Eumĕnes

, a Greek officer in the army of Alexander, son of a charioteer. He was the most worthy of all the officers of Alexander to succeed after the death of his master. He conquered Paphlagonia and Cappadocia, of which he obtained the government, till the power and jealousy of An tigon us obliged him to retire. He joined his forces to those of Perdiccas, and defeated Crater us and Neoptolemus. Neoptolemus perished by the hands of Eumenes. When Crater us had been killed during the war, his remains received an honourable funeral from the hand of the conqueror; and Eumenes, after weeping over the ashes of a man who once was his dearest friend, sent his remains to his relations in Macedonia. Eumenes fought against Anti pater and conquered him, and after the death of Perdiccas his ally, his arms were directed against An tigon us, by whom he was conquered, chiefly by the treacherous conduct of his officers. This fatal battle obliged him to disband the greatest part of his army to secure himself a retreat, and he fled, with only 700 faithful attendants, to Nora, a fortified place on the confines of Cappadocia, where he was soon besieged by the conqueror. He supported the siege for a year with courage and resolution, but some disadvantageous skirmishes so reduced him, that his soldiers, grown desperate, and bribed by the offers of the enemy, had the infidelity to betray him into the hands of An tigon us. The conqueror, from shame or remorse, had not the courage to visit Eumenes; but when he was asked by his officers in what manner he wished him to be kept, he answered, “Keep him as carefully as you would keep a lion.” This severe command was obeyed; but the asperity of An tigon us vanished in a few days, and Eumenes, delivered from the weight of chains, was permitted to enjoy the company of his friends. Even An tigon us hesitated whether he should not restore to his liberty a man with whom he had lived in the greatest intimacy while both were subservient to the command of Alexander, and these secret emotions of pity and humanity were not a little increased by the petitions of his son Demetrius for the release of Eumenes. But the calls of ambition prevailed; and when An tigon us recollected what an active enemy he had in his power, he ordered Eumenes to be put to death in the prison; though some imagine he was murdered without the knowledge of his conqueror. His bloody commands were executed B.C. 315. Such was the end of a man who raised himself to power by merit alone. His skill in public exercises first recommended him to the notice of Philip, and under Alexander his attachment and fidelity to the royal person, and particularly his military accomplishments, promoted him to the rank of a general. Even his enemies revered him; and An tigon us, by whose orders he perished, honoured his remains with a splendid funeral, and conveyed his ashes to his wife and family in Cappadocia. It has been observed that Eumenes had such a universal influence over the succe ors of Alexander, that none during his lifetime dared to a ume the title of king; and it does not a little reflect to his honour to consider that the wars he carried on were not from private or interested motives, but for the good and welfare of his deceased benefactor’s children. Plutarch & Cornel i us Nepos , Lives .— Diodorus , bk. 19 .— Justin , bk. 13 .— Curtius , bk. 10 .— Arrian. ――A king of Pergamus, who succeeded his uncle Philetærus on the throne, B.C. 263. He made war against Antiochus the son of Seleucus, and enlarged his po e ions by seizing upon many of the cities of the kings of Syria. He lived in alliance with the Romans, and made war against Prusias king of Bithynia. He was a great patron of learning, and given much to wine. He died of an exce in drinking, after a reign of 22 years. He was succeeded by Attalus. Strabo , bk. 15 .――The second of that name succeeded his father Attalus on the throne of Asia and Pergamus. His kingdom was small and poor, but he rendered it powerful and opulent, and his alliance with the Romans did not a little contribute to the increase of his dominions after the victories obtained over Antiochus the Great. He carried his arms against Prusias and An tigon us, and died B.C. 159, after a reign of 38 years, leaving the kingdom to his son Attalus  II. He has been admired for his benevolence and magnanimity, and his love of learning greatly enriched the famous library of Pergamus, which had been founded by his predece ors in imitation of the Alexandrian collection of the Ptolemies. His brothers were so attached to him and devoted to his interest, that they enlisted among his bodyguards to show their fraternal fidelity. Strabo , bk. 13 .— Justin , bks. 31 & 34.— Polybius. ――A celebrated orator of Athens about the beginning of the fourth century. Some of his harangues and orations are extant.――An historical writer in Alexander’s army.