A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

PIOCAS. PHOCION. 339
secretariis; Athanasius, the minister of finances; abominable government. "W Wilt thou govern betDavid, master of the palace, and many others be- ter," was the insolent answer of the fallen tyrant.
sides great numbers of inferior people, who all After suffering many tortures and insults, Phocas
suffered death under the most horrible torments. had his head struck off. His body was dragged
The tyrant's fury, the devastations of the Avars, through the streets, and afterwards burned, together
the alarming success of the Persians, threw the with that of Domentiolus, who had fallen in thile
empire into consternation and despair. Dara, the battle. Phocas, the most blood-thirsty tyrant that
bulwark of the empire towards the Tigris, was ever disgraced the throne of Constantinople, was
taken by Chosroes in 606; Edessa, of no less as ugly in body as monstrous in mind. He was
importance, shared its fate; Syria was a heap of short, beardless, with red hair, shaggy eyebrows;
ruins; Mesopotamia yielded to the king; whoso- and a great scar disfigured his face all the more, as
ever was suspected of having been a friend to it became black when his passions were roused.
Mauricius, or of being opposed to the present state Heraclius was crowned immediately after the death
of things, was seen bleeding under the axe of the of his rival. (Theoph. p. 244, &c.; Cedren.
executioner. At last Phocas insulted his former p. 399, &c.; Chron. Pasch. p. 379-383; Zonar.
favourite Crispus, the husband of his only daughter vol. ii. p. 77, &c. in the Paris ed.; Simocatta,
Domentia, who had vainly endeavoured to produce viii. c. 7, &c.) [W. P.]
a change in the conduct of the emperor. Crispus, PHOCAS, grammarian. [FOCA.]
a sensible and well-disposed man, looked out for PHO'CAS, JOANNES. [JoANNES, No. 100.]
assistance, and fully aware of the chances which PHOCAS (4,f1KAC), the name of an engraver
any conspiracy ran that was carried on in the of gems, which appears on a stone described by
corrupted capital, he sought it at the farthest Caylus (Recuzeil. vii. pl. xxvii.). [P. S.]
extremity of the empire, in Mauritania. Hera- -PHO'CION (cwcicfwv), the Athenian general
clius, exarch of Africa, was the person upon whom and statesman, son of Phocus, was a man of
his choice fell. Confiding in his strength and the humble origin, and appears to have been born in
love of the Africans, Heraclius entered into the B. c. 402 (see Clint. F. H. sub annis 3,76, 317).
plans of Crispus, and began to show his sentiments According to Plutarch he studied under Plato and
by prohibiting the exportation of corn from the Xenocrates, and if we may believe the statement
ports of Africa and Egypt, from whence Constan- in Suidas (s. v.,ILMKos AiYItviri7s), Diogenes also
tinople used to draw its principal supplies. The numbered him among his disciples. He distin,
consequence was, as was expected, discontent in guished himself for the first time under his friend
the capital. Although urged by Crispus to declare Chabrias, in B. c. 376, at the battle of Naxos, in
himself openly, Heraclius wisely continued his which he comnlanded the left wing of the Athenian
policy during two years. Meanwhile, the name fleet, and contributed in a great measure to the
of Phocas was execrated throughout the whole victory [CHABRIAS]. After the battle Chabrias
empire; and owing to a mad order which he gave sent him to the islands to demand their contrifor the baptism of all the Jews in his dominions, a butions (OvUrtaeILs), and offered him a squadron of
terrible riot broke out in Alexandria. Shortly twenty ships for the service; but Phocion refused
before this, the Persians, after having routed them, with the remark that they were too few to
Domentiolus near Edessa, inundated all Asia Mi- act against an enemy, and too many to deal with
nor, appeared at Chalcedon, opposite Constanti- friends; and sailing to the several allies with only
nople, and laden with booty retired at the approach one galley, he obtained a large supply by his fi'ank
of the winter (609-610). This led, to riots in and conciliatory bearing. Plutarch tells us that
Constantinople, and a bloody strife between the his skill and gallantry at the battle of Naxos
Blues and the Greens. Phocas was insulted by caused his countrymen thenceforth to regard him
the populace, and the means he chose to restore as one likely to do them good service as a general.
quiet wrere only calculated to increase the troubles; Yet for many years, during which Chabrias, Iphifor by a formal decree he incapacitated every ad- crates, and Timotheus chiefly filled the public eye,
herent of the green faction from holding any office, we do not find Phocion mentioned as occupied
either civil or military. Now, at the proper mo- prominently in any capacity. But we cannot supment, Heraclius, the eldest son of the exarch pose that he held himself aloof all this time from
Heraclius, left the shores of Africa with a fleet, active business, though we know that he was never
and his cousin Nicetas set out at the head of an anxious to be employed by the state, and may well
army for Constantinople, where Crispus was ready believe that he had imbibed from Plato principles
to receive and assist them without the tyrant hav- and visions of social polity, which must in a
ing the slightest presentiment of the approaching measure have indisposed him for public life, though
storm. Their success is related in the life of they did not actually keep him from it. In B. C.
HERACLIUS. On the third of October, 610, Con- 351 he undertook, together with Evagoras, the
stantinople was in the hands of Heraclius, after a command of the forces which had been collected
sharp contest with the mercenaries of Phocas, who by Idrieus, prince of Caria, for the purpose of respent the ensuing night in a fortified palace, which ducing Cyprus into submission to Artaxerxes IIT.
was defended by a strong body. The guard fled (Ochus), and they succeeded in conquering the
during the night. Early in the morning the Whole island, with the exception of Salamis, where
senator Photius approached it with a small band, Pnytagoras held out against them until he found
and finding the place unguarded, entered and means of reconciling himself to the Persian king.
seized upon Phocas, whom they put into a boat [EVAGORAS, No. 2.] To the next year (e.c. 350)
and paraded through the fleet. He was then Phocion's expedition to Euboea and the battle of
brought before Heraclius on board the imperial Tamynae are referred by Clinton, whom we have
galley. Herachus, forgetting his dignity, felled followed above inVol. I. p. 568, a; but his grounds
the captive monster to the ground, trampled upon for this date are not at all satisfactory, and the
imin with his feet, and charged him with his events in question should probably be referred- to
z z2