WARS IN MACEDON.
B.C. 295-288
Pyrrhus is restored to his throne.--A
celebration.--Festivities.--Gelon's gift.--Gelon and Myrtilus form
a plot.--The cup-bearer pretends to join the plot.--Conversation
overheard in a very singular manner.--Quarrel between Cassander's
heirs.--Pyrrhus takes his first independent command.--Anecdotes of
Pyrrhus.--His popularity.--Pyrrhus detects a forgery.--Plan of the
forgers.--The war is ended.--Pyrrhus returns home.--Interview with
Demetrius on the frontier.--Plots and counterplots.--Demetrius
triumphs.--Relations between Demetrius and Pyrrhus.--War breaks out
between them.--Thebes.--Recklessness and cruelty of Demetrius.--War
between Pyrrhus and Demetrius.--Pantauchus.--The single
combat.--Pyrrhus wounded.--Pantauchus narrowly escapes
death.--Demetrius is hated by his subjects.--His famous garment.--It
is left unfinished.--Pyrrhus's wives.--His motive for marrying
Lanassa.--Lanassa is discontented, and deserts Pyrrhus.--War
protracted for many years.
The prince whom Pyrrhus displaced from the throne of Epirus on his
return from Egypt, as narrated in the last chapter, was, of course, of
the family of Neoptolemus. His own name was Neoptolemus, and he was
the second son of the Neoptolemus who gave his name to the line.
Pyrrhus exercised an uncommon degree of moderation in his victory over
his rival; for, instead of taking his life, or even banishing him from
the kingdom, he treated him with respectful consideration, and
offered, very generously, as it would seem, to admit him to a share of
the regal power. Neoptolemus accepted this proposal, and the two kings
reigned conjointly for a considerable time. A difficulty, however,
before long occurred, which led to an open quarrel, the result of
which was that Neoptolemus was slain. The circumstances, as related by
the historians of the time, were as follows:
It seems that it was the custom of the people of Epirus to celebrate
an annual festival at a certain city in the kingdom, for the purpose
chiefly of renewing the oaths of allegiance on the one part, and of
fealty on the other, between the people and the king. Of course, there
were a great many games and spectacles, as well as various religious
rites and ceremonies, connected with this celebration; and among other
usages which prevailed, it was the custom for the people to bring
presents to the king on the occasion. When the period for this
celebration recurred, after Pyrrhus's restoration to the throne, both
Pyrrhus and Neoptolemus, each attended by his own particular followers
and friends, repaired to the city where the celebration was to be
held, and commenced the festivities.
Among other donations which were made to Pyrrhus at this festival, he
received a present of two yoke of oxen from a certain man named Gelon,
who was a particular friend of Neoptolemus. It appears that it was the
custom for the kings to dispose of many of the presents which they
received on these occasions from the people of the country, by giving
them to their attendants and the officers of their households; and a
certain cup-bearer, named Myrtilus, begged Pyrrhus to give these oxen
to him. Pyrrhus declined this request, but afterward gave the oxen to
another man. Myrtilus was offended at this, and uttered privately many
murmurings and complaints. Gelon, perceiving this, invited Myrtilus to
sup with him. In the course of the supper, he attempted to excite
still more the ill-will which Myrtilus felt toward Pyrrhus; and
finding that he appeared to succeed in doing this, he finally proposed
to Myrtilus to espouse the cause of Neoptolemus, and join in a plot
for poisoning Pyrrhus. His office as cup-bearer would enable him,
Gelon said, to execute such a design without difficulty or danger,
and, by doing it, he would so commend himself to the regard of
Neoptolemus, that he might rely on the most ample and abundant
rewards. Myrtilus appeared to receive these proposals with great
favor; he readily promised to embark in the plot, and promised to
fulfill the part assigned him in the execution of it. When the proper
time arrived, after the conclusion of the supper, Myrtilus took leave
of Gelon, and, proceeding directly to Pyrrhus, he related to him all
that had occurred.
Pyrrhus did not take any rash or hasty measures in the emergency, for
he knew very well that if Gelon were to be then charged with the
crime which he had proposed to commit, he would deny having ever
proposed it, and that then there would be only the word of Myrtilus
against that of Gelon, and that impartial men would have no positive
means of deciding between them. He thought, therefore, very wisely,
that, before taking any decided steps, it would be necessary to obtain
additional proof that Gelon had really made the proposal. He
accordingly directed Myrtilus to continue to pretend that he favored
the plan, and to propose to Gelon to invite another cup-bearer, named
Alexicrates, to join the plot. Alexicrates was to be secretly
instructed to appear ready to enter into the conspiracy when he should
be called upon, and thus, as Pyrrhus expected, the testimony of two
witnesses would be obtained to Gelon's guilt.
It happened, however, that the necessary evidence against Gelon was
furnished without a resort to this measure; for when Gelon reported to
Neoptolemus that Myrtilus had acceded to his proposal to join him in a
plan for removing Pyrrhus out of the way, Neoptolemus was so much
overjoyed at the prospect of recovering the throne to his own family
again, that he could not refrain from revealing the plan to certain
members of the family, and, among others, to his sister Cadmia. At the
time when he thus discovered the design to Cadmia, he supposed that
nobody was within hearing. The conversation took place in an apartment
where he had been supping with Cadmia, and it happened that there was
a servant-woman lying upon a couch in the corner of the room at the
time, with her face to the wall, apparently asleep. She was, in
reality, not asleep, and she overheard all the conversation. She lay
still, however, and did not speak a word; but the next day she went to
Antigone, the wife of Pyrrhus, and communicated to her all that she
had heard. Pyrrhus now considered the evidence that Neoptolemus was
plotting his destruction as complete, and he determined to take
decisive measures to prevent it. He accordingly invited Neoptolemus to
a banquet. Neoptolemus, suspecting nothing, came, and Pyrrhus slew him
at the table. Henceforward Pyrrhus reigned in Epirus alone.
Pyrrhus was now about twenty-three years of age, and inasmuch as, with
all his moderation in respect to the pursuit of youthful pleasures, he
was of a very ambitious and aspiring disposition, he began to form
schemes and plans for the enlargement of his power. An opportunity
was soon afforded him to enter upon a military career. Cassander, who
had made himself King of Macedon in the manner already described, died
about the time that Pyrrhus established himself on his throne in
Epirus. He left two sons, Alexander and Antipater. These brothers
immediately quarreled, each claiming the inheritance of their father's
crown. Antipater proved to be the strongest in the struggle; and
Alexander, finding that he could not stand his ground against his
brother without aid, sent messengers at the same time to Pyrrhus, and
also to Demetrius, in Thessaly, calling upon both to come to his
assistance. They both determined to do so. Demetrius, however, was
engaged in some enterprises which detained him for a time, but Pyrrhus
immediately put himself at the head of his army, and prepared to cross
the frontier.
The commencement of this march marks an important era in the life of
Pyrrhus, for it was now for the first time that he had an army wholly
under his command. In all the former military operations in which he
had been engaged, he had been only a general, acting under the orders
of his superiors. Now he was an independent sovereign, leading forth
his own troops to battle, and responsible to no one for the manner in
which he exercised his power. The character which he displayed in this
new capacity was such as very soon to awaken the admiration of all his
troops, and to win their affection in a very strong degree. His fine
personal appearance, his great strength and dexterity in all martial
exercises, his kind consideration for his soldiers, the systematic and
skillful manner in which all his arrangements were made, and a certain
nobleness and generosity of character which he displayed on many
occasions, all combined to make him an object of universal favor and
regard.
Various anecdotes were related of him in camp, which evinced the
superiority of his mind, and that peculiar sense of confidence and
strength which so often accompanies greatness. At one time a person
was accused of being disaffected toward him, and of being in the habit
of speaking evil of him on all occasions; and some of his counselors
proposed that the offender should be banished. "No," said Pyrrhus;
"let him stay here, and speak evil of me only to a few, instead of
being sent away to ramble about and give me a bad character to all the
world." At another time, some persons, when half intoxicated, at a
convivial entertainment, had talked very freely in censure of
something which Pyrrhus had done. They were called to account for it;
and when asked by Pyrrhus whether it was true that they had really
said such things, they replied that it was true. "And there is no
doubt," they added, "that we should have said things a great deal
worse if we had more wine." Pyrrhus laughed at this reply, and
dismissed the culprits without any punishment. These, and other
similar indications of the magnanimity which marked the general's
character, made a great and very favorable impression upon the minds
of all under his command.
Possessing thus, in a very high degree, the confidence and affection
of his troops, Pyrrhus was able to inspire them with his own ardor and
impetuosity when they came to engage in battle, and his troops were
victorious in almost every conflict. Wherever he went, he reduced the
country into subjection to Alexander, and drove Antipater before him.
He left garrisons of his own in the towns which he captured, so as to
make his conquests secure, and in a short time the prospect seemed
certain that Antipater would be expelled from the country, and
Alexander placed upon the throne.
In this crisis of their affairs, some of the allies of Antipater
conceived the design of circumventing their enemy by artifice, since
it appeared that he was so superior to them in force. They knew how
strong was his feeling of reverence and regard for Ptolemy, the King
of Egypt, his father-in-law, and they accordingly forged a letter to
him in Ptolemy's name, enjoining him to make peace with Antipater, and
withdraw from Macedon. Antipater, the letter said, was willing to pay
him three hundred talents of silver in consideration of his doing so,
and the letter strongly urged him to accede to this offer, and
evacuate the kingdom.
It was much less difficult to practice a successful deception of this
kind in ancient days than it is now, for then writing was usually
performed by scribes trained for the purpose, and there was therefore
seldom any thing in the handwriting of a communication to determine
the question of its authenticity. Pyrrhus, however, detected the
imposition which was attempted in this case the moment that he opened
the epistle. It began with the words, "King Ptolemy to King Pyrrhus,
greeting;" whereas the genuine letters of Ptolemy to his son-in-law
were always commenced thus: "The father to his son, greeting."
Pyrrhus upbraided the contrivers of this fraud in severe terms for
their attempt to deceive him. Still, he entertained the proposition
that they made, and some negotiations were entered into, with a view
to an amicable settlement of the dispute. In the end, however, the
negotiations failed, and the war was continued until Alexander was
established on his throne. Pyrrhus then returned to his own kingdom.
He received, in reward for his services in behalf of Alexander, a
grant of that part of the Macedonian territory which lies upon the
coast of the Adriatic Sea, north of Epirus; and thus peace was
restored, and all things seemed permanently settled.
It will be recollected, perhaps, by the reader, that at the time that
Alexander sent for Pyrrhus to assist him, he had also sent for
Demetrius, who had been in former years the ally and friend of
Pyrrhus. In fact, Deidamia, the sister of Pyrrhus, was Demetrius's
wife. Demetrius had been engaged with the affairs of his own
government at the time that he received this message, and was not then
ready to grant the desired aid. But after a time, when he had settled
his own affairs, he placed himself at the head of an army and went to
Macedon. It was now, however, too late, and Alexander was sorry to
learn that he was coming. He had already parted with a considerable
portion of his kingdom to repay Pyrrhus for his aid, and he feared
that Demetrius, if he were allowed to enter the kingdom, would not he
satisfied without a good part of the remainder.
He accordingly advanced to meet Demetrius at the frontier. Here, at an
interview which he held with him, he thanked him for his kindness in
coming to his aid, but said that his assistance would now not be
required. Demetrius said that it was very well, and so prepared to
return. Alexander, however, as Demetrius afterward alleged, did not
intend to allow him to withdraw, but formed a plan to murder him at a
supper to which he designed to invite him. Demetrius avoided the fate
which was intended for him by going away unexpectedly from the supper
before Alexander had time to execute his plan. Afterward, Demetrius
invited Alexander to a supper. Alexander came unarmed and unprotected,
in order to set his guest an example of unconcern, in hopes that
Demetrius would come equally defenseless to a second entertainment
which he had prepared for him the next day, and at which he intended
to adopt such measures that his guest should not be able by any
possibility to escape. Demetrius, however, did not wait for the second
attempt, but ordered his servants to kill Alexander, and all who were
with him, while they were at _his_ table. One of Alexander's men, when
the attack was made upon them, said, as the soldiers of Demetrius were
stabbing him, "You are too quick for us by just one day."
The Macedonian troops, whom Alexander had brought with him to the
frontier, when they heard of the murder of their king, expected that
Demetrius would come upon them at once, with all his army, and cut
them to pieces. But, instead of this, Demetrius sent them word that he
did not intend them any harm, but wished, on the contrary, for an
opportunity to explain and justify to them what he had done. He
accordingly met them, and made a set harangue, in which he related the
circumstances which led him to take the life of Alexander, and
justified it as an act of self-defense. This discourse was received
with great applause, and the Macedonian soldiers immediately hailed
Demetrius king.
How far there was any truth in the charge which Demetrius brought
against Alexander of intending to kill him, it is, of course,
impossible to say. There was no evidence of the fact, nor could there
be any evidence but such as Demetrius might easily fabricate. It is
the universal justification that is offered in every age by the
perpetrators of political crimes, that they were compelled to perform
themselves the deeds of violence and cruelty for which they are
condemned, in order to anticipate and preclude the performance of
similar deeds on the part of their enemies.
Demetrius and Pyrrhus were now neighboring kings, and, from the
friendly relations which had subsisted between them for so many years,
it might, perhaps, be supposed that the two kingdoms which they
respectively ruled would enjoy, from this time, a permanent and
settled peace, and maintain the most amicable intercourse with each
other. But the reverse was the fact. Contentions and quarrels arose on
the frontiers. Each nation complained that the borderers of the other
made inroads over the frontier. Demetrius and Pyrrhus gradually got
drawn into these disputes. Unfortunately for the peace of the two
countries, Deidamia died, and the strong band of union which she had
formed between the two reigning families was sundered. In a word, it
was not long before Pyrrhus and Demetrius came to open war.
The war, however, which thus broke out between Demetrius and Pyrrhus
did not arise wholly from accidental collisions occurring on the
frontiers. Demetrius was a man of the most violent and insatiable
ambition, and wholly unscrupulous in respect to the means of
gratifying the passion. Before his difficulties with Pyrrhus began, he
had made expeditions southwardly into Greece, and had finally
succeeded in reducing a large portion of that country to his sway. He,
however, at one time, in the course of his campaigns in Greece,
narrowly escaped a very sudden termination of his career. He was
besieging Thebes, one of the principal cities of Greece, and one which
was obstinately determined not to submit to him. In fact, the
inhabitants of the city had given him some special cause of offense,
so that he was excessively angry with them, and though for a long time
he made very little progress in prosecuting the siege, he was
determined not to give up the attempt. At one period, he was himself
called away from the place for a time, to engage in some military
duty demanding his attention in Thessaly, and during his absence he
left his son to conduct the siege. On his return to Thebes, he found
that, through the energetic and obstinate resistance which was made by
the people of Thebes, great numbers of his men were continually
falling--so much so, that his son began to remonstrate with him
against allowing so great and so useless a slaughter to go on.
"Consider," said he, "why you should expose so many of your valiant
soldiers to such sure destruction, when--"
Here Demetrius, in a passion, interrupted him, saying, "Give yourself
no concern about how many of the soldiers are killed. The more there
are killed, the fewer you will have to provide subsistence for!"
The brutal recklessness, however, which Demetrius thus evinced in
respect to the slaughter of his troops was not attended, as such a
feeling often is, with any cowardly unwillingness to expose himself to
danger. He mingled personally in the contests that took place about
the walls of the city, and hazarded his own life as freely as he
required his soldiers to hazard theirs. At length, on one occasion, a
javelin thrown from the wall struck him in the neck, and, passing
directly through, felled him to the ground. He was taken up for dead,
and borne to his tent. It was there found, on examination, that no
great artery or other vital part had been wounded, and yet in a very
short time a burning fever supervened, and for some time the life of
Demetrius was in imminent danger. He still, however, refused to
abandon the siege. At length, he recovered from the effects of his
wound, and, in the end, the city surrendered.
It was on the return of Demetrius to Macedon, after the close of his
successful campaign in Greece, that the war between him and Pyrrhus
broke out. As soon as it appeared that actual hostilities were
inevitable, both parties collected an army and prepared for the
conflict.
They marched to meet each other, Pyrrhus from Epirus, and Demetrius
from Macedon. It happened, however, that they took different routes,
and thus passed each other on the frontier. Demetrius entered Epirus,
and found the whole country open and defenseless before him, for the
military force of the country was all with Pyrrhus, and had passed
into Macedon by another way. Demetrius advanced accordingly, as far as
he chose, into Pyrrhus's territories, capturing and plundering every
thing that came in his way.
Pyrrhus himself, on the other hand, met with quite a different
reception. Demetrius had not taken all his army with him, but had left
a large detachment under the command of a general named Pantauchus, to
defend the country during his absence. Pyrrhus encountered Pantauchus
as he entered Macedon, and gave him battle. A very hard-fought and
obstinate conflict ensued. In the course of it, Pantauchus challenged
Pyrrhus to single combat. He was one of the most distinguished of
Demetrius's generals, being celebrated above all the officers of the
army for his dexterity, strength, and courage; and, as he was a man of
very high and ambitious spirit, he was greatly pleased with the
opportunity of distinguishing himself that was now before him. He
conceived that a personal encounter with so great a commander as
Pyrrhus would add very much to his renown.
Pyrrhus accepted the challenge. The preliminary arrangements were
made. The combatants came out into the field, and, as they advanced to
the encounter, they hurled their javelins at each other before they
met, and then rushed forward to a close and mortal combat with swords.
The fight continued for a long time. Pyrrhus himself received a wound;
but, notwithstanding this, he succeeded in bringing his antagonist to
the ground, and would have killed him, had not the friends of
Pantauchus rushed on and rescued him from the danger. A general battle
between the two armies ensued, in which Pyrrhus was victorious. The
army of Pantauchus was totally routed, and five thousand men were
taken prisoners.
The Macedonian troops whom Pyrrhus thus defeated, instead of being
maddened with resentment and anger against their conqueror, as it
might have been expected they would be, were struck with a sentiment
of admiration for him. They applauded his noble appearance and bearing
on the field, and the feats of courage and strength which he
performed. There was a certain stern and lofty simplicity in his air
and demeanor which reminded them, as they said, of Alexander the
Great, whom many of the old soldiers remembered. They compared Pyrrhus
in these respects with Demetrius, their own sovereign, greatly to the
disadvantage of the latter; and so strong was the feeling which was
thus excited in Pyrrhus's favor, that it was thought at the time that,
if Pyrrhus had advanced toward the capital with a view to the conquest
of the country, the whole army would have gone over at once to his
side, and that he might have made himself king of Macedon without any
further difficulty or trouble. He did not do this, however, but
withdrew again to Epirus when Demetrius came back into Macedonia. The
Macedonians were by no means pleased to see Demetrius return.
In fact, Demetrius was beginning to be generally hated by all his
subjects, being regarded by them all as a conceited and cruel tyrant.
He was not only unscrupulously ambitious in respect to the dominions
of his neighbors, but he was unjust and overbearing in his treatment
of his own friends. Pyrrhus, on the other hand, was kind and courteous
to his army, both to the officers and soldiers. He lived in habits of
great simplicity, and shared the hardships as well as the toils of
those who were under his command. He gave them, too, their share of
the glory which he acquired, by attributing his success to their
courage and fidelity. At one time, after some brilliant campaign in
Macedon, some persons in his army compared his progress to the flight
of an eagle. "If I am an eagle," said he in reply, "I owe it to you,
for you are the wings by means of which I have risen so high."
Demetrius, on the other hand, treated the officers and men under his
command with a species of haughtiness and disdain. He seemed to regard
them as very far beneath him, and to take pleasure in making them feel
his vast superiority. He was vain and foppish in his dress, expended
great sums in the adornment of his person, decorating his robes and
vestments, and even his shoes, with gold and precious stones. In fact,
he caused the manufacture of a garment to be commenced which he
intended should outvie in magnificence and in costly adornments all
that had ever before been fabricated. This garment was left unfinished
at the time of his death, and his successors did not attempt to
complete it. They preserved it, however, for a very long time as a
curiosity, and as a memorial of vanity and folly.
Demetrius, too, was addicted to many vices, being accustomed to the
unrestrained indulgence of his appetites and propensities in every
form. It was in part owing to these excesses that he became so hateful
in manners and character, the habitual indulgence of his animal
appetites and propensities having had the effect of making him morose
and capricious in mind.
The hostility between Pyrrhus and Demetrius was very much increased
and aggravated at one time by a difficulty in which a lady was
concerned. Antigone, the first wife of Pyrrhus, died, and after her
death Pyrrhus married two or three other wives, according to the
custom which prevailed in those days among the Asiatic kings. Among
these wives was Lanassa, the daughter of Agathocles, the king of
Syracuse. The marriage of Pyrrhus with Antigone was apparently
prompted by affection; but his subsequent alliances seem to have been
simple measures of governmental policy, designed only to aid him in
extending his dominions or strengthening his power. His inducement for
marrying Lanassa was to obtain the island of Corcyra, which the King
of Syracuse, who held that island at that time under his dominion, was
willing to give to his daughter as her dowry. Now the island of
Corcyra, as will be seen from the map, was off the coast of Epirus,
and very near, so that the possession of it would add very
considerably to the value of Pyrrhus's dominion.
Lanassa was not happy as Pyrrhus's bride. In fact, to have been
married for the sake of an island brought as dowry, and to be only one
of several wives after all, would not seem to be circumstances
particularly encouraging in respect to the promise of conjugal bliss.
Lanassa complained that she was neglected; that the other wives
received attentions which were not accorded to her. At last, when she
found that she could endure the vexations and trials of her condition
no longer, she left her husband and went back to Corcyra, and then
sent an invitation to Demetrius to come and take possession of the
island, and marry her. In a word, she divorced herself and resumed
possession of her dowry, and considered herself at liberty to dispose
of both her person and her property anew.
Demetrius accepted the offer which was made him. He went to Corcyra,
married Lanassa, and then, leaving a garrison to protect the island
from any attempt which Pyrrhus might make to recover it, he went back
to Macedon. Of course, after this transaction, Pyrrhus was more
incensed against Demetrius than ever.
Very soon after this Pyrrhus had an opportunity to revenge himself for
the injury which Demetrius had done him. Demetrius was sick; he had
brought on a fever by excessive drinking. Pyrrhus determined to take
advantage of the occasion to make a new invasion of Macedonia. He
accordingly crossed the frontier at the head of a numerous army.
Demetrius, sick as he was, mounted on horseback, and put himself at
the head of his forces to go out to meet his enemy. Nothing important
resulted from this campaign; but, after some ineffectual attempts at
conquest, Pyrrhus returned to his own country.
In this way the war between Pyrrhus and Demetrius was protracted for
many years, with varying success, one party being sometimes
triumphant, and sometimes the other. At last, at a time when the tide
of fortune seemed inclined to turn against Pyrrhus, some circumstances
occurred which were the means of attracting his attention strongly in
another direction, and ended in introducing him to a new and very
brilliant career in an altogether different region. These
circumstances, and the train of events to which they led, will form
the subject of the following chapter.
[Illustration: MAP--GRECIAN EMPIRE.]