A Smaller History of Greece: from the Earliest Times to the Roman ConquestSmith, William
History
A Smaller History of Greece: from the Earliest Times to the Roman Conquest
Smith, William
Greece -- History -- To 146 B.C.
The aristocratical party, enraged at these reforms called in the
assistance of Cleomenes, king of the Lacedaemonians. Athens was
menaced by foreign enemies and distracted by party struggles.
Clisthenes was at first compelled to retire from Athens; but the people
rose in arms against Cleomenes, expelled the Lacedaemonians, who had
taken possession of the city, and recalled Clisthenes. Thereupon
Cleomenes collected a Peloponnesian army in order to establish Isagoras
as a tyrant over the Athenians, and at the same time he concerted
measures with the Thebans and the Chalcidians of Euboea for a
simultaneous attack upon Attica. The Peloponnesian army, commanded by
the two kings, Cleomenes and Demaratus, entered Attica, and advanced as
far as Eleusis; but when the allies became aware of the object for
which they had been summoned, they refused to march farther, and
strongly protested against the attempt to establish a tyranny at
Athens. Their remonstrances being seconded by Demaratus, Cleomenes
found it necessary to abandon the expedition and return home. At a
later period (B.C. 491) Cleomenes took revenge upon Demaratus by
persuading the Spartans to depose him upon the ground of illegitimacy.
The exiled king took refuge at the Persian court.
The unexpected retreat of the Peloponnesian army delivered the
Athenians from their most formidable enemy, and they lost no time in
turning their arms against their other foes. Marching into Boeotia,
they defeated the Thebans and then crossed over into Euboea, where they
gained a decisive victory over the Chalcidians. In order to secure
their dominion in Euboea, and at the same time to provide for their
poorer citizens, the Athenians distributed the estates of the wealthy
Chalcidian landowners among 4000 of their citizens, who settled in the
country under the name of CLERUCI.
The successes of Athens excited the jealousy of the Spartans, and they
now resolved to make a third attempt to overthrow the Athenian
democracy. They had meantime discovered the deception which had been
practised upon them by the Delphic oracle; And they invited Hippias to
come from Sigeum to Sparta, in order to restore him to Athens. The
experience of the last campaign had taught them that they could not
calculate upon the co-operation of their allies without first obtaining
their approval of the project; and they therefore summoned deputies
from all their allies to meet at Sparta, in order to determine
respecting the restoration of Hippias. But the proposal was received
with universal repugnance; and the Spartans found it necessary to
abandon their project. Hippias returned to Sigeum, and afterwards
proceeded to the court of Darius.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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