Page:History of Art in Phrygia, Lydia, Caria and Lycia.djvu/367

 HISTORY. 351 of the Xanthus valley for instance. We can read by the light of many signs that temporary groups, partial leagues had been formed, before the great association (temp. Augusto), in which figured twenty-three towns, each with a number of votes propor- tional to its size. Thus, both in official documents such as the list of tributes paid to Athens by the allies and histories, the natives of this province are often designated as "the Lycians," an expression which seems to imply that they were considered as one body of people. 1 .Again, all the Lycian coins struck under the so-called rule of Persia belong to a uniform monetary system ; whilst the same symbol appears on the reverse of the vast majority, leading to the inference that they were destined to circulate throughout the territory of Lycia. 2 And again, the monuments, architectural or sculptured, tell the same tale, presenting as they do uniformity of aspect from one end of Lycia to the other. This we should find hard to explain, unless we admit that, despite the splitting up of their territory into numerous fractions due to natural causes, the Lycian people, in very early days, possessed federal institutions, rude and im- perfect no doubt, but which served none the less to keep alive the memory of primitive union among all their children. We know not how these cantons were constituted and what form of government they obeyed. It would seem that each had an hereditary nobility, out of whose ranks were selected princes who sometimes succeeded in bringing under their authority several neighbouring towns. One curious feature to be noticed is the importance the city acquired in Lycia, an importance that may be gauged from the passionate devotion of her citizens. In time of peace her inhabitants vie with one another to endow her with fine buildings, and raise monuments in her midst that shall perpetuate the memory of their exploits and munificence ; when pressed sore, rather than surrender her to the foe, they elect to bury themselves under her ruins. Nor is this an imaginary picture. Twice in the course of her existence is Xanthus said to 1 In regard to the subject under notice, see TREUBER, Geschichie, p. 112 ; Hero- dotus, i. 90, vii. 92 ; ISOCRATES, Panegyric, A.VKIQI KOI lo-vvTcAeis; C. 1. Attica, 161 ; Diodorus, XV. xc. 3. a Six, Monnaies lyciennes, 8vo, 109 pages and two plates (Extrait de la Revue numismaliqiie, 1886, 1887).