The Friend of Fortune
(411 - 336 B.C.)
TIMOLEWN
by Plutarch
Against heavy odds, but with the help of the gods, Timoleon took up where Dion had left off, and liberated Sicily from barbarians and tyrants. His courage and wisdom established peace and prosperity where before there had been desolation and war.
It was for the sake of others that I began writing biographies, but I find myself continuing for my own benefit. The virtues of these great men are like a mirror to me, where I can see how to adjust and adorn my own life. As I study their characteristics, I feel that I am living with them as my guests.
Democritus tells us that we should pray that of the phantoms in the air, we may meet only the ones that are agreeable to our nature, and avoid the ones that are evil and unlucky. This simply introduces a false doctrine leading to endless superstitions. My method, on the contrary, is to habituate my memory to receive and retain images of good characters. I thus am able to avoid being contaminated by the company I may unavoidably find myself engaged with, by the remedy of turning my thoughts, in a happy and calm temper, to view noble examples. One of these is Timoleon the Corinthian, a man who was as famous for good luck as for virtue.
* * *
After the death of Dion, every city in Sicily was either in ruins or enslaved. Syracuse lost most of its population under a series of bad governments. Then Dionysius returned from Italy after an exile of ten years. With an army of mercenaries, Dionysius took over the castle of Syracuse and resumed his tyranny.
Before, Dionysius had been cruel and unreasonable, but now he was also angry. After ten years in exile, his tyrannical temper was worse than ever, and he wanted revenge. The few people left in Syracuse either submitted to slavery under Dionysius or moved to the territory of the Leontines and put themselves under the rule of Hicetes. 1 Hicetes was no better than Dionysius, but at least he was different, and Hicetes had an army that offered protection from the wrath of Dionysius.
The western half of the Island of Sicily was occupied by the Carthaginians, 2 and they sent a large fleet to scout the Greek half. The Greeks in Sicily sent frantic embassies to Corinth, begging for help against the Carthaginians. Hicetes pretended to join in the alarm over a barbarian invasion, but (as was discovered later) he was conspiring with the Carthaginians.
Syracuse was a Corinthian colony, and had always maintained close relations with the mother city. On principle, the Corinthians were against tyranny. Corinth fought for liberty, not empire. At that time, Corinth happened to have no other wars to fight, so the Corinthians unanimously agreed to send an army. Then came the question of who would lead it.
After a long debate over the merits of various candidates, there was still no consensus, and it appeared that more people would be displeased than pleased no matter who was chosen commander in chief. Then someone in the crowd nominated Timoleon, a man who had long been absent from public business and had absolutely no ambitions at all. It would seem that some god had put it into this man's head to mention Timoleon just then, because Timoleon was easily elected even though he had not sought the office and had been a hermit for twenty years.
* * *
Timoleon was born into a prominent family in Corinth. He was noted for his modesty, his public spirit, and his hatred of tyrants. As a young man, a rare prudence tempered his youthful energy, and when he was old he had the same resolute courage he had as a young man.
His older brother, Timophanes, was a brave and vigorous soldier who achieved a high rank in the Corinthian army. However, Timophanes was greedy for power, reckless, and indiscreet. At a battle with the Argives, in which Timophanes commanded the cavalry, his horse fell and threw him into enemy lines. Timoleon put his shield over his fallen brother and then held off the enemy, taking several wounds, until he managed to bring his brother back alive.
Timophanes later gave reason for the Corinthians to wish that Timoleon had left him to die on the battlefield. They entrusted Timophanes with the command of four hundred professional soldiers, and with these soldiers Timophanes began to silence anyone who might stand in his way to absolute power, until at last he became the tyrant of Corinth [366 B.C.].
Timoleon was horrified at what his brother was doing, and he tried talking him out of it. That failed, so he came back with Timophanes' brother-in-law and a fortune-teller to try again. Timophanes laughed at the idea of giving up his power, and he screamed at them and called them fools. Timoleon stepped away and stood weeping with his face covered while the other two took his brother's life.
The better men of Corinth applauded Timoleon for putting what was good and just above what was for his personal advantage, and above the duties of kinship. They observed that this was the same brother whose life he had saved when he fought for Corinth, so when Timophanes had tried to enslave his fellow citizens Timoleon had only taken back the life he had given his brother on the battlefield. On the other hand, those who could not live in a democracy, and who thrive in a tyranny by their access to absolute power, grumbled that Timoleon had done a very bad thing. And then when he saw his mother's grief, and heard her curse him and refuse to see him ever again, Timoleon decided to put an end to his troubles by starving to death.
His friends intervened in time, and by force as well as persuasion they managed to get him to promise that he would endure whatever life had in store for him. Timoleon left the city and spent the next twenty years wandering around in the fields, tortured by his conscience.
So true it is that the hearts of men are easily changed by the comments of other people, unless the judgments we make are well grounded in reason and philosophy so that they are firm and steady. An action done half-heartedly will eventually bring disgust and remorse, even when it is good. Out of pure weakness, we will second guess ourselves when the grace and godliness of it, which made it so attractive before, begin to decay and to bore us. We are like those people who, with a good appetite, stuff themselves with tasty treats until nausea makes them spurn what before they so greedily desired. When reason, rather than impulse, governs our choices, we do not regret even our failures. But even the best actions done without firm personal conviction spoil because of doubt, and produce regret.
Timoleon's grief over the murder of his brother had so broken his spirit that for twenty years he had not offered to concern himself in any public affairs. So after he had been elected general, some persuasion was necessary to get him to accept the command. Teleclides, who at that time was the most distinguished man in Corinth, went to Timoleon and told him that if he did this job bravely, the Corinthians would say that he had killed a tyrant; otherwise, they would say that he had killed his brother.
* * *
As Timoleon was enlisting soldiers and making his preparations for the voyage to Sicily, letters came to the Corinthians from Hicetes telling them that their help was no longer necessary. Because of their delay, said Hicetes, he had been compelled to accept the help of the Carthaginians against the tyrant Dionysius. When this letter was read publicly, it so enraged the Corinthians that they all contributed willingly to supply Timoleon with everything he might need.
The priestess of the goddess Proserpina [Persephone] 3 had a dream: the goddess and her mother, Ceres, dressed in travelling clothes, said that they were going to Sicily with Timoleon. Poets say that Sicily was where Proserpina had been abducted by Pluto to be his bride in Hades, and that the island was her dowry. So the Corinthians dedicated an extra ship to carry the goddesses and their attendants.
Timoleon went to the oracle at Delphi to ask Apollo's advice about the expedition. When he stepped into the place of prophecy, a ribbon, which had symbols of victory on it, slipped down from one of the gifts in the temple and fell directly onto his head.
Another wonderful signal of success happened on the way to Sicily: light like a bright flame came down from heaven and hung over the ship Timoleon was in. The fortune-tellers told him that it agreed with the dream of the priestess, and the goddesses were now visibly joining in on his side and sending light from heaven to guide him to Sicily.
These demonstrations of divine favor tremendously encouraged the Corinthian army, and they sailed smoothly to the coast of Italy. There, at the city of Rhegium, Timoleon got the news that Hicetes had defeated Dionysius in a battle and had taken over most of Syracuse. Timoleon also learned that twenty Carthaginian ships (twice the number of his own fleet) had set up a blockade, so that in order to reach Sicily he would have to evade them.
Envoys from Hicetes came to tell Timoleon that he was welcome to come alone as an advisor, but his army was not needed because the war was nearly finished. Timoleon pretended to go along with the deception. Timoleon told Hicetes it would be necessary to record all of this in a written agreement, before witnesses, so the Corinthians would not blame Timoleon when he returned without having done anything. He also said that it would be in the interest of both parties to have a clear agreement in writing.
The rulers of Rhegium dreaded the prospect of Carthaginian neighbors, so they secretly agreed to help Timoleon gain time for his fleet to get out of the harbor and past the Carthaginian fleet. They called an assembly of the Rhegians to witness this sham agreement, and the doors were shut so that no one could leave on other business. Speaker after speaker got up to deliver some long oration.
The Carthaginian captains were present, and they suspected nothing. Timoleon was also there, and he pretended to be preparing to speak. But when he got word that all of his ships had escaped, and that his own was waiting for him, he disappeared through the crowd with the help of the Rhegians. Timoleon boarded his ship and sailed away as the Carthaginian captains listened to more speeches. Before they knew he was gone, Timoleon was already in Sicily. The Carthaginians complained about being cheated, but the Rhegians only smiled at their outrage. 4
Andromachus, the ruler of Tauromentium, welcomed Timoleon and his men into his city. He was by far the best of the rulers in Sicily at that time, governing his citizens with respect for justice. Because he hated cruelty and injustice, Andromachus was an enthusiastic ally of Timoleon, and he gave him permission to use Tauromentium as his base of operations for the deliverance of Sicily from foreign domination and tyranny.
A Carthaginian envoy came to Tauromentium with a demand that Andromachus not allow the Corinthians to stay in his city. After many threats and boasts, in the typical barbarian manner, he concluded his bombastic oration by grandly turning his hand over, saying that his city would be turned over as easily as that, if Andromachus did not do as he was told. Andromachus laughed and imitated the gesture, telling this insolent barbarian that he had better hurry away before he saw that trick practiced first on the ship that had brought him.
* * *
Even though Timoleon had managed to evade the blockade, the Syracusans despaired. The Carthaginians had control of their harbor and the sea, Hicetes and his mercenaries occupied their town, and Dionysius and his mercenaries were in their castle. Timoleon had only a thousand soldiers, far away, and had only enough food and money for that small number.
The other cities of Sicily were not coming to join Timoleon because they had been deceived in the past by men who promised to lead them to liberty and then turned out to be such bad tyrants themselves that the old regime seemed like a golden age by comparison.
Only the people of Adranum asked Timoleon for help, and that was only because there was a civil war, and one side had already called in Hicetes. Timoleon was only able to bring 1,200 men against Hicetes and his force of 5,000. Both armies arrived at Adranum at the same time.
The advance party of Hicetes had just started to lay out their camp outside the city when Timoleon heard of their arrival. He urged his men not to rest but to hurry up and surprise the enemy, who would now be tired from a long march and busy with putting up tents, collecting wood, and cooking their evening meal. As soon as he said this, Timoleon put himself in front and led them on as if to certain victory. The bravery of such a leader made them all follow with equal confidence and courage. They quickly covered the remaining three miles and defeated the enemy, who, as expected, was tired and disorganized.
After this victory, the people of Adranum unlocked their gates and allied themselves with Timoleon. A miracle had occurred in the city: just as the battle began, the doors of the temple opened by themselves, revealing the statue of their god, which dripped sweat. The spear he held quivered, as if he were running to fight. This not only gave divine notice of the victory but also was thought to be an omen of future success. Other cities nearby joined Timoleon.
Even Dionysius himself joined Timoleon. Dionysius had been about to leave and surrender the castle to Hicetes, but when he heard the news of Timoleon's amazing victory he decided to hand it over to Timoleon instead. Timoleon sent four hundred men to take possession of the castle, where they found two thousand mercenaries and enough war gear to equip an army of 70,000. In exchange, Dionysius was allowed to live in Corinth, together with his wealth and a few friends he brought with him.
So fifty days after he landed in Sicily, Timoleon had recovered the castle of Syracuse and sent Dionysius into exile at Corinth.
* * *
Hicetes continued the siege of the castle, and he sent two assassins to Adranum to get rid of Timoleon. Timoleon never kept a bodyguard around his person, and he was then enjoying a festival in honor of the local gods. The two assassins moved through the crowd until they came to the altar, where Timoleon was about to sacrifice. Just as they were drawing their knives to do their job, a stranger hit one of them on the head with a sword, then, waving his bloody weapon, escaped through the crowd. The other assassin held on to the altar and claimed sanctuary, begging Timoleon to spare his life in exchange for details of the whole plot. While this confession was going on, the killer surrendered. As he was being carried away he shouted that there was no injustice in taking revenge against the man who long ago had killed his father.
The people of Adranum gave this man a full pardon and a large reward. Everyone marveled at the divine protection that seemed to be watching over Timoleon. It is wonderful how Fortune makes seemingly unconnected events come together into a grand design, as in this case, where an old crime was the cause of Timoleon's safety.
This incredibly lucky escape gave Timoleon the reputation of a sacred person sent by the gods to free Sicily, and it gave the Sicilians a strong hope of victory. Due to this bungled assassination, volunteers came to join their fate to Timoleon's. So now Hicetes was forced to call in the Carthaginians openly, where before they had only been used secretly, as if Hicetes were ashamed. The Carthaginians sent a huge fleet and an army of 60,000 troops, which occupied the harbor and the city of Syracuse, all except for the castle, which was held by Timoleon's men.
The Carthaginian fleet cut off supplies to the castle, and the situation looked hopeless. Timoleon used small boats to smuggle in supplies whenever there was bad weather, and these ships left from Catana. So in order to stop this, Hicetes and Mago (the Carthaginian general), marched the forty miles to Catana with the best troops they had.
Meanwhile, back in Syracuse, the soldiers left behind by Hicetes were negligent in their siege. Neon the Corinthian, who commanded the men in the castle, seized this opportunity and attacked. He overran the Carthaginians and occupied the Acradina, a very strong position, and connected it to the castle by new fortifications. This gave Neon plenty of provisions to hold out longer, and more space to work with. Just as Hicetes and Mago arrived at Catana, a messenger arrived with the news that the Acradina had been lost. So they turned their army around and hurried their tired soldiers back in disorder without having accomplished anything at all.
* * *
Arguably, the foregoing successes of Timoleon might be due more to courage and intelligence than to luck, but the following event has no other possible explanation.
A relief force had been sent from Corinth, but it was blockaded on the Italian coast by the Carthaginian fleet. Moreover, the sea was too rough for the Corinthians to cross over into Sicily. An idea came into the head of the Carthaginian admiral. Since the weather was bad enough to shut the Corinthians in anyway, he broke off the blockade and sailed down to Syracuse with his fleet. There, he pretended that the Carthaginians had defeated the relief force. His hope was that this trick would make the garrison in the castle despair and surrender. But as soon as the Carthaginian ships left, the sea became smooth, and a gentle wind blew toward Sicily. The Corinthians were able to get across not only in their ships but in small boats too, with their horses swimming beside them.
Reinforced by these 2,000 fresh men from Corinth, Timoleon marched to Syracuse. Timoleon's force still totalled only 4,000, but Mago and his 60,000 Carthaginians gave up and sailed out of Syracuse, back to Carthage. Hicetes begged Mago not to go, but it seemed clear to Mago that whatever Timoleon lacked in numbers he more than made up with luck. Mago had also become suspicious of Hicetes' soldiers, who were Greeks. They had begun to complain about fighting for barbarians against their fellow Greeks, especially when there were such clear indications which side the gods were on. Mago made their treachery the pretext for his retreat out of Syracuse, but the real reason is unknown. When he got back to Carthage, Mago was crucified for incompetence.
The day after Mago left Syracuse, Timoleon arrived, and instead of a huge army he found only Hicetes with a few demoralized mercenaries. He attacked all strong points at once and captured the city without the loss of a single man.
Timoleon now avoided the error that Dion had made. He foreclosed all suspicions of tyrannical intentions by destroying the castle of Syracuse. On that happy day, Timoleon's army and all of the citizens of Syracuse not only tore down the castle but also the palaces nearby, the monuments, and anything that might remind them of the dark days behind. In its place they constructed their courts of justice, building a people's government on the ruins of tyranny.
There were so few people left in Syracuse that the marketplace had become overgrown with weeds so dense that they used to pasture horses there. Those who had fled to security in the country would not dare to come back to live under the terror of assemblies and public speakers, which had put into power the tyrants who had made them slaves. Therefore Timoleon, and the Syracusans that remained, wrote to Corinth and requested colonists from Greece. To their credit, the Corinthians did not take this opportunity for themselves, but instead they sent heralds to the games and religious assemblies all over Greece, who made the following proclamation:
"The Corinthians, having destroyed tyranny in Syracuse, do hereby invite the Syracusan exiles, and any other Sicilians, to return and inhabit the city, with full enjoyment of freedom under their own laws, the land being divided among them in just and equal proportions."
The Corinthians also offered to furnish transportation free of charge after the colonists had assembled in Corinth. Very few exiles, however, showed up. So the Corinthians invited others from all over Greece, and eventually ten thousand sailed to Syracuse. With others from Sicily and Italy, a total of sixty thousand men came to Timoleon at Syracuse, and the land was divided among them. The houses in Syracuse were sold, and the proceeds amounted to a thousand talents, which was enough to pay for the expenses of government.
Throughout Greece and Italy there was praise of Timoleon and the Corinthians for expelling the tyrants and barbarians, then offering to restore Syracuse to its rightful owners. Syracuse quickly became a happy and prosperous city.
Meanwhile, Timoleon went through Sicily and accepted the surrender of the other tyrants, offering them a comfortable retirement in Corinth. Timoleon considered that it was a glorious thing for Corinth to have these tyrants on display there for all the Greeks to see. Hicetes lost all of his fortune and retired among the Leontines.
* * *
Timoleon stayed in Syracuse to help them frame a constitution, and he sent his army to enrich themselves by plundering the Carthaginian half of the island. The Carthaginians, who were already enraged by Mago's debacle, now they sent an army of 70,000 men and a fleet of 200 warships to the western tip of Sicily. It was clear that they did not merely intend to defend their territory, but to drive the Greeks out forever. The Carthaginians brought siege engines, war chariots, and everything necessary for a long campaign.
In Syracuse, the citizens were so terrified that only three thousand had the courage to follow Timoleon to meet the Carthaginians. The mercenaries amounted to only four thousand, and of these a thousand deserted along the way. The deserters and dissenters said that Timoleon was crazy to go out against a force ten times larger than his own, instead of saving the few men he had for the defense of fortified positions. And it seemed a blunder to take this tiny army eight days away from Syracuse, so that there would be nowhere to find safety in case they were defeated. Timoleon, however, considered it an advantage that the deserters had revealed themselves before the battle, and he confidently marched to where the Carthaginians were camped.
As Timoleon's men went up a hill to get their first look at the Carthaginians, they met a train of mules loaded with parsley. The soldiers took this as a very bad omen because parsley was used to decorate tombs. Timoleon called a halt and made a speech, telling the men that the gods had sent them their victory wreaths -- parsley was what was used to crown the victors in the Isthmian games at Corinth. Timoleon made himself a victory wreath, and his officers followed his example. Just then the fortune-tellers noticed two eagles flying toward them -- a very good omen -- and when they pointed this out, the whole army fell down and thanked the gods.
The Carthaginians were at that moment in the process of fording the Crimesus River. First came the soldiers from Carthage itself, ten thousand men with white shields and heavy armor. Timoleon pointed out to his men how the river cut the enemy force in half, allowing them to take on the Carthaginians alone. Retreat was blocked for the Carthaginians by the crowd of their allies in the water behind them.
With their large shields and heavy armor, the Carthaginians easily withstood the Greek spears, but when the two armies locked together, and drew their swords for close-in fighting, the skill and strength of the Greeks gave them the advantage.
Just as the battle began, a violent thunderstorm sent rain into the faces of the Carthaginians, and lightning blinded them. Thunder made it impossible to hear the orders of their commanders. The river behind the Carthaginians rose and overflowed its banks, partly because of the rain and partly because of the crowd of people that was blocking its flow. The mud made the ground on which the Carthaginians stood slippery, and because of their heavy armor they had a hard time getting up from the mud once they fell. After four hundred Carthaginians in the front ranks had been killed, the others tried to save themselves by flight. Many drowned in the river, and many others were caught and killed from behind. Ten thousand of them lay dead after the fight, including three thousand of the best soldiers of Carthage. Never before had so many Carthaginians died in one battle. Usually they got their Africans and Spaniards to bear the brunt of battle, and take most of the casualties.
Booty from this battle made all of Timoleon's soldiers rich men. Two hundred Carthaginian four-horse war chariots were taken, along with everything else in the Carthaginian camp. Gold and silver were so common that iron and brass were worthless. There was so much spoil, and so few hands to gather it all, that the victory monument was not finished until three days after the battle. Many of the prisoners were taken away privately by the soldiers to be sold as slaves, but five thousand were brought back to Syracuse. Timoleon sent some of the most beautiful barbarian armor to Corinth as proof of this astonishing victory [341 B.C.].
The mercenaries who had deserted Timoleon escaped into Italy, but the inhabitants killed them all by fooling them with false welcomes and promises of safety. Thus the deserters got an appropriate reward for their own treachery.
* * *
Rather than lose Sicily altogether, Carthage decided to try again. Mamercus, the tyrant of Catana, made an alliance with the Carthaginians and offered a base in his territory. Hicetes also joined them. A new fleet of seventy ships came to Messina. This time, the Carthaginian army included Greek mercenaries. At Messina, they captured four hundred of Timoleon's paid soldiers.
Elsewhere the Carthaginians ambushed and killed all of the mercenaries that served under Euthymus of Leucadia. Timoleon had allowed these mercenaries to spread out over the territory of the Carthaginians in Sicily to take plunder. Although they were valuable soldiers in battle, they had a bad history of lawlessness and theft, and had even broken into the temple of Apollo at Delphi. Timoleon had hired them in Greece, and they had done him good service, but when they were no longer needed, Apollo paid them back for their sacrilege. The good luck that guarded Timoleon is evident in his disasters as well as his successes: these men he lost were far away, no longer needed, and doomed anyway.
While Timoleon was away, Hicetes raided the outskirts of Syracuse. On their way back home, Hicetes and his bandits were so encumbered by their loot that Timoleon was able to catch up with them. Hicetes, who had a large advantage in numbers, drew up his superior force in a strong defensive position across a river. Timoleon would have to cross the river, then climb up steep banks on the other side. Nevertheless, Timoleon's captains were so eager for action that they quarreled violently over which one would have the honor of leading the charge.
Timoleon decided the dispute by requiring each of his captains to put his signet ring into a helmet. The ring that Timoleon drew out happened to have the figure of a trophy engraved on it. When they saw this omen, the young captains all shouted for joy and immediately raced each other across the river and up the banks to get at the enemy. The sudden violence of this attack shattered the confidence of the opposing soldiers, who dropped their shields and weapons and ran away, leaving a thousand dead comrades behind them.
Timoleon captured Hicetes and took him back to face the citizens of Syracuse, who had the pleasure of trying Hicetes and sentencing him to death. They also killed Hicetes' wife and his daughters, in revenge for what Hicetes had done to the family of Dion. 5
Mamercus and the Carthaginians were in Catana, so Timoleon marched there. Mamercus risked a battle and lost over two thousand men in the defeat, including many of the Carthaginians sent to help him. After this defeat, the barbarians asked for peace, which was granted on the condition that they confine themselves to the western half of Sicily, and stop aiding tyrants.
Mamercus had taken refuge in Messina, the home of Hippo the tyrant. There, Timoleon settled down for a siege. Hippo tried to escape by ship, but he was caught by the citizens of Messina before he could get away. They dragged Hippo to the theater, and everyone watched, even their little children, as the hated tyrant was whipped to death.
Mamercus surrendered to Timoleon on the condition that he would be tried at Syracuse. He had prepared a speech to use on the Syracusans, but they would not listen to anything Mamercus had to say. When he realized that he could not talk his way out of his predicament, Mamercus tried to kill himself by running into a stone wall as hard as he could. But that failed too, and the Syracusans gave Mamercus a horrible death.
* * *
Thus did Timoleon cut the nerves of tyranny and put an end to war in Sicily. When he first arrived, he found the island desolate, and even the natives hated their home because of all of the evils and miseries they suffered there. But Timoleon so civilized and restored Sicily that even strangers came to inhabit the towns that before were overgrown with weeds. So warm was the affection of all the Sicilian cities toward Timoleon that no important business was considered finished until Timoleon had touched it with his own hand, so that it might be pleasing both to the gods and to man.
Greece at this time produced several persons of extraordinary worth, who had wide fame for their achievements -- such as Agesilaus, Pelopidas, and (Timoleon's chief model) Epaminondas. 6 But violence and labor obscured the light of their best actions, even to the point that some of their accomplishments were matters of blame and repentance. Timoleon, however, never did anything (aside from the unavoidable killing of his brother) to which we may not apply the exclamation of Sophocles:
Oh gods, what Venus, or what grace divine,
Did here with human workmanship combine?
Just as the strength and beauty of Homer's poetry seems to have come with effortless ease -- in contrast to the strained and elaborate work of others -- so Timoleon's achievements outshine those of his contemporaries. The expeditions and acts of Agesilaus and Epaminondas were full of toil and effort, but those of Timoleon were easy and natural. Our fair and unbiased judgment must call these other men's achievements the success of fortunate merit, rather than the effect of fortune.
Timoleon himself attributed all of his success to good luck. Many times he said that he was grateful that he had been privileged to be the tool used to accomplish the divine plan for the deliverance of Sicily. He even built a chapel in his house dedicated to Good Luck, as a deity that had served him, and he devoted the house itself (which was a reward from the Syracusans) to the Sacred Genius.
Wisely, Timoleon chose not to go back to the turmoil of Greece or to expose himself to public envy -- the fatal mischief which great commanders continually run into because of an insatiable appetite for honors and authority. He settled down to a peaceful life in Syracuse.
In every democracy there will be false accusers, and so it was in Syracuse. Two of their public speakers sued Timoleon, and one of them even asked Timoleon to post a bond to guarantee that he would answer a charge that would be made some time later. Some of the citizens were angry about this demand, but Timoleon would not allow any obstruction of the justice that he had fought so hard to secure. The substance of the charge turned out to be based on the specious argument that Timoleon was vicariously liable for things done by his army while he was general. Timoleon made no reply to this foolishness, but only said that he was indebted to the gods for allowing him to live long enough to see the Syracusans enjoy free speech.
Timoleon's eyes began to cloud with cataracts, until finally he was completely blind. This was not the punishment for any misconduct on his part, but merely hereditary weakness. 7
The Syracusans showed Timoleon the respect and gratitude due to a common father. Whenever there was some important matter of public business, they carried Timoleon into the assembly, where, after the applause and blessings had abated, he would hear the debate and give his opinion, which the people would unanimously ratify by their cheers.
In the opinion of everyone, Timoleon had done the greatest things of any Greek in that time. There were many men who talked about fighting tyranny, but Timoleon took action. Just and gentle to his friends, and shrewd and brave to the tyrants and barbarians, he won amazing victories with very few men, and suffered very few casualties. With effortless grace, and in less than eight years, he had erased tyranny from Sicily and expelled the barbarians.
After a brief illness, Timoleon died. The funeral of Timoleon was attended by thousands. It was so magnificent that it seemed to be a celebration, but the sincere tears of the people made it clear that this was only the expression of real sorrow for the loss of a great man. They stacked up a huge funeral pyre and cremated Timoleon's corpse, then they kept his ashes in a special tomb in the marketplace of Syracuse. Keeping to the constitution that he left them, they lived for a long time in great prosperity.
NOTES:
1. This was the same Hicetes who had drowned Dion's wife and baby, after pretending to befriend them following Dion's murder. See the life of Dion.
2. Carthage was a large city in what is now Tunisia. It was a prosperous trading center of the Phoenicians, who came from what is now Lebanon. Carthaginians controlled Spain and the western part of the Mediterranean. Eventually, the growing power of Rome led to the Punic Wars (264 - 241 B.C., 219 - 201 B.C., and 149 - 146 B.C.) which established Rome as a major empire and destroyed Carthage completely.
3. Persephone (Proserpina) was the daughter of Zeus (Jupiter), the king of the gods, and Ceres (his sister), the goddess of agriculture. Young Persephone was playing one day, enjoying the flowers of spring, when her uncle Hades (Pluto), the god of the underworld, carried her away in his black chariot to his dark kingdom. Ceres was so upset that she refused to let anything grow on the earth. Jupiter worked out a compromise whereby for half the year, Persephone could be with her mother on the earth, and for the other half she would be with her husband in his dark kingdom.
4. Carthaginians, and Phoenicians in general, were famous cheaters, so to hear them complain of being cheated must have been very amusing.
5. See the life of Dion.
6. See the lives of Agesilaus and Pelopidas.
7. Plutarch believed in descendants being punished for the evil of their ancestors, just as they inherit the rewards of their ancestors' merit. Therefore, he takes care to explain that Timoleon's cataracts were hereditary. This doctrine helped Plutarch explain why good people suffer and bad people seem to be able to flout justice with impunity. This apparent absence of divine attention was one of the bulwarks of the Epicurean point of view, a philosophy which Plutarch detested. He also believed that death did not end the consciousness of evil men, who were punished not only with their own suffering but also by seeing the suffering inflicted upon their innocent descendants. See Plutarch's very interesting essay, "On the Delay of Divine Punishment," which is one of the miscellaneous works collectively called the Moralia.
