Callias: A Tale of the Fall of Athens

  CHAPTER XXV.

  BUSINESS AND PLEASURE.

  Its religious obligations discharged, for the games, as has been alreadysaid, were regarded as a service of thanksgiving for deliverance, thearmy turned its attention to secular affairs. One indispensable duty,one curiously characteristic, by the way, of the Greek soldier's temperof mind, was to call the generals to account. For a Greek soldier, evenwhen he was selling his sword to the highest bidder, never forgot thathe was a citizen, and that as a citizen he had the right of satisfyinghimself that his superiors had done their duty with due care and withintegrity. The Ten Thousand accordingly put aside for the time theirmilitary character, and resolved themselves into a civil assembly. Theirgenerals were no longer the commanding officers to whom they owed anunhesitating obedience, but the magistrates who had just completed theirterm of office, and had now to render their accounts[76] to those whohad elected them.

  The meeting of the army, perhaps I should rather say the assembly, washeld on the same ground which had served for a race course. One by onethe officers were called to answer for themselves. With many, indeed,the proceeding was purely formal. The name was called, and the manstepped forward on a platform which had been erected where it could bebest seen by the whole meeting. If no one appeared to make a complaintor to ask a question, the soldiers gave him a round of applause, if Imay use the word of the noise made by clashing their spears againsttheir shields; this was a verdict of acquittal and the officer retiredwith a bow. And this was what commonly happened. After all, the leadershad, on the whole, done their duty sufficiently well; there was proof ofthat in the simple fact that such a meeting was being held. But all didnot escape so easily. If, indeed, only a few voices of dissatisfactionwere heard, the matter was not pushed any further. When the secondappeal was made by the malcontents, they, seeing that they were notsupported by their comrades, preferred to keep silence. The man would,in all probability, be their officer again and he would not be likely tothink pleasantly of any one who had accused him. But where, on the otherhand, there was anything like an agreement of dissatisfied voices, thecomplainants took courage to come forward, and the examination wasproceeded with in earnest. One officer had had charge of some of theproperty of the army; there was a deficiency in his accounts and he wasfined twenty himal[77] to make it good. Another was accused ofcarelessness in his duties as leader, and had to pay half this sum. Thencame the _cause celebre_, as it may be called, of the day, the trial ofXenophon himself. Xenophon was generally popular with the army, as,indeed, he could scarcely fail to be, considering all that he had donefor it; but he had enemies. The mere fact of his being an Athenian madehim an object of dislike to some; others, as will be seen, he had beencompelled to offend in the discharge of his duty.

  "Xenophon, the son of Gryllus," shouted the herald at the top of hisvoice.

  The Athenian stepped on to the platform.

  An Arcadian soldier, Nicharchus by name, came forward and said, "Iaccuse Xenophon the Athenian of violence and outrage."

  A few voices of assent were heard throughout the meeting; and some halfdozen men came forward to support the the prosecutor. Accuser andaccused were now confronted.

  "Of what do you accuse me?" asked Xenophon.

  "Of wantonly striking me," replied the man.

  "When and where did you suffer these blows?"

  "After we had crossed the Euphrates, when there was a heavy fall ofsnow."

  "I remember. You are right. The weather was terrible; our provisions hadrun out; the wine could not so much as be smelt; many men were droppingdown, half dead with fatigue; the enemy were close upon our heels. Werenot these things so?"

  "It is true. Things were as bad as you say, or even worse."

  "You hear," said Xenophon, turning to the assembly, "how we weresituated, and indeed, seeing that you suffered these things yourself,you are not likely to forget them. Verily; if in such a condition ofthings, I struck this man wantonly and without cause, you might fairlycount me more brutal than an ass. But say--" he went on, addressinghimself again to his accuser, "was there not a cause for my beatingyou?"

  "Yes, there was a cause," the fellow sullenly admitted.

  "Did I ask you for something, and strike you because you refused to giveit?"

  "No."

  "Did I demand payment for a debt, and lose my temper because the moneywas not forthcoming?"

  "No."

  "Was I drunken?"

  "No."

  "Tell me now; are you a heavy-armed soldier?"

  "No; I am not."

  "Are you a light-armed then?"

  "No; nor yet a light-armed."

  "What were you doing then?"

  "I was driving a mule."

  "Being a slave?"

  "Not so; I am free; but my commander compelled me to drive it."

  A light broke in upon Xenophon. He had had a general recollection of theoccasion, but could not remember the particular incident. Now it allcame back to him.

  "Ah," he cried, "I remember; it was you who were carrying the sick man?"

  "Yes," the man confessed, "I did so, by your compulsion; and a prettymess was made of the kit that I had upon the mule's back."

  "Nay, not so; the men carried the things themselves, and nothing waslost. But hear the rest of the story," he went on, turning to theassembly, "and, indeed it is worth hearing. I found a poor fellow lyingupon the ground, who could not move a step further. I knew the man, andknew him as one who had done good service. And I compelled you, sir,"addressing Nicharchus, "to carry him. For if I mistake not, the enemywere close behind us."

  The Arcadian nodded assent.

  "Well then; I sent you forward with your burden, and after a while,overtook you again, when I came up with the rear-guard. You were digginga trench in which to bury the man. I thought it a pious act, and praisedyou for it. But, lo! while I was speaking, the dead man, as I thought hewas, twitched his leg. 'Why he's alive,' the bystanders cried out.'Alive or dead, as he pleases,' you said, 'but I am not going to carryhim any further.' Then I struck you. I acknowledge it. It seemed to methat you were going to bury the poor fellow alive."

  "Well," said the Arcadian, "you won't deny, I suppose, that the man diedafter all."

  "Yes," replied Xenophon, "he died, I acknowledge. We must all die someday; but, meanwhile, there is no reason why we should be buried alive."

  The man hung his head and said nothing.

  "What say you, comrades?" cried Xenophon.

  One of the oldest men in the ranks got up and said, "If Xenophon hadgiven the scoundrel a few more blows he had done well."

  A deafening clash of swords and spears followed, and the verdict wasaccepted.

  The other complainants were now called to state the particulars of theirgrievances. Dismayed by the reception which their spokesman had metwith, they remained silent, one and all. Xenophon then entered upon ageneral defence of his conduct.

  "Comrades," he said, "I confess that I have many times struck men forwant of discipline. These were men who, leaving others to provide fortheir safety, thought only of their own gain. While we were fightingthey would leave their place in the ranks to plunder, and so enrichedthemselves at our expense. Some also I have struck, when I found themplaying the coward and ready to give themselves helplessly up to theenemy. Then I forced them to march on, and so saved their lives. For Iknow, having once myself sat down in a sharp frost, while I was waitingfor my comrades, how loath one is to rise again. Therefore, for theirsake, I raised them even with blows, as I should myself wish, were I sofound, to be raised. Others also have I struck whom I found stragglingbehind that they might rest. I struck them for your sake, for they werehindering both you that were in front, and us that were behind, and Istruck them for their own sake. For verily it was a lighter thing tohave a blow with the fist from me than a spear's thrust from the enemy.Of a truth, if they are able to stand up now to accuse me, it is becauseI saved them thus. Had they fallen into the enemy's hand, whatsatisfaction would
they be able to get, even if their wrongs were tentimes worse than that Nicharchus complains of? No," he went on, "myfriends, I have done nothing more to any one than what a wise fatherdoes to his child, or a good physician does to his patient. You see howI behave myself now. I am in better case; I fare better; I have food andwine in plenty. Yet I strike no one. Why? Because there is no need;because we have weathered the storm, and are in smooth water. I need nomore defence; you have, I see, acquitted me. Yet I cannot forbear to saythat I take it ill that this accusation has been made. You remember thetimes when I had for your good to incur your dislike; but the times whenI eased the burden of storm or winter for any of you, when I beat off anenemy, when I ministered to you in sickness or in want, these no oneremembers--" and here the speaker's voice half broke, partly with realemotion, partly at the suggestion of the orator's art. A thrill ofsympathy ran through the audience. "And you forget," he went on, "that Inever failed to praise the doer of any noble deed, or to do such honoras I could, to the brave, living or dead. Yet, surely it were morenoble, more just, more after the mind of the gods, a sweeter andkindlier act, to treasure the memory of the good than to cherish thesehateful thoughts."

  When the speaker sat down, there was nothing that he might not haveobtained from his comrades.

  That night there was a great banquet. This served a double purpose.Quarrels were made up, and some other difficult relations of the army toits neighbors were satisfactorily adjusted. The fact was, that theGreeks, partly from their want, and partly in the hope of filling theirpockets after a long and profitless campaign, had been plundering rightand left. The natives, on the other hand, had not been slow toretaliate. Plundering cannot be done satisfactorily in company; but anywho ventured to do a little business on his own account ran a greatchance of being cut off. Under these circumstances both parties thoughtit might be possible to come to an agreement. If the Greeks would notplunder, the natives would leave them unmolested and even furnish themwith supplies. The chief of the country, accordingly, sent an embassy,with a handsome present of horses and robes of native manufacture. Thegenerals entertained them at a banquet, to which, at the same time, theyinvited the most influential men of the army. The chief's proposalswould be informally discussed, and proposed in regular form at a generalmeeting the next day.

  The generals did their best to impress their guests. Meat, bread andwine were in plenty; and the eparch of Trapezus sent one of themagnificent turbots for which the waters of the Black Sea were famous.All the plate that was in the camp was put into requisition to make asbrave a show as possible; and, at the instance of Callias, some handsomevessels of gold and silver were lent by the town authorities.

  But, in the eyes of the guests, the most impressive part of theentertainment was in the performances which followed it. The libationhaving been made and the hymn, which supplied the part of grace aftermeat, having been sung, some of the Thracian soldiers came upon theplatform which had been prepared for the performers. They wore the usualarmor of their country, a helmet, greaves, light cuirass, and sword, anddanced a national dance to the sound of a flute, leaping into the airwith extraordinary nimbleness, and brandishing their swords. One pair ofdancers were conspicuous for their agility. Faster and faster grewtheir movements, and with gestures of defiance they alternatelyretreated and advanced. At last, one of them, carried, it seemed, out ofhimself by his rage, thrust at his fellow with his sword. The man fell.

  "He is killed!" screamed out the guests, and rose from their seats.

  Indeed, the man had fallen so artistically and lay so still that any onewould have thought that he had received a fatal blow. The Greeks,however, looked on unmoved, and the strangers, not knowing whether thiswonderful people might not be wont to kill each other for theentertainment of their guests, resumed their seats. The dancer who haddealt the blow stripped the other of his arms, and hurried off, singingthe Thracian national song:

  "All praise to Sitalces, Invisible Lord, The spear point that errs not, The death-dealing sword, The chariot that scatters The close ranks of war, Red Ruin behind it, Blind Panic before!"

  When he had left the stage a party of Thracians appeared and carried offthe fallen man, who had remained without giving the slightest sign oflife.

  Another dance in armor succeeded, performed this time by AEoliantribesmen from the Menalian coast. A man came on the stage, and, layingaside his arms, made believe to drive a yoke of oxen, and to sow as hedrove. Every now and then he looked round, with an admirable imitationof expecting some unpleasant interruption. This came in the shape ofanother armed man, who was supposed to represent a cattle-lifter. Theploughman caught up his arms, and ran to encounter him. The two foughtin front of the team, keeping time as they struck and parried to thesound of the flute. At last the robber appeared to vanquish hisadversary, to bind him, strip him of his arms, and drive off the team.

  The next performer was a Mysian, who danced, again in armor, what weshould call a _pas seul_. He had a light shield in each hand, and seemedto be fighting with two adversaries at once; his action wasextraordinarily life-like and his agility almost more than human. Incurious contrast with his performance was the stately movement of someArcadians heavy-armed, who, with all the weight of their armor andaccoutrements upon them, moved to the tune of the warriors' march withas much ease as if they had been perfectly unencumbered.

  "Good Heavens!" cried one of the envoys to his next neighbor, "what menthese are! Their armor seems not one whit heavier to them than a shirt,and they carry their swords and their spears as if they were twigs ofosier."

  One of the Mysians, whose dialect was not very different from that ofthe speaker, overheard the remark. "Ah!" he said to himself, "we willastonish these gentlemen still more."

  He drew one of the Arcadians who had just performed, aside. "Send Cleoneon the stage," he said.

  Cleone was a dancing-girl, famous for her agility.

  By good luck she was at hand, having indeed expected to perform for theamusement of the company. The Arcadian made her put on a light cuirassof silvered steel, which she wore over a scarlet tunic. She had a shortgilded helmet, buskins of purple, and sandals tied with crimson strings.In her left hand she carried a small shield, and in her right, a lightspear. Thus accoutred, she came on the stage and danced the Pyrrhicdance with tremendous applause from all the spectators.

  The astonishment of the native guests was beyond all expression.

  "What!" cried their chief, "do your women fight?"

  "Of course," said the General whom he addressed, "of course they fight,and very pretty soldiers they make."

  "Women soldiers!" gasped the man.

  "Why," said his host, "did you not know that it was the women who routedthe Great King, and drove him out of our camp?"

  FOOTNOTES:

  [76] The examination of accounts (euthuna) was one of the most importantconstitutional usages in the Athenian commonwealth. All magistrates oncoming out of office, and ambassadors returning from a mission had toundergo it. The existence of this usage would make the difference in theeyes of an Athenian between a constitutional and a despotic government.The other Greek States, though we know but little of their internalarrangements, probably had some similar institution.

  [77] Rather more than L400.