+30.+ The men having by this time decided upon a revolution, now
that in every house the anger of the women was added to the general
resentment, the popular hatred blazed out with redoubled violence. As
soon as night fell the whole city was filled with tumult, torches, and
hurrying feet. Some were assembling with shouts in the stadium; some
were calling upon others to join them; some were running backwards
and forwards seeking to conceal themselves in houses and places least
likely to be suspected. And now the open spaces round the palace, the
stadium, and the street were filled with a motley crowd, as well as
the area in front of the Dionysian Theatre. Being informed of this,
Agathocles roused himself from a drunken lethargy,—for he had just
dismissed his drinking party,—and, accompanied by all his family,
with the exception of Philo, went to the king. After a few words of
lamentation over his misfortunes addressed to the child, he took him
by the hand, and proceeded to the covered walk which runs between the
Maeander garden and the Palaestra, and leads to the entrance of the
theatre. Having securely fastened the two first doors through which
he passed, he entered the third with two or three bodyguards, his own
family, and the king. The doors, however, which were secured by double
bars, were only of lattice work and could therefore be seen through.
By this time the mob had collected from every part of the city in
such numbers, that, not only was every foot of ground occupied, but
the doorsteps and roofs also were crammed with human beings; and
such a mingled storm of shouts and cries arose, as might be expected
from a crowd in which women and children were mixed with men: for in
Alexandria, as in Carthage, the children perform as conspicuous a part
in such commotions as the men.
[Sidenote: Cries for the king.]
+31.+ Day now began to break and the uproar was still a confused babel
of voices; but one cry made itself heard conspicuously above the rest,
it was a call for THE KING. The first thing actually done was by the
Macedonian guard: they left their quarters and seized the vestibule
which served as the audience hall of the palace; then, after a brief
pause, having ascertained whereabouts in the palace the king was, they
went round to the covered walk, burst open the first doors, and, when
they came to the next, demanded with loud shouts that the young king
should be surrendered to them. Agathocles, recognising his danger,
begged his bodyguards to go in his name to the Macedonians, to inform
them that “he resigned the guardianship of the king, and all offices,
honours, or emoluments which he possessed, and only asked that his
life should be granted him with a bare maintenance; that by sinking to
his original situation in life he would be rendered incapable, even
if he wished it, of being henceforth oppressive to any one.” All the
bodyguards refused except Aristomenes, who afterwards obtained the
chief power in the state.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account