Page:History of Greece Vol XI.djvu/128

 <02 HISTORY OF GREECE. the prodigious advantage of being free from connection with the despotism and of raising no mistrust. Moreover his manners were not only popular, but according to Plutarch, 1 more than pop- ular smooth, insidious, and dexterous in criminatory speech, for the ruin of rivals and for his own exaltation. As the contest presently came to be carried on rather at sea than on land, the equipment of a fleet became indispensable ; so that Herakleides, who had brought the greatest number of tri- remes, naturally rose in importance. Shortly after his arrival, the Syracusan assembly passed a vote to appoint him admiral. But Dion, whfc seems only to have heard of this vote after it had passed, protested against it as derogating from the full powers which the Syracusans had by their former vote conferred upon himself. Accordingly the people, though with reluctance, can- celled their vote, and deposed Herakleides. Having then gently rebuked Herakleides for raising discord at a season when the common enemy was still dangerous, Dion convened another as- sembly ; wherein he proposed, from himself, the appointment of Herakleides as admiral, with a guard equal to his own. 2 The right of nomination thus assumed displeased the Syracusans, hu- miliated Herakleides, and exasperated his partisans as well as the fleet which he commanded. It gave him power together with provocation to employ that power for the ruin of Dion ; who thus laid himself doubly open to genuine mistrust from some, and to in- tentional calumny from others. It is necessary to understand this situation, in order to appre- uate the means afforded to Dionysius for personal intrigue direct- ed against Dion. Though the vast majority of Syracusans were 1 Plutarch, Dion, c. 32. 8 Plutarch, Dion, e. 33. It would seem that this Herakleides is the per- son alluded to in the fragment from the fortieth Book of the Philippica of Theopompus (Thisop. Fr. 212, ed. Didot) : UpoaruTat 6e rjyf KoXeuf rjaav TUV fiev Svpanovaiuv *A$7/i>if nai 'HpaKAei- drjr, TUV de [ii(r&o6puv 'Ap^eAaof 6 Avfiaio?. Probably also, AthSnis is the same person named as Atiianis or Athanas by Diodorus and Plutarch, (Diodor. xv. 94; Plutarch, Timoleon, c. 23-37). lie wrote a history of Syracusan affairs during the period of Dion and Timoleon, beginning from 362 B. c., and continuing the history of Phili fcus. See Historicorum Graec. Fragm. ed. Didot, vol. ii. p. 81.