Page:History of Greece Vol XII.djvu/491

 PONTIC GREEKS — SIXOPE. 459 Pan-hellenic festivals — pupils to the rhetors and philosophers — purchasers, and sometimes even rivals, to the artists. All too were (like Massalia and Kyrene) adulterated partially — Olbia and Bosporus considerably — by admixture of a non-hellenic ele- ment. Of Sinope, and its three dependent colonies KotyOra, Kei-asus, and Trapezus, I have already said something,' in describing the retreat of the Ten Thousand Greeks. Like Massalia with its dependencies Antipolis, Nikfea, and others — Sinope enjoyed not merely practical independence, but considerable prosperity and local dignity, at the time when Xcnophon and his compan- ions marched through those regions. The citizens were on terms of equal alliance, mutually advantageous, with Korylas j^rince of Paphlagonia, on the borders of whose territory they dwelt. It is probable that they figured on the tribute list of the Persian king as a portion of Paphlagonia, and paid an annual sum ; but here ended their subjection. Their behavior towards the Ten Thousand Greeks, pronounced enemies of the Persian king, was that of an independent city. Neither they, nor even the inland Paphlagonians, warlike and turbulent, were molested with Per- sian governors or military occupation,^ Alexander however numbered them among the subjects of Persia ; and it is a re- markable fact, that envoys from Sinope were found remaining with Darius almost to his last hour, after he had become a con- quered fugitive, and had lost his ai-mies, his capitals, and his treasures. These Sinopian envoys fell into the hands of Alex- ander ; who set them at liberty with the remark, that since they were not members of the Hellenic confederacy, but subjects of Persia — their presence as envoys near Darius was very excusa- ble.*^ The position of Sinope placed her out of the direct range of the hostilities carried on by Alexander's successors against each other ; and the ancient Kappadokian princes of the Mithri- datic family (professedly descendants of the Persian Achte- ' See Vol. IX. Ch. Ixxi. p. 129 scqq. which gives some idea of the situation of Paphlagonia about 360-350 b. c. (cap. 7, 8). Compare Xenoph. Hellenic, iv. 1, 4 ' Anian, iii. 24, 8; Curtius, vi. 5, 6.
 * See the remarkable life of the Karian Datames, by Cornelius Nepos,