I. The orator Demades, who became one of the chief men in Athens by
his subservience to the Macedonians and Antipater, and who was forced
to say and to write much that was derogatory to the glory and contrary
to the traditional policy of Athens, used to excuse himself by
pleading that he did not come to the helm before the vessel of the
State was an utter wreck. This expression, which seems a bold one when
used by Demades, might with great truth have been applied to the
policy of Phokion. Indeed Demades himself wrecked Athens by his
licentious life and policy, and when he was an old man Antipater said
of him that he was like a victim which has been cut up for sacrifice,
for there was nothing left of him but his tongue and his paunch; while
the true virtue of Phokion was obscured by the evil days for Greece
during which he lived, which prevented his obtaining the distinction
which he deserved. We must not believe Sophokles, when he says that
virtue is feeble and dies out in men:
"Why, not the very mind that's born with man,
When he's unfortunate, remains the same."
Yet we must admit that fortune has so much power even over good men,
that it has sometimes withheld from them their due meed of esteem and
praise, has sullied their reputations with unworthy calumnies, and
made it difficult for the world to believe in their virtue.
II. It would seem that democracies, when elated by success, are
especially prone to break out into wanton maltreatment of their
greatest men; and this is also true in the opposite case: for
misfortunes render popular assemblies harsh, irritable, and uncertain
in temper, so that it becomes a dangerous matter to address them,
because they take offence at any speaker who gives them wholesome
counsel. When he blames them for their mistakes, they think that he is
reproaching them with their misfortunes, and when he speaks his mind
freely about their condition, they imagine that he is insulting them.
Just as honey irritates wounds and sores, so does true and sensible
advice exasperate the unfortunate, if it be not of a gentle and
soothing nature: exactly as the poet calls sweet things agreeable,
because they agree with the taste, and do not oppose or fight against
it. An inflamed eye prefers the shade, and shuns strong lights: and a
city, when involved in misfortunes, becomes timid and weak through its
inability to endure plain speaking at a time when it especially needs
it, as otherwise its mistakes cannot be repaired. For this reason the
position of a statesman in a democracy must always be full of peril;
for if he tries merely to please the people he will share their ruin,
while if he thwarts them he will be destroyed by them.
Astronomers teach us that the sun does not move in exactly the same
course as the stars, and yet not in one which is opposed to them, but
by revolving in an inclined and oblique orbit performs an easy and
excellent circuit through them all, by which means everything is kept
in its place, and its elements combined in the most admirable manner.
So too in political matters, the man who takes too high a tone, and
opposes the popular will in all cases, must be thought harsh and
morose, while on the other hand he who always follows the people and
shares in all their mistakes pursues a dangerous and ruinous policy.
The art of government by which states are made great consists in
sometimes making concessions to the people, and gratifying them when
they are obedient to authority, and at the same time insisting upon
salutary measures. Men willingly obey and support such a ruler if he
does not act in a harsh and tyrannical fashion: but he has a very
difficult and laborious part to play, and it is hard for him to
combine the sternness of a sovereign with the gentleness of a popular
leader, If, however, he succeed in combining these qualities, they
produce the truest and noblest harmony, like that by which God is
said to regulate the universe, as everything is brought about by
gentle persuasion, and not by violence.
III. All this was exemplified in the case of the younger Cato: for he
had not the art of persuasion and was unacceptable to the people, nor
did he rise to eminence by the popular favour, but Cicero[622] says
that he lost his consulship because he acted as if he were living in
the Republic of Plato, and not in the dregs of Romulus. Such men seem
to me to resemble fruits which grow out of season: for men gaze upon
them with wonder, but do not eat them: and the stern antique virtue of
Cato, displayed as it was in a corrupt and dissolute age, long after
the season for it had gone by, gained him great glory and renown, but
proved totally useless, as it was of too exalted a type to suit the
political exigencies of the day. When Cato began his career, his
country was not already ruined, as was that of Phokion. The ship of
the state was indeed labouring heavily in the storm, but Cato,
although he was not permitted to take the helm and guide the vessel,
exerted himself so manfully, and gave so much assistance to those who
were more powerful than himself, that he all but triumphed over
fortune. The constitution was, no doubt, finally overthrown; but its
ruin was due to others, and only took place after a long and severe
struggle, during which Cato very nearly succeeded in saving it. I have
chosen Phokion to compare with him, not because of the general
resemblance of their characters as good and statesmanlike men, for a
man may possess the same quality in various forms, as, for example,
the courage of Alkibiades was of a different kind to that of
Epameinondas; the ability of Themistokles was different to that of
Aristeides; and the justice of Numa Pompilius was different to that of
Agesilaus. But in the case of Phokion and Cato, their virtues bore the
same stamp, form, and ethical complexion down to the most minute
particulars. Both alike possessed the same mixture of kindness and
severity, of caution and daring: both alike cared for the safety of
others and neglected their own: both alike shrank from baseness, and
were zealous for the right; so that one would have to use a very nice
discrimination to discover the points of difference between their
respective dispositions.
IV. Cato is admitted by all writers to have been a man of noble
descent, as will be explained in his life: and I imagine that the
family of Phokion was not altogether mean and contemptible. If his
father had really been a pestle maker, as we are told by Idomeneus,
who may be sure that Glaukippus, the son of Hypereides, who collected
and flung at him such a mass of abuse, would not have omitted to
mention his low birth, nor would he have been so well brought up as to
have been a scholar of Plato while a lad, and afterwards to have
studied under Xenokrates in the Academy; while from his youth up he
always took an interest in liberal branches of learning. We are told
by the historian Douris that scarcely any Athenian ever saw Phokion
laughing or weeping, or bathing in the public baths, or with his hand
outside of his cloak, when he wore one. Indeed when he was in the
country or on a campaign he always went barefooted and wore only his
tunic, unless the cold was excessively severe; so that the soldiers
used to say in jest that it was a sign of wintry weather to see
Phokion wearing his cloak.
V. Though one of the kindest and most affable of men, he was of a
forbidding and severe countenance, so that men who did not know him
well feared to address him when alone. Once when Chares in a speech
mentioned Phokion's gloomy brow, the Athenians began to laugh. "Yet,"
said he, "his brow has never harmed you: but the laughter of these men
has brought great sorrow upon the state." In like manner also the
oratory of Phokion was most valuable, as it incited his countrymen to
win brilliant successes, and to form lofty aspirations. He spoke in a
brief, harsh, commanding style, without any attempt to flatter or
please his audience. Just as Zeno says that a philosopher ought to
steep his words in meaning, so Phokion's speeches conveyed the
greatest possible amount of meaning in the smallest compass. It is
probably in allusion to this that Polyeuktus[623] of Sphettus said
that Demosthenes was the best orator, but that Phokion was the most
powerful speaker. As the smallest coins are those which have the
greatest intrinsic value, so Phokion in his speeches seemed to say
much with few words. We are told that once while the people were
flocking into the theatre Phokion was walking up and down near the
stage, plunged in thought. "You seem meditative, Phokion," said one of
his friends. "Yes, by Zeus," answered he, "I am considering whether I
can shorten the speech which I am going to make to the Athenians."
Demosthenes himself, who despised the other orators, when Phokion rose
used to whisper to his friends, "Here comes the cleaver of my
harangues." Much of his influence, however, must be ascribed to his
personal character; since a word or a gesture of a truly good man
carries more weight than ten thousand eloquently argued speeches.
VI. While yet a youth Phokion especially attached himself to the
general Chabrias, and followed him in his campaigns, in which he
gained considerable military experience, and in some instances was
able to correct the strange inequalities of his commander's
temperament. Chabrias, usually sluggish and hard to rouse, when in
action became vehemently excited, and tried to outdo the boldest of
his followers in acts of daring: indeed he lost his life at Chios by
being the first to run his ship on shore and to try to effect a
landing in the face of the enemy. Phokion, who was a man of action,
and cautious nevertheless, proved most useful in stirring up Chabrias
when sluggish, and again in moderating his eagerness when roused. In
consequence of this, Chabrias, who was of a kindly and noble
disposition, loved Phokion and promoted him to many responsible posts,
so that his name became well known throughout Greece, as Chabrias
entrusted him with the management of the most important military
operations. At the battle of Naxos he enabled Phokion to win great
glory, by placing him in command of the left wing, where the most
important struggle took place, and where the victory was finally
decided. As this was the first sea fight, since the capture and ruin
of Athens, which the Athenians won by themselves, without allies, over
other Greeks, they were greatly pleased with Chabrias, and Phokion was
henceforth spoken of as a man of military genius. The battle was won
during the performance of the Great Mysteries at Eleusis; and every
year afterwards, on the sixteenth day of the month Böedromion,
Chabrias used to entertain the Athenians, and offer libations of wine
to the gods.
VII. After this Chabrias sent Phokion to visit the islands and exact
tribute from them, giving him an escort of twenty ships of war: upon
which Phokion is said to have remarked, that if he was sent to fight
the islanders, he should require a larger force, but that if he was
going to the allies of Athens, one ship would suffice for him. He
sailed in his own trireme, visited all the states, simply and
unassumingly explained the objects of his mission to their leading
men, and returned home with a large fleet, which the allies despatched
to convey their tribute safe to Athens.
He not only esteemed and looked up to Chabrias while he lived, but
after his death he took care of his family, and endeavoured to make a
good man of his son Ktesippus; and though he found this youth stupid
and unmanageable, he never ceased his efforts to amend his character
and to conceal his faults. Once only we are told that when on some
campaign the young man was tormenting him with unreasonable questions,
and offering him advice as though he were appointed assistant-general,
Phokion exclaimed, "O Chabrias, Chabrias, I do indeed prove myself
grateful for your friendship for me, by enduring this from your son!"
Observing that the public men of the day had, as if by lot, divided
the duties of the war-office and of the public assembly amongst
themselves, so that Eubulus, Aristophon, Demosthenes, Lykurgus, and
Hypereides did nothing except make speeches to the people and bring
forward bills, while Diopeithes, Menestheus, Leosthenes, and Chares
rose entirely by acting as generals and by making war, Phokion wished
to restore the era of Perikles, Aristeides, and Solon, statesmen who
were able to manage both of these branches of the administration with
equal success. Each one of those great men seemed to him, in the words
of Archilochus, to have been
"A man, who served the grisly god of arms,
Yet well could comprehend the Muses's charms."
The tutelary goddess of Athens herself, he remarked, presided equally
over war and over domestic administration, and was worshipped under
both attributes.
VIII. With this object in view Phokion invariably used his political
influence in favour of peace, but nevertheless was elected
general[624] more times not only than any of his contemporaries, but
also than any of his predecessors: yet he never canvassed his
countrymen or made any effort to obtain the office, though he did not
refuse to fill it at his country's bidding. All historians admit that
he was elected general five-and-forty times, and never once missed
being elected, since even when he was absent the Athenians used to
send for him to come home and be elected; so that his enemies used to
wonder that Phokion, who always thwarted the Athenians and never
flattered them either by word or deed, should be favoured by them, and
were wont to say that the Athenians in their hours of relaxation used
to amuse themselves by listening to the speeches of their more lively
and brilliant orators, just as royal personages are said to amuse
themselves with their favourites after dinner, but that they made
their appointments to public offices in a sober and earnest spirit,
choosing for that purpose the most severe and sensible man in Athens,
and the one too, who alone, or at any rate more than any one else, was
in the habit of opposing their impulses and wishes. When an oracle was
brought from Delphi and read before the assembly, which said that
when all the Athenians were of one mind, one man would be opposed to
the state, Phokion rose and said that he was the man in question, for
he disapproved of the whole of their policy. And once when he made
some remark in a speech which was vociferously applauded, and he saw
the whole assembly unanimous in its approval of his words, he turned
to some of his friends and said, "Have I inadvertently said something
bad?"
IX. Once when the Athenians were asking for subscriptions for some
festival, and all the others had paid their subscriptions, Phokion,
after he had been frequently asked to subscribe, answered, "Ask these
rich men: for my part I should be ashamed of myself if I were to give
money to you, and not pay what I owe to this man here," pointing to
Kallikles the money-lender. As the people did not cease shouting and
abusing him, he told them a fable: "A cowardly man went to the wars,
and when he heard the cawing of the crows, he laid down his arms and
sat still. Then he took up his arms and marched on, and they again
began to caw, so he halted again. At last he said, 'You may caw as
loud as you please, but you shall never make a meal of me.'" On
another occasion when the Athenians wished to send him to meet the
enemy, and when he refused, called him a coward, he said, "You are not
able to make me brave, nor am I able to make you cowards. However, we
understand one another." At some dangerous crisis the people were
greatly enraged with him, and demanded an account of his conduct as
general. "I hope," said he, "my good friends, that you will save
yourselves first." As the Athenians, when at war, were
humble-spirited, and full of fears, but after peace was made became
bold, and reproached Phokion for having lost them their chance of
victory, he said, "You are fortunate in having a general who
understands you; for if you had not, you would long ago have been
ruined." When the Athenians wished to decide some dispute about
territory by arms instead of by arbitration, Phokion advised them to
fight the Bœotians with words, in which they were superior, not with
arms, in which they were inferior to them. Once when they would not
attend to his words, or listen to him, he said, "You are able to force
me to do what I do not wish, but you shall never force me to counsel
what I do not approve." When Demosthenes, one of the orators of the
opposite party, said to him, "Phokion, the Athenians will kill you, if
they lose their senses." He answered, "Yes, but they will kill you, if
they regain them." When he saw Polyeuktus of Sphettus in a great heat
urging the Athenians to go to war with Philip, panting and sweating
profusely, as he was a very fat man, and drinking great draughts of
water, he said, "Ought you to believe what this man says, and vote for
war? What sort of a figure will he make in a suit of armour and with a
shield to carry, when the enemy are at hand, if he cannot explain his
thoughts to you without nearly choking himself?" When Lykurgus abused
him freely in the public assembly and above all, reproached him with
having advised the people to deliver up ten citizens to Alexander when
he demanded them, he said, "I have often given the people good advice,
but they will not obey me."
X. There was one Archibiades, who was surnamed the Laconizer, who grew
a great beard, wore a Spartan cloak, and affected a stern demeanour
like a Spartan. Once when Phokion was being violently attacked in the
assembly he called upon this man to bear witness to the truth of what
he said, and to assist him. Archibiades now rose and said what he
thought would please the Athenians, upon which Phokion, seizing him by
the beard, exclaimed, "Why then, Archibiades, do you not shave?"[625]
When Aristogeiton, the informer, who made warlike speeches in the
public assembly, and urged the people to action, came to be enrolled
on the list for active service leaning on a stick, with his legs
bandaged, Phokion, catching sight of him from the tribune where he
stood, called out "Write down Aristogeiton, a cripple and a villain."
From this it appears strange that so harsh and ungenial a man should
have been named "The Good."
It is difficult, I imagine, but not impossible, for the same man to
be like wine, both sweet and harsh: just as other men and other wines
seem at first to be pleasant, but prove in the end both disagreeable
and injurious to those who use them. We are told that Hypereides once
said to the Athenians, "Men of Athens, do not think whether I am harsh
or not, but whether I am harsh for nothing;" as if it was only
covetousness that made men hated, and as if those persons were not
much more generally disliked who used their power to gratify their
insolence, their private grudges, their anger, or their ambition.
Phokion never harmed any Athenian because he disliked him, and never
accounted any man his enemy, but merely showed himself stern and
inexorable to those who opposed his efforts to save his country, while
in the rest of his life he was so kind and amiable to all men, that he
often helped his opponents, and came to the aid of his political
antagonists when they were in difficulties. Once when his friends
reproached him for having interceded in court for some worthless man
who was being tried, he answered that good men do not need any
intercessor. When Aristogeiton, after he had been condemned, sent for
Phokion, and begged him to visit him, he at once started to go to the
prison; and when his friends tried to prevent him, he said, "My good
sirs, let me go; for where would one wish to meet Aristogeiton rather
than in prison?"
XI. Indeed, if any other generals were sent out to the allies and
people of the islands, they always treated them as enemies, fortified
their walls, blocked up their harbours, and sent their slaves and
cattle, their women and children, into their cities for shelter; but
when Phokion was in command they came out a long way to meet him with
their own ships, crowned with flowers, and led him rejoicing into
their cities.
XII. When Philip stealthily seized Eubœa,[626] landed a Macedonian
army there, and began to win over the cities by means of their
despots, Plutarchus of Eretria sent to Athens and begged the Athenians
to rescue the island from the Macedonians. Phokion was now sent
thither in command of a small force, as it was expected that the
people of the country would rally round him. He found, however,
nothing but treachery and corruption, as all patriotism had been
undermined by the bribes of Philip, and soon was brought into great
danger. He established himself upon a hill which was cut off by a
ravine from the plain near the city of Tamynæ, and there collected the
most trustworthy part of his forces, bidding his officers take no heed
of the undisciplined mass of talkers and cowards who deserted from his
camp and made their way home, observing that they were useless in
action because they would not obey orders, and only hindered the
fighting men, while at Athens the consciousness of their baseness
would prevent their bringing false accusations against him.
XIII. When the enemy[627] drew near, he ordered his troops to remain
quiet under arms until he had finished offering sacrifice. Either the
sacrifices were unfavourable, or else he designedly wasted time,
wishing to bring the enemy as close as possible. The result was that
Plutarchus,[628] imagining that the Athenians were terror-stricken and
hanging back, rushed to attack the enemy at the head of the Eubœans.
Seeing this, the Athenian cavalry could no longer endure to remain
idle, but charged at once, pouring out of their camp in scattered
bodies and with much confusion. These first troops were defeated, and
Plutarchus himself took to flight. Some of the enemy now came close up
to the rampart of the Athenian camp, and began to tear down the
stakes of which it was formed as though they were already completely
victorious.
At this crisis the sacrifices proved favourable, and the Athenian
infantry, sallying out of their camp, routed and overthrew all whom
they found near their ramparts. Phokion now ordered his main body to
remain in reserve, in order to give those who had been scattered in
the former skirmish a point to rally on, while he himself, with some
picked men, charged the enemy. A severe battle now took place, in
which all exerted themselves with the most reckless bravery. Thallus,
the son of Kineas, and Glaukus, the son of Polymedes, who fought by
the side of the general himself, were especially distinguished.
Kleophanes also did most excellent service on this occasion, for he
rallied the scattered horsemen, called upon them to help their general
in his utmost need, and prevailed upon them to return and complete the
victory which the infantry had gained. After this, Phokion banished
Plutarchus from Eretria, and captured a fort named Zaretra, which
commanded the narrowest part of the island. He set free all the Greek
captives, because he feared that the Athenian orators might urge the
people in their anger to treat them with undue severity.
XIV. After Phokion had accomplished this, he sailed away to Athens;
and the allies soon found cause to wish for his goodness and justice,
while the Athenians soon learned to value his courage and military
skill. Molossus, his successor, managed the war so unsuccessfully that
he himself was made a prisoner by the enemy. Shortly afterwards
Philip, full of great designs, proceeded with all his army to the
Hellespont, in order to take Perinthus, Byzantium, and the Chersonese
at one blow. The Athenians were eager to help these cities, and the
orators succeeded in getting Chares sent thither in command of an
army. However, when he arrived he effected nothing of importance, for
the cities would not admit his troops within their walls, and viewed
him with suspicion, so that he was reduced to roaming about the
country, exacting contributions of money from the allies of Athens,
and regarded with contempt by the enemy. Upon this the people,
exasperated by the speeches of the orators, became much enraged, and
regretted that they had sent any assistance to the people of
Byzantium: but Phokion rose, and said that they ought not be angry
with their allies for not trusting them, but with their generals for
not being trustworthy. "These men," he remarked, "make you feared even
by those who cannot be saved without your assistance."
The Athenians were much moved by these words. They repented of their
anger, and ordered Phokion himself to take a second armament and
proceed to the assistance of their allies on the Hellespont. The
reputation of Phokion had been very great even before this, but now,
since Leon, the leading man in Byzantium, who had been a
fellow-student in the Academy with Phokion, made himself answerable
for his good faith, the Byzantines would not permit him to carry out
his intention of encamping outside their walls, but opened their gates
and received the Athenians into their houses. Phokion's men proved not
only irreproachable in their conduct, but repaid the confidence which
had been shown them by fighting on all occasions with the utmost
bravery. Thus was Philip this time driven from the Hellespont, and
regarded with contempt as a coward and a runaway, while Phokion took
several of his ships, recovered some towns which had received
Macedonian garrisons, and landed at various points on the coast to
ravage and overrun the country, until at last he was wounded by the
enemy and forced to return home.
XV. Once when the people of Megara secretly invited Phokion to come to
their aid, as he was afraid that the Bœotians might hear of his
intentions and cut off the proposed reinforcements, he called a
meeting of the Assembly at daybreak, laid the Megarian proposals
before the Athenians, and as soon as a decree had been passed to aid
them, ordered the trumpet to sound, bade his troops leave the Assembly
and get under arms at once, and led them straightway to Megara. The
people of Megara gladly welcomed him, and he not only fortified Nisæa,
but built two long walls from the city to its seaport, thus joining
Megara to the sea in such a fashion that the city no longer feared
its enemies by land, and cheerfully threw in its lot with the
Athenians.
XVI. When Philip was viewed with hostility by every state in Greece,
and other generals had been elected in Phokion's absence to make war
against him, Phokion, when he returned from his tour among the
islands, advised them to make peace, and come to terms with Philip,
who on his part was quite willing to do so, and feared to go to war.
On this occasion a pettifogging Athenian, who spent all his time in
the law courts, opposed Phokion, and said, "Do you dare, Phokion, to
advise the Athenians to turn back when they have arms already in their
hands?" "Yes, I do," answered he, "and that too although I know that
in time of war I shall be your master, and in time of peace you will
be mine." As Phokion did not succeed, but Demosthenes carried his
point, and counselled the Athenians to fight as far as possible from
Attica, he said to him: "My good sir, let us not consider where we are
to fight, but how we can win the victory. If we are victorious, the
war will be kept at a distance, but all the horrors of war always
press closely upon the vanquished." After the defeat,[629] the noisy
revolutionary party dragged Charidemus to the tribune, and bade him
act as general. All the more respectable citizens were much alarmed at
this. They appealed to the council of the Areopagus to aid them,
addressed the people with tears and entreaties, and prevailed upon
them to place the city under the charge of Phokion. Phokion now
considered it necessary to submit with a good grace to the pleasure of
Philip, and when Demades moved that Athens should share the general
peace and take part in the congress of the Greek states, Phokion
objected to the motion before it was known what Philip wished the
Greeks to do. His opposition was fruitless, because of the critical
state of affairs; but when afterwards he saw the Athenians bitterly
repenting of what they had done, because they were obliged to furnish
Philip with ships of war and cavalry, he said: "It was because I
feared this that I opposed the motion of Demades: but now that you
have passed that motion you must not be grieved and downcast, but
remember that your ancestors were sometimes independent and sometimes
subject to others, but that they acted honourably in either case, and
saved both their city and the whole of Greece." On the death of Philip
he opposed the wish of the Athenians to hold a festival[630] because
of the good news: for he said that it was an unworthy thing for them
to rejoice, because the army which had defeated them at Chæronea had
been weakened by the loss of only one man.
XVII. When Demosthenes spoke abusively of Alexander, who was even then
at the gates of Thebes, Phokion said to him, in the words of Homer,
"'Rash man, forbear to rouse the angry chief,'
who is also a man of unbounded ambition. When he has kindled such a
terrible conflagration close by, why do you wish our city to fan the
flame? I, however, will not permit these men to ruin us, even though
they wish it, for that is why I have undertaken the office of
general."
After Thebes was destroyed, Alexander demanded Demosthenes and his
party, with Lykurgus, Hypereides, and Charidenus to be delivered up to
him. The whole assembly, on hearing this proposal, cast its eyes upon
Phokion, and, after calling upon him repeatedly by name, induced him
to rise. Placing by his side his most beloved and trusted friend, he
said:[631] "These men have brought the city to such a pass, that if
any one were to demand that Nikokles here should be delivered up to
him, I should advise you to give him up. For my own part, I should
account it a happy thing to die on behalf of all of you. I feel pity
also, men of Athens," said he, "for those Thebans who have fled
hither for refuge; but it is enough that Greece should have to mourn
for the loss of Thebes. It is better then, on behalf of both the
Thebans and ourselves, to deprecate the wrath of our conqueror rather
than to oppose him."
We are told that when the decree refusing to give up the persons
demanded was presented to Alexander, he flung it from him and refused
to listen to the envoys; but he received a second embassy headed by
Phokion, because he was told by the older Macedonians that his father
had always treated him with great respect. He not only conversed with
Phokion, and heard his petition, but even asked his advice. Phokion
advised him, if he desired quiet, to give up war; and if he wished for
glory, to turn his arms against the Persians, and leave the Greeks
unmolested. Phokion conversed much with Alexander, and, as he had
formed a shrewd estimate of his character, was so happy in his remarks
that he entirely appeased his anger, and even led him to say that the
Athenians must watch the progress of events with care, since, if
anything were to happen to him, it would be their duty to take the
lead in Greece. Alexander singled out Phokion in a special manner as
his guest and friend, and treated him with a degree of respect which
he showed to few even of his own companions. The historian Douris
tells us in confirmation of this that after Alexander had conquered
Darius, and had become a great man, he omitted the usual words of
greeting from all his letters, except from those which he wrote to
Phokion, addressing him alone as he addressed Antipater (his viceroy),
with the word 'Hail.' This is also recorded by the historian Chares.
XVIII. With regard to money matters, all writers agree in saying that
Alexander sent Phokion a hundred talents as a present. When this money
arrived at Athens Phokion enquired of those who brought it why
Alexander should give all this money to him alone, when there were so
many other citizens in Athens? They answered, "Because he thinks that
you alone are a good and honourable man." "Then," said Phokion, "let
him allow me still to be thought so, and to remain so." When the men
who brought the treasure followed him into his house, and saw its
frugal arrangements, and his wife making bread, while Phokion with his
own hands drew water from the well and washed their feet, they pressed
the money upon him yet more earnestly, and expressed their
disappointment at his refusal, saying that it was a shameful thing for
a friend of King Alexander to live so poorly. Phokion, seeing a poor
old man walk by clad in a ragged cloak, asked them whether they
thought him to be a worse man than that. They begged him not to say
such things, but he answered. "And yet that man lives on slenderer
means than mine, and finds that they suffice him. Moreover," he
continued, "if I received such a mass of gold and did not use it, I
should reap no advantage from it, while, if I did use it, I should
destroy both my own character and that of the giver." So the treasure
was sent back from Athens, and proved that the man who did not need
such a sum was richer than he who offered it. As Alexander was
displeased, and wrote to Phokion saying that he did not regard as his
friends those who asked him for nothing, Phokion did not even then ask
for money, but begged for the release of Echekrates the sophist,
Athenodorus of Imbros, and of two Rhodians, Demaratus and Sparton, who
had been arrested, and were imprisoned at Sardis. Alexander
immediately set these men at liberty, and sending Kraterus to
Macedonia bade him hand over to Phokion whichever he might choose of
the Asiatic cities of Kius, Gergithus, Mylassa, and Elæa; showing all
the more eagerness to make him a present because he was angry at his
former refusal. Phokion however would not take them, and Alexander
shortly afterwards died. The house of Phokion may be seen at the
present day in Melite.[632] It is adorned with plates of copper, but
otherwise is very plain and simple.
XIX. We have no information about Phokion's first wife, except that
she was the sister of Kephisodotus the modeller in clay. His second
wife was no less renowned in Athens for her simplicity of life then
was Phokion himself for his goodness. Once when the Athenians were
witnessing a new play, the actor who was to play the part of the king
demanded from the choragus a large troop of richly-attired attendants,
and, as he did not obtain them, refused to appear upon the stage, and
kept the audience waiting: At last Melanthius, the choragus, shoved
him on to the stage, exclaiming. "Do you not see the wife of Phokion
there, who always goes about with only one maidservant to wait upon
her, and are you going to give yourself ridiculous airs and lead our
wives into extravagance?" These words were heard by the audience, and
were received with great cheering and applause. Once, when an Ionian
lady was displaying a coronet and necklace of gold and precious stones
to her, she said, "My only ornament is that this is the twentieth year
that Phokion has been elected general by the Athenians."
XX. As his son Phokus wished to contend in the games at the
Panathenaic Festival, he entered him for the horse race,[633] not
because he cared about his winning the prize, but because he thought
that the youth, who was addicted to wine and of licentious life, would
be benefited by the strict training and exercise which he would have
to undergo. The young man won the race, and was invited by many of his
friends to dine with them to celebrate his victory. Phokion excused
him to all but one, with whom he permitted him to dine in honour of
his success. When, however, he came to the dinner and saw footpans
filled with wine and aromatic herbs offered to the guests as they
entered to wash their feet in, he turned to his son, and said,
"Phokus, why do you not prevent your friend from spoiling your
victory." As he wished to remove his son altogether from the influence
of Athenian life he took him to Lacedæmon, and placed him with the
young men who were undergoing the Spartan training there. The
Athenians were vexed at this, because Phokion appeared to despise and
undervalue the institutions of his own country. Once Demades said to
him "Phokion, why should we not advise the Athenians to adopt the
Spartan constitution; if you bid me, I am quite willing to make a
speech and bring forward a motion in the assembly for doing so."
"Indeed," answered Phokion "it would suit a man who is scented like
you, and wears so rich a robe, to talk about plain Spartan fare and
Lykurgus to the Athenians!"
XXI. When Alexander wrote to the Athenians ordering them to send ships
of war to him, some of the orators were against doing so, and the
senate asked Phokion to speak. "I say," remarked he, "that we ought
either to conquer, or else to keep on good terms with our conqueror."
"When Pytheas first began to make speeches, as he was even then fluent
and impudent, Phokion said, "Will you not be silent, and remember that
you are only a newly-bought servant of the people." When Harpalus fled
from Asia with a large amount of treasure and came to Athens, where
all the venal politicians paid great court to him, he gave them but a
very small part of his hoard, but sent a present of seven hundred
talents to Phokion, placing all his other property and his person in
his hands. Phokion returned a rough answer, telling Harpalus that if
he continued corrupting the Athenians he would sorely repent of it.
For the moment Harpalus desisted from his offers, but shortly
afterwards when the Athenians were met together in the assembly he
observed that those who had received his bribes all turned against him
and spoke ill of him, that they might not be suspected, while Phokion,
who had taken nothing from him, nevertheless showed some interest in
his safety as well as in the welfare of Athens. Harpalus now was
induced to pay his court to him a second time, but after assailing him
on all sides found that he was impregnable by bribes. However Harpalus
made a friend and companion of his son-in-law Charikles, who entirely
lost his reputation in consequence, as Harpalus entrusted him with the
entire management of his affairs.
XXII. Moreover, upon the death of Pythionike, the courtezan, whose
lover Harpalus had been, and who had borne him a daughter, as he
desired to erect a very costly monument to her memory, he appointed
Charikles[634] to superintend the building of it. Charikles was mean
enough to accept this commission; and he incurred even more disgrace
from the appearance of the tomb when it was completed. It stands at
the present day in the precinct of Hermes, on the road from Athens to
Eleusis, and cannot have cost anything like thirty talents, which sum
is said to have been paid to Charikles by Harpalus for its
construction. Besides this, after his death, his daughter was adopted
by Charikles and Phokion, and received every attention from them.
When, however, Charikles was prosecuted for having taken a share of
the treasure of Harpalus,[635] and begged Phokion to come into court
and speak in his favour, Phokion refused, saying "Charikles, I chose
you to be my son-in-law in all honesty."
When Asklepiades, the son of Hipparchus, first brought the news of
Alexander's death to Athens, Demades advised the people not to believe
it. Such a corpse, he declared, must have been smelt throughout the
world. Phokion, seeing that the people were excited at the report,
endeavoured to soothe and pacify them. Upon this many rushed to the
tribune, and loudly declared that Asklepiades had brought true
tidings, and that Alexander was really dead. "If," replied Phokion,
"he is dead to-day, he will be dead to-morrow and the day after, so
that we may quietly, and with all the greater safety, take counsel as
to what we are to do."
XXIII. When Leosthenes plunged the city into the war[636] for the
liberation of Greece, as Phokion opposed him, he sneeringly asked him
what good he had done the city during the many years that he had been
general. "No small good," retorted Phokion, "I have caused the
Athenians to be buried at home in their own sepulchres." As Leosthenes
spoke in a boastful and confident manner before the public assembly,
Phokion said, "Your speeches, young man, are like cypress trees; they
are tall and stately, but they bear no fruit." When Hypereides rose
and asked Phokion when he would advise the Athenians to go to war;
"When," answered he, "I see young men willing to observe discipline,
the rich subscribing to the expenses, and the orators leaving off
embezzling the public funds." As many admired the force which
Leosthenes got together, and inquired of Phokion whether he thought
that sufficient preparations had been made, he answered, "Enough for
the short course; but I fear for Athens if the race of war is to be a
long one, since she has no reserves, either of money, ships, or men."
The events of the war bore out the justice of his remark; for at first
Leosthenes was elated by his great success, as he defeated the
Bœotians in a pitched battle, and drove Antipater into Lamia. The
Athenians were now full of hope, and did nothing but hold high
festival to welcome the good news, and offer sacrifices of
thanksgiving to the gods. Phokion, however, when asked whether he did
not wish that he had done all this, answered, "Certainly I do; but I
wish that quite the contrary policy had been adopted." Again, when
despatch after despatch kept arriving from the camp, announcing fresh
successes, he said, "I wonder when we shall leave off being
victorious."
XXIV. After the death of Leosthenes, those who feared that, if Phokion
were made commander-in-chief, he would put an end to the war, suborned
an obscure person to rise in the assembly and say that, as a friend
and associate of Phokion, he should advise them to spare him, and keep
him safe, since they had no one else like him in Athens, and to send
Antiphilus to command the army. The Athenians approved of this advice,
but Phokion came forward and declared that he had never associated
with the man, or had any acquaintance with him. "From this day forth,
however," said he, "I regard you as my friend and companion, for you
have given advice which suits me." When the Athenians were eager to
invade Bœotia, he at first opposed them; and when some of his friends
told him that he would be put to death if he always thwarted the
Athenians, he answered, "I shall suffer death unjustly, if I tell them
what is to their advantage, but justly if I do wrong." When he saw
that they would not give up the project, but excitedly insisted on it,
he bade the herald proclaim that all Athenians who had arrived at
manhood[637] from sixty years and under, should take provisions for
five days and follow him to Bœotia at once. Upon this a great
disturbance took place, as the older citizens leaped to their feet,
and clamoured loudly. "There is nothing strange in the proclamation,"
said Phokion, "for I, who am eighty years of age, shall be with you as
your general." Thus he managed to quiet them, and induced them to give
up their intention."
XXV. As the seaboard of Attica was being plundered by Mikion, who had
landed at Rhamnus[638] with a large force of Macedonians and mercenary
soldiers, and was overrunning the country, Phokion led out the
Athenians to attack him. As men kept running up to him and pestering
him with advice, to seize this hill, to despatch his cavalry in that
direction, to make his attack in this other place, he said "Herakles,
how many generals I see, and how few soldiers." While he was arraying
his hoplites in line, one of them advanced a long way in front, and
then, fearing one of the enemy, retired. "Young man," said Phokion,
"are you not ashamed of having deserted two posts, that in which you
were placed by your general and that in which you placed yourself?" He
now charged the enemy and overthrew them, slaying Mikion himself and
many others. Meanwhile the Greek army in Thessaly fought a battle with
Leonnatus, who was coming[639] to join Antipater with a Macedonian
army from Asia. Antiphilus led the infantry and Menon, a Thessalian,
the cavalry. In the battle Leonnatus himself was slain, and his troops
defeated.
XXVI. Shortly afterwards Kraterus crossed over from Asia with a large
force, and a second battle took place at Krannon.[640] The Greeks were
defeated, but not in a crushing manner or with much loss. Yet, as the
Greek commanders were young men, unable to maintain discipline, and,
as at the same time, Antipater was tampering with the loyalty of the
cities from which the army came, the whole force broke up, and most
disgracefully betrayed the cause of Grecian liberty. Antipater at once
marched upon Athens with his army. Demosthenes and Hypereides at once
fled from Athens, but Demades, who had not been able to pay any part
of the money which he had been condemned to pay to the state (for he
had been convicted of making illegal proposals[641] on seven separate
occasions, and had become disfranchised and disqualified from
addressing the people), now set the laws at defiance, and proposed
that ambassadors, with full powers, should be sent to Antipater to sue
for peace. The people were greatly alarmed, and called upon Phokion,
saying that they could trust no one else. "If I had always been
trusted," said he, "we should not now be discussing such matters as
these." The motion was carried, and Phokion was sent to Antipater, who
was encamped in the Kadmeia of Thebes, and preparing to invade Attica.
Phokion's first request was that he would stay where he was and
arrange terms. Upon hearing this Kraterus said, "Phokion advises us to
do what is unjust, when he bids us remain here, doing evil to the
country of our friends and allies, while we might do ourselves good
in that of our enemies." Antipater, however, seized him by the hand
and said, "We must yield to Phokion in this." With regard to terms, he
said that he required the same terms from the Athenians which
Leosthenes had demanded from himself at Lamia.
XXVII. When Phokion returned to Athens, as the people had no choice
but to submit to these terms, he went back again to Thebes with the
other ambassadors;[642] for the Athenians had appointed the
philosopher Xenokrates[643] as an additional ambassador, because his
virtue, wisdom, and intellectual power was so renowned that they
imagined that no man's heart could be so arrogant, cruel, and savage
as not to be touched by some feeling of reverence and awe at the sight
of Xenokrates.
However, their expectations were entirely disappointed by the
ignorance and hatred of good men displayed by Antipater. In the first
place, though he shook hands with the others, he bestowed no greeting
upon Xenokrates; upon which Xenokrates is said to have remarked that
Antipater did well in showing that he felt shame before him for the
treatment which he was about to inflict upon the city. After this
Xenokrates began to make him a speech, but Antipater would not suffer
him to proceed, and by rude interruptions reduced him to silence.
After Phokion and Demades had spoken, Antipater stated his willingness
to make peace and become an ally of the Athenians, if they would
deliver up Demosthenes, Hypereides, and some other orators to
him,[644] re-establish their original government, in which the
magistrates were chosen according to property, receive a garrison in
Munychia, and pay the whole expenses of the war, besides a fine. The
ambassadors thought that they ought to be contented and thankful for
these terms, with the exception of Xenokrates, who said, "If Antipater
looks upon us as slaves, the terms are moderate; if as free men, they
are severe."[645] When Phokion earnestly begged Antipater not to send
a garrison to Athens, he is said to have said in reply, "Phokion, I am
willing to grant you any request you please, unless it be one which
would be fatal both to you and to myself." Some say that this is not
the true version of the incident, but that Antipater enquired of
Phokion whether, if he did not place a garrison in Athens, Phokion
would guarantee that the city would abide by the terms of the peace,
and not intrigue with a view of regaining its independence: and as
Phokion was silent and hesitated how to reply, Kallimedon, surnamed
'the crab' a man of a fierce and anti-democratical temper, exclaimed:
"If, Antipater, this man should talk nonsense, will you believe him,
and not do what you have decided upon?"
XXVIII. Thus it came to pass that the Athenians received into their
city a Macedonian garrison, whose commander was Menyllus, an amiable
man and a friend of Phokion himself. It was thought that the sending
of the garrison was a mere piece of arrogance on Antipater's part, and
to be more due to an insolent desire to show the extent of his power
than to any real necessity. The time, too, at which it was sent,
rendered its arrival especially galling to the Athenians: for it was
during the celebration of the mysteries, on the twentieth day of the
month Bœdromion, that the garrison entered the city. On that day,
Iacchus used to be carried in procession from Athens to Eleusis, but
now the whole ritual was marred, and the Athenians sadly contrasted
this celebration of the mysteries with those of former years. In
earlier times,[646] when the city was powerful and flourishing, the
splendid spectacle of the celebration of the mysteries used to strike
awe and terror into the hearts of the enemies of Athens, but now at
these same rites the gods seemed to look on unmoved at the disasters
of Greece, while the most sacred season was desecrated, and that which
had been the pleasantest time of the year now served merely to remind
them of their greatest misfortunes. A few years before this, the
priestesses of Dodona had sent an oracular warning to Athens, bidding
the Athenians guard the extremities of Artemis. In those days the
fillets which are wound round the couches of the gods which are
carried in the mysteries were dyed of a yellow instead of a crimson
colour, and presented a corpse-like appearance, and, what was more
remarkable, the fillets dyed by private persons at the same time, all
were of the same colour. One of the initiated also, while washing a
little pig in the harbour of Kantharus,[647] was seized by a shark,
who swallowed all the lower part of his body. By this portent, Heaven
clearly intimated to the Athenians that they were to lose the lower
part of their city, and their command of the sea, but to keep the
upper part. As for the Macedonian garrison, Menyllus took care that
the Athenians suffered no inconvenience from it; but more than twelve
thousand of the citizens were disfranchised under the new
constitution, on account of their poverty. Of these men, those who
remained in Athens were thought to have been shamefully ill treated,
while those who left the city in consequence of this measure and
proceeded to Thrace, where Antipater provided them with a city and
with territory, looked like the inhabitants of a town which has been
taken by storm.
XXIX. The deaths of Demosthenes at Kalauria, and of Hypereides at
Kleonæ, which I have recounted elsewhere, very nearly led the
Athenians to look back with regret upon the days of Alexander and
Philip. In later times, after Antigonus had been assassinated, and his
murderers had begun a career of violence and extortion, some one
seeing a countryman in Phrygia digging in the ground, asked him what
he was doing, the man replied with a sigh, "I am seeking for
Antigonus." Just so at this time it recurred to many to reflect on the
noble and placable character of those princes, and to contrast them
with Antipater, who, although he pretended to be only a private
citizen, wore shabby clothes, and lived on humble fare, really
tyrannized over the Athenians in their distress more grievously than
either of them.
Phokion, however, managed to save many from exile, by supplicating
Antipater on their behalf, and in the case of the exiles he obtained
this much favour, that they were not transported quite out of Greece,
beyond the Keraunian mountains and Cape Tænarus, as were the exiles
from the other Greek cities, but were settled in Peloponnesus. Among
these was Hagnonides, the informer. Phokion now devoted his attention
to the management of the internal politics of Athens in a quiet and
law-abiding fashion. He contrived to have good and sensible men always
appointed as magistrates, and by excluding the noisy and revolutionary
party from the public offices, made them less inclined to create a
disturbance, and taught them to be content with their country as it
was, and to turn their minds to agricultural pursuits. When he saw
Xenokrates paying his tax as a resident alien, he wished to enrol him
as a citizen; but Xenokrates refused, saying that he would not put
himself under the new constitution after he had gone on an embassy to
prevent its being established.
XXX. When Menyllus offered him presents, Phokion replied that he did
not consider him to be a better man than Alexander, and saw no greater
reason why he should accept a present now than when Alexander offered
it to him. As Menyllus begged his son Phokus to accept it, Phokion
said, "If Phokus alters his nature, and becomes frugal, his father's
property will be enough for him; but, as it is, nothing will satisfy
him."
He gave a sharp reply to Antipater, who asked him to perform some
disgraceful service for him. "I cannot," said he, "be Antipater's
friend and his toady at the same time."
Antipater himself is said to have remarked that he had two friends at
Athens, Phokion and Demades, the one of whom he could not persuade to
take a bribe, while the other took bribes and never was satisfied.
Phokion indeed considered it a great proof of his virtue that he had
grown old in poverty, after having so many times been elected general
of the Athenians, and having been the friend of kings; while Demades
openly prided himself both upon his wealth and his contempt for the
laws. Although there was a law in force at Athens at that period,
which forbade foreigners to appear in a chorus, and imposed a fine of
one thousand drachmas upon the choragus who allowed them to do so,
Demades exhibited a chorus of one hundred foreigners, and publicly
paid in the theatre a fine of a thousand drachmas for each of them. On
the occasion of the marriage of his son Demeas, he said, "My boy, when
I married your mother, our next-door neighbours heard nothing of it;
but kings and potentates shall attend your nuptials."
Although the Athenians tormented Phokion with requests that he would
use his influence with Antipater to get the Macedonian garrison
withdrawn, he always contrived to postpone making this application,
either because he knew that it would not be granted, or because he
thought that the fear of the Macedonian troops compelled the Athenians
to live in a quiet and orderly fashion; but, on the other hand, he
induced Antipater to postpone indefinitely his demand for money from
the city. The Athenians now betook themselves to Demades, who eagerly
promised his services, and, together with his son, started for
Macedonia, to which country it seems as if he was brought by the
direct agency of the gods at a time when Antipater was on a sick bed,
and Kassander, who was now at the head of affairs, had discovered a
letter addressed by Demades to Antigonus in Asia, inviting him to
cross over into Greece and Macedonia, and free them from their
dependence on an old and rotten warp[648] -by which expression he
meant to sneer at Antipater. As soon as Kassander saw Demades arrive
in Macedonia he had him arrested, and first led his son close to him
and then stabbed him, so that his robe was covered with his son's
blood, and then, after bitterly upbraiding him with his ingratitude
and treason, killed him also.
XXXI. Antipater on his death-bed appointed Polysperchon to the supreme
command, and gave Kassander the post of chiliarch, or general of the
body guard. Kassander, however, instantly began to plot against
Polysperchon, and taking time by the forelock, sent Nikanor in haste
to supersede Menyllus, before the news of the death of Antipater
became publicly known, with orders to make himself master of
Munychia. This was done, and when after a few days the Athenians heard
that Antipater was dead they blamed Phokion, insinuating that he had
been told of the death of Antipater, but said nothing about it, and so
encouraged the designs of Nikanor. Phokion took no notice of this
scandalous talk, but put himself in communication with Nikanor, and
prevailed upon him to treat the Athenians with mildness, and even
induced him to act as president of the games, in the performance of
which office he took considerable pride and incurred some expense.
XXXII. Meanwhile Polysperchon, who was now regent of the Macedonian
empire, and had put down Kassander, sent a letter to the Athenians to
the effect that "the king restored the democracy at Athens, and bade
the Athenians govern themselves according to the customs of their
fathers." This was merely a trick to ruin Phokion, for Polysperchon,
whose design, as his acts shortly afterwards proved, was to gain over
the city of Athens to his side, had no hopes of succeeding in this
unless Phokion were driven out of Athens; while he expected that
Phokion would be driven out when all the exiled citizens returned, and
when the informers and mob orators again occupied the bema. As the
Athenians were excited at this intelligence, Nikanor desired to
discuss the matter with them, and appeared at a conference held in
Peiræus, having received from Phokion a pledge for his personal
safety. Derkyllus, the local commander, tried to seize him, but
Nikanor escaped, and at once began to take measures for the defence of
Peiræus against the Athenians. Phokion, when blamed for having
permitted Nikanor to escape, answered that he felt confidence in
Nikanor, and did not expect that he would do any harm; and even if he
did, he preferred suffering wrong to doing it. This was no doubt a
most magnanimous sentiment; but when a man on such grounds risks the
freedom of his country, especially when he is acting as general, I am
inclined to think that he breaks an older and more important law,
that, namely, of his duty to his fellow-citizens. We cannot argue that
Phokion refrained from seizing Nikanor because he feared to involve
his country in war, and it was absurd of him to plead that good faith
and justice demanded that Nikanor should be left alone, on the
understanding that he would feel bound to abstain from any acts of
violence. The real truth seems to have been that Phokion had a firm
belief in Nikanor's honesty, since he refused to believe those who
told him that Nikanor was plotting the capture of Peiræus, and had
sent Macedonian soldiers into Salamis, and had even corrupted some of
the inhabitants in Peiræus itself. Even when Philomelus of Lamptra
moved a resolution that all Athenians should get under arms and be
ready to follow their general Phokion, he refused to act, until
Nikanor marched his troops out of Munychia and fortified Peiræus with
a trench and palisade.
XXXIII. When this took place Phokion, who was now quite willing to
lead the Athenians to attack Nikanor, was insulted and treated with
contempt; and now Alexander the son of Polysperchon arrived with a
military force, nominally with the intention of assisting the citizens
against Nikanor, but really meaning if possible to make himself master
of the city while it was divided against itself. The exiled Athenians
who accompanied him at once entered the city, and as the disfranchised
inhabitants joined them, a disorderly and informal assembly was held,
in which Phokion was removed from his office, and other men were
appointed generals. Had it not been that Alexander and Nikanor were
observed to hold frequent conferences together alone outside the
walls, the city could not have been saved. Hagnonides the informer now
at once began to accuse Phokion and his party of treason; upon which
Charikles and Kallimedon left the city in terror, while Phokion and
those of his friends who stood by him proceeded to Polysperchon
himself. They were accompanied, out of regard for Phokion, by Solon of
Platæa and Deinarchus of Corinth, who were thought to be intimate
friends of Polysperchon. As Deinarchus was sick, they waited for some
days at Elatea, and in the meantime, at the instigation of Hagnonides,
although Archestratus brought forward the motion for it in the
assembly, the Athenians sent an embassy to the court of Macedonia to
accuse Phokion of treason. Both met Polysperchon at the same time, as
he with the king[649] was passing through a village of Phokis named
Pharyges, which lies at the foot of the Akrousian mountain, now called
Galate. Here Polysperchon set up the throne with the gilt ceiling,
under which he placed the king and his friends. He ordered Deinarchus
at once to be seized, tortured, and put to death, but he allowed the
Athenians to plead their cause before him. They however made a great
disturbance by contradicting and abusing one another, so that
Hagnonides said, "Pack us all into one cage and send us back to Athens
to be tried." At this the king laughed, but the Macedonians and others
who were present wished to hear what each side had to say, and bade
the two embassies state their case. They were not, however, fairly
treated, for Polysperchon several times interrupted Phokion during his
speech, until at last he struck the ground with his staff in a rage
and held his peace. When Hegemon[650] too said that Polysperchon
himself knew him to be a friend to the people of Athens, Polysperchon
angrily exclaimed "Do not slander me to the king." At this the king
himself leaped to his feet, and would have struck Hegemon with a
spear, but was quickly seized by Polysperchon, upon which the court
broke up.
XXXIV. Phokion and his companions were now taken into custody: upon
which such of his friends as saw this from a distance covered their
faces with their cloaks and made their escape. Kleitus conducted the
prisoners back to Athens, nominally to be tried there, but really
already under sentence of death. The procession was a sad one, as they
were brought in carts through the Kerameikus to the theatre, where
Kleitus kept them until the archons had convened the assembly. From
this assembly neither slaves, foreigners, nor disfranchised citizens
were excluded, but every one, men and women alike, were allowed to be
present and to address the people. After the king's letter was read,
in which he said that he was convinced that these men were traitors,
but sent them to Athens for trial because that city was free and
independent, Kleitus brought in the prisoners. At the sight of Phokion
the better class of citizens covered their faces and silently wept,
and one of them had the courage to rise and say that, as the king had
allowed the Athenian people to conduct so important a trial, all
slaves and foreigners ought to leave the assembly. The populace,
however, would not hear of this, but cried, "Down with the oligarchs
who hate the people." As no other friend of Phokion dared to speak, he
himself, after obtaining a hearing with difficulty, asked "Do you wish
to condemn us to death justly or unjustly?" As some answered "justly,"
he said, "How can you be sure of this, if you will not hear us?" As
however the people paid no more attention to him, he came nearer to
them and said, "For my own part, I admit that I have done wrong, and I
consider that my political acts deserve to be punished with death;
but, men of Athens, why will you kill these others, who have done no
wrong?" When many voices answered, "Because they are your friends,"
Phokion retired and held his peace. Hagnonides now read the motion
which he was about to put to the meeting which called upon the people
to decide by a show of hands whether the men were guilty or not; and
in case they were found guilty, to put them to death.
XXXV. When this decree was read some wished to add to it that they
should be put to death with torture, and bade Hagnonides send for the
rack and the executioners; but Hagnonides, seeing that even the
Macedonian Kleitus was disgusted at this proposal, and thought it a
savage and wicked action, said, "Men of Athens, when we catch the
villain Kallimedon, we will put him to the torture; but I will make no
such proposal in the case of Phokion." Upon this one of the better
class cried out, "And quite right too; for if we torture Phokion, what
shall we do to you?" When the decree was passed by show of hands, no
one sat still, but the whole people, many of them wearing garlands of
flowers, rose and voted for the death of the accused. These, besides
Phokion, consisted of Nikokles, Thodippus, Hegemon, and Pythokles:
while sentence of death in their absence was passed against Demetrius
Phalereus, Kallimedon, Charikles, and some others.
XXXVI. When after the assembly broke up the condemned men were being
taken to prison, the others threw themselves into the arms of their
friends and relations, and walked along with tears and lamentations;
but when they saw that the countenance of Phokion was as calm as when
he used as general to be conducted in state out of the assembly, they
wondered at his composure and greatness of soul. His enemies
accompanied him and abused him, and one even came up to him and spat
in his face. At this outrage it is said that Phokion looked towards
the archons, and said, "Will no one make this fellow behave himself?"
As Thodippus in prison, when he saw the hemlock being prepared,
bewailed his fate, and said that he did not deserve to perish with
Phokion, Phokion said, "Are you not satisfied then to die in Phokion's
company?" When one of his friends asked him if he had any message for
his son Phokus, he answered, "Yes, tell him not to bear any malice
against the Athenians." When Nikokles, the most trusty of his friends,
begged to be allowed to drink the poison before him, he answered,
"Your request is one which it grieves me to grant; but, as I have
never refused you anything in your life, I agree even to this." When
all his friends had drunk, the poison ran short, and the executioner
refused to prepare any more unless he were paid twelve drachmas, the
price of that weight of hemlock. After a long delay, Phokion called
one of his friends to him, and, saying that it was hard if a man could
not even die gratis at Athens, bade him give the man the money he
wanted.
XXXVII. The day of Phokion's death was the nineteenth of the month
Munychion,[651] and the knights rode past the prison in solemn
procession to the temple of Zeus. Some of them took off their garlands
from their heads, while others came in tears to the gates of the
prison and looked in. All whose better feelings were not utterly
overpowered by passion and hatred agreed in thinking it a very
indecent proceeding not to have waited one day for the execution, and
so to have avoided the pollution of the festival by the death of the
prisoners. Moreover, the enemies of Phokion, as if they had not even
yet satisfied their spite, passed a decree excluding his body from
burial, and forbidding any Athenian to furnish fire to burn it. In
consequence of this, no one of his friends dared to touch the body,
but one Konopion, a man who was accustomed to deal with such cases for
hire, conveyed the body beyond Eleusis, obtained fire from Megara over
the Attic frontier, and burned it. Phokion's wife, who was present
with her maids, raised an empty tomb[652] on the spot, placed the
bones in her bosom, and carried them by night into her own house,
where she buried them beside the hearth, saying, "To thee, dear
hearth, I entrust these remains of a good man; do you restore them to
his fathers' tomb when the Athenians recover their senses."
XXXVIII. After a short time, however, when circumstances had taught
them what a protector and guardian of virtue they had lost, the
Athenians set up a brazen statue of Phokion, and gave his remains a
public burial. They themselves condemned and executed Hagnonides,
while Phokion's son followed Epikurus and Demophilus, who fled the
country, discovered their place of refuge, and avenged himself upon
them. He is said to have been far from respectable in character; and
once, when attached to a common prostitute, who was the slave of a
brothel-keeper, he happened to attend one of the lectures of
Theodorus, who was surnamed "the atheist," in the Lyceum. As he heard
him say that "if it be noble to ransom one's male friends from
captivity, it must be equally so to ransom one's female friends; and
that, if it be right for a man to set free the man whom he loves, it
must be his duty to do likewise to the woman whom he loves," he
determined to use this argument for the gratification of his own
passion, and to conclude that the philosopher bade him purchase the
freedom of his mistress.
The treatment of Phokion reminded the Greeks of that of Sokrates, as
both the crime and the misfortune of the city in both cases was almost
exactly the same.