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PHOCION

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Originally appearing in Volume V21, Page 448 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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PHOCION , Athenian statesman and See also:

general, was See also:

BORN, IGNAZ, EDLER VON (1742–1791)

born about 402 B.C.,' the son of a small manufacturer. He became a See also:

PUPIL (Lat. pupillus, orphan, minor, dim. of pupus, boy, allied to puer, from root pm- or peu-, to beget, cf. "pupa," Lat. for " doll," the name given to the stage intervening between the larval and imaginal stages in certain insects)

pupil of See also:

PLATO

Plato and in later See also:

LIFE

life was a See also:

close friend of See also:

XENOCRATES

Xenocrates. This See also:

ACADEMIC

academic training See also:

LEFT

left its See also:

mark upon him, but it was as a soldier rather than as a philosopher that he first came into See also:

NOTICE

notice. Under See also:

CHABRIAS (4th century B.C.)

Chabrias he distinguished himself in the See also:

GREAT

great See also:

sea-fight of See also:

NAXOS

Naxos (376), and in the subsequent See also:

CAMPAIGNS

campaigns loyally supported his See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief. He won the confidence of the See also:

ALLIES, THOMAS WILLIAM (1813-1903)

allies by his See also:

JUSTICE (Lat. justitia)

justice and integrity. In 351–3492 he entered the See also:

Persian service and helped to subdue a See also:

REBELLION

rebellion in See also:

Cyprus. Hence-forward he always held a prominent position in See also:

Athens, and although he never canvassed he was elected general See also:

FORTY

forty-five times in all. In politics he is known chiefly as the consistent opponent of the See also:

ANTI, or CAMPA

anti-Macedonian firebrands, headed by See also:

DEMOSTHENES

Demosthenes, See also:

Lycurgus and See also:

HYPEREIDES (c. 390-322 B.c.)

Hypereides, whose fervent eloquence he endeavoured to See also:

DAMP

damp by recounting the See also:

PLAIN (O. Fr. plain, from Lat. plenum)

plain facts of Athens's military and See also:

FINANCIAL

financial weakness and her need of See also:

peace, even when the arms of Athens seemed to prosper most. But although he won the respect of his See also:

AUDIENCE (from Lat. audire, to hear)

audience, his See also:

ADVICE (Fr. avis, from Lat. ad, to, and visum, viewed)

advice was frequently discarded. Yet his See also:

INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence was See also:

FELT (cognate with Ger. Filz, Du. vilt, Swed. and Dan. fill; the root is unknown; the word has given Med. Lat. filtrum, " filter ")

felt at the trial of See also:

Aeschines in 343, whom he helped to defend, and after the disaster of See also:

CHAERONEIA, or CHAERONEA

Chaeroneia (338), when he secured very lenient terms from See also:

Philip. He also rendered See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good service in the See also:

field: in 348 he saved the force operating against the See also:

philo-Macedonian tyrants in See also:

EUBOEA (pronounced Evvia in the modern language)

Euboea by the brilliant victory of Tamynae. Under the Macedonian predominance his reputation steadily increased.

1 Diodorus' statement that Phocion was 75 at his See also:

DEATH

death (i.e. that he became general at 3o and was elected 45 years in See also:

SUCCESSION (Lat. successio, from succedere, to follow after)

succession) would give 394–393 as the date of See also:

BIRTH (a word common in various forms to Teutonic languages from the root of the verb " to bear ")

birth; but he must have been quite 25 as second-in-command at Naxos (376). 2 The See also:

CHRONOLOGY (Gr. xpovo?oyfa, computation of time, xp6vos)

chronology is uncertain: the See also:

DATES

dates given for this See also:

period are Beloch's ivrsechische Geschichte, Though by no means inclined to See also:

TRUCKLE

truckle to the Macedonians, as is shown by his See also:

PROTECTION

protection of the refugee Harpalus and his spirited See also:

CAMPAIGN

campaign in See also:

defence of See also:

ATTICA

Attica in 322, he won the confidence of the conquerors, and in the restricted See also:

DEMOCRACY (Gr. 3np.oKparia, from S)µos, the people, i.e. the commons, and Kparos, rule)

democracy which See also:

ANTIPATER (398?-319 B.C.)

Antipater enforced he became the virtual ruler of Athens. Old See also:

AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age, however, was telling on him; when See also:

POLYPERCHON (incorrectly Polysperchon)

Polyperchon by his See also:

PROCLAMATION (Lat. proclamare, to make public by announcement)

proclamation of " freedom " raised a new crisis in 318, Phocion's dilatoriness was interpreted as active See also:

TREASON (Fr. trahison, Lat. traditio)

treason on See also:

Cassander's behalf, and the See also:

PEOPLE

people, incited by the restored democrats, deposed him from See also:

OFFICE (from Lat. officium, " duty," " service," a shortened form of opifacium, from facere, " to do," and either the stem of opes, " wealth," " aid," or opus, " work ")

office. Phocion fled to Polyperchon, but was sent back by the latter to be tried at Athens. The See also:

ASSEMBLY, UNLAWFUL

assembly, containing numerous slaves and all the See also:

CITY (through Fr. cite, from Lat. civitas)

city See also:

MOB

mob, shouted Phocion down and condemned him to death unheard. Not See also:

long after, the Athenians decreed a public See also:

BURIAL

burial and a statue in his See also:

HONOUR (Lat. honos or lwnor, honoris; in English the word was spelled with or without the u indifferently until the 17th century, but during the 18th century it became fashion-able to spell the word " honor "; Johnson's and Webster's Dictionaries stereoty

honour. Phocion's See also:

CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character and policy, were throughout inspired. by his philosophic training, which best explains his remarkable purity of character and his prudent See also:

COUNCILS

councils. To the same influence we may ascribe his reserve and his reluctance to co-operate heartily either with the people or with the Macedonian conquerors who put their See also:

TRUST

trust in him: a greater spirit of See also:

ENERGY (from the Gr. ivipyela; iv, in, ipyov, work)

energy and enterprise might have made him the saviour of his See also:

COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country. Phocion remained famous in antiquity for the pithy sayings with which he used to See also:

parry the eloquence of his opponents. Demosthenes called him " the chopper of my periods." See also:

Plutarch (Life of Phocion) draws much good See also:

INFORMATION (from Lat. informare, to give shape or form to, to represent, describe)

information from See also:

PHILOCHORUS

Philochorus and See also:

DURIS

Duris (who reproduces Hieronymus of Cardia); his numerous anecdotes are repeated in other See also:

WORKS

works of his and in See also:

Aelian (See also:

VAR

Var. Kist.). Diodorus (xvi.–xviii.) is likewise based on Duris.

See Holm. Gk. Hist. vol. iii. (Eng. trans., See also:

LONDON

London, 1896). (M. O. B.

End of Article: PHOCION

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