This action was allowed only once a year. Eubulus felt that this would prevent precipitous military adventurism. It also ensured that Athens was commercially successful in establishing her second confederacy. Athens would only act militarily when her vital interests were at stake or when allies were threatened. A majority of the assembly, led by Eubulus, continued to block every effort of the war party led by Hyperides and Demosthenes. The minority wanted to use the fund to confront King Philip. Hyperides and Demosthenes knew that Philip was aware of the annual repeal provision. Athenians were convinced that he timed his military moves to take advantage of the law's immobilizing effect.
Today might be different, Demosthenes thought. He had spent days preparing a powerful speech against the Macedonian barbarian. After much mirror-rehearsing, he was convinced that today the boule members would support immediate action against Philip, even if it meant repealing the Theoric Fund law.
Demosthenes had also been in secret contact with agents of the Persian Great King, Artaxerxes Ochus. He had learned that Ochus wanted a military stalemate among the Greek states. Most importantly, he wanted Philip checked, held within Macedon's present boundaries. Demosthenes knew that the Great King was preoccupied with internal dissension. Persia's invasion of Egypt was not going well, and Ochus had suffered one serious defeat after another. Revolts had broken out in the Persian provinces of Cyprus and Phoenicia. Only paid Greek mercenaries offered any hope of future military victories. But Ochus still had vast gold reserves. It was this power to bribe and purchase allegiance from client states and agents that sustained him.
Demosthenes himself was the latest recipient of the Great King's bribing power. Subtly, without any suggestion of betrayal to Athens, he was asked to convince the boule that it should begin military moves against Philip. Persian agents secretly gave five talents of gold to the orator. No one mentioned the word bribe. He was simply asked to use his influence in the boule and ecclesia. The agents assured him that his actions were for the good of both Athens and Persia.
Demosthenes knew the danger and ethical quandaries the gold payment posed. Yet he was convinced that Athens must do what Ochus wanted. What was wrong with enriching his estate while nudging his countrymen to action that would eliminate the aggressive monarch from Pella?
These thoughts filled the lawyer's mind as the sun began its ascent. He heard the sounds of roosters crowing in the city below the Pnyx. Slaves, the majority of Athens's inhabitants, were busy in the half-lit streets picking up dung left by night travelers' horses. With a furrowed brow, he turned away from the awakening city and entered the empty boule. His important speech needed another rehearsal before other legislators began arriving.
Walking into the chamber, he was surprised to see a member of Athens's peace party, Phocion. He appeared in deep meditation and didn't see Demosthenes until the orator was beside him.
"Do I disturb your thoughts?" Demosthenes asked.
Phocion was startled, but he recovered and stood to greet the man who was often his debating rival. "You did. I was thinking about today's debate. It will be pivotal."
"Much is at stake. Peace or war will result. No democratic body ever deliberates on more important matters."
Phocion, not known for verbosity, considered Demosthenes' words. The general had been a pupil of Socrates and was one of Plato's most devoted followers. More than once, he had neatly dismantled some of Demosthenes' most carefully reasoned boule speeches. On several separate occasions, after one of Demosthenes' agitated orations, Phocion had stood, offered one or two hundred words of rebuttal, then sat.
Demosthenes hated him and wasn't happy that he would speak today. The pruning knife of my speeches is what he called Phocion in private.
"Have you considered cooperation with Philip?” the general asked.
"How can we cooperate with a viper? The thug wants total domination of Hellas. Then he will drag us all into a genocidal war with Persia. That would be the destruction of our civilization. I'll drink the hemlock before I accede to Philip."
"That's not necessary. You’re not Socrates. Give peace a chance. There's evidence that Philip is satisfied with his victories against Phocis. He's even withdrawn from Thrace and returned to Pella. No longer do her ancient enemies threaten Macedon. She must be given a chance to mature and grow, as we have. Don't expect in months what it took Athens centuries to do."
This was just the kind of muddled thinking that Demosthenes expected from his adversary. His ignorance was appalling. Soon it would be used against him and the pusillanimous peace party. He smugly bid Phocion goodbye and walked to a small room near the main chamber, knowing that his powerful speech would have even greater impact because he knew what his opponents didn't.
Because of a minor religious holiday, boule members arrived at the Pnyx later than usual. Every Athenian knew that the privileged boule members operated on different time than the rest of the city. It was widely-joked among citizens, metics, and slaves that there was Greek time, Athenian time, and boule time. By midmorning, the chamber was full.
When procedural and administrative announcements were done, Demosthenes rose and asked permission to speak. This was his moment. All of his rehearsals had been for this. The orator mounted the speaker's stone and delivered his lines. "A primitive force has been loosed on Hellas. It has only one eye, but it sees Greek events more clearly than most of us. Unchecked, Philip will devour one polis at a time, until only Athens stands to oppose him. He's like a boxer who jabs and parries our every thrust. He ducks, he circles, he advances, he retreats. We grow weary with his moves; some of us ascribe the noblest motivations to him. He seeks peace, it is said, yet he knocks on Thermopylae's door. He will not threaten Athens, yet our corn triremes somehow fall into the hands of the king without a navy. He will lead us in glorious victory over Persia's Great King, yet no one knows how this can be done.”
“It's said that he will now pause. It's said that he only wants security for Macedon. That logic is the reasoning of fools. Through private contacts, I have learned that he's moved again into Thrace. That alone should be enough for Athenian alarm, but matters are worse than that. He has gained support from the two bastard pretender sons of dead King Cotys. Support is also his from Byzantium and Perinthus. As I speak, he's besieging Heraeon-Teichos in the Propontus. Our single ally there, Cotys's only true son, Prince Cersobleptes and his capital, are in imminent danger. I do not need to remind you what will happen if the one-eyed barbarian gains control of the Chersonese. Athens's regular corn and grain shipments will cease. We'll be starved into submission."
Demosthenes, as rehearsed, paused in his increasingly emotional account of Philip's latest military moves. Let it sink in. He lowered his head in a mourning pose. At just the right moment, he ended his silence. Displaying even deeper ridges and valleys in his furrowed brow, he resumed the attack.
"These events cause me to propose unified Athenian action to stop Macedon's threat to our renewed empire. We can, if we have the collective will, bask in the glory that was once ours. Only cowardly vacillation stands in the way." The orator accelerated his harangue. "Specifically, I urge that several measures be approved immediately by this body and then taken to the ecclesia. First, a mobile force of two thousand infantry, two hundred cavalry and ten new warships should be raised. These forces should be sent to Thasos, Lemnos, and Sciathos. They should not be used defensively, as we have done recently, but should take the offensive against Philip. Lightning raids must be conducted against Macedon itself and against its gulf ports. Those ports that we cannot successfully attack should be blockaded. Let the barbarians feel what it is like to have their trade routes interrupted.”
“Further, we must authorize fifty triremes and a citizen force of ten-thousand men. They would be based at Piraeus, ready to sail and meet any emergency caused by the Macedonian Cyclops. Most of you are thinking, 'What is the cost of this vast undertaking?' I've discussed this with Hyperides, and we estimate that it can be done for ni
nety talents. The source of this money can only be the Theoric fund. Although this is against our laws, it has been done in times of great emergency. This situation is an emergency. If you reject this proposal, each of us will live to see power move north to Pella. Pella! That miserable village on shores of mud. Pella, the capital that so depressed Socrates that he ended his life rather than accept their offer of sanctuary. Athens's wealth will evaporate and slaves will camp where each of you sit. Consider the future, Athenians; your supporting vote is assured if your vision is clear."
The boule erupted with shouts of support for Demosthenes' clarion address. It had inspired each member, more with city-state fervor than support for its content. For Eubulus's conservative policies still dominated the elite council of five hundred. The fiscal wizard had been successful in protecting the commercial base of Athens's empire in recent years. When the Macedonian threat had been most serious, it was Eubulus's decisive action that had stopped Philip from entering southern Greece and Attica.
Yet today's news, so eloquently presented by Demosthenes, was alarming. Every delegate knew that Philip's actions in the Chersonese were critical to the city's future commercial success, to say nothing about the real possibility of her food supplies being interrupted or stopped. The fear stirred by Demosthenes' words was real. But the peace-at-nearly-any-cost majority still lacked the will to act.
Applause for Demosthenes finally subsided and Phocion rose to oppose his rival's proposal. "We admire Demosthenes' superior speaking ability," he began. "It shows the value of a good education and diligent rehearsal."
With those two sentences he nearly neutralized the powerful impression that his rival had left with the boule; such was the respect that most of the boule members had for the laconic legislator.
Phocion proceeded to inform the boule that Philip had withdrawn from Heraeon-Teichos and was recovering from his wounds in Pella. He warned against precipitous moves that would ruin Athens’s economy and urged the legislative body to consider but delay Demosthenes’ proposals. “Philip has been checked. Let’s not drag Athens into a disastrous confrontation with Macedon.”
Athens’s Minister of Finance, Eubulus, then spoke in favor of Phocion’s position. He yielded to Aeschines, who also echoed support of Phocion’s thinking.
Demosthenes’ proposal was finally defeated when Isocrates, the aging legislator respected by most Athenians, also expressed opposition to Demosthenes’ anti-Philip moves.
The boule voted to send the Athenian general, Chares, to attack and occupy Sestos, the critical city inside the bottleneck of the Hellespont. With Chares in place, Philip would be blocked. If Chares were threatened, Athens could adopt the emergency plans advocated by Demosthenes.
As long as Athens was not directly confronted by Philip, as long as her commercial empire remained intact, as long as the vital corn and grain shipments continued to flow through the Propontus to Piraeus, her leaders were satisfied that the King of Macedonia could cause them no serious harm.
Artaxerxes Ochus, the Persian Great King, had just returned from campaigns in Egypt, where his army had been defeated in several battles with the rebellious Egyptians. Leaving his commanders to reorganize his forces in the field, he returned to the coastal city of Ephesus to meet with his Grand Vizier, Bagoas, and a council of Ionian satraps. His immediate goal was to purchase more Greek mercenaries and incorporate them into his army. He also wanted to learn of the latest actions of the Athenian boule and King Philip.
In a palace high on a hill overlooking impressive Ephesus, Ochus rested from his long journey. The palace was grand by Greek standards, but far below the splendor of the Great King's royal palaces in Susa, Ecbatana, and Parsa. Two days after his arrival, the monarch and his satraps began deliberations. Reports from satraps whose territory adjoined Phoenicia described the growing rebellion there. With Ochus's main army beleaguered in Egypt, the rebels had been successful in thwarting Persian counter moves to bring them back under Ochus' domination. Several of the provincial governors contended that only by getting more Greek mercenaries, especially the best Greek commanders, could they turn the tide of battle in the breakaway province. Ochus authorized the purchase. The message would leave Ephesus that day and would arrive in Ecbatana seven days later, delivered using the Persian system of fire signals. Then gold-laden camels would begin their slow journey to Ephesus where the purchase of mercenaries would begin.
The second critical matter before the council was the insurrection on the island of Cyprus. Long held as a Persian province, it was in violent rebellion to the king's authority. Discussion revealed that the Cyprians were receiving clandestine military and monetary support from Philip of Macedon. Everyone agreed that it would take major movements of the Persian navy to subdue the Cyprians because of their island status. But Ochus's navy was the only force preventing the Persian armies in Egypt from being defeated. Ochus decreed that Cyprus would have to wait until Egypt was subdued.
After this heated discussion, Ochus ordered the satraps to leave. Private matters needed to be handled with Bagoas.
"You sexless incompetent!" he lashed out. "Why did I learn of the Cyprus rebellion so late? Who's responsible?”
"Great King, I learned of the insurrection only a week ago. As you established when you became king, it's the satrap’s responsibility to use the fire signal system to inform me of any threats. Even our agent in Syria, whose only role is to spy on the satrap, didn't give warning of this problem."
"How long has the rebellion been going on?"
"Abderioa wouldn't tell me that, Great King, although I asked him several times. I suspect he's protecting himself and his traitorous actions. It's likely that he's in collusion with the rebels on Cyprus."
With those words, the Grand Vizier sealed the fate of not only the Syrian satrap, but the king's agent in Abderioa's court as well. Ochus rose and walked to a wide window. It allowed a grand view of Ephesus, stretching majestically downward toward the blue Aegean. His face was etched with cruelty as he sentenced the two men who had failed him. "Send guards to get Abderioa and our spy. I want them put in the public square and tied to four posts. They'll remain there for three days while we spread word of their betrayal among the Ionian satraps gathered here. Then I want a public spectacle so everyone can see what happens when information is withheld from the Great King. While they're still alive, their bodies are to be cut into thirty-two pieces. The last pieces will be cut from their hearts. You are then to package the pieces in boxes packed with ice. Send a piece of both of them to every satrap in the empire. Attach a message bearing the man's name and the statement: He betrayed his king in Syria."
Bagoas showed no reaction and told Ochus that the directive would be carried out without delay. He was overjoyed that a piece of his body wouldn't accompany the sixty-four flesh and organ pieces that would soon be spread over a great part of the earth's surface. It was enough that his testicles hung from his belt for everyone to see! He planned to use what remained of his plump body to guarantee his future, a future that at any time could be threatened by the vengeful Great King.
"What's going on in Athens?" the king asked. “Has Demosthenes finally earned the gold that we lavish on him?"
"I learned yesterday that there was a debate in the boule and that Demosthenes tried to get the legislature to stop Philip before it is too late."
"Was he successful? I care nothing about their inane debates!"
"He was not. Eubulus convinced the boule and ecclesia to continue their policy of arm’s-length containment of Philip. It's enough for their peace party that he has been stopped at Thermopylae. Apparently, they don't know or care that the Macedonian continues his incursion into eastern Thrace and that their grain route is jeopardized."
"I want Demosthenes' efforts doubled. Increase his bribe. We must get the Athenians to attack Philip in Macedonia. That's the only way we can keep him from descending into Ionia. I know Philip's fanning the flames of our rebellions. All we need is for him to ha
ve a clear hand in the Chersonese and there will be no stopping him. Macedon and Persia aren't fighting now, but Philip will end that when Athens is eliminated. I'll invade Macedonia when I subdue the rebel forces that oppose us. Philip is the only Greek who understands that. If necessary, offer bribes to other Athenian war party members, but I want Athens and Macedon at each other's throats. Let them destroy each other's armies, while I put our empire in order. I need only one or two years of stalemated conflict between them, then no one will stop me from realizing Xerxes' great mission."
"The bribes will be increased. There is one other matter that we must discuss before you return to Egypt, Great King. In reaction to your crackdown in the Ionian and Phrygian provinces, there have been two defections to Philip that could hurt you. Artabazus, the rebellious satrap of Phrygia, and the mercenary captain, Memnon of Rhodes, are seeking asylum. We fear that they may be welcomed at Philip's court. Their full intentions are unknown, but the least they can do is provide Macedon with information about our forces in the northern Aegean."
More than anything else that had happened, this news disturbed the Great King most. All his actions since becoming king had focused on keeping the Greeks and Macedonians at war with each other. His policy was to ensure that they were occupied with internal strife, across the Aegean and out of his empire, until Persia's problems were solved. Now Philip had enticed one of his satraps and a leading mercenary officer to come over to him. This represented the first intrusion into the Persian domain since he had gained the Achaemenid throne. Although it only affected the fringes of the empire and no army had crossed the Hellespont, Ochus knew that this was how a great power eventually fell. It didn't happen in one cataclysmic moment. Great nations were devoured slowly, as ants eating the flesh of a paralyzed man.
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