Page:History of Greece Vol XII.djvu/42

 • 10 HISTORY OF GREECE. throuf^h certain spies of Chai'idemus, before it was publicly knowu to otbers — pretended to have had it revealed to him in a dream by the gods. Appearing in the assembly with his gay- est attire, he congratulated his countrymen on the death of their greatest enemy, and pronounced high encomiums on the brave tyrannicide; of Pausanias, which he would probably compare to that of Harmodius and Aristogeiton.^ He depreciated the abili- ties of Alexander, calling him Margites (the name of a silly char- acter in one of the Homeric poems), and intimating that he would be too much distracted with embarrassments and ceremonial duties at home, to have leisure for a foreign march." Such, ac- cording to ^schines, Avas the language of Demosthenes on the first news of Philip's death. "We cannot doubt that the public of Athens, as well as Demosthenes, felt great joy at an event which seemed to open to them fresh chances of freedom, and that the motion for a sacrifice of thanksgiving,'^ in spite of Phokion's op- position, was readily adopted. But though the manifestation of sentiment at Athens was thus anti-Macedonian, exhibiting aver- sion to the renewal of that obedience which had been recently promised to Philip, Demosthenes did not go so far as to declare any positive hostility.* He tried to open communication with the Persians in Asia Minor, and also, if we may believe Diodo- rus, with the Macedonian commander in Asia Minor, At talus. But neither of the two missions was successful. Attains sent his letter to Alexander ; while the Persian king,^ probably re- lieved by the death of Philip from immediate fear of Macedonian power, despatched a peremptory refusal to Athens, intimating that he would furnish no more money.® ' -Sschines adv. Ktesiphont. c. 29. n. 469. c. 78 p. 603 ; Plutarch, De- mosth. 22. •* Plutarch, Phokion, 16. Attains ; which, however, I cannot but think improbable. Probably Cha- riilemus was the organ of the communications. cited from it, by iEschines adv. Ktesiph. p. 633, 634. c. 88. We know that ])arius wrote in very different language not long afterwards, near the time
 * ^scliines adv. Ktesiph. p. 547. c. .50.
 * We gather this from ..Sischines adv. Ktesiph. p. 551. c. 52.
 * Diodorus (xvii. 5) mentions this communication of Demosthenes to
 * This letter from Darius is distinctly alluded to. and even a sentence