Here he opened a school of
eloquence, ami commenced his lectures by reading the
two orations which had been the occasion of his banish-
ment.
eloquence, ami commenced his lectures by reading the
two orations which had been the occasion of his banish-
ment.
Charles - 1867 - Classical Dictionary
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? ^ESA
^ESCHINES.
Art. 'u't. I. daugltti-r of Catreus, king of Crete, and
granddaughter, on /he father's side, of Minos. She
and her sister Clymene, having been guilty of incon-
tinence, were delivered over, by their father, into the
hands of Nauplius of Eubcea, to be conveyed by him
to foreign lands, and there sold into slavery. Nau-
plius, however, married Clymene, and sold merely
Aerope. She was purchased by Plisthcnes, son of
Atreus, and became by him the mother of Agamem-
non and Menelaus. Plisthenes, however, dying young,
Atreus, his father, took; Aerope to wife, and brought up
Agamemnon and Menelaus as his own sons. Aerope
subsequently was seduced by Thyestcs, brother of
Atreus, an act which was punished so horridly by the
injured husband. ( Vid. Atreus and Thyestes. ) Ac-
cording to some authorities, Aerope was cast into the
sea by Atreus. (Apollod. , 3, 2, 3. --Heyne ad Apollod. ,
I. e. --Sckol, in Eurtp. , Ores! . , 812. --Brunckad Soph. .
A). . 1255. )--II. Daughter of Cepheus, became the
mother of Aeropus by the god Mars. She died in
giving birth to her offspring. (Pausan. , 8, 44. )
Aebopcs, I. son of Mars and Aerope. (Vid. Aerope
11. )--II. Son of Tenienus, who, with his two brothers,
left Argos, and settled in Macedonia. Perdiccas, the
youngest of the three, was the founder of the Mace-
donian royal line. {Herod. , 8,137. --Compare Thucyd. ,
2, 99, and consult the article Macedonia)--III. A
king of Macedonia, who succeeded, while yet an in-
fant, his father Philip the First. The Illy ri. ins having
nude an inroad into Macedonia, and having proved
successful at first, were afterward defeated by the
Macedonians, the infant king being placed in his cra-
dle in the rear of their line. (Justin, 7, 2. )--IV.
A regent of Macedonia during the minority of Orestes,
son of Archelaus. He usurped the supreme power,
and held it six years, from 409 B. C. to 394 B. C. --
V. A mountain of Epirus, now Mount Trcl/ceshna.
near the defile anciently called Sit mi Aoi, or " Gorge
jf the Aous. "' On one of the precipices of this mount-
ain stands the fortress ofClissura. (Consult Hughes'
TraceU, vol. 2, p. 272. )
-Calces, according to Ovid (Met. , 11, 762, scqq. ),
a *an of Priam and Alcxirrhoe, who at an early age
? ruitled his father's court and retired to rural scenes.
He became enamoured of the nymph Hespcria; but
she treated his suit with disdain, and, in endeavouring
oq one occasion to escape from him, lost her life by
the bite of a serpent. -Esacus, in despair, threw
himself headlong from a rock into the sea; butTcthys,
pitying his fate, suspended his fall, and changed him
into a cormorant. --A different account is given by
Apododorus. According to this writer, . fjsacus was
th? son of Priam, by his first wife Arisba, and mar-
ried Asterope, who did not long survive her union with
him. His grief for her loss induced him to put an end
to liis existence. ^. Esacus was endued by his grand-
mother Merope with the gift of Prophecy; and he
transmitted this art to his brother aud sister, Hclenus
and Cassandra. Priam, having divorced Arisba that
he mi"ht espouse Hecuba, and the latter having
dreamed that she had brought forth a blazing torch,
which wrapped in flames the whole city, uEsacus pre-
dicted that the offspring of this marriage would oc-
casion the destruction of his family and country. On
this account, the infant Paris, immediately after his
birth, was exposed on Mount Ida. (Apollod. , 3, 12, 5,
<<? ? . . and Hcync, ad loc. )
? ? . t<iR, an Etrurian word, equivalent to the Latin
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? ^eschines.
vESCHINES.
cratic dialogues in the true spirit of bis master, on
temperance, moderation, humanity, integrity, and other
virtues. Their titles were, bltlrtudiic, Ka'A'/. iac, 'A? io-
%oc, 'koitaaia, 'AXKiiiddr/c, Tr/Aai'p/c, and 'Pivuv.
Of these none remain. We have, indeed, three dia-
logues extant, which go under the name of Eschines,
but the first and second arc not his, and very probably
the third also was never composed by him. (Mcincrs,
Judicium de quibusdam Socraiieornm reliquiis. --Com-
ment. Soe. Cull. , vol. 5, p. 45, 1782. --Fischer, ad
JEsch. Dial. , p. 23, 49, 107, cd. 1786. ) Their titles
are: 1. TIf/m 'XpcrT/c, ei Sidaxrov. "Concerning vir-
tue, and whether it can be communicated by instruc-
tion. " 2. 'Efrviiac, r) xepl tt? . ovtov. "Eryxias, or
concerning riches. " 3. 'X^ioxoc, ij ~epl davurov.
"Axiochus, or concerning death. " This last is attrib-
uted by some to Xcnocratcs of Chalcedon, and, what
makes it extremely probable that Xenocrates was the
author of the piece, is the circumstance of its contain-
ing the word &XeKTpvovoTp6ij>or, for which Pollux cites
the Axiochus of this very philosopher. Diogenes Lacr-
tius, moreover, informs us, that Xcnocratcs wrote a
work on death, but the manner in which he speaks of
this production does not seem to indicate that it had
the form of a dialogue. A letter, ascribed to vEschi-
nes, is, in like manner, supposed to be the production
of another writer. . Eschines pretended to have re-
ceived his dialogues from Xanthippe, the wife of Soc-
rates; and Diogenes Laertius states that Aristippus,
when reading them, called out, rrottcv ooi, Anerrli, ravrn;
"where did you get these from, you thief? " Little
reliance, howovcr, can bo placed on either of these ac-
counts. The three dialogues ascribed to ^Eschines
are found in the old editions of Plato, since that of Al-
dus, 1513. The Axiochus is given by Wolf, in the
collection entitled Doctnna rcclc vwendi ac manendi,
Basil, 1577 and 1586, 8vo. Lc Clcrc first published
these dialogues separately, at Amsterdam, 1711, in 8vo.
Horrffius gave a new edition and a new Latin version
at Leuwarde, 1718, in Rvo. Fischer published four
editions successively at Leipsic, in 1758, 1766, 1786,
and 1788, 8vo. The last contains merely the text
with an Index, so that the third is the most useful to
the student. Fischer's editions are decidedly the best.
The letter mentioned above was published by Sammct.
in his edition of the letters of . Eschines the orator. --II. .
An Athenian orator, born 397 B. C. , sixteen years . be-
fore Demosthenes. According to the account which
-Eschines gives of his own parentage, his father was
Of a family that had a community of altars with the Tace
of the Eteobutada? . Having lost his property by the
calamities of war, he turned his attention, as the son
toils us, to gymnastic exercises; but, being subsequent-
ly driven out by the thirty tyrants, he retired to Asia,
where he served in a military capacitv, and greatly dis-
tinguished himself. He contributed afterward to the
restoration of the popular power in Athens. One of
the orator's brothers served under Iphieratcs, and held
a command forthree years, while another, the youngest,
was sent as ambassador from the republic to the king
of Persia. Such is the account of . Eschines himself
{ilc male pcx/a leg. , p. 47 and 48, cd. Slqih. ). That
given by Demosthenes, however, in his oration for the
crown, is widely different. According to the latter,
the father of . Eschines was originally a slave to a
schoolmaster, and his first name was f romes, which,
upon gaininghis freedom, he changed to Atrometus, in
? ? accordance with Athenian usage. His mother was at
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? -4ESCHINES.
^ESCHYLUS.
h wastc-i time in Macedonia, whii- Philip was prose-
cuting his conquests in Thrace, . Eschines anticipated
iheir attack by an accusation of Timarchus liimseif, and
ipoke with so much energy, that the latter either hung
linwelf in despair, or, according to another authority,
was condemned, and deprived of his rights as a citizen.
Demosthenes, however, not intimidated by the blow,
preferred his original charge against deadlines, and,
according to Photius ( Biblioth. , vol. 1, p. 20, ed. Bek-
itr), came so near accomplishing the object he had in
view, that his rival vras only saved by the active inter-
ference of a wealthy citizen named Eubulus, an open
enemy of Demosthenes, and by the judges rising from
their seats before the accusation was brought to a close.
After many subsequent collisions, . Eschines was com-
pelled to yield to the patriotism and eloquence of his
adversary. Their most famous controversy was that
which related to the crown. A little after the battle
? I Chcronsja, Deraosthenei was commissioned to re-
pair the fortifications of Athens. He expended, in the
performance of this task, thirteen talents, ten of which
tie received from the public treasury, while the remain-
ing three were gene rou sly given from his own private
purse. As a mark of* public gratitude for this act of
liberality, Ctesiphon proposed to the people to decree
i crown of gold to the orator. . Eschines immediately
preferred an impeachment against Ctcsiphon, alleging
that such a decree was an infringement of the estab-
lished laws of the republic, since Demosthenes still held
tome public offices, and his accounts had not therefore
been settled, and besides, since he was not such a friend
to the state as Ctesiphon had represented him to be,
who had, therefore, put upon record documents of a
false and erroneous character. Demosthenes, on whom
the attack was virtually made, appeared in defence of
uj2 accused. This celebrated cause, after having been
delaved for some time in consequence of the troubles
attendant on the death of Philip, was at last brought
to a hearing. Ability and eloquence was displayed on
both sides, but the palm was won by Demosthenes;
and his rival, being found guilty of having brought an
unjust accusation, was obliged to undergo the punish-
ment he had intended for Ctesiphon, and was banished
from his country. It is stated by Photius (Biblioth. ,
vol. 2. p. 493, erf. Bckker), that . Eschines, when ho
lefc Athens, was followed and assisted by Demosthe-
nes, and that, upon the latter's offering him consolation,
he replied, "How shall I be able to bear my exile
from a city, in which I leave behind me enemies more
generous than it is possible to find friends in any other! "
Plutarch, however, ascribes this very answer to De-
mosthenes, when his opponents made arsimilar offer to
him as he was departing from Athens into exile, . Es-
diines retired to Asia with the intention of presenting
himself before Alexander; but the death of that mon-
arch compelled him to change his views, and take up
lis residence at Rhodes.
Here he opened a school of
eloquence, ami commenced his lectures by reading the
two orations which had been the occasion of his banish-
ment. His hearers loudly applauded his own speech;
but when he came to that of Demosthenes, they were
thrown into transports of admiration. "What would
you have said," exclaimed . Eschines, according to the
common account, "had you heard Demosthenes him-
self pronounce this oration! " The statement of Pho-
thu, however, is different from this, and certainly more
probable. The auditors of . Eschines at Rhodes ex-
? ? pressed, as he informs us, their surprise that a man of
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? vESCHYLUS.
jESCHYLUS.
and the Arundel Marbles. ) Pausanias (1, 14) records
a story of his boy hood, professedly on the authority of
the poet himself, that, having fallen asleep while watch-
ing the clusters of grapes in a vineyard, Bacchus ap-
peared to him, and bade him tum his attention to tragic
composition. This account, if true, shows that his
mind was, at a very early period, enthusiastically
struck with the exhibitions of the infant drama. An
impression like this, acting upon his fervid imagination,
would naturally produce such a dream as is described.
To this same origin must, no doubt, be traced the
common account relative to . fEschylus, that he was
accustomed to write under the influence of wine; and
in confirmation of which Lucian (Demosth. Encom. --
ed. Bip. --vol. 9, p. 144) cites the authority of Callis-
thenes, and AthcntBus (10, 33) that of Chameleon.
The inspiration of Bacchus, in such a case, can mean
nothing more than the true inspiration of poetry.
(Mohnike, Litt. der Gr. und Rom. , vol. 1, p. 359. )
At the age of twenty-five, -Eschylus made his first
public attempt as a tragic author, in the 70th Olympiad,
B. C. 499. (Suid. in klax---Clinton's Fasti Hellcn-
ici, p. 21, '2iled. ) The next notice which we have of
him is in the third year of the 72d Olympiad, B. C. 490,
when, along with his two celebrated brothers Cyneegi-
rus and Aminias, he was graced at Marathon with the
praises due to pre-eminent bravery, being then in his
35th year. (Marm. Arund. , No. 49. --\it. Anonym. )
Six years after that memorable battle, he gained his
first tragic victory. Four years after this was fought
the battle of Salamis, in which . Esrhylus took part
with his brother Aminias, to whose extraordinary valour
the upiorela were decreed. (Herod. , 8, 93. ? --Mlian,
Var. Hist. , 5, 19. ) In the following year he served in
the Athenian troops at Platsja. Eight years afterward
{. Argument, ad Pers. ) he gained the prize with a te-
tralogy, composed of the Persa, the Phineus, ,the
Glaucus Potnienns, and the Prometheus Ignifcr, a
satyric drama (or, to give their Greek titles, the lltp-
aai, Qivevc, TXaiiKoc Jlorvievc, and Tlpo/indeic nvpipo-
poc). The latter part of the poet's life is involved in
much obscurity. (Compare Blomjuld, ad Pers. Praf. ,
p. xxii. --Id. ad Arg. in Agamem. , p. xix. et xx. --Bockh,
de Grac. Trag. Princtp. , c. 4, seqq. ) That he quitted
Athens and died in Sicily, is agreed on all hands, but
the time and cause of his departure are points of
doubt and conjecture. It seems that . Eschylus had
laid himself open to a charge of profanation, by too
boldly introducing on the stage something connected
with the mysteries. According to Clemens Alcxan-
drinus, he was tried and acquitted of the charge (Iv
'Apeiifi rrdyip npiBelc, ovruc d<peia0n, iiridci$ac:, aiiTuv
pa) /ie/ivnfiivov. --Clem. Alex. , Strom. , 2. ) The more
romantic narrative of ^Elian (Var. Hist. , 5, 19) informs
os, that the Athenians stood ready to stone him to
death, when his brother Aminias, who interceded for
him, dexterously dropped his robe and showed the stump
of his own arm lost at the battle of Salamis. This act of
fraternal affection and presence of mind had the desired
effect on the quick and impulsive temper of the Athe-
nians, and . . Eschylus was pardoned. But the peril
which he had encountered, the dread of a multitude
ever merciless in their superstitions, indignation at the
treatment which he had received, joined, in all likeli-
hood, to feelings of vexation and jealousy at witnessing
the preference occasionally given to young and aspi-
ring rivals, were motives sufficiently powerful to induce
? ? the proud-spirited poet to abandon his native city, and
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? ^ESCHYLUS.
AESCHYLUS.
marinl character, which was also so contrived as to
give power aud distinctness to the voice. He paid
great attention to the choral dances, and invented sev-
eral figure-dances himself. Among his other improve-
ment^ is mentioned the introduction of a practice,
which subsequently became established as a Axed and
essential rule, the removal of all deeds of bloodshed
and murder from tVio public view (Philostr. , Vit.
ApoUon. , 6, 11), a rule only violated on one occasion,
namely, by Sophocles in his play of the Ajax. In
short, so many and so important were the alterations
and additions of -? schy lus, that he was considered by
the Athenians as the 'jFalher of Tragedy (Philostr. , I.
<<. ), and, as a mark of" distinguished honour paid to
Jus merits, they passed a decree, after his death, that
a chorus should be allowed to any poet who chose to
re-exhibit the dramas of -Eschylus. (Philostr. , I. e. )
Aristophanes alludes to this custom of re-exhibiting
the plays of ^Eschylus in the opening of the Acharni-
ans (r. 9. se/]q). Quintilian, however (10, 1), assigns
a very different reason for this practice, and makes it
to have been adopted for the purpose of presenting
these dramas^jn a more correct form than that in which
they were left by the author himself. What authority-
be had for such an assertion, does not now appear.
In philosophical sentiments, . Eschylus is said to have
been a Pythagorean. < Cic. , Tnse. Duip. , 2. 9. ) In his
extant dramas the tenets of this sect may occasionally
be traced; as, deep veneration in what concerns the
gods (Agamem. , 371), high regard for the sanctity of
an oath and the nuptial bond (Eumen. , 217), the im-
mortality of the soul (Chocph. , 321), the origin of
names from imposition and not from nature (Agamem. ,
682 Prom. Vtncl. , 84, 742), the importance of num-
bers (Prom. Vinci. , 468), the science of physiognomy
(Aa-aa-m. , 797), the sacred character of suppliants
isZpo'. 351. -- Eumen. , 233), &c. . Eschylus, ob-
serves Schlegel (Dram. Xi/. ,p. 135, M717), must be con-
sider? I as the creator of tragedy; it sprang forth from
his head in complete armour, like Minerva from the brain
of Jove. He clothed it as became its dignity, and not
onlv instructed the chorus in the song and the dance,
but'came forward himself as an actor. (Athcnteus, 1.
22 ) He sketches characters with a few bold and
powerful strokes. His plots are extremely simple.
He had not yet arrived at the art of splitting an action
into parts numerous and rich, and distributing their
complication and denouement into well-proportioned
step* Hence in his writings there often arises a ces-
sation of action, which he makes us feel still more by
his unreasonably long choruses. But, on the other
hand, all his poetry displays a lofty and grave disposi-
tion No soft emotions, but terror alone remains in
him the head of Medusa is held up before the petrified
spectators. His method of considering destiny is ex-
tremely harsh; it hovers over mortals in all its gloomy
magnificence. The buskin of . Eschylus has, as it
were, the weight of brass; on it none but gigantic
forms stalk before us. It almost seems to cost him
an effort to paint mere men; he frequently brings gods
in the sta^e, particularly the Titans, those ancient
deitiei who'shailow forth the dark primeval powers of
nature and who had long been driven into Tartarus,
beneath a world governed in tranquillity. In con-
formity with the standard of his dramatis persona? , he
jerks to swell out the language which they employ to
? colossal size; hence there arise rugged compound
? ? words, an over-multitude of epithets, and often an ex-
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? ^ESCHYLUS.
^SCULAPIUS.
<<n the events which preceded it, viz. , the " Laius," the
"CEdipus," and the "Sphinx. " Some critics, how-
ever, make the last to have been a satyric drama.
--3. Tlipaai (" The Persians"). This piece is so
called because the chorus is composed of aged Per-
sians. The subject is purely an historical one: it is
the defeat of the naval armament of Xerxes. This
play was performed eight years after the battle of Sal-
amis, and it has been considered by some a defect
that so recent an event should have been represented
on the stage. But, as Racine has remarked in the
preface to Bajazet, distance of place supplies the want
of distance of time. The scene is laid at Susa, be-
fore the ancient structure appropriated to the great
council of state, and near the tomb of Darius. The
shade of this monarch comes forth from the sepulchre,
for the purpose of counselling Xerxes to cease from
the war against a people whom the gods protect. The
piece contains great beauties; every instant the trouble
of the Persians increases, and the interest augments.
By some it has been supposed to have been written
witu a political i ;tent, the poet endeavouring, by an
animated description of the pernicious effects of an
obstinate pride, and by filling the spectators with a
malignant compassion for the vanquished Xerxes, in-
diicctly disposing them to break off the war which
The'mistocIcK wished to prolong. -- 4. 'Ayaftt/ivuv
(" Agamemnon"). This prince, returning from the
siege of Troy with his female captive Cassandra, is as-
sassinated by Clytemnestra and . . Egisthus. The part
of Cassandra, who predicts the woes that are about to
fall upon the house of Agamemnon, forms the chief
interest of the piece, and is one of the finest that has
ever been conceived. The commencement of this
tragedy is somewhat languid, but as the play proceeds
all is movement und feeling. -- 5. Xorjitiopot (" The
Choephorae"). This drama is so entitled, because the
chorus, composed of female Trojan captives, slaves of
Clytemnestra, are charged with the office of bringing
the liquor for making libations at the tomb of Agamem-
non (xmh a liliation, and tyipu, tobring). The subject of
the piece is Orestes avenging the death of Agamemnon
on Clytemnestra and her paramour. When this horri-
ble deed has been accomplished, the parricide is deliv-
ered over to the Furies, who disturb his reason.
"The spirit of . Eschylus," observes Potter, "shines
through this tragedy; but a certain softening of grief
hangs over it, and gives it an air of solemn magnifi-
cence. " The characters of Orestes and Eleclra arc
finely supported. --6. F. i/ieviiec (" The Eumenides,"
or "Furies").
? ^ESA
^ESCHINES.
Art. 'u't. I. daugltti-r of Catreus, king of Crete, and
granddaughter, on /he father's side, of Minos. She
and her sister Clymene, having been guilty of incon-
tinence, were delivered over, by their father, into the
hands of Nauplius of Eubcea, to be conveyed by him
to foreign lands, and there sold into slavery. Nau-
plius, however, married Clymene, and sold merely
Aerope. She was purchased by Plisthcnes, son of
Atreus, and became by him the mother of Agamem-
non and Menelaus. Plisthenes, however, dying young,
Atreus, his father, took; Aerope to wife, and brought up
Agamemnon and Menelaus as his own sons. Aerope
subsequently was seduced by Thyestcs, brother of
Atreus, an act which was punished so horridly by the
injured husband. ( Vid. Atreus and Thyestes. ) Ac-
cording to some authorities, Aerope was cast into the
sea by Atreus. (Apollod. , 3, 2, 3. --Heyne ad Apollod. ,
I. e. --Sckol, in Eurtp. , Ores! . , 812. --Brunckad Soph. .
A). . 1255. )--II. Daughter of Cepheus, became the
mother of Aeropus by the god Mars. She died in
giving birth to her offspring. (Pausan. , 8, 44. )
Aebopcs, I. son of Mars and Aerope. (Vid. Aerope
11. )--II. Son of Tenienus, who, with his two brothers,
left Argos, and settled in Macedonia. Perdiccas, the
youngest of the three, was the founder of the Mace-
donian royal line. {Herod. , 8,137. --Compare Thucyd. ,
2, 99, and consult the article Macedonia)--III. A
king of Macedonia, who succeeded, while yet an in-
fant, his father Philip the First. The Illy ri. ins having
nude an inroad into Macedonia, and having proved
successful at first, were afterward defeated by the
Macedonians, the infant king being placed in his cra-
dle in the rear of their line. (Justin, 7, 2. )--IV.
A regent of Macedonia during the minority of Orestes,
son of Archelaus. He usurped the supreme power,
and held it six years, from 409 B. C. to 394 B. C. --
V. A mountain of Epirus, now Mount Trcl/ceshna.
near the defile anciently called Sit mi Aoi, or " Gorge
jf the Aous. "' On one of the precipices of this mount-
ain stands the fortress ofClissura. (Consult Hughes'
TraceU, vol. 2, p. 272. )
-Calces, according to Ovid (Met. , 11, 762, scqq. ),
a *an of Priam and Alcxirrhoe, who at an early age
? ruitled his father's court and retired to rural scenes.
He became enamoured of the nymph Hespcria; but
she treated his suit with disdain, and, in endeavouring
oq one occasion to escape from him, lost her life by
the bite of a serpent. -Esacus, in despair, threw
himself headlong from a rock into the sea; butTcthys,
pitying his fate, suspended his fall, and changed him
into a cormorant. --A different account is given by
Apododorus. According to this writer, . fjsacus was
th? son of Priam, by his first wife Arisba, and mar-
ried Asterope, who did not long survive her union with
him. His grief for her loss induced him to put an end
to liis existence. ^. Esacus was endued by his grand-
mother Merope with the gift of Prophecy; and he
transmitted this art to his brother aud sister, Hclenus
and Cassandra. Priam, having divorced Arisba that
he mi"ht espouse Hecuba, and the latter having
dreamed that she had brought forth a blazing torch,
which wrapped in flames the whole city, uEsacus pre-
dicted that the offspring of this marriage would oc-
casion the destruction of his family and country. On
this account, the infant Paris, immediately after his
birth, was exposed on Mount Ida. (Apollod. , 3, 12, 5,
<<? ? . . and Hcync, ad loc. )
? ? . t<iR, an Etrurian word, equivalent to the Latin
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? ^eschines.
vESCHINES.
cratic dialogues in the true spirit of bis master, on
temperance, moderation, humanity, integrity, and other
virtues. Their titles were, bltlrtudiic, Ka'A'/. iac, 'A? io-
%oc, 'koitaaia, 'AXKiiiddr/c, Tr/Aai'p/c, and 'Pivuv.
Of these none remain. We have, indeed, three dia-
logues extant, which go under the name of Eschines,
but the first and second arc not his, and very probably
the third also was never composed by him. (Mcincrs,
Judicium de quibusdam Socraiieornm reliquiis. --Com-
ment. Soe. Cull. , vol. 5, p. 45, 1782. --Fischer, ad
JEsch. Dial. , p. 23, 49, 107, cd. 1786. ) Their titles
are: 1. TIf/m 'XpcrT/c, ei Sidaxrov. "Concerning vir-
tue, and whether it can be communicated by instruc-
tion. " 2. 'Efrviiac, r) xepl tt? . ovtov. "Eryxias, or
concerning riches. " 3. 'X^ioxoc, ij ~epl davurov.
"Axiochus, or concerning death. " This last is attrib-
uted by some to Xcnocratcs of Chalcedon, and, what
makes it extremely probable that Xenocrates was the
author of the piece, is the circumstance of its contain-
ing the word &XeKTpvovoTp6ij>or, for which Pollux cites
the Axiochus of this very philosopher. Diogenes Lacr-
tius, moreover, informs us, that Xcnocratcs wrote a
work on death, but the manner in which he speaks of
this production does not seem to indicate that it had
the form of a dialogue. A letter, ascribed to vEschi-
nes, is, in like manner, supposed to be the production
of another writer. . Eschines pretended to have re-
ceived his dialogues from Xanthippe, the wife of Soc-
rates; and Diogenes Laertius states that Aristippus,
when reading them, called out, rrottcv ooi, Anerrli, ravrn;
"where did you get these from, you thief? " Little
reliance, howovcr, can bo placed on either of these ac-
counts. The three dialogues ascribed to ^Eschines
are found in the old editions of Plato, since that of Al-
dus, 1513. The Axiochus is given by Wolf, in the
collection entitled Doctnna rcclc vwendi ac manendi,
Basil, 1577 and 1586, 8vo. Lc Clcrc first published
these dialogues separately, at Amsterdam, 1711, in 8vo.
Horrffius gave a new edition and a new Latin version
at Leuwarde, 1718, in Rvo. Fischer published four
editions successively at Leipsic, in 1758, 1766, 1786,
and 1788, 8vo. The last contains merely the text
with an Index, so that the third is the most useful to
the student. Fischer's editions are decidedly the best.
The letter mentioned above was published by Sammct.
in his edition of the letters of . Eschines the orator. --II. .
An Athenian orator, born 397 B. C. , sixteen years . be-
fore Demosthenes. According to the account which
-Eschines gives of his own parentage, his father was
Of a family that had a community of altars with the Tace
of the Eteobutada? . Having lost his property by the
calamities of war, he turned his attention, as the son
toils us, to gymnastic exercises; but, being subsequent-
ly driven out by the thirty tyrants, he retired to Asia,
where he served in a military capacitv, and greatly dis-
tinguished himself. He contributed afterward to the
restoration of the popular power in Athens. One of
the orator's brothers served under Iphieratcs, and held
a command forthree years, while another, the youngest,
was sent as ambassador from the republic to the king
of Persia. Such is the account of . Eschines himself
{ilc male pcx/a leg. , p. 47 and 48, cd. Slqih. ). That
given by Demosthenes, however, in his oration for the
crown, is widely different. According to the latter,
the father of . Eschines was originally a slave to a
schoolmaster, and his first name was f romes, which,
upon gaininghis freedom, he changed to Atrometus, in
? ? accordance with Athenian usage. His mother was at
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? -4ESCHINES.
^ESCHYLUS.
h wastc-i time in Macedonia, whii- Philip was prose-
cuting his conquests in Thrace, . Eschines anticipated
iheir attack by an accusation of Timarchus liimseif, and
ipoke with so much energy, that the latter either hung
linwelf in despair, or, according to another authority,
was condemned, and deprived of his rights as a citizen.
Demosthenes, however, not intimidated by the blow,
preferred his original charge against deadlines, and,
according to Photius ( Biblioth. , vol. 1, p. 20, ed. Bek-
itr), came so near accomplishing the object he had in
view, that his rival vras only saved by the active inter-
ference of a wealthy citizen named Eubulus, an open
enemy of Demosthenes, and by the judges rising from
their seats before the accusation was brought to a close.
After many subsequent collisions, . Eschines was com-
pelled to yield to the patriotism and eloquence of his
adversary. Their most famous controversy was that
which related to the crown. A little after the battle
? I Chcronsja, Deraosthenei was commissioned to re-
pair the fortifications of Athens. He expended, in the
performance of this task, thirteen talents, ten of which
tie received from the public treasury, while the remain-
ing three were gene rou sly given from his own private
purse. As a mark of* public gratitude for this act of
liberality, Ctesiphon proposed to the people to decree
i crown of gold to the orator. . Eschines immediately
preferred an impeachment against Ctcsiphon, alleging
that such a decree was an infringement of the estab-
lished laws of the republic, since Demosthenes still held
tome public offices, and his accounts had not therefore
been settled, and besides, since he was not such a friend
to the state as Ctesiphon had represented him to be,
who had, therefore, put upon record documents of a
false and erroneous character. Demosthenes, on whom
the attack was virtually made, appeared in defence of
uj2 accused. This celebrated cause, after having been
delaved for some time in consequence of the troubles
attendant on the death of Philip, was at last brought
to a hearing. Ability and eloquence was displayed on
both sides, but the palm was won by Demosthenes;
and his rival, being found guilty of having brought an
unjust accusation, was obliged to undergo the punish-
ment he had intended for Ctesiphon, and was banished
from his country. It is stated by Photius (Biblioth. ,
vol. 2. p. 493, erf. Bckker), that . Eschines, when ho
lefc Athens, was followed and assisted by Demosthe-
nes, and that, upon the latter's offering him consolation,
he replied, "How shall I be able to bear my exile
from a city, in which I leave behind me enemies more
generous than it is possible to find friends in any other! "
Plutarch, however, ascribes this very answer to De-
mosthenes, when his opponents made arsimilar offer to
him as he was departing from Athens into exile, . Es-
diines retired to Asia with the intention of presenting
himself before Alexander; but the death of that mon-
arch compelled him to change his views, and take up
lis residence at Rhodes.
Here he opened a school of
eloquence, ami commenced his lectures by reading the
two orations which had been the occasion of his banish-
ment. His hearers loudly applauded his own speech;
but when he came to that of Demosthenes, they were
thrown into transports of admiration. "What would
you have said," exclaimed . Eschines, according to the
common account, "had you heard Demosthenes him-
self pronounce this oration! " The statement of Pho-
thu, however, is different from this, and certainly more
probable. The auditors of . Eschines at Rhodes ex-
? ? pressed, as he informs us, their surprise that a man of
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? vESCHYLUS.
jESCHYLUS.
and the Arundel Marbles. ) Pausanias (1, 14) records
a story of his boy hood, professedly on the authority of
the poet himself, that, having fallen asleep while watch-
ing the clusters of grapes in a vineyard, Bacchus ap-
peared to him, and bade him tum his attention to tragic
composition. This account, if true, shows that his
mind was, at a very early period, enthusiastically
struck with the exhibitions of the infant drama. An
impression like this, acting upon his fervid imagination,
would naturally produce such a dream as is described.
To this same origin must, no doubt, be traced the
common account relative to . fEschylus, that he was
accustomed to write under the influence of wine; and
in confirmation of which Lucian (Demosth. Encom. --
ed. Bip. --vol. 9, p. 144) cites the authority of Callis-
thenes, and AthcntBus (10, 33) that of Chameleon.
The inspiration of Bacchus, in such a case, can mean
nothing more than the true inspiration of poetry.
(Mohnike, Litt. der Gr. und Rom. , vol. 1, p. 359. )
At the age of twenty-five, -Eschylus made his first
public attempt as a tragic author, in the 70th Olympiad,
B. C. 499. (Suid. in klax---Clinton's Fasti Hellcn-
ici, p. 21, '2iled. ) The next notice which we have of
him is in the third year of the 72d Olympiad, B. C. 490,
when, along with his two celebrated brothers Cyneegi-
rus and Aminias, he was graced at Marathon with the
praises due to pre-eminent bravery, being then in his
35th year. (Marm. Arund. , No. 49. --\it. Anonym. )
Six years after that memorable battle, he gained his
first tragic victory. Four years after this was fought
the battle of Salamis, in which . Esrhylus took part
with his brother Aminias, to whose extraordinary valour
the upiorela were decreed. (Herod. , 8, 93. ? --Mlian,
Var. Hist. , 5, 19. ) In the following year he served in
the Athenian troops at Platsja. Eight years afterward
{. Argument, ad Pers. ) he gained the prize with a te-
tralogy, composed of the Persa, the Phineus, ,the
Glaucus Potnienns, and the Prometheus Ignifcr, a
satyric drama (or, to give their Greek titles, the lltp-
aai, Qivevc, TXaiiKoc Jlorvievc, and Tlpo/indeic nvpipo-
poc). The latter part of the poet's life is involved in
much obscurity. (Compare Blomjuld, ad Pers. Praf. ,
p. xxii. --Id. ad Arg. in Agamem. , p. xix. et xx. --Bockh,
de Grac. Trag. Princtp. , c. 4, seqq. ) That he quitted
Athens and died in Sicily, is agreed on all hands, but
the time and cause of his departure are points of
doubt and conjecture. It seems that . Eschylus had
laid himself open to a charge of profanation, by too
boldly introducing on the stage something connected
with the mysteries. According to Clemens Alcxan-
drinus, he was tried and acquitted of the charge (Iv
'Apeiifi rrdyip npiBelc, ovruc d<peia0n, iiridci$ac:, aiiTuv
pa) /ie/ivnfiivov. --Clem. Alex. , Strom. , 2. ) The more
romantic narrative of ^Elian (Var. Hist. , 5, 19) informs
os, that the Athenians stood ready to stone him to
death, when his brother Aminias, who interceded for
him, dexterously dropped his robe and showed the stump
of his own arm lost at the battle of Salamis. This act of
fraternal affection and presence of mind had the desired
effect on the quick and impulsive temper of the Athe-
nians, and . . Eschylus was pardoned. But the peril
which he had encountered, the dread of a multitude
ever merciless in their superstitions, indignation at the
treatment which he had received, joined, in all likeli-
hood, to feelings of vexation and jealousy at witnessing
the preference occasionally given to young and aspi-
ring rivals, were motives sufficiently powerful to induce
? ? the proud-spirited poet to abandon his native city, and
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? ^ESCHYLUS.
AESCHYLUS.
marinl character, which was also so contrived as to
give power aud distinctness to the voice. He paid
great attention to the choral dances, and invented sev-
eral figure-dances himself. Among his other improve-
ment^ is mentioned the introduction of a practice,
which subsequently became established as a Axed and
essential rule, the removal of all deeds of bloodshed
and murder from tVio public view (Philostr. , Vit.
ApoUon. , 6, 11), a rule only violated on one occasion,
namely, by Sophocles in his play of the Ajax. In
short, so many and so important were the alterations
and additions of -? schy lus, that he was considered by
the Athenians as the 'jFalher of Tragedy (Philostr. , I.
<<. ), and, as a mark of" distinguished honour paid to
Jus merits, they passed a decree, after his death, that
a chorus should be allowed to any poet who chose to
re-exhibit the dramas of -Eschylus. (Philostr. , I. e. )
Aristophanes alludes to this custom of re-exhibiting
the plays of ^Eschylus in the opening of the Acharni-
ans (r. 9. se/]q). Quintilian, however (10, 1), assigns
a very different reason for this practice, and makes it
to have been adopted for the purpose of presenting
these dramas^jn a more correct form than that in which
they were left by the author himself. What authority-
be had for such an assertion, does not now appear.
In philosophical sentiments, . Eschylus is said to have
been a Pythagorean. < Cic. , Tnse. Duip. , 2. 9. ) In his
extant dramas the tenets of this sect may occasionally
be traced; as, deep veneration in what concerns the
gods (Agamem. , 371), high regard for the sanctity of
an oath and the nuptial bond (Eumen. , 217), the im-
mortality of the soul (Chocph. , 321), the origin of
names from imposition and not from nature (Agamem. ,
682 Prom. Vtncl. , 84, 742), the importance of num-
bers (Prom. Vinci. , 468), the science of physiognomy
(Aa-aa-m. , 797), the sacred character of suppliants
isZpo'. 351. -- Eumen. , 233), &c. . Eschylus, ob-
serves Schlegel (Dram. Xi/. ,p. 135, M717), must be con-
sider? I as the creator of tragedy; it sprang forth from
his head in complete armour, like Minerva from the brain
of Jove. He clothed it as became its dignity, and not
onlv instructed the chorus in the song and the dance,
but'came forward himself as an actor. (Athcnteus, 1.
22 ) He sketches characters with a few bold and
powerful strokes. His plots are extremely simple.
He had not yet arrived at the art of splitting an action
into parts numerous and rich, and distributing their
complication and denouement into well-proportioned
step* Hence in his writings there often arises a ces-
sation of action, which he makes us feel still more by
his unreasonably long choruses. But, on the other
hand, all his poetry displays a lofty and grave disposi-
tion No soft emotions, but terror alone remains in
him the head of Medusa is held up before the petrified
spectators. His method of considering destiny is ex-
tremely harsh; it hovers over mortals in all its gloomy
magnificence. The buskin of . Eschylus has, as it
were, the weight of brass; on it none but gigantic
forms stalk before us. It almost seems to cost him
an effort to paint mere men; he frequently brings gods
in the sta^e, particularly the Titans, those ancient
deitiei who'shailow forth the dark primeval powers of
nature and who had long been driven into Tartarus,
beneath a world governed in tranquillity. In con-
formity with the standard of his dramatis persona? , he
jerks to swell out the language which they employ to
? colossal size; hence there arise rugged compound
? ? words, an over-multitude of epithets, and often an ex-
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? ^ESCHYLUS.
^SCULAPIUS.
<<n the events which preceded it, viz. , the " Laius," the
"CEdipus," and the "Sphinx. " Some critics, how-
ever, make the last to have been a satyric drama.
--3. Tlipaai (" The Persians"). This piece is so
called because the chorus is composed of aged Per-
sians. The subject is purely an historical one: it is
the defeat of the naval armament of Xerxes. This
play was performed eight years after the battle of Sal-
amis, and it has been considered by some a defect
that so recent an event should have been represented
on the stage. But, as Racine has remarked in the
preface to Bajazet, distance of place supplies the want
of distance of time. The scene is laid at Susa, be-
fore the ancient structure appropriated to the great
council of state, and near the tomb of Darius. The
shade of this monarch comes forth from the sepulchre,
for the purpose of counselling Xerxes to cease from
the war against a people whom the gods protect. The
piece contains great beauties; every instant the trouble
of the Persians increases, and the interest augments.
By some it has been supposed to have been written
witu a political i ;tent, the poet endeavouring, by an
animated description of the pernicious effects of an
obstinate pride, and by filling the spectators with a
malignant compassion for the vanquished Xerxes, in-
diicctly disposing them to break off the war which
The'mistocIcK wished to prolong. -- 4. 'Ayaftt/ivuv
(" Agamemnon"). This prince, returning from the
siege of Troy with his female captive Cassandra, is as-
sassinated by Clytemnestra and . . Egisthus. The part
of Cassandra, who predicts the woes that are about to
fall upon the house of Agamemnon, forms the chief
interest of the piece, and is one of the finest that has
ever been conceived. The commencement of this
tragedy is somewhat languid, but as the play proceeds
all is movement und feeling. -- 5. Xorjitiopot (" The
Choephorae"). This drama is so entitled, because the
chorus, composed of female Trojan captives, slaves of
Clytemnestra, are charged with the office of bringing
the liquor for making libations at the tomb of Agamem-
non (xmh a liliation, and tyipu, tobring). The subject of
the piece is Orestes avenging the death of Agamemnon
on Clytemnestra and her paramour. When this horri-
ble deed has been accomplished, the parricide is deliv-
ered over to the Furies, who disturb his reason.
"The spirit of . Eschylus," observes Potter, "shines
through this tragedy; but a certain softening of grief
hangs over it, and gives it an air of solemn magnifi-
cence. " The characters of Orestes and Eleclra arc
finely supported. --6. F. i/ieviiec (" The Eumenides,"
or "Furies").
