Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 3.djvu/949

937 the prosecution of this war, the history of which is given under and his general, and may therefore be dismissed here with a few words. Sulla landed at Dyrrhachium, and forthwith marched against Athens, which had become the head-quarters of the Mithridatic cause in Greece. After a long and obstinate siege, Athens was taken by storm on the 1st of March in the following year, 86; and in consequence of the insults which Sulla and his wife Metella had received from the tyrant Aristion, the city was given up to rapine and plunder. He next obtained possession of the Peiraeeus, which had been defended by Archelaus. Meantime Mithridates had sent fresh reinforcements to Archelaus, who concentrated all his troops in Boeotia. Sulla advanced against him, and defeated him in the neighbourhood of Chaeroneia with such enormous loss, that out of the 120,000 men with whom Archelaus had opened the campaign, he is said to have assembled only 10,000 at Chalcis in Euboea, where he had taken refuge. But while Sulla was carrying on the war with such success in Greece, his enemies had obtained the upper hand in Italy. The consul Cinna, who had been driven out of Rome by his colleague Octavius, soon after Sulla's departure from Italy, had entered it again with Marius at the close of the year. Both Cinna and Marius were appointed consuls 86, all the regulations of Sulla were swept away, his friends and adherents murdered, his property confiscated, and he himself declared a public enemy. It has frequently been made a subject of panegyric upon Sulla that he still continued to prosecute the war with Mithridates under these circumstances, and preferred the subjugation of the enemies of Rome to the gratification of his own revenge. But it must be recollected that an immediate peace with Mithridates would have discontented his soldiers; while by bringing the war to an honourable conclusion, he gratified his troops by plunder, attached them more and more to his person, and at the same time collected from the conquered cities vast sums of money for the prosecution of the war against his enemies in Italy. At the same time it is an undoubted proof of his sagacity and forethought that he knew how to bide his time. Most other men in his circumstances would have hurried back to Italy at once to crush their enemies, and thus have ruined themselves. Marius died seventeen days after he had entered upon his consulship, and was succeeded in the office by L. Valerius Flaccus, who was sent into Asia that he might prosecute the war at the same time against Mithridates and Sulla. Flaccus was murdered by his troops at the instigation of Fimbria, who now assumed the command, and who gained several victories over the generals of Mithridates in Asia, in 85. About the same time the new army, which Mithridates had again sent to Archelaus in Greece, was again defeated by Sulla in the neighbourhood of Orchomenus. These repeated disasters made Mithridates anxious for peace, but it was not granted by Sulla till the following year, 84, when he had crossed the Hellespont in order to carry on the war in that country. Sulla was now at liberty to turn his arms against Fimbria, who was with his army at Thyateira. The name of Sulla carried victory with it. The troops of Fimbria deserted their general, who put an end to his own life. Sulla now prepared to return to Italy. After exacting enormous sums from the wealthy cities of Asia, he left his legate, L. Licinius Murena, in command of the province of Asia, with two legions, and set sail with his own army to Athens. While preparing for his deadly struggle in Italy, he did not lose his interest in literature. He carried with him from Athens to Rome the valuable library of Apellicon of Teos, which contained most of the works of Aristotle and Theophrastus. [.] During his stay at Athens, Sulla had an attack of gout, of which he was cured by the use of the warm springs of Aedepsus in Euboea. As soon as he recovered, he led his army to Dyrrhachium, and from thence crossed over to Brundusium in Italy.

Sulla landed at Brundusium in the spring of 83, in the consulship of L. Scipio and C. Norbanus. During the preceding year he had written to the senate, recounting the services he had rendered to the commonwealth from the time of the Jugurthine war down to the conquest of Mithridates, complaining of the ingratitude with which he had been treated, announcing his speedy return to Italy, and threatening to take vengeance upon his enemies and those of the republic. The senate, in alarm, sent an embassy to Sulla to endeavour to bring about a reconciliation between him and his enemies, and meantime ordered the consuls Cinna and Carbo to desist from levying troops, and making further preparations for war. Cinna and Carbo gave no heed to this command; they knew that a reconciliation was impossible, and resolved to carry over an army to Dalmatia, in order to oppose Sulla in Greece; but after one detachment of their troops had embarked, the remaining soldiers rose in mutiny, and murdered Cinna. The Marian party had thus lost their leader, but continued nevertheless to make every preparation to oppose Sulla, for they were well aware that he would never forgive them, and that their only choice lay between victory and destruction. Besides this the Italians were ready to support them, as these new citizens feared that Sulla would deprive them of the rights which they had lately obtained after so much bloodshed. The Marian party had every prospect of victory, for their troops far exceeded those of Sulla. According to Velleius Paterculus, they had 200,000 men in arms, while Sulla landed at Brundusium with only 30,000, or at the most 40,000 men. (Veil. Pat. ii. 24; Appian, B. C. i. 79.) But on the other hand, the popular party had no one of sufficient influence and military reputation to take the supreme command in the war; their vast forces were scattered about Italy, in different armies, under different generals; the soldiers had no confidence in their commanders, and no enthusiasm in their cause; and the consequence was, that whole hosts of them deserted to Sulla on the first opportunity. Sulla's soldiers, on the contrary, were veterans, who had frequently fought by each other's side, and had acquired that confidence in themselves and in their general which frequent victories always give to soldiers. Still if the Italians had remained faithful to the cause of the Marian party, Sulla would hardly have conquered, and therefore one of his first cares after landing at Brundusium was to detach them from his enemies. For this purpose he would not allow his troops to do any injury to the towns or fields of the Italians in his march from Brundusium through Calabria 