Page:History of Greece Vol XII.djvu/418

 386 HISTORY OF GREECE. Munychion (April) Demetrius mustered his forces and hia Gi'ccian allies for a march into Thessaly against Kassander ; hut before his departure, he Avas anxious to be initiated in the Eleu- sinian mysteries. It was however not the regular time for this ceremony ; the Lesser Mysteries being celebrated in February, the Greater in September. The Athenians overruled the diffi- culty by passing a special Aote, enabling him to be initiated at once, and to receive in immediate succession, the preparatory and the final initiation, between which ceremonies a year of in- terval was habitually required. Accordingly, he placed himself disarmed in the hands of the priests, and received both first and second initiation in the month of April, immediately before his departure from Athens.^ Demetrius conducted into Thessaly an army of 56,000 men ; of whom 25,000 were Grecian allies — so extensive was his sway at this moment over the Grecian cities.^ But after two or three months of hostilities, partially successful, against Kassan- der, he was summoned into Asia by Antigonus to assist in meet- satisfiictorj' on this point — see Carl Miillcr's discussion on the fragments of Demochares, Fragm. Hist. Gr. v. ii. p. 446. ^ Diodor. xx. 110. •n'apaSoic ovv avrov uvon7.ov rote Irpevai, Kat rrpd rrji upia/iivTjg 7//iFpnc /ivtj'&ecc, uve^tv^EV ek tuv 'A'&tjvUv. Tiie account of tliis transaction in the text is taken from Diodorus, and is a simple one; a vote was passed granting special license to Demetrius, to receive tiie mysteries at once, though it was not the appointed season. Plutarch (Demetr. 26) superadds other circumstances, several of which have the appearance of jest rather than reality. Pythodorus the Daduch or Torch-bearer of the Mysteries stood alone in his protest against any celebration of the ceremony out of time: this is doubtless very credible. Then (iccording to Plutarch) the Athenians passed decrees, on the proposi- tion of Stratoklcs, that the month Munychion should be called Antheste- rion. This having been done, the Lesser Mysteries were celebrated, in which Demetrius was initiated. Next, the Athenians passed another decree, to the effect, that the month Munychion should be called Boedromion — after which, the Greater Mysteries (which belonged to the latter monthj were forthwith celebrated. The comic writer Philippidcs said of Stratokles, tliat lie Iiad compressed the whole year into a single month. This statement of Plutarch has very much the air of a caricature, l)y Philippides or some other witty man, of the simple decree mentioned by Diodorus — a special license to Demetrius to be initiated out of season. Compare anollier passage of Philippides against Stratokles (Plutarch, Demetr. 12). ^ Diodor. xx. JIO