16 HISTORY AND ETHNOLOGY. 



into a harmonious whole, still preserving, however, some traces of their 

 original manners and descent. 



An ardent spirit of heroism soon became characteristic of the people. 

 Great glory was attached to the names of Hercules, Jason, Perseus, and 

 Theseus. They were indeed so highly reverenced by their posterity as to 

 be made demi-gods. Bold lyrical strains celebrated their services to man- 

 kind ; rehearsed the adventures connected with the Argonautic Expedition, 

 1300 B.C. ; the campaign against Thebes, 1225 B.C., by the allied powers 

 of Peloponnesus ; and finally, the various excursions in quest of booty 

 along the coast of Asia Minor. The whole of the two centuries, 1400-1200 

 B.C., was so marked by valorous exploits, and a devoted attention to the 

 practice of warfare, as to have received the appellation of the Heroic Age. 

 It was only by Agamemnon's confederacy with all the Greek states, in view 

 of an attack upon Troy, 1191-1184 B.C., that Greece became a consoli- 

 dated nation. After the fall of this city, the history of Greece becomes more 

 reliable. On their return, the Greeks turned their arms against each 

 other. The Dorians (Heraclidse) invaded the Peloponnesus, 1100 B.C., 

 whence they had formerly been expelled by the inhabitants (the Pelopidae). 

 Wearied with internal strife, many of the Greeks moved over to the coast 

 of Asia Minor. The numerous small kingdoms, no longer able to sustain 

 themselves, fell to ruin. With the exception of Sparta, they became repub- 

 lics, every city constituting the nucleus of a separate independent state. 



Though this tended to sever the Greeks from each other, they nevertheless 

 possessed several incitements to union. Their language and religion, their 

 annual sports, the Olympic games, and especially the Amphictyonic Council, 

 served as national bonds which could not be easily sundered. Art and 

 science began to be developed ; a spirit of freedom took firm hold of the 

 popular mind. Yet party strife rose high among them ; and having no state 

 laws in common, they were not formidable antagonists to foreigners, except 

 when mutual interest compelled them to make common cause, and to form 

 strong alliances. 



Sparta and Athens held the supremacy over the other states. Each of 

 these powers named its constitution from its own lawgivers : Lycurgus, 

 and Draco and Solon. Sparta, after a bloody contest of fifty years, 

 conquered Messenia, and thus laid the foundation of her subsequent 

 eminence. Athens suffered from civil broils between the lower and higher 

 orders, until Pisistratus assumed the reins of power, 561 B.C. Fresh dis- 

 turbances arose under Hipparchus, a son and successor of Pisistratus. 

 Hipparchus was banished, 510 B.C. Ostracism was introduced, but the 

 measure did not restore quiet, which was still more interrupted by a war 

 with Sparta. Ostracism was the system of banishing too powerful 

 citizens for ten years. The votes for this banishment were written 

 on shells, which was the cause of the appellation (otfTpaxov, a shell). 



After all, these commotions may have had their use in the preservation 

 and training of a superior courage, a quality soon to be brought into requi- 

 sition by the Greeks, who were called to defend their liberties and homes 

 against the hosts of Persia. In the tedious and sanguinary wars that 

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