Page:History of Greece Vol XI.djvu/60

 34 HISTORY OF GREECE. liarly merited by his conduct in the Lucanian war. The exile of Leptine's did not last longer than (apparently) about a year, after which Dionysius relented, recalled him, and gave him his daugh- ter in marriage. But Philistus remained in banishment moro than sixteen years ; not returning to Syracuse until after the death of Dionysius the elder, and the accession of Dionysius the younger. 1 Such was the memorable scene at the Olympic festival of 384 B. c., together with its effect upon the mind of Dionysius. Dio- dorus, while noticing all the facts, has cast an air of ridicule over them by recognizing nothing except the vexation of Dionysius, at the ill success of his poem, as the cause of his mental suffering ; and by referring to the years 388 B. c. and 386 B. c., that which properly belongs to 384 B. c. 2 Now it is improbable, in the first 1 For the banishment, and the return of Philistus and Leptines, compare Diodor. xv. 7, and Plutarch, Dion. c. 11. Probably it was on this occa sion that Polyxenus, the brother-in-law of Dionysius, took flight as the only means of preserving his life (Plutarch, Dion. c. 21). Plutarch mentions the incident which offended Dionysius and caused both Philistus and Leptines to be banished. Diodorus does not notice this incident; yet it is not irreconcilable with his narrative. Plutarch does not mention the banishment of Leptines, but only that of Philistus. On the other hand, he affirms (and Nepos also, Dion. c. 3) that Philistus did not return until after the death of the elder Dionysius, while Diodorus states his return conjointly with that of Leptines not indicating any dif- ference of time. Here I follow Plutarch's statement as the more probable. There is, however, one point which is perplexing. Plutarch (Timolcon, c. 15) animadverts upon a passage in the history of Philistus, wherein that historian had dwelt, with a pathos which Plutarch thinks childish and ex- cessive, upon the melancholy condition of the daughters of Leptines, " who had fallen from the splendor of a court into a poor and mean condition." How is this reconcilable with the fact stated by Diodorus, that Leptines was recalled from exile by Dionysius after a short time, taken into favor again, and invested with command at the battle of Kronium, where he was slain ? It seems difficult to believe that Philistus could have insisted with so much sympathy upon the privations endured by the daughters of Lepti- nes, if the exile of the father had lasted only a short time. In a former chapter of this History (Vol. X. Ch. LXXVII. p. 75), I have already shown grounds, derived from the circumstances of Central Greece and Persia, for referring the discourse of Lysias, just noticed, to Olympiad 39 or 384 B c. I here add certain additional reasons, derived from what is said about Dionysius, towards the same conclusion. lu xiv. 109, Diodorus describes the events of 388 B. c., the year of Olyip