Lives of Alcyone

Chart LXVII a
Greece (Birth of Orion) 499 B.C.
1 st 2 nd 3 rd 4 th 5 th 6 th 7 th
ized him at the sight of wounds and blood, and he had difficulty to force himself to do his duty.
After the battle the family returned home, and were relieved to find that the Persians, though they had destroyed much of the town, had not
reached their quarter. The same good fortune attended them next year when Athens had once more to be abandoned before the advance
of Mardonius; and Orion played a noble part in the great battle of Plataea, when the Spartans under Pausanias at last came to the help of the
battle, but when the Asiatic soldiers were at last surrounded in their camp and the final massacre had commenced, which destroyed for ever
the power of Persia, he turned sick at the awful carnage and had to leave the field.
Once more they all returned home, this time not to leave it again, and Orion began to take part in political life. At this time there were two great
parties in Athens, which might be described as in some sense corresponding to Conservatives and Liberals. Aristides was the head of the
Conservative section; he wished to keep everything as in the ancient days, and had vehemently opposed even the building of the fleet that had
saved Europe at Salamis. Indeed, he had made so much trouble that he had been exiled a few years before that battle, though he patriotically
cast aside all differences of opinion and returned to help in it.
The Liberal party on the other hand said that the world was changing, that the old feudal times of the landlord's domination was passed, and
that Athens must develop her commerce and have ships to protect it.
The leader of this party was Themistokles, and to him Orion attached himself with great admiration for his clever plans. Themistokles was an
exceedingly clever man, and did much for the good of his country, but he was unfortunately unscrupulous in his methods. His ideas were usually
excellent, and Orion believed in him, supported him hotly, and would hear no evil of him. Orion's first public speech, which he delivered
before he was twenty, was in favour of Themistokles' scheme of fortifications for Athens and the Piraeus. He spoke well and forcefully, with
an admirable choice of words, and putting a great deal of feeling into what he said. He also spoke several times in favour of the foundation of
the Confederacy of Delos two years later, just about the time of his marriage in 477 B.C. He had six children, the sweetest of them being
Anastasia (Theseus).
Themistokles was at the height of his power during the six years after Orion's marriage, and Orion was useful to him in many ways, though
never in any of his doubtful transactions. However, degrees the boastfulness and injustice of Themistokles made the Athenians hate him, and
he was ostrasised, and went to live at Argos. Orion was indignant at this, and voluntarily shared his exile; but it was gradually forced upon
him that his hero was not faultless, and it was a great sorrow to him to discover it. When, four years later, the complicity of Themistokles in
the disgraceful conspiracy of Pausanias was clearly proved, Themistokles fled to Persia, and Orion returned home.
Meanwhile Aristides had died, and Kimon, the son of Miltiades, had succeeded him as leader of the Conservatives; while in place of Themistokles
the Liberal leader was now a noble named Perikles. For the first few years after the return of Orion the Conservative party had the
advantage, but presently there was a change of policy, and Perikles came into power. With slight intermissions he retained his position until
his death thirty-three years later, and during all that time Orion served and supported him faithfully. He came to have great weight in the councils
of Athens, and was regarded as one of the finest orators of a peculiarly brilliant type. He was of great assistance to Perikles, because
of his thorough-going support of all the reforms introduced. Perikles seems to have been fully worthy of this devotion, not only in his eloquence
and wisdom, but also in the nobleness of his character. His central idea was to develop intelligence and good taste in every Athenian citizen,
and then to trust them to govern themselves. He encouraged art, poetry and music to the utmost, and Orion did well along all these lines.
He avoided taking any part in the numerous foreign wars, but he fought beside his father along with the "boys and the old men" at Megara
against the Corinthians; he was put by Perikles in charge of the building of two tremendous walls, four miles long and two hundred yards apart
, which connected Athens with the Piraeus.
The next twenty-five years was a time of great progress for him, for though he still spoke frequently upon political subjects, he devoted himself
mainly to the study of preaching and philosophy, his discourses upon which were considered most ennobling and successful. After the
death of Uranus, Sirius had become one of the leaders of the schools, and when he died in 454 B.C., Selene and Orion took his place, and
his own death thirty-one years later. He and his wife, though both then old people, distinguished themselves greatly by the active and untiring
help that they gave when the plague devastated Athens in the year 430 B.C.
A particularly close tie of affection bound him to his brother-in-law Aldebran, and also his younger brother Mira, both of whom worked nobly
with him in his efforts to relieve the sufferings of the plague stricken and to prevent the spread of the disease. He finally passed away peacefully
in the year 423 B.C. at the age of seventy-six, thus ennding an exceedingly useful life, in which much talent had been developed in
more than one direction. The mere company of such men as tose among whom he moved was in itself a great help to evolution. Not only was
by the teaching of the great master Pythagoras (Mercury). It was the study of this philosophy and of the inner side of the Mysteries which,
together with his splendid power of affection, gave him his long heaven-life of two thousand and twenty years. The chief caracteristics of Greek
life weere its keenness and quickness, its love of knowledge and of beauty, its power of creating beautiful things, its joy in life and sunlight;
and all these had their part in the production of surroundings so exceptionally favourable.
One of our characters attained some renown in history, for Apollo is known as Simonides of Ceos, who is generally considered one of the
most accomplished men of antiquity. He was the son of Neptune and Osiris, and had for his brother Uranus, who was afterwards the most