Page:History of Greece Vol V.djvu/236

 212 HISTORY OF GREECE. city, together with the families and property of the absent Zan- klaeans ; who speedily returned to repair their loss, while their prince Skythes farther invoked the powerful aid of his ally and superior, Hippokrates. The latter, however, provoked at the loss of one of his dependent cities, seized and imprisoned Skythes, whom he considered as the cause of it,i at Inykus, in the interior of the island ; but he found it at the same time advantageous to accept a proposition made to him by the Samians, captors of the city, and to betray the Zanklseans whom he had come to aid. By a convention, ratified with an oath, it was agreed that Hippo- krates should receive for himself all the extra-mural, and half the intra-mural, property and slaves belonging to Zankleeans, leaving the other half to the Samians. Among the property without the walls, not the least valuable part consisted in the persons of those Zankleeans whom Hippokrates had come to assist, but whom he now carried away as slaves : excepting, however, from this lot, three hundred of the principal citizens, whom he delivered over to the Samians to be slaughtered, — probably lest they might find friends to procure their ransom, and afterwards disturb the Samian possession of the town. Their lives were however spared by the Samians, though we are not told what became of them. This transaction, alike perfidious on the part of the Samians and of Hippokrates, secured to the former a flourishing city, and to the latter an abundant booty. TTe are glad to learn that the imprisoned Skythes found means to escape to Darius, king of Persia, from whom he received a generous shelter, — imperfect compensation for the iniquity of his fellow Greeks.2 The Samians, however, did not long retain possession of their conquest, but were expelled by the very per- ' Herodot. vi, 22, 23. Hkv^t^v fi'ev rdv fiovvapxov tCjv ZayK/.aiuv, ur a~oj3a?'.6vTa ttjv ttoXiv, 6 'Wttokputijc TredTJaac, xol rbv udeX(p£bv avrov Ilv&o- yivea, ic 'Ivvkov -ko^iv UTTETreiiipe. The words cjg u-o3a?.6vTa seem to imply the relation preexisting between Hippokrates and Skythes, as superior and subject ; and punishment inflicted by the former upon the latter for having lost an important post. - Herodot. vi, 23, 24. Aristotle (Politic, v, 2, 11) represents tlie Samiana as having been first actually received into Zankle, and afterwards expelling the prior inhabitants : his brief notice is not to be set against the perspicu* ous narrative of Herodotus.