Page:History of Greece Vol VIII.djvu/283

 ASCENDENCY OF LYSANDER 261 But besides this special offence given to the allies, the conduct f Sparta in other ways showed that she intended to turn the victory to her own account. Lysander was at this moment all- powerful, playing his own game under the name of Sparta. His position v/as far greater than that of the regent Pausanias had been after the victory of Platoea; and his talents for making use of the position incomparably superior. The magnitude of his successes, as well as the eminent ability which he had displayed, justiOed abundant eulogy; but in his case, the eulogy was car- ried to the length of something like worship. Altars were erected to him; paeans or hymns were composed in his honor; the Ephe- sians set up his statue in the temple of their goddess Artemis; and the Samians not only erected a statue to him at Olympia, but even altered the name of their great festival, the Heraea, to Lysandria. 1 Several contemporary poets Antilochus, Chcerilus, Nikeratus, and Antimachus devoted themselves to sing his glories and profit by his rewards. Such excess of flattery was calculated to turn the head even of the most virtuous Greek : with Lysander, it had the effect of sub- stituting, in place of that assumed smoothness of manner with which he began his command, an insulting harshness and arro- gance corresponding to the really unmeasured ambition which he cherished.' 2 His ambition prompted him to aggrandize Sparta separately, without any thought of her allies, in order to exercise dominion in her name. He had already established dekadarchies, or oligarchies of Ten, in many of the insular and Asiatic cities, and an oligarchy of Thirty in Athens; all composed of vehement partisans chosen by himself, dependent upon him for support, and devoted to his objects. To the eye of an impartial observer in Greece, it seemed as if all these cities had been converted into dependencies of Sparta, and were intended to be held in that condition; under Spartan authority, exercised by and through Lysander. 3 Instead of that general freedom which had been 1 Pausan. vi, 3, 6. The Siunian oligarchical party owed their recent restoration to Lysander. (cf Sparta), Qdovliaaf Avauvipy t. Kareipyaopcvof ravra apa (icv
 * Plutarch. Lysand. c. 18, 19.
 * Xenoph. Hellen. ii, 4, 30. Ovr>: 6e Trpoxupowruv, Uavaaviaf 6 p