ollected the
bravest of his followers, and forced his way through the enemy. Many
of the Messenians went to Rhegium, in Italy, under the sons of
Aristomenes, but the hero himself finished his days in Rhodes.

The second Messenian war was terminated by the complete subjugation of
the Messenians, who again became the serfs of their conquerors. In
this condition they remained till the restoration of their independence
by Epaminondas in the year 369 B.C. During the whole of the intervening
period the Messenians disappear from history. The country called
Messenia in the map became a portion of Laconia, which thus extended
across the south of Pelponnesus from the eastern to the western sea.

CHAPTER V.

THE EARLY HISTORY OF ATHENS, DOWN TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF DEMOCRACY BY
CLISTHENES, B.C. 510.

Sparta was the only state in Greece which continued to retain the
kingly form of government during the brilliant period of Grecian
history. In all other parts of Greece royalty had been abolished at as
early age, and various forms of republican government established in
its stead. The abolition of royalty was first followed by an Oligarchy
or the government of the Few. Democracy, or the government of the Many,
was of later growth. It was not from the people that the oligarchies
received their first and greatest blow. They were generally overthrown
by the usurpers, to whom the Greeks gave the name of TYRANTS. [The
Greek word Tyrant does not correspond in meaning to the same word in
the English language. It signifies simply an irresponsible ruler, and
may, therefore, be more correctly rendered by the term Despot.]

The rise of the Tyrants seems to have taken place about the same time
in a large number of the Greek cities. In most cases they belonged to
the nobles, and they generally became masters of the state by espousing
the cause of the commonalty, and using the strength of the people to
put down the oligarchy by force. At first they were popular with the
general body of the citizens, who were glad to see the humiliation of
their former masters. But discontent soon began to arise; the tyrant
had recourse to violence to quell disaffection; and the government
became in reality a tyranny in the modern sense of the word.

Many of the tyrants in Greece were put down by the Lacedaemonians. The
Spartan government was essentially an oligarchy, and the Spartans were
always ready to lend their powerful aid in favour of the