engaged in this war. The Greeks, as Thucydides obferves, could have raifed a far more powerful army, but were afraid of being ditreffed for provifions in a foreign country, Against this army the city of Troy held out ten years; but the Trojans, as Homer makes Agamemnon fay, were not the tenth part of the enemies which the Greeks had to contend with; for all Phrygia, Lycia, Myfia, and the greatest part of Alia Minor, fided with the Trojans. Rhefus King of Thrace marched at the head of a confiderable body to their affiftance; and Memnon joined them with 20,000 Affyrians and Ethiopians. Wherefore the Greeks, foreseeing the refiftance they were likely to meet with, and how dear it would coft them to carry their point by dint of arms, before they began any hoftilities, fent Menelaus and Ulyffes ambaffadors to Troy, to demand Helen, and the treafures which Paris had carried off with her; hoping that the fame of the vaft preparations which they had made, might frighten the Trojans into a compliance with fo equitable a demand. What anfwer was returned to the ambaffadors, we know not; but it is certain, that they returned without Helen, and highly diffatisfied with their reception at Troy.

HERODOTUS, upon a tradition that prevailed among the priests of Egypt, feems inclined to believe, that Helen was taken from Paris before he could reach Troy. The tradition, as Herodotus, who learned it of the priefts themselves, informs us, amounts to this: Paris, on his return with Helen, was, by ftrefs of weather, driven on the coaft of Egypt,

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Egypt, and forced to put in at Tarichia, on the Canopian mouth of the Nile. Here fome fiaves of Paris's retinue, taking fanctuary in a temple of Hercules, which stood on the fhore, informed against their mafter; aggravating before the governor of the province, by name Thonis, the injury which he had done to Menelaus. Thonis laid the whole matter before Proteus, at that time King of Egypt; who finding, upon examination, the depofition of the flaves to be true, detained Helen, and the treasures that had been taken with her, in order to restore them to Menelaus; but commanded Paris, after having feverely reprimanded him for his crime, to depart the kingdom within the term of three days, on pain of being treated as an enemy. The Egyptian priests add, that when the Greeks fent ambaffadors to demand Helen, and her riches, the Trojans protefted, that they were not in their power, but in the hands of Proteus King of Egypt;. which the Greeks looking upon as a mere: fhift to put them off, began the war; but at laft, after taking the town, as Helen no where appeared, and the Trojans perfifted in their former proteftations, the Greeks began to believe them, and fent Menelaus into Egypt, where he was kindly entertained by Proteus, and had his wife reftored to him, without any injury done to her perfon or goods. These things the Egyptian priefts affured Herodotus that they knew for certain, as they had happened in Egypt, and had been handed down to them from those who had converfed with Menelaus himfelf. Herodotus produces one argument of no fmall weight, to prove the

truth

truth of this tradition, viz. that if it had been in King Priam's power to restore Helen, he would certainly have done it, rather than fuffer the unspeakable calamities, that befel his family, his kingdom, and himself, during the course of the war. How great foever his tenderness to Paris might have been, yet it could not be proof against fo many misfortunes. Homer feems not to have been ignorant of the tradition of the Egyptian priefts; for he mentions Paris and Helen's arrival in Egypt; and fays, that Menelaus went thither before he returned home to Sparta; which voyage, it is not likely, he undertook at that time for pleasure. Nevertheless Homer, and with him all the Greek poets, (after whom the Latins copied), except Euripides, fupprefs the circumftance of Helen's not being in Troy, as too favourable to the Trojan caufe. But, whether the Trojans would not, or could not retore her, the ambaffadors, on their return, highly complained of the treatment they had met with; and, with their complaints, fo incenfed their countrymen, that they refolved, without further delay, to put to fea, and carry fire and fword into the enemy's country. They fteered to the coaft of Troas; where, on their landing, they met with fo warm a reception, that they began to be fenfible of the difficulty of the enterprize. In the first encounter, they loft Protefilaus, who was flain by Hector, and many others of lefs: note. However, they gained ground enough to encamp on. But what most of all retarded their progrefs, was want of provifions, which daily increased; and was owing, partly to their numbers,

numbers, and partly to the fmallness of their vessels, which, as the building of ships with decks was not then introduced, could not carry fuch ftores of provifions as were neceffary to fupply the army. Wherefore they were obliged to divide their forces; fending part of them to cultivate the ground in the Thracian Cherfonefus, and part to rove about the feas for the relief of the camp. All writers, whether poets or hiftorians, agree, that the Greeks employed the firft eight or nine years in fcouring the feas, pillaging the coafts, and reducing fuch cities and lands as fided with the Trojans. Hence, in the poets, we read of many towns taken, islands plundered, ftrong holds rafed, and numbers of people carried into captivity by Achilles, whom the army could not well have spared, had there been any fervice of importance to be performed before Troy.

Ar laft the feveral small parties, that had been difperfed up and down the neighbouring countries and islands, being joined in one body, and great ftore of provifions brought into the camp, they approached the city, with a defign to exert their utmost efforts, and put an end to fo tedious a war. But by this time the Trojans had been reinforced with confiderable bodies, both of mercenaries and allies, infomuch that, when the Greeks first invested the town, Hector attacked them at the head of an army fcarce inferior to theirs in number. The Greeks had not been long before the city, when a plague broke out in their camp, which, Homer fays, was fent by Apollo, because Agamemnon refused to release the

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daughter of one of his priests; but Heraclides, on this paffage, informs us, that it was occafioned by the violent heats and peftilentious vapours raifed by the fun, the Greeks being incamped among fens and marshes. The

plague was followed by a quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles; for Agamemnon being obliged, by the foothfayer Čalchas, to return his fair captive to her father, a priest of Apollo, to appeafe that revengeful deity, took Brifeis in her room, who, in the divifion of the booty, had fallen to Achilles. This affront Achilles revenged, by withdrawing his forces, and retiring with them on board his veffels. In his abfence, feveral battles were fought, with great flaughter on both fides; the victory generally inclining to the Trojans. In one of thefe, Patroclus was flain by Hector; but his death was not long unrevenged; for Achilles, returning to the camp, put the Trojans to flight, and revenged the death of his friend, by killing Hector himself. Achilles did not long outlive him, being flain by Paris. Thus fell many of the chief leaders on both fides. But the Greeks at last carried the city; whether by force, fratagem, or treachery, is uncertain. All writers agree, that it was taken by night; fome fay, that Eneas and Antenor, who commanded the Dardanians, feeing that Priam would hearken to no terms, even after the death of Hector and Paris, concluded a feparate peace with the Greeks, betraying the city into their hands. The poets tell us, that it was taken by the contrivance of a wooden horfe; which fable fome think to have its birth from the Greeks