Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

;*58 -,IIIERCE Nl A RI. MERCENARIT.
(rseek and Romanr Geogra!~/y. Respecting the men- pay was igreatly promoted by the distribution of
sures of time, see ANNUS, HoRA, &C. [P. S.] Persian money among the belligerents. (Thucyd..
ME'NSTRUUM. [SERVUS.] viii. 5,- 29, 45; Xenoph. IMellen. i. 5. ~ 3.) At
ME'NUSIS (Pcdvo'Vs). [EccrLESIA, p. 443, a.] the close of the Peloponnesian war, large numbers
MIERCENA'RII (pLecOw'Oroi, ALo000 poi, more of men who had been accustomed to live by war
commonly 4E'vo), mercenary troops. At an early were thrown out of employment; many were in:
period there was no such thing as a standing army, exile or discontented. with the state of things at
or mercenary force, in the Greek republics. The home; all such persons were eager to engage in a
former would have excited jealousy, lest it should foreign service. Hence there arose in Greece a body
oppress the people, as the chosen band did at Argos of men who made arms their profession, and cared
(Pausan. ii. 20. ~ 2; Thucyd. v. 81); and for the little on which side they fought, provided there
latter there was rarely any occasion. The citizens were a suitable prospect of gaining distinction or
of every state formed a national militia for the emolument. Conon engaged mercenaries with
defence of their country, and were bound to serve Persian money. Agesilaus encouraged the practice,
for a certain period at their own expense, the and the Spartans allowed the members of their
higher classes usually serving in the cavalry, or confederacy to furnish money inlstead of men for
heavy-armed infantrsy the lower classes as light. the same purpose. (Xenoph. Hlell. iii. 4. ~ 15, iv.
arined troops. Foreigners were rarely employed; 3. ~ 15, v. 2. ~ 21.) The Greeks who followed
the Carians, Cretans, and Arcadians, who served Cyrus in his expedition against Artaxerxes, were
as mercenaries (Herod. i. 171; Pausan. iv. 8. ~ 3, mercenaries. (Xenoph. Asasb. i. 3. ~ 21.) So were
10. ~ 1, 19. ~ 4; Wxehsmuth, -ell. Alterth. the famous peltastae of Chabrias and Iphicrates.
vol. i. pt. i. p. 30; Sch6mann, Ant. jar. 1pztb. (Harpocr. s. v..eVYltcd, Ev Kopt'0T: Aristoph.
Gr. p. 159), are an exception to the general rule. Pilnt. 173.) The Phocians, under Philomelus,
In the Persian war we find a small number of Onomarchus, and Phayllus, carried on the sacred
Arcadians offering to serve under Xerxes (Herod. war by the aid of mercenaries, paid out of the treaviii. 26); and they seemed to have used them- sures of the Delphian temple. (Diod. xvi. 30, &c.)
selves to such enmployment down to a much later But higher pay and richer plunder were in general
period. (Xenophl. liellen. vii. 1. ~ 23; Schnmann, to be found in Asia, where the disturbed state of
Id. p. 409.) The practice of maintaining a stand- the empire created continued occasions for the sering force was introduced by the tyrants, who kept vices of Greek auxiliaries, whose superior discipline
guards and soldiers ii their pay (8opwvdpol, /uLo- and courage were felt and acknowledged by the
OopdSpo) to prevent insurrections of the people, Barbarians. Even the Spartans sent their king
and preserve their influence abroad, As it was Agesilaus into Egypt, for the sake of obtaining
unsafe to trust arms in the hands of their own sub. Persian gold. Afterwards we find a large body oi
jects, they usually employed foreigners. (Thu- Greeks serving under Darius against Alexander.
cyd. vi. 55; Diod. xi. 67, 72; Xenoph. Hier. v. It is proper here to notice thl evil consequences
3.) Hence, and because citizen soldiers used to that resulted from this employment of mercenaries,
fight without pay, 5E'coL came to signify nmercen2aries. especially to Athens, which employed thenm more
(Harpoc. s. v. E17mEVruoLE'ouv.) WVe must distin- than any other Greek state. It might be expected
guish, however, between those who fought as niaxi- that the facility of hiring trained soldiers, whose
liaries, whether for pay or otherwise, under com- experience gave theni great advantages, would lead
nission from their own country, and those rwho to the disuse of military service by the citizens.
did not. The former were E7rleovpom, not 4E'oi. Such was the case. The Athenian citizens stayed
(Herod. i. 64, iii. 45, v. 63; Thiteyd. i. 60, ii. at home and became enervated and corrupted by
70, iii. 34, iv. 80.) The terms sevoi and evlicd& the love of ease and pleasure; while the conduct
implied that the troops were independent of, or of wars, carried on for their benefit, was entrusted
severed from, their own country. to men over whom they had little control. Even
The first Grecian people who commenced the the general, though commonly an Athenian, was
employment of mercenaries on a large scale, were compelled frequently to comply with tile humours,
the Athenians. While the tribute which they re- or follow the example of his troops. To conciliate
ceived from the allies placed a considerable revenue them, or to pay them their arrears, he might be
at their disposal, the wars which their ambition driven to commnit acts of plunder and outrage upon
led them into compelled them to maintain a large the friends and allies of Athens, which thus found
force, naval and military, which their own populla- enemies where she least expected. It was not untion was unable to supply. Hence they swelled usual for the generals to engage in enterprises
their armies with foreigners. Thucydides makes foreign to the purposes for which they were sent
the Corinthian ambassador at Sparta say, y~VT;17 out, and unconnected with the interests of their'h'A071ai'w a8m'a4[ts. (i, 121.) They perceived also country, whose resources they wasted, while they
tie advantage of employing men of different na- sought their own advantage. The expeditions of
tions in that service, for which from habit they Chllabrias and Iphicrates to Egypt are examples of
were best qualified; as, for instance, Cretan archers this. But the most signal example is the conduct
and slingers, Thracian peltastae. (Thucyd. vi. 25, of the adventurer Charidemus. Upon all these
vii. 27; Aristoph. Ac/marcn. 159.) At the same matters we may refer the reader more particularly
tine the practice of paying the citizens was intro- to Demosthenes, whose comments upon the disasluced; a measure of Pericles, which was indeed trous policy pursued by his countrymen were no
both just and unavoidable (for no man was bound less just than they were wise and statesmanlike.
by law, or could be expected, to maintain himself (Demosth. Philip. i. p. 46, c. Aristocr. pp. 666,
/br a lo1g eampaign); but which tended to efface 671; rEpl T'oD aTeq. rT; -rpnp. p. 1232, &c.
the distinction between the native soldier and the Athen. xii. 43; Thirlwall, Hist. of Greece, vol. v.
foreigner. Other Greek nations soon imitated the p. 210; Wachsmuth, vol. i. pt. ii. p. 309.) The
Athenians (Th'ucyd. iv. 76), and the appetite for Romaip at a comparatively early time introduced