vince to Lydia, and continued in that state till Crœsus was vanquished, and all Lydia reduced, by the resistless arms of Cyrus the great.

THE TROJANS.

The religion of the Trojans differed but little, in substance, from that of the inhabitants of Phrygia Major. Their trade is supposed to have been flourishing on account of their advantageous situation, and the fertility of their soil. In the reigns of their last kings, they rose to a very considerable pitch of splendor and magnificence.

Teucer, commonly supposed the founder of the Trojan monarchy, is said to have been remarkably fortunate in all his undertakings; but none of his actions are recorded in history, except his giving his daughter Basia in marriage to Dardanus, and thus settling the crown on him, and his descendants.

Dardanus is represented as a moderate and equitable prince, who extended the boundaries of his kingdom by some considerable acquisitions;-built the cities of Dardana, and Thymbira-made many salutary laws for the due administration of justice-and, after a reign of sixty-four years, died in full possession of his people's affections.

He was succeeded by his son Erichthonius, whose prudent conduct insured him the esteem of his subjects, and maintained a good understanding with the neighbouring princes. The profound peace, which his kingdom enjoyed

Their principal deities were Cybele, who was chiefly worshipped on the hills of Ida; Apollo, who had a temple in the citadel of Troy; and Pallas, whose famous statue was privately stolen by Ulysses. Venus was also ranked among the idols of this country.

gave him an opportunity of accumulating immense riches, without burdening the public with taxes or impositions. He swayed the sceptre with great glory for upwards of fortysix years, and, at his death, left the kingdom in a very flourishing condition.

Tros, the son and successor of Erichthonius, had no sooner ascended the throne, than he laid the foundation of a city; which became the most famous of all Asia. From this prince, Phrygia Minor received the name of Troas, and its metropolis that of Troy.

On the death of Tros, his son Ilus ascended the throne, and vigorously pursued the war, begun by his father against Tantalus, king of Sipylus, till he chased him out of Asia. Ilus afterwards devoted the whole of his time to the improvement of his territories-the emendation of his lawsand the felicity of his people. He died, univerally regretted, in the fortieth year of his reign, and was succeeded by his youngest son, Laomedon.

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Laomedon, on his accession to the crown, resolved to build a citadel in Troy; and executed his design with the treasures that were deposited in the temples of Apollo and Neptune; but this measure tended to alienate the minds of his subjects and some heavy calamities, which happened during this reign, were universally regarded as the effect of divine indignation on account thereof. Laomedon was succeeded by his son Priam, who had no sooner established himself in his new dignity, than he encompassed his capital with a strong wall for its security. He also embellished the city with many stately towers, castles, and aqueducts-maintained a numerous army in constant pay-reduced several of the neighbouring states, and obtained such reputation by his conduct and magnificence, that he was rather considered as sovereign of Asia Minor than king of Troas.

During this reign happened the memorable war between the Greeks and Trojans ; a war still famous for the many princes of renown that were concerned in it-the length of the siegethe dreadful catastrophe of the Trojan monarch-and the numerous colonies planted in different parts of the world, by the

vanquished, as well as the victors. The cause of this unhappy contest is known to have been the rape of Helen: but what encouraged Paris to so daring an attempt, and induced Priam to support him against all opposition, is not determined by historians.

The lively imagination of Homer has given an importance to the Trojan war, which it otherwise would never have had. Conferences, marches, stratagems, combats, truces, and the most ordinary events of war, all become delightfully interesting beneath his pen., His poems not only afford exquisite pleasure, but are useful, as illustrative of history and geography. He minutely relates the origin of nations, their customs, intermixtures, and their geographical position. From his poem more knowledge of antiquity can be attained than from all the other ancient books, the Bible excepted, which have descended to us.

.The number of ships employed by the Greeks in this expedition amounted to upwards of a thousand; but as these vessels could not have carried, on an average, more than eighty-five men, the invading army will not appear very numerous, when we consider, that all the powers of Greece, except the Acarnanians, were engaged in the war. Against these forces, the city of Troy held out ten years; but the Trojans were by no means the most formidable enemies the Greeks had to contend with; for all Phrygia, Mysia, Lycia, and the greatest part of Asia Minor, espoused the cause of the besieged.

It is presumed that the nine first years of the siege passed in unimportant combats and skirmishes. The Greeks suffered by famine, and were obliged to make expeditions to the neighbouring coasts and islands, whence they brought away provisions and prisoners. When they returned to the siege, they were attacked by the plague, occasioned by a bad air, the consequence of inundations. In their different expeditions, they were strengthened by a number of recruits. Many of the chiefs on each side fell, particularly Patroclus, Hector, Achilles, and Paris, the cause of the war. At length, in the tenth year of the siege, a general assault rendered the

Greeks masters of Troy, which they destroyed to the foundations. Thus perished the kingdom of Troy, after it had subsisted from Teucer to Priam, 196 years. How long, or under what form of government, it existed before Teucer, is

unknown.

Two collections of ruins are still remaining near the site of the city, distant about half a league from each other. The one at some distance from the sea shore, is believed to have been a part of ancient Troy, the other, nearer the sea, is supposed to have belonged to New Troy, built by the Romans, who, believing that they derived their origin from the Trojans, held it as a kind of sacred duty to rebuild the birthplace of their ancestors.

Such of the Trojans as escaped the general massacre, quitted their ruined country, and settled in distant regions. Antenor established himself in Italy, and founded the nation of the Veneti. Helenus, one of Priam's sons, settled in Macedonia, where he founded the city of Ilium. With the exception of Livy, the Roman writers affirm, that Eneas landed in Italy, and founded the kingdom of Alba. These emigrants from Troy deeply implanted in the hearts of their descendants the remembrance of their country, by giving to the places where they established themselves the names of objects dear to them from their infancy. The people of New-York, without any bias of this kind, but probably from the pleasing recollection of some classical legislator, have revived the name of the far famed city of Troy, by giving it to one of their flourishing towns, lately founded on the banks of the Hudson.

Though complete success had crowned the labours of the Grecian leaders, they were scarcely more fortunate than their vanquished adversaries. Many of them, on returning to their kingdoms, found disorder, anarchy, and conspiracies. Their wives had forgotten their husbands. The children no longer knew their parents. The wise Ulysses, forgotten by both, as Homer tells, was only recognized by his faithful dog. Of those princes, who on their return were thus either rejected or coldly received, some abandoned their ungrateful subjects, and went to found colonies in distant countries, whither they VOL. II.

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carried their religion, their laws, and their customs. The war, originally entered upon for the recovery of an unworthy woman, involved one nation in ruin, and another in the most serious distress. The only good, which, to short-sighted mortals, appears to have resulted from it, is the accidental circumstance of its giving birth to that incomparable poem, the Iliad, which, for three thousand years, has instructed, improved, and delighted an admiring world.

THE MYSIANS.

MYSIA was divided into Mysia major and minor. The former was bounded on the east by Phrygia, and on the west by the Egean Sea. Its chief city was Pergamus, the royal residence. The latter, or Mysia Minor, extended to Mount Olympus. Its principal cities were Cyzicus and Lampsacus.

The Mysians, who were neighbours of the Trojans, came to their assistance during the course of the siege. When the victory of the Greeks had rendered Troy a desert, the Mysians extended their boundaries and took possession of it. These countries greatly resembled each other in their temperature and fertility. The inhabitants had been warlike, but probably in very early ages; for, in later times, the last of the Mysians was a customary expression with the Greeks to denote a person of mean spirit and character. Their religion was that of the Phrygians, but their priests did not emasculate themselves; it was only required as a condition of their obtaining and continuing in the priesthood, that they should

not marry.

The arts were held in great honour among the Mysians; and proofs of their expertness in them still remain. The city of Cyzicus was called the Rome of Asia, and contained a temple built entirely of polished marble. The columns it con