The whole city flocked down to the Piraeus to receive them; and such was the ardent desire of the people to behold Alcibiades, that his galley attracted the notice of all, as if he alone had only arrived; for he was deemed in public persuasion both as the cause of past mishaps and present success. The loss of Sicily and the victories gained by the enemy, were now imputed to their having banished a man of so much merit; nor did this appear an unjust reproach on their side, for the moment the command of the army was given to Alcibiades, the Lacedemonians were no longer able to cope with the Athenians either by sea or land.

Although Theramenes and Thrasybulus were equals in commanding the warlike operations; and had entered the Piraeus at the same time, yet when Alcibiades went on shore, he was followed by the crowd, and presented on all sides with gold and brazen crowns, an honour which had never been conferred before, except on victors at the Olympic games. Alcibiades, on receiving such testimonies of affection from the people, wept with joy when he called to mind the undeserved severity he had formerly experienced from his fellow-citizens.

IN THE BEGINNING

De Rerum Natura, Book V

Lucretius

Translated by Rev. John Selby Watson, 1880

The Greek philosopher Epicurus was adamant that humans should not fear death. The keenest proponent of his philosophy in first-century BC Rome, a poet named Lucretius (c. 99–c. 55 BC), sought to stamp out unhealthy ‘superstition’ by providing a more scientific explanation for things. In his De Rerum Natura (‘On The Nature Of Things’) we find references to atoms as well as to Venus. Lucretius did not reject the myths so much as use them for his own ends. His story of early mankind, extracted here, contains an explanation of evolution, but also of the softening of mortal bodies over time. There is a strong parallel with the ancient Greek myths that recount man’s decline from a pre-agricultural Golden Age to the Iron Age of the present day. Lucretius dedicated the poem to his patron, a politician named Gaius Memmius.