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s, and completed by Laches, both of Lindus. years were employed in the construction of common belief is, that it stood at the mouth arbor of Rhodes, the capital, with one foot on e, and that the ships sailed between its legs; oes not seem to be established. After standDout half a century, it was overthrown by an

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Rhodians joined the Romans in their wars ntiochus of Syria, and rendered their allies vice with their naval force. The Romans them with the government of Caria and at this new acquisition was fatal to the prosRhodes. The continental possession reauthority; and the Romans, by interfering, led, at length, to establish their sway over Various revolutions followed, till the reign an, when Rhodes was incorporated with the apire.

in its most flourishing state, was the resort men from all countries. It was particularly ed for having given birth to a new style of hich the ancients regarded as a mixed, or atic, style. A similar character belonged ntemporary arts, which seem to have deexecuting gigantic and imposing concepsides the Colossus, three thousand other ened the capital city of the island; and of rding to Pliny, one hundred were of such that any one of them would have been ennoble any site. The architecture was stately character. The plan of the city y symmetrical; the streets were wide and d the temples were full of the finest

as attached to the Byzantine empire, and ith little interruption, in this connection, enth century, when it was conquered by 1. These conquerors broke up the famous 1 sold it to a Jew, who shipped the fragxandria, where nine hundred camels were them. Such is the story related in the se times, though it seems hardly credible quantity of brass should have been sufintouched for so many centuries. Some ed, have gone so far as to assert that the of the Colossus of Rhodes is a fable.

appears to have been abandoned by the r a short occupation. It formed a part empire when Constantinople was taken ers, in 1204. At the commencement of century, it seems to have been possessed revolted Greek and Mahometan corsairs. Hospitallers of Jerusalem, having been Palestine by the Saracens, landed in ). 1310,) and made themselves masters Five years afterward, they were atTurks, but repelled them bravely, notde unprepared state of their fortifications. iod, they continued to resist the con- |

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of forty days, he was repulsed with great slaughter Mahomet II., having captured Constantinople an established the Ottoman power firmly in Europe, mad an attempt on Rhodes; but, notwithstanding the im mense force of artillery which he brought against th city, he was unable to conquer it. The knights, dur ing their government of two centuries, had contribute much to the prosperity of the island. It was covere with cornfields, vineyards, and fruit trees of ever kind. The inhabitants were principally husbandmen who were contented under the government of th knights. The city of Rhodes stood in the midst of cultivated plain, round which were hills covered wit vineyards, and olive and fig-trees. It was fortifie by a double wall and deep trenches - the wall bein strengthened by thirteen towers. Many of thes remain at the present day, and are interesting speci mens of the architecture of the middle ages.

In this situation, after enjoying an interval of forty years' peace, the Rhodians were attacked, in 1522, bị the Turks, under Solyman II. A formidable flee of four hundred ships was equipped for this purpose and the announcement of the approach of this over whelming force threw the inhabitants of the island int great consternation. The terrified peasantry flocked to the city for shelter, and the whole population thu became crowded within the walls of the capital. The grand master of the knights ordered that the suburb should be demolished, and all the beautiful garden and orchards without the walls laid waste, that the enemy might find no shelter among them. When the Turkish fleet came in sight, it hovered off the island for several weeks, waiting for the arrival of the sultan who, at length, put himself at the head of his forces and commenced the attack in person. The comba was terrible; and so bravely did the knights defend the city, that the Turks were obliged to retreat. Fo some weeks, they kept at a distance; but, being re inforced, they renewed the attack. The defender fought till the walls were beaten down in many places and a great portion of the city was destroyed. A length, the siege and attack having continued fron June till December, and the knights finding themselve almost buried under the ruins of the city, they surren dered by capitulation. On Christmas day, 1525, the conquerors marched in triumph into the city. Solymar behaved with great courtesy to the brave defenders He expressed his regret to the grand master at the necessity he was under of depriving so valiant a knigh of his home, and made him a present of a handsome dress in testimony of respect for his bravery. H allowed the knights to depart in safety from the island with all their movable property. They withdrew to the Venetian states, till the emperor Charles V. gave them the Island of Malta, where they settled, and tool the name of Knights of Malta.

The capture of Rhodes by the Turks was a heav calamity to all the Christian countries of Europe, a the knights had been, for more than two hundre years, the protectors of the cominerce of Christendon Christian states upon the Mediterranean.

Since the conquest by Solyman, the Turks have continued to retain possession of Rhodes; but their sway has obliterated almost every vestige of the ancient glories of the island. The city exhibits hardly a trace of the numerous fine edifices with which it was once adorned by the wealth and taste of the inhabitants. It contains, however, some massy Gothic churches, now converted into mosques. The lofty mountains in the interior are covered with the noble forests of pine out of which the powerful navies of ancient Rhodes were constructed, and which still supply the Turkish dock-yards of Constantinople. The lower hills produce a little of the wine so much celebrated for its aromatic flavor by the ancient writers. Industry and cultivation are, however, nearly extinct, and Rhodes is dependent on Asia Minor for its supplies of corn. The population is about twenty thousand, two thirds of whom are Greeks. They are governed by a bey, who holds his office for life-a circumstance highly favorable to the inhabitants, who are less oppressed than in most other Turkish territories, where there is a more frequent change of masters. Ship-building is the chief occupation, and a frigate is fitted out from Rhodes every two or three years.

Protogenes, a painter, was a native of Caunus, a little island dependent on Rhodes. He flourished at the same time with Apelles, in the fourth century B. C. He employed himself, at first, in painting ships, and lived in extreme poverty. Afterward he went to Athens, where he rose to great eminence in his profession. His masterpiece was the Ialysus, an historical picture of the hero of this name, whom the Rhodians acknowledged as their founder. He was engaged seven years upon this performance, and its merit was such that, when Apelles saw it for the first time, he is said to have lost his speech in admiration. It was carried to Rome, and consecrated in the Temple of Peace, where it remained in the time of Pliny, nearly four hundred years after the death of the painter; but it was subsequently destroyed by fire. One of the figures in this picture was a dog, which cost the artist great pains; but he could not, at first, execute it to his satisfaction. He endeavored to represent the animal panting, and foaming at the mouth, as after a long chase. But this he found very difficult. After touching and retouching it many times in vain, he was seized with a fit of exasperation and despair, and violently threw upon it the sponge which he had used to wipe off the colors. By this accident, he produced an exact imitation of the foam which he had so long attempted to depict with his pencil!

Another celebrated picture of Protogenes was that of a satyr leaning against a pillar. He executed this at the time the city of Rhodes was besieged by Demetrius, on which account it was said to have been painted under the sword. At first there was a partridge perched upon the pillar. But, finding that all the admiration of the beholders was bestowed upon the partridge, which he judged to be an injury to his reputation, he struck it out, that the eye of the spectator

prised at his coolness, and one day asked h son. "It is," replied Protogenes, "beca sensible that it is the Rhodians, and no against which you have declared war." N painter deceived in his opinion; for Demetr himself the protector of the arts. He plac around the house of Protogenes, to shield disturbance and danger. He frequently w him work, and could not sufficiently admire try and skill in the art of painting.

Protogenes was the friend of Aristotle, a the portrait of the mother of that philosoph totle highly esteemed the talents of the p wished that he had applied them to high than hunters, satyrs, and portraits. Acco proposed to him the battles and conquests der, as very proper for historical painting, c of the grandeur of the ideas, the variety and importance of the circumstances to be But a peculiar taste, and a natural inclinatio calm and grateful subjects, determined the works of another kind. All that Aristotle ce of him was a portrait of Alexander, withou torical accompaniments.

The Island of Cos lies at the mouth of the between Rhodes and Samos. It is small, b and its wines are famous throughout G what time it was first peopled is uncertai learn from Homer that the Greeks inhabited previous to the Trojan war. It appears pre it was settled by the Dorians of Epidau worship of Esculapius, at both these places early period, seems to indicate an identity o the inhabitants. The people of Cos were by a political league with Halicarnassus, C the Rhodians.

Cos was one of the islands over which th established their dominion. In the fifth cen a governor or viceroy of the king of Pers Cadmus, held the chief authority here; bu administration of a few years, he resigned The ancient aristocratical constitution was and the island seems to have enjoyed political ence. But, not long afterward, Artemisia, Caria, appears to have been in authority h have, however, only incidental notices in these transactions. In later times, we find racy existing in Cos. This was succeeded tions, till the establishment of the Roman Asia Minor, when this island shared the f continent. From the Byzantine emperors into the hands of the Turks, who hold it at th day. It is now called Stanco. In its flouris it possessed a fine capital on the north-easte opposite Halicarnassus; but this was ruined earthquake in the time of the Peloponne The population of the island is now about e sand.

This island affords a beautiful prospect to ager as he approaches it - the surface rising water gradually into hills, from which copious s water are seen running down to the shore.

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of Cos was much admired by persons of nice taste in | salus and Draco, who also acquired great reputation ancient Rome; but the manufacture of it is less per- as physicians. fect at the present day. The island is now much overgrown with groves of cypress and turpentine-trees. The traveller Thevenot saw a cypress-tree here of such enormous size, that two thousand men might shelter themselves under its branches, which extended so widely that they were propped up with pillars. Under this tree were shops, booths, and places of refreshment and amusement for people who sought recreation in the open air.

Hippocrates, the celebrated physician, was a native of Cos, and was born 460 B. C. He was believed to have been a descendant of Esculapius through Heraclides, his father, and of Hercules, through his mother Praxitea. He first applied himself to the study of natural philosophy, and afterward to that of the human body. The Island of Cos was consecrated to Esculapius, who was esteemed the god of physic. It was a custom for all the inhabitants who had been cured of any distemper to make an exact memorandum of the symptoms which attended it, and of the remedies by which it had been relieved. Hippocrates copied all these accounts, and, by studying them, obtained a great amount of medical knowledge. During the ravages of the plague, which has been so well described by Thucydides, the skill and disinterestedness of Hippocrates were manifested in a striking manner. This terrible pestilence, before it extended to Greece, had made great ravages in Persia, and Artaxerxes, the king, who had heard of the reputation of Hippocrates, caused a letter to be written to him, inviting him to his dominions. The king made him the most advantageous offers of wealth and honors, and promised to make him equal to the greatest men of his court. Hippocrates sent for reply, that he was free from all uncommon wants and desires, and that all his skill and labor were due to his friends and countrymen.

Hippocrates was the first physician who investigated the science of medicine systematically, or wrote upon the subject. He possessed uncommon acuteness of intellect, and a rich variety of knowledge and experience. He left many volumes of writings behind him, which have a value not limited to ancient times, but enduring even to the present day. Of the numerous works bearing his name, many are spurious. Among the genuine are his Aphorisms, or brief medical principles and maxims. To these may be added his Epidemics and Prognostics, with the treatises on Air, Water, Climate, Regimen, Wounds in the Head, and Fracture.

The mémory of Hippocrates is preserved to this day by the inhabitants of Cos, and a venerable planetree is pointed out, under which he is said to have delivered his lectures.

Apelles, the famous painter of antiquity, was a native of Cos; but, as he passed the greater part of his life at Ephesus, we have given an account of him among the celebrated characters of that city.

CHIOS.

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CHAPTER CLXII.

1000 B. C. to A. D. 1823.

The Greeks of Chios The Genoese The Turks- Legends of Homer. THIS island is one of the most beautiful in the archipelago. It lies close to the coast of Asia Minor, facing the peninsula anciently called Clazomena, and which is formed by the Gulf of Smyrna on the north, and that of Samos, or Scalanova, on the south. It is about thirty miles long, and ten or fifteen broad. It is mountainous and rocky; yet it was anciently called the paradise of Greece; for the mountains and hills, though now rather naked, were formerly covered with woods. There still remain, in many places, groves of orange, citron, olive, mulberry, myrtle, and pomegranate-trees. The wine produced by its vineyards was anciently held in high esteem. Horace speaks with great relish of the "best Chian." It is still thought to be superior to any other in the Levant. In the time of Strabo, there were very productive marble quarries in this island. Chios was its ancient name. The modern Greeks call it Khio, and the Ital

Eastern monarchs are not accustomed to be refused any thing they demand. Artaxerxes was very angry at this reply. He sent to the government of Cos, demanding that the insolent wretch Hippocrates should be given up to him for punishment, threatening, in case of refusal, that he would lay waste the island, and ruin the city, so that not one stone should remain upon another. The people of Cos were not terrified at this threat. They answered, that the menaces of Xerxes and Darius had not been able, in former times, to compel them to give these monarchs earth and water, and that they would never give up their fellow-ians Scio, which latter is the name by which it is gencitizen to Artaxerxes. This manly reply had the de-erally known to foreigners. sired effect. The Persian despot found his haughty mandates unavailing.

When the plague broke out at Athens, the people of that city sent for Hippocrates. He immediately proceeded thither, and remained in Athens during the whole period of the continuance of the disorder. He devoted himself entirely to the service of the sick, and his exertions were such, that the Athenians were filled with gratitude, and ordained, by a public decree, that he should receive a crown of gold, the freedom of the city, and other distinguished honors; that he should, if he thought proper, be maintained at the public charge during life, and that his children should be educated in Athens, with all the privileges of citizens. The particulars of the death of Hippocrates are not known. He died very aged, and left two sons, Thes

The Pelasgians, from Thessaly, are supposed to have been the first inhabitants of Chios; but of these people we know hardly any thing. When the Ionian emigrants passed from Greece to Asia Minor, some of them settled in this island, and Chios formed one of the twelve members of the Ionian confederation. Of its government and early history we have little information; but it appears that the people of Chios took part with the Greeks against the Persians, in the invasion under Darius, about 500 B. C. In the naval battle fought (494 B. C.) between the Greeks and Persians, Chios furnished one hundred ships, which fought bravely against the invaders. This, however, did not prevent the Persians from taking possession of the island. Great ravages were committed by the conquerors. They laid waste the towns and villages,

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CHIOS UNDER THE TURKS-HOMER.

destroyed the temples, and carried off the females into captivity. After the final repulse of the Persians from the Grecian territories, Chios became subject to Athens, then to the Macedonian and Roman empires. The three principal cities on the island, in ancient times, were Chios, Posidium, and Phanæ.

The Byzantine emperors retained their dominion over Chios after the downfall of the western empire, till, at length, they became involved in war with the Genoese, who made a descent on the island, (A. D. 1346,) and conquered it without resistance. The government of Constantinople was at this time too weak to recover its lost provinces from so powerful a naval people as the Genoese, and the latter maintained their authority here for more than two hundred years. At length, they were expelled by the Turks in 1566. These people gave it the name of Little Rome, on account of the number of Latin churches in the island; the other Christians of the Levant being chiefly of the Greek persuasion. In 1691, the Venetians, under Antonio Zeno, gained possession of Chios, but the Turks reconquered it in the following year.

The Turks, in their government of this island, regarded it as a privileged spot, in consequence of its being granted, as a sort of dowry, to the mother of the sultan, who sent her officers to collect the mastic gum produced here. This is a valuable commodity, much used at Constantinople, especially by the females of the sultan's harem, for chewing. Under the protection of the sultana mother, the inhabitants of Chios enjoyed an exemption from the ordinary vexations of Turkish rule. They had their own magistrates, were not oppressed by pachas or other arbitrary chiefs, and lived in comparative freedom and security. The island accordingly prospered beyond all its neighbors; and the travellers who visited it during the last century represent it as a paradise, inhabited by a most happy race of people. Its population exceeded one hundred and forty thousand, of whom not above four hundred were Turks. Khio, the capital, was a handsome city, built in the Italian style, and contained thirty thousand inhabitants, with a college, in which four or five hundred Greek youths were educated, and which contained a good library and a printing office. This seminary was supported by voluntary contributions from the merchants of the island, many of whom were wealthy, and carried on an extensive commerce with Italy and other countries. There were sixty towns and villages on the island.

The Greek insurrection caused a terrible calamity to this island. The inhabitants, at first, remained quiet; but, in 1822, a party of insurgents from the neighboring islands landed here, and excited the Sciotes to insurrection. The people, however, were of an effeminate temper and totally unfit for war, and the island offered no natural defences against the invasion of an enemy. The Turks soon directed their vengeance upon this devoted race. The Capudan pacha landed with a large force of the most ferocious ruffians in the service of the Porte. The unfortunate natives could offer no resistance. There was no fighting, but a general and most horrible massacre: twenty-five thousand were put to the sword; some few escaped by flight and concealment; the remainder, without distinction of age or sex, were carried off, and sold as slaves in the markets of Smyrna and Constantinople. The whole island was wasted till it became a desert. Some time afterward, a few thousands of the fugitives

returned, under a promise of protection from the Turkish government; but Scio is now in a ruined and desolate condition.

Homer, the father of Grecian poetry, has been regarded by many as a native of Chios, though the question of his birthplace has in all ages been a subject of controversy. Seven Greek cities claimed him as a citizen, according to the well-known verses, "Seven wealthy towns contend for Homer dead, Through which the living Homer begged his bread." Smyrna and Chios have been generally allowed the preeminence in the rank of claimants. There is a fragment of Greek poetry extant, ascribed to Homer, in which he styles himself "the blind old man who dwelt in Chios;" but we have no sufficient evidence that this fragment is genuine. Every thing, in fact, relating to the life of this great poet, has been a subject of dispute; and there is not, even at the present day, any general agreement among scholars respecting him. His very existence even has been called in question.

The old opinion was mostly in favor of Chios as his birthplace; and there may be seen, at the present day, in this island, a ruin which bears the name of "Homer's School." Some ancient authors fixed his birth at the year 1000 B. C., others at 600. The Arundelian marble establishes it at 907 B. C. Herodotus declares that Homer lived four hundred years before his own time, which would carry him back to the date of 784 B. C. There is a Life of Homer extant, ascribed to Herodotus; but it is thought not to be the work of this author, though unquestionably of great antiquity. By the ancients, Homer was called Maonides, or the son of Mæon, and Melisegenes, or born by the River Meles. Many traditions are related to account for these names. The word homeros, in Greek, means a hostage; and this, also, has been the foundation of many conjectures respecting the poet, some of which are very absurd.

All the stories respecting the life of Homer represent him as a rhapsodist or reciter of verses, wandering throughout the Greek territories of Asia Minor and the islands of the Ægean Sea, earning his living by reciting poetry. According to some accounts, he was blind. His death is described in various ways. One tradition affirms that he was killed by falling over a stone; another, that he died of vexation because he could not solve a riddle which was proposed to him by some fishermen. None of these accounts are supported by any good authority.

The two epic poems of Homer, the Iliad and Odyssey, originally consisted of various rhapsodies, or detached pieces, which were first arranged and put into an orderly shape by the command of Pisistratus, tyrant of Athens, about five hundred years before the Christian era. It is supposed that many additions were made to the original poems long after the death of the author, as it does not appear that letters were known to the Greeks in Homer's time; consequently the poems must have been preserved by memory alone for sev eral centuries. Many persons regard the Iliad and Odyssey as a series of songs composed at different times and successively enlarged. These critics reject every account of the person of Homer as entirely fabulous. A separate question has been raised whether the Iliad and Odyssey were the productions of the same author and age. A doubt was expressed on this point even in ancient times. A modern writer has

SAMOS-POLYCRATES-PYTHAGORAS.

pointed out the diversity of style, manners, and my thology in the two works as evidence of a double authorship. Another has attempted to show that Ulysses was the author of the Odyssey.

The Homeric poems exercised a wonderful influence upon the Greeks; but we shall reserve our account of these productions for the general subject of Greek literature and mythology. Besides the Iliad and Odyssey, there are several other poems extant, ascribed to Homer. One of these is a comic piece, entitled the Batrachomyomachia, or the Battle of the Frogs and Mice. There are also thirty-three hymns. None of these pieces, however, have the air of antiquity which belongs to the two great cpics.

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kept them involved in troubles for many years. The commanding position of the island as a naval station caused it to become the prey of the great monarchs and powerful states, who contended for the supreme dominion during the three centuries which preceded the Christian era. After forming successively a part of the Egyptian, Macedonian, and Syrian empires, it was finally made subject to Rome, (B. C. 84.)

On the division of the Roman empire, Samos was attached to the eastern portion, and followed the fortunes of the sovereigns of Constantinople. It was conquered by the Saracens in the eighth century, but recovered by the Byzantines in the thirteenth. Afterward it fell into the hands of the Venetians and Genoese. The Turks, under Mahomet II., conquered it in 1453, and still retain it.

He

Pythagoras, the celebrated philosopher, was a native of Samos, and was born about 570 B. C. was the son of Mnesarchus, a sculptor. He studied philosophy under Pherecides, and after the death of his master, feeling an extraordinary desire to know the manners of foreign nations, he gave up all his property, and abandoned his country for the sake of travelling. He visited Egypt, where he spent some time in communication with the priests of that country, from whom he learned the mysteries of their religion and science. Polycrates, the tyrant of Samos, held him in such esteem that he wrote in his favor to Amasis, king of Egypt, requesting that he might be treated with distinction. Pythagoras next went to the East, and visited the Chaldeans and Magians. Some writers imagine that he may have been personally acquainted with Ezekiel and Daniel. After this, he visited Crete, and contracted an intimacy with the famous philosopher Epimenides. At length, having enriched his mind with a great store of knowledge, gathered in his travels, he returned to Samos. But he was so grieved to see his country oppressed by the tyranny of Polycrates, that he determined on voluntary banishment. He accordingly went into the south of Italy, and established himself at Crotona, where he inhabited the house of Milo, the famous boxer.

The Carians and Leleges are said to have been among the first inhabitants of this island; but its early history is much mixed up with fable. In the eighth century before Christ, the Samians became distinguished for commerce and naval enterprise. They traded to Egypt under the protection of Psammetichus, king of that country. Colæus, a Samian merchant, made a successful voyage to Tartessus, about the year 630 B. C., and gained a large fortune by it, as we have related in a previous chapter. The Samians about this time founded several colonies: they also joined the Pan-Ionians, a confederacy of twelve cities in Asia Minor.

Pythagoras founded a school of philosophy, called, from the country in which he took up his residence, In the sixth century B. C., the government fell the Italic. His reputation soon spread far and wide; into the hands of Polycrates, who made himself at Rome he was highly esteemed. According to Plutyrant, or supreme ruler, of the island, and became tarch, the Romans, during the Samnite war, being one of the most powerful and famous of all the sov-directed by an oracle to erect two statues, one to the ereigns in this neighborhood. He extended his sway over several of the adjoining states, and possessed a larger navy than any Grecian prince or state of his time. His increasing power at length excited the jealousy of the Persian king Darius, who, by means of his satrap Oroetes, inveigled him into his hands, and put him to death. Polycrates was evidently a man of great political capacity. He seems to have designed to make Samos the mistress of the Archipel ago, and to have neglected nothing that could enhance her greatness. He surrounded himself with all the princely luxuries which the wealth of that time could procure. Among other eminent men, he invited the poet Anacreon to his court.

The death of Polycrates caused Samos to fall into the hands of the Persians, and the prosperity of the island received a severe shock. The Persians were subsequently expelled; but the Samians never recovered their maritime power or political rank. Civil dissensions and the interference of their neighbors

bravest and the other to the wisest of the Greeks, they set up those of Alcibiades and Pythagoras. He subjected his scholars to a severe novitiate of silence for two years, and extended it to five with those who were naturally loquacious. He considered geometry and arithmetic as absolutely necessary to enlarge the minds of young people, and to prepare them for the study of great truths. He also set a high value upon music, of which he made a liberal use, in the practice as well as theory of his philosophy. He pretended, it is said, that the world was formed by a kind of harmony imitated afterwards by the lyre-and he assigned peculiar sounds to the motions of the celestial spheres. It was the custom of the Pythagoreans, on rising in the morning, to awaken the mind with the sound of the lyre, in order to make themselves more fit for action. Before going to rest at night, they also played on this instrument, to prepare themselves for sleep by calming the tumultuous thoughts of the day. Pythagoras had a great influence over the minds of his scholars. The

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