Conon's services in the Peloponnesian war, I.----In his exile he supports Pharnabazus against the Spartans, II.----He goes to Artaxerxes to accuse Tissaphernes, and treats with him by letter, III.----He defeats the Lacedaemonians at Cnidus; Greece is set free, and the walls of Athens rebuilt, IV.----Conon made prisoner by Tiribazus, V.

I. CONON the Athenian entered upon public life in the Peloponnesian war, and his service in it was of great value; for he was both general of the forces by land, and, as commander of the fleet, performed great exploits by sea; for these reasons particular honour was conferred upon him, for he had the sole authority over all the islands; in which office he took Pherae, a colony of the Lacedaemonians. He was also commander towards the end of the Peloponnesian war, when the forces of the Athenians were defeated by Lysander at Aegospotamos; but he was then absent; and hence the affair was worse managed; for he was both skilled in military matters, and a careful general. It was doubted by nobody, therefore, in those days, that the Athenians, if he had been present, would not have met with that disaster.

II. But when the affairs of the Athenians were in a calamitous condition, and he heard that his native city was besieged, he did not seek a place where he might himself live in security, but one from which he might render assistance to his countrymen. He in consequence betook himself to Pharnabazus, the satrap of Ionia and Lydia, and also a son-in-law |348 and relative of the king, with whom, by much exertion and at great hazard, he contrived to procure himself strong personal influence; ⁸⁵ for when the Lacedaemonians, after the Athenians were subdued, did not adhere to the alliance which they had made with Artaxerxes, but sent Agesilaus into Asia to make war (being chiefly induced to that course by Tissaphernes, ⁸⁶ who, from being one of the king's confidants, had renounced his attachment to him, and entered into an alliance with the Lacedaemonians), Pharnabazus was regarded as general against Agesilaus, but Conon in reality led the army, and everything was done according to his direction. He greatly obstructed that eminent commander Agesilaus, and often thwarted his plans. It was indeed apparent, that, if Conon had not been there, Agesilaus would have taken all Asia, as far as Mount Taurus, from the king. And after Agesilaus was recalled home by his countrymen, in consequence of the Boeotians and Athenians having declared war against the Lacedaemonians, Conon nevertheless remained with the king's officers, and was of the greatest service to all of them.

III. Tissaphernes had revolted from the king; yet his defection was not so evident to Artaxerxes as to others; for he had great influence with the king, by reason of his numerous and important services, even when he did not strictly adhere to his duty; nor is it to be wondered at, if he was not easily induced to credit it, remembering that by his means he had overcome his brother Cyrus. Conon, being sent by Pharnabazus to the king to assure him of his guilt, went in the first place, on his arrival (after the manner of the Persians), to Tithraustes, the captain of the guard,⁸⁷ who held the second place in the empire, and signified that he wished to speak to |349 the king; for no one is admitted without this ceremony.⁸⁸ Tithraustes answered him, "There is no objection on my part, but consider, for yourself, whether you had rather speak with him, or treat by letter, as to the objects which you have in view. For, if you come into the royal presence, it will be necessary for you to pay adoration to the king" (which the Greeks call proskunei=n): "if this is disagreeable to you, you may nevertheless effect what you desire by stating your commission through me." Conon then replied, "To myself indeed, it is not disagreeable to pay any honour you please to the king, but I am afraid lest it should be derogatory to my country, if, coming from a city which has been accustomed to rule over other nations, I should observe the usages of foreigners rather than its own." He therefore delivered to him in writing what he wished to communicate.

IV. The king, having read his statement, was so much influenced by his authority, that he declared Tissaphernes an enemy, desired Conon to harass the Lacedemonians with war, and gave him leave to choose whom be pleased to disburse the money for his army. Conon said that such a choice was not a matter for his consideration, but for the king's own, who ought to know his own subjects best; but that he recommended him to give that commission to Pharnabazus. He was then despatched, after being honoured with valuable presents, to the sea, to require the Cyprians, Phoenicians, and other maritime people, to furnish ships of war, and to prepare a fleet to secure the sea in the following summer, Pharnabazus, as he had requested, being appointed his colleague. When this arrangement was made known to the Lacedaemonians, they took their measures with great care, for they thought that a greater war threatened them than if they had to contend with the Persians only. They saw that a brave and skilful general was going to lead the king's forces, and to take the field against them, a man whom they could overmatch neither by stratagem nor by strength. With these considerations they collected a great fleet, and set sail under the leadership of Pisander. Conon, attacking them near Cnidus, routed them in a great battle, took several of their ships, and sunk several more, a victory by which not only Athens, but also all Greece, which had been |350 under the power of the Lacedaemonians, was set free. Conon proceeded with part of his fleet to his native city, and caused the walls of the Piraeeus and of Athens, both of which had been pulled down, to be rebuilt, and presented to his countrymen fifty talents in money, which he had received from Pharnabazus.

V. What happens to other men happened to him, that he was more inconsiderate in good than in bad fortune; for when he had defeated the fleet of the Peloponnesians, and thought that he had avenged the injuries done to his country, he aimed at more objects than he was in a condition to accomplish. Not that these aims, however, were not patriotic and deserving of praise, since he preferred that the power of his country should be increased, rather than that of the king; for, after he had secured himself great influence by the battle which he fought at Cnidus, not only among foreigners but in all the states of Greece, he began to endeavour secretly ⁸⁹ to restore Ionia and Aeolia to the Athenians. But as this proiect was not concealed with sufficient care, Tiribazus, who was governor of Sardis, sent for Conon, on pretence that he wished to send him in great haste to the king; when he had gone, in compliance with this message, he was placed in confinement, in which he was kept for some time. Some have left on record that he was conveyed to the king, and there died. On the other hand Dinon ⁹⁰ the historian, whom we chiefly credit concerning Persian affairs, has related that he made his escape, but is in doubt whether it was effected with or without the knowledge of Tiribazus. |351

X. DION.

Dion's family; is connected with the two Dionysii, I.----Brings Plato into Sicily; death of the elder Dionysius, II ---- Disagreement between Dion and Dionysius the Younger, III. ---- Is sent to Corinth; ill-treatment of his wife; fate of his son, IV.----Gets possession of Syracuse, and forces Dionysius to make terms with him, V.----Alienates the people by putting Heraclides to death, VI. ----His great unpopularity, VII.----Is deceived by a stratagem of Callicrates, VIII.----Is assassinated in his own house on a feast-day, IX.----Change of feeling towards him after his death, X.

I. DION, the son of Hipparinus, a native of Syracuse, was of a noble family, and allied to both the Dionysii, the tyrants ⁹¹ of Sicily; for the elder married Aristomache, Dion's sister, by whom he had two sons, Hipparinus and Nysaeus, and also two daughters named Sophrosyne and Arete, the elder of whom he gave in marriage to his son Dionysius,⁹² to whom he also left his dominions, and the other, Arete, to Dion.⁹³

But Dion, besides this noble connexion, and the honourable character of his ancestors, inherited many other advantages from nature; among them, a disposition docile, courteous, and adapted for acquiring the most important branches of knowledge, and extreme grace of person, which is no small recommendation;⁹⁴ he had also great wealth bequeathed him by his father, which he himself had augmented by the presents he received from the tyrant. He was familiar with the elder Dionysius, not less on account of his character than his relationship; for though the cruelty of Dionysius offended him, yet he was desirous that he should be secure because of his family connexion with himself, and still more for the sake |352 of his own relatives.⁹⁵ He aided him in important matters, and the tyrant was greatly influenced by his advice, unless, in any case, some violent humour of his own interposed. But embassies,⁹⁶ such at least as were of a more distinguished kind, were all conducted by Dion; and by discharging them assiduously, and managing faithfully, he palliated the most cruel name of tyrant with his own benevolence. The Carthaginians so much respected him, when he was sent thither by Dionysius, that they never regarded any man that spoke the Greek tongue with more admiration.

II. Nor did these circumstances escape the notice of Dionysius, for he was sensible how great an honour he was to him; hence it happened that he showed him more favour than any other person,⁹⁷ and loved him not less than a son. When a report reached Sicily, too, that Plato was come to Tarentum, Dionysius could not refuse the young man leave to send for him, as Dion was inflamed with a desire of hearing him. He accordingly granted him that permission, and brought Plato with great pomp ⁹⁸ to Syracuse; whom Dion so greatly admired and loved, that he devoted himself wholly to his society; nor was Plato less delighted with Dion. Although, therefore, Plato was cruelly insulted by Dionysius (for he ordered him to be sold ⁹⁹), yet he paid a second visit to the city, induced again by the entreaties of Dion.

In the meantime Dionysius fell ill of some disease, and when he was labouring under the severity of it, Dion inquired of the physicians "how he was," and begged them, at the same time, "if he should happen to be in extreme danger, to acquaint him of it; for he wished to speak to him about a division of the |353 realm, as he thought that the sons of his sister by him ought to have a share in the dominions." This request the physicians did not keep secret, but reported the words to Dionysius the younger, who, taking alarm at it, compelled the physicians to give his father a sleeping potion, that Dion might have no opportunity of addressing him. The sick man, having taken the draught, ended his life like one buried in deep sleep.

III. Such was the commencement of the dissension between Dion and Dionysius; and it was increased by many circumstances; yet in the beginning of his reign there subsisted for a time an assumed friendship between them; and as Dion persisted in soliciting Dionysius to send for Plato from Athens, and follow his counsels, he, who was willing to imitate his father in something, complied with his wishes. At the same time, also, he brought back Philistus the historian to Syracuse,a man not more friendly to the tyrant than to tyranny itself. But of this author more has been said in the work of mine which is written "On Historians." Plato, however, had so much influence over Dionysius by his authority, and produced such an effect on him by his eloquence, that he persuaded him to put an end to his tyranny, and to restore liberty to the Syracusans; but being dissuaded from his intention by the representations of Philistus, he began to grow somewhat more cruel.

IV. Being conscious that he was surpassed by Dion in ability, influence, and in the affection of the people, and fearing that, if he kept Dion with him, he might give him some opportunity of overthrowing him, he gave him a trireme to sail to Corinth, declaring that he did so for both their sakes, lest, as they were afraid of each other, one of them might take the other by surprise. As many people were indignant at this proceeding, and as it was the cause of great hatred to the tyrant, Dionysius put on board some vessels all the property of Dion that could be removed, and sent it after him; for he wished it to be thought that he had adopted that course, not from hatred of the man, but for the sake of his own safety. But when he heard that Dion was levying troops in the Peloponnesus, and endeavouring to raise a war against him, he gave Arete, Dion's wife, in marriage to another man, and caused his son to be brought up in such a manner, that he might, through indulgence, be imbued with the most disgraceful |354 propensities; for mistresses were brought him when but a boy, before he was full grown; he was overwhelmed with wine and luxuries, nor was any time allowed him to be sober. He was so little able to bear such a change in his way of life, which was altered after his father returned to his country (for keepers were set over him to draw him from his former mode of living), that he threw himself from the top of a house and so perished. But I return to the point from whence I digressed.

V. When Dion had arrived at Corinth, and Heraclides, who had been commander of the cavalry, had also come thither (having been likewise banished by Dionysius), they began to prepare for war in every possible way; but they made but little progress; for a tyranny of many years' standing was thought to be of great strength, and for that reason few were induced to join in so perilous an undertaking. But Dion, who trusted not so much to his troops as to the general hatred towards the tyrant, setting out, with the greatest courage, in two transport vessels, to attack a power of fifty years' growth, defended by five hundred ships of war, ten thousand cavalry, and a hundred thousand infantry, so easily made an impression upon it (what seemed wonderful to all people), that he entered Syracuse the third day after he touched the coast of Sicily. Hence it may be understood that no government is safe, unless guarded by the love of its subjects. Dionysius at that time was absent, and waiting for his fleet in Italy, supposing that none of his enemies would come against him without a great force; a supposition which deceived him; for Dion curbed the tyrant's pride with those very men that had been under the rule of his adversary, and gained possession of all that part of Sicily which had been under the government of Dionysius; and with like success he secured the city of Syracuse, except the citadel and the island adjoining the town, and brought matters to such a state, that the tyrant consented to make peace on such terms as these: that Dion should have Sicily, Dionysius Italy,¹⁰⁰ and Apollocrates, in whom alone Dionysius ¹⁰¹ had great confidence, Syracuse. |355

VI. A sudden change followed close upon such eminent and unexpected success, for fortune, through her fickleness, endeavoured to sink him whom she had just before exalted. In the first place she exercised her power over his son, of whom I have previously made mention; for after he had taken back his wife, who had been given to another, and wished to recall his son, from his abandoned course of sensuality, to habits of virtue, he received, as a father, a most severe affliction in the death of that son. A disagreement next arose between him and Heraclides, who, refusing to yield the supremacy to Dion, organized a party against him; nor had he indeed less influence than Dion among the aristocracy, with whose sanction he commanded the fleet, while Dion had the direction of the land forces. Dion could not endure this opposition patiently, but retorted with that verse of Homer in the second book of the Iliad,¹⁰² in which is this sentiment, "That a state cannot be managed well by the government of many." Much ill feeling, on the part of the people, followed this remark; for he appeared to have let it escape him that he wished everything to be under his own authority. This feeling he did not try to soften by conciliation, but to overcome by severity, and caused Heraclides, when he came to Syracuse, to be put to death.

VII. This act struck extreme terror into every one; for nobody, after Heraclides was killed, considered himself safe. Dion, when his adversary was removed, distributed among his soldiers, with greater freedom, the property of those whom he knew to have been unfavourable to him. But after this division had taken place, money, as his daily expenses grew very great, began to fail him; nor was there anything on which he could lay his hands but the property of his friends; a circumstance which was attended with this effect, that while he gained the soldiery, he lost the aristocracy. At this state of things he was overcome with anxiety, and, being unaccustomed to be ill spoken of, he could not patiently endure that a bad opinion of him should be entertained by those by whose praises he had just before been extolled to the skies. |356 The common people, however, when the feelings of the soldiers were rendered unfavourable towards him,¹⁰³ spoke with less restraint, and said that "he was a tyrant not to be endured."

VIII. While he knew not, as he contemplated this state of things, how he should put a stop to it, and was apprehensive as to what it might end in, a certain Callicrates, a citizen of Athens, who had accompanied him from the Peloponnesus to Sicily, a man of address, subtle enough for any artifice, and without any regard for religion or honour, went to him, and told him that "he was in great danger on account of the disaffection of the people and the hostile feelings of the soldiers; which danger he could by no means escape, unless he commissioned some one of his friends to pretend that he was an enemy to him; and that, if he found him fit for the undertaking, he would learn the feelings of every one, and cut off his enemies, as his opponents would readily disclose their thoughts to any one disaffected towards him." This suggestion being approved, Callicrates himself undertook this part, and armed himself through the unsuspiciousness of Dion; he sought for accomplices to join in killing him; he held meetings with his enemies, and formed an actual conspiracy against him. But these proceedings, as many were privy to what was going on, became known, and were communicated to Aristomache, Dion's sister, and his wife Arete; who, being struck with alarm, sought an interview with him for whose danger they were concerned. Dion assured them that no plot was concerted against him by Callicrates, but that what was done, was done by his own directions. The women, notwithstanding, took Callicrates into the temple of Proserpine, and obliged him to swear that "there should be no danger to Dion from him." But Callicrates, by this oath, was not only not deterred from his design, but was stimulated to hasten the execution of it, fearing that his plot might be laid open before he had effected his purpose.

IX. With this resolution, on the next festival day, while Dion was keeping himself at home, secluded from the assembly |357 of the people, and was reposing in an upper room,¹⁰⁴ he committed to his accomplices the stronger parts of the city, surrounded Dion's house with guards, and stationed trusty persons at the door, who were not to leave it; he also manned a trireme with an armed force, entrusted it to his brother Philocrates, and gave directions that it should be rowed about in the harbour, as if he wished to exercise the rowers, with a view, if fortune should baffle his attempts, to have a vessel in which he might flee to a place of safety. He then chose from among his followers some young men of Zacynthus, of great courage and extraordinary strength, whom he ordered to go to Dion's house unarmed, so that they might seem to have come for the sake of speaking with him. These youths, as being well known, were admitted, but as soon as they had crossed the threshold, they bolted the door, seized him as he lay on his couch, and bound him. A great noise ensued, so that it was distinctly heard out of doors. And here it was easy to be understood, as has often been said before, how unpopular absolute power is, and how unhappy the life of those who had rather be feared than loved; for those very guards,¹⁰⁵ if they had been favourably inclined towards him, might have saved him by breaking open the door, as the Zacynthians, who were unarmed, were holding him still alive, calling to those without for a weapon. Nobody coming to his rescue, one Lyco, a Syracusan, gave them a sword through the window, with which Dion was slain.

X. When the murder was consummated, and the people came in to view the scene, some were killed as guilty by those who were ignorant of the real actors; for a report being soon spread abroad that violence had been offered to Dion, many, to whom such a deed was detestable, ran together to the spot; and these persons, prompted by a false suspicion, killed the |358 innocent as if they had been the delinquents. But as soon as his death became publicly known, the feeling of the populace was wonderfully altered, for those who had called him a tyrant while he was alive, called him now the deliverer of his country and the expeller of a tyrant. So suddenly had pity succeeded to hatred, that they wished to redeem him from Acheron, if they could, with their own blood. He was therefore honoured with a sepulchral monument in the city, in the most frequented part of it, after having been interred at the public expense. He died at the age of about fifty-five years, four years after he had returned from the Peloponnesus into Sicily.

85. * Apud quem ut multùm gratia valeret----effecit.] With whom he brought it to pass that he prevailed much by personal influence.

86. † What Nepos says here, as to the Lacedaemonians being persuaded by Tissaphernes to go to war with Persia, is scarcely reconcileable with fact, as Fischer observes, or with what is stated in the second chapter of the life of Agesilaus. Yet Schlegel and Wetzel, he adds, have made strong efforts to justify or excuse his statement. Thirlwall, however, seems to come nearer to the truth in his History of Greece, c. xxxv. The reader may also consult Smith's Biog. Dictionary, art. Tissaphernes.

87. ‡ Chiliarchum.] "Captain of a thousand." He is generally considered to have been chief of the life-guards, and to have been responsible, consequently, for the safety of the king's person.

88. * Sine hoc.] Some consider hoc masculine, referring to the chiliarchus.

89. * If this statement respecting Conon be true, his conduct in the matter is not to be reckoned among pia et probanda, "patriotic and deserving of praise." But it would appear from Diod. Sic. xiv. 85, and Xen. Hell. iv. 8, that the charge against him arose from envy on the part of Tithraustes and the other Persians.

90. † He was the father of Cleitarchus, who wrote a history of Alexander the Great's expedition. See Plin. H. N. x. 70. From what Pliny says of him, he seems to have been extremely credulous.

91. * Utrâque implicatus tyrannide Dionysiorum.] "Involved in," or "connected with, each tyranny of the Dionysii." For utroque Dionysio tyranno.

92. † Dionysius married two wives in the same day, Doris, a native of Locris, and Aristomache, the sister of Dion. But Dionysius the Younger was the son of Doris; so that, if Nepos is correct in saying that Sophrosyne was the daughter of Aristomache, he married his half-sister. See Plut. Vit. Dion. c. 3.

93. ‡ Dion, therefore, as Ernstius observes, married his own niece.

94. § Quae non minimum commendatur.] "Which is not in the lowest degree (i.e. which is in the highest degree) commended." Lambinus, from conjecture, read commendat, sc. hominem, which is more elegant (as Bos admits), and has been generally adopted by editors.

95. * Suorum causa.] For the sake of Aristomache and her children.

96. † Legationes.] Most editions have omnes after legationes. Bos and Van Staveren omit it.

97. ‡ Uni huic maxime indulgeret.] "He indulged him alone most "

98. § Ambitione.] Exquisito apparatu et ambitioso comitatu.----Gebhard. It was not, however, the elder, but the younger Dionysius, that received Plato with such ceremony. See Plato's Epist. 3 and 7; Plutarch, Vit. Dion., and Aelian, Var. Hist. iv. 18. Plato visited Sicily three times; the ostentatious reception occurred on the second occasion.

99. || Quippe quem venundari jussisset.] Bremi conjectures quippe qui eum, &c, which the sense indeed requires. Consult Plutarch, Vit. Dion., who, however, relates the matter a little differently. Lucian says that Plato was sent to a parasite, because he was ignorant of the parasite's art. See Diod. Sic. xv. 7; Diog. Laërt. iii. 18, 21.----Bos.

100. * That is, the portion of Italy, or Great Greece, which had been under the power of the elder Dionysius, part of which was still retained by his son.

101. † Lambinus first saw that we ought to read Dionysius, not Dion, Bos, Mosche, and most other editors, approve Lambinus's suggestion. Van Staveren omits the name altogether the sense being sufficiently clear without it.

102. * Ver. 204.

103. * Offensa in eum militum voluntate.] Yet Nepos says above, in this same chapter, that Dion "had gained the soldiery." Quum milites reconciliâsset, amitteret optimates.

104. * The ancients were accustomed, when they wished to devote themselves to prayer, or to do anything in private, to go up into the higher part of the house, or to keep a chamber in that part for that particular purpose. So Suetonius says of Augustus, c. 72, Si quando quid secreto aut sine interpellatione agere proposuisset, erat illi locus in edito sincularis. So Tacitus of Tiberius, Ann. vi. 21, Quoties super negotio Consultaret, edita domus parte utebatur.----Bos. He also refers to Judith, c. 8, and to Acts x. 9.

105. † Illi ipsi custodes.] The guards that had been stationed by Callicrates round Dion's house.

This text was transcribed by Roger Pearse, Ipswich, UK, 2003. All material on this page is in the public domain - copy freely.

N.S. Gill
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