The History of Greece

Preface

. The present work is intended to supply the want of a good History of Greece for schools. It claims, how ever, to be regarded as somewhat more than a mere school-book. The idea of a popular epitome, which I have sought to realize in it, is that, while by clear, animated, and graphic narrative it should interest the young, the views of society and of political measures and characters should be such as not to be disdained even by the statesman. In a country like this, where almost every one is called upon to take a part in politics, no species of knowledge is more indispensable than history. Under the guidance of sound sense, without which knowledge is of little avail, it is our surest protection against wild political theory, and enables us to think and act with confidence and security in public emergencies.

Few, therefore, will deny that it is of importance that correct ideas on this subject should be instilled into the minds of youth, and that histories intended for their use should be something better than mere compilations. But the young are not alone to be considered ; there is a very numerous class of grown persons who feel the want of sound historic knowledge, but have not time for reading voluminous works, and have a just contempt for the common school hislories. To such also the present author's preface. IV volume is offered. It has been written directly from the best original authorities ; and the works of the ablest modern writers on Grecian history and antiquities have been diligently studied and used. It may suffice to mention the names of Miiller, Heeren, Bockh, and Wachsmuth among the Germans, and of Arnold and Clinton among ourselves, to inspire confidence.

The limits to which I deemed it prudent to confine myself have precluded me from making references ; but when ever I coincide with these writers in sentiment or ex pression, it will of course be inferred that I am their debtor. It may be that, in reading the following pages, some persons will feel disappointed at not meeting " Plutarch's men," as they are called. The reason they do not is, that I am a historian, not a panegyrist ; that the Greeks were no demigods, but men like ourselves, with all our vices and infirmities ; and that history, to be useful, should be true. There may be others who think that Grecian history, because it is ancient, can be of little use at the present day. But, as Dr. Arnold finely observes, history knows not this distinction of ancient and modern with respect to utility.

Man has always been the same, and no por tion of his story can be quite devoid of use and interest. That of ancient Greece and Rome is even far more useful than the greater part of modern history ; for they were free, and theirs is that of the people, not of the rulers. The most important and instructive history to us is that of England ; next, that of Greece and Rome ; and then I would say, not that of the great kingdoms and empires, but of the Italian republics of the Middle Ages. Why is Oriental history, in general, author's preface. V so barren of instruction? Simply, because it is the history of Khalifs, Shahs, and Sultans, not of the people. London. Jan, 1, 1835. The improvements (as I trust they will be considered) made in this Second Edition are as follows. Some errors have been corrected, and some omissions sup plied ; the authorities are given as in the History of Rome ; plans of Athens and Syracuse are added ; the Greek orthography has been employed instead of the Latin, ei having replaced e or i, on the final urn, and os in many cases the finalus ; the final u is .-narked 6, as in Solon.

Finally, the plan adopted in the History of Rome, of marking the penultimate when long otherwise than by a diphthong or position, (cl is not such ; we say Pericles,) has been extended to this work also. As Mr. Thirlwall's History of Greece (a part of which has been published) will doubtless, from its evident superiority, take the place of those of Gillies and Mit ford, it has given me much pleasure to observe how little difference there is between his views and mine, even in the early parts, where so much is left to conjecture. I therefore hope that the present summary will be regarded as a good introduction to his more compre hensive history. T. K. London, Sept. 3, 1836. A*

PREFACE.

TO THE AMERICAN EDITION. The compilations of Goldsmith and others, on the subject of Grecian History, have been so long before the public, and the imperfections and incorrectness of all of them have been so long felt, that the publishers need no apology for offering the follow ing recent and excellent production of the English press to the American public. The work has already been received in Britain with the highest approbation. It will be seen by the Author's Preface, that, while this work "is intended to supply the want of a good History of Greece for schools," it claims, in some respects, to take a higher stand than a mere school-book ; that is, while it gives a scrupulously accurate and concise account of the events which transpired in the country where civilization and the arts first attained to their highest point, — whence, indeed, much has been derived to our own time, — it is yet presented in such a style and form of counecied and interesting narrative, that the most fastidious scholar may derive pleasure and instruction from its perusal.

The inspection of the following pages proves most satisfactorily that this claim is just. The publishers have, therefore, prepared, at the same time with an edition for the use of schools, another, more suitable for the library. To this edition a Chronological Table of Contemporary Events in other countries has been added. It has been compiled with careful accuracy, and, it is hoped, will render the work still more valuable and useful. The publishers have prepared, in the same style, the "History of Rome," by the same author — an equally valuable work, and written on the same plan. They have also in the press his " History of England." They feel assured that the whole series will prove a very valuable addition to the educational, as well as the polite litera ture of this country. CONTENTS. PART i. ARISTOCRATIC PERIOD.

Chapter I

State of Greece. — Revolt of the Messenians. — War of Athens with Ægina and Corinth. — Battles of Tanagra and Œnophyta. — Athenian Expedition to Egypt. — Battle of Coroneia. — Conquest of Samos. — Power of the Athenians. — Character of Pericles % 153

Chapter II

War between the Corinthians and Corcyræans, — Siege of Potidæa. — Origin of the Peloponnesian War 166 CHAPTER HI. Commencement of the Peloponnesian War. — Invasion of Attica. — Plague at Athens. — Siege of Platæa. — Naval Action in the Corinthian Gulf. — Death of Pericles. — Revolt of Mytilene. Escape of the Platæans CONTENTS. IX

Chapter X

Affairs on the Coast of Asia. — Return of Alcibiades. — Lysander. — Callicratidas. — Battle of Arginusæ. — Condemnation of the Generals. — Battle of Ægospotami. — Surrender of Athens. — Death of Alcibiades 277

CHAPTER XL

The Thirty Tyrants. — Death of Theramenes. — Return of the Exiles. — End of the Tyranny 296

Chapter XII

Retreat, of the Ten Thousand. — Dercyllidas in Asia. — Conspir- B X CONTENTS. FAQS. acy of Cinadon. — Agesilaus in Asia. — Corinthian or First Bœotian War. — Victories of Conon. — Exploit of Iphicrates. — Progress of the War. — Peace of Antalcidas 305

Chapter V

Polysperchon and Cassander. — Death of Phocion. — Siege of Megalopolis. — Contests in Greece. — Demetrius Poliorcetes in Greece and in Asia. — Irruption of the Gauls. — Pyrrhus in Peloponnesus; — his Death. — Ætolian and Achæan Leagues. — Aratus 426

Chapter IX

War against Nabis. — Antiochus the Great in Greece. — War between Sparta and the League. — Death of Philopœmon. — Last Efforts of the Greeks. — Destruction of Corinth. — Reduction of Greece to a Province. — Conclusion 476 Chronological Table of Contemporary History PRELIMINARY NOTICES. Grecian Chronology. The ancient Greeks reckoned by periods of four years, named Olympiads, from the Olympic Games, which were celebrated at the commencement of each period. They were counted from the first new moon after the summer solstice : the first Olympiad began July 21-22, 776 B. C. Dates in Olympiads are thus expressed : ex. gr. Ol. 42, 3, that is, the 3d year of the 42d -Olympiad. To reduce Olympiads to years before Christ : subduct 1 from the Olympiad and 1 from the odd years, then multiply the Olympiad by 4, and add the odd years ; subtract the product from 776, and the remainder will be the number sought.

Ex. gr. To find the year B. C. answering to Ol. 72, 3, the year of the battle of Marathon : 72 — 1 and 3 — 1 = 71, 2 ; and 71 X 4 -f 2 = 286 ; and 776 — 286 = 490. The reason of the rule is this : the year is the 3d of the 72d Olympiad ; consequently, seventy-one Olympiads and two years are past ; the years which they make are therefore to be subtracted from 776. Grecian Measures of Length. The Grecian foot was somewhat longer than the English, being to it as 1.007 to 1. The Stadium was equal to 600 Greek feet, that is, to 604^ feet English, and was therefore less than the furlong (which contains 660 feet) by 55f feet. In a loose approximative way, how ever, we may reckon the stadia as furlongs, eight to the English mile. Grecian Money. The Attic Drachma, or lowest silver coin, has been found, from a comparison of several pieces, to weigh sixty-five grains Troy ; hence the following values result. „ £,. s. a. Obolus, or Obole 0 0 l^j Drachma = 6 Oboles 0 0 9§ Mna, or Mina= 100 Drachmas 4 0 6| Talent = bO*Mnas 24113 4 The Medimnus (somewhat more than a bushel) of wheat cost in Solon's time one drachma ; in the time of the Corinthian War, three drachmas ; and in the time of Demosthenes it was cheap at five drachmas.

Taking the medium price, three drachmas, (2s. 5_.,) we may say, in a loose way, that money was of twice or three times the value in those times that it is now, and compute the sums we shall meet in the following pages accordingly. THE HISTORY OF GREECE.

Chapter I. Description Of Greece

The great mountain range which commences with the Pyrenees at the Atlantic Ocean, and terminates with Mount Hæmus, or the Balkan, at the Euxine Sea, divides the three peninsulas which form the south of Europe from the con tinent which extends to the north. In its course, it sends out branches on either side, one of which runs down Hel las, or Greece, the most eastward of the peninsulas. This branch, in its progress southwards, first formed the limit be tween the Illyrians on the west, and the Pæonians and Ma cedonians on the east. It then, under the name of Pindus, divided the Hellenes * of Thessaly from their semi-barbarous kindred, the Epirotes, who dwelt to the west. This range also has its branches, and it continues its course, under various names, till it ends at the sea. A branch, running eastwards from the commencement of Pindus, separates Macedonia from Greece, forming the * By the inhabitants, the country was named Hellas, ("EZXac,) the people, Hellenes, (" EZlyzc ;) the Romans called the former Grœcia, the latter", Grœci. 1 A northern limit of this last-named country.

This branch is called the Cambunian Mountains ; it was also named Olym pus, from the lofty snow-crowned mountain of that name, once held to be the seat of the Grecian gods, which forms its eastern extremity. A narrow valley separates Olympus from Ossa, which rises, in form like a dome, on the south ; and Ossa is joined on the south by Pelion, which is met by a ridge, named Othrys, running eastwards from Pindus. Parallel to Olympus and Othrys on the south, another branch, named Œta, runs from the chain of Pindus to the sea. The country lying between Olympus and Œta is named Thessaly. It is divided into two portions by Mount Othrys. The northern, which may be called the Vale of the Peneius, (Peneus,) from its principal river, is a rich, fertile plain, shut in on all sides by mountains. One narrow opening between Olympus and Ossa, the romantic glen of Tempe, affords an outlet to the waters of the limpid Titaresius, and the other streams which irrigate the valley.

The Peneius receives them all, and pours them through Tempe into the sea. The towns of the Vale of the Peneius are Tricca, Larissa, Scotiissa, Crannon, Pheræ, on the Lake Bœbei's, Pharsa lus, etc. A road over Othrys, by the castle of Thaumakia, led from the Vale of the Peneius into that of the Spercheius. This last is watered by the Spercheius and its tributary streams, and is open on the east to the sea ; by two bays of which, the Pagasaic and Maliac, it is penetrated. Its towns were Lamia, Hypata, Alus, Larissa Cremaste, Iolcos, Pagasæ, etc. A narrow strip of land, between Ossa and Pelion and the sea, extends from the mouth of the Peneius to that of the Bay of Pagasæ : this was named Magnesia, and was con sidered a part of Thessaly. As Tempe is the only entrance into Thessaly on the north, so the only passage out of it on the south is the narrow pass named Pylæ, (Gates,) or Thermopylæ, (Hot-gates,) from its warm springs, which runs between the eastern termination of Œta and the sea.

South-eastwards from Œta rise in DESCRIPTION OF GREECE. succession the hills named Cnemis, Acontion, and Ptoon ; which, with the land between them and the sea, form the Epicnemidian and Opuntian Locris, whose only towns of note were Opus, Scarpheia, Nicæa, and Thronion. Messapion, Mycalessos, and other hills, run along the coast from Ptoon, and join Mount Parnes, which, running westwards, meets the rugged Cithæron. The verdant Heli con, the seat of the Muses, turns northwards from Cithæron, and is succeeded by Mount Hadyleion, which joins that of Acontion. The region thus enclosed, and named Bœotia, is not a plain, like those of Thessaly, but rather a succession of hill and dale, and plains of small extent and great fertility. It is divided by a range of rocky hills, running from Heli con to Ptoon.

The northern part contained the towns of Orchomenus, Chæroneia, Lebadeia, Coroneia, Aspledon, Haliartus, Onchestus, etc. Its principal river is the Cephis sus, which, having collected the waters of the Valley of Phocis on the west, enters Bœotia, at the pass of Elateia, on the north, the only entrance into Bœotia,* and empties itself into Lake Copai's, famous for its delicious eels. Sub terraneous passages, thirty stadia in length, convey the superfluous waters of this lake to the sea on the east. The southern portion of Bœotia contained the towns of Thebes, Thespiæ, and Platæa. Its chief stream is the Asopus, which, rising in Cithæron, enters the sea near Tanagra. The coast from Locris to Attica, containing the towns of Anthedon, Tanagra, and Oropus, was part of Bœotia, as also a strip of coast along the Corinthian Gulf.

Bœotia, being the central part of Greece, and affording plains of some extent, was the scene of most of the great land battles which occur in Grecian history. South-east of Bœotia, and separated from it by the range of Parnes and Cithæron, runs into the sea the peninsula of Attica. Hills, some rugged, some fruitful, enclosing valleys and small, fertile plains, occupy the greater part of its * When we call Tempe, Thermopylæ, and the present one, the only entrances, we mean exclusive of ways over the mountains. surface. The chief hills are Hymettus, Pentelicus, and the promontory of Sunion ; the most extensive plains are those of Eleusis, Athens, Brauron, and Marathon. Athens and Eleusis were the only towns of note : the brooks of the Ilissus and Cephissus, at Athens, have obtained a celebrity not proportioned to their magnitude.

Opposite the coast of Locris, Bœotia, and Attica, and separated from it by a narrow channel, lies the island of Eubœa, extending, in a length of twelve hundred stadia, from the Maliac Bay to the parallel of Brauron in Attica. It contained the towns of Oreos, Chalcis, Eretria, Carystus, etc. West of Attica, and south of Cithæron, to the Corinthian Gulf, extends Megaris, consisting of barren hills and a single plain, on which stood the town of Megara, with a port on the Saronic Gulf. Between Helicon and Parnassus, in a valley extending from the Corinthian Gulf to the Epicnemidian Locris, lies Phocis. Its_ towns were Delphi, renowned for its oracle, Stiris, Panopeus, Hyampolis, Elateia, etc. Parnassus, Pindus, and Œta, enclose Dryopis and Doris to the north-west of Phocis ; and the Western, or Ozolian Locris, with its towns of Amphissa and Naupactus, lies west of Phocis, on the Corinthian Guif.

To the west of Locris and Parnassus, and extending northwards to Pindus and the Bay of Ambracia, lies the mountainous, but not unfertile, Ætolia. Its towns were Thermon, Pleuron, Calydon, Chalcis, etc. The river Eve nus, rising in Mount Œta, runs through it from north to south ; the Achelous, flowing from Pindus, forms its western limit. West of the Achelous, and bounded by it and the Ionian Sea, lies Acarnania. Its towns were Stratos, Alyzia, etc. The peninsula named Peloponnesus lies to the south of Greece, to which it is united by a neck of land named the Isthmus, only thirty-two stadia in its least width. The Oneian Mountains, which run south from Cithæron, termi nate and leave a plain at the Isthmus, which extends into Peloponnesus. DESCRIPTION OF GREECE. A mountainous quadrangle, enclosing a district divided into separate portions by lower ranges, and sending out arms on all sides, occupies the centre of Peloponnesus.

The mountains named Erymanthus, Lampe, Aroania, and Cyllene, form the north side of the quadrangle ; its eastern side is composed of Artemision, Parthenion, and Parnon. Those of Boreion, Taygeton, and Lycæon, form its south side ; and Pholoe, with the mountains which unite it to Lycæon, close it in on the west. The included region is named Arcadia ; it consists of mountain ranges, elevated plains, deep valleys, ravines, torrents, lakes, and forests. Its only opening is on the west, where the river Alpheius issues, carrying with it the waters of the Ladon and other streams. Some streams leave it on the east by subterrane ous passages. The towns of Arcadia were Tegea and Mantineia, (both standing in a plain, the scene of many a hard-fought battle,) Orchomenus, Cleitor, Stymphalus, Megalopolis, etc.

North of Arcadia, the mountains gradually sink to the sea. The narrow strip running along the coast opposite Ætolia and Locris was named Achaia. It contained twelve towns — Dyme, Patræ, Ægion, Pellene, etc. To the east of Achaia, on the coast, was the small state of Sicyon ; and bounded by them, by Argolis, and Arcadia, lay the equally small states of Phlius and Cleonæ. East of Sicyon, in the plain extending through and from the Isthmus, and along the Saronic Gulf, lies the district of Corinth. The wealthy, luxurious city of that name was built south of the Isthmus, at the foot of the lofty rock named Aero-Corinth, which rises abruptly out of the plain to a height of some hundred feet. The city had two ports, Cenchreæ on the Saronic, and Lechæon on the Corinthian Gulf. A peninsula named Argolis, from its principal town, runs hence in a south-east direction.

Its northern side, named the Acte, (Strand,) contained the towns of Epidaurus and Trœzen ; its southern side, those of Argos, Mycenæ, Her- 1* mione, etc. It is chiefly composed of ranges of hills and plains along the coast, like the opposite Attica. The Ina chus and Erasinus, which rise in Arcadia, are its most important streams. South-east and south of Arcadia stretch two mountain ridges, terminating in the promontories of Malea and Tænaron. They enclose a fertile valley, watered by the pellucid Eurotas, and then receive between them the Laco nian Bay. This country was named Laconia; its towns were Sparta or Lacedæmon, Amyclæ, Gytheion, (Gythium,) on the gulf, Epidaurus Limera on the east coast, etc. West of the mountain limit of Laconia named Taygeton, and extending thence to the sea, lies Messene,* one of the most fertile portions of Greece.

Joining Taygeton, and at the head of the Messenian Bay, is the rich plain named Macaria, (Happy,) watered by the Pamisus, which, though short in its course, and unsung by the poets, is one of the fullest and fairest streams of Peloponnesus. North of Macaria, and environed by hills, one of which is the ever-memorable Ithome, extends the plain of Stenyclaros. Westwards, the country becomes more rugged and hilly. West of Arcadia, extending along the sea from Messene to Achaia, lies Elis, renowned as the scene of the Olympian games. It consisted of three parts, Triphylia, Pisatis, and Elis. The plain, named Hollow Elis, lying between the arms of Pholoe and Scollis, is the largest in the peninsula. The chief towns were Elis and Pisa, on the banks of the Alpheius, near which was Olympia, where the games named from it were celebrated.

Greece is nearly surrounded by water, the different por tions of which bore peculiar names. The Ionian Sea washes it on the west, sending in the Corinthian Gulf to separate the western part of Peloponnesus from Hellas Proper. The Cretan Sea succeeds, from which the Myrtoan runs up along the east coast of Peloponnesus, sending in the * So it is named by all, from Homer to Polybius. This last writer, and those who succeeded him, call it Messenia. DESCRIPTION OF CREECE. Bay of Argos and the Saronic Gulf; which last is on the east, what the Corinthian is on the west, and contains the Islands of Ægina, Calauria, and Salamis. The Ægean Sea then spreads from Greece to Asia. Numerous islands stud these seas. In the Ionian, opposite Acarnania and Elis, lie Cephallenia, Ithaca, and Zacynthus. Off Cape Malea, in the Cretan Sea, is the isle of Cythera, south-east of which Crete stretches about thirteen hundred stadia from west to east : the White Mountains, and Ida and Dicte, run along its whole length : its north side is the most fertile.

The chief towns were Cydonia, Lyctus, Gortys, or Gortyna, and Cnossus. The islands named Sporades (Scattered) lie north of Crete ; and north-west of these, in the Ægean, are the Cyc lades, (Circling,) so named from the manner in which they lie. The chief of these are Andros, Tenos, Delos, Naxos, Paros, Melos, Cythnos, and Ceos. Above Eubœa are Scyros, Sciathos, Peparethos, and others. Lemnos, Thasos, Samo thrace, and Imbros, lie off the coast of Thrace. Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Cos, Rhodes, and others of less note, are along that of Asia. Each island had a town of its own name, but Lesbos and Rhodes had each more than one town. Greece thus presents to view a land divided by mountains, undulating with hills, now spreading into fertile plains, now contracting into deep vales, watered by streams, of which none are navigable, and many are dry in the heats of summer, while clusters of islands raise their verdant heads from the sea, the apparent remains of a submerged continent.

The whole surface of this Hellas, so renowned in history, is (islands included) less by a third than that of the small kingdom of Portugal ; but its extent of sea-coast exceeds that of Italy by a fifth, and is more than double that of France. Forestand fruit-trees, of various kinds, grew on the hills and plains of Greece. Attica boasted its superior olives: the vine and fig-tree were every where to be seen. Wheat, barley, and other kinds of corn, grew in all parts. Horses, asses, mules, sheep, goats, oxen, and swine, fed on its hills, vales, and plains. Its woods and mountains harbored hares, deer, wild boars, and other game; and wolves and bears enticed the daring hunter. Fish abounded in its seas and lakes. No granite peaks tower in Hellas : its mountains and hills are of limeand sand-stone, forming spacious caverns, and affording sites in plains for strong castles.

The quarries of Pentelicus, Carystus, and Paros, yielded marble in abun dance to the sculptor and architect. The mines of Eubœa gave copper; those of Bœotia and Laconia, iron ; silver came from Laurion in Attica, and from the isle of Siphnos, which last also yielded small quantities of gold. Such was Hellas, whose history we are about to relate — a land yielding all the necessaries and most of the luxuries of life, of varied surface, of temperate climate, lying within a moderate distance of all the civilized states round the Mediterranean, and inhabited by one of the most highly-en dowed portions of the human race.

Chapter II. Original State Of Greece

THE PELASGIANS. THE HEROIC AGE. Hellas, in common with the rest of Europe, was peopled by that portion of mankind named the Japhetian, Caucasian, or Indo-German race ; but it is utterly beyond our power to say at what time this event occurred, or what was the con dition of its first inhabitants. That they were not in the nomadic state, like the Turks and Arabs, is certain, for Greece affords no extensive plains for the herdsman to range with his cattle; and the theory of the poets and philosophers of its later ages, that their forefathers had been only naked, acorn-eating savages, should be received with great caution : THE PF.LASGIANS. it rests on no positive evidence, and is manifestly a consequence of the autochthonic theory, or that which supposes men to have sprung as it were from the ground like plants, rude, ignorant, and brutish — a theory utterly at variance with experience.

There are nations of which the original condition is to be learned from the literature of some cultivated people, who had relations of peace or war with them. It is thus that we derive our knowledge of the early state of the in habitants of Germany, Gaul, and Britain, from the Roman writers. There are other nations whose history is only to be found among themselves : in this last case, it is always mythic, or sabulous, at the commencement, and only be comes, strictly speaking, true, when it is contemporary with the events which it records. The mythic portion is, howev er, by no means totally devoid of truth ; but its truth is more frequently that of manners and institutions than of events. The history of Greece is of this last kind ; it is only from the Greeks themselves that we can learn their early history.

When, guided by the dim light of tradition, we attempt to penetrate the obscurity of the early ages of Hellas, we see it the abode of one race of men, divided into various tribes. The name usually given to this race (but which was never common to the whole of it) is the Pelasgian. It appears to have been very extensive, occupying not merely Greece and its islands, but the greater part of Italy and Sicily, and the west coast of Asia Minor down to Mycale ; for a similarity of religion, manners, language, and style of architecture, prevailed in all these countries. The Pelasgians, we have reason to suppose, were far removed from the savage state. Their modes of life, it is probable, varied according to the nature of the country ; in the mountainous districts, they were herdsmen and hunters ; in the fertile plains, agriculturists ; fishers, and perhaps tra ders, on the coasts ; for it is by no means improbable that the Phœnicians exchanged with them, as they did with their successors, the Hellenes, the luxuries of Asia for the B produce of their soil.

Agriculture was, however, the chief occupation of the Pelasgians, and their name may, without any force, be derived from it : * their favorite abodes seem to have been the plains fertilized by streams which they named argi, and on which they erected strong larissm, or castles, for their security against plunderers. These buildings were composed of huge masses of rude stone, put to gether without cement. They are named Cyclopian by later ages, as if built by the imaginary giants called Cyclopes, and are still to be seen in Argolis, Arcadia, Bœotia, and Epirus, as also in Italy, (chiefly in the country of the Her nicans, Æquians, and Volscians,) and on the coast of Asia Minor and elsewhere. t As an agricultural people is usually under the monarchic, or mingled monarchic and aristocratic form of government, we may suppose such to have been the constitution of the Pelasgic states.

Their religion was of a rural character, and they worshipped deities presiding over the various parts of nature, the givers of increase, and preservers of what had come into being, though, perhaps, without bestowing on them any particular names. The offerings made to their gods were, it is most likely, of a bloodless nature; and there seems to be little reason for supposing that the abom ination of human sacrifices prevailed among the divine or noble (riroi) J Pelasgians. The people of Latium in Italy appear to have preserved the Pelasgian religion in greatest purity. Besides the Pelasgians, tradition has preserved the names of other tribes who occupied Greece at this time. The Caucones, it was said, dwelt on the west coast of Pelopon nesus ; the Curetes in Ætolia ; the Carians occupied the * For another and probably an older form of the name was Pelargi, which would come from jiiXw, to be, or to be engaged on, and aqyoi, or ayoot;, ager, land. t Strabo (ix. 5.) enumerates thirteen places in Europe and Asia named Larissa.