Page:History of Greece Vol X.djvu/270

 =48 HISTORY OF GREECK. Though the claim of Athens to the recovery of a portion of liet lost transmarine possessions was thus advanced and recognized in the congress of autumn 371 B. c., she does not seem to have been able to take any immediate steps for prosecuting it. Six months afterwards, the state of northern Greece was again completely altered by the death, nearly at the same time, of Jason in Thessaly, and of Amyntas in Macedonia. 1 The former was cut off (as has been mentioned in the preceding chapter) by assassination, while in the plenitude of his vigor ; and his great power could not be held together by an inferior hand. His two brothers, Polypliron and Polydorus, succeeded him in the post of tagus of Thessaly. Po- lyphron, having put to death his brother, enjoyed the dignity for p short time ; after which he too was slain by a third brother, Alex, ander of Pherae ; but not before he had committed gross enormities by killing and banishing many of the most eminent citizens of La- rissa and Pharsalus ; among them the estimable Polydamas. 2 The Larissaean exiles, many belonging to the great family of the Aleu- adaa, took refuge in Macedonia, where Amyntas (having died in 370 B. c.) had been succeeded in the throne by his youthful son Alexander. The latter, being persuaded to invade Thessaly for the purpose of restoring them, succeeded in getting possession of Larissa and Krannon ; both which cities he kept under his own garrisons, in spite of unavailing resistance from Polyphron and Alexander of Pherae. 3 This Alexander, who succeeded to Jason's despotism in Pherae, and to a considerable portion of his military power, was neverthe- less unable to keep together the whole of it, or to retain Thessaly and its circumjacent tributaries in one united dominion. The Thes- salian cities hostile to him invited assistance, not merely from Alex- ander of Macedon, but also from the Thebans ; who despatched Pelopidas into the country, seemingly in 369 B. c., soon after the return of the army under Epaminondas from its victorious progress 1 Diodor. xv, 60. Diodorus (xv, 61 ) calls Alexander of Pherse brother of Polydorus ; Plu- tarch (Pelopicl. c. 29) calls him nephew. Xenophon does rot expressly say which ; but his narrative seems to countenance the statement of Diolor;s rather than that of Plutarch. 3 Diodor. xv, 61
 * Xenoph. Hellen. vi, 4, 33, 34.