Philopœmen

, a celebrated general of the Achæan league, born at Megalopolis. His father’s name was Grangis. His education was begun and finished under Cas sander, Ecdemus, and Demophanes, and he early distinguished himself in the field of battle, and appeared fond of agriculture and a country life. He proposed himself Epa min on das for a model, and he was not unsucce ful in imitating the prudence and the simplicity, the disinterestedne and activity, of this famous Theban. When Megalopolis was attacked by the Spartans, Philopœmen, then in the 30th year of his age, gave the most decisive proofs of his valour and intrepidity. He afterwards a isted An tigon us, and was present in the famous battle in which the Ætolians were defeated. Raised to the rank of chief commander, he showed his ability to discharge that important trust, by killing with his own hand Mechanidas the ♦ tyrant of Sparta; and if he was defeated in a naval battle by Nabis, he soon after repaired his lo es by taking the capital of Laconia, B.C. 188, and by abolishing the laws of ♠ Lycurgus, which had flourished there for such a length of time. Sparta, after its conquest, became tributary to the Achæans, and Philopœmen enjoyed the triumph of having reduced to ruins one of the greatest and the most powerful of the cities of Greece. Some time after the Me enians revolted from the Achæan league, and Philopœmen, who headed the Achæans, unfortunately fell from his horse, and was dragged to the enemy’s camp. ♣ Dino crates the general of the Me enians treated him with great severity; he was thrown into a dungeon, and obliged to drink a dose of poison. When he received the cup from the hand of the executioner, Philopœmen asked him how his countrymen had behaved in the field of battle; and when he heard that they had obtained the victory, he drank the whole with pleasure, exclaiming that this was comfortable news. The death of Philopœmen, which happened about 183 years before the christian era, in his 70th year, was universally lamented, and the Achæans, to revenge his fate, immediately marched to Me enia, where Dino crates, to avoid their resentment, killed himself. The rest of his murderers were dragged to his tomb, where they were sacrificed; and the people of Megalopolis, to show further their great sense of his merit, ordered a bull to be yearly offered on his tomb, and hymns to be sung in his praise, and his actions to be celebrated in a panegyrical oration. He had also statues raised to his memory, which some of the Romans attempted to violate, and to destroy, to no purpose, when Mummius took Corinth. Philopœmen has been justly called by his countrymen the last of the Greeks. Plutarch , Lives .— Justin , bk. 32 , ch. 4 .— Polybius. ――A native of Pergamus, who died B.C. 138. ♦ ‘tyant’ replaced with ‘tyrant’ ♠ ‘Lyturgus’ replaced with ‘Lycurgus’ ♣ ‘Dioncrates’ replaced with ‘Dino crates’