Page:History of Greece Vol III.djvu/275

 CRCESUS CONQUERS THE ASIATIC GREEKS 259 of intestine weakness would partly explain the easy subjugation of the Milesians by Croesus ; while there was little in the habits of the Ionic cities to present the chance of united efforts against a common enemy. These cities, far from keeping up any effec- tive political confederation, were in a state of habitual jealousy of each other, and not unfrequently in actual war. 1 The common religious festivals, the Deliac festival as well as the Pan-Ionia, and afterwards the Ephesia in place of the Delia, seem to have been regularly frequented by all the cities throughout the worst of times. But these assemblies had no direct political function, nor were they permitted to control that sentiment of separate city-autonomy which was paramount in the Greek mind, though their influence was extremely precious in calling forth social sympathies. Apart from the periodical festival, meetings for special emergencies were held at the Pan-Ionic temple ; but from such meetings any city, not directly implicated, kept aloof.- As in this case, so in others not less critical throughout the his- torical period, the incapacity of large political combination was the source of constant danger, and ultimately proved the cause of ruin, to the independence of all the Grecian states. Herodotus warmly commends the advice given by Thales to his Ionic countrymen, and given, to use his remarkable expression, " be- fore the ruin of Ionia," 3 that a common senate, invested with authority over all the twelve cities, should be formed within the walls of Teos, as the most central in position ; and that all the other cities should account themselves mere domes of this aggre- reign of Thnaybatas. This, indeed, is a mere conjecture, yet it mav be ob- served that Herodotus, speaking of the time of the Ionic revolt (500 B. c.), and intimating that Miletus, though then peaceable, had been for two gener- ations at an earlier period torn by intestine dissension, could hardly have meant these "two generations" to apply to a time earlier than 617 u. c. 1 Herodot. i, 17; v, 99; Athena, vi, p. 267. Compare K. F. Hermann. Lehrbuch der Griech. Staats Alterthumer, sect. 77, note 28. z See the remarkable case of Miletus sending no deputies to a Pan-Ionic ejecting, being safe herself from danger (Herodot. i, 141). 3 Herodot. i, 141-170. XpijaTi) 6s KOI irplv i] Siafy&apfjvai 'luviqv, QaZeu uvdpdf tili/.Tjaiov -J-VUUTI eysvero, etc. About the Pan-Ionia and the Ephesia, see Thucyd. iii, 104 ; Dionys. Halite. ir, 25; Herodot. i, 143-148. Compare also Whitte, De Rebus Cliorum Publicis, sect, vii, pp. 22-26.