Part 16

There remains one people, the Dolopians, who in the earliest history of Greece are scarcely mentioned at all. They must have occupied a very extensive country, but it was of an Alpine character, and embraced the part where mount Pindus turns round towards the Aetolian frontier: there they must have lived in the valleys in scattered villages. They are mentioned in the Iliad as by no means foreign to the Greeks, any more than Dodona in the Catalogue; but still the poet of the Iliad can scarcely have regarded them as real Hellenes: their name is one of those by which a branch of the multiform and undefinable race of the Pelasgians was designated. The passage in which Thucydides says (i. 2), that in the Iliad Hellenes and barbarians were not distinguished, and which refers to such nations as the Dolopians, must be understood to mean, that Homer mentioned as Hellenic, nations which Thucydides in a strict sense included among the barbarians, for the Homeric geography is based more upon geographical masses than upon the identity of nationality, the latter of which is more carefully attended to by Thucydides. Such also is the meaning of Strabo. Scyros is called Dolopian, and the inhabitants of Euboea and the neighbouring Cyclades are called Dryopians, who in point of origin are the same nation as the Dolopians. Here again we need not have recourse to a migration, which would have had to traverse the mountains and the territories of so many nations: the Dolopians on the Achelous and the Dryopians in the Aegean are names of the same nation, in the same manner in which we find Thessalians in Italy and in Greece.

The Dolopians are not mentioned in history except in a passage of Thucydides, where he says that the Achelous flows from mount Pindus through the country of the Dolopians, and in Xenophon’s Hellenica, where we find that they were governed by Jason of Pherae. Afterwards they appear alternately under the supremacy of Macedonia and the Aetolians, until in the end Philip, in his war against the Aetolians and Antiochus, again subdued them. In this condition they are found in the war of Perseus, afterwards they disappear in the general catastrophe of Greece.

We have now passed through Greece from the southernmost point of Peloponnesus as far as mount Olympus, the Thessalian mountains and Tempe.[68] In casting our eyes back upon Greece, it is surprising to find how few of those nations share in the great renown of the Greeks in literature and the arts. In the earliest times poetry was the common property of all rather than of individuals: epic poetry was chiefly cultivated among the Ionians in Asia Minor; lyric poetry among the Aeolians, in Lesbos, Boeotia, Sicily, and Magna Graecia (Himera, Rhegium), and afterwards also among the Dorians; dramatic poetry was in reality confined to Athens. After Pindar, no part of Greece, except Athens, produced poets, prose writers, and orators, until the latest times again wrought a change; for then, after the real life and flourishing period of the arts had already disappeared, there came forward Polybius, a most respectable author indeed, though not beyond the point which we ourselves may attain. The renown in the plastic arts was shared by Corinth and Sicyon, at an earlier period also by Boeotia and Aegina, and in a less degree by Argos. Thessaly is a perfectly rude country, in which genius has created nothing.

I shall now pass on to the Greek islands, first to Euboea, next to the islands in the Aegean, and then to Tenedos and Lesbos, whose whole character is Asiatic, the Cyclades, Crete, and the Sporades. I shall then discuss the Ionic, Doric, and Aeolic settlements in Asia Minor, the colonies on the coast of Thrace, on the Euxine, and on the southern coast of Asia Minor. Of most of the islands very little can be said.

EUBOEA.

Euboea, the largest island in the Aegean, is situated close to the continent of Greece. This island is often mentioned, especially by later poets, Callimachus, Apollonius Rhodius (with his scholiast), and others under antiquated names. Such names, however, are not to be overlooked, for they are not fictitious or arbitrary designations, but must be dealt with cautiously, and neither too much nor too little importance ought to be attributed to them. But we must above all things be on our guard against drawing too hasty conclusions from them, as is done by a certain school of philologers, who from names and a few facts draw inferences which are repulsive to a strict philologer, especially when he considers that there is so much that is clear and true, if they would but take the trouble to search for it. Thus, e.g., it is not an unimportant statement, that Euboea was formerly called Macris, which contains an allusion to the Pelasgian Macrians on the Propontis, who are mentioned by Apollonius Rhodius; Corcyra also is said to have been called Macris. Such things must be known to us, as they were known to the Alexandrian grammarians. Dionysius Thrax[69] mentions emendation and the interpretation of the writings of antiquity as the objects of a grammarian and philologer: a noble object, which you, too, must set before yourselves. Whoever wants to be a grammarian, sets before himself a high aim, which requires a knowledge of antiquity, of mythology, legends and traditions; in short, he must know everything that was known to Apollonius, Eratosthenes, and the grammarians of the second Alexandrian school. A philologer must strive to become master of all the legends and traditions to such a degree as to be able, after a moment’s thought, to give an account of what he finds in a poet. This knowledge also comprises that which is found in isolated notices of the scholiasts.

In the Homeric Catalogue, Euboea belongs to the group of Argive states, but Abantes also dwell in the island. Respecting the origin of these Abantes nothing can be ascertained. Afterwards we find the island divided into five states, three of which are called Ionic and regarded as Ionic colonies; the fourth is Dryopian, and the fifth, Hestiaean, both evidently of the same race as the ancient inhabitants of Thessaly about mount Pindus, that is, Pelasgian. CHALCIS and ERETRIA are said to have been founded by Ionians from Athens; the former was situated on the Euripus, the latter, to the south-east of it. In the early history of Greece, between Olymp. 20 and 40, a period which is so much neglected, both places were of great importance. It is perfectly clear that, though we cannot explain how, they possessed a power far superior to that of Athens at the same time; the great power of the Colophonians also belongs to that period of which the history is lost to us. We only know accidentally, that those two states carried on a long, protracted, and fierce war against each other, in which nearly all the states of Greece joined either the one or the other of them. This shows but too plainly how little the history of Greece is known.

Both cities founded an endless number of colonies, and Chalcis more particularly on the Thracian coast (the Chalcidian towns in Epithrace), in Sicily and Italy (Cumae, Himera, Zancle, Catana, Naxos, Rhegium, and others). It cannot be supposed, that these numerous colonies contained an efflux of population commensurate with the size of the place, but only oecistae went out with a fleet under the protection of Chalcis, and a multitude of people then assembled from all parts of Greece, who were in want of a home; the Chalcidians however were the leaders, and the colony, out of gratitude, formed the noblest phyle from the Chalcidian oecistae, who made the laws. These colonies are another great proof of the deficiency of our knowledge of that stirring period, and show how much we should know, if we possessed Ephorus or only the portion of the work of Diodorus from the sixth to the tenth book. Our information is principally derived from Strabo and Heraclides Ponticus. The last occurrence in which Chalcis appears as a great state, is related by Herodotus, and belongs to the period subsequent to the expulsion of the Pisistratids. The Chalcidians, in conjunction with the Boeotians, carried on war against Athens, but were defeated. The numbers mentioned by Herodotus on that occasion show to what extent precision is lost and how delusive accounts become, even within the space of a century. But certain it is, that Chalcis was conquered by Athens, and that cleruchi were sent to it, of whom, however, subsequently not a trace appears, whence it must be supposed that they had been expelled. The Eretrians are mentioned as being in alliance with Athens; hence we may perhaps assume, that this alliance had existed even in the early times, when Chalcis and Eretria were at war with each other. During the Persian war, Chalcis was not a place of much consequence, and afterwards still less so.

Eretria sent out colonies to Corcyra even before the Corinthians, also to Ischia near Naples, and had its share in the colonisation of Naples itself. It maintained its power longer than Chalcis, and during the insurrection of Aristagoras, it had spirit enough to carry out the expedition against Sardes; but in the campaigns of Datis it was completely (ἄρδην) destroyed, and its inhabitants carried away as slaves into Persia; there the king of the barbarians assigned to them habitations in the distant interior of Bactria. The new Eretria, built under the protection of Athens, remained unimportant.

CARYSTOS, the third town, is renowned for the beautiful striped marble found in its neighbourhood; it is white, with greenish veins, and occurs in large strata. The Italians, from its resemblance to the layers of an onion, call it _cipollino_. Mineralogy, metallurgy, and technology are studies which no philologer ought to neglect; they are extremely instructive to him.

STYRA was quite insignificant; it is called Dryopian, that is, the ancient inhabitants remained there. It was situated on the southern extremity of the island.

HISTIAEA, on the north-eastern point of Euboea, had a Pelasgian population. In the time of Pericles, it was subdued by the Athenians; all Euboea had then renounced the connection with Athens, but was re-conquered; the Histiaeans were overpowered, and an Athenian colony was established among them. Athenian colonists are otherwise rarely mentioned, and wherever they occur, the expression is generally not to be taken in its proper sense, Ionian colonists alone being mostly meant by it. The new colony was called OREOS, and was founded for the purpose of keeping Euboea in obedience, and of preventing it from keeping up a connection with the northern part of the sea. These colonists, as well as the Attic inhabitants of Lemnos and Scyros, appear to have been expelled after the Peloponnesian war; whether they returned, is not known, but Oreos continued to exist as a town. In the maritime war of the Romans and Macedonians, it was ravaged and completely destroyed, so that it never recovered again.

The most interesting physical phenomenon connected with Euboea is the EURIPUS, the channel between Boeotia and Euboea; the sea there had its tides every day, but in a very irregular manner. This was a great puzzle to the natural philosophers among the Greeks, and would be so still, were it not that that part of Europe is so much withdrawn from the observation of the inquirer. The south-east of Euboea presents a rocky and dangerous coast; it may be said in general, that Euboea has no harbours, and the greater part of its coast is _infamis duris naufragiis_; the Capharean rocks deserve to be noticed in particular, for, according to tradition, the Greek fleet, on its return from Troy, was dashed against them, and Ajax, the son of Oileus, perished there. The northern part of this harbourless coast is called the κοῖλα of Euboea.

CHALCIS, about whose ancient greatness I have already spoken, was situated to the north of the neck of land (στενά), which separates the northern from the southern portion of the island. It was for the most part deserted as early as the time of Dicaearchus; its walls enclosed a space of upwards of five miles in circumference, but the place was comparatively desolate. The Macedonian rulers soon made themselves masters of it for the purpose of keeping Greece in subjection. In the newly-discovered fragments of his work, Polybius speaks of an insurrection of Chalcis against Macedonia, of which the consequence was, that a Macedonian garrison was placed in the town. I have not yet been able to find out in which war this occurrence took place, though it was probably in the Lamian war, or perhaps at a later time, under Demetrius Poliorcetes. From the time of this Demetrius, the island was in the hands of the Macedonians, though not always as a part of the Macedonian empire. Under Antigonus Gonatas, his brother Craterus, and, after him, his son Alexander, were princes of Euboea. At a later period it was again dependent on Macedonia. In the war of Philip, Chalcis suffered severely during a predatory expedition of the Romans, for it was taken by surprise, plundered, and reduced to ashes. After this it rose again, for it was always easy for those Greek towns to be restored, if their public buildings were not destroyed, because the private dwellings were of a very humble nature and could easily be rebuilt. The city then became the head quarters of Antiochus. Such things were not forgotten by the Romans, for their hatred was implacable; they did indeed restore Chalcis to independence, because they had not yet gained as firm a footing in those parts as afterwards; but when Corinth had been taken, Chalcis was one of the towns which, according to the decision of the _decem legati_, were destroyed. It was not till several centuries later that it was partially restored; and its situation is so favourable, that, in the course of time, when the earlier circumstances had been forgotten, a new town again rose there under the name of Egribos, from which the modern name Negroponte has been formed.

The four or five towns of Euboea, which had formerly been separate states, had each quite a distinct history of its own; but afterwards when the Greek nations united in larger masses, they, too, like the Phocians, are mentioned as a κοινόν, and that, too, as early as the time of Flamininus; they brought about their own ruin by taking part in the unfortunate Achaean war.

Let us now pass on to the northern islands. The nearest to the Thessalian coast, to the north of Oreos, are SCIATHOS and SCOPELOS, which were no doubt Dolopian islands; but nothing particular can be said about them.

SCYROS is interesting on account of the legends about the youth of Achilles, about Lycomedes and Deïdameia. Theseus, too, is said to have been buried there, and his remains were brought thence to Athens by Cimon. The island remained in the possession of the Pelasgian Dolopians, its ancient inhabitants, until the time when Cimon established an Athenian cleruchia there, that is, a number of Athenian citizens obtained each a certain amount of land, as it were by a lottery. They accordingly became landed proprietors there, but might dwell in Scyros or remain at Athens, if they pleased; in the former case, they did not form an independent state, but only a community under the laws of Athens. Such was the case at Aegina, Naxos, Samos, Melos, Lesbos, and elsewhere. This was the system adopted during the period of the supremacy and tyrannical sway of Athens, and was one of the means of enriching the multitude. Sycros, Lemnos and Imbros in particular became in this manner so completely Athenian, that those who dwelt there, though they had an independent administration, yet did not form a state, but were members of the Attic phylae, and belonged to the number of Athenian citizens. In the Peloponnesian war, the Lacedaemonians expelled the Athenian cleruchi from Scyros and other places, but after the battle of Naxos they were restored. After the peace with Philip, these islands, and especially Scyros, remained under the protection of Athens, at least they were restored to it; even when Rome decided the fate of Greece, Scyros preserved its connection with Athens, and continued to do so until the time of Augustus, and probably even much longer.

The small island of PEPARETHOS, not far from Scyros, was celebrated for its wine.

HALONNESOS owes all its importance to the fact, that it was the occasion of the beautiful speech of Demosthenes. It had been taken by the tyrant of Pherae, and the dispute was as to the terms on which it was to be restored to Athens. Otherwise both these small islands shared the fate of Scyros.

LEMNOS and IMBROS have both the same political history as Scyros. Lemnos, however, is much more interesting to us, on account of its volcanic nature, whence it was sacred to Hephaestus. It is essentially a volcanic island, and the ancients speak of a volcanic mountain having existed there down to the commencement of the historical period, which, however, has now been extinct for upwards of 2000 years. Volcanic productions, as terra sigillata and meerschaum, and several volcanic springs, are of frequent occurrence there. The beautiful fragments of the Philoctetes of Attius, which Hermann has collected and emended, refer to that island. It contained two towns, _Hephaestia_ and _Myrina_. According to tradition, it was inhabited by Pelasgians, who are also called Tyrrhenians; they are said to have first migrated to Athens, and thence to Lemnos. There is probably no more foundation for the belief that Tyrrhenians migrated to Lemnos, than that they went to the Asiatic coast of Aeolia. Lemnos was taken by the Athenians at the time when they founded their colony in Chersonesus; it was taken from them by Antipater, but after being restored to them, they lost it again. Respecting Imbros, nothing particular need be said.

SAMOTHRACE is celebrated in the ancient legends for the worship and the mysteries of the Cabiri, whence it has been much discussed by the moderns: the unfortunate passion to solve all difficulties which cannot be solved, has also extended to Samothrace. Whether and when it received a Greek colony, is not stated by any Greek author. The remark, that it was a Samian colony, seems to have been made merely on account of its name; but it appears to have been a hellenised Pelasgo-Tyrrhenian settlement. The Samothracians had traditions going as far back as the time when the Hellespont and the Bosporus had not yet burst their chains, and when the Aegean was not yet a sea, which it became when the Pontus broke through its barriers. But these are mere speculations. The island was important as a connecting link among ancient nations, and I am convinced that it was the focus from which a great number of ancient traditions proceeded. It seems to have been a resort of pilgrims, like Mecca, or at least a place where the Pelasgians from the most different parts of the world met, and which they regarded as the real centre of their religion. It would be very interesting to know more particulars about the history of the island, but this does not justify the attempts to build castles in the air out of insufficient data.

THASOS, the northernmost of these islands, had a Parian colony, and, as Paros was inhabited by Ionians, it was an Ionian colony. Before the Greeks took possession of it, it was like Cythera, one of the many settlements of the Phoenicians, whence in Cythera the worship of Mylitta, and in Thasos that of Melkarth, continued to exist. We must conceive, that in the very earliest times the Phoenicians were established on the coasts of Greece in settlements as numerous as in the historical ages were those on the African and Spanish coasts and in Cythera. Thasos has quarries of beautiful marble, but is not suited to the growth of corn, and is not a fertile island, whence it is ill spoken of by Archilochus. But Thasian wine was much esteemed. The island had also silver mines, which had been worked even by the Phoenicians, and it possessed still richer ones on the opposite coast of Thrace.

For a time Thasos was powerful and wealthy in consequence of its mines and its commerce; and by this wealth the Thasians established their influence among the sea-faring nations. But when they were forced to submit to the Athenian supremacy, they found it difficult to live in that state of dependence, and twenty years after the Persian, and thirty years before the Peloponnesian war, they revolted, but were subdued by the Athenians. From that time Thasos began to decay.

All these maritime places, though their lands were barren, had a numerous population as long as their navigation was flourishing; but as soon as the current of commerce turned in other directions, the population decreased with extraordinary rapidity. Such was the case at Chalcis and Aegina, and also in Thasos.

THE CYCLADES.

It is very convenient in treating of such a multitude of islands to consider them in certain groups, which is a great assistance to the memory. It is no trifling matter to impress upon one’s mind geography in such a manner as to know it completely, and it was a happy idea to divide the southern islands of the Aegean into Cyclades and Sporades.

The Cyclades are twelve in number, and in the early times no doubt formed one confederacy, of which, however, we know no particulars. But traces of such a union occur in the Homeric hymn on Apollo. Delos was the centre. These islands, according to Thucydides, were partly inhabited by Phoenicians, but for the most part by Carians. He proves this in the case of Delos in an excellent manner by the fact, that the arms found in the newly opened tombs were Carian. However, these islands were not altogether Carian; for we find that in later times the inhabitants of Cythnos were Dryopians. This is stated by Herodotus, and the Dryopians, as we have seen, were Pelasgians. In this case, we cannot think at all of a migration; the Dryopians were a remnant of the Pelasgians.[70]

The names of the twelve islands, going round the circle in a north-western direction are:—CEOS, CYTHNOS, SERIPHOS, SIPHNOS, PAROS, NAXOS, DELOS, RHENEA, MYCONOS, SYROS, TENOS, and ANDROS. Delos was the smallest, but at the same time the most illustrious among them. The notion of the ancients was, that it formed the centre, round which the others were grouped in a circle, and that hence they were called Cyclades. But this is erroneous, for Delos rather forms the circle together with the others. In the earliest times, it was the seat of a common panegyris for the twelve islands and of ancient agones, as we see from the hymn on Apollo, of which the first part at least is so ancient that its composition may be regarded as contemporaneous with that of the Iliad and Odyssey. The dissolution of that union is one of the mysteries of ancient Greek history.

The ancient names of Delos are ASTERIA and OGYGIA. The statement that it was at one time a floating island, is of course fabulous, but it is not improbable that it may have been raised above the sea by volcanic agency.