Page:History of Greece Vol XII.djvu/77

TERROR IN GREECE. 45 Shortly afterwards, envoys arrived from that monarch with a menacing letter, formally demanding the surrender of eight or ten leading citizens of Athens — Demosthenes, Lykurgus, Hyperidcs, Polyeuktus, Moerokles, Diotimus,^ Ephialtes, and Charidemus. Of these the first four were eminent orators, the last two militarj'^ men ; all strenuous advocates of an anti-Mace- donian policy. Alexander in his letter denounced the ten as the causes of the battle of Chasroneia, of the offensive resolutions which had been adopted at Athens after the death of Philip, and even of the recent hostile proceedings of the Thebans.2 This momentous summons, involving the right of free speech and pub- lic debate at Athens, was submitted to the assembly. A similar demand had just been made upon the Thcbans, and the conse- quences of refusal were to be read no less plainly in the destruc- tion of their city than in the threats of the conqueror. That even under such trying circumstances, neither orators nor people failed in courage — we know as a general fact ; though we have not the ndvantage (as Livy had in his time) of reading the speeches made in the debate.® Demosthenes, insisting that the fate of the citizens generally could not be severed from that of the specific victims, is said to have recounted in the course of his speech, the old fable — of the wolf requiring the sheep to make over to him their protecting dogs, as a condition of peace — and then, devouring the vmprotected sheep forthwith. lie, and those demanded along with him, claimed the protection of the people, ' The name of Diotimus is mentioned by Anian (i. 10, 6), but not bj Plutarch: who names Demon instead of him (Plutarch, Dcmosth. c. 23) and Kallisthenes instead of Hyperides. We know nothing about Diotimus, except that Demosthenes (De CoronS, p. 264) alludes to him along with Charidemus, as having received an expression of gratitude fiom the people, in requital for a present of shields which he had made. He is mentioned also, along with Charidemus and others, in the third of the Demosthenic epistles, p. 1482. ' Arrian, i. 10, 6; Plutarch, Vit. X. Orat. p. 847. iiv'^ei avrbv (Demos- thenes) uneiXiov el fiy dolrjaav. Diodor. xvii. 15 ; Plutarch, Demosth. 23. ^ Livy, ix. 18. " (Alexander adversus quem Athenis, in civitate froci^i Macedonura armis, cernente turn maxime prope fumantes Thebarum ru inas, concionari libere ausi sint homines, — id quod ex monumentis ora- tiopum patet," etCi