his kingdom, as Pyrrhus invaded the country and briskly overran it as
far as Edessa. However, on his recovery, Demetrius easily drove Pyrrhus
out of Macedonia, and then made terms with him, because he did not wish
to be entangled in a border warfare, which would interfere with the
realisation of his more important projects. He meditated a colossal
enterprise indeed, nothing less than the recovery of the whole of his
father's empire. His preparations were on a commensurate scale, for he
had collected a force of ninety-eight thousand foot soldiers and nearly
twelve thousand horse, while at Peiræus, Corinth, Chalkis, and the ports
near Pella he was engaged in the construction of a fleet of five hundred
ships. He himself personally superintended the works, visiting each
dockyard and giving directions to the artificers; and all men were
astounded not only at the number, but at the size of the vessels which
were being built. Before his time no one had ever seen a ship of fifteen
or sixteen banks of oars, although in later times Ptolemy Philopator
built a ship of forty banks of oars, which measured two hundred and
eighty cubits in length, and forty-eight cubits in height. This ship was
navigated by four hundred sailors, four thousand rowers, and, besides
all these, had room upon its decks for nearly three thousand soldiers.
But this ship was merely for show, and differed little from a fixed
building, being totally useless, and only moved with great risk and
labour; whereas the beauty of the ships of Demetrius did not render them
less serviceable, nor was their equipment so elaborate as to interfere
with their use, but they were no less admirable for speed and strength
as for greatness of size.
XLIV. When this great armament, the largest ever collected since the
death of Alexander, began to menace Asia, the three princes, Ptolemy,
Seleukus, and Lysimachus, formed a confederation to oppose it. They next
sent a joint letter to Pyrrhus, in which they urged him to attack
Macedonia, and not to pay any regard to a peace by which Demetrius had
not made any engagement not to go to war with him, but had merely
obtained time to attack the others first. Pyrrhus agreed to this
proposal, and Demetrius, before his preparations were completed, found
himself involved in a war of considerable magnitude: for Ptolemy sailed
to Greece with a large fleet and caused it to revolt from Demetrius,
while Lysimachus from Thrace and Pyrrhus from Epirus invaded Macedonia
and ravaged the country. Demetrius left his son to command in Greece,
and himself marched to attack Lysimachus, in order to free Macedonia
from the enemy. He shortly, however, received the news that Pyrrhus had
taken the city of Beroea, and when the Macedonians heard this, there was
an end to all discipline, for the camp was full of tears and
lamentations, and abuse of Demetrius. The men no longer cared to remain
with him, but became eager to go away, nominally to their homes, but
really to desert to Lysimachus. Demetrius upon this determined to place
the greatest possible distance between Lysimachus and himself, and
accordingly marched to attack Pyrrhus; reasoning that Lysimachus was a
native of Macedonia, and was popular with many of the Macedonians
because he had been a companion of Alexander, while he thought that the
Macedonians would not prefer a foreigner like Pyrrhus to himself.
However, in this expectation he was greatly deceived: for as soon as he
encamped near Pyrrhus, his soldiers had a constant opportunity of
admiring his personal prowess in battle, and they had from the most
ancient times been accustomed to think that the best warrior is the best
king. When besides this they learned how leniently Pyrrhus had dealt
with the captives, as they had long been determined to transfer their
allegiance from Demetrius to some one else, they now gladly agreed that
it should be to Pyrrhus. At first they deserted to him secretly and few
at a time; but soon the whole camp became excited and disturbed, and at
last some had the audacity to present themselves before Demetrius, and
bid him seek safety in flight, for the Macedonians were tired of
fighting to maintain his extravagance. Compared with the harsh language
held by many other Macedonians, this appeared to Demetrius to be very
reasonable advice, and so proceeding to his tent, as though he were
really a play-actor and not a king, he changed his theatrical cloak for
one of a dark colour, and made his way out of the camp unobserved. Most
of his soldiery at once betook themselves to plundering, and while they
were quarrelling with one another over the spoils of the royal tent,
Pyrrhus appeared, encountered no resistance, and made himself master of
the camp. Pyrrhus and Lysimachus now divided between them the kingdom of
Macedonia, which had for seven consecutive years been ruled by
Demetrius.
XLV. After this great disaster, Demetrius retired to Kassandreia. His
wife Phila was greatly grieved at his fall, and could not bear to see
Demetrius a miserable fugitive and exile after having been a king.
Despairing of ever seeing better days, and bitterly reflecting how far
her husband's good luck was outweighed by his misfortunes, she ended her
life by poison. Now Demetrius, anxious to save what he could from the
wreck of his fortunes, proceeded to Greece, and there collected his
generals and forces. The verses spoken by Menelaus in Sophokles's play--
"But ever whirling on the wheel of fate
My fortune changes, like the changing moon
That never keeps her form two nights the same.
At first she comes with flattering countenance
And fills her orb; but when she is most bright
She wanes again, and loses all her light,"
seems to express very well the strange waxing and waning of the fortunes
of Demetrius, who, as in the present instance, sometimes appeared to be
quite extinguished, and then burst forth again as brilliant as ever, as
little by little his power increased until he was able to carry out his
plans. At first he visited the various cities of Greece dressed as a
private man, without any of the insignia of royalty. One of the Thebans
seeing him in this guise, cleverly applied to him the verses of
Euripides:
"A god no more, but dressed in mortal guise,
He comes to where the springs of Dirké rise."
XLVI. When he again hoped to regain the style of royalty, and began to
gather around him the form and substance of an empire, he permitted the
Thebans to remain independent. The Athenians, however, revolted from
him. They erased the name of Diphilus, who was inscribed upon the rolls
as "priest of the Saviours,"[320] and decreed that archons should be
elected after their ancestral custom; and they also sent to Macedonia to
invite Pyrrhus to come and help them, as they perceived that Demetrius
was becoming more powerful than they had expected. Demetrius indeed
angrily marched upon Athens, and began to besiege the city, but the
philosopher Krates, an able and eloquent man, who was sent to make
terms with him by the Athenian people, partly by entreaties, and partly
by pointing out in what quarter his true interests lay, prevailed upon
him to raise the siege. Demetrius now collected what ships he could, and
with eleven thousand infantry and a few cavalry soldiers sailed to Asia,
intending to detach the provinces of Lydia and Karia from Lysimachus's
dominions. At Miletus he was met by Eurydike,[321] the sister of Phila,
who brought him her daughter Ptolemäis, who had been long before
promised to him in the treaty concluded by the mediation of Seleukus.
Demetrius married her, and immediately after the wedding betook himself
to gaining over the cities of Ionia, some of which joined him of their
own accord, while others were forced to yield to his arms. He also
captured Sardis, and several of the officers of Lysimachus deserted to
him, bringing him both soldiers and money. When, however, Lysimachus's
son Agathokles came to attack him with a large force, he withdrew into
Phrygia, meaning if possible to gain possession of Armenia, stir up
Media to revolt, and make himself master of the provinces in the
interior, among which a fugitive could easily find an abundance of
places of refuge. Agathokles pressed him hard, and Demetrius, although
victorious in all the skirmishes which took place, was reduced to great
straits, as he was cut off from his supplies of provisions and forage,
while his soldiers began to suspect him of meaning to lead them to
Armenia and Media. Famine now began to distress his army, and he also
lost a large body of men, who were swept away in crossing the river
Lykus through mistaking the ford. Yet the men did not cease to joke; and
one of them wrote before the tent of Demetrius the first verses of the
play of OEdipus at Kolonus, slightly altered:
"Child of Antigonus, the blind old man,
What place is this, at which we have arrived?"
XLVII. At last famine, as usually happens, produced a pestilence,
because the men ate whatever they could find; and Demetrius, after
losing no less than eight thousand, gave up his project, and led back
the remainder. He proceeded to Tarsus, and would, if possible, have
abstained from living on the neighbouring country which belonged to
Seleukus, and so giving him an excuse for attacking him. However, this
was impossible, as his soldiers were reduced to the last extremities of
want, and Agathokles had fortified the passes of the Taurus range of
mountains. Demetrius now wrote a letter to Seleukus, containing a long
and piteous account of his misfortunes, and begging Seleukus as a
relative to take pity on one who had suffered enough to make even his
enemies feel compassion for him. Seleukus seems to have been touched by
this appeal. He wrote to his generals, ordering them to show Demetrius
the respect due to royalty, and to supply his troops with provisions;
but now Patrokles, who was thought to be a man of great wisdom, and who
was a friend of Seleukus, pointed out to him that the expense of feeding
the troops of Demetrius was not a matter of great importance, but that
it was a grievous error to allow Demetrius himself to remain in his
territory. He reminded him that Demetrius had always been the most
turbulent and enterprising of princes, and that he was now in a position
which would urge the most moderate and peaceable of men to deeds of
reckless daring and treachery. Struck by this reasoning, Seleukus
started for Cilicia in person, at the head of a large army. Demetrius,
astonished and alarmed at this rapid change in Seleukus's attitude,
retreated to a strong position at the foot of the Taurus mountains, and
in a second letter requested Seleukus to allow him to conquer some
native territory occupied by independent tribes, in which he might
repose after his wanderings, or at least to let him maintain his forces
in Cilicia during the winter, and not to drive him out of the country
and expose him to his enemies in a destitute condition.
XLVIII. Seleukus viewed all these proposals with suspicion, and offered
to let him pass two months of the winter in Cataonia, but demanded his
chief officers as hostages, and at the same time began to secure the
passes leading into Syria. Demetrius, who was now shut up like a wild
beast in a trap, was driven to use force, overran the country, and
fought several slight actions successfully with Seleukus. On one
occasion he withstood a charge of scythed chariots, and routed the
enemy, and he also drove away the garrison of one of the passes, and
gained the command of the road to Syria. He now became elated by
success, and perceiving that his soldiers had recovered their
confidence, he determined to fight Seleukus for his kingdom. Seleukus
himself was now in difficulties. He had refused Lysimachus's offer of
assistance, through suspicion, and he feared to engage with Demetrius in
battle, dreading the effects of his despair and the sudden turns of his
fortune. However, at this crisis Demetrius was seized by a disorder
which nearly carried him off, and utterly ruined his prospects; for some
of his soldiers deserted to the enemy, and some dispersed to their own
homes. After forty days he was able to place himself at the head of the
remaining troops, and with them marched so as to lead the enemy to
suppose that he meant to return to Cilicia; but as soon as it was dark
he started without any sound of trumpet in the opposite direction,
crossed the pass of Amanus, and began to plunder the plain of
Kyrrhestis.
XLIX. Shortly afterwards Seleukus made his appearance, and pitched his
camp hard by. Demetrius now got his men under arms in the night and
started to surprise Seleukus, whose army expected no attack, and was for
the most part asleep. When he was informed of his danger by some
deserters he leaped up in terror, and began putting on his boots and
shouting to his friends that a savage beast was coming to attack them.
Demetrius, observing from the noise which filled the enemy's camp that
they had notice of his attempt, quickly marched back again. He was
attacked at daybreak by Seleukus, and gained some advantage by a flank
attack. But now Seleukus himself dismounted, took off his helmet, and
with only a small shield in his hand went up to the mercenary troops of
Demetrius, showing himself to them and inviting them to join him. They
knew that he had for a long time refrained from attacking them out of a
wish to spare their lives, and not for the sake of Demetrius; and they
all greeted him, saluted him as King, and joined his army. Demetrius,
who had seen so many turns of good and ill fortune, felt that this blow
was final. He fled towards the pass of Amanus, and with a few friends
and attendants took refuge in a thick wood for the night, hoping to be
able to gain the road to Kaunus and so to reach the sea, where he hoped
to find his fleet assembled. But when he found that his party had not
enough money to procure them provisions even for one day, he was forced
to adopt other plans. Soon, however, he was joined by Sosigenes, one of
his friends, who had four hundred gold pieces in his belt, and with this
treasure they hoped to be able to reach the sea, and started as soon as
it grew dark to make their way over the mountains. But when they saw the
enemy's watch-fires blazing all along the heights, they despaired of
effecting their passage by that route, and returned to the place whence
they had set out, diminished in numbers, for some had deserted, and
greatly disheartened. When one of them ventured to hint that Demetrius
ought to surrender himself to Seleukus, Demetrius seized his sword and
would have made away with himself, but his friends stood round him, and
at length talked him over into giving himself up. He sent a messenger to
Seleukus, putting himself unreservedly in his hands.
L. Seleukus, when he heard what had happened, said that it was his own
good fortune, not that of Demetrius, which had saved Demetrius's life,
and had given himself an opportunity of displaying his clemency and
goodness as well as his other virtues. He at once sent for his servants
and bade them construct a royal tent, and make every preparation for the
reception of Demetrius in a magnificent fashion. There was one
Apollonides at the court of Seleukus, who had been an intimate friend of
Demetrius, and Seleukus at once sent him to Demetrius, to bid him be of
good cheer, and not fear to meet his friend and relative Seleukus. When
the King's pleasure became known, a few at first, but afterwards the
greater part of his followers, eagerly flocked to pay their court to
Demetrius, who they imagined would become the second man in the kingdom.
This ill-judged zeal of theirs turned the compassion of Seleukus into
jealousy, and enabled mischief-makers to defeat his kindly intentions by
warning him that as soon as Demetrius was seen in his camp all his
troops would rise in mutiny against him. Apollonides had just reached
Demetrius in high spirits, and others were arriving with wonderful
stories about the goodness of Seleukus. Demetrius himself was just
recovering his spirits after his disaster, was beginning to think that
he had been wrong in his reluctance to surrender himself, and was full
of hope for the future, when Pausanias appeared with about a thousand
horse and foot-soldiers. He suddenly surrounded Demetrius with these
troops, separated him from his friends, and, instead of bringing him
into the presence of Seleukus, conducted him to the Syrian Chersonese,
where, though strongly guarded, he was supplied by Seleukus with
suitable lodging and entertainment, and allowed to take the air and hunt
in the royal park which adjoined his dwelling. He was permitted to
associate with any of the companions of his exile whom he wished to see,
and many polite messages were sent to him from Seleukus to the effect
that as soon as Antiochus and Stratonike arrived, they would come to
some amicable arrangement.
LI. Demetrius now despatched letters to his son, and to the commanders
of his garrisons at Athens and Corinth, warning them not to pay any
attention to any despatches which they might receive in his name, or
even to his royal signet, but to regard him as practically dead, and to
hold the cities in trust for his heir Antigonus. His son was much
grieved at hearing of his father's capture, put on mourning, and sent
letters to all the other kings, and to Seleukus himself, begging for his
father's liberation. He offered to give up all the places which he still
held, and even proposed to surrender himself as a hostage in place of
his father. Many cities and princes supported his request, except
Lysimachus, who offered to give Seleukus a large sum of money if he
would put Demetrius to death. But Seleukus, who had always disliked
Lysimachus, now regarded him with abhorrence as a savage villain, and
still continued to keep Demetrius in captivity, under the pretext that
he was waiting for the arrival of his son Antiochus and Stratonike, that
they might have the pleasure of restoring him to liberty.
LII. Demetrius at first bore up manfully against his misfortunes, and
learned to endure captivity, taking exercise as well as he could, by
hunting in the park, and by running; but, little by little, he neglected
these amusements, addicted himself to drinking and dicing, and thus
spent most of his time; either in order to escape from the thoughts of
his present condition by intoxication, or else because he felt that this
was the life which he had always wished to lead, and that he had caused
great suffering both to himself and to others by fighting by sea and
land in order to obtain that comfort which he had now unexpectedly
discovered in repose and quiet. What, indeed, is the object of the wars
and dangers which bad kings endure, in their folly, unless it be this?
although they not only strive after luxury and pleasure, instead of
virtue and honour, but do not even understand in what real luxury and
enjoyment consist. Be that as it may, Demetrius, after living in
confinement in the Chersonese for three years, died of laziness, surfeit
and over-indulgence in wine, in the fifty-fourth year of his age.[322]
Seleukus was greatly blamed for the suspicions which he had entertained
about Demetrius, and greatly repented that he had not imitated the wild
Thracian Dromichætes, who dealt so kindly and royally with Lysimachus
when he had taken him prisoner.
LIII. Even the funeral of Demetrius had an air of tragedy and theatrical
display. His son Antigonus, as soon as he heard that the ashes of his
father were being brought to him, collected all his fleet and met the
vessels of Seleukus near the Cyclades. Here he received the relics in a
golden urn on board of his own flagship, the largest of his fleet. At
every port at which they touched the citizens laid garlands upon the
urn, and sent deputies in mourning to attend the funeral. When the fleet
arrived at Corinth, the urn was beheld in a conspicuous place upon the
stern of the ship, adorned with a royal robe and diadem, and surrounded
by armed soldiers of the king's bodyguard. Near it was seated the
celebrated flute-player Xenophantus, playing a sacred hymn; and the
measured dip of the oars, keeping time to the music, sounded like the
refrain of a dirge. The crowds who thronged the sea-shore were
especially touched by the sight of Antigonus himself, bowed down with
grief and with his eyes full of tears. After due honours had been paid
to the relics at Corinth, he finally deposited them, in the city of
Demetrias, which was named after his father, and which had been formed
by amalgamating the small villages in the neighbourhood of Iolkos.
Demetrius, by his wife Phila, left one son, Antigonus, and one daughter,
Stratonike. He also had two sons named Demetrius, one, known as Leptus,
by an Illyrian woman, and the other, who became ruler of Cyrene, by
Ptolemais. By Deidameia he had a son named Alexander, who spent his life
in Egypt. It is said, too, that he had a son named Korrhagus by
Eurydike. His family retained the throne of Macedonia for many
generations, until it ended in Perseus, during whose reign the Romans
conquered that country. So now that we have brought the career of the
Macedonian hero to a close, it is time for us to bring the Roman upon
the stage.
LIFE OF ANTONIUS.
I. The grandfather of Antonius was the orator Antonius,[323] who
belonged to the party of Sulla and was put to death by Marius. His
father was Antonius, surnamed Creticus,[324] not a man of any great note
or distinction in political affairs, but of good judgment and integrity,
and also liberal in his donations, as one may know from a single
instance. He had no large property and for this reason he was prevented
by his wife from indulging his generous disposition. On one occasion
when an intimate friend came to him who was in want of money, and
Antonius had none, he ordered a young slave to put some water into a
silver vessel and to bring it; and when it was brought, he moistened his
chin as if he were going to shave himself. The slave being sent away on
some other business, Antonius gave the cup to his friend and bade him
make use of it; but as a strict inquiry was made among the slaves, and
Antonius saw that his wife was vexed and intended to torture them one by
one, he acknowledged what he had done and begged her pardon.
II. His wife was Julia of the family of the Cæsars, a woman who could
compare with the noblest and most virtuous of that day. She brought up
her son Antonius, having married after his father's death Cornelius
Lentulus,[325] who was one of the conspirators with Catilina and was put
to death by Cicero. This appears to be the reason and the foundation of
the violent enmity between Antonius and Cicero. Now Antonius says that
even the corpse of Lentulus was not given up to them until his mother
begged it of the wife of Cicero. But this is manifestly false, for no
one of those who were then punished by Cicero was deprived of interment.
Antonius was of distinguished appearance in his youth, but his
friendship and intimacy with Curio[326] fell upon him, as they say, like
some pestilence, for Curio himself was intemperate in his pleasures, and
he hurried Antonius, in order to make him more manageable, into drinking
and the company of women and extravagant and licentious expenditure. All
this brought on him a heavy debt, and out of all bounds for his age, of
two hundred and fifty talents. Curio became security for all this, and
when his father heard of it he banished Antonius from the house.
Antonius for a short time mixed himself up with the violence of Clodius,
the most daring and scandalous of the demagogues of the day, which was
throwing every thing into confusion; but becoming soon satiated with
that madness and being afraid of those who were combining against
Clodius, he left Italy for Greece and spent some time there, exercising
his body for military contests and practising oratory. He adopted what
was called the Asiatic style of oratory, which flourished most at that
time, and bore a great resemblance to his mode of life, which was
boastful and swaggering and full of empty pride and irregular aspiration
after distinction.