August 19, 2025 • 52 mins
Dive into the fascinating history of Pyrrhus, the formidable king of Epirus from 336 to 321 BC. Renowned as a brilliant soldier and conqueror, he left his mark on both Macedon and Italy, giving rise to the term Pyrrhic victory that echoes through history. Join Deon Gines as he unravels the legacy of this extraordinary leader.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter twelve of Paris by Jacob Abbott. This LibriVox recording
is in the public domain recording by Dion Jin's Cet
Lake City, Utah. The Last Campaign of Paris BC two
seventy two. Immediately on receiving the invitation of Cleonymus Puris
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commenced making preparations on a very extensive scale for the
intended campaign. He gathered all the troops that he could command,
both from Macedon and Epirus. He levied taxes and contributions,
provided military stores of every kind, and entered into all
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the other arrangements required for such an enterprise. These preliminary
operations required a considerable time, so that he was not
ready to commence his march until the following year. When
all was ready, he found that his force consisted of
twenty five thousand foot, two thousand horse, and a troop
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of twenty four elephants. He had two sons, neither of whom,
it would seem, was old enough to be entrusted with
the command either in Macedon or Epirus during his absence,
and he accordingly determined to take them with him. Their
names were Ptolemy and Helenus. Peirus himself at this time
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was about forty five years of age. Although in this
expedition Kleonymus supposed that Pius was going into Greece only
as his ally, and that the sole object of the
war was to depose Areus and place Cleonymus on the
throne in his stead, Pius himself entertained far different designs.
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His intention was, while invading the country in Cleonymus's name,
to overrun and conquer it, all with a view of
adding it to his own dominions. Of course, he gave
no intimation to Cleonymus that he entertained any such designs.
The approach of Pearis naturally produced great excitement and commotion
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in Sparta. His fame as a military commander was known
throughout the world, and the invasion of their country by
such a conqueror at the head of so large a
force was calculated to awaken great alarm among the people.
The Spartans, however, were not much accustomed to be alarmed.
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They immediately began to make preparations to defend themselves. They
sent forward an embassage to meet Pearis on the way
and demand wherefore he was coming. Trus made evasive and
dishonest replies He was not intending, he said, to commit
any hostilities against Sparta. His business was with certain other
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cities of the Peloponnesus, which had been for some time
under a foreign yoke, and which he was now coming
to free. The Spartans were not deceived by these protestations,
but time was gained, and this was Pearis's design. His
army continued to advance, and in its progress began to
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seize and plunder towns belonging to the Spartan territory. The
Spartans sent ambassadors again, demanding what these proceedings meant. The
ambassadors charged it upon Paris that contrary to the laws
and usages of nations, he was making war upon them
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without having previously declared war. And do you, Spartans, said
Peiris in reply, always tell the world whatever you are
going to do before you do it. Such a rejoinder
was virtually acknowledging that the object of the expedition was
an attack on Sparta itself. The ambassadors so understood it
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and bid the invader defiance. Let there be war, then,
said they, if you will have it, so, we do
not fear you, whether you are a god or a man.
If you are a god, you will not be disposed
to do us any injury, for we have never injured you.
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If you are a man, you cannot harm us. For
we can produce men in Sparta able to meet any
other man whatever. The ambassadors then returned to Sparta, and
the people immediately pushed forward with all diligence their preparations
for putting the city in an attitude of defense. Peeris
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continued his march, and at length, toward evening approached the
walls of the city. Cleonymus, who knew well what sort
of enemies they had to deal with, urgently recommended that
an assault should be made that night, supposing that the
Spartans would succeed in making additional defenses if the attack
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were postponed until the morning. Pearis, however, was disposed not
to make the attack until the following day. He felt
perfectly sure of his prize, and was accordingly in no
haste to seize it. He thought it was said that
if the attack were made in the night, the soldiers
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would plunder the city, and thus he should lose a
considerable part of the booty, which he hoped otherwise to
secure for himself. He could control them better in the daytime.
He accordingly determined to remain in his camp without the
city during the night, and to advance to the assault
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in the morning. So he ordered the tents to be
pitched on the plane and sat quietly down. In the meantime,
great activity prevailed within the walls. The Senate was convened
and was engaged in debating and deciding the various questions
that necessarily arise in such an emergency. A plan was
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proposed for removing the women from the city in order
to save them from the terrible fate which would inevitably
await them should the army of Peuris be successful. On
the following day, it was thought that they might go
out secretly on the side opposite to that on which
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Pearis was encountered, and thence be conducted to the seashore,
where they might be conveyed in ships and galleys to
the island of Crete, which, as will appear from the map,
was situated at no great distance from the Spartan coast.
By this means, the mothers and daughters, it was thought,
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would be saved, whatever might be the fate of the
husbands and brothers. The news that the Senate were discussing
such a plan. As this was soon spread abroad among
the people, the women were aroused to the most strenuous
opposition against this plan. They declared that they never would
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seek safety for themselves by going away and leaving their fathers,
husbands and brothers in such danger. They commissioned one of
their number, a princess named Arkademia, to make known to
the Senate the views which they entertained of this proposal.
Arcademia went boldly into the Senate chamber with a drawn
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sword in her hand, and there arrested the discussion in
which the senators were engaged, by demanding how they could
entertain such an opinion of the women of Sparta as
to suppose that they could survive the destruction of the
city and the death of all whom they loved. They
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did not wish to be saved, she said, unless all
could be saved together, And she implored the Senate to
abandon at once all ideas of sending them away and
allow them instead to take their share in the necessary
labors required for the defense of the city. The Senate
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yielded to this appeal, and abandoning the design which they
had entertained of sending the women away, turned their attention
immediately to plans of defense. While these earnest consultations and
discussions were going on in the Senate and in the
streets and dwellings of the city, there was one place
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which presented a scene of excitement of a very different kind, namely,
the palace of Cleonymus. They all were in a state
of eager anticipation, expecting the speedy arrival of their master.
The Domestics believed confidently that an attack would be made
upon the city that night by the combined army of
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Cleonymus and Paris, and presuming that it would be successful,
they supposed that their master, as soon as the troops
should obtain possession of the city, would come home at
once to his own house, bringing his distinguished ally with him.
They busied themselves therefore in adorning and preparing the apartments
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of the house, and in making ready a splendid entertain
in order that they might give to Cleonymus and his
friend a suitable reception when they should arrive. Saladonis, however,
the young and beautiful but faithless wife of Cleonymus, was
not there. She had long since left her husband's dwelling
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and now she was full of suspense and anxiety in
respect to his threatened return. If the city should be taken,
she knew very well that she must necessarily fall again
into her husband's power, and she determined that she never
would fall into his power again alive. So she retired
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to her apartment, and there, putting a rope around her
neck and making all other necessary preparations, she awaited the
issue of the battle, resolved to destroy herself the moment
she should hear tidings that Pirus had gave the victory.
In the meantime, the military leaders of the Spartans were
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engaged in strengthening the defenses and in making all the
necessary preparations for the ensuing conflict. They did not, however,
intend to remain within the city and await the attack
of the assailants there. With the characteristic fearlessness of the
Spartan character, they determined, when they found that Pearis was
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not intending to attack the city that night, that they
would themselves go out to meet him in the morning.
One reason, however, for this determination, doubtless, was that the
city was not shut in with substantial walls and defenses
like most of the other cities of Greece, as it
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was a matter of pride with the Spartans to rely
on their own personal strength and courage for protection, rather
than on artificial bulwarks and towers. Still, such artificial aids
were not wholly despised, and they now determined to do
what was in their power in this respect. By throwing
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up a rampart of earth, under cover of the darkness
of the night, along the line over which the enemy
must march in attacking the city, this work was accordingly begun.
They would not, however, employ the soldiers in this work,
or any strong and able bodied men capable of bearing arms.
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They wished to reserve the strength of all these for
the more urgent and dreadful work of the following day.
The ditch was accordingly dug, and the ramparts raised by
the boys, the old men, and especially by the women.
The women of all ranks in the city went out
and toiled all night at this labor, having laid aside
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half their clothes, that their robes might not hinder them
in the digging. The reader, however, must not, in his
imagination invest these fair laborers with the delicate forms and
gentle manners, and timid hearts, which are generally deemed characteristic
of women. For the Spartan females were trained expressly from
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their earliest life to the most rough and bold exposures
and toils. They were inerred from infancy to hardihood by
being taught to contend in public wrestlings and games, to
endure every species of fatigue and exposure, and to despise
everything like gentleness and delicacy. In a word, they were
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little less masculine in appearance and manners than the men.
And accordingly, when Arkademia went into the Senate chamber with
a drawn sword in her hand, and there boldly facing
the whole assembly, declared that the women would, on no
account consent to leave the city, she acted in a
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manner not at all inconsistent with what at Sparta was
considered the proper position and character of her sex. In
a word, the Spartan women were as bold and stern,
and almost as formidable as the men. All night long,
the work of excavation went on. Those who were too
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young or too feeble to work were employed in going
to and fro, carrying tools where they were required, or
bringing food and drink to those who were digging. In
the trench, while the soldiers remained quietly at rest within
the city, awaiting the duties which were to devolve upon
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them in the morning. The trench was made wide and
deep enough to impede the passage of the elephants and
of the cavalry, and it was guarded at the ends
by wagons, the wheels of which were half buried in
the ground at the places chosen for them in order
to render them immovable. All this work was performed in
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such silence and secrecy that it met with no interruption
from Pearis's camp, and the whole was completed before the
morning dawned. As soon as it began to be light,
the camp of Pearis was in motion. All was excitement
and commotion too within the city. The soldiers assumed their
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arms and formed in array. The women gathered around them
while they were making these preparations, assisting them to buckle
on their armor, and animating them with words of sympathy
and encouragement. How glorious it will be for you, said
they to gain a victory here in the precincts of
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the city, where we can all witness and enjoy your triumph.
And even if you fall in the contest. Your mother's
and your wives are close at hand to receive you
to their arms, and to soothe and sustain you in
your dying struggles. When all was ready, the men marched
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forth to meet the advancing columns of Pearis's army, and
the battle soon began. Peirus soon found that the trench
which the Spartans had dug in the night, was destined
greatly to obstruct his intended operations. The horse and the
elephants could not cross it at all, and even the men,
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if they succeeded in getting over the ditch, were driven
back when attempting to ascend the rampart of earth which
had been formed along the side of it by the
earth thrown up in making the excavation. For this earth
was loose and steep, and afforded them no fear. Various
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attempts were made to dislodge the wagons that had been
fixed into the ground at the ends of the trench,
but for a time all these efforts were fruitless. At last, however, Ptolemy,
the son of Pirus, came very near succeeding. He had
the command of a force of about two thousand gulls,
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and with this body, he made a circuit so as
to come upon the line of wagons in such a
manner as to give him a great advantage in attacking them.
The Spartans fought very resolutely in defense of them, but
the Gauls gradually prevailed, and at length succeeded in dragging
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several of the wagons out of the earth. All that
they thus extricated, they drew off out of the way
and threw them into the river. Seeing this, young Acritatis,
the prince whom areus his father now absent, as the
reader will recollect in Crete, had left in command in
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Sparta when he went away, hastened to interpose. He placed
himself at the head of a small band of two
or three hundred men, and crossing the city on the
other side, he went unobserved, and then, making a circuit,
came round and attacked the gulls, who were at work
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on the wagons in the rear. As the gulls had
already a foe in front, nearly strong enough to cope
with them, this sudden assault from behind entirely turned the scale.
They were driven away in great confusion. This feat being accomplished,
Acritatis came back to the head of his detachment into
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the city, panting and exhausted with the exertions he had made,
and covered with blood. He was received there with the
loudest applause and acclamations. The women gathered around him and
overwhelmed him with thanks and congratulations. Go to Chaladonis, said they,
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and rest. She ought to be yours. You have deserved her.
How we envy her such a lover. The contest continued
all the day, and when night came on, Peeris found
that he had made no sensible progress in the work
of gaining entrance into the city. He was, however, now
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forced to postpone all further efforts till the following day.
At the proper time, he retired to rest, but he
awoke very early in the morning in a state of
great excitement, and calling up some of the officers around him,
he related to them a remarkable dream which he had
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had during the night, and which he thought presaged success
to the efforts which they were to make on the
following day. He had, he said, in his dream, a
flash of lightning dart from the sky upon Sparta and
set the whole city on fire. This, he argued, was
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a divine omen which promised them certain success, and he
called upon the generals to marshal the troops and prepare
for the onset, saying, we are sure of victory. Now.
Whether Peirus really had had such a dream, or whether
he fabricated the story for the purpose of inspiring anew
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the courage and confidence of his men, which, as would
naturally be supposed, might have been somewhat weakened by the
ill success of the preceding day, cannot be absolutely ascertained.
Whichever it was, it failed wholly of its intended effect.
Pearis's general said in reply that the omen was adverse
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and not propitious, for it was one of the fundamental
principles of herouspicial science that lightning made sacred whatever it touched.
It was forbidden even to step upon the ground where
a thunderbolt had fallen. And they ought to consider therefore,
that the descent of the lightning upon Sparta, as figured
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to Paris in the dream, was intended to mark the
city as under the special protection of heaven, and to
warn the invaders not to molest it. Finding thus that
the story of his vision produced a different effect from
the one he had intended Peuris changed his ground and
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told his generals that no importance whatever was to be
attached to visions and dreams they might serve, he argued,
very well to amuse the ignorant and superstitious, but wise
men should be entirely above being influenced by them in
any way. You have something better than these things to
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trust in, said he. You have arms in your hands,
and you have peeris for your leader. This is proof
enough for you that you are destined to conquer. How
far these assurances were found effectual in animating the courage
of the generals, we do not know, but the result
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did not at all confirm Pearis's vainglorious predictions. During the
first part of the day, indeed, he made great progress,
and for a time it appeared probable that the city
was about to fall into his hands. The plan of
his operations was first to fill up the ditch which
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the Spartans had made, the soldiers throwing into it. For
this purpose, great quantities of materials of every kind, such
as earth stones, fagots, trunks of trees, and whatever came
most readily to hand. They used in this work immense
quantities of dead bodies, which they found scattered over the plain,
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the results of the conflict of the preceding day, by
the means of the horrid bridging thus made. The troops
attempted to make their way across the ditch, while the Spartans,
formed on the top of the rampart of earth on
the inner side of it, fought desperately to repel them.
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All this time the women were passing back and forth
between them and the city, bringing out water and refreshments
to sustain the fainting strength of the men, and carrying
home the wounded and dying and the bodies of the dead.
At last, a considerable body of troops, consisting of a
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division that was under the personal charge of Pius himself,
succeeded in breaking through the Spartan lines at a point
near one end of the rampart which had been thrown up.
When the men found that they had forced their way through,
they raised loud shouts of exultation and triumph, and immediately
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rushed forward toward the city. For a moment it seemed
that for the Spartans all was lost, but the tide
of victory was soon suddenly turned by a very unexpected incident.
An arrow pierced the breast of the horse on which
Pearis was riding, and gave the animal a fatal wound.
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The horse plunged and reared in his agony and terror,
and then fell, throwing Pearis to the ground. This occurrence,
of course, arrested the whole troop in their progress. The
horsemen wheeled suddenly about and gathered around Pearis to rescue
him from his danger. This gave the Spartans time to
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rally and to bring up their forces in such an
that the Macedonian soldiers were glad to be able to
make their way back again, bearing Pearis with them beyond
the lines. After recovering a little from the agitation produced
by this adventure, Pearis found that his troops, discouraged apparently
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by the fruitlessness of their efforts and especially by this
last misfortune, were beginning to lose their spirit and ardor,
and were fighting feebly and falteringly all along the line.
He concluded, therefore, that there was no longer any prospect
of accomplishing his object that day, and that it would
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be better to save the remaining strength of his troops
by withdrawing them from the field, rather than to discourage
and enfeeble them still more by continuing what was now
very clearly a useless struggle. He accordingly put a stop
to the action, and the army retired to their encampment.
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Before he had opportunity to make a third attempt, events
occurred which entirely changed the whole aspect of the controversy.
The reader will recollect that Areus, the king of Sparta,
was absent in Crete at the time of Pirris's arrival,
and that the command of the army devolved during his
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absence on Acritatus, his son, for the kings of the
other line, for some reason or other, took a very
small part in the public affairs of the city at
this time, and are seldom mentioned in history. Arius, as
soon as he heard of the Macedonian invasion, immediately collected
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a large force and set out on his return to Sparta,
and he entered into the city at the head of
two thousand men, just after the second repulse which Aquitatis
had given to their enemies. At the same time, too,
another body of reinforcements came in from Corinth, consisting of
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allies of the Spartans gathered from the northern part of
the Peloponnesus. The arrival of these troops in the city
filled the Spartans with joy and entirely dispelled their fears.
They considered themselves as now entirely safe. The old men
and the women, considering that their places were now abundantly supplied,
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thenceforth withdrew from all active participation in the contest and
retired to their respective homes to rest and refresh themselves
after their toils. Notwithstanding this, however, Pearis was not yet
prepared to give up the contest. The immediate effect, in fact,
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of the arrival of the reinforcements was to arouse his
spirit anew, and to stimulate him to a fresh determination
that he would not be defeated in his purpose, but
that he would conquer the city at all hazards. He
accordingly made several more desperate attempts, but they were wholly unsuccessful,
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and at length, after a series of losses and defeats,
he was obliged to give up the contest and withdraw
He retired accordingly to some little distance from Sparta, where
he established a permanent camp. Subsisting his soldiers by plundering
the surrounding country. He was vexed and irritated by the
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mortifications and disappointments which he had endured, and waited impatiently
for an opportunity to seek revenge. While he was thus
pondering his situation, uncertain what to do next, he received
one day a message from Argos, a city in the
northern part of the Peloponnesus, asking him to come and
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take part in a contest which had been opened there.
It seems that a civil war had broken out in
that city, and one of the leaders, knowing the character
of Pearis and his readiness to engage in any quarrel
which was offered to him, had concluded to apply for
his aid. Pearis was, as usual, very ready to yield
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to this request. It afforded him, as similar proposals had
so often done before, a plausible excuse for abandoning an
enterprise in which he began to despair of being able
to succeed. He immediately commenced his march to the northward.
The Spartans, however, were by no means disposed to allow
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him to go off unmolested. They advanced with all the
force they could command, and though they were not powerful
enough to engage him in a general battle, they harassed
him and embarrassed his march in a very vexatious manner.
They laid ambushes in the narrow defiles through which he
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had to pass. They cut off his detachments and plundered
and destroyed his baggage. Pearis at length sent back a
body of his guards under Ptolemy, his son, to drive
them away. Ptolemy attacked the Spartans and fought them with
great bravery, until at length, in the heat of the contest,
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a celebrated Cretan of remarkable strength and activity, riding furiously
up to Ptolemy, failed him to the ground and killed
him at a single blow. On seeing him fall, his
detachment were struck with dismay, and turning their backs on
the Spartans, fled to Paris with the tidings. Pearis was,
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of course excited to the highest pitch of frenzy at
hearing what had occurred. He immediately placed himself at the
head of a troop of horse and galloped back to
attack the Spartans and avenge the death of his son.
He assaulted his enemies when he reached the ground where
they were posted in the most furious manner, and killed
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great numbers of them in the conflict that ensued. At
one time he was, for a short period in the
most imminent danger. A Spartan named Evlcus, who came up
and engaged him hand to hand, aimed a blow at
his head, which, although it failed of its intended effect,
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came down close in front of his body as he
sat upon his horse, and cut off the reins of
the bridle the instant after Puris transfixed Evlcus with his spear.
Of course, Puris had now no longer the control of
his horse, and he accordingly leaped from him to the
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ground and fought on foot. While the Spartans gathered around,
endeavoring to rescue and protect the body of Evulcus. A
furious and most terrible contest ensued, in which many on
both sides were slain. At length, Peirus made good his
retreat from the scene, and the Spartans themselves finally withdrew. Peirus,
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having thus by way of comfort for his grief taken
the satisfaction of revenge, resumed his march and went to Argos.
Arrived before the city, he found that there was an
army opposed to him there, under the command of a
general named Antigonus. His army was encamped upon a hill
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near the city, awaiting his arrival. The mind of Puris
had become so chafed and irritated by the opposition which
he had encountered and the defeats, disappointments, and mortifications which
he had endured, that he was full of rage and fury,
and seemed to manifest the temper of a wild beast
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rather than that of a man. He sent a herald
to the camp of Antigonus, angrily defying him and challenging
him to come down from his encampment and meet him
in single combat on the plane. Antigonus very coolly replied
that time was a weapon which he employed in his
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contests as well as the sword, and that he was
not yet ready for a battle, adding that if Peirus
was weary of his life and very impatient to end it,
there were plenty of modes by which he could accomplish
his desire. Pearis remained for some days before the walls
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of Argos, during which time various negotiations took place between
the people of the city and the several parties involved
in the quarrel, with a view to an amicable adjustment
of the dispute in order to save the city from
the terror's attendant. Upon a contest for the possession of
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it between such mighty armies. At length, some sort of
settlement was made, and both armies agreed to retire. Peirus, however,
had no intention of keeping his agreement. Having thrown the
people of the city somewhat off their guard by his promise,
he took occasion to advance stealthily to one of the
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gates at dead of night, and there, the gate being
opened to him by a confederate within the city, he
began to march his soldiers in. The troops were ordered
to keep silence and to step noiselessly, and thus a
large body of Gauls gained admission and posted themselves in
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the marketplace without alarming or awakening the inhabitants. To render
this story credible, we must suppose that the sentinels and
guards had been previously gained over to Pearis's side. The
foot soldiers, having thus made their entrance into the city,
Paris undertook next to pass some of his elephants in.
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It was found, however, when they approached the gate, that
they could not enter without having the towers first removed
from their backs, as the gates were only high enough
to admit the animals alone. The soldiers accordingly proceeded to
take off the towers, and then the elephants were led in.
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The towers were then to be replaced. The work of
taking down the towers and then of putting them on again,
which all had to be done in the dark, was
attended with great difficulty and delay, and so much noise
was unavoidably made in the operation that at length the
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people in the surrounding houses took the alarm, and in
a very short period the whole city was aroused. Eager
gatherings were immediately held in all quarters. Puris pressed forward
with all haste into the marketplace, and posted himself there,
arranging his elephants, his horse, and his foot in the
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manner best adapted to protect them from any attack that
might be made. The people of Argos crowded into the
citadel and sent out immediately to Antigonus to come in
to their aid. He at once put his camp in motion,
and advancing toward the walls with the main body, he
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sent in some powerful detachments of troops to cooperate with
the inhabitants of the city. All these scenes occurring in
the midst of the darkness of the night. The people,
having been awakened from their sleep by a sudden alarm,
were attended, of course by a dreadful panic and confusion.
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And to complete the complication of horrors areus with the
Spartan army under his command, who had followed Paris in
his approach to the city and had been closely watching
his movements ever since he had arrived, now burst in
through the gates and attacked the troops of his hated
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enemy in the streets, in the market place, and wherever
he could find them, with shouts, outcries, and imprecations that
made the whole city one widespread scene of unutterable confusion
and terror. The general confusion and terror, however, produced by
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the assaults of the Spartans, were the only results that
immediately followed them, for the true soon found that no
real progress could be made and no advantage gained by
this nocturnal warfare. The soldiers could not distinguish friends from foes.
They could not see or hear their commander, or act
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with any concert or in any order. They were scattered
about and lost their way in narrow streets, or fell
into drains or sewers, and all attempts on the part
of the officers to rally them or to control them
in any way were unavailing. At length, by common consent,
(38:36):
all parties desisted from fighting, and awaited all in an
awful condition of uncertainty and suspense the coming of the dawn. Pearis,
as the objects that were around him were brought gradually
into view by the gray light of the morning, was
alarmed at seeing that the walls of the citadel were
(38:58):
covered with armed men, and at observing various other indications
by which he was warned that there was a very
powerful force opposed to him within the city. As the
light increased and brought the boundaries of the marketplace where
he posted himself into view, and revealed the various images
(39:20):
and figures which had been placed there to adorn it,
he was struck with consternation at the sight of one
of the groups, as the outlines of it slowly made
themselves visible. It was a piece of statuary in bronze
representing a combat between a wolf and a bull. It
(39:41):
seems that in former times some oracle or diviner had
forewarned him that when he should see a wolf encountering
a bull, he might know that the hour of his
death was near. Of course, he had supposed that such
a spectacle, if it was indeed true that he was
ever destined to see, it, could only be expected to
(40:05):
appear in some secluded forest, or in some wide and
unfrequented spot among the mountains. Perhaps. Indeed, he had paid
very little attention to the prophecy and never expected that
it would be literally realized. When, however, this group in
Bronze came out to view, it reminded him of the oracle,
(40:27):
and the dreadful foreboding which its appearance awakened, connected with
the anxiety and alarm naturally inspired by the situation in
which he was placed, filled him with consternation. He feared
that his hour was come, and his only solicitude now
was to make good his retreat as soon as possible
(40:51):
from the fatal dangers by which he seemed to be surrounded.
But how to escape was the difficulty. The gate was near,
the body of troops with him was large, and he
knew that in attempting to retire, he would be attacked
from all the streets in the vicinity, and from the
(41:11):
tops of the houses and walls, and that his column
would inevitably be thrown into disorder and would choke up
the gateway and render it wholly impossible through their eagerness
to escape and the confusion that would ensue. He accordingly
sent out a messenger to his son, Helenus, who remained
(41:33):
all the time in command of the main body of
the army without the walls, directing him to come forward
with all his force and break down a portion of
the wall adjoining the gateway, so as to open a
free egress for his troops in their retreat from the city.
He remained himself at his position in the marketplace until
(41:56):
time had elapsed sufficient, as he judged, for Helenus to
have received his orders and to have reached the gate
in the execution of them. And then, being by this
time hard pressed by his enemies, who began early in
the morning to attack him on all quarters, he put
(42:17):
his troops in motion, and in the midst of a
scene of shouts, uproar, terror, and confusion indescribable, the whole
body moved on toward the gate, expecting that by the
time they arrived there, Helenus would have accomplished his work,
and that they should find a broad opening maid which
(42:39):
would allow of an easy egress. Instead of this, however,
they found before they reached the gate that the streets
before them were entirely blocked up with an immense concourse
of soldiers that were pouring tumultuously into the city. It
seems that Helenus had, in some way or other misunderstood
(43:02):
the orders, and supposed that he was directed to enter
the city himself to reinforce his father within the walls.
The shock of the encounter produced by these opposing currents
redoubled the confusion Paris, and the officers with him shouted
out orders to the advancing soldiers of Helenus to fall back,
(43:25):
but in the midst of the indescribable din and confusion
that prevailed, no vociferation, however loud, could be heard, nor
if the orders had been heard, could they have been obeyed.
For the van of the coming column was urged forward
irresistibly by the pressure of those behind, and the panic
(43:48):
which by this time prevailed among the troops of Pearis's
command made them frantic and furious in their efforts to
force their way onward and get out of the city.
An awful scene of confusion and destruction ensued. Men pressed
and trampled each other to death, and the air was
(44:09):
filled with shrieks and cries of pain and terror. The
destruction of life was very great, but it was produced
almost entirely by the pressure and the confusion, men, horses
and elephants being mingled inextricably together in one vast, living mass,
(44:30):
which seemed to those who looked down upon it from above,
to be writhing and struggling in the most horrible contortions.
There was no fighting, for there was no room for
anyone to strike a blow. If a man drew his
sword or raised his pike, his arms were caught and
pinioned immediately by the pressure around him, and he found
(44:54):
himself utterly helpless. The injury therefore that was done was
the result almost altogether of the pressure and the struggles,
and of the trampling of the elephants and the horses
upon the men, and of the men upon each other.
The elephants added greatly to the confusion of the scene.
(45:15):
One of the largest in the troop fell in the
gateway and lay there for some time on his side,
unable to rise, and braying in a terrific manner. Another
was excited to a frenzy by the loss of his master,
who had fallen off from his head. Wounded by a
dart or a spear, the faithful animal turned around to
(45:39):
save him. With his trunk. He threw the men who
were in the way off to the right hand and
the left, and then, taking up the body of his
master with his trunk, he placed it carefully upon his tusks,
and then attempted to force a passage through the crowd,
trampling down all who came in his way. History has
(46:02):
awarded to this elephant a distinction which he well deserved,
by recording his name. It was Nikon. All this time,
Peirus was near the rear of his troops, and thus
was in some degree removed from the greatest severity of
the pressure. He turned and fought from time to time
(46:23):
with those who were pressing upon his line from behind.
As the danger became more eminent, he took out from
his helmet the plume by which he was distinguished from
the other generals, and gave it to a friend who
was near him, in order that he might be a
less conspicuous mark. For the shafts of his enemies. The combats, however,
(46:47):
between his party and those who were harassing them in
the rear, were still continued, and at length in one
of them, a man of Argos wounded him by throwing
a javelin with so much force that the point of
it passed through his breastplate and entered his side. The
wound was not dangerous, but it had the effect of
(47:10):
maddening Pearis against the man who had inflicted it, and
he turned upon him with great fury, as if he
were intending to annihilate him. At a blow. He would
very probably have killed the Greek, had it not been that.
Just at that moment, the mother of the man, by
a very singular coincidence, was surveying the scene from a
(47:34):
housetop which overlooked the street where these events were occurring.
She immediately seized a heavy tile from the roof, and
with all her strength, hurled it into the street upon Paris.
Just as he was striking the blow, the tile came
down upon his head, and striking the helmet heavily. It
(47:56):
carried both helmet and head down together and crushed the
lower vertebrae of the neck at their junction with the spine.
Peirus dropped the reins from his hands and fell over
from his horse heavily to the ground. It happened that
no one knew him who saw him fall, for so
(48:17):
great had been the crowd and confusion that Pirus had
got separated from his immediate friends. Those who were near him, therefore,
when he fell, pressed on, intent only on their own safety,
and left him where he lay. At last, a soldier
of Antigonus's army named Zoporis came up to the spot,
(48:40):
accompanied by several others of his party, looked upon the
wounded man and recognized him as Paris. They lifted him
up and dragged him out of the street to a
portico that was near. Zoporis drew his sword and raised
it to cut off his prisoner's head. At this instant
Arras opened his eyes and rolled them up with such
(49:03):
a horrid expression as to strike Zoperis with terror. His
arm consequently faltered in dealing the blow, so that he
missed his aim, and, instead of striking the neck, only
wounded and mutilated the mouth and chin. He was obliged
to repeat the stroke again and again before the neck
(49:25):
was thundered at length. However, the dreadful deed was done,
and the head was severed from the body. Very soon
after this, Halcionsus, the son of Antigonus, rode up to
the spot, and, after learning what had occurred, he asked
the soldiers to lift up the head to him that
(49:46):
he might look at it a moment. As soon as
it was within his reach, he seized it and rode
away in order to carry it to his father. He
found his father sitting with his friends, and true down
the head at his feet as a trophy, which he
supposed his father would rejoice to see. Antigonus was, however,
(50:09):
in fact, extremely shocked at the spectacle. He reproved his
son in the severest terms for his brutality, and then,
sending for the mutilated trunk, he gave to the whole
body an honorable burial. That Pearis was a man of
great native power of mind and of extraordinary capacity as
(50:31):
a military leader, no one can deny his capacity and
genius were in fact so great as to make him
perhaps the most conspicuous example that the world has produced
of the manner in which the highest power and the
noblest opportunities may be wasted and thrown away. He accomplished nothing.
(50:55):
He had no plan, no aim, no object, but obeyed
every momentary impulse, and entered, without thought and without calculation,
into any scheme that chance or the ambitious designs of
others might lay before him. He succeeded in creating a
vast deal of turmoil and war, in killing an immense
(51:20):
number of men, and in conquering, though temporarily and to
no purpose, a great many kingdoms. It was mischief, and
only mischief that he did. And though the scale on
which he perpetrated mischief was great, his fickleness and vacillation
deprived it altogether of the dignity of greatness. His crimes
(51:43):
against the peace and welfare of mankind did not arise
from any peculiar depravity. He was, on the contrary, naturally
of a noble and generous spirit, though in process of time,
through the reaction of his conduct upon his heart, these
good qualities almost entirely disappeared. Still he seems never really
(52:08):
to have wished mankind ill he perpetrated his crimes against
them thoughtlessly, merely for the purpose of showing what great
things he could do. End of Chapter twelve and of
Pearis by Jacob Abbot
Chapter twelve of Paris by Jacob Abbott. This LibriVox recording
is in the public domain recording by Dion Jin's Cet
Lake City, Utah. The Last Campaign of Paris BC two
seventy two. Immediately on receiving the invitation of Cleonymus Puris
(00:23):
commenced making preparations on a very extensive scale for the
intended campaign. He gathered all the troops that he could command,
both from Macedon and Epirus. He levied taxes and contributions,
provided military stores of every kind, and entered into all
(00:45):
the other arrangements required for such an enterprise. These preliminary
operations required a considerable time, so that he was not
ready to commence his march until the following year. When
all was ready, he found that his force consisted of
twenty five thousand foot, two thousand horse, and a troop
(01:10):
of twenty four elephants. He had two sons, neither of whom,
it would seem, was old enough to be entrusted with
the command either in Macedon or Epirus during his absence,
and he accordingly determined to take them with him. Their
names were Ptolemy and Helenus. Peirus himself at this time
(01:34):
was about forty five years of age. Although in this
expedition Kleonymus supposed that Pius was going into Greece only
as his ally, and that the sole object of the
war was to depose Areus and place Cleonymus on the
throne in his stead, Pius himself entertained far different designs.
(01:59):
His intention was, while invading the country in Cleonymus's name,
to overrun and conquer it, all with a view of
adding it to his own dominions. Of course, he gave
no intimation to Cleonymus that he entertained any such designs.
The approach of Pearis naturally produced great excitement and commotion
(02:23):
in Sparta. His fame as a military commander was known
throughout the world, and the invasion of their country by
such a conqueror at the head of so large a
force was calculated to awaken great alarm among the people.
The Spartans, however, were not much accustomed to be alarmed.
(02:46):
They immediately began to make preparations to defend themselves. They
sent forward an embassage to meet Pearis on the way
and demand wherefore he was coming. Trus made evasive and
dishonest replies He was not intending, he said, to commit
any hostilities against Sparta. His business was with certain other
(03:12):
cities of the Peloponnesus, which had been for some time
under a foreign yoke, and which he was now coming
to free. The Spartans were not deceived by these protestations,
but time was gained, and this was Pearis's design. His
army continued to advance, and in its progress began to
(03:35):
seize and plunder towns belonging to the Spartan territory. The
Spartans sent ambassadors again, demanding what these proceedings meant. The
ambassadors charged it upon Paris that contrary to the laws
and usages of nations, he was making war upon them
(03:56):
without having previously declared war. And do you, Spartans, said
Peiris in reply, always tell the world whatever you are
going to do before you do it. Such a rejoinder
was virtually acknowledging that the object of the expedition was
an attack on Sparta itself. The ambassadors so understood it
(04:22):
and bid the invader defiance. Let there be war, then,
said they, if you will have it, so, we do
not fear you, whether you are a god or a man.
If you are a god, you will not be disposed
to do us any injury, for we have never injured you.
(04:42):
If you are a man, you cannot harm us. For
we can produce men in Sparta able to meet any
other man whatever. The ambassadors then returned to Sparta, and
the people immediately pushed forward with all diligence their preparations
for putting the city in an attitude of defense. Peeris
(05:06):
continued his march, and at length, toward evening approached the
walls of the city. Cleonymus, who knew well what sort
of enemies they had to deal with, urgently recommended that
an assault should be made that night, supposing that the
Spartans would succeed in making additional defenses if the attack
(05:29):
were postponed until the morning. Pearis, however, was disposed not
to make the attack until the following day. He felt
perfectly sure of his prize, and was accordingly in no
haste to seize it. He thought it was said that
if the attack were made in the night, the soldiers
(05:50):
would plunder the city, and thus he should lose a
considerable part of the booty, which he hoped otherwise to
secure for himself. He could control them better in the daytime.
He accordingly determined to remain in his camp without the
city during the night, and to advance to the assault
(06:14):
in the morning. So he ordered the tents to be
pitched on the plane and sat quietly down. In the meantime,
great activity prevailed within the walls. The Senate was convened
and was engaged in debating and deciding the various questions
that necessarily arise in such an emergency. A plan was
(06:37):
proposed for removing the women from the city in order
to save them from the terrible fate which would inevitably
await them should the army of Peuris be successful. On
the following day, it was thought that they might go
out secretly on the side opposite to that on which
(06:58):
Pearis was encountered, and thence be conducted to the seashore,
where they might be conveyed in ships and galleys to
the island of Crete, which, as will appear from the map,
was situated at no great distance from the Spartan coast.
By this means, the mothers and daughters, it was thought,
(07:19):
would be saved, whatever might be the fate of the
husbands and brothers. The news that the Senate were discussing
such a plan. As this was soon spread abroad among
the people, the women were aroused to the most strenuous
opposition against this plan. They declared that they never would
(07:40):
seek safety for themselves by going away and leaving their fathers,
husbands and brothers in such danger. They commissioned one of
their number, a princess named Arkademia, to make known to
the Senate the views which they entertained of this proposal.
Arcademia went boldly into the Senate chamber with a drawn
(08:04):
sword in her hand, and there arrested the discussion in
which the senators were engaged, by demanding how they could
entertain such an opinion of the women of Sparta as
to suppose that they could survive the destruction of the
city and the death of all whom they loved. They
(08:25):
did not wish to be saved, she said, unless all
could be saved together, And she implored the Senate to
abandon at once all ideas of sending them away and
allow them instead to take their share in the necessary
labors required for the defense of the city. The Senate
(08:46):
yielded to this appeal, and abandoning the design which they
had entertained of sending the women away, turned their attention
immediately to plans of defense. While these earnest consultations and
discussions were going on in the Senate and in the
streets and dwellings of the city, there was one place
(09:09):
which presented a scene of excitement of a very different kind, namely,
the palace of Cleonymus. They all were in a state
of eager anticipation, expecting the speedy arrival of their master.
The Domestics believed confidently that an attack would be made
upon the city that night by the combined army of
(09:32):
Cleonymus and Paris, and presuming that it would be successful,
they supposed that their master, as soon as the troops
should obtain possession of the city, would come home at
once to his own house, bringing his distinguished ally with him.
They busied themselves therefore in adorning and preparing the apartments
(09:56):
of the house, and in making ready a splendid entertain
in order that they might give to Cleonymus and his
friend a suitable reception when they should arrive. Saladonis, however,
the young and beautiful but faithless wife of Cleonymus, was
not there. She had long since left her husband's dwelling
(10:19):
and now she was full of suspense and anxiety in
respect to his threatened return. If the city should be taken,
she knew very well that she must necessarily fall again
into her husband's power, and she determined that she never
would fall into his power again alive. So she retired
(10:43):
to her apartment, and there, putting a rope around her
neck and making all other necessary preparations, she awaited the
issue of the battle, resolved to destroy herself the moment
she should hear tidings that Pirus had gave the victory.
In the meantime, the military leaders of the Spartans were
(11:05):
engaged in strengthening the defenses and in making all the
necessary preparations for the ensuing conflict. They did not, however,
intend to remain within the city and await the attack
of the assailants there. With the characteristic fearlessness of the
Spartan character, they determined, when they found that Pearis was
(11:29):
not intending to attack the city that night, that they
would themselves go out to meet him in the morning.
One reason, however, for this determination, doubtless, was that the
city was not shut in with substantial walls and defenses
like most of the other cities of Greece, as it
(11:50):
was a matter of pride with the Spartans to rely
on their own personal strength and courage for protection, rather
than on artificial bulwarks and towers. Still, such artificial aids
were not wholly despised, and they now determined to do
what was in their power in this respect. By throwing
(12:12):
up a rampart of earth, under cover of the darkness
of the night, along the line over which the enemy
must march in attacking the city, this work was accordingly begun.
They would not, however, employ the soldiers in this work,
or any strong and able bodied men capable of bearing arms.
(12:34):
They wished to reserve the strength of all these for
the more urgent and dreadful work of the following day.
The ditch was accordingly dug, and the ramparts raised by
the boys, the old men, and especially by the women.
The women of all ranks in the city went out
and toiled all night at this labor, having laid aside
(12:57):
half their clothes, that their robes might not hinder them
in the digging. The reader, however, must not, in his
imagination invest these fair laborers with the delicate forms and
gentle manners, and timid hearts, which are generally deemed characteristic
of women. For the Spartan females were trained expressly from
(13:21):
their earliest life to the most rough and bold exposures
and toils. They were inerred from infancy to hardihood by
being taught to contend in public wrestlings and games, to
endure every species of fatigue and exposure, and to despise
everything like gentleness and delicacy. In a word, they were
(13:45):
little less masculine in appearance and manners than the men.
And accordingly, when Arkademia went into the Senate chamber with
a drawn sword in her hand, and there boldly facing
the whole assembly, declared that the women would, on no
account consent to leave the city, she acted in a
(14:08):
manner not at all inconsistent with what at Sparta was
considered the proper position and character of her sex. In
a word, the Spartan women were as bold and stern,
and almost as formidable as the men. All night long,
the work of excavation went on. Those who were too
(14:29):
young or too feeble to work were employed in going
to and fro, carrying tools where they were required, or
bringing food and drink to those who were digging. In
the trench, while the soldiers remained quietly at rest within
the city, awaiting the duties which were to devolve upon
(14:50):
them in the morning. The trench was made wide and
deep enough to impede the passage of the elephants and
of the cavalry, and it was guarded at the ends
by wagons, the wheels of which were half buried in
the ground at the places chosen for them in order
to render them immovable. All this work was performed in
(15:14):
such silence and secrecy that it met with no interruption
from Pearis's camp, and the whole was completed before the
morning dawned. As soon as it began to be light,
the camp of Pearis was in motion. All was excitement
and commotion too within the city. The soldiers assumed their
(15:36):
arms and formed in array. The women gathered around them
while they were making these preparations, assisting them to buckle
on their armor, and animating them with words of sympathy
and encouragement. How glorious it will be for you, said
they to gain a victory here in the precincts of
(15:58):
the city, where we can all witness and enjoy your triumph.
And even if you fall in the contest. Your mother's
and your wives are close at hand to receive you
to their arms, and to soothe and sustain you in
your dying struggles. When all was ready, the men marched
(16:19):
forth to meet the advancing columns of Pearis's army, and
the battle soon began. Peirus soon found that the trench
which the Spartans had dug in the night, was destined
greatly to obstruct his intended operations. The horse and the
elephants could not cross it at all, and even the men,
(16:41):
if they succeeded in getting over the ditch, were driven
back when attempting to ascend the rampart of earth which
had been formed along the side of it by the
earth thrown up in making the excavation. For this earth
was loose and steep, and afforded them no fear. Various
(17:01):
attempts were made to dislodge the wagons that had been
fixed into the ground at the ends of the trench,
but for a time all these efforts were fruitless. At last, however, Ptolemy,
the son of Pirus, came very near succeeding. He had
the command of a force of about two thousand gulls,
(17:22):
and with this body, he made a circuit so as
to come upon the line of wagons in such a
manner as to give him a great advantage in attacking them.
The Spartans fought very resolutely in defense of them, but
the Gauls gradually prevailed, and at length succeeded in dragging
(17:43):
several of the wagons out of the earth. All that
they thus extricated, they drew off out of the way
and threw them into the river. Seeing this, young Acritatis,
the prince whom areus his father now absent, as the
reader will recollect in Crete, had left in command in
(18:04):
Sparta when he went away, hastened to interpose. He placed
himself at the head of a small band of two
or three hundred men, and crossing the city on the
other side, he went unobserved, and then, making a circuit,
came round and attacked the gulls, who were at work
(18:24):
on the wagons in the rear. As the gulls had
already a foe in front, nearly strong enough to cope
with them, this sudden assault from behind entirely turned the scale.
They were driven away in great confusion. This feat being accomplished,
Acritatis came back to the head of his detachment into
(18:47):
the city, panting and exhausted with the exertions he had made,
and covered with blood. He was received there with the
loudest applause and acclamations. The women gathered around him and
overwhelmed him with thanks and congratulations. Go to Chaladonis, said they,
(19:07):
and rest. She ought to be yours. You have deserved her.
How we envy her such a lover. The contest continued
all the day, and when night came on, Peeris found
that he had made no sensible progress in the work
of gaining entrance into the city. He was, however, now
(19:29):
forced to postpone all further efforts till the following day.
At the proper time, he retired to rest, but he
awoke very early in the morning in a state of
great excitement, and calling up some of the officers around him,
he related to them a remarkable dream which he had
(19:50):
had during the night, and which he thought presaged success
to the efforts which they were to make on the
following day. He had, he said, in his dream, a
flash of lightning dart from the sky upon Sparta and
set the whole city on fire. This, he argued, was
(20:11):
a divine omen which promised them certain success, and he
called upon the generals to marshal the troops and prepare
for the onset, saying, we are sure of victory. Now.
Whether Peirus really had had such a dream, or whether
he fabricated the story for the purpose of inspiring anew
(20:34):
the courage and confidence of his men, which, as would
naturally be supposed, might have been somewhat weakened by the
ill success of the preceding day, cannot be absolutely ascertained.
Whichever it was, it failed wholly of its intended effect.
Pearis's general said in reply that the omen was adverse
(20:58):
and not propitious, for it was one of the fundamental
principles of herouspicial science that lightning made sacred whatever it touched.
It was forbidden even to step upon the ground where
a thunderbolt had fallen. And they ought to consider therefore,
that the descent of the lightning upon Sparta, as figured
(21:21):
to Paris in the dream, was intended to mark the
city as under the special protection of heaven, and to
warn the invaders not to molest it. Finding thus that
the story of his vision produced a different effect from
the one he had intended Peuris changed his ground and
(21:42):
told his generals that no importance whatever was to be
attached to visions and dreams they might serve, he argued,
very well to amuse the ignorant and superstitious, but wise
men should be entirely above being influenced by them in
any way. You have something better than these things to
(22:04):
trust in, said he. You have arms in your hands,
and you have peeris for your leader. This is proof
enough for you that you are destined to conquer. How
far these assurances were found effectual in animating the courage
of the generals, we do not know, but the result
(22:24):
did not at all confirm Pearis's vainglorious predictions. During the
first part of the day, indeed, he made great progress,
and for a time it appeared probable that the city
was about to fall into his hands. The plan of
his operations was first to fill up the ditch which
(22:46):
the Spartans had made, the soldiers throwing into it. For
this purpose, great quantities of materials of every kind, such
as earth stones, fagots, trunks of trees, and whatever came
most readily to hand. They used in this work immense
quantities of dead bodies, which they found scattered over the plain,
(23:09):
the results of the conflict of the preceding day, by
the means of the horrid bridging thus made. The troops
attempted to make their way across the ditch, while the Spartans,
formed on the top of the rampart of earth on
the inner side of it, fought desperately to repel them.
(23:29):
All this time the women were passing back and forth
between them and the city, bringing out water and refreshments
to sustain the fainting strength of the men, and carrying
home the wounded and dying and the bodies of the dead.
At last, a considerable body of troops, consisting of a
(23:50):
division that was under the personal charge of Pius himself,
succeeded in breaking through the Spartan lines at a point
near one end of the rampart which had been thrown up.
When the men found that they had forced their way through,
they raised loud shouts of exultation and triumph, and immediately
(24:12):
rushed forward toward the city. For a moment it seemed
that for the Spartans all was lost, but the tide
of victory was soon suddenly turned by a very unexpected incident.
An arrow pierced the breast of the horse on which
Pearis was riding, and gave the animal a fatal wound.
(24:34):
The horse plunged and reared in his agony and terror,
and then fell, throwing Pearis to the ground. This occurrence,
of course, arrested the whole troop in their progress. The
horsemen wheeled suddenly about and gathered around Pearis to rescue
him from his danger. This gave the Spartans time to
(24:56):
rally and to bring up their forces in such an
that the Macedonian soldiers were glad to be able to
make their way back again, bearing Pearis with them beyond
the lines. After recovering a little from the agitation produced
by this adventure, Pearis found that his troops, discouraged apparently
(25:19):
by the fruitlessness of their efforts and especially by this
last misfortune, were beginning to lose their spirit and ardor,
and were fighting feebly and falteringly all along the line.
He concluded, therefore, that there was no longer any prospect
of accomplishing his object that day, and that it would
(25:41):
be better to save the remaining strength of his troops
by withdrawing them from the field, rather than to discourage
and enfeeble them still more by continuing what was now
very clearly a useless struggle. He accordingly put a stop
to the action, and the army retired to their encampment.
(26:05):
Before he had opportunity to make a third attempt, events
occurred which entirely changed the whole aspect of the controversy.
The reader will recollect that Areus, the king of Sparta,
was absent in Crete at the time of Pirris's arrival,
and that the command of the army devolved during his
(26:26):
absence on Acritatus, his son, for the kings of the
other line, for some reason or other, took a very
small part in the public affairs of the city at
this time, and are seldom mentioned in history. Arius, as
soon as he heard of the Macedonian invasion, immediately collected
(26:48):
a large force and set out on his return to Sparta,
and he entered into the city at the head of
two thousand men, just after the second repulse which Aquitatis
had given to their enemies. At the same time, too,
another body of reinforcements came in from Corinth, consisting of
(27:10):
allies of the Spartans gathered from the northern part of
the Peloponnesus. The arrival of these troops in the city
filled the Spartans with joy and entirely dispelled their fears.
They considered themselves as now entirely safe. The old men
and the women, considering that their places were now abundantly supplied,
(27:34):
thenceforth withdrew from all active participation in the contest and
retired to their respective homes to rest and refresh themselves
after their toils. Notwithstanding this, however, Pearis was not yet
prepared to give up the contest. The immediate effect, in fact,
(27:54):
of the arrival of the reinforcements was to arouse his
spirit anew, and to stimulate him to a fresh determination
that he would not be defeated in his purpose, but
that he would conquer the city at all hazards. He
accordingly made several more desperate attempts, but they were wholly unsuccessful,
(28:17):
and at length, after a series of losses and defeats,
he was obliged to give up the contest and withdraw
He retired accordingly to some little distance from Sparta, where
he established a permanent camp. Subsisting his soldiers by plundering
the surrounding country. He was vexed and irritated by the
(28:41):
mortifications and disappointments which he had endured, and waited impatiently
for an opportunity to seek revenge. While he was thus
pondering his situation, uncertain what to do next, he received
one day a message from Argos, a city in the
northern part of the Peloponnesus, asking him to come and
(29:04):
take part in a contest which had been opened there.
It seems that a civil war had broken out in
that city, and one of the leaders, knowing the character
of Pearis and his readiness to engage in any quarrel
which was offered to him, had concluded to apply for
his aid. Pearis was, as usual, very ready to yield
(29:28):
to this request. It afforded him, as similar proposals had
so often done before, a plausible excuse for abandoning an
enterprise in which he began to despair of being able
to succeed. He immediately commenced his march to the northward.
The Spartans, however, were by no means disposed to allow
(29:52):
him to go off unmolested. They advanced with all the
force they could command, and though they were not powerful
enough to engage him in a general battle, they harassed
him and embarrassed his march in a very vexatious manner.
They laid ambushes in the narrow defiles through which he
(30:13):
had to pass. They cut off his detachments and plundered
and destroyed his baggage. Pearis at length sent back a
body of his guards under Ptolemy, his son, to drive
them away. Ptolemy attacked the Spartans and fought them with
great bravery, until at length, in the heat of the contest,
(30:35):
a celebrated Cretan of remarkable strength and activity, riding furiously
up to Ptolemy, failed him to the ground and killed
him at a single blow. On seeing him fall, his
detachment were struck with dismay, and turning their backs on
the Spartans, fled to Paris with the tidings. Pearis was,
(30:58):
of course excited to the highest pitch of frenzy at
hearing what had occurred. He immediately placed himself at the
head of a troop of horse and galloped back to
attack the Spartans and avenge the death of his son.
He assaulted his enemies when he reached the ground where
they were posted in the most furious manner, and killed
(31:22):
great numbers of them in the conflict that ensued. At
one time he was, for a short period in the
most imminent danger. A Spartan named Evlcus, who came up
and engaged him hand to hand, aimed a blow at
his head, which, although it failed of its intended effect,
(31:42):
came down close in front of his body as he
sat upon his horse, and cut off the reins of
the bridle the instant after Puris transfixed Evlcus with his spear.
Of course, Puris had now no longer the control of
his horse, and he accordingly leaped from him to the
(32:02):
ground and fought on foot. While the Spartans gathered around,
endeavoring to rescue and protect the body of Evulcus. A
furious and most terrible contest ensued, in which many on
both sides were slain. At length, Peirus made good his
retreat from the scene, and the Spartans themselves finally withdrew. Peirus,
(32:27):
having thus by way of comfort for his grief taken
the satisfaction of revenge, resumed his march and went to Argos.
Arrived before the city, he found that there was an
army opposed to him there, under the command of a
general named Antigonus. His army was encamped upon a hill
(32:49):
near the city, awaiting his arrival. The mind of Puris
had become so chafed and irritated by the opposition which
he had encountered and the defeats, disappointments, and mortifications which
he had endured, that he was full of rage and fury,
and seemed to manifest the temper of a wild beast
(33:13):
rather than that of a man. He sent a herald
to the camp of Antigonus, angrily defying him and challenging
him to come down from his encampment and meet him
in single combat on the plane. Antigonus very coolly replied
that time was a weapon which he employed in his
(33:35):
contests as well as the sword, and that he was
not yet ready for a battle, adding that if Peirus
was weary of his life and very impatient to end it,
there were plenty of modes by which he could accomplish
his desire. Pearis remained for some days before the walls
(33:55):
of Argos, during which time various negotiations took place between
the people of the city and the several parties involved
in the quarrel, with a view to an amicable adjustment
of the dispute in order to save the city from
the terror's attendant. Upon a contest for the possession of
(34:17):
it between such mighty armies. At length, some sort of
settlement was made, and both armies agreed to retire. Peirus, however,
had no intention of keeping his agreement. Having thrown the
people of the city somewhat off their guard by his promise,
he took occasion to advance stealthily to one of the
(34:41):
gates at dead of night, and there, the gate being
opened to him by a confederate within the city, he
began to march his soldiers in. The troops were ordered
to keep silence and to step noiselessly, and thus a
large body of Gauls gained admission and posted themselves in
(35:01):
the marketplace without alarming or awakening the inhabitants. To render
this story credible, we must suppose that the sentinels and
guards had been previously gained over to Pearis's side. The
foot soldiers, having thus made their entrance into the city,
Paris undertook next to pass some of his elephants in.
(35:25):
It was found, however, when they approached the gate, that
they could not enter without having the towers first removed
from their backs, as the gates were only high enough
to admit the animals alone. The soldiers accordingly proceeded to
take off the towers, and then the elephants were led in.
(35:47):
The towers were then to be replaced. The work of
taking down the towers and then of putting them on again,
which all had to be done in the dark, was
attended with great difficulty and delay, and so much noise
was unavoidably made in the operation that at length the
(36:07):
people in the surrounding houses took the alarm, and in
a very short period the whole city was aroused. Eager
gatherings were immediately held in all quarters. Puris pressed forward
with all haste into the marketplace, and posted himself there,
arranging his elephants, his horse, and his foot in the
(36:30):
manner best adapted to protect them from any attack that
might be made. The people of Argos crowded into the
citadel and sent out immediately to Antigonus to come in
to their aid. He at once put his camp in motion,
and advancing toward the walls with the main body, he
(36:51):
sent in some powerful detachments of troops to cooperate with
the inhabitants of the city. All these scenes occurring in
the midst of the darkness of the night. The people,
having been awakened from their sleep by a sudden alarm,
were attended, of course by a dreadful panic and confusion.
(37:12):
And to complete the complication of horrors areus with the
Spartan army under his command, who had followed Paris in
his approach to the city and had been closely watching
his movements ever since he had arrived, now burst in
through the gates and attacked the troops of his hated
(37:33):
enemy in the streets, in the market place, and wherever
he could find them, with shouts, outcries, and imprecations that
made the whole city one widespread scene of unutterable confusion
and terror. The general confusion and terror, however, produced by
(37:53):
the assaults of the Spartans, were the only results that
immediately followed them, for the true soon found that no
real progress could be made and no advantage gained by
this nocturnal warfare. The soldiers could not distinguish friends from foes.
They could not see or hear their commander, or act
(38:15):
with any concert or in any order. They were scattered
about and lost their way in narrow streets, or fell
into drains or sewers, and all attempts on the part
of the officers to rally them or to control them
in any way were unavailing. At length, by common consent,
(38:36):
all parties desisted from fighting, and awaited all in an
awful condition of uncertainty and suspense the coming of the dawn. Pearis,
as the objects that were around him were brought gradually
into view by the gray light of the morning, was
alarmed at seeing that the walls of the citadel were
(38:58):
covered with armed men, and at observing various other indications
by which he was warned that there was a very
powerful force opposed to him within the city. As the
light increased and brought the boundaries of the marketplace where
he posted himself into view, and revealed the various images
(39:20):
and figures which had been placed there to adorn it,
he was struck with consternation at the sight of one
of the groups, as the outlines of it slowly made
themselves visible. It was a piece of statuary in bronze
representing a combat between a wolf and a bull. It
(39:41):
seems that in former times some oracle or diviner had
forewarned him that when he should see a wolf encountering
a bull, he might know that the hour of his
death was near. Of course, he had supposed that such
a spectacle, if it was indeed true that he was
ever destined to see, it, could only be expected to
(40:05):
appear in some secluded forest, or in some wide and
unfrequented spot among the mountains. Perhaps. Indeed, he had paid
very little attention to the prophecy and never expected that
it would be literally realized. When, however, this group in
Bronze came out to view, it reminded him of the oracle,
(40:27):
and the dreadful foreboding which its appearance awakened, connected with
the anxiety and alarm naturally inspired by the situation in
which he was placed, filled him with consternation. He feared
that his hour was come, and his only solicitude now
was to make good his retreat as soon as possible
(40:51):
from the fatal dangers by which he seemed to be surrounded.
But how to escape was the difficulty. The gate was near,
the body of troops with him was large, and he
knew that in attempting to retire, he would be attacked
from all the streets in the vicinity, and from the
(41:11):
tops of the houses and walls, and that his column
would inevitably be thrown into disorder and would choke up
the gateway and render it wholly impossible through their eagerness
to escape and the confusion that would ensue. He accordingly
sent out a messenger to his son, Helenus, who remained
(41:33):
all the time in command of the main body of
the army without the walls, directing him to come forward
with all his force and break down a portion of
the wall adjoining the gateway, so as to open a
free egress for his troops in their retreat from the city.
He remained himself at his position in the marketplace until
(41:56):
time had elapsed sufficient, as he judged, for Helenus to
have received his orders and to have reached the gate
in the execution of them. And then, being by this
time hard pressed by his enemies, who began early in
the morning to attack him on all quarters, he put
(42:17):
his troops in motion, and in the midst of a
scene of shouts, uproar, terror, and confusion indescribable, the whole
body moved on toward the gate, expecting that by the
time they arrived there, Helenus would have accomplished his work,
and that they should find a broad opening maid which
(42:39):
would allow of an easy egress. Instead of this, however,
they found before they reached the gate that the streets
before them were entirely blocked up with an immense concourse
of soldiers that were pouring tumultuously into the city. It
seems that Helenus had, in some way or other misunderstood
(43:02):
the orders, and supposed that he was directed to enter
the city himself to reinforce his father within the walls.
The shock of the encounter produced by these opposing currents
redoubled the confusion Paris, and the officers with him shouted
out orders to the advancing soldiers of Helenus to fall back,
(43:25):
but in the midst of the indescribable din and confusion
that prevailed, no vociferation, however loud, could be heard, nor
if the orders had been heard, could they have been obeyed.
For the van of the coming column was urged forward
irresistibly by the pressure of those behind, and the panic
(43:48):
which by this time prevailed among the troops of Pearis's
command made them frantic and furious in their efforts to
force their way onward and get out of the city.
An awful scene of confusion and destruction ensued. Men pressed
and trampled each other to death, and the air was
(44:09):
filled with shrieks and cries of pain and terror. The
destruction of life was very great, but it was produced
almost entirely by the pressure and the confusion, men, horses
and elephants being mingled inextricably together in one vast, living mass,
(44:30):
which seemed to those who looked down upon it from above,
to be writhing and struggling in the most horrible contortions.
There was no fighting, for there was no room for
anyone to strike a blow. If a man drew his
sword or raised his pike, his arms were caught and
pinioned immediately by the pressure around him, and he found
(44:54):
himself utterly helpless. The injury therefore that was done was
the result almost altogether of the pressure and the struggles,
and of the trampling of the elephants and the horses
upon the men, and of the men upon each other.
The elephants added greatly to the confusion of the scene.
(45:15):
One of the largest in the troop fell in the
gateway and lay there for some time on his side,
unable to rise, and braying in a terrific manner. Another
was excited to a frenzy by the loss of his master,
who had fallen off from his head. Wounded by a
dart or a spear, the faithful animal turned around to
(45:39):
save him. With his trunk. He threw the men who
were in the way off to the right hand and
the left, and then, taking up the body of his
master with his trunk, he placed it carefully upon his tusks,
and then attempted to force a passage through the crowd,
trampling down all who came in his way. History has
(46:02):
awarded to this elephant a distinction which he well deserved,
by recording his name. It was Nikon. All this time,
Peirus was near the rear of his troops, and thus
was in some degree removed from the greatest severity of
the pressure. He turned and fought from time to time
(46:23):
with those who were pressing upon his line from behind.
As the danger became more eminent, he took out from
his helmet the plume by which he was distinguished from
the other generals, and gave it to a friend who
was near him, in order that he might be a
less conspicuous mark. For the shafts of his enemies. The combats, however,
(46:47):
between his party and those who were harassing them in
the rear, were still continued, and at length in one
of them, a man of Argos wounded him by throwing
a javelin with so much force that the point of
it passed through his breastplate and entered his side. The
wound was not dangerous, but it had the effect of
(47:10):
maddening Pearis against the man who had inflicted it, and
he turned upon him with great fury, as if he
were intending to annihilate him. At a blow. He would
very probably have killed the Greek, had it not been that.
Just at that moment, the mother of the man, by
a very singular coincidence, was surveying the scene from a
(47:34):
housetop which overlooked the street where these events were occurring.
She immediately seized a heavy tile from the roof, and
with all her strength, hurled it into the street upon Paris.
Just as he was striking the blow, the tile came
down upon his head, and striking the helmet heavily. It
(47:56):
carried both helmet and head down together and crushed the
lower vertebrae of the neck at their junction with the spine.
Peirus dropped the reins from his hands and fell over
from his horse heavily to the ground. It happened that
no one knew him who saw him fall, for so
(48:17):
great had been the crowd and confusion that Pirus had
got separated from his immediate friends. Those who were near him, therefore,
when he fell, pressed on, intent only on their own safety,
and left him where he lay. At last, a soldier
of Antigonus's army named Zoporis came up to the spot,
(48:40):
accompanied by several others of his party, looked upon the
wounded man and recognized him as Paris. They lifted him
up and dragged him out of the street to a
portico that was near. Zoporis drew his sword and raised
it to cut off his prisoner's head. At this instant
Arras opened his eyes and rolled them up with such
(49:03):
a horrid expression as to strike Zoperis with terror. His
arm consequently faltered in dealing the blow, so that he
missed his aim, and, instead of striking the neck, only
wounded and mutilated the mouth and chin. He was obliged
to repeat the stroke again and again before the neck
(49:25):
was thundered at length. However, the dreadful deed was done,
and the head was severed from the body. Very soon
after this, Halcionsus, the son of Antigonus, rode up to
the spot, and, after learning what had occurred, he asked
the soldiers to lift up the head to him that
(49:46):
he might look at it a moment. As soon as
it was within his reach, he seized it and rode
away in order to carry it to his father. He
found his father sitting with his friends, and true down
the head at his feet as a trophy, which he
supposed his father would rejoice to see. Antigonus was, however,
(50:09):
in fact, extremely shocked at the spectacle. He reproved his
son in the severest terms for his brutality, and then,
sending for the mutilated trunk, he gave to the whole
body an honorable burial. That Pearis was a man of
great native power of mind and of extraordinary capacity as
(50:31):
a military leader, no one can deny his capacity and
genius were in fact so great as to make him
perhaps the most conspicuous example that the world has produced
of the manner in which the highest power and the
noblest opportunities may be wasted and thrown away. He accomplished nothing.
(50:55):
He had no plan, no aim, no object, but obeyed
every momentary impulse, and entered, without thought and without calculation,
into any scheme that chance or the ambitious designs of
others might lay before him. He succeeded in creating a
vast deal of turmoil and war, in killing an immense
(51:20):
number of men, and in conquering, though temporarily and to
no purpose, a great many kingdoms. It was mischief, and
only mischief that he did. And though the scale on
which he perpetrated mischief was great, his fickleness and vacillation
deprived it altogether of the dignity of greatness. His crimes
(51:43):
against the peace and welfare of mankind did not arise
from any peculiar depravity. He was, on the contrary, naturally
of a noble and generous spirit, though in process of time,
through the reaction of his conduct upon his heart, these
good qualities almost entirely disappeared. Still he seems never really
(52:08):
to have wished mankind ill he perpetrated his crimes against
them thoughtlessly, merely for the purpose of showing what great
things he could do. End of Chapter twelve and of
Pearis by Jacob Abbot
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