Page:History of Greece Vol XII.djvu/348

 316 HISTORY OF GREECE. able loss. Unfortunately he possessed no battering train nor en- gineers, such as had formed so powerful an element in the mili- tary successes of Philip and Alexander. He therefore found himself compelled to turn the siege into a blockade, and to adopt systematic measures for intercepting the supply of provisions. In this he had every chance of succeeding, and of capturing the per- • son of Antipater. Hellenic prospects looked bright and encour- aging ; nothing was heard in Athens and the other cities except congratulations and thanksgivings. i Phokion, on hearing the confident language of those around him remarked — " The sta- dmm (or short course) has been done brilliantly, but I fear we shall not have strength to hold out for the long course."-^ At this critical moment, Leosthenes, in inspecting the blockading trenches, was wounded on the head by a large stone, projected from one of the catapults on the city-walls, and expired in two days.^ A funeral oration in his honor, as well as in that of the other combatants against Antipater, Avas pronounced at Athens by Hyperides, on whom the people devolved that duty in prefer- ence to Demosthenes. The death of this eminent general, in the full tide of success, was a hard blow struck by fortune at the cause of Grecian free- dom. For the last generation, Athens had produced several excellent orators, and one who combined splendid oratory with wise and patriotic counsels. But during all that time, none of her citizens, before Leosthenes had displayed militaiy genius and ardor along with Panhellenic purposes. His deatli appears to have saved Antipater from defeat and captivity. The diffi- culty was very great, of keeping together a miscellaneous array »>f Greeks, who after the battle, easily persuaded themselves ihat the war was finished, and desired to go home — perhaps under promise of returning. Even during the lifetime of Leos- thenes, the ^tolians, the most powerful contingent of the army, had obtained leave to go home, from some domestic urgency, real or pretended.* AVhen he was slain, there was no second in com- mand ; nor, even if there had been, could the personal influence 1 Plutarch, Phokion, 23, 24. ' Diodcr. xviii. 12, 13. * Diodor. xviii. 13-J5.
 * Plutarch, Phokion, c. 23; Plutarch, Reip. Gcr. Prajcept. p. 803.