The mistŏcles

, a celebrated general born at Athens. His father’s name was Neocles, and his mother’s Euterpe, or Abrotonum, a native of Halicarna us, or of Thrace, or Acarnaia. The beginning of his youth was marked by vices so flagrant, and an inclination so incorrigible, that his father disinherited him. This, which might have disheartened others, roused the ambition of Them is toc les, and the protection which he was denied at home, he sought in courting the favours of the populace, and in sharing the ♦ administration of public affairs. When Xerxes invaded Greece, Them is toc les was at the head of the A then i an republic, and in this capacity the fleet was entrusted to his care. When the Lacedæmonians under Leonidas were opposing the Persians at Thermopylæ, the naval operations of Them is toc les, and of the combined fleet of the Peloponnesians, were directed to destroy the armament of Xerxes, and to ruin his maritime power. The obstinate wish of the generals to command the Grecian fleet might have proved fatal to the interest of the allies, had not Them is toc les freely relinquished his pretensions, and by nominating his rival Eurybiades master of the expedition, shown the world that his ambition could stoop when his country demanded his a istance. The Persian fleet was distre ed at Artemisium by a violent storm, and the feeble attack of the Greeks; but a decisive battle had never been fought if Them is toc les had not used threats and entreaties, and even called religion to his aid, and the favourable answers of the oracle, to second his measures. The Greeks, actuated by different views, were unwilling to make head by sea against an enemy whom they saw victorious by land, plundering their cities and destroying all by fire and sword; but before they were dispersed, Them is toc les sent intelligence of their intentions to the Persian monarch. Xerxes, by immediately blocking them with his fleet, in the bay of Salamis, prevented their escape, and while he wished to crush them all at one blow, he obliged them to fight for their safety, as well as for the honour of their country. This battle, which was fought near the island of Salamis, B.C. 480, was decisive; the Greeks obtained the victory, and Them is toc les the honour of having destroyed the formidable navy of Xerxes. Further to ensure the peace of his country, Them is toc les informed the Asiatic monarch that the Greeks had conspired to cut the bridge which he had built acro the Hellespont, and to prevent his retreat into Asia. This met with equal succe ; Xerxes hastened away from Greece, and while he believed the words of Them is toc les, that his return would be disputed, he left his forces without a general, and his fleets an easy conquest to the victorious Greeks. These signal services to his country endeared Them is toc les to the A then i ans, and he was universally called the most warlike and most courageous of all the Greeks who fought against the Persians. He was received with the most distinguished honours, and by his prudent administration, Athens was soon fortified with strong walls, her Pireus was rebuilt, and her harbours were filled with a numerous and powerful navy, which rendered her the mistre of Greece. Yet in the midst of that glory, the conqueror of Xerxes incurred the displeasure of his countrymen, which had proved so fatal to many of his illustrious predece ors. He was banished from the city, and after he had sought in vain a safe retreat among the republics of Greece, and the barbarians of Thrace, he threw himself into the arms of a monarch, whose fleets he had defeated, and whose father he had ruined. Artaxerxes, the succe or of Xerxes, received the illustrious A then i an with kindne ; and though he had formerly set a price upon his head, yet he made him one of his greatest favourites, and bestowed three rich cities upon him, to provide him with bread, wine, and meat. Such kindne from a monarch, from whom he, perhaps, expected the most hostile treatment, did not alter the sentiments of Them is toc les. He still remembered that Athens gave him birth, and according to some writers, the wish of not injuring his country, and therefore his inability of carrying on war against Greece, at the request of Artaxerxes, obliged him to destroy himself by drinking bull’s blood. The manner of his death, however, is uncertain, and while some affirm that he poisoned himself, others declare that he fell a prey to a violent distemper in the city of Magnesia, where he had fixed his residence, while in the dominions of the Persian monarch. His bones were conveyed to Attica and honoured with a magnificent tomb by the A then i ans, who began to repent too late of their cruelty to the saviour of his country. Them is toc les died in the 65th year of his age, about 449 years before the christian era. He has been admired as a man naturally courageous, of a disposition fond of activity, ambitious of glory and enterprise. Ble ed with a provident and discerning mind, he seemed to rise superior to misfortunes, and in the midst of adversity, po e ed of resources which could enable him to regain his splendour, and even to command fortune. Plutarch & Cornel i us Nepos , Lives .— Pausanias , bk. 1 , ch. 1 ; bk. 8 , ch. 52 .— Ælian , Varia Hist or i a , bk. 2 , ch. 12 ; bk. 9 , ch. 18 ; bk. 13 , ch. 40 .――A writer, some of whose letters are extant. ♦ ‘admin strati on’ replaced with ‘administration’