clatter and rumble of preparation, the dockyard hammer, the hoarse
cries of mariners, the grinding rush of the trireme taking the water from the
slips,--all the bustle and excitement of launching this most splendid and
costly of expeditions. (note 4) `Each captain strove to the utmost that his own
ship might excel all others in beauty and swiftness'; for the spirit of rivalry
was in the air, `rivalry with one another in the performance of their appointed
tasks, rivalry with all Greece; so that it looked more like a display of
unrestrainable power than a warlike expedition.' (note 5)
`When the ships were manned and everything required for the voyage had been
placed on board, silence was proclaimed by the sound of the trumpet, and all
with one voice before setting sail offered up the customary prayers; these were
recited, not in each ship, but by a single herald, the
[1. Thuc. vi. 27. 3. [2. Thuc. vi 30. 1.
[3. One of them (31.
[[section]] 3) contains 121 words.
[4. vi. 31 polutelestãth ka<
eÈprepestãth.
[5. vi. 31. 4 jundeg.bh dcents prÒw te
sfçw aÈtoÁw ëma [[paragraph]]rin gendeg.syai, ü
tiw ßkastow prosetãxyh, ka< [[section]]w toÁw êllouw
ÜEllhnaw [[section]]p[[currency]]deijin mçllon
efikasy[[infinity]]nai t[[infinity]]w dunãmevw ka<
[[section]]jous[[currency]]aw [[partialdiff]] [[section]]p<
polem[[currency]]ouw paraskeuÆn. This rivalry was characteristic too of
Xerxes' preparations. The Persian officers competed eagerly for the prize which
the king offered for the most gallantly arrayed contingent at the muster,
Herod. vii. 8 d; 19; 26. The associations of Ego are already familiar to
us.]
[[218]]
whole fleet accompanying him. On every deck both officers and men,
mingling wine in bowls, made libations from vessels of gold and silver. The
multitude of citizens and other well-wishers who were looking on from the land
joined in the prayer. The crews raised the Paean, and when the libations were
completed, put to sea. After sailing out for some distance in single file, the
ships raced with one another a far as Aegis.' (note 1)Across the
waters of Salamis! Even so, with prayer and libation from golden vessels, had
the armament drowned in those very waters traversed the Hellespont. `All that
day,' says Herodotus, `the preparations for the passage continued; and on the
morrow they burnt all kinds of spices upon the bridges, and strewed the way
with myrtle-boughs, while they waited anxiously for the sun, which they hoped
to see as he rose. And now the sun appeared; and Xerxes took a golden goblet
and poured from it a libation into the sea, praying the while, with his face
turned to the sun, "that no misfortune might befall him such as to hinder his
conquest of Europe, until he had penetrated to the utmost boundaries." After he
had prayed, he cast the golden cup into the Hellespont, and with it a golden
bowl and a Persian sword.' (note 2)
Xerxes too had set his ships racing in a sailing-match, and `as he looked and
saw the whole Hellespont covered with vessels of his fleet, and all the shore
and every plain about Abydos a full as possible of men, Xerxes congratulated
himself on his good fortune; but after a little while, he wept'. (note 3) And
now, a the Athenian ships in their turn race over the sea, within sight of the
promontory where the Persian monarch watched from his throne the judgement of
God fall upon presumptuous ambition, there, on one of the foremost and most
luxuriously furnished galleys, (note 4) an eager and beautiful figure stands,
flushed with triumph. The shield at his side is inwrought with ivory and gold,
and bears an
[1. Thuc. vi. 32 Jowett. [2. Herod. vii. 54 Rawlinson.
[3. Herod
vii. 44, 45 Rawlinson.
[4. Plutarch, vit. Alcib. xvi.]
[[219]]
emblem which is none of the hereditary blazons of his house; the
self-chosen cognizance of Alcibiades is the figure of Love himself--of Eros
with the thunderbolt in his hand. (note 1) Over the rich armada, hastening with
full sail to Corcyra and the West, floats the winged, unconquerable Eros who
makes havoc of wealth, ranging beyond the seas, (note 2)--Eros who planned the
enterprise and now leads the way. Behind him follows another unseen, haunting
spirit-- Nemesis, who `in later times was represented with wings like Love,
because it was thought that the goddess hovers chiefly in Love's train'. (note 3)
We cannot follow in detail the fortunes of the great expedition; through
most of the account the nulitary interest of the siege predominates. But there
is one passage in the description of the last retreat which concerns our
subject and forges the final link in our chain. In the speech addressed by
Nikias to the despairing army one mythical motive, so far wanting, is
supplied--the motive of fyÒnow, the divine Jealousy. It could not be
mentioned till this moment; for Thucydides cannot speak of it in his own
person; he must put it in the mouth of the pious Nikias, as Herodotus had put
it in the mouth of Artabanus. (note 4)
`Although,' says Nikias, `there was a time when I might have been thought equal
to the best of you in the happiness of my private and public life, I am now in
as great danger, and as much at the mercy of fortune, as the meanest. Yet my
days have been passed in the performance of many a religious duty, and of many
a just and blameless action. Therefore my hope of the future remains
unshaken (note 6) and our calamities do not appal me as they might. Who
knows
[1. Plutarch, vit. Alcib. xvi ésp[[currency]]dow te
diaxrÊsou po[[currency]]hsin oÈdcentsn
[[section]]p[[currency]]dhmon t<<n patr[[currency]]vn êxousan,
éllÉ ÖErvta keraunofÒron. Athen. xii. 534 E ka<
strathg<<n dcents [[paragraph]]ti kalÚw e[[perthousand]]nai
>=yelen: ésp[[currency]]da goËn e[[perthousand]]xen [[section]]k
xrusoË ka< [[section]]ldeg.fantow pepoihmdeg.nhn, [[section]]fÉ
[[Sigma]]w [[Sigma]]n [[section]]p[[currency]]dhmon ÖErvw keraunÚn
+/-gkulhmcentsnow. [2. Soph. Ant. 781 ÖErvw
én[[currency]]kate mãxan, ÖErvw [[macron]]w [[section]]n
ktÆmasi p[[currency]]pteiw... foitòw dÉ
ÍperpÒntiow... i dÉ *xvn mdeg.mhnen.
[3. Paus. i. 33.
6.
[4. Herod. vii. 10. Thuc. vii. 77.
[5. vii. 774 <= mcentsn
[[section]]lpa toË mdeg.llontow.]
[[220]]
that they may not be lightened? For our enemies have had their full
share of success, and if our expedition provokod the jealousy of any
God, (note 1) by this time we have been punished enough. Others ere now
have attacked their neighbours; they have done as men will do and suffered
what men can bear. (note 2) We may therefore begin to hope that the Gods
will be more merciful to us; for we now invite their pity rather than their
jealousy.' (note 3)The hope, as we know, was vain--a last
delusion of Elpis. (note 4) In a few weeks `the best friend of the
Lacedaemonians in the matter of Pylos and Sphacteria' (note 5) was lying dead
beside their worst enemy in the same affair, Cleon's colleague, Demosthenes.
What need of further comment? Tychê, Elpis, Apatê, Hybris, Eros,
Phthonos, Nemesis, Atê--all these have crossed the stage and the play is
done.The flower of Pride hath bloomed, the ripened fruit
Of Suffering is all garnered up in tears:
Ye that have seen the reapers' wages told,
Remember Athens! (note 6)
[1. e[[daggerdbl]] t[[florin]] ye<<n
[[section]]p[[currency]]fyonoi [[section]]strateÊsamen. [2.
ényr~peia drãsantew énektå [[paragraph]]payon. Note
the reminiscence of drãsanti paye>n.
[3. Thuc. vii. 77 Jowett.
[4. So Plutarch (Nic. xviii) speaks of Nikias, affer Lamachus' death, as
being in high hope ([[section]]lp[[currency]]dow megãlhw), and
parå fÊsin ÍpÚ t[[infinity]]w [[section]]n t"
parÒnti =~mhw ka< tÊxhw énateyarrhk~w.
[5. Thuc. vii.
86. Observe how this phrase carries our thoughts back to the first of the train
of mythical causes: Fortune at Pylos.
[6. Aesch. Persae,
821:ÜUvriw går [[section]]janyoËsÉ
[[section]]kãrpvsen stãxunÖAthw, ~yen pãgklauton
[[section]]jamò ydeg.row:toiaËyÉ ir<<tew t<<nde
tépit[[currency]]miamdeg.mnhsyÉ
ÉAyhn<<n....
]