Page:History of Greece Vol IX.djvu/259

 FLATTERY TO LYSANDER. 237 and that the person elected ought to be not merely a descendant of Herakles, but a worthy parallel of Herakles himself, while paeans were sung to the honor of Lysander at Samos, 1 while Chcerilus and Antilochus composed poems in his praise, while Antimachus (a poet highly esteemed by Plato) entered into a formal competition of recited epic verses called .Lysandria, and was surpassed by Nikeratus, there was another warm admirer, a rhetor or sophist of Halikarnassus, named Kleon, 2 who wrote a discourse proving that Lysander had well earned the regal dignity, that personal excellence ought to prevail over legitimate de- scent, and that the crown ought to be laid open to election from the most worthy among the Herakleids. Considering that rhetoric was neither employed nor esteemed at Sparta, we cannot reasona- bly believe that Lysander really ordered the composition of this discourse as an instrument of execution for projects preconceived by himself, in the same manner as an Athenian prosecutor or de- fendant before the dikastery used to arm himself with a speech from Lysias or Demosthenes. Kleon would make his court pro- fessionally through such a prose composition, whether the project were first recommended by himself, or currently discussed among a circle of admirers ; while Lysander would probably requite the compliment by a reward not less munificent than that which he gave to the indifferent poet Antilochus. 3 And the composition would be put into the form of an harangue from the admiral to his countrymen, without any definite purpose that it should be ever so delivered. Such hypothesis of a speaker and an audience was frequent with the rhetors in their writings, as we may see in Isokrates, especially in his sixth discourse, called Archidamus. Either from his own ambition, or from the suggestions of others, Lysander came now to conceive the idea of breaking the succes- sion of the two regal families, and opening for himself a door to reach the crown. His projects have been characterized as revolu- of the tribe called Hylleis, who, probably, called themselves Herakleids. Some affirmed that Lysander wished to cause the kings to be elected out of all the Spartans, not simply out of the Herakleids. This is less prob able. 1 Duris ap. Athenaeum, xv, p. 696. 8 Plutarch, Lysand. c. 17.
 * Plutarch, Lysand. c. 1 8 ; Plutarch, AgesiL c. 20.