271,c,d ; of the 520
Olympiad
(B.
William Smith - 1844 - Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities - c
338.
Phayllus (B. c. 351), so that the latter, though he (Diod. xvi. 61-63 ; Paus, x. 2. 7. ) [E. H. B. )
designated him for his successor in the chief com- PHALAECUS (páraikos), a lyric and epi-
mand, placed him for a time under the guardian- grammatic poet, from whom the metre called pa.
ship of his friend Mnaseas. But very shortly Kaikelov took its name. (Hephaest. p. 57. Gaisf. )
afterwards Mnaseas having fallen in battle against He is occasionally referred to by the grammarians
the Boeotians, Phalaecus, notwithstanding his (Terentian. p. 2424 ; Auson. Epist. 4), but they
youth, assumed the command in person, and give us no information respecting his works, except
carried on hostilities with various success. The that he composed hymns to Hermes. The line quoted
war had now resolved itself into a series of petty by Hephaestion (l. c. ) is evidently the first verse
invasions, or rather predatory incursions by the of a hymn. He seems to have been distinguished
Phocians and Boeotians into each other's territory, as an epigrammatist (Ath. x. p. 440, d. ) ; and five
and continued without any striking incident until of his epigrams are still preserved in the Greek
B. C. 347. But it seems that Phalaecus had failed Anthology (Brunck, Anal. vol. i. p. 421), besides
or neglected to establish his power at home as the one quoted by Athenaeus (l. c. ). The age of
firmly as his predecessors had done : and a charge Phalaecus is uncertain. The conjecture of Reiske
was brought against him by the opposite party of (ap. Fab. Bill. Graec. vol. iv. p. 490) is founded on
having appropriated part of the sacred treasures to an epigram which does not properly belong to this
his own private purposes, in consequence of which writer. A more probable indication of his date is
he was deprived of his power. No punishment, furnished by another epigram, in which he mentions
however, appears to have been inflicted on bim; the actor Lycon, who lived in the time of Alex-
and the following year (B. C. 346) we find him again ander the Great (Meineke, Hist. Crit. Com. Graec.
appointed general, without any explanation of p. 327); but this epigram also is of somewhat
this revolution : but it seems to have been in doubtful authorship. At all events he was pro-
some manner connected with the proceedings of bably one of the principal Alexandrian poets.
Philip of Macedon, who was now preparing to The Phalaecian verse is well known from its
interpose in the war. It is not easy to under- frequent use by the Roman poets. The Roman
stand the conduct of Phalaecus in the subsequent grammarians also call it Hendecasyllabus. Its
transactions ; but whether he was deceived by the pormal form, which admits of many variations, is
professions of Philip, or had been secretly gained
over by the king, his measures were precisely
those best adapted to facilitate the projects of the It is much older than Phalaecus, whose name is
Macedonian monarch. Instead of strengthening given to it, not because he invented, but be
his alliance with the Athenians and Spartans, he cause he especially used it. It is a very an-
treated the former as if they had been his open cient and important lyric metre. Sappho fre-
enemies, and by his behaviour towards Archi- quently used it, and it is even called the mét pov
damus, led that monarch to withdraw the forces Satpikov_170. palaikelov (Atil. Fort. p. 2674,
which he had brought to the succour of the Pho. Putsch ; Terentian. p. 2440). No example of it is
cians. All this time Phalaecus took no measures found in the extant fragments of Sappho ; but
to oppose the progress of Philip, until the latter it occurs in those of Anacreon and Simonides,
had actually passed the straits of Thermopylae, in Cratinus, in Sophocles (Philoct. 136—151), and
and all hope of resistance was vain. He then other ancient Greek poets.
(P. S. )
hastened to conclude a treaty with the Mace- PHALACRUS, one of the Sicilians oppressed
Jonian king, by which he provided for his own by Verres. He was a native of Centuripa, and the
safety, and was allowed to withdraw into the commander of a ship. (Cic. Verr. v. 40, 44, 46. )
Peloponnese with a body of 8000 mercenaries, PHALANTHUS (Þálavos), a son of Age-
leaving the unhappy Phocians to their fate. laus, and grandson of Stymphalus, and the re-
(Diod. xvi. 38-40, 56, 59; Paus, X. 2. 87; puted founder of Phalanthus in Arcadia. (Paus.
Aesch. de F. Leg. p. 45–47; Dem. de F. Leg. vii. 35. g 7. )
(L. S. )
pp. 359, 364 ; Thirlwall's Greece, vol. v. chap. 41. ) PHALANTHUS (válavdos), a Phoenician
Phalaecus now assumed the part of a mere leader, who held for a long time against the Do-
. ب . :: .
## p. 234 (#250) ############################################
234
PHALANTHUS.
PIIALARIS.
:
rians the town of Ialysus in Rhodes, being en colony by a sedition. He ended his days in exile,
couraged by an oracle, which had declared that he but, when he was at the point of death, he desired
should not be driven from the land till white crows the Brundusians to reduce his remains to dust and
should appear and fishes be found in bowls. Iphi-sprinkle it in the agora of Tarentum ; by which
clus, the Greek leader, having heard this, some- means, he told them, Apollo had predicied that
what clumsily fulfilled the conditions of the pro- they might recover their country. The oracle,
phecy by whitening some crows with chalk and however, had named this as the method of securing
introducing a few small fish into the bowl which Tarentum to the Partheniae for ever. (Strab. vi.
held Phalanthus's wine. The latter accordingly pp. 278-280, 282 ; Just. iii. 4, xr. 1 ; Paus. x.
was terrified into surrender, and evacuated the 10 ; Arist. Pol. v. 7, ed. Bekk. ; Diod. xv. 66 ;
island after a futile attempt, wherein he was out- Dion. Hal. Frugm. xvii. 1, 2 ; Hor. Carm. ii. 6;
witted by Iphiclus, to carry off a quantity of trea- Serv. ad Virg. Aen. iii. 551 ; Heyne, Excurs, riv.
gure with him. (Ergias, ap. Ath. viii. pp. 360, e, f, ad l'irg. I. c. ; Clint. F. H. vol. i. p. 174, vol. ii.
361, a. b. )
(E. E. ) p. 410, note u ; Thirlwall's Greece, vol. i. p. 352,
PHALANTHUS (válavdos), a Lacedaemo- &c. ; Müll. Dor. i. 6. $ 12, 7. $ 10, ii. 5. $ 7,
nian, son of Aracus, was the founder of Tarentum 6. $ 10. )
(E. E. )
about B. C. 708. The legend, as collected from PHA'LARIS (péraps), ruler of Agrigentum
Justin, and from Antiochus and Ephorus in Strabo, in Sicily, has obtained a proverbial celebrity as a
is as follows. When the Lacedaemonians set forth cruel and inhuman tyrant. But far from the noton
on their first Messenian war, they bound them- riety thus given to his name having contributed to
selves by an oath not to return home till they had our real knowledge of his life and history, it has
brought the contest to a successful issue. But only served to envelope every thing connected with
nine years passed away, and in the tenth their him in a cloud of fable, through which it is scarcely
wires sent to complain of their state of widowhood, possible to catch a glimpse of truth. The period at
and to point out, as its consequence, that their which he lived has been the subject of much dis-
country would have no new generation of citizens pute, and his reign has been carried back by some
to defend it. By the advice therefore of Aracus, writers as far as the 31st Olympiad (B. C. 656),
the young men, who had grown up since the be- but there seems little doubt that the statement of
ginning of the war, and had never taken the oath, Suidas, who represents him as reigning in the 52d
were sent home to become fathers of children by Olympiad, is in the main correct. Eusebius in one
the Spartan virgins; and those who were thus passage gives the older date, but in another assigns
born were called Tapdeviai (sons of the maidens). the commencement of his reign to the third year
According to Theopompus (ap. Ath. vi. p.
271,c,d ; of the 520 Olympiad (B. C. 570); and this is con-
comp. Casaub. ad loc. ), the widows of those who firmed by statements which represent him as con-
had fallen in the Messenian war were given as temporary with Stesichorus and Croesus. (Suid. s. c.
wives to Helots ; and, though this statement more válapis ; Euseb. Chron. an. 1365, 1393, 1446 ;
probably refers to the second war, it seems likely Syncell. p. 213, d. ed. Paris ; Oros. i. 20 ; Plin.
that the Partheniae were the offspring of some H. N. vii. 56 ; Arist. Rhet. ii. 20 ; Diod. Exc. l'at.
marriages of disparagement, which the necessity of pp. 25, 26; Bentley, Dissertation on the Epistles of
the period had induced the Spartans to permit. Phalaris; Clinton, F. H. vol. i. p. 236, vol. ii. p. 4. )
The notion of Manso, that the name was given in There seems no doubt that he was a native of
derision to those who had declined the expedition, Agrigentum, though the author of the spurious
shrinking from war like maidens, seems less de- epistles ascribed to him represents him as born in
serving of notice. As they grew up, they were the island of Astypalaea, and first arriving in Sicily
looked down upon by their fellow-citizens, and as an exile. Concerning the steps by which he
were excluded from certain privileges. Indignant rose to power we are almost wholly in the dark.
at this, they formed a conspiracy under Phalan- Polyaenus indeed tells us that he was a farmer of
thus, one of their number, against the government, the public revenue, and that under pretence of
and when their design was detected, they were constructing a temple on a height which com-
allowed to go forth and found a colony under his manded the city, he contrived to erect a temporary
guidance and with the sanction of the Delphic god. citadel, which he occupied with an armed force,
Pausanias tells us that Phalanthus, when setting and thus made himself master of the sovereignty.
out on this expedition, was told by an oracle from But this story has much the air of a fable, and it
Delphi, that he would find a territory and a city is clearly implied by Aristotle (Pol. v. 10) that be
in that place where rain should fall on him under was raised by his fellow-citizens to some high
a clear sky (alopa). On his arrival in Italy, he office in the state, of which he afterwards availed
conquered the barbarians in battle, but was unable himself to assume a despotic authority. Of the
to take any of their cities or their land. Wearied events of his reign, which lasted according to Euse-
out with his fruitless efforts, and cast down under bius sixteen years, we can hardly be said to know
the belief that the oracle had meant to express an anything ; but a few anecdotes preserved to us by
impossibility, he was lying one day with his head Polyaenus (v. 1. ), the authority of which it is diffi-
on his wife's lap, as she strove to comfort him, cult to estimate, represent him as engaged in fre-
when suddenly, feeling her tears dropping on him, quent wars with his neighbours, and extending his
it flashed upon his mind that, as her name was power and dominion on all sides, though more
Aethra (Alopa), the mysterious prediction was at frequently by stratagem than open force. It would
length fulfilled. On the succeeding night he cap- appear from Aristotle (Rhet. ii
. 20), if there be no
tured Tarentum, one of the largest and most mistake in the story there told, that he was at one
flourishing towns on the coast. The mass of the time master of Himera as well as Agrigentum ;
inhabitants took refuge, according to Justin, in but there certainly is no authority for the state
Brundusium, and hither Phalanthus himself fled ment of Suidas (s. 8. Pánapis), that his power ex-
afterwards, when he was driven out from his own | tended over the whole of Sicily. The story told
## p. 235 (#251) ############################################
PHALARIS
235
PHALARIS.
PHALARIS.
,
-]
ing en colony by a sedition. He ended his days in area
that he but
, when he was at the point of death, he desired
e crows the Brundusians to reduce his remaing to des BV
Iphi- sprinkle it in the agora of Tarentum ; by si
some means, he told them, Apollo bad predicted that
e pro- they might recover their country. The cze,
k and / however, had named this as the method of securing
which Tarentum to the Partheniae for ever. (Strah. Ti
Jingly pp. 278—280, 282 ; Just
. iii
. 4, II 1; Pas L
the / 10; Arist. Pol. v. 7, ed. Bekk. ; Diod. 17. ;
out Dion. Hal. Fragm, xvii
. 1, 2; Hor. Corn. i 6;
trea- Serv. ad Virg. Aen, iii
. 551 ; Heyne
, Encara, et
e, i, ad Virg. Lc; Clint. P. H. vol. i. p. 174
, mli
P
p. 410, note u; Thirlwall's Greece
, vol i p. .
emo- &c; Müll
. Dor. i. 6. 5 12, 7. $ 19, i. f1
tum / 6. 8 10. )
[EE]
PHA'LARIS (Ⓡútapes), ruler of Agriza
abo, in Sicily, has obtained a proverbial celebrity are
rth cruel and inhuman tyrant. But far from the so
-m- riety thus given to his name having contributed
uad our real knowledge of his life and history, i les
Bilt only served to envelope every thing connected rii
eir him in a cloud of fable, through which it is sately
d, possible to catch a glimpse of truth. The period of
ir / which he lived has been the subject of madé
75 pute, and his reign has been carried back by ste
writers as far as the 31st Olympiad (E. c. 63)
but there seems little doubt that the statement de
Suidas, who represents him as reigning in the fai
rom
2
5,
9
i
Olympiad, is in the main correct. " Eusebis in de
passage gives the older date, but in another asyn
the commencement of his reign to the third yes
of the 520 Olympiad (8. c. 570); and this is it
firmed by statements which represent him as a
temporary with Stesichorus and Croesus (Sil.
parapıs; Euseb. Chron. an. 1365, 1995
, 16M
Syncell. p. 213, d. ed. Paris ; Oros
. i. 20 ; Piu
Ħ. N. vii. 56 ; Arist. Rhet
. ii. 20; Diod. Ex. Tak
pp. 25, 26; Bentley, Dissertation on the Eposta
Phalaris; Clinton, É. H. rol i. p. 236, vel iph
There seems no doubt that he was a matei
Agrigentum, though the author of the spuria
epistles ascribed to him represents him as ka i
the island of Astypalaea, and first arriving in and
is an exile. Concerning the steps by which he
ose to power we are almost wholly in the list
Polyaends indeed tells us that he was a fusse
he public revenue, and that under pretera di
onstructing a temple on a height sich se
ianded the city, he contrived to erect a tepat
tadel, which he occupied with an and is
id thus made himself master of the sovereign
ut this story has much the air of a fable, and
clearly implied by Aristotle (Pol. t. 10) that he
18 raised by his fellow-citizens to rene ligt
ice in the state, of which he afterwards traid
nself to assume a despotic authority. die
ints of his reign, which lasted according to Es
s sixteen years, we can hardly be said to be
"thing ; but a few anecdotes preserved teh
yaenus (v. I. ), the authority of which it is
to estimate, represent him as engaged in
at wars with his neighbours, and entering di
er and dominion on all sides, thout me
ar from Aristotle (Rhet. iz. 20), if there ben
ike in the story there told, that be 575 zile
there certainly is no authority for the
by Diodorus of the manner of his death has every | riousness. The proofs of this, derived from the
appearance of a fable, but is probably so far founded glaring anachronisms in which they abound - such
in fact that he perished by a sudden outbreak of as the mention of the cities of Tauromenium,
the popular fury, in which it appears that Tele- Alaesa, and Phintias, which were not built till
machus, the ancestor of Theron, must have borne long after the death of Phalaris — the allusions to
a conspicuous part. (Diod. Exc. Vat. p. 25, 26 ; tragedies and comedies as things well known and of
Tzetz. Chil
. v. 956 ; Cic
. de off. ii. 7 ; Schol. ad ordinary occurrence -- the introduction of senti-
Pind. Ol. iii. 68. ) The statement of lamblichus, ments and expressions manifestly derived from
who represents him as dethroned by Pythagoras later writers, such as Herodotus, Democritus, and
(De Vit. Pyth. 32. § 122. ed. Kiessl. ), is wholly even Callimachus—and above all, the dialect of
unworthy of credit.
the epistles themselves, which is the later Attic,
No circumstance connected with Phalaris is such as was the current language of the learned in
more celebrated than the brazen bull in which he the latter ages of the Roman empire — would ap-
is said to have burnt alive the victims of his pear so glaring, that it is difficult to conceive how
cruelty, and of which we are told that he made the a body of men of any pretensions to learning could
first experiment upon its inventor Perillus. [PE- be found to maintain their authenticity. Still more
RILLUS. ] This latter story has much the air of extraordinary is it, that a writer of so much taste
an invention of later times, and Timaeus even de and cultivation as Sir William Temple should have
nied altogether the existence of the bull itself. It is spoken in the highest terms of their intrinsic merit,
indeed highly probable, as asserted by that writer, and have pronounced them unquestionably genuine
that the statue extant in later times -- which was on this evidence alone. (Essay on Ancient and Modern
carried off from Agrigentum by the Carthaginians, Learning, Works, vol. iii. p. 478. ) Probably no reader
and afterwards captured by Scipio at the taking of at the present day will be found to look into them
that city -- was not, as pretended, the identical without concurring in the sentence of Bentley, that
bull of Phalaris, but this is evidently no argument they are "a fardle of common-places. ” The epistle
against its original existence, and it is certain that in which the tyrant professes to give the Athenians
the fame of this celebrated engine of torture was an account of his treatment of Perillus, and the
inseparably associated with the name of Phalaris reasons for it (Ep. v. of Lennep and Schaefer, it is
as early as the time of Pindar. (Pind. Pyth. i. 185 ; Ep. ccxxii. of the older editions), would seem suf-
Schol. ad loc. ; Diod. xiii. 90 ; Polyb. xii. 25; ficient in itself to betray the sophist. The period
Timaeus, fr. 116-118. ed. Didot; Callim, fr. 119, at which this forgery was composed cannot now be
194; Plut. Parall. p. 315. ) That poet also speaks determined. Politian ascribed the spurious epis-
of Phalaris himself in terms which clearly prove tles in question to Lucian, but there is certainly
that his reputation as a barbarous tyrant was then no ground for this supposition, and they are pro-
already fully established, and all subsequent writers, bably the work of a much later period. The first
until a very late period, allude to him in terms of author who refers to them is Stobaeus, by whom
similar import.
Phayllus (B. c. 351), so that the latter, though he (Diod. xvi. 61-63 ; Paus, x. 2. 7. ) [E. H. B. )
designated him for his successor in the chief com- PHALAECUS (páraikos), a lyric and epi-
mand, placed him for a time under the guardian- grammatic poet, from whom the metre called pa.
ship of his friend Mnaseas. But very shortly Kaikelov took its name. (Hephaest. p. 57. Gaisf. )
afterwards Mnaseas having fallen in battle against He is occasionally referred to by the grammarians
the Boeotians, Phalaecus, notwithstanding his (Terentian. p. 2424 ; Auson. Epist. 4), but they
youth, assumed the command in person, and give us no information respecting his works, except
carried on hostilities with various success. The that he composed hymns to Hermes. The line quoted
war had now resolved itself into a series of petty by Hephaestion (l. c. ) is evidently the first verse
invasions, or rather predatory incursions by the of a hymn. He seems to have been distinguished
Phocians and Boeotians into each other's territory, as an epigrammatist (Ath. x. p. 440, d. ) ; and five
and continued without any striking incident until of his epigrams are still preserved in the Greek
B. C. 347. But it seems that Phalaecus had failed Anthology (Brunck, Anal. vol. i. p. 421), besides
or neglected to establish his power at home as the one quoted by Athenaeus (l. c. ). The age of
firmly as his predecessors had done : and a charge Phalaecus is uncertain. The conjecture of Reiske
was brought against him by the opposite party of (ap. Fab. Bill. Graec. vol. iv. p. 490) is founded on
having appropriated part of the sacred treasures to an epigram which does not properly belong to this
his own private purposes, in consequence of which writer. A more probable indication of his date is
he was deprived of his power. No punishment, furnished by another epigram, in which he mentions
however, appears to have been inflicted on bim; the actor Lycon, who lived in the time of Alex-
and the following year (B. C. 346) we find him again ander the Great (Meineke, Hist. Crit. Com. Graec.
appointed general, without any explanation of p. 327); but this epigram also is of somewhat
this revolution : but it seems to have been in doubtful authorship. At all events he was pro-
some manner connected with the proceedings of bably one of the principal Alexandrian poets.
Philip of Macedon, who was now preparing to The Phalaecian verse is well known from its
interpose in the war. It is not easy to under- frequent use by the Roman poets. The Roman
stand the conduct of Phalaecus in the subsequent grammarians also call it Hendecasyllabus. Its
transactions ; but whether he was deceived by the pormal form, which admits of many variations, is
professions of Philip, or had been secretly gained
over by the king, his measures were precisely
those best adapted to facilitate the projects of the It is much older than Phalaecus, whose name is
Macedonian monarch. Instead of strengthening given to it, not because he invented, but be
his alliance with the Athenians and Spartans, he cause he especially used it. It is a very an-
treated the former as if they had been his open cient and important lyric metre. Sappho fre-
enemies, and by his behaviour towards Archi- quently used it, and it is even called the mét pov
damus, led that monarch to withdraw the forces Satpikov_170. palaikelov (Atil. Fort. p. 2674,
which he had brought to the succour of the Pho. Putsch ; Terentian. p. 2440). No example of it is
cians. All this time Phalaecus took no measures found in the extant fragments of Sappho ; but
to oppose the progress of Philip, until the latter it occurs in those of Anacreon and Simonides,
had actually passed the straits of Thermopylae, in Cratinus, in Sophocles (Philoct. 136—151), and
and all hope of resistance was vain. He then other ancient Greek poets.
(P. S. )
hastened to conclude a treaty with the Mace- PHALACRUS, one of the Sicilians oppressed
Jonian king, by which he provided for his own by Verres. He was a native of Centuripa, and the
safety, and was allowed to withdraw into the commander of a ship. (Cic. Verr. v. 40, 44, 46. )
Peloponnese with a body of 8000 mercenaries, PHALANTHUS (Þálavos), a son of Age-
leaving the unhappy Phocians to their fate. laus, and grandson of Stymphalus, and the re-
(Diod. xvi. 38-40, 56, 59; Paus, X. 2. 87; puted founder of Phalanthus in Arcadia. (Paus.
Aesch. de F. Leg. p. 45–47; Dem. de F. Leg. vii. 35. g 7. )
(L. S. )
pp. 359, 364 ; Thirlwall's Greece, vol. v. chap. 41. ) PHALANTHUS (válavdos), a Phoenician
Phalaecus now assumed the part of a mere leader, who held for a long time against the Do-
. ب . :: .
## p. 234 (#250) ############################################
234
PHALANTHUS.
PIIALARIS.
:
rians the town of Ialysus in Rhodes, being en colony by a sedition. He ended his days in exile,
couraged by an oracle, which had declared that he but, when he was at the point of death, he desired
should not be driven from the land till white crows the Brundusians to reduce his remains to dust and
should appear and fishes be found in bowls. Iphi-sprinkle it in the agora of Tarentum ; by which
clus, the Greek leader, having heard this, some- means, he told them, Apollo had predicied that
what clumsily fulfilled the conditions of the pro- they might recover their country. The oracle,
phecy by whitening some crows with chalk and however, had named this as the method of securing
introducing a few small fish into the bowl which Tarentum to the Partheniae for ever. (Strab. vi.
held Phalanthus's wine. The latter accordingly pp. 278-280, 282 ; Just. iii. 4, xr. 1 ; Paus. x.
was terrified into surrender, and evacuated the 10 ; Arist. Pol. v. 7, ed. Bekk. ; Diod. xv. 66 ;
island after a futile attempt, wherein he was out- Dion. Hal. Frugm. xvii. 1, 2 ; Hor. Carm. ii. 6;
witted by Iphiclus, to carry off a quantity of trea- Serv. ad Virg. Aen. iii. 551 ; Heyne, Excurs, riv.
gure with him. (Ergias, ap. Ath. viii. pp. 360, e, f, ad l'irg. I. c. ; Clint. F. H. vol. i. p. 174, vol. ii.
361, a. b. )
(E. E. ) p. 410, note u ; Thirlwall's Greece, vol. i. p. 352,
PHALANTHUS (válavdos), a Lacedaemo- &c. ; Müll. Dor. i. 6. $ 12, 7. $ 10, ii. 5. $ 7,
nian, son of Aracus, was the founder of Tarentum 6. $ 10. )
(E. E. )
about B. C. 708. The legend, as collected from PHA'LARIS (péraps), ruler of Agrigentum
Justin, and from Antiochus and Ephorus in Strabo, in Sicily, has obtained a proverbial celebrity as a
is as follows. When the Lacedaemonians set forth cruel and inhuman tyrant. But far from the noton
on their first Messenian war, they bound them- riety thus given to his name having contributed to
selves by an oath not to return home till they had our real knowledge of his life and history, it has
brought the contest to a successful issue. But only served to envelope every thing connected with
nine years passed away, and in the tenth their him in a cloud of fable, through which it is scarcely
wires sent to complain of their state of widowhood, possible to catch a glimpse of truth. The period at
and to point out, as its consequence, that their which he lived has been the subject of much dis-
country would have no new generation of citizens pute, and his reign has been carried back by some
to defend it. By the advice therefore of Aracus, writers as far as the 31st Olympiad (B. C. 656),
the young men, who had grown up since the be- but there seems little doubt that the statement of
ginning of the war, and had never taken the oath, Suidas, who represents him as reigning in the 52d
were sent home to become fathers of children by Olympiad, is in the main correct. Eusebius in one
the Spartan virgins; and those who were thus passage gives the older date, but in another assigns
born were called Tapdeviai (sons of the maidens). the commencement of his reign to the third year
According to Theopompus (ap. Ath. vi. p.
271,c,d ; of the 520 Olympiad (B. C. 570); and this is con-
comp. Casaub. ad loc. ), the widows of those who firmed by statements which represent him as con-
had fallen in the Messenian war were given as temporary with Stesichorus and Croesus. (Suid. s. c.
wives to Helots ; and, though this statement more válapis ; Euseb. Chron. an. 1365, 1393, 1446 ;
probably refers to the second war, it seems likely Syncell. p. 213, d. ed. Paris ; Oros. i. 20 ; Plin.
that the Partheniae were the offspring of some H. N. vii. 56 ; Arist. Rhet. ii. 20 ; Diod. Exc. l'at.
marriages of disparagement, which the necessity of pp. 25, 26; Bentley, Dissertation on the Epistles of
the period had induced the Spartans to permit. Phalaris; Clinton, F. H. vol. i. p. 236, vol. ii. p. 4. )
The notion of Manso, that the name was given in There seems no doubt that he was a native of
derision to those who had declined the expedition, Agrigentum, though the author of the spurious
shrinking from war like maidens, seems less de- epistles ascribed to him represents him as born in
serving of notice. As they grew up, they were the island of Astypalaea, and first arriving in Sicily
looked down upon by their fellow-citizens, and as an exile. Concerning the steps by which he
were excluded from certain privileges. Indignant rose to power we are almost wholly in the dark.
at this, they formed a conspiracy under Phalan- Polyaenus indeed tells us that he was a farmer of
thus, one of their number, against the government, the public revenue, and that under pretence of
and when their design was detected, they were constructing a temple on a height which com-
allowed to go forth and found a colony under his manded the city, he contrived to erect a temporary
guidance and with the sanction of the Delphic god. citadel, which he occupied with an armed force,
Pausanias tells us that Phalanthus, when setting and thus made himself master of the sovereignty.
out on this expedition, was told by an oracle from But this story has much the air of a fable, and it
Delphi, that he would find a territory and a city is clearly implied by Aristotle (Pol. v. 10) that be
in that place where rain should fall on him under was raised by his fellow-citizens to some high
a clear sky (alopa). On his arrival in Italy, he office in the state, of which he afterwards availed
conquered the barbarians in battle, but was unable himself to assume a despotic authority. Of the
to take any of their cities or their land. Wearied events of his reign, which lasted according to Euse-
out with his fruitless efforts, and cast down under bius sixteen years, we can hardly be said to know
the belief that the oracle had meant to express an anything ; but a few anecdotes preserved to us by
impossibility, he was lying one day with his head Polyaenus (v. 1. ), the authority of which it is diffi-
on his wife's lap, as she strove to comfort him, cult to estimate, represent him as engaged in fre-
when suddenly, feeling her tears dropping on him, quent wars with his neighbours, and extending his
it flashed upon his mind that, as her name was power and dominion on all sides, though more
Aethra (Alopa), the mysterious prediction was at frequently by stratagem than open force. It would
length fulfilled. On the succeeding night he cap- appear from Aristotle (Rhet. ii
. 20), if there be no
tured Tarentum, one of the largest and most mistake in the story there told, that he was at one
flourishing towns on the coast. The mass of the time master of Himera as well as Agrigentum ;
inhabitants took refuge, according to Justin, in but there certainly is no authority for the state
Brundusium, and hither Phalanthus himself fled ment of Suidas (s. 8. Pánapis), that his power ex-
afterwards, when he was driven out from his own | tended over the whole of Sicily. The story told
## p. 235 (#251) ############################################
PHALARIS
235
PHALARIS.
PHALARIS.
,
-]
ing en colony by a sedition. He ended his days in area
that he but
, when he was at the point of death, he desired
e crows the Brundusians to reduce his remaing to des BV
Iphi- sprinkle it in the agora of Tarentum ; by si
some means, he told them, Apollo bad predicted that
e pro- they might recover their country. The cze,
k and / however, had named this as the method of securing
which Tarentum to the Partheniae for ever. (Strah. Ti
Jingly pp. 278—280, 282 ; Just
. iii
. 4, II 1; Pas L
the / 10; Arist. Pol. v. 7, ed. Bekk. ; Diod. 17. ;
out Dion. Hal. Fragm, xvii
. 1, 2; Hor. Corn. i 6;
trea- Serv. ad Virg. Aen, iii
. 551 ; Heyne
, Encara, et
e, i, ad Virg. Lc; Clint. P. H. vol. i. p. 174
, mli
P
p. 410, note u; Thirlwall's Greece
, vol i p. .
emo- &c; Müll
. Dor. i. 6. 5 12, 7. $ 19, i. f1
tum / 6. 8 10. )
[EE]
PHA'LARIS (Ⓡútapes), ruler of Agriza
abo, in Sicily, has obtained a proverbial celebrity are
rth cruel and inhuman tyrant. But far from the so
-m- riety thus given to his name having contributed
uad our real knowledge of his life and history, i les
Bilt only served to envelope every thing connected rii
eir him in a cloud of fable, through which it is sately
d, possible to catch a glimpse of truth. The period of
ir / which he lived has been the subject of madé
75 pute, and his reign has been carried back by ste
writers as far as the 31st Olympiad (E. c. 63)
but there seems little doubt that the statement de
Suidas, who represents him as reigning in the fai
rom
2
5,
9
i
Olympiad, is in the main correct. " Eusebis in de
passage gives the older date, but in another asyn
the commencement of his reign to the third yes
of the 520 Olympiad (8. c. 570); and this is it
firmed by statements which represent him as a
temporary with Stesichorus and Croesus (Sil.
parapıs; Euseb. Chron. an. 1365, 1995
, 16M
Syncell. p. 213, d. ed. Paris ; Oros
. i. 20 ; Piu
Ħ. N. vii. 56 ; Arist. Rhet
. ii. 20; Diod. Ex. Tak
pp. 25, 26; Bentley, Dissertation on the Eposta
Phalaris; Clinton, É. H. rol i. p. 236, vel iph
There seems no doubt that he was a matei
Agrigentum, though the author of the spuria
epistles ascribed to him represents him as ka i
the island of Astypalaea, and first arriving in and
is an exile. Concerning the steps by which he
ose to power we are almost wholly in the list
Polyaends indeed tells us that he was a fusse
he public revenue, and that under pretera di
onstructing a temple on a height sich se
ianded the city, he contrived to erect a tepat
tadel, which he occupied with an and is
id thus made himself master of the sovereign
ut this story has much the air of a fable, and
clearly implied by Aristotle (Pol. t. 10) that he
18 raised by his fellow-citizens to rene ligt
ice in the state, of which he afterwards traid
nself to assume a despotic authority. die
ints of his reign, which lasted according to Es
s sixteen years, we can hardly be said to be
"thing ; but a few anecdotes preserved teh
yaenus (v. I. ), the authority of which it is
to estimate, represent him as engaged in
at wars with his neighbours, and entering di
er and dominion on all sides, thout me
ar from Aristotle (Rhet. iz. 20), if there ben
ike in the story there told, that be 575 zile
there certainly is no authority for the
by Diodorus of the manner of his death has every | riousness. The proofs of this, derived from the
appearance of a fable, but is probably so far founded glaring anachronisms in which they abound - such
in fact that he perished by a sudden outbreak of as the mention of the cities of Tauromenium,
the popular fury, in which it appears that Tele- Alaesa, and Phintias, which were not built till
machus, the ancestor of Theron, must have borne long after the death of Phalaris — the allusions to
a conspicuous part. (Diod. Exc. Vat. p. 25, 26 ; tragedies and comedies as things well known and of
Tzetz. Chil
. v. 956 ; Cic
. de off. ii. 7 ; Schol. ad ordinary occurrence -- the introduction of senti-
Pind. Ol. iii. 68. ) The statement of lamblichus, ments and expressions manifestly derived from
who represents him as dethroned by Pythagoras later writers, such as Herodotus, Democritus, and
(De Vit. Pyth. 32. § 122. ed. Kiessl. ), is wholly even Callimachus—and above all, the dialect of
unworthy of credit.
the epistles themselves, which is the later Attic,
No circumstance connected with Phalaris is such as was the current language of the learned in
more celebrated than the brazen bull in which he the latter ages of the Roman empire — would ap-
is said to have burnt alive the victims of his pear so glaring, that it is difficult to conceive how
cruelty, and of which we are told that he made the a body of men of any pretensions to learning could
first experiment upon its inventor Perillus. [PE- be found to maintain their authenticity. Still more
RILLUS. ] This latter story has much the air of extraordinary is it, that a writer of so much taste
an invention of later times, and Timaeus even de and cultivation as Sir William Temple should have
nied altogether the existence of the bull itself. It is spoken in the highest terms of their intrinsic merit,
indeed highly probable, as asserted by that writer, and have pronounced them unquestionably genuine
that the statue extant in later times -- which was on this evidence alone. (Essay on Ancient and Modern
carried off from Agrigentum by the Carthaginians, Learning, Works, vol. iii. p. 478. ) Probably no reader
and afterwards captured by Scipio at the taking of at the present day will be found to look into them
that city -- was not, as pretended, the identical without concurring in the sentence of Bentley, that
bull of Phalaris, but this is evidently no argument they are "a fardle of common-places. ” The epistle
against its original existence, and it is certain that in which the tyrant professes to give the Athenians
the fame of this celebrated engine of torture was an account of his treatment of Perillus, and the
inseparably associated with the name of Phalaris reasons for it (Ep. v. of Lennep and Schaefer, it is
as early as the time of Pindar. (Pind. Pyth. i. 185 ; Ep. ccxxii. of the older editions), would seem suf-
Schol. ad loc. ; Diod. xiii. 90 ; Polyb. xii. 25; ficient in itself to betray the sophist. The period
Timaeus, fr. 116-118. ed. Didot; Callim, fr. 119, at which this forgery was composed cannot now be
194; Plut. Parall. p. 315. ) That poet also speaks determined. Politian ascribed the spurious epis-
of Phalaris himself in terms which clearly prove tles in question to Lucian, but there is certainly
that his reputation as a barbarous tyrant was then no ground for this supposition, and they are pro-
already fully established, and all subsequent writers, bably the work of a much later period. The first
until a very late period, allude to him in terms of author who refers to them is Stobaeus, by whom
similar import.
