JENT ATHENS.

The speech of Aristion made a great impression on the people, i
especially the baser portion of them. "With much clamour they
hastened to the theatre, and elected Aristion their general.1 Then he
strutted into the orchestra, and, after thanking them, said: " Now
you are your own masters, but I am your head; and if you support
me, I shall be able to do as much alone as all of you together." So
speaking, he dictated what colleagues he would have. Having thus
made himself master of Athens, his first step was to get rid of the well-
inclined citizens, and lest they should escape he set a guard at all the
gates. In short, he appears to have been a sort of Greek Eobespierre,
and established a Eeign of Terror. Many citizens let themselves down
at night from the walls and fled; but Aristion sent horsemen after them,
and some of them were killed, and the others brought back in chains.
Having surrounded himself with a well-armed guard,2 he began to play
the tyrant. He laid snares to detect those who were inclined to the
Eoman cause; he filled not only the town, but the country also, with his
satellites and spies; those who endeavoured to escape were brought
back and put to death with torments; the rich were plundered to
such an extent that he is said to have filled several wells with money,
which, however, is probably an exaggeration; and he promulgated a
sort of curfew law, that nobody should go out after sunset, even with
a lanthorn. He was helped in his doings by Apellicon, a philosopher
of the same kidney, whose literary and antiquarian taste had led him
to purchase the library of Aristotle and a great many more. Having
been detected in purloining from the Metroum some ancient autograph
psephismata,3 Apellicon had been obliged to fly for his life; but he

1 OTpaTTjyoV €7Tt T(0V OTvkuiV. Ill the

time of Athemeus, the civil magistrates
were called strategi. The fact of the
people going to the theatre to elect Aristion,
.instead of to the Pnyx, seems to show that
the latter was now quite out of use. Even
the assemblies in the theatre had been
suppressed, for Aristion notes the Biarpov
dveKKKrfcrlamnv (A then. V. 51).

2 This seems to have consisted of 2000
soldiers, whom Mithridates had sent with
him to Athens. Appian, Bell. Mithr.
p. 189.

3 This anecdote appears to show that
the proposers of psephismata made a
draft of them, and that, when carried,
they were engraved on bronze tablets or
stone.