868 G RE 
was executed in the evening of the fame glorious day. 
The prifoners were dripped of their eaftern attire ; the 
braved of the Greeks condelcended to adume the tiara 
and fcymitar, and thus difguifed, embarked in the Per- 
fian (hips, and failed up the Eurvmedon with a favour, 
able gale. The unfufpeCting bafbat ianS received them 
with open arms into their camp, as their long-expedled 
companions. But the Greeks had no iooner been ad¬ 
mitted within the gates, than at once drawing their 
fwords, they attacked, with difciplined valour, the de- 
fencelefs fecuriiy of their adoniflied adverfaries. Before 
the Perfians recovered from their furprife, Cimon iiad 
advanced to the tent of their general. Conllerhation 
and-defpair feized tliis ntimeious hod. The few who 
w'ere lead overcome by the impreflions of tear and 
amazement, betook themfelves to flight; a panic fut- 
pended the powers.of the red; they fell, unarmed and 
unrefifling, by the hands of an unknown enemy. 'I'he 
rich fpoiis of the camp rewarded the enierprite and ce¬ 
lerity of the Greeks, who, loaded with wealth and glory, 
returned home during winter, and pioufly dedicated to 
Apollo a tenth of the plunder acquired by thefc memo¬ 
rable atchievemcnts. 
After thefe decifive viftories, the Greeks, headed by 
the Athenians, carried on the war during twenty-one 
years, rather for plunder than glory. T. he manifed fu- 
'periorily which they enjoyed on all the eadei'ii fliores ot 
the Mediterranean,'might have rendered th.cir maritime 
allies fufficiently lecure. But the people of Athens, 
whole councils were now governed liy the magnan.- 
mous ambition of Pericles, had the addrefs to perfiiade 
their confederates tltat naval preparations and enter- 
prifes were dill as necelfaiy as ever. Av lengtli, how¬ 
ever, mod of thofe fcattered illands which followed the 
fortune of Athens, grew weary ot perpetual holtilities, 
of which they fliared the toil and the danger, while their 
ambitious leaders alone reaped the advantage and the 
glory. The Athenians availed themfelves of this dif- 
pofition, to engage Inch dates as appeared mod back¬ 
ward in railing their contingents, to compound for per- 
'fonal fervice on fliipboard, by an annual fupply of mo- 
ney, wliich might enable Athens continually to keep in 
readinefsa fleet of obfervation, to watch and check tlie 
motions of the common enemy. This contribution foon 
amounted to about an hundred thoiifand pounds. It 
was gradually augmented; and, at length, railed by 
Pericles to three times the original fiun ; an immenfe in¬ 
come, conlidering that the proportional value of money 
to labour w as then ten times higher than at prefent; and 
conlidering alfo the very limited revenues ot the greated 
monarchs ot antiquity ; fince, from all the various pro¬ 
vinces of the Perlian empire, fcarcely four millions ller- 
ling entered the royal trealury! 
In the year before Chrid 450, the Athenians fet on 
foot an expedition againd, the illand ot Cyprus, w'hich 
had become fubfervient to the Pcrlians. A fleet of two 
hundred fail was eniruded to Cimon, who enjoyed a 
profperous voyage to the Cyprian coalt. i he towns of 
Malos and Citium oppoled a feeble relidance, and the 
fingular humanity with which Cimon treated his piilon- 
ers, would have facilitated more important conqueds : 
but the Phoenician and Cilician fleets had again put to 
fea, and Cimon wifely determined to attack tliem as they 
approaclied the illand, ratlier than vvait their arrival, 
his countrymen being luptrior to their enemies, dill 
more in naval than in military prowefs. In the battle 
whicli followed, he took above a liundred gallies; the 
number of ciiofe funk or dedroyed is unknown ; tlie re¬ 
mainder fled to the coad of Cilicia, in liopes of protec- 
tion from the army of the Perlian general Megabaziis, 
encamped in that province; but that unwieldy body 
was iin.ible to afford tliem any eifcctual relict. The 
Greeks, Jiaving purlued them on thore, totally dedroyed 
tliem, as well as the Perlian deiachmeais wlio came to 
their luccour, and returned loaded with .lpoil to Cyprus, 
E C E. 
The Athenian general then prepared to form the fiege 
of Salamis, which, though defended by a numeroui Per- 
fian garrifon, and well provided witli all the neced'uies 
of defence, mud have loon yielded to his Ikill and va¬ 
lour, had not ficknefs, in conleqiience of a wound re¬ 
ceived before the walls of Citium, prevented him front 
ex.erting his ufual vigour. 
Meanwhile Artaxerxes, who perceived that the ac. 
qniliiion of Sadamis would naturally draw after it tlie 
conqued of tiie whole illand, and who had been conti¬ 
nually difappointed in expefting to prepare fleets and 
armies able to contend with the Athenians, eagerly fo- 
licited for peace. His ainbalfadors were favourably lieard 
in the Athenian aflembly, and a peace was concluded on 
the follow ing conditions : 1 hat all the Greek colonies in 
Lower Afia ihould be declared independent of the Per¬ 
lian empire ; that the armies of the great king Ihould 
not approach within tliree days’ journey ofl-liie wellera 
coad; and that no Perfian veliel Ihould appe.ir between 
tlie Cyanean rocks and the Chelidonian illes, tJiat is, in 
the wide extent of tlie ALgean and Mediterranean leas, 
between tiie northern extremity of the Thracian Bol'- 
phorus and the loutheni promontory of Lycia. On fuCh 
terms tlie Athenians and their allies dipulated to with¬ 
draw dieir .innament from Cyprus, and to abdain thence¬ 
forward Iroiii moleding the ten itories of tlie Perfian king. 
Such Was the conclulion cf tills memorable war, which, 
fince tlie bin ning of Sardis, the firli decilive att of hofti- 
lity, had been carried on, witli little intermiflion, during 
fifty-one years. The fame nuignauimoiis republic, which 
lirlt Ventured to oppofe tlie pretenlions of Perfia, dic¬ 
tated to that haughty empii e tiie mod humiliating con¬ 
ditions of peace; an important and ilhidriotis era in 
Grecian liidory, v. hicii was often celebrated with pomp¬ 
ous panegyric during tlu declining ages of A.iienian 
glory. But from this era the Athenian laurels began 
to fade; internal dilcord and mutual jealoufy bind forth 
into a raging flame, and laid the foundation of the long 
and languinary Pelopounelian war. 
Tlie pow'erful cities of bparta, Thebes, and Argos, 
could not behold, without diflatisfaction and anxieiy, 
the' rapid growth of a republic which already ecliy led 
their Iplendotir, and might eventually endanger iheir 
fafety. The Spartans tlierefore deiermined to make war 
on the Athenians, expecting' to be leconded by the fears 
of the weak, and the jealoufy of the more powerful, 
dates, on both lides the Corinthian idhmus. But tiieir 
aiiiiuoliry, before it broke out into open action, was di¬ 
verted by a Calamity equally ludden and unfoiefeen. In 
tlie year 469 before Cniid, Sparta was overwhelmed by 
an eartliquake. Taygei us and the neighbouring moun¬ 
tains were (haken to the foundation, and twenty thou- 
fand Lacedaemonian ciiizeiis perilhed in this dreadful 
catadrophe. But, amidd the ruins of Sparta, one de- 
feription of men beheld the public misfortunes not only 
without horror, but with a lecret fatisfaCtion. I he 
opprelfed Spartan daves, known by the appellations of 
Helots and Meilenians, alTenibied in crowds from tlie 
villages in which they were cantoned, and took meafures 
for delivering themfelves, during the cruelty ot the ele¬ 
ments, from the inex-orabie cruelty of their unfeeling 
ty rants. The prudent dil'pofilions oi king Archidamus, 
who forefeeing the revolt, liad fummoned the citizens 
to arms, prevented them from getting immediate pof- 
Icflion ot tlie capital; but tliey rendered thenilelves 
maders of the drong fottrefs of Ithome, from which they 
continued many years to infelt the Lacedasmonian terri¬ 
tories. The Sj arums, in vain exerted tiieir utmod en¬ 
deavours to expel this dai gerous enemy; and iu the 
third year of the war (for tins renvoit is dignified in hif- 
. tory by the name of iiie Third Melieiiiaii War), they 
had recoutle to the Aihenians, who, of all the Oreeks, 
were deemed die mod Ikilful 111 lieges. 1 lie Athenians, 
either not lufliciently acquainted witii the feciet hodi- 
