THE PREFACE.

TO illuſtrate the following poem, to vin⯑dicate the ſubject from the cenſure of improbability, and to ſhew by the concurring evidence of the beſt hiſtorians, that ſuch diſintereſted public virtue did once exiſt, I have thought, it would not be improper to prefix the ſubſequent narration.

WHILE Darius, the father of Xerxes, was yet on the throne of Perſia, Cleomenes and Demaratus were kings in Lacedaemon, both deſcended from Hercules. Demaratus was un⯑fortunately expos'd by an uncertain rumour, which render'd his legitimacy ſuſpected, to the [ii] malice and treachery of his colleague, who had conceiv'd a perſonal reſentment againſt him; for Cleomenes taking advantage of this report, perſuaded the Spartans to examine into the birth of Demaratus, and refer the difficulty to the oracle of Delphi; and was aſſiſted in his perfidious deſigns by a near relation of Dema⯑ratus, nam'd Leotychides, who aſpir'd to ſuc⯑ceed him in his dignity. Cleomenes found means to corrupt the prieſteſs of Delphi, who declar'd Demaratus not legitimate. Thus by the baſe practices of his colleague Cleomenes, and his kinſman Leotychides, Demaratus was expell'd from his office of king in the commonwealth, after having frequently ſignaliz'd his valour in its ſervice. He went into voluntary baniſh⯑ment, and retiring to Aſia was there protected by Darius; while Leotychides ſucceeded to the regal authority in Sparta. Upon the death of Cleomenes Leonidas was made king, who rul'd in conjunction with this Leotychides, when Xerxes, the ſon of Darius, invaded Greece. The [iii] number of land and naval forces, which accom⯑panied that monarch, together with the ſervants, women, and other uſual attendants on the army of an eaſtern prince, amounted to upwards of five millions, as reported by Herodotus, who wrote within a few years after the event, and pub⯑licly recited his hiſtory at the Olympic games. In this general aſſembly not only from Greece itſelf, but from every part of the world, where⯑ever a colony of Grecians was planted, had he greatly exceeded the truth, he muſt certainly have been detected, and cenſur'd by ſome a⯑mong ſo great a multitude, and ſuch a vo⯑luntary falſhood muſt have entirely deſtroy'd that merit and authority, which have procur'd to Herodotus the veneration of all poſterity, with the appellation of the father of hiſtory. On the firſt news of this attempt upon their li⯑berty a convention was immediately held at the Iſthmus of Corinth, compos'd of deputies from the ſeveral ſtates of Greece, to conſult on proper meaſures for the public ſafety. The Spartans [iv] alſo ſent meſſengers to enquire of the oracle at Delphi into the event of the war, who return'd with an anſwer from the prieſteſs of Apollo, that either a king deſcended from Hercules muſt die, or Lacedaemon would be entirely de⯑ſtroy'd. Leonidas immediately offer'd to ſa⯑crifice his life for the ſafety of Lacedaemon, and marching to Thermopylae poſſeſs'd himſelf of that important paſs with three hundred of his countrymen; who with the forces of ſome o⯑ther cities in the Peloponneſus, together with the Thebans, Theſpians, and the troops of thoſe ſtates, which adjoin'd to Thermopylae, compos'd an army of near eight thouſand men.

XERXES was now advanc'd as far, as Theſſalia; when hearing, that a ſmall body of Grecians was aſſembled at Thermopylae, with ſome Lacedaemonians at their head, and among the reſt Leonidas, a deſcendant of Hercules, he diſpatch'd a ſingle horſeman before to ob⯑ſerve [v] their numbers, and diſcover their deſigns. When this horſeman approach'd, he could not take a view of the whole camp, which lay con⯑ceal'd behind a rampart formerly rais'd by the Phocians at the entrance of Thermopylae; ſo that his whole attention was employ'd on thoſe, who were on guard before the wall, and who at that inſtant chanc'd to be the Lacedaemo⯑nians. Their manner and geſtures greatly aſ⯑toniſh'd the Perſian; ſome were amuſing them⯑ſelves in gymnaſtic exerciſes; others were comb⯑ing their hair; and all diſcover'd a total diſregard of him, whom they ſuffer'd to depart without moleſtation, and report to Xerxes, what he had ſeen: which appearing to that prince quite ri⯑diculous, he ſent for Demaratus, who was with him in the camp, and requir'd him to ex⯑plain this ſtrange behaviour of his countrymen. Demaratus inform'd him, that it was a cuſtom among the Spartans to comb down and ad⯑juſt their hair, when they were determin'd to fight till the laſt extremity. Xerxes notwith⯑ſtanding [vi] in the confidence of his power ſent am⯑baſſadors to the Grecians to demand their arms, to bid them diſperſe, and become his friends and allies; which propoſals being receiv'd with diſ⯑dain, he commanded the Medes and Saces to ſeize on the Grecians, and bring them alive into his preſence. Theſe nations immediately at⯑tack'd the Grecians, and were ſoon repuls'd with great ſlaughter; freſh troops ſtill ſucceed⯑ed, but with no better fortune than the firſt, being oppos'd to an enemy not only ſuperiour in valour and reſolution, but who had the ad⯑vantage of diſcipline, and were furniſh'd with better arms both offenſive and defenſive.

PLUTARCH in his Laconic apothegms re⯑ports, that the Perſian king offer'd to inveſt Leonidas with the ſovereignty of all Greece, provided he would join his arms to thoſe of Per⯑ſia. This offer was too conſiderable a conde⯑ſcenſion to have been made before a tryal of their force, and muſt therefore have been propos'd by [vii] Xerxes, after ſuch a ſeries of ill ſucceſs, as might probably have depreſs'd the inſolence of his temper; and it may be eaſily ſuppos'd, that the virtue of Leonidas was proof againſt any temptations of that nature. Whether this be a fact, or not, thus much is certain, that Xerxes was reduc'd to extreme difficulties by this reſo⯑lute defence of Thermopylae; till he was extri⯑cated from his diſtreſs by a Malian nam'd Epi⯑altes, who conducted twenty thouſand of the Perſian army into Greece through a paſs, which lay higher up the country among the mountains of Oeta: whereas the paſſage at Thermopylae was ſituated on the ſea-ſhore between the end of thoſe mountains and the Malian bay. The de⯑fence of the upper paſs had been committed to a thouſand Phocians, who upon the firſt ſight of the enemy inconſiderately abandon'd their ſtation, and put themſelves in array upon a neighbouring eminence; but the Perſians wiſely avoided an engagement, and with the utmoſt expedition march'd to Thermopylae. Leonidas [viii] no ſooner receiv'd information, that the Barba⯑rians had paſs'd the mountains, but he command⯑ed the allies to retreat, reſerving the three hundred Spartans, and four hundred Thebans, whom, as they follow'd him with reluctance at firſt, he now compell'd to ſtay. But the Theſpians, whoſe number amounted to ſeven hundred, would not be perſuaded by Leonidas to forſake him. Their commander was Demophilus, and the moſt eminent amongſt them for his va⯑lour was Dithyrambus. Among the Spartans the moſt conſpicuous next to Leonidas was Di⯑eneces, who being told, that the multitude of Perſian arrows would obſcure the ſun, replied, the battle would then be in the ſhade. Two bro⯑thers named Alpheus and Maron are alſo record⯑ed for their valour, and were Lacedaemonians. Megiſtias a prieſt, by birth an Acarnanian, re⯑fus'd to deſert Leonidas, though intreated by him to conſult his ſafety, and retire; but ſent away his only ſon, and remain'd himſelf be⯑hind to die with the Lacedaemonians. Among [ix] the three hundred Spartans were two call'd Eurytus and Ariſtodemus, who being almoſt blind were diſmiſs'd by Leonidas. Of theſe Ariſtodemus return'd home; but Eurytus wait⯑ed, till the Perſians deſcended from the hills, and then commanding his ſlave to lead him a⯑mong the combatants was ſlain with the reſt of his countrymen.

HERODOTUS relates, that Leonidas drew up his men in the broadeſt part of Thermopy⯑lae; where, being ſurrounded by the Perſians, they fell with great numbers of their ene⯑mies: but Plutarch, Diodorus Siculus, and o⯑thers affirm, that the Grecians attack'd the ve⯑ry camp of Xerxes in the night. The action is thus deſcrib'd by Diodorus. "The Grecians having now rejected all thoughts of ſafety, preferring glory to life, unanimouſly call'd on their general to lead them againſt the Per⯑ſians, before they could be appris'd, that their friends had paſs'd round the mountains. [x] Leonidas embrac'd the occaſion, which the ready zeal of his ſoldiers afforded, and com⯑manded them forthwith to dine, as men, who were to ſup in Elyſium. Himſelf in conſe⯑quence of this command took a repaſt, as the means to furniſh ſtrength for a long continuance, and to give perſeverance in danger. After a ſhort refreſhment the Gre⯑cians were now prepar'd, and receiv'd orders to aſſail the enemies camp, to put all, they met, to the ſword, and force a paſſage to the royal pavilion; when, form'd into one compact body with Leonidas himſelf at their head, they march'd againſt the Perſians, and enter'd their camp at the dead of night. The Barbarians wholly unprepar'd, and blindly conjecturing, that their friends were defeat⯑ed, and themſelves attack'd by the united power of Greece, hurry together from their tents with the utmoſt diſorder and conſterna⯑tion. Many were ſlain by Leonidas and his party, but much greater multitudes by their [xi] own troops, to whom in the midſt of this blind confuſion they were not diſtinguiſhable from enemies: for as night took away the power of diſcerning truely, and the tumult was ſpread univerſally over the camp, a pro⯑digious ſlaughter muſt naturally enſue. The want of command, of a watch-word, and of confidence in themſelves reduc'd the Perſians to ſuch a ſtate of confuſion, that they de⯑ſtroy'd each other without diſtinction. Had Xerxes continu'd in the royal pavilion, the Grecians without difficulty might have brought the war to a ſpeedy concluſion by his death; but he at the beginning of the tumult betook himſelf to flight with the ut⯑moſt precipitation; when the Grecians ruſh⯑ing into the tent, put to the ſword moſt of thoſe, who were left behind: then, while night laſted, they rang'd through the whole camp in diligent ſearch of the tyrant. When morning appear'd, the Perſians perceiving the true ſtate of things, held the inconſiderable [xii] number of their enemies in contempt; yet were ſo terrified at their valour, that they avoided a near engagement; but incloſing the Grecians on every ſide ſhower'd their darts and arrows upon them at a diſtance, and in the end deſtroy'd their whole body. Such was the pe⯑riod of their lives, who under the conduct of Leonidas defended the paſs of Thermopy⯑lae. Who can refrain from admiring the virtue of theſe men, who with one conſent maintaining the poſt allotted by their country chearfully renounc'd their lives for the com⯑mon ſafety of Greece, and eſteem'd a glori⯑ous death more eligible than to live with diſ⯑honour? Nor is the conſternation of the Perſians incredible. Who among thoſe Bar⯑barians could have conjectur'd ſuch an event? who could have expected, that five hundred men would have dar'd to attack a million? Wherefore ſhall not all poſterity from that day reflect on the virtue of theſe men as the object of imitation, who, though the loſs of [xiii] their lives was the neceſſary conſequence of their undertaking, were yet unconquer'd in their ſpirit; and among all the great names deliver'd down to remembrance are the only heroes, who obtain'd more glory in their fall than others from the brighteſt victories? With juſtice may they be deem'd the pre⯑ſervers of the Grecian liberty, even prefer⯑ably to thoſe, who were conquerors in the battles fought afterwards with Xerxes; for the memory of their valour, who fell at Thermopylae, for ever dejected the Barbarians, while the Greeks were fir'd with emulation to equal ſuch a pitch of magnanimity. Upon the whole there never were any before theſe, who attain'd to immortality through the meer exceſs of virtue; whence the praiſe of their fortitude has not been recorded by hi⯑ſtorians only, but has been celebrated by numbers of poets, among others by Simoni⯑des the lyric."

[xiv] PAUSANIAS in his Laconics conſiders the defence of Thermopylae, as an action ſuperior to any atchiev'd by their cotemporaries, and to all the exploits of preceding ages. ‘"Never (ſays he) had Xerxes beheld Greece, or laid in aſhes the city of Athens, had not his forces under Hydarnes been conducted through a path over Oeta, and by that means incom⯑paſſing the Greeks overcome and ſlain Leo⯑nidas."’ Nor is it improbable, that Leonidas ſhould have maintain'd his poſt in ſo narrow a paſs, till the whole army of Xerxes had pe⯑riſh'd by famine. At the ſame time the Per⯑ſian navy had been miſerably ſhatter'd by a ſtorm, and worſted in an engagement with the Athenians at Artemiſium.

To conclude, the fall of Leonidas and his brave companions, ſo meritorious to their coun⯑try, and ſo glorious to themſelves, has obtain'd ſuch an high degree of veneration and applauſe [xv] from paſt ages, that few among the antient compilers of hiſtory have been ſilent on this amazing inſtance of magnanimity and zeal for liberty; and many are the epigrams and in⯑ſcriptions now extant, ſome on the whole body, others on particulars, who died at Thermopy⯑lae, ſtill preſerving their memory in every na⯑tion converſant with learning, and at this diſ⯑tance of time ſtill rendring their virtue the ob⯑ject of admiration and praiſe.

I SHALL now detain the reader no longer, than to take this public occaſion of expreſſing my ſincere regard for the LORD VISCOUNT COBHAM, and the ſenſe of my obligations for the early honour of his friendſhip. To him I inſcribe the following poem; and herein might I be juſtified, independent of all perſonal motives, from his Lordſhip's public conduct ſo highly diſtinguiſh'd by his diſintereſted zeal, and unſha⯑ken fidelity to his country, not leſs in civil life [xvi] than in the field: and to whom a poem found⯑ed on a character eminent for military glory, and love of liberty is due from the nature of the ſubject.