Birth and 

 reign of 



11 ATHE N S. 



Alliens, daughters, Progne and Philomela. Under his reign the general character of haman nature. From other Athene. 



* v- ' is placed the arrival and deification of Ceres in Attica, circumstances it appears, that the people were becom- <r J 

 Envthcus, his successor, is generally supposed to ing daily more jealous of the sovereign authority, and ' 

 have been the son of Paudion, though others rcpre- were with difficulty kept in subjection. Theseus, be- 

 sent him as an Egyptian who, having brought a sea- ing almost an elective monarch, would be under the 

 sonable supply of corn, was, in gratitude, saluted necessity of courting them ; so that it appears pro- 

 king by the people. He reigned lifty years, and is bablc, that in enlarging their power, he merely acted 

 said to have been the most powerful prince of his with a prudent accommodation to his own situation, 

 time. His reign is celebrated for the barbarous sa- and the circumstances of the times, 

 crilice of one or more of hi.s daughters, which was The rest of the life of Theseus is rather personal 

 demanded by the oracle as the condition of his vie- to himself, than connected with the history of Athens. 

 tory over the Elcusiniai:s. Under the next king, Intoxicated with prosperity, he appears, towards the 

 Cecrops II., it appears that Attica had so much in- end of it, to have indulged in irregularities, which 

 creased in population and wealth, that the mode of lost him the confidence of the people, and drove him 

 living in habitations scattered over the country was into exile. His immediate successors, Mnestheus and 

 no longer suited to it. Twelve towns were therefore Demophon, went successively to the Trojan war, and 

 built in different quarters, in which part of the na- the latter is said to have been one of those inclosed 



A. C. 1284. tion was settled. After the reign of his son Pan- in the wooden horse. 



dion II., which is distinguished by nothing remark- Nothing remarkable occurs till the reign of Co- Abolition 



able, jCgcus came to the throne. This prince having dnis. This prince is immortalized by the heroic sa- royalty. 



gone to the oracle at Delphi, to enquire the cause crifice, dictated by superstition, by which he effected 



and remedy of some disasters which were afflicting the deliverance of Athens from a formidable invasion. 



his people, on his return had an amour with VEthra, This deliverance had, by the Delphic oracle, been at- 



daughtcr to Pitthcus, who then reigned at Traezene. tached to the condition, that the Athenian king 



Of this connection the fruit was Theseus, a name should die by the hands of the enemy. Codrus, ha- 



which ranks next to that of Hercules, among the ving insinuated himself into the hostile camp, picked 



heroes and demigods of Greece. jEgeus, on his a quarrel with a private soldier there, and suffered 



departure, is said to have led his mistress to a seques- himself to be slain. The prophecy produced its own 



trated spot, where, having deposited a hunting sword accomplishment. The enemy, disheartened and hope- 



and a pair of sandals, he covered them beneath a great less of success, retreated into their own country. The 



stone, and desired her, when her child should arrive Athenians, who had long been jealous of the power 



at such an age as to be able to lift that stone, to send of their kings, took this opportunity to abolish a 



liim, with the tokens concealed under it, to Athens. title which had become odious. That of Archon a. C. 10T0. 



The arrangement took place as appointed ; and The- was substituted. 



seus, having arrived at Athens, was recognised by The following is a chronological list of Athenian 



his hunting knife, and owned by jEgeus. Either by kings, and their reigns, according to Meursius. 



war or negociation, he then freed Athens from the Y 



shameful tribute of seven youths and seven virgins, Ogyges, who reigned 32 



wh.ch had been imposed by Minos k.ng of Crete. Interregnum, which lasted . . . . 190 



On the death of his father, therefore, which took Cecropt, who reigned 56 



pface in consequence or an unfortunate mistake in Cmnir 9 



the signals held _ out on his return, the Athenians Amphictyon '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. 10 



readily saluted him king. Having already distin- Ericthoi.ius 50 



guished himself as a warrior, he now acquired tame Paudion I 40 



as a legislator. He abolished all the independent tt.. u ,.,i,<, ' xn 



." i i i i i l - Ajjcuncus . * *j\j 



authorities established in the twelve districts, into CecrODS II 40 



which Cecrops had divided Attica, and which had Paudion II* 25 



rendered that country little more than a collection of JEa-eus ' 48 



detached states. In return, he communicated to all, Theseus ' 90 



the privileges of Athenian citizens, and concentrated Mnestheus ' 2S 



in Athens all the legislative and judicial authority. Demophon* * '.'.'.'.'.'.'. 33 



tie instituted the festival called ranathenea, as a Oxvnthes 12 



bond to unite the whole Athenian people. He di- Aohvdas 1 



vided the inhabitants into three classes, nobles, hus- Tl -t-s 8 



bandmen, and artificers. To the former was assigned Melanthus 37 



the superintendance of religious ceremonies, the ad- Codrus 21 



ministration of the laws, and the appointment of ma- 

 gistrates. The people received a share in the legis- It may be observed, that considerable doubts are 



lature : he is said to have divested himself of a large entertained with regard to the existence of Cecrops 



portion of the regal power, retaining only the com- II. and Pandion II., and that the actions ascribed 



mand of the army, and some share in the executive. to them are by many referred to the first of their 



This sacrifice is commonly celebrated as an unparal- name. 



lcled display of patriotism ; but here we must own our- After the establishment of the title of archon, for 



selves somewhat sceptical. That such a step should more than 200 years, a singular silence of history 



be altogether voluntary, seems hardly consistent with takes place. The names only of those who bore it, 



