A T H 



A T H 



Philip king of Macedon, who fii-ft extended his power la 

 countrits not inimi.diately connefted with Greece, and at 

 the fame time iiicreafcd the means of farther extenfion. 

 Meanwhile a war broke out in Greece; rnd between the 

 Theban? :.:)c\ Piiocians, concerning lands annexed to the' 

 temple of Delphi, which afterwards involved the (rreatcr 

 part of Greece, and among others the Athenians. Pliilip, 

 taking advantage of thcfc diflfenfions, marched towards the 

 interior of Greece, knowing that the Athenians were the 

 moll immediately inteixfted to oppofe his progrefs, and the 

 ableft, if they exerted ihemfelvef, to do it elieftually; he 

 direfted a great part of his policy to the prevention of thofe 

 cxertior.s. He was aware that in a democracy the governors 

 are the tools of the demagogues ; by flattery, by carefles, 

 and by bribery, he effeftually procnred the favour of thofe 

 leaders of the populace. One patriot, however, he could 

 never conupt; Demollhenes exerted the whole force of his 

 energetic eloquence (from B.C. 35610 336) to roufe the 

 Athenians to a fenfe of tiieir danger, from the encroachments 

 of Philip. (For the nature and charafter of Demollhenes'a 

 eloquence, fee article Demosthenes.) This power! ul 

 orator occafionally roufed his countrymen from their le- 

 thargy, but never to fiich great exertions as he declared 

 neceffary, and ,as the circumilances required: on gaiuing 

 fome partial advantages, they returned to their indolence 

 and licentioufncfs. Philip amufed them by embafGes, fe- 

 duccd them by their demagogues, and continued his en- 

 croachments: when they fhould have been fending power- 

 ful armaments, they fent ambafiadors: thefe, Demollhenes 

 excepted, PhiHp corrupted; and the intereils of the Athe- 

 nians were betrayed. In vain Demollhenes dcnionftrated 

 the views of Philip, and treachery of the demagogues: he 

 could not ftimulate them to vigorous and perfevering efforts, 

 until Philip's power became too formidable for rclillance. 

 A combination of the dates of Greece was as length formed 

 againll Pliilip ; but too late to be fuccefslul. The allies 

 vere totally defeated at Chxronea (B.C. 338), and the 

 Athenians became a dependency of Macedon. A popular 

 ;(i'riter (fee Travels of Anacharfis, vol. i. p. 1 12.) obfcrves, 

 that the hillory of the Athenians, properly fpeaking, com- 

 inences about 150 years after the tirft olympiad ; and con 

 eluded at the battle of Chsronea, it contains fcarcely more 

 than 300 years. In this ferics of years it is eafy to difcover 

 certain important intervals, which mark the rife, progrefs, 

 and decline of their empire; and if thefe aras be dilliiigunTied 

 by charafteriftic names, the firft may be called the age of 

 Solon, or of the laws; the fecond, the age of Themillocles 

 and Ariftides, or the age of glory; and the tliird, that of 

 Pericles, or the age of luxury and the arts. 



The Athenians after the battle of Chironea never re- 

 covered their importance. During the contells of Alexan- 

 der's fucccffors, they followed the fortunes of different chief- 

 tains, but chiefly adhered to the fide of Demetrius and his 

 defcendants, who ellab'idied themfelves on the throne of 

 Macfdon. When the intrigues of the fecond Philip with 

 the renowned Hannibal pruvokcd the Romans to invade 

 Greece, the Athenians joined the invaders, and Athens 

 became the dependent ally of the conquerors. In the 

 Mithndatic war, Athens having been conquered by the 

 Asiatic monarch, was befiurgtd by Sylla (B.C. 87), wlio took 

 and plundered their city, demoliflied its walls and fortifica- 

 tions, butchered its inhabitants, and reduced it to a Hate of 

 defcilation. When this florm fubfided, Atliens enjoyed 

 profound tranquillity till the civil war broke out between 

 Caefar and Pompcy, when it took part with the latter, and 

 was reduced to great ftraits by Calenus, the lieutenant of 

 Csefar. Difappointed iu their hopes of being relieved by 



Pompey, the Athenians furrendered at difcretion, and were 

 more kindly trtated than they expefted; for Ca:far n*t 

 only pardonc'l them, but took them under his proteftion, 

 alleging, " that Ic fparcd the living for the fake of the 

 dead." But aveiJt f.om fervitudc, they no fooner heard of 

 Cicfar'i death than they openly declared for his murderers ; 

 receiving Brutus and Caflius into their city, and even ereft- 

 iag (latnes to th.ni, v/hich were placed next to thofe ofHar- 

 modJus and Arlltogiton. After the defeat of Brutus and 

 CaflTms, they attached themfelves to Antony, who redorcd 

 them to their former privileges, and enlarged their domi- 

 nions, by fubjefling to Athens the iflands of Cca, Scia- 

 thus, Paparathns, and .^gina. Of this ifland, however, 

 they were deprived by Auguflus, and forbidden to fell the 

 freedom of their city, as a punidiment which he infiidled 

 upon them for their ingratitude to Julius Cxfar. Towards 

 the latter end of the reign of Auguflus, they revolted, but 

 were foon reduced to their former obedience. Germanicus, 

 the adopted fon of Tiberius, honoured them with the 

 privilege of having a liilor, which was confidered as a mark 

 of fovereign power. This grant was confirmed to thtm by 

 Tiberius and his fucceffors, under whole protection they 

 maintained their ancient form of government fill the reign 

 of Vefpafian, who reduced Attica, with the rell of Greece, 

 to a Roman province, faying, " that the Greeks knew not 

 how to enjoy their liberty." But the emperor Adrian, who 

 had been prxtor of Athens before his acceffion to the 

 imperial dignity, reftored them to the full enjoyment of 

 their former privileges. He repaired the two ports of the 

 Pirseus and Munychia, and added a whole dillrift of new 

 buildings to the old city. This quarter was called Adrian- 

 opolis, from Adrian, whom the Athenians llyled the fecond 

 founder of their city. The privileges granted by Adrian 

 were confirmed and extended by his fucceffors M. Anto- 

 ninus Pius and M. Antoninus the philofopher. Severus 

 abridged them of many privileges in revenge for an affront 

 which he received at Athens, while he ftudied in that city. 

 They were favoured by Valerian ; but the city was taken 

 and plundered by the Goths in the reign of Gallienus, or 

 of Claudius (A. D. 267 or 268) ; but the invaders were 

 foon obliged, by a precipitate flight, to abandon their 

 new conqueft. Conflantine the Great was a peculiar patron 

 and benetaitor of the Athenians. He honoured their chief 

 magiilrate with the title of grand duke, an office at firfl 

 annual, but afterwards hereditary ; and granted them many 

 privileges, which were confirmed and enlarged by Conflan- 

 tius, who alio put them in poffcffion of ieveral illands in 

 the Archipelago. In the time of Theodofius I. 380 years 

 after Chrill, the Goths laid wafte Theffaly and Epirus ; 

 but Theodore, general of the Achsar.s, preferved the 

 cities of Greece trom pillage ; and a flatue of marble was 

 eredted to him at Athens by order of the city. During 

 the reigns of Arcadius and f-fonorius, the Athenians were 

 cruelly iiarafled and pillaged by the Goths under Alaric 

 (A. D. 396), wiio reduced all' their ilately and magnificent 

 ilruftures into heaps of ruins, and removed the invaluable 

 treafuns of antiquity. Synefius, a writer of that age, fays, 

 that Athens refcnibled the bleeding and empty Ikin of u 

 flauglitered viftim. After Athens became only part of a 

 Roman pro\incc, it flill- remained ^he central point in the 

 republic of betters, and continued to be frequented by all 

 who dcfired to acquire that atticifm fo highly valued by 

 the ancients, and that llandard talle which enabled them 

 to eiliaiate, with peculiar accuracy, the real beauties of 

 every work of genius and art. Here too, and here only, 

 were to be learned the true principles of eloquence. All 

 therefore, who applied thsmfelyes to public fpeaking, and 



Ciceru 



