Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 3.djvu/330

Rh 318 PHILOPOEMEN. powers, the ill success of the Roman arms in the ensuing campaign gave the preponderance to the Macedonian party, and the following year (b. c. 168) Philophron and Theaetetus were unable to prevent the favourable reception given to the am- bassadors of Perseus and Gentius (Id. xxvii. 11, xxviii. 2, 14, xxix. 5). Embassies were then des- patched by the Rhodians to the belligerent parties to endeavour to bring about a peace between them, a step which gave great offence to the Romans ; and after the victory of Aemilius Paulus, Philo- phron was despatched in all haste to Rome, toge- ther with Astymedes, to deprecate the wrath of the senate. The ambassadors themselves were received with favour, but the Rhodians were deprived of the possession of Caria and Lycia, and compelled to withdraw their garrisons from Caunus and Stratoniceia. (Id. xxx. 4, 5, 19.) LE.H.B.] PHILOPOEMEN {^L(molfniu). 1. Son of Craugis, of Megalopolis in Arcadia, was one of the few great men that Greece produced in the decline of her political independence. His contemporaries looked up to him as the greatest man of their day, and succeeding ages cherished his memory with deep veneration and love. Thus we find Pausanias saying (viii. 52. § 1), that Miltiades was the first, and Philopoemen the last benefactor to the whole of Greece, and an admiring Roman exclaiming, " that he was the last of the Greeks" (Plut Philop. 1 ). The great object of Philopoemen's life was to infuse among the Achaeans a military spirit, and thereby to establish their independence on a firm and lasting basis. To this object he devoted all the energies of his mind ; and he pursued it throughout his life with an enthusiasm and perse- verance, which were crowned with far greater success than could have been anticipated, consider- ing the times in which he lived. His predecessor Aratus, who was the founder of the Achaean league, was a man of little military ability, and had chiefly relied on negotiation and intrigue for the accomplishment of his objects and the extension of the power of the league. He had accordingly not cared to train a nation of soldiers, and had in consequence been more or less dependent upon Macedonian troops in his wars with Sparta and other enemies, thereby making himself and his nation to a great extent the subjects of a foreign power. Philopoemen, on the contrary, was both a brave soldier and a good general ; and the pos- session of these qualities enabled him to make the Achaean league a really independent power in Greece. Philopoemen was bom about b. c. 252, since he was in his seventieth year at the time of his death in B.C. 183 (Plut. Philop. 18). His family was one of the noblest in all Arcadia, but he lost his father, who was one of the most distinguished men at Megalopolis, at an early age, and was brought up by Cleander, an illustrious citizen of Mantineia, who had been obliged to leave his native city, and had taken refuge at Megalopolis, where he con- tracted an intimate friendship with Craugis. As Philopoemen grew up, he received instruction from Ecderaus and Deraophanes (called Eclemus and Megalophanes in Pausanias, viii. 49. § 2), both of whom had studied the Academic philosophy under Arcesilaus, and had taken an active part in expell- ing the tyrants from Megalopolis and Sicyon, as well as in other political events of their time. Under their teaching and guidance Philopoemen PHILOPOEMEN. became a brave, virtuous, and energetic youth. He early proposed to himself Epaminondas as his model ; but though he succeeded in imitating the activity and contempt of riches of his great model, his vehemence of temper prevented him from ob- taining the amiable manners and winning temper which characterised the Theban. From his earliest years Philopoemen showed a great fondness for the use of arms, and took great pleasure in all warlike exercises. As soon as he had reached the age of military service, he eagerly engaged in the incursions into Laconia, which were then frequently made, and in these he greatly distinguished him- self, being the first to march out and the last to return. When he was not employed in war, he divided his time between the chase, the transaction of public business, the cultivation of his estate, and the study of philosophy and literature. After spending part of the day in the city, he usually walked to an estate which he had about two or three miles from Megalopolis, where he slept, and rose early to work at the farm, after which he re- turned again to the city. His studies were chiefly directed to the art of war, and his favourite books were the Tactics of Evangelus, and the History of Alexander's campaigns. The name of Philopoemen first occurs in history in B. c. 222, when he was thirty years of age. In that year Cleomenes, king of Sparta, the great enemy of the Achaean league, seized Megalopolis, and laid it in ruins. The Spartans surprised Me- galopolis in the night, and took possession of the market-place before the alarm had become general among the inhabitants. As soon as it became known that the Spartans were in the city, most of the citizens fled towards Messene ; but Philopoe- men and a few kindred spirits offered a gallant resistance to the enemy, and their determined and desperate valour gave such employment to the Spartans, as to enable the citizens to escape in safety. Early in the following spring, b. c. 221, Antigonus, the Macedonian king, came down into the Peloponnesus to the assistance of the Achaeans. Eager to revenge his country, Philopoemen joined him with a thousand foot and a body of horse, which Megalopolis placed under his command, and at the head of which he fought in the celebrated battle of Sellasia, in which Cleomenes was utterly defeated, and by which peace was for a time re- stored to Greece. The successful issue of this battle was mainly owing to the courage and abili- ties of Philopoemen, who had charged at the head of the Megalopolitan cavalry without orders, and had thus saved one wing of the army from defeat. The horse of Philopoemen was killed under him, but he continued to fight on foot, and did not leave the field even when both his sides had been struck through with a javelin. His conduct in this battle at once conferred upon Philopoemen the greatest reputation. Antigonus was anxious to take him into his service, and offered him a considerable command ; but this he declined, as he still hoped to secure the independence of his countiy, and was unwilling to become the servant of a foreign power. But as there was no longer any war in Greece, and he was desirous of ac- quiring additional military experience, he set sail for Crete, where war was then waging between the cities of Cnossus and Lyttus. Cnossus was supported by the Aetolians, and Philopoemen ac- cordingly espoused the side of Lyttus, and sue-