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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/9074-8.txt b/9074-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..54ca838 --- /dev/null +++ b/9074-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6511 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Stories from Thucydides, by H. L. Havell + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Stories from Thucydides + +Author: H. L. Havell + +Posting Date: April 26, 2014 [EBook #9074] +Release Date: October, 2005 +First Posted: September 2, 2003 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORIES FROM THUCYDIDES *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Franks, Delphine Lettau and Project +Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders. HTML version by Al +Haines. + + + + + + + + + + + +STORIES FROM THUCYDIDES + +RETOLD BY H. L. HAVELL B. A. + +FORMERLY SCHOLAR OF UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OXFORD + + + + + _O my poor Kingdom, sick with civil blows!_ + SHAKESPEARE, _Henry IV_. + + + + CONTENTS + + PROLOGUE + CORINTH AND CORCYRA + THE SURPRISE OF PLATAEA + THE PLAGUE AT ATHENS + INVESTMENT OF PLATAEA + NAVAL VICTORIES OF PHORMIO + THE REVOLT OF LESBOS + ESCAPE OF TWO HUNDRED PLATAEANS. FALL OF PLATAEA + CAPTURE OF A HUNDRED AND TWENTY SPARTANS AT SPHACTERIA + CAMPAIGNS OF BRASIDAS IN THRACE + THE HOLLOW PEACE + THE ATHENIANS IN SICILY + EPILOGUE + + + + +PROLOGUE + +In a former volume we have traced the course of events which ended in +the complete overthrow of Xerxes and his great army. Our present task +is to describe the chief incidents in the cruel and devastating war, +commonly known as the Peloponnesian War, which lasted for twenty-seven +years, and finally broke up the Athenian Empire. The cause of that war +was the envy and hatred excited in the other states of Greece by the +power and greatness of Athens; and in order to make our story +intelligible we must indicate briefly the steps by which she rose to +that dangerous eminence, and drew upon herself the armed hostility of +half the Greek world. + +We take up our narrative at the point of time when the Athenians +returned to their ruined homes after the defeat of the Persians at +Plataea. Of their ancient city nothing remained but a few houses which +had served as lodgings for the Persian grandees, and some scattered +fragments of the surrounding wall. Their first task was to restore the +outer line of defence, and by the advice of Themistocles the new wall +took in a much wider circuit than the old rampart which had been +destroyed by the Persians. The whole population toiled night and day to +raise the bulwark which was to guard their temples and their homes, +using as materials the walls of the houses which had been sacked and +burnt by the Persians, with whatever remained of public buildings, +sacred or profane, and sparing not even the monumental pillars of +graves in the urgency of their need. + +But jealous eyes were watching them, and busy tongues were wagging +against that gallant race of Attica which had been foremost in the +common cause against the barbarian invader. "These Athenians are +dangerous neighbours," was the cry. "Let us stop them from building +their wall, or Athens will become a standing menace to ourselves." +Before long these murmurs reached the ears of the Spartans, and they +sent envoys to dissuade the Athenians from fortifying their city. Their +real purpose was disguised under the mask of anxiety for the general +safety of Greece. "It is not expedient," they urged, "that the +Persians, when next they come against us, should find fencéd cities +which they may make their strongholds, as they have lately done in +Athens and in Thebes. Cease, therefore, from building this wall, and +help us to destroy all such defences, outside of Peloponnesus. If we +are attacked again, we will unite our forces within the isthmus, and +meet the invader from there." + +But Themistocles was not the man to be hoodwinked by the simple cunning +of the Spartans. By his advice the Athenians dismissed the envoys, +promising to send an embassy to discuss the matter at Sparta. As soon +as they were gone, Themistocles caused himself to be appointed as head +of the embassy, and set out at once for Sparta, instructing the +Athenians to keep his colleagues back until the wall had been raised to +a sufficient height for purposes of defence. Arrived at Sparta, he kept +himself close in his lodging, and declined all conference with the +authorities, alleging that he could do nothing without his colleagues. + +Meanwhile the Athenians were making incredible efforts to carry on the +work which was essential to their liberty and prosperity. Men, women, +and children toiled without intermission, and the wall was rapidly +approaching a defensible height. The clamour of their enemies grew +louder and louder, and angry messages reached the Spartans everyday, +reproaching them with their supineness and procrastination. Being asked +the meaning of these reports, Themistocles professed total ignorance, +and bade the Spartans send men to Athens to see for themselves. The +Spartans did so, and when the men arrived at Athens the Athenians, who +had been privately warned by Themistocles, kept them in custody, as +hostages for their own representatives at Sparta. Themistocles had +meanwhile been joined by his partners in the embassy, and learning from +them that the wall was now of sufficient height, he spoke out plainly, +and let the Spartans understand what his true purpose was. "Athens," he +said, "is once more a fortified city, and we are able to discuss +questions of public or private interest on a footing of equality. When +we forsook all, and took to our ships to fight for the common weal, it +was done without prompting of yours; and that peril being past, we +shall take such measures as concern our safety, without leave asked of +you. And in serving ourselves, we are serving you also; for if Athens +is not free, how can she give an unbiased vote in questions which +concern the general welfare of Greece?" + +It was impossible for the Spartans to express open resentment at a plea +so moderate and so reasonable. But they were secretly annoyed to find +that their malice had been detected and exposed; and by this incident +was sown the first seed of ill-will which was afterwards to bear such +bitter fruit for Athens and for Greece. For the present, however, the +affair was ended, and the first step secured for the Athenians in their +career of glory and power. + +Themistocles was the first who clearly saw that the future of Athens +lay on the sea. But if Athens was to hold and extend her position as +the first naval power in Greece, it was above all things necessary that +she should have a strong and fortified station for her fleets, her +arsenals, and her dockyards. Nature had provided her with what she +needed, in the peninsula of Peiraeus, which juts out into the Saronic +Gulf, about five miles south-west of the inland town. As soon as the +city-wall was completed, fortifications of immense strength were +carried round the whole of Peiraeus; and within this vast rampart rose +a second city, equal in size to the old one, with streets laid out in +straight lines, and filled with the stir and bustle of a maritime +population. Three land-locked harbours gave ample room for the fleets +of Athens to lie in shelter and safety; and this great sea-port town +was afterwards united to the original city by two long walls, which met +the sea, one at the north-western corner of Peiraeus, and the other at +the south-eastern point of the Bay of Phalerum. Between these, at a +later period, a third wall was built, running parallel to the northern +wall at a distance of about two hundred feet, and known as the Southern +or Middle Wall. + +Many years elapsed before these important works were completed; and in +the meantime great events had been happening in other parts of the +Greek world, tending more and more to realise the dream of +Themistocles, and make his beloved city the undisputed mistress of the +sea. After the defeat of the Persian armies and fleets at Salamis, +Plataea, and Mycale, much hard work remained to be done, in reducing +the outlying cities on the coasts of Thrace and in the eastern corners +of the Aegaean, which held out for the Great King. The Spartans were +still nominal leaders of the allied Greek navy; but after a year of +service they resigned this position, which they owed to their +acknowledged supremacy in land warfare, to the Athenians. They were +induced to take this step, partly by their own aversion to foreign +enterprises, and partly by the misconduct of their general Pausanias, +who had disgusted the allies serving under him in the fleet by his +intolerable arrogance and tyranny. The field was thus left open to the +Athenians, who willingly assumed the command offered them by the +maritime cities of Greece, with the object of prosecuting the war +vigorously against Persia. Each city was assessed to furnish a fixed +contribution of ships or money, and the sacred island of Delos was +appointed as the common treasury and meeting-place of the league. Thus +was formed the famous Delian Confederacy, with the avowed purpose of +making reprisals on the Great King's territory for the havoc which he +had wrought in Greece. For a time all went smoothly, and the various +members of the league fought under Athens as her independent allies. +But by degrees the Greeks from the islands and coast-lands of Asia +began to weary of their arduous duties, and murmured against the +Athenians, who proved hard task-masters, and compelled them by force to +perform their part in the bargain. One by one the cities revolted from +the leadership of Athens, were attacked by her navies, and reduced to +the position of subjects and tributaries. Others voluntarily withdrew +from all active co-operation in the war, agreeing to pay a fixed annual +sum as a substitute for service in the fleet. And before the outbreak +of the Peloponnesian War the two powerful islands of Lesbos and Chios +were the only members of the original league who still retained their +independence. + +Such were the circumstances which led to the foundation of the Athenian +Empire, which grew up, by the force of necessity, out of the decay of a +confederacy born of a common need, and organised for the special +benefit of the Asiatic Greeks. For the names of the Greek cities on the +coasts of Asia Minor still figured in the Persian tribute-lists; and +the moment that the grasp of Athens relaxed on the confines of the +King's dominions, after the ruinous defeat in Sicily, Persian +tax-gatherers came knocking at the gates of Ephesus and Miletus, +demanding the arrears of tribute. So urgent was the need supplied by +the energy of Athens, and so blind were these Greeks of Asia Minor to +their own interests. + +The visible sign of this momentous change, by which the Delian +Confederacy became merged in the Athenian Empire, was the removal of +the treasury from Delos to Athens. The Athenians now undertook the +whole administration of the common fund, using the surplus for the +adornment of Athens by magnificent public buildings. This appropriation +seems reasonable enough, when we consider that the whole burden of +defending the eastern Greeks against Persia, and keeping the barbarian +out of Greek waters, now lay upon Athens. This great public duty, which +had been thrown upon her by the indifference of Sparta, and the unmanly +sloth of her own allies, was faithfully performed; and she might well +ask why she should be called upon to lavish the blood of her own +citizens for nothing. That Athens should be great, splendid, and +powerful, was not only a reward due to her public spirit and devotion +to the common cause, but also a guarantee for the general dignity and +liberty of Greeks. And we, who have still before us the remnants of her +temples and statues, and learn from them what man can accomplish under +the inspiration of great ideals, need not scan too closely her claim to +appropriate the funds which she employed for so noble a purpose. For +this was the great age of Grecian art, the age of Phidias, Polycletus, +Myron, and Polygnotus. The greatest of these was Phidias; and in the +Parthenon, or Temple of the Virgin Goddess, [Footnote: Athene, the +patron goddess of Athens.] built under his direction on the Acropolis +at Athens, he has left the most enduring monument of his fame. He also +designed the Propylaea, a magnificent columned vestibule, fronting the +broad flight of steps which led up to the western entrance of the +Acropolis. But the most renowned of his works was the gigantic statue +of the Olympian Zeus, wrought in gold and ivory, which was the chief +glory of the temple at Olympia. Of this sublime creation, the highest +expression of divinity achieved by the ancients, only the fame +survives. These triumphs of art were not brought to completion until +nearly the close of the period of forty-eight years which separates the +Persian from the Peloponnesian War; and it is now necessary to glance +backward, and touch briefly on the principal events which occurred +after the formation of the Delian Confederacy. The war was carried on +with energy against Persia, and hostilities continued at intervals for +thirty years after the battle of Plataea. [Footnote: B.C. 479-449.] + +The chief leader in these enterprises was the heroic Cimon, leader of +the conservative party at Athens, and the great rival of Pericles; and +his most brilliant exploit was a crushing defeat inflicted on the +Persian army and fleet at the mouth of the river Eurymedon in +Pamphylia. But the victorious career of the Athenians received a severe +check twelve years later in Egypt, where a large force of ships and men +was totally destroyed by the Persian general Megabyzus. The war dragged +on for five years longer, and peace was then concluded on terms highly +advantageous to the Greeks. Shortly before this, Cimon, who had been +the chief promoter of the war, died at Cyprus. + +The same years which brought to a successful issue the long struggle +with Persia witnessed a renewal of those internal conflicts by which +the energies of Greece were finally exhausted, leaving her an easy prey +to the arms of Macedon. The guilt of renewing these suicidal quarrels +lies with the Spartans, who had long been nursing their grudge against +Athens, and were waiting for the opportunity to inflict on her a fatal +blow. Fifteen years [Footnote: B.C. 464. ] after the battle of Plataea +they seized the occasion when the Athenians were engaged with a large +part of their forces in carrying on operations against the revolted +island of Thasos to prepare an invasion of Attica. But at the very +moment when they were meditating this act of perfidy a double disaster +fell upon them at home, demanding all their exertions to save them from +ruin. Sparta was levelled to the ground by a terrible earthquake, in +which twenty thousand of her citizens perished; and in the midst of the +panic caused by this awful calamity the Helots rose in arms against +their oppressors, and forming an alliance with the Messenian subjects +of Sparta, entrenched themselves in a strong position on Mount Ithome. +Here they maintained themselves for two years, defying all the efforts +of the Spartans to drive them from their stronghold. In spite of their +recent treachery, the Spartans were not ashamed to apply to Athens for +help: and chiefly through the influence of Cimon, whose laurels from +the Eurymedon were still fresh, four thousand Athenian hoplites +[Footnote: Heavy-armed foot-soldiers.] were sent under his command to +aid in dislodging the Helots. The Athenians were famous for their skill +in attacking fortified places; but on this occasion they were +unsuccessful, and the Spartans, whose evil conscience made them prone +to suspicion, at once began to doubt the honesty of their intentions, +and dismissed them with scant ceremony. This unfriendly act helped to +embitter the relations between the two leading cities of Greece; and +two years later, when the Messenians were expelled from Ithome, and +driven into exile, the Athenians settled them with their families at +Naupactus, an important strategic position on the north of the +Corinthian Gulf, which has recently fallen into the hands of Athens. + +Deeply offended by the affront received at Ithome, the Athenians now +formed an alliance with Argos, the ancient rival and bitter enemy of +Sparta. Thessaly, connected with Athens by old ties of friendship, +joined the league; and Megara, now suffering from the oppressions of +Corinth, made a fourth. + +Within sight of the shores of Attica lies the island of Aegina, famous +in legend as the home of Aeacus, grandfather of Achilles, and +distinguished for its school of sculpture, and for its mighty breed of +athletes, whose feats are celebrated in the laureate strains of Pindar. +The Aeginetans had obtained the first prize for valour displayed in the +battle of Salamis, and for many years they had pressed the Athenians +hard in the race for maritime supremacy. They were now attacked by an +overwhelming Athenian force, and after a stubborn resistance were +totally defeated, and compelled to enroll themselves among the subjects +of Athens. A still harder fate was reserved for the hapless Dorian +islanders in the next generation. + +In the following nine years [Footnote: B.C. 456-447.] the power of +Athens reached its greatest height, and for a moment it seemed as if +she were destined to extend her empire over the whole mainland of +Greece. By the victory of Oenophyta, gained over the Boeotians just +before the reduction of Aegina, Athens became mistress of all the +central provinces of the Greek peninsula, from the pass of Thermopylae +to the gulf of Corinth. The alliance of Megara, lately united by long +walls to its harbour of Nisaea, secured her from invasion on the side +of Peloponnesus. The great island of Euboea, with its rich pastures and +fruitful corn lands, had, since the Persian War, become an Athenian +estate, and was jealously guarded as one of her most valuable +possessions; and on the sea, from the eastern corner of the Euxine to +the strait of Gibraltar, there was none to dispute her sway. + +But this rapid ascent was followed by no less speedy a fall, and one +act of indiscretion stripped the Athenians of all the advantages which +they had acquired on the mainland of Greece. In every city of Greece +there were always two parties, the wealthy and noble, called oligarchs, +and the demos, or commons; and according as Spartan or Athenian +influence was in the ascendant the balance of power in each city +wavered between the nobles and the people, the Athenians favouring the +Many, the Spartans the Few. Accordingly there was always a party living +in exile, and waiting for a turn of affairs which might enable them to +return to their city, and wrest the power from that faction which had +been the last to triumph. In the cities of Boeotia the leaders of the +oligarchs had been driven into banishment after the battle of +Oenophyta, and democracies were established under the control of +Athens. After nine years of banishment these exiles returned, and the +result was an oligarchical reaction in the chief cities of Boeotia. A +hastily equipped and ill-organised force was sent out from Athens to +put down the authors of the revolution, and in the battle which +followed, at Coronea, [Footnote: B.C. 447.] the Athenians sustained a +severe defeat, and a large number of their citizens were taken +prisoners by the Boeotians. To recover these prisoners the Athenians +consented to evacuate Boeotia, and by this surrender they lost their +hold on central Greece, as far as Thermopylae. + +This heavy blow was followed two years later by the revolt of Megara +and Euboea; and in the midst of the alarm thus occasioned, the +Athenians heard that a powerful Spartan army was threatening their +borders. It was a terrible moment for Athens; but she was saved by the +prudence and energy of Pericles, whose influence in her councils was +now supreme. By some means or other--as the Spartans asserted, by a +heavy bribe--he induced the Spartan king Pleistoanax to draw off his +forces; and then crossing over into Euboea, he quickly reduced the +whole island to submission, and took severe measures to prevent any +outbreak in the future. + +The exertions of the Athenians during the last thirty years had been +prodigious, and their efforts to found an empire in continental Greece +had ended in total failure. Discouraged by their reverses, they +concluded a thirty years' truce with the Spartans and their allies, +resigning the last remnant of their recent conquests, and leaving +Megara in her old position as a member of the Peloponnesian league +under Sparta. The loss of Megara was severely felt, and her conduct in +the late troubles was neither forgotten nor forgiven. The Megarians had +by their own free choice been admitted into the Athenian alliance, and +in an hour of great peril to Athens, without shadow of pretext they had +risen in arms against her. It was not long before they had to pay a +heavy penalty for their treachery and inconstancy. + +The last event which we have to record, before entering into the main +current of our narrative, is the secession of Samos, the most important +member of the maritime allies of Athens. This wealthy and powerful +island had hitherto, with Chios and Lesbos, enjoyed the distinction of +serving under Athens as an independent ally. The Athenians, with a view +to their own interests, had recently set up a democracy in Samos, which +had hitherto been governed by an oligarchy. Incensed by this +interference, the Samian nobles, who had been driven into exile, hired +a mercenary force, and making a sudden attack from the mainland, +overthrew the democracy and raised the standard of revolt. The crisis +called for prompt and vigorous action on the part of Athens; for if +Samos had been successful in defying her authority, the other members +of the league would speedily have followed the example, and the whole +fabric of her empire might have been shattered to pieces. Pericles was +again equal to the emergency, and by employing the whole naval power of +Athens he was able, after a siege of nine months, to reduce the +refractory islanders to submission. The Samians were compelled to +surrender their fleet, to pull down their walls, to pay a heavy war +indemnity, and to give hostages as a security for their good conduct in +the future. And henceforward they became subjects and tributaries of +Athens. + +We have now completed our review of the chief events which occurred +between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars. It was a period of rapid +development for Athens, of ceaseless activity at home and abroad, of +immense progress in all the arts of war and peace. The imperial city +had now risen to her full stature, and stood forth, supreme in +intellect and in action, the wonder and envy of mankind. Her mighty +walls bade defiance to her enemies at home, and she held in her hand +the islands and coast-districts of the Aegaean, where the last murmur +of resistance had been quelled. Her recent reverses on the mainland of +Greece had left the real sources of her power untouched; and taught +her, if she would but take the lesson to heart, the proper limits of +her empire. And she had risen to this height, not by the prevailing +force of any single mind, but by the united efforts of all her +citizens, working together for a whole generation, shunning no +sacrifice, and shrinking from no exertion, in their devotion to the +common mother of them all. Every Athenian, from the wealthiest noble to +the poorest rower in the fleet, felt that he had a stake in the +country, which to a Greek meant the city, where he was born. He gave +his vote in the Parliament [Footnote: Called the Ecclesia.] of Athens, +and served on the juries chosen by lot from the whole body of the +citizens, before whose judgment-seat, unassailable by bribery or +intimidation, the mightiest offenders trembled. He was a statesman, a +judge, a lawgiver, and a warrior, and he might even hope to climb to +the highest place in the State, and rule, like Pericles, as a prince of +democracy. Around him rose the temples and statues of the gods, fresh +from the chisel of the artist, the visible symbols of Athenian +greatness, and of the grand ideals which he served. The masterpieces of +Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides opened to him the boundless realms +of the imagination, taught him grave lessons of moral wisdom, and +connected the strenuous present with the heroic past; and the Old +Comedy, the most complete embodiment of the very genius of democracy, +afforded a feast of wit and fancy for his lighter hours. If he had a +taste for higher speculation, he might hear Anaxagoras discoursing on +the mysteries of the spiritual world, or Zeno applying his sharp tests +for the conviction of human error. And when the assembly was summoned +to discuss matters of high imperial policy, he felt all the greatness +and majesty of the Athenian state, as he hung entranced on the lips of +Pericles. + +Such was Athens in her prime, and such were the men who raised her to +the lofty eminence which she held among the cities of Greece. But the +years which had lifted her to that unparalleled height had raised up a +host of enemies against her, and it behoved her to temper ambition with +prudence if she would maintain the proud position which the held. The +scattered units which composed the Athenian empire were held together +by no tie of loyalty or affection to their common mistress, but solely +by the dread of her overwhelming naval power. Even in the noblest +spirits of ancient Greece, the feeling of patriotism, as we understand +it, was feeble and uncertain; when we speak of our _country_, the Greek +spoke of his _city_, and his love, his hopes, his highest aspirations, +were bounded by the narrow circuit of the walls which contained the +tombs of his ancestors and the temples of his gods. This feeling, the +most deeply-rooted instinct of Greek political life, had been +grievously offended by Athens, when she compelled the islanders of the +Aegaean, and the Greek cities of Asia, to serve in her navies, and pay +tribute to her exchequer. + +Turning now to the mainland of Greece we find, in most of the leading +states, a sentiment of mingled fear and hatred against Athens, which +had been steadily increasing in volume in the course of the last thirty +years. The haughty Thebans had not forgotten their defeat at Oenophyta, +and their nine years of servitude to Athens. Aegina was groaning under +her yoke, and threatened with total political extinction. Megara +complained that her commerce was ruined by a decree which excluded her +merchants from the ports in the Athenian Empire. In the heart of +Peloponnesus the Spartans were hatching mischief against their hated +rival, who had robbed them of half their dignity as the acknowledged +leaders of the Greeks. Corinth, whose commerce was chiefly in the +western sea, outside the sphere of Athenian influence, was disposed to +be friendly, and had done the Athenians good service during the revolt +of Samos.[Footnote: See below, p. 31.] But five years later [Footnote: +B.C. 435.] an event occurred which changed this feeling into bitter +hatred against Athens, and drove the Corinthians into the ranks of her +most inveterate foes. And it is at this point that we take up the main +thread of our story. + + + + +STORIES FROM THUCYDIDES + +CORINTH AND CORCYRA + +I + +It was in a remote corner of the Greek world that the trouble began +which was destined to breed such mischief and havoc for the whole of +Greece. At the beginning of the seventh century before our era the +island of Corcyra had been colonised by the Corinthians. The colony +grew and flourished, and in its turn founded other settlements on the +opposite coasts of Epirus and Illyria. Among these was Epidamnus, +called by the Romans Dyrrachium, and in Roman times the ordinary +landing-place for travellers from Italy to Greece. After many years of +prosperity the resources of Epidamnus were much crippled by internal +faction, and by wars with the neighbouring barbarians. Four years +before the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War, the nobles of Epidamnus, +who had been expelled in the last revolution, made an alliance with the +native tribes of Illyria, and by constant plundering raids reduced the +Epidamnians to such straits that they were compelled to apply to +Corcyra for help. But the Corcyraeans, whose sympathies were on the +side of the banished nobles, refused to interfere. + +Epidamnus, as we have seen, was a colony founded by a colony, and +according to Greek custom the original settlers had been led by a +citizen of Corinth, the mother-city of Corcyra. Seeing, therefore, that +they had nothing to hope from the Corcyraeans, the distressed people of +Epidamnus began to turn their thoughts towards their ancient +metropolis, and considered whether they should appeal to her to save +them from ruin. But as this was a step of doubtful propriety, they +first consulted the oracle of Delphi, the great authority on questions +of international law. Receiving a favourable answer, they sent envoys +to Corinth, and offered to surrender their city to the Corinthians, in +return for their countenance and protection. + +The Corcyraeans had long been in evil odour at Corinth, for they had +grown insolent in prosperity, and neglected all the observances which +were due from a colony to the mother-city. They were, in fact, superior +to the Corinthians in wealth and power, and their fleet, numbering a +hundred and twenty triremes, was second only to that of Athens. Corcyra +was famous in legend as the seat of the Phaeacians, a heroic sailor +race, whose deeds are sung by Homer in the _Odyssey_; and the +Corcyraeans regarded themselves as the lawful inheritors of their fame. +For all these reasons they despised the Corinthians, and made no secret +of their contempt. Remembering the many occasions on which they had +been publicly insulted by Corcyra, the Corinthians lent a favourable +ear to the petition of Epidamnus, and determined to appropriate the +colony to themselves. Accordingly they invited all who chose to go and +settle at Epidamnus, and sent the new colonists under a military +escort, with instructions to proceed by land to Apollonia, for fear +lest they should be obstructed by the Corcyraean fleet, if they went by +sea. + +Great was the indignation at Corcyra when the news arrived that her +colony had been surrendered to Corinth, and a force of forty ships was +sent off in haste, bearing a peremptory demand to the Epidamnians that +they should receive back their exiles and send away the new colonists. +As the citizens refused to obey their mandate, they prepared to lay +siege to the town, which is situated on an isthmus. + +When the Corinthians heard of the danger of Epidamnus, they began to +make preparations on a much larger scale, collecting a host of new +colonists, and a fleet of seventy-five ships to convoy them on their +passage to Epidamnus. Apprised of these proceedings, the Corcyraeans +sent envoys to Corinth, with a civil remonstrance against the arbitrary +interference with their own colony. They were willing, they said, to +submit the matter to arbitration, and in the meantime to suspend all +hostilities against the revolted city. But the Corinthians paid no +attention to their overtures, and all being now ready, the great +multitude, drawn from all parts of Greece, set sail for Epidamnus. When +they reached Actium, at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf, they were met +by a herald, sent out from Corcyra in a skiff, to forbid their +approach. This was a mere manoeuvre, to throw the guilt of commencing +hostilities on the Corinthians; and meanwhile the Corcyraeans manned +their ships, to the number of eighty, and put out to meet the enemy's +fleet. In the sea-fight which followed the Corcyraeans gained a +complete victory, and on the same day Epidamnus was compelled to +capitulate to the besieging force. + +By this victory the Corcyraeans gained complete command of the western +or Ionian sea, and for the rest of the summer they sailed from place to +place, plundering the allies of Corinth. The Corinthians, however, were +not at all disposed to acquiesce in their defeat, and during the whole +of the following year they were busy organising a fresh expedition on a +vast scale, being resolved at all costs to put down the insolence of +Corcyra. These preparations caused no small anxiety to the Corcyraeans. +Hitherto they had stood apart, and refused to take any share in the +complicated game of Greek politics. The course of affairs during the +last forty years had tended more and more to divide the Greek world +into two opposite camps, arrayed under the banners of Athens and +Sparta. As Dorians, the Corcyraeans would naturally have enrolled +themselves among the allies of Sparta,--as islanders and seamen, they +might have leaned to the side of Athens: but confident in their remote +situation, and in the power of their fleet, they had chosen to remain +neutral. But finding themselves threatened with destruction, they now +resolved to abandon their policy of selfish isolation, and sue for +admission into the Athenian alliance. Ambassadors were sent to Athens +to urge their plea; and the Corinthians, hearing of their intention, +sent representatives of their own to oppose the application. + +The Athenians were fully alive to the gravity of the question which +they were called upon to decide, and after listening to the arguments +of the Corcyraean and Corinthian orators, they adjourned the debate +until the next day. To Corinth they were bound by old ties of +obligation; for on three distinct occasions the Corinthians had done +them signal service. More than seventy years before the date which we +have reached, the Spartans summoned their allies to consider whether it +was expedient to compel the Athenians to receive back the banished +tyrant Hippias; and it was chiefly by the eloquence of the Corinthian +speaker Sosicles, who drew a vivid picture of the miseries of +despotical government, that they were shamed out of their purpose. A +few years later, when the Athenians were at war with Aegina, they were +aided by twenty Corinthian ships. And quite recently, in the great +peril which menaced Athens at the revolt of Samos, Corinth had once +more shown herself a friend. At a congress of the Peloponnesian allies, +summoned to consider an appeal from the Samians for help, the +Corinthians had spoken strongly against interference with the revolted +allies of another city. Corinth was a place of old renown, the queen of +the Isthmus, a centre of civilisation; whereas Corcyra was a remote +island, and her people, though Greeks by descent, were in manners and +character more than half barbarians. + +But there were two arguments put forward by the Corcyraean orator, +which outweighed all other considerations of policy or friendship. The +first was addressed to the fears of the Athenians, the second to their +ambition. War, he argued, was inevitable, and it was of the utmost +importance for Athens to secure the alliance of the Corcyraean fleet, +and prevent it from being added to the naval forces of her enemies. And +his concluding words struck a note which found a response among the +more daring spirits among his hearers, whose thoughts, as it would +seem, were already turning to the western colonies of Greece, as a new +field of enterprise and conquest. "It will not do," he said, "to be too +nice. While you are hesitating, and weighing nice points of +international right, you will be outdistanced in the race for power, if +you tamely give up a great naval station which holds the key to Italy +and Sicily." + +Such reasoning, hollow and false as it was, turned the scale in favour +of Corcyra, and a defensive alliance was concluded, pledging the +Athenians and Corcyraeans to aid each other against any attack on the +territory or allies of either state. For the Athenians wished to avoid +breaking the Thirty Years' Truce, and therefore refrained from entering +into any agreement which might oblige them to acts of open aggression +against Corinth. + +There can be little doubt that Pericles, who was mainly responsible for +this decision, committed a fatal error in advising the Athenians to +take up the cause of Corcyra. By this act Athens incurred the +implacable hostility of Corinth, and revived the old grudge which that +city had conceived against her when Megara joined the Athenian +alliance. In the constantly shifting currents of Greek politics, Athens +might well, under wise guidance, have steered her way safely through +the perils which surrounded her. The Corinthians had half forgotten +their grievance, as is proved by their conduct at the revolt of Samos; +and the tone of their representative at the Corcyraean debate is +decidedly friendly. The Spartans were sluggish and procrastinating by +nature, and required some powerful impulse to induce them to act with +vigour; and this impulse was now supplied by Corinth. By accepting, +therefore, the alliance of Corcyra, Athens barred the way to all +compromise, and gathered into one head all the scattered causes of +jealousy and hatred which had been accumulating against her in the last +fifty years. + +Early in the following year the Corinthian fleet, numbering a hundred +and fifty sail, put to sea from Corinth, to renew the war with Corcyra, +and a battle was fought off the coast of Epirus. The engagement was +long and fierce, and the event was finally decided by a small squadron +of Athenian ships, which had been sent with instructions to hinder any +attempt of the enemy to land on the island Seeing that the Corcyraeans +were being forced back upon their own coast, the Athenian captains, who +had hitherto looked on, and taken no part in the battle, now assumed +the offensive, and lent such effectual aid that the Corinthians were +held in check until the sudden appearance of twenty additional ships +from Athens, which had been sent off immediately after the others, put +an end to the action. This timely interference saved Corcyra from ruin; +for next day the Corinthians, after a formal remonstrance, set sail for +home, taking with them two hundred and fifty prisoners, belonging to +the noblest families in Corcyra, whom they kept in safe custody, but +treated with great consideration, hoping by means of them at some +future time to recover their influence in the island. + + +II + +It was not long before the effects of this impolitic breach with +Corinth were sensibly felt by Athens. In the course of the following +summer, Potidaea, a Corinthian colony, situated on the borders of +Macedon, and included in the Athenian alliance, openly raised the +standard of revolt, encouraged by promises from Sparta, and by the +presence of a strong body of hoplites, sent for its support from +Corinth. Potidaea was presently closely invested by an Athenian army +and fleet, and the Corinthians pretended to make this a fresh ground of +complaint, though they had themselves incited the city to throw off its +allegiance to Athens. + +Feeling that matters were now approaching a crisis, the Spartans +summoned a congress of their allies, and invited all who had any +grievance against Athens to state their case. Then some spoke of the +wrongs of Aegina, formerly not the least among Greek cities, but now so +crushed under the yoke of Athens that she had not dared to raise her +voice openly against the tyrant-city. The Megarians complained of the +restrictions on their commerce, which threatened them with an empty +exchequer and a starving population; and others followed in the same +strain. When all the rest had spoken, the Corinthian orator, who had +reserved his eloquence till the end, came forward and delivered a +vehement harangue, containing hardly any specific charge against +Athens, but well calculated to inflame the passions and provoke the +pride of the Spartans. Though the acknowledged leader of Greece, and +champion of her liberties, Sparta, he said, had always been the last to +see the dangers which menaced the common country, and the last to take +measures for her defence. Spartan apathy and indolence had brought the +Greeks to the brink of ruin in the Persian War; and when that danger +was passed, the same fatal indifference had enabled Athens to advance +step by step on the path of aggrandisement; until now she had grown so +strong that the united force of the whole Peloponnesian league would be +required to put her down. Why had not the Spartans listened to the +warnings which they had heard, when the Athenians were rebuilding their +walls? Then they might have stopped the evil at its source, and saved a +multitude of cities from slavery and oppression. "Consider," cried the +orator, warming to his subject, "what manner of men these Athenians +are, and how vast is the difference between them and you. While you are +shut up in this inland valley, treading the dull round of mechanical +routine, they are continually pushing forward the boundaries of their +empire, toiling night and day to make their city great, never satisfied +with what they have, always thirsting for more. Cautious, timid, and +conservative as you are, hardly to be roused from your sloth by the +most imminent perils, how can you hope to curb the flight of Athenian +ambition, which knows no limit, and is checked by no reverse? + +"Men of Sparta, I speak as a friend, and you will not take my candour +amiss. New times require new manners, and if you would maintain your +great position you must move with the march of events, and abandon your +old-fashioned ways. Do not mistake stagnation for stability, but learn +a lesson even from these hated Athenians, who have risen to their +present pitch of greatness by adapting themselves to every new need as +it arose. + +"You know what you have to do, if you would wipe out the reproach which +rests upon you, and keep the respect of your faithful allies. Send an +army into Attica, and compel the Athenians to withdraw their forces +from Potidaea. And let it be done speedily, for while we are talking +our kinsmen are perishing." + +It happened that an Athenian embassy was present in Sparta, having been +sent there on some other business, and not for the purpose of +representing Athens at the debate. But when they heard of the outcry +which had been raised against their city, the envoys asked permission +for one of their number to address the Spartan assembly, wishing to +explain the true character and origin of the Athenian Empire, and to +warn the Spartans against plunging the whole country into the horrors +of civil war. Leave being granted, the Athenian orator entered on his +subject by sketching the course of events for the last sixty years. +Athens, he said, had twice saved Greece, first at Marathon, and +afterwards at Salamis. On the first of these occasions she had stood +almost alone against an overwhelming force of Persians; and ten years +later, though betrayed by her allies, she had borne the brunt against +the navy of Xerxes. Who, then, was worthier than she to hold empire +over Greeks? That empire had been forced upon her by the inertness of +Sparta, and by the cowardice and sloth of her own allies in the Delian +league. The power thus gained had been used with moderation, in marked +contrast to the previous tyranny of Persia exercised over the same +cities, and the arrogance of Spartan officers when engaged on foreign +service. But a light yoke, it would seem, was harder to bear than a +heavy one; if Athens had openly oppressed her subjects, she would never +have heard a murmur. + +Having thus tried to combat the prejudice against Athens, the orator +addressed himself directly to the Spartans, and said: "Consider the +awful responsibility which you will incur, if you suffer yourselves to +be carried away by the invectives of your allies, and drive us against +our will to tempt with you the dark uncertainties and perilous issues +of war. There is still time for an amicable settlement of our +differences: Athens is prepared to make all reasonable concessions, and +to submit to arbitration, as the terms of the treaty direct. And if you +decline to accept this offer, the guilt of the aggressor will lie with +you." + +It is remarkable that the speaker, in tracing the later course of +Athenian policy, lays no claim to those high motives of patriotism +which had inspired his people with sublime self-devotion two +generations back. He boldly asserts the principle that it is lawful for +the stronger to rule the weaker, and claims merit for Athens in +abstaining from excessive abuse of her power. The Athenians, we may +believe, had been tainted by the baseness of their confederates. In the +early days of the Delian league they had not attempted to educate the +Greeks whom they led up to the standard of their own splendid +zeal,--or, if the attempt had been made, it was unsuccessful. They had +taken upon themselves the whole burden of a great public duty, and +standing alone, without moral support from their countrymen, they had +gradually fallen away from the pure and lofty virtues of their +ancestors. This decay of public morality proceeds with rapid strides in +the years which follow, and we shall presently hear the doctrine that +might is right proclaimed with cynical frankness by the lips of an +Athenian. + +Having heard the complaints of their allies against Athens, and the +reply of the Athenian orator, the Spartans ordered all but those of +their own race to withdraw, and continued the debate with closed doors. +A great majority of the speakers were in favour of declaring immediate +war on Athens. But there was one important exception: the aged +Archidamus, who for the last fourteen years had been reigning as sole +king at Sparta, spoke strongly against the imprudence of assuming the +aggressive, before they had made adequate preparations to cope with the +offending city. It was an opinion generally held by the war-party that +the Athenians would be ready to make any concessions, in order to save +the land of Attica from ravage. This, said Archidamus, was a great +error; and the event proved that he was right. The Athenians, with +their great colonial empire, and complete command of the sea, were +quite independent of the products of their own estates in Attica. And +many years must elapse before the states of Peloponnesus could train a +fleet, and attack them on the sea, where alone they were assailable. It +was folly to suppose that such a contest could be decided by a single +summer campaign, as was commonly believed by the enemies of Athens. "I +fear rather," said the king, with prophetic foresight, "that we shall +leave this war as an inheritance to our children; such is the power, +and such the pride, of the state with which we have to contend." On the +other hand, the Spartans, as champions of the liberties of Greece, must +not allow the common oppressors of their countrymen to continue their +career of tyranny unchecked. Let them first, however, try what could be +effected by negotiation, and in the meantime prepare for war, by +building ships, and above all by collecting money, without which all +their valour would be useless. Then, if Athens still refused to listen +to reason, they might declare war with better hope of success. + +The speech of Archidamus shows a true insight into the nature of the +crisis which the Spartans were called upon to face, and his views were +amply justified by subsequent events. His wise words were no doubt +applauded by the older and more sober-minded among his hearers. But +there was another and a much more numerous party at that time in +Sparta, filled with bitter envy and hatred against Athens. Their +passions had been inflamed by the invectives of the Corinthian orator, +and without counting the cost they were resolved to try the issues of +immediate battle. Their blind rancour found expression in the curt and +pithy harangue of Sthenelaidas, one of the five Ephors, a college of +magistrates which in recent years had greatly encroached on the +authority of the kings. Sthenelaidas spoke with true laconic brevity. +"I don't understand," he said, "all the fine talk of these Athenians. +They have told us a great deal about their own merits, but have not +said a word in answer to the charges brought against them. Even if we +accept their own account of themselves, their good conduct in the past +only lends a darker colour to their present crimes. We have one plain +duty to perform, and that is to save our faithful allies from +ill-treatment. The time for words is past--leave them to the +transgressor. Our part is to act, at once, and with all our might, and +put down the overwhelming insolence of Athens." + +Then, in his capacity as Ephor, Sthenelaidas, without staying for +further argument, forthwith put the question to the Spartan assembly. +According to their ordinary procedure, the Spartans gave their votes by +cries of "Ay" and "No." But on this occasion Sthenelaidas pretended to +be unable to distinguish whether the "Ays" or "Nos" had it, and wishing +to encourage the war-party by showing how much they were in the +majority, he ordered the house to divide on the question whether the +treaty was broken, and whether the Athenians were in the wrong or not. +The division was made, and a great majority were in favour of the +motion, recording their votes against Athens. The allies were then +called in, and informed to the result of the private debate, and a day +was named for a general synod of the whole Peloponnesian league, to +reconsider the situation and decide whether war was to be declared. + +In the interval, before the final assembly of the allies, the Spartans +sent to ask the oracle at Delphi whether it was expedient for them to +make war; and the answer, according to common report, was that if they +fought with all their might they would conquer, and that the god +[Footnote: Apollo.] would be on their side. The Corinthians were at the +same time carrying on an active canvass against Athens, sending their +agents from city to city to blow up the flames of war. + +In the autumn of the same year the allies met in full synod at Sparta, +and once more the Corinthian speaker led the cry against Athens, and +called for a unanimous war-vote, flattering his hearers with hopes of a +speedy victory. The Spartans, he said, had at last set a good example +to their allies, and shown themselves convinced that imperial cities +had imperial obligations, by pronouncing in favour of war. Every member +of the league must join heartily in the struggle, whether he belonged +to an inland or to a maritime city; for if the seaports were closed by +the Athenian fleets, the inland towns would be prevented from exporting +their products, and importing what they wanted from abroad. War, then, +was in the interest of the whole body of allies. And on the moral side +their position was equally sound, for they were only acting on +desperate provocation, and the common god of Greece had promised +success to their arms. But to deserve that success, all must co-operate +heartily, contributing freely from their private purses to raise a +fleet which would make them a match for Athens on her own element. And +they must watch the course of events with a vigilant eye, and be ready +to seize any opportunity which might arise to aim a decisive blow at +their common enemy. Let them be warned by the experience of the +Ionians, and put out all their strength to save themselves from being +swallowed up by the devouring ambition of Athens. Justice, heaven's +favour, the good-will of all Greece, were on their side. + +Others spoke to the same effect, and then the representatives of each +city were called up in turn to give their vote; and by far the greater +number voted for war. But many months elapsed before any overt act of +hostility occurred, and the time was occupied in preparations for an +invasion of Attica, and in a series of demands sent by Sparta to try +the temper of the Athenians, and put them in the wrong, if they refused +to comply. The first of these messages was conveyed in mysterious +terms, bidding the Athenians "to drive out the curse of the goddess." +The meaning of this was as follows: nearly two hundred years before a +certain Cylon tried to make himself tyrant of Athens: the attempt was +frustrated, and some of his adherents, who had taken refuge in the +sacred precinct of Athene, were put to death by the magistrates, after +they had surrendered under a solemn promise that their lives should be +spared. The illustrious family of the Alcmaeonidae was especially +concerned in this act of murder and sacrilege, and the Spartans, in +reviving the memory of an ancient crime, were aiming a blow at +Pericles, who was descended on his mother's side from the Alcmaeonidae. +For the Athenians were highly sensitive in all matters of religion, and +it was possible that they might even banish Pericles, if their +consciences were suddenly alarmed. And though this was not likely, the +Spartans hoped at any rate to lessen his influence, which was adverse +to themselves, and fasten on him the odium of being, in some sense, the +cause of the war. But their manoeuvre was unsuccessful, and the +Athenians retorted by bidding the Spartans drive out the curse of +Taenarus, in allusion to the murder of certain Helots who had taken +sanctuary in the temple of Poseidon at Taenarus. And they further +charged the Spartans to rid themselves of the curse of Athene of the +Brazen House. This was a holy place in Sparta, where Pausanias, when +convicted of treasonable correspondence with Persia, had sought refuge +from the vengeance of the Spartans. He was kept a close prisoner in the +temple by the Ephors, who set a watch on him, to prevent him from being +supplied with food, and when he was reduced to the last extremity, +brought him out to die. But though his death occurred outside the +temple, this did not save them from the sin of sacrilege, and a public +reprimand by the Delphic God. + +The game of diplomatic fencing went on for some time, and envoys were +continually passing to and fro between Athens and Sparta. The Athenians +were required to raise the siege of Potidaea--to allow the Aeginetans +to govern themselves--to rescind the decree against Megara; and when +all these demands were met by a firm refusal, the Spartans sent two +ambassadors, bearing their ultimatum, which was worded as follows: "The +Lacedaemonians wish that there should be peace, and war may be averted +if ye will let the Greeks go free." Knowing that the decisive moment +had now arrived, the Athenians met together in full assembly, to decide +on their final answer. There were many speakers on either side, some +arguing for peace, others for war: and then was heard that majestic +voice, which, for more than thirty years, had guided the counsels of +Athens--the voice of the Olympian Pericles. He had chosen his line of +policy a year before, in the fatal affair of Corcyra, and it was now +too late to draw back: peace with honour was no longer possible for +Athens. The furious zeal of Corinth had united her enemies against her, +and they were bent on her ruin. The demands put forward by Sparta were +a mere pretext, and if the Athenians had yielded the smallest point, +new concessions would have been required of them, until they were +stripped of all that had been won by the strenuous toil and devotion of +two generations. "We must listen," said Pericles, in the course of a +long speech, "to no proposal from Sparta which is not made as from an +equal to an equal. Dictation is not arbitration. If we are to fight at +all, the occasion matters little, be it small or great. What right has +Sparta to require of us that we should rescind the decree against +Megara, when her own laws jealously exclude all strangers from entering +her streets? Or why should we relax our hold upon our allies, or break +off the relations with them which were sanctioned by the Thirty Years' +Truce? No, all this is a mere pretence, and if we are deceived by it, +we shall be led on step by step to deeper and still deeper humiliation. +It may seem a hard thing to give up the fair land of Attica to pillage +and devastation. But think how far greater was the sacrifice made by +our grandsires, who refused the fairest offers from Persia, and gave up +all they had, rather than betray the common cause. Athens and Attica +were then all the country they had, and these lost they had nothing +left but their ships, their strong arms, and their stout hearts. In our +case, on the other hand, all the essential elements of our power--our +city, our fleet, our colonial empire--remain untouched. Shall we, then, +sell our honour to save a few vineyards and olive-grounds from +temporary damage? That would be a short-sighted policy indeed, and in +the end would involve not only dishonour, but the loss of our whole +empire. Let us act, then, in the spirit of our fathers, and send away +the Spartan ambassadors with the only answer which is consistent with +our dignity and our interest." + +The reply to the Spartan ultimatum was framed as Pericles had directed, +and from this moment all negotiations ceased. And here we close our +account of the events which led to the Peloponnesian War. + + + + +THE SURPRISE OF PLATAEA + +I + +On the northern slope of Cithaeron, the mountain range which divides +Attica from Boeotia, lies the little town of Plataea. By race and by +geographical position the Plataeans were naturally included in the +Boeotian confederacy, under the leadership of Thebes. But nearly a +century before the time of which we are now speaking they had deserted +the Thebans, whose rule was harsh and overbearing, and enrolled +themselves among the allies of Athens. On the eve of the battle of +Marathon, they had joined the Athenians with their whole force, a +thousand strong, and shared the peril and the honour of that glorious +day. Ten years later their city was laid in ruins by the army of +Xerxes, at the instigation of the Thebans; and in the following year +the great battle which ended the long struggle between Greece and +Persia was fought within sight of their shattered walls. In gratitude +for this great victory, the confederate Greeks under Pausanias declared +that the Plataean territory should be hallowed ground, and swore a +solemn oath to maintain the independence of the city. But the Thebans +had never forgotten or forgiven the secession of Plataea from the +confederacy of which they were the leaders; and seizing the opportunity +while the Athenians were occupied with measures for their own safety, +they made a treacherous attempt to gain possession of the town. + +On a dark and moonless night in the early spring three hundred armed +Thebans appeared before the gates of Plataea, which were opened to them +by a party of the citizens who favoured their design. Marching in a +body to the market-place, they made proclamation by a herald, inviting +all who chose to return to their allegiance, and take sides with their +lawful leaders, the Thebans. For they wished, if possible, to gain over +the place without bloodshed, and before the war had actually broken +out; otherwise, they might have to give it up again on the conclusion +of peace. + +The Plataeans, being wakened out of their first sleep, and thinking +that the Thebans were in much greater force than was really the case, +at first attempted no resistance, but were disposed to accept the terms +offered them. But perceiving by degrees that their enemies were far +weaker in numbers than themselves, they changed their minds, and +resolved to attack them. For the party which had betrayed the town was +but small, and the general body of the citizens detested the thought of +falling once more under the supremacy of Thebes. Their measures were +taken with great secrecy and despatch: to avoid exciting the suspicions +of the Thebans, they broke down the dividing walls of their houses, and +passed to and fro unobserved, until they had completed their +preparations. To embarrass the movements of the Thebans, they +barricaded the streets with waggons, and then, just before daybreak, +they poured out of their houses, and fell upon the enemy, who were +still stationed in the market-place. Though taken by surprise, the +Thebans defended themselves stoutly, and standing shoulder to shoulder +repulsed the assault of the Plataeans two or three times. But they were +greatly inferior in numbers, wearied by their long vigil, and soaked +with the heavy rain which had fallen in the night; the Plataeans +returned again and again to the attack, assailing them with furious +cries; and the women and slaves who crowded the roofs added to their +discomfiture, pelting them with tiles and stones, and stunning their +ears with a frightful uproar of yells and shrieks; so that at last +their hearts failed them, and breaking their ranks they fled wildly +through the streets. Some succeeded in reaching the gate by which they +had entered, but only to find that their escape was cut off in this +direction; for one of the Plataeans had closed the gate, using the +spike of his javelin to secure the bolt. Others lost their way in the +narrow and muddy streets, and wandered up and down until they were +slain by the Plataeans. A few contrived to escape by an unguarded +postern-gate, having cut through the bolt with an axe given them by a +woman. Others, in despair, flung themselves from the walls, and for the +most part perished. But a good number, who had kept together, were +caught in a trap; for coming to a large building which abutted on the +wall, and finding the doors open, they thought that they had reached +the town-gate, and rushed headlong in. The pursuers, who were close at +their heels, made fast the doors, and then the question arose what they +should do with their captives. Some proposed to set fire to the +building, and to burn it down, with the Thebans in it; but at last +those who were thus taken, and the few who were still straggling in the +town, were allowed to surrender at discretion. + +Meanwhile a strong reinforcement of Thebans, who had started after the +three hundred, were on the way to Plataea; but being delayed by the +state of the roads, and the swollen condition of the Asopus, which they +had to cross, they arrived too late. Being informed of what had +happened, they prepared to plunder the property of the Plataeans +outside the walls, and seize any of the citizens who crossed their +path, to serve as hostages for their own men in the town. The +Plataeans, perceiving their intention, sent a herald to remonstrate, +threatening that unless they desisted, all the Theban prisoners should +at once be put to death. And they promised further, under an oath, that +if the Thebans would withdraw their forces, the captives should be +restored--at least this was the account which was afterwards current at +Thebes, though the Plataeans denied that they had made any such promise +unconditionally, and declared that they had sworn no oath. It seems +probable that the Thebans had received some such explicit assurance as +they asserted; for, on receiving the answer from Plataea, they marched +away without doing any harm. No sooner were they gone than the +Plataeans made all haste to get their property within the walls, and +then put all their prisoners to death. The day was not far distant when +they were bitterly to rue this act of passion, which was not only +cruel, but grossly impolitic; for the Thebans thus slain in cold blood, +a hundred and eighty in number, would have been invaluable as hostages, +whereas the Plataeans had now cut themselves off from all hope of +reconciliation with Thebes, and virtually sealed their own fate. + +Two messengers had been despatched from Plataea to Athens, one after +the first entrance of the Thebans, and the second after their defeat +and capture; and the Athenians, on receiving the second message, sent +off a herald bidding the Plataeans to wait for further instructions, +before taking any steps against the prisoners. When the herald arrived, +he found the men already slain, and the Athenians then proceeded to +place the town in a state of defence, removing the women and children +and all those who were unfit for military service, to Athens, and +leaving a small body of their own citizens to direct operations. + + +II + +The surprise of Plataea was the first open violation of the Thirty +Years' Truce, and from this time forward all Greece was involved for +many years in civil war. Public opinion was strongly on the side of the +Spartans, who stood forward as champions of the liberties of Greece; +but there was great enthusiasm on both sides, and the popular +imagination was much excited by the approaching struggle between the +two imperial cities. Both in Sparta and in Athens there was a younger +generation, who had grown up during a long period of peace, and now +entered gaily into the contest with all the light-hearted ignorance of +youth. Old prophecies current among the people, foretelling a great war +of Greeks against Greeks, passed from mouth to mouth, and the +professional soothsayers, whose business it was to collect and expound +such sayings, found eager hearers. The gods themselves could not be +indifferent on the eve of such mighty events, so deeply affecting the +destiny of the nation which worshipped them in a thousand temples; and +an earthquake, which had recently occurred at Delos, the sacred island +of Apollo, where such a visitation had never been known before, was +interpreted as a portent of great things to come. + +While the Peloponnesians were mustering their forces at the Isthmus, +the rural population of Attica were breaking up their homes, and +flocking by thousands into the city. A constant stream of waggons +passed along the roads, loaded with furniture, household utensils, and +even the woodwork of the farm-buildings; and many a little group of +women, children, and servants set out on that sorrowful journey, +leaving their fields, their gardens, and their vineyards, to be +trampled down and laid waste by the ruthless invader. Athens, indeed, +was the common mother of them all, their glory, their strength, and +their pride; for since the days of Theseus the scattered rural +communities of Attica had been united under the Aegis of Athene, and +acknowledged Athens as the head and centre of their civic life. But a +large proportion of the Athenian citizens still continued to reside in +the country, and all their dearest associations were connected with the +little spot of earth where they and their fathers were born. Here were +the graves of their ancestors, and the temples of the heroes who were +the guardian spirits of each little aggregate of families. It was +therefore with bitter and resentful feelings that they left these happy +scenes behind them, and turned their steps towards the gates of the +city, through which many of them were never to pass again. For all of +them it was a grievous change from the free and careless life of the +country-side to the confined space, polluted air, and jostling +multitudes of the town, now crowded to overflowing. Some few found +shelter in the houses of friends or relations; but by far the greater +number were obliged to encamp in the open spaces of the city, in the +precincts of temples, or in the narrow room between the Long Walls. +Even a place beneath the Acropolis, called the Pelasgic Field, was now +covered with the huts of the immigrants, though an ancient oracle had +forbidden its occupation under a curse. From day to day new crowds kept +flocking in, and the later comers were obliged to take up their +dwelling in Peiraeus, which was soon almost as much overcrowded as the +upper city. + +And now the younger generation of Athenians, who had entered so +cheerfully into the conflict, were to have their first taste of the +grim realities of war. The Peloponnesian army advanced leisurely, and +proceeded at first to Oenoe, an outlying fort near the borders of +Boeotia; for Archidamus, who held the chief command, still hoped that +the Athenians, when they saw the enemy on the confines of Attica, would +make some concessions, to save their farms from destruction. For this +reason he had long delayed his march from the Isthmus, and now wasted +more time in fruitless operations at Oenoe, until the allies began to +murmur against him, and suspected him of receiving bribes from the +Athenians to spare their lands. At last, being unable to put off the +fatal moment any longer, he turned southwards, and after ravaging the +plain of Eleusis, advanced to Acharnae, one of the most fertile and +prosperous districts of Attica, about seven miles north of Athens. Here +the Peloponnesians encamped, and applied themselves systematically to +the work of pillage and havoc. + +Great was the rage of the Acharnians, a hardy race of farmers and +charcoal-burners, when they saw the smoke rising from their ruined +homesteads; and their feelings were shared by the general body of the +citizens, who had watched the advance of Archidamus from Eleusis, and +had now no hope of saving their estates. Little knots of angry +disputants were seen in the streets and public places, for the most +part clamouring against Pericles, and demanding to be led against the +invader, while some few argued for the more prudent course. But +Pericles, who knew the fickle temper of the multitude, turned a deaf +ear to all this uproar, and steadily refused to summon an assembly, +lest some hasty resolution should be passed, which would lead to +useless loss of life. In order, however, to relieve the public +excitement, he sent out a body of horsemen to skirmish with the enemy, +and despatched a fleet of a hundred triremes to ravage the coasts of +Peloponnesus. + +When the first invasion of Attica was over, two cities, which had been +foremost in stirring up war against Athens, were made to feel the full +weight of her resentment. The unhappy Aeginetans were expelled from +their island, and the land of Aegina was distributed among Athenian +citizens. And later in the same summer the Athenians marched in full +force into the territory of Megara, which was laid waste from end to +end. This proceeding, which afforded a pleasant summer excursion to the +Athenians, was repeated annually for the next seven years. The banished +Aeginetans found an asylum at Thyrea, a coast district of eastern +Peloponnesus, which was assigned to them by Sparta. And so the first +year of the war came to an end; for, except on extraordinary occasions, +no military operations were undertaken during the winter. + + + + +THE PLAGUE AT ATHENS + +I + + +At the beginning of the next summer the Peloponnesians again entered +Attica, and resumed their work of devastation, destroying the young +crops, and wrecking whatever had been spared in the previous year. +Before they had been many days in Attica, a new and far more terrible +visitation came upon the Athenians, threatening them with total +extinction as a people. We have seen how the whole upper city, with the +space between the Long Walls, and the harbour-town of Peiraeus, was +packed with a vast multitude of human beings, penned together, like +sheep in a fold. Into these huddled masses now crept a subtle and +unseen foe, striking down his victims by hundreds and by thousands. +That foe was the Plague, which beginning in Southern Africa, and +descending thence to Egypt, reached the southern shores of the +Mediterranean, and passed on to Peiraeus, having been carried thither +by seamen who trafficked between northern Africa and Greece. From +Peiraeus it spread upwards with rapid strides, and before long the +whole space within the walls presented the appearance of a vast +lazar-house. + +From the description of the symptoms we may conclude that this epidemic +was similar to that dreadful scourge of mankind which has been almost +conquered by modern science, the small-pox. The patient who had taken +the infection was first attacked in the head, with inflammation of the +eyes, and violent headache. By degrees the poison worked its way into +the whole system, affecting every organ in the body, and appearing on +the surface in the shape of small ulcers and boils. One of the most +distressing features of the disease was a raging thirst, which could +not be appeased by the most copious draughts of water; and the internal +heat, which produced this effect, caused also a frightful irritability +of the skin, so that the sufferer could not bear the touch of the +lightest and most airy fabrics, but lay naked on his bed, in all the +deformity of his dire affliction. Of those who recovered, many bore the +marks of the sickness to their graves, by the loss of a hand, a foot, +or an eye; while others were affected in their minds, remaining in +blank oblivion, without power to recognise themselves or their friends. +The healing art had made great progress in Greece in the course of the +last generation; and in this, as in all else, the Greeks remained the +sole teachers of Europe for ages after. But against such a malady as +this, the most skilful physicians could do nothing, and those who +attempted to exercise their skill caught the plague themselves, and for +the most part perished. Still less, as we may well suppose, was the +benefit derived from amulets, incantations, inquiries of oracles, or +supplications at temples; and at last, finding no help in god or man, +the Athenians gave up the struggle, and resigned themselves to despair. + +It is recorded as a curious fact, showing the strange and outlandish +character of the pestilence, that the birds and animals which feed on +human flesh generally shunned the bodies of those who died of the +plague, though they might have eaten their fill, for hundreds were left +unburied. The very vultures fled from the infected city, and hardly one +was seen as long as the pestilence continued. + +The fearful rapidity with which the infection spread caused a panic +throughout the city, and even the boldest were not proof against the +general terror. If any man felt himself sickening of the plague, he at +once gave up all hope, and made no effort to fight against the disease. +Few were found brave enough to undertake the duty of nursing the sick, +and those who did generally paid for their devotion with their lives. +In most cases the patient was left to languish alone, and perished by +neglect, while his nearest and dearest avoided his presence, and had +grown so callous that they had not a sigh or a tear left for the death +of husband, or child, or friend. The few who recovered, now free from +risk of mortal infection, did what they could to help their suffering +fellow-citizens. + +The mischief was aggravated by the overcrowded state of the city, +especially among those who had come in from the country, and were +living in stifling huts through the intense heat of a southern summer. +Here the harvest of death fell thickest, and the corpses lay heaped +together, while dying wretches crawled about the public streets, and +encumbered the fountain-sides, to which they had dragged themselves in +their longing for drink. All sense of public decency, all regard for +laws, human or divine, was lost. The temples in which they had made +their dwellings were choked with dead, and the sacred duty of burial, +to which the conscience of antiquity attached so high an importance, +was performed in wild haste and disorder. Sometimes those who were +carrying out a corpse found a vacant pile prepared by the relatives of +another victim, flung their dead upon it, set fire to the pile, and +departed; and sometimes, when a body was already burning, others who +were seeking to dispose of a corpse forced their way to the fire, and +threw their burden upon it. + +In the general relaxation of public morality all the dark passions of +human nature, which at ordinary times lurk in secret places, came forth +to the light of day, and raged without restraint. Some, who had grown +rich in a day by the death of wealthy relatives, resolved to enjoy +their possessions, and indulge every appetite, before they were +overtaken by the same fate. Others, who had hitherto led good lives, +seeing the base and the noble swept away indifferently by the same +ruthless power, began to doubt the justice of heaven itself, and rushed +into debauch, convinced that conscience and honour were but empty +names. For human laws they cared still less, for in the universal panic +there was none to enforce them, and before the voice of public +authority could be heard again, both judge and transgressor, as they +believed, would be involved in a common doom. All shame and fear were +accordingly thrown aside, and those whom the plague had not yet touched +seemed possessed by one sole desire--to drown thought and care in an +orgy of fierce excess, and then to die. + + +II + +The second invasion of the Peloponnesians was prolonged for forty days, +and the whole Attic territory was laid waste. Pericles again refused to +venture a pitched battle against them, knowing well that the Athenian +army was no match for them in the open field. But a powerful fleet was +sent to cruise round Peloponnesus, which inflicted much damage on the +coast districts. It was a welcome relief to the Athenians selected for +this service to escape for a time from the plague-stricken city; but +unhappily they carried the infection with them, and the crews were +decimated by the same disease. Nor did the evil stop here: for the same +armament being afterwards despatched to Potidaea, to reinforce the +blockading army and fleet, caused a virulent outbreak of the plague +among the forces stationed there, which up till then had been healthy. +After some fruitless operations against the town this second armament +was withdrawn, and returned to Athens with the loss of more than a +thousand men. + +After all these disasters the reaction against Pericles, which had +begun with the first invasion of Attica, reached a climax, and on all +sides he was loudly decried by the Athenians, as the author of all +their miseries. Envoys were sent with overtures of peace to Sparta, and +when these returned with no favourable answer, the storm of popular +fury grew more violent than ever. Pericles, who knew the temper of his +people, and had foreseen that some such outbreak would occur, remained +calm and unmoved. But wishing to allay the general excitement, and +bring back the citizens to a more reasonable view of their prospects, +he summoned an assembly, and addressed the multitude in terms of grave +and dignified rebuke. He reminded them that they themselves had voted +for war, and remonstrated against the unfairness of making him +responsible for their own decision. If war could have been avoided +without imperilling the very existence of their city, then that +decision was wrong; but if, as was the fact, peace could only have been +preserved by ruinous concessions, then his advice had been good, and +they had been right in following it. The welfare of the individual +citizen depended on the welfare of the community to which he belonged; +as long as that was secured, private losses could always be made good, +but public disaster meant private ruin. On this principle they had +acted two years before, when they determined to reject the demands of +Sparta. Why, then, were they now indulging in weak regrets, and turning +against him whom they had appointed as their chosen guide and adviser? +Was there anything in his character, any fact in his whole life, which +justified them in suspecting him of unworthy motives? Was he the man to +lead them astray, in order to save some selfish end--he, the great +Pericles, whose loyalty, eloquence, clear-sightedness, and +incorruptibility, had been proved in a public career of more than +thirty years? If any other course had been open to them, he would have +been to blame in counselling war; but the alternative was between that +and degradation. The immediate pressure of private calamity was +blinding them to the magnitude of the interests at stake--Athens, with +all her fond traditions, and all the lustre of her name. That they were +sure of victory he had already declared to them on many infallible +grounds. But seeing them so sunk in despair, he would speak in a tone +of loud assurance, and boldly assert a fact which they seemed to have +overlooked. They were lords of the sea, absolute masters, that was to +say, of half the world! Let them keep a firm grasp on this empire, and +they would soon recover those pretty ornaments of empire--their gardens +and their vineyards--which they held so dear: but, that once +relinquished, they would lose all. Surely this knowledge should inspire +them with a lofty contempt of their foes, a contempt grounded, not on +ignorance or shallow enthusiasm, but on rational calculation. They +could not now descend from the eminence on which they stood. Athens, +who had blazed so long in unrivalled splendour before the eyes of the +world, dared not suffer her lustre to be abated: for her, obscurity +meant extinction. Let them keep this in mind, and not listen to +counsels of seeming prudence and moderation, which were suicidal in a +ruling state. All their calamities, except the plague, were the +foreseen results of their own decision. Now was the time to display +their known courage and patience. Let them think of the glory of +Athens, and her imperial fame. + +This memorable speech, the last recorded utterance of Pericles, had the +desired effect. It was resolved to continue the war, and no further +embassies were sent to Sparta. But resentment still smouldered in the +hearts of the Athenians against their great statesman. How fearful was +the contrast between the high hopes with which they had embarked in +this struggle, and the scenes of horror and desolation which lay around +them! From the walls they could see their trampled fields, their +ravaged plantations, and the blackened ruins of their homes. Within, +the pestilence still raged undiminished, and the city was filled with +sounds and sights of woe. Under the pressure of these calamities the +ascendency of Pericles went through a brief period of eclipse, and he +was condemned to pay a fine. Soon, however, he recovered all his +influence, and remained at the head of affairs until his death, which +occurred in the autumn of the following year. + +Pericles is the representative figure in the golden age of Athenian +greatness, the most perfect example of that equable and harmonious +development in every faculty of body and mind which was the aim of +Greek civic life at its best. As an orator, he was probably never +equalled, and the effect of his eloquence has found immortal expression +in the lines of his contemporary Eupolis. Persuasion, we are told, sat +enthroned on his lips; like a strong athlete, he overtook and outran +all other orators; his words struck home like the lightning, while he +held his audience enchained, as by a powerful spell; and among all the +masters of eloquence, he was the only one who left his sting behind +him. As a statesman, it was his object to admit every freeborn Athenian +to a share of public duties and privileges; and for this purpose he +introduced the system of payment, which enabled the poorer citizens to +perform their part in the service of the state. His military talents, +though never employed for conquest or aggression, were of no mean +order; and on two occasions of supreme peril to Athens, the revolt of +Euboea, and the revolt of Samos, it was his energy and promptitude +which saved his city from ruin. + +But it is as the head of the great intellectual movement which +culminated in this epoch, as the friend of poets, philosophers, and +artists, that Pericles has won his most enduring fame. By his liberal +and enlightened policy the surplus of the Athenian revenues was devoted +to the creation of those wonders of architecture and sculpture, whose +fragments still serve as unapproachable models to the mind of modern +Europe. And under his rule Athens became the school of Greece, the +great centre for every form of intellectual activity, a position which +she maintained until the later period of the Roman Empire. + +If, however, we would understand the character of Pericles, and the +spirit of the age which he represents, we must never forget that this +aspect of Athenian greatness, to us by far the most important, was not +the aspect which awoke the highest enthusiasm in him and his +contemporaries. Those things which have made the name of Athens +immortal, her art and her literature, were matters of but secondary +importance to the Athenian of that age. He worshipped his city as a +beloved mistress, and, like a lover, he delighted to adorn her with +outward dignity and splendour. But to lavish all his thought and care +on these external embellishments would have been, in his estimation, a +senseless waste of his highest faculties, as if a lover should make the +robes and jewels of his mistress the objects of his highest adoration. +To make Athens the mightiest state in Greece, to build up the fabric of +her material greatness--these were the objects for which he was ready +to devote the best energies of heart and brain, and if need were, to +lay down his life. He might be skilled in every elegant accomplishment, +an acute reasoner, an orator, a musician, a poet; and to some extent he +was all of these. But before all else he was in the highest sense a +practical man, finding in strenuous action his chief glory and pride. +And such a man was the last to melt into ecstasies over the high notes +of a singer, or dream away his life in the fairyland of poetry. + +We have dwelt at some length on the work and character of Pericles, as +his death marks a turning point in Athenian history. From that day +onward the policy of Athens takes a downward direction, denoting a +corresponding decline in Athenian character and aspiration. Pericles +had been able, by his commanding talents and proved integrity, to +exercise a salutary check on the restless energies and soaring ambition +of his countrymen. He had been a true father and ruler of his people, +in evil times and in good, curbing them in the insolence of prosperity, +comforting and exalting them in the dark hour of disaster. But the +government now passed into the hands of weaker men, who, since they +were incapable of leading the people, were compelled to follow it, and +to maintain their position by pandering to the worst vices of the +Athenian character. Rash where they should have been cautious, yielding +where they should have been resolute, they squandered the immense +resources of Athens, and led her on, step by step, to humiliation and +defeat. The course of our narrative will show how easily the Athenians +might have emerged triumphant from the struggle with their enemies, if +they had followed the line of conduct marked out by Pericles. They +might, indeed, have avoided the occasion of offence which led +immediately to the war, and thus have escaped the necessity of fighting +altogether; and this, as we have seen, was the one fatal mistake made +by Pericles. But, once launched in the conflict, they were sure of an +easy victory, if they had only shown a very moderate degree of prudence +and self-restraint. And we need not blame the great statesmen too +harshly for not foreseeing the wild excesses of folly and extravagance +which we shall have to record in the following pages. + + + + +INVESTMENT OF PLATAEA + +In the third year of the war the usual invasion of Attica was omitted, +and the Peloponnesian army under Archidamus marched against Plataea. +Having pitched their camp before the walls they prepared to lay waste +the territory; but before the work of havoc began, the Plataeans sent +envoys to remonstrate. "Unrighteous are your deeds," said the spokesman +of the embassy, "ye men of Sparta, and unworthy of the men whose sons +ye are. After the victory of Plataea, which ended the struggle against +Persia, Pausanias, the chief captain of the confederate Greeks, offered +sacrifice and thanksgiving at Plataea to Zeus the Liberator, and swore +a solemn oath, both he, and all the Greeks whom he led, to maintain the +independence of our city against all who should assail it. This they +did as a recompense for our valour and devotion in our country's +service. But ye, in direct violation of that oath, have made common +cause with our worst enemies, the Thebans, and have come hither to +enslave us. In the name of the gods who witnessed that covenant, in the +name of every power worshipped alike at Plataea and at Sparta, we +adjure you not to commit this sacrilege, but to leave us in peaceful +possession of the privileges vouchsafed to us on that memorable day." + +Such were the words of the Plataeans, to which Archidamus replied as +follows: "Ye say well, men of Plataea, if ye act in the spirit of the +compact to which ye have appealed. The oath which Pausanias swore was +taken in defence of the common liberties of Greece. Against those +liberties a new enemy has arisen, Athens, who holds half our nation in +bondage, and threatens to lay her yoke upon us all. To put down that +tyranny has this great coalition been called together, and if ye are +true men, ye will enlist in the same cause, and take up arms for the +relief of your distressed countrymen. Or at least, if ye cannot do +this, then stand apart from this conflict, helping neither one side nor +the other; and with this we shall be satisfied." + +Having heard the answer of Archidamus, the Plataean envoys went back, +and reported his words to their fellow-townsmen. But the Plataeans +replied that, without the consent of the Athenians, they dare not +accept his proposal, as their wives and children had been removed to +Athens. Moreover, they feared that if they remained neutral the Thebans +would seize the opportunity to make another attempt on their town. +"Well, then," answered Archidamus, "we make you this second offer: Hand +over your town and your dwellings to us, the Spartans; keep a strict +account of all your trees, [Footnote: Vines and olive-trees] and of all +else that can be numbered, and retire yourselves to some safe retreat, +as long as the war continues. When it is over, we will restore all your +property, and meanwhile keep the land in cultivation, and pay you a +fixed rent, such as may suffice you." + +The offer was fair, and even generous; but the Plataeans were powerless +to act, without the consent of the Athenians, who held their families +as hostages. Accordingly they asked for a truce, to enable them to lay +the proposal before the authorities at Athens, and this being granted, +they sent envoys to Athens, who speedily returned with this answer: "We +have never left you at the mercy of your enemies in the past, since ye +became our allies, nor will we do so now, but will help you to the best +of our power; and we charge you by the oath which your fathers swore +not to depart from your allegiance to Athens." + +It was a cruel alternative which was offered to the hapless Plataeans: +either they must leave their wives and children to the vengeance of +Athens, or face the whole power of the confederates, led by Sparta. +True to their character, they chose the nobler part, and determined to +stand by the Athenian alliance. Henceforth no one was allowed to leave +the town, and their final answer was delivered from the walls. They +were unable, they said, to accept the terms offered by Archidamus. + +On hearing their decision, the Spartan king made a last solemn appeal +to the powers who presided over the territory of Plataea, a hallowed +precinct, now about to be given up to plunder and ravage: "Ye gods and +heroes, who keep the land of Plataea, bear witness that we had just +cause from the first for marching hither, since the Plataeans had +forsaken the alliance, and that if we do aught against them, we shall +still be justified. For we have made them the fairest offers, but they +would not be persuaded. Therefore let those with whom the guilt lies be +punished, and prosper ye the cause of righteous vengeance." + +The siege of Plataea now began in earnest. First the town was +surrounded with a palisade, to prevent anyone from escaping, the +materials being taken from the plantations in the neighbourhood of the +town. Then they raised a mound against the wall, expecting that with so +large a force as theirs they would easily carry the place by storm. +Timber was brought from Cithaeron, and with this they set up two stout +buttresses of cross-beams, at right angles to the town-wall, to serve +as a support on either side of the mound. Within this framework they +piled up fascines, stones, earth, and whatever else was at hand. The +whole army was employed in this task, which was continued for seventy +days and nights without intermission, the men working in regular spells. + +Meanwhile the Plataeans had not been idle. First they built a wall of +bricks and timber opposite to the point where the mound was rising, and +resting on the ramparts, in order to raise the height of their +defences. The new wall was covered with hides, raw and dressed, to +protect the timber and the workmen from being injured by burning +arrows. And while this structure was in progress, they made a breach in +the old wall, and carted away the earth from the bottom of the mound. +To prevent this, the Peloponnesians filled up the space thus caused +with heavy masses of clay, rammed tightly into baskets of osier, which +made a solid structure, much harder to remove than the loose earth. +Then the Plataeans had recourse to another device: marking carefully +the position of the mound, they ran a mine from the city under it, and +as fast as the earth fell in, they carried it away. This continued for +a long time, for the Peloponnesians, who saw their mound rising no +higher, for all their labour, but rather growing less, did not guess +the cause, but went on heaping up materials, which were swallowed up as +fast as they were brought. + +Still the Plataeans feared that in spite of these counterworks they +would at length be overpowered by numbers, unless they contrived some +better means of defence. So they left off building the wall of bricks +and timber, and beginning at either end of it, they built a +crescent-shaped wall, curving inwards towards the city. Thus the +Peloponnesians, if they succeeded in carrying the first wall, would +find themselves confronted by a second line of defence, and would have +all their work to do over again, besides being exposed to a cross-fire. + +While the Plataeans were thus vigorously defending themselves, and +before the mound was completed, the Peloponnesians brought +siege-engines to bear on the wall, one of which greatly alarmed the +besieged garrison, by severely shaking their wall of timber and bricks. +But this new mode of attack was frustrated, like the rest, by the +ingenuity of the Plataeans, who dropped nooses over the ends of the +battering-rams, and drew them up just before the moment of impact. +Moreover they suspended heavy beams of wood at intervals along the +wall, each beam hanging by long chains from two cranes which rested on +the wall and projected outwards from it; and whenever a ram was being +brought up, they drew up the beam at right angles to it, and then, +letting go the chains, dropped the ponderous timber, which came +crashing down on the ram, and broke off its head. + +Thus baffled at every point, the Peloponnesians began to despair of +taking the town by assault, and thought that they would be compelled to +form a blockade. But before being driven to this costly and tedious +operation, they determined to try and set fire to the place, which +seemed possible, as it was but small in extent. So they waited till the +wind was in the right direction, and then brought vast quantities of +faggots, and threw them into the space between the mound and the wall; +and this being soon filled up, they piled up more faggots as far as +they could reach within the city itself, and then throwing in lighted +torches, with brimstone and pitch, they set fire to the whole mass. +Then arose a great sheet of flame, such as had never been raised by +human hands, though not, of course, to be compared to the vast +forest-fires, produced by natural means; yet it was sufficient to cause +a panic among the Plataeans, and bring their town to the verge of +destruction. The heat was so intense that a whole quarter of the place +was cleared of its defenders, and if a wind had arisen to drive the +flame inwards, nothing could have saved the whole town from +destruction. [Footnote: Thucydides seems to imply that there was a +wind, though a slight one.] But fortunately the breeze was but slight, +and it is said also that a heavy fall of rain came on, and quenched the +conflagration. + +Having failed in their last attempt, the Peloponnesians sent away part +of their army, and employed those who remained in building a blockading +wall round Plataea. The work was completed towards the end of +September, and they then disbanded their army, leaving a force +sufficient to guard half the wall; for the Thebans, relentless in their +zeal against Plataea, took charge of the other half. The number of the +besieged was four hundred and eighty, of whom eighty were Athenians, +and a hundred and ten women to make bread for the garrison. + + + + +NAVAL VICTORIES OF PHORMIO + +I + + +During the last half-century the art of naval warfare had made great +progress in Greece. The Greek war-galley, or trireme, a vessel +propelled by three banks of oars, had always been furnished with a +sharp-pointed prow, for the purpose of ramming an opponent's ship; but +many years elapsed before the Greeks attained genuine skill in the use +of this formidable weapon. According to the ordinary method of +fighting, after the first shock of collision the affair was decided by +the hoplites, or heavy-armed infantry, stationed on the decks of the +two contending ships; and in this manner was fought the engagement +between the Corcyraean and Corinthian fleets which occurred in the +year before the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War. There the ship was +simply a vehicle, which served to bring the antagonists together, and +the rest was left to the prowess of the hoplites. + +The Athenians were the first to abandon this crude and clumsy style of +fighting, and in the course of two generations their seamen had become +renowned throughout Greece for the unrivalled skill which they showed +in working and manoeuvring the trireme. A few hoplites were still +carried, to serve in cases of emergency; but by far the most important +part in the encounter was played by the trireme itself, with its long, +tapering, sharp-pointed prow. To use this deadly but delicate +instrument with effect required great coolness, dexterity, and +judgment, on the part of the steersman, and a crew under perfect +command. The tactics usually employed were as follows: watching his +opportunity, the captain gave the order "full speed ahead!" and darting +rapidly through the enemy's line, wheeled suddenly round, and drove the +beak of his galley with terrible force against the stern or side of the +vessel selected for attack. One blow from the long lance-like point, +propelled by the whole weight and impetus of the trireme, was +sufficient to sink or disable an enemy's ship, and the attacking galley +was then backed away from the wreck, and directed against another +victim. + +The incessant practice of nearly half a century had enabled the +Athenians to attain consummate mastery in this new method of naval +warfare; and they were now to give signal proof of their immense +superiority over the other maritime powers of Greece. + +In the same summer which witnessed the investment of Plataea, the +Spartans planned an expedition against Acarnania, the westernmost +province of Greece, which they wished to detach from the Athenian +alliance. A Spartan officer, named Cnemus, was sent off in advance, +with a thousand hoplites, to raise the wild mountain tribes, and led an +attack against Stratus, the capital of Acarnania; and in the meantime +orders were sent round to equip a numerous fleet, which was to support +the operations of Stratus by harassing the coast districts. + +The attack on Stratus failed altogether, chiefly in consequence of the +impetuosity of the rude mountaineers serving under Cnemus, who advanced +unsupported against the town, and meeting with a severe repulse +embarrassed the movements of their Greek allies. About the same time +the Peloponnesian fleet, consisting of forty-seven ships, was sailing +down the Corinthian Gulf to co-operate with Cnemus. It was known that +Phormio, the Athenian admiral, was stationed at Naupactus with a +squadron of twenty vessels; but the Peloponnesian captains never +dreamed that he would venture to attack them with so small a force, and +they pursued their voyage along the southern shore of the gulf, without +making any preparations for a battle. Phormio, however, had other +intentions: keeping close to the opposite shore, he followed their +movements, and allowed them to pass through the narrow strait which +divides the inner from the outer gulf, wishing to avoid an engagement +until they reached the open water. The Peloponnesians dropped anchor +for the night at Patrae in Achaia, and Phormio took up his station at +Chalcis, a harbour-town of Aetolia, at the mouth of the Evenus. Being +now convinced that Phormio meditated an encounter, for which they had +little inclination, the Peloponnesian admirals made an attempt +[Footnote: I have adopted the reading of Bloomfield, approved by +Classen (4th Edition).] to steal across under cover of darkness. But +this manoeuvre was detected, and they found their way barred by the +Athenian squadron in the middle of the channel. Being thus driven to +bay the Peloponnesians drew up their ships in a circle, with their +prows turned outwards, like a flock of sheep assailed by a dog. Within +the circle were placed the smaller vessels accompanying the fleet, and +five of the swiftest galleys, which were intended to lend assistance +against any attack of the enemy. + +To keep a large flotilla in such a position, even in a calm sea, where +no hostile movement was made against them, would have been a task to +try the skill of the most accomplished mariners. But the Peloponnesian +crews were untrained, the decks of their ships were crowded with +soldiers, and they were hampered by the crowd of smaller craft. Worst +of all, they were threatened in every direction by the agile Athenian +galleys, which, moving in single file, swept round and round them, +approaching closer and closer at every circuit, so that they were +penned together in an ever-narrowing space, and in danger of fouling +one another. To complete their confusion, the morning breeze began to +blow from the gulf; and Phormio, who had been waiting for this, now +gave the signal for attack. The Peloponnesians hardly attempted any +defence; for the unskilful crews of the galleys could not manage their +oars in the rising sea, and the steersmen had consequently no control +of their vessels. All their efforts were employed in keeping clear of +one another, warding off a collision with long poles, amid a hubbub of +curses and abuse. Into this huddled, swaying mass of war-galleys and +merchant-craft mingled together now dashed the Athenian triremes, +wrecking every vessel which they met. A wild panic ensued among the +Peloponnesian crews, and as fast as they could extricate themselves +they rowed off and sought shelter in the harbour of Patrae. From here +they afterwards sailed to Cyllene, the dockyard of Elis, where they +were joined by Cnemus with the troops from Acarnania. Twelve ships fell +into the hands of the Athenians, and taking these with them they sailed +first to Rhium, a level headland on the Locrian Coast, on which stood a +temple of Poseidon. Having left one of the captured ships as a +thank-offering to the god of the sea, they made their way back to the +original station at Naupactus. + + +II + +The authorities at Sparta were highly indignant at the failure of their +expedition in Acarnania, and the defeat of the Peloponnesian fleet by +so inferior a force. For this was their first experience of a sea-fight +since the outbreak of the war, and they made no allowance for the want +of skill in their own crews, attributing the disaster to mere +cowardice. They did not reflect how vast was the difference between raw +sailors, lately transferred from the plough to the oar, and the veteran +seamen of Athens, trained under a system which had been slowly +perfected in the course of half a century. So they sent three +commissioners to Cnemus, with peremptory orders to prepare for another +sea-fight, and not allow himself to be shut up in harbour by the feeble +squadron of Phormio. One of these commissioners was Brasidas, a +brilliant young officer, who had gained distinction two years before by +saving the harbour-town of Methone, on the coast of Messenia, from +being captured by the Athenians. We shall hear much more of him in the +sequel. + +On the arrival of Brasidas and his colleagues, the ships lying at +Cyllene were made ready for immediate service, and orders were sent +round to the allied cities for other ships. Phormio also sent an urgent +despatch to Athens announcing his victory, and asking for +reinforcements; and the Athenians sent twenty triremes to his aid. +These vessels, however, arrived too late, for the admiral, acting on +instructions from Athens, sailed first to Crete, where he was delayed a +long time by contrary winds. Phormio, with his twenty triremes, was +therefore compelled to engage the whole Peloponnesian fleet, numbering +seventy-seven ships, which had now sailed round from Cyllene, and taken +up its station just within the strait, close to the Achaean town of +Panormus. A strong force of Peloponnesian soldiers was encamped on the +shore, to co-operate with the fleet. Phormio anchored his ships just +outside the strait, being resolved, if it were in any way possible, not +to fight the Peloponnesians in the narrow waters. As the +Peloponnesians, on their side, were equally determined not to be lured +out into the open sea, the two fleets remained confronting each other +for a whole week, without attempting any aggressive movement. At last +the Peloponnesian leaders decided to give battle with Phormio at once, +fearing that if they delayed any longer he would be reinforced from +Athens. + +It was the universal custom of Greek commanders to wind up the courage +of their men on the eve of a battle by a short and pithy address, +calculated to inspire them with confidence, by giving them a reasonable +hope of victory. Such a practice, strange as it may seem to us, was +natural among a people whose armies and fleets were recruited from the +general body of the citizens, accustomed to free speech in their public +assemblies. They were not men of war by profession, trained in habits +of blind obedience, but sensitive Greeks, who carried into the camp the +noble freedom of civic life, and were not prepared to shed their blood +without sufficient cause, and a fair prospect of success. + +Seldom was there greater need of this sort of military eloquence than +on the present occasion. On both sides there was much discouragement, +and a general reluctance to begin the fight. The Peloponnesians were +cowed by their recent defeat, and dreaded the naval skill of the +Athenians, which seemed to them almost supernatural; and Phormio's men +shrank from an encounter with such enormous odds. Accordingly the +Peloponnesian captains on one side, and Phormio on the other, did what +they could to argue their crews into a more hopeful frame of mind. The +Peloponnesian seamen who had taken part in the first battle were +reminded that they had been caught unprepared, and assured that this +time every precaution would be taken to prevent a second reverse. They +were flattered by the confident assertion that the superior skill of +the Athenians was far outweighed by their own superior courage. "Look," +said one of the admirals, speaking to his own division, "at this +powerful armament, outnumbering the enemy by four to one--look at the +army drawn up on the shore, ready to lend aid to any who are hard +pressed--and you will see that with such advantages defeat is +impossible. Do your duty like men, and expect to be rewarded or +punished according to your deserts." Similar addresses, combining +encouragement with threats, were heard in the other parts of the fleet. + +Among the Athenian sailors there had been much jesting about the +land-lubbers of Peloponnesus, and in the first flush of their victory +they had been ready to face any odds on the sea. But now, seeing +themselves confronted by such overwhelming numbers, they had lost heart +for the moment, and were seen standing about in little groups, shaking +their heads and whispering fearfully together. It was an anxious moment +for Phormio; he knew the immense importance of maintaining, at any +cost, the naval reputation of Athens, and if his men went into battle +in their present temper, they were certain to suffer a crushing defeat. +Determining, therefore, if possible, to allay the panic which was fast +spreading throughout the fleet, he summoned the crews into his +presence, and harangued them as follows:-- + +"Comrades, I have called you hither to assure you that you have no +cause for alarm. The numbers of the enemy, which seem to you so +formidable, should, if properly considered, be a ground of confidence; +for this unwieldy armament is a sign that they are thoroughly +terrified, and seek safety in a huge crowd of ships. The firmness and +discipline which they have acquired by long experience of land warfare +will avail them little on the sea For courage is largely a matter of +habit, and the bravest landsman is a mere coward when he is taken away +from his own element, and set down on the heaving deck of a war-galley +where he can hardly keep his feet. The disorganized multitude with +which we shall have to deal is a mere mob, held together by the +authority of Sparta, demoralized by their late defeat, and forced to +fight against their will. Face them boldly, and our very audacity in +assailing such numbers will sink them still deeper into helpless +terror, for they will think that we must be invincible, or we should +never run such risks. It shall be my business to bring on the +engagement in blue water, where we shall have them at our mercy. Now +every man to his station; be prompt, and be silent, and attend to the +word of command. Remember your old spirit, and reflect that the honour +of Athens is in your hands to-day." + +The great object of the Peloponnesian leaders was to compel Phormio to +give battle in the confined space of the strait. With this intention +they determined to make a sudden movement towards the northern coast of +the gulf, threatening an attack on Naupactus. At daybreak they drew up +their ships in four lines, with the coast of Peloponnesus behind them, +and with twenty fast-sailing triremes stationed on the right wing, to +cut off Phormio's fleet, if, as they anticipated, he advanced to the +defence of Naupactus. Wheeling then to the right, the ships sailed some +distance, four abreast, towards the inner gulf; and when they came +opposite to Naupactus, they changed their course, and moved in column, +with the right wing leading towards the northern shore. + +The manoeuvre, so far as concerned its immediate purpose, was +completely successful. Phormio, much against his will, was obliged to +leave his station outside the strait, and go to the aid of Naupactus, +which had been left undefended. Great was the delight of the +Peloponnesian captains when they saw the little Athenian squadron +creeping close, in single file, along the northern side of the gulf, +for they thought that not one of the twenty would escape them. At a +given signal, the whole fleet formed into line, resuming its original +order, four deep, and bore down upon the Athenians. Eleven of Phormio's +triremes succeeded in clearing the strait, and getting into the open +waters in the direction of Naupactus; but the remaining nine were +overtaken and driven aground, and their crews, except those who escaped +by swimming, were put to the sword. Some of these vessels were towed +off as prizes by the Peloponnesians, and one they captured with all her +crew. The rest were saved by the valour of the Messenian soldiers, who +had followed the movements of Phormio's vessels along the shore, and +now did good service by boarding the stranded triremes, and hauling +them to land, after a sharp tussle with the enemy. + +Meanwhile the eleven ships which had eluded the attack were hotly +pursued by the twenty fast-sailing vessels on the Peloponnesian right +wing. All but one got through in safety, and took refuge in the harbour +of Naupactus, and drawing up in line, with their prows outwards, +prepared to defend themselves if the enemy advanced further against +them. But the rearmost vessel was hard pressed by a Leucadian ship, and +the rest of the pursuers followed at a considerable distance, singing +the paean [Footnote: A song of victory.] as they rowed, and expecting +an easy victory. Now, however, occurred one of those sudden turns of +fortune so frequent in the course of a sea-fight. The Athenian trireme +which had been left far behind in the chase, made a sudden sweep round +a merchant-vessel anchored at the mouth of the harbour, struck her +pursuer amidships, and sank her. + +This splendid feat of seamanship filled the Peloponnesians, who were +advancing in disorder, with amazement and terror. On every trireme the +cry of "Hold her!" [Footnote: This was done by thrusting the oars, with +the blades held flat, deep into the water] was heard, and some of the +vessels, losing way suddenly, ran aground on the shallows. The others +hung back, waiting until the main body of the fleet should come to +their support. Seeing them drifting thus, stupefied and helpless, the +Athenians took heart again, and raising a shout rowed swiftly from +their station within the harbour, and charged down upon them. The +Peloponnesians, after a feeble attempt at resistance, took to flight, +heading for their original station on the opposite coast. Six of their +vessels were captured, and the Athenians, not content with this, fell +upon the main body of the fleet, and recovered their own ships which +had been taken in the strait. The victorious crews of Phormio then +returned to Naupactus, and set up a trophy at the place where they had +been moored when this splendid rally was made, opposite to the temple +of Apollo. The Peloponnesians also raised a trophy, to commemorate +their first success, and then, fearing the arrival of the fresh ships +from Athens, they sailed off to Lechaeum, the northern harbour of +Corinth. + + +III + +In strange contrast with the disgraceful exhibition of cowardice and +incompetence which we have just witnessed, we have now to record a +daring attempt, undertaken shortly afterwards, to strike at the very +heart of the Athenian power. While the beaten crews of the +Peloponnesian fleet were waiting to be paid off at Lechaeum, they +suddenly received orders to take their oars and rowing-cushions, and +proceed to Nisaea, the port of Megara. The plan was to embark them on +forty vessels, which were lying in the dockyards, and make a +night-attack on Peiraeus. The suggestion came from the Megarians, but +in carrying it out the Peloponnesians were probably influenced by the +bold and enterprising spirit of Brasidas. And in fact, the meditated +descent on Peiraeus was neither so wild nor so rash as it may at first +sight appear. For the Athenians, never dreaming that they might be +taken by surprise, had not taken the precaution to close the entrance +of their harbour, or to station guard-ships for its defence. + +Without delay, the officers in charge of the expedition mustered their +crews at Nisaea, and embarking by night, got their ships under way. But +at the last moment their hearts failed them, and instead of sailing to +Peiraeus, they landed on the island of Salamis, and after attacking a +sea-side fort, and capturing three triremes which were riding at anchor +near it, they spread themselves out, and began ravaging and plundering +the country. + +Meanwhile fire-signals had been raised, conveying the alarm to Peiraeus +and Athens. A wild panic ensued, and a rumour ran through the upper +city that the enemy had sailed into Peiraeus, while in the harbour-town +it was generally supposed that Salamis was lost, and Peiraeus on the +point of being invaded. The Peloponnesians employed in this adventure +afterwards pretended that they had been hindered by contrary winds from +carrying out their original design. But this was a mere excuse, and if +they had chosen they might have sailed unopposed to Peiraeus, and +inflicted terrible injury on Athens. But it was now too late, for the +Athenians, as soon as the news was brought, had marched down with their +whole military force to Peiraeus, and occupied every assailable point +in the harbour, while at the same time every ship in the docks was +launched and manned, and sent off in headlong haste to Salamis. + +By this time it was broad daylight, and the Peloponnesians, being +warned that a rescue was on the way from Peiraeus, made off with their +booty, and getting, on board their ships, sailed back to Nisaea. They +had the more reason for hastening their departure, as the Megarian +ships which had carried them to Salamis, having lain a long while in +dry-dock, were leaky and unseaworthy; for the harbour of Megara had for +some time past been kept in close blockade by the Athenians. + +This memorable incident, following close on the brilliant victories of +Phormio, taught the Athenians to take better precautions for the +future. Hitherto they would have scoffed at the suggestion that their +own arsenals and dockyards were exposed to attack. But now they +provided for the safety of Peiraeus by closing the harbours and keeping +a vigilant watch. And that terrible night left an impression on their +minds which was not soon forgotten. + + + + +THE REVOLT OF LESBOS + +I + + +We have already traced the steps by which the various cities composing +the Confederacy of Delos gradually became subjects and tributaries of +Athens. After this great change was effected, the only members of the +original league who retained their independence were the wealthy and +powerful communities of Chios and Lesbos. These two islands were +allowed to retain undisturbed control of their own affairs, with the +sole obligation of sending a fixed quota of ships to serve in the +Athenian Navy. It does not appear that the performance of this duty was +felt as a grievance, and no act of oppression had been committed by +Athens, such as might have provoked her allies in Lesbos or Chios to +turn against her. In both islands the general body of the citizens were +on the whole friendly to the Athenians, who afforded them an effectual +means of protection against the tyranny of the nobles, by summoning +high-born offenders to be tried before the Athenian tribunals. +[Footnote: The evidence for this statement will be found in Thucydides, +viii. 48.] It was therefore not among the people at large, but among +the privileged few, that any movement of revolt against Athens was to +be expected. + +Some years before the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War the Lesbian +malcontents had solicited the Spartans to help them in throwing off the +yoke of Athens. This application, which was probably made at the time +of the revolt of Samos, found no favour with Sparta, and nothing +further was attempted on that occasion. But in the fourth year of the +war alarming rumours were brought to Athens from Tenedos, a small +island included in the Athenian alliance, whose inhabitants were +jealous of the threatened ascendancy of Lesbos in the eastern districts +of the Aegaean. There was a design, it was said, among the leading +citizens of Mytilene, the principal city of Lesbos, to unite the +inhabitants of the island by force under their rule, and renounce their +allegiance to Athens. Help was expected from Sparta, and the Boeotians, +who were of the same race as the Lesbians, were also in the plot. This +statement was confirmed by envoys from Methymna, the second city of +Lesbos, which stood apart from the conspiracy, and by certain citizens +of Mytilene, who had turned informers from motives of private revenge. + +Among the Athenians at this time there was a general feeling of +despondency and exhaustion. The full hardship of the war pressed +heavily upon them, and their population was thinned by the ravages of +the plague. In such a mood the thought of undertaking a campaign +against a great island like Lesbos, then at the height of her power, +filled them with dismay. Was it possible that a favoured and privileged +ally had taken up arms against them in the hour of their distress? It +was a slander, they could not, they would not believe it. At any rate, +before proceeding to extremities, they would try the effect of a +friendly remonstrance. So they sent envoys with a pacific message to +the Mytilenaeans, hoping by fair words to deter them from their +purpose. In this, however, they were disappointed, and being at last +convinced that the Lesbians were on the brink of revolt, they sent off +forty triremes without delay, in order, if possible, to catch them +unawares. For they had been informed that the Mytilenaeans were about +to celebrate the festival of Apollo, in which the whole population took +part, outside the city walls; and if the triremes arrived in time, +there would be a fine opportunity for a surprise. At the same time they +took possession of ten Mytilenaean triremes, which had been sent to +serve in the Athenian fleet, and imprisoned the crews. + +But now was seen one of the weaknesses inherent in the nature of the +Athenian constitution. These measures could not be taken without public +debate in the popular assembly, and such a method of procedure rendered +secrecy impossible. The Mytilenaeans received timely warning of their +danger, and keeping close within their walls, repaired the weak places +in their defences, and set a careful watch. Shortly afterwards the +Athenian fleet hove in sight. As the Mytilenaeans refused to obey the +summons delivered to them in the name of the imperial people,--that +they should raze their walls, and surrender their ships,--hostilities +commenced. But on neither side was much vigour displayed, for the +Athenian officers thought themselves too weak to undertake any decisive +operations with their present force, and the Mytilenaeans desired to +obtain a respite, to enable them to obtain aid from Sparta. Accordingly +they asked for an armistice, pretending that they wished to plead their +cause by their own representatives before the Athenian assembly; and +their request being granted, they sent envoys to Athens, who made a +show of carrying on negotiations. And in the meantime a trireme was +despatched in all haste to carry their petition to Sparta. + +On the return of the Mytilenaean envoys from Athens, where of course +they had accomplished nothing, the siege of Mytilene began in earnest. +The city was situated on a promontory facing the Asiatic coast on the +south-eastern side of the island, and had two harbours, on its northern +and southern side. Both of these harbours were now held in close +blockade by the Athenians, who established two camps, one on either +side of the town, and patrolled the harbour-mouths with their ships. +But on the land side the investment was not yet completed, so that +supplies could still be brought into the town from the island. +Reinforcements, however, came pouring into the Athenian quarters in +answer to a summons sent to the cities of the Athenian alliance, who +were the more willing to lend help, as the Lesbians made no vigorous +effort in their own defence. + +While the prospects of Athens were thus brightening, the Mytilenaean +envoys, after a stormy voyage, arrived at Sparta, and laid their +petition before the authorities. It happened that the Olympic festival +was close at hand, where representatives would be present from all the +cities of the Peloponnesian league; so the envoys received orders to go +to Olympia, and state their case in the presence of the Spartan allies. +They went, therefore, to Olympia, and when the festival was over, the +Mytilenaean orator addressed the confederates as follows:-- + +"Before we urge our claim for assistance we wish to combat a prejudice +which we know to be general in Greece against those who desert their +allies in time of war. For we wish not only to obtain your countenance +and support, but also to preserve your respect. To abandon an ally +without just cause in a time of peril is justly regarded as an act of +treason. But then the alliance must be a fair and equal relation +voluntarily assumed on both sides, based on mutual esteem and parity of +power. Can anyone assert that our connexion with Athens answers to this +description? Have we not seen how the confederacy of maritime cities +formed against Persia was gradually converted into an Athenian empire? +And though we and the Chians enjoyed nominal independence, we had good +reason to fear that this was only a temporary concession, which would +be withdrawn as soon as the Athenians felt themselves strong enough to +attack us. We were allowed to retain our liberty, partly because they +feared our navy, and partly because they wished to make us accomplices +in their own aggressions, and lend an appearance of equity to the acts +of violence in which we were compelled to take part. Having swallowed +up the smaller states, they were ready to pounce upon us, and were only +prevented by the outbreak of the present war. Who, then, can blame us, +if we seized the opportunity when they were weakened to repudiate this +false alliance, and anticipate the blow which they were preparing for +us? Athens, we repeat, has no just title to our allegiance; the bond +which held us together was fear on our side and interest on theirs. We +are natural enemies; and when your foe is disabled, then is the time to +strike. + +"Having thus cleared ourselves from the imputation of disloyalty, we +will now make plain to you the advantages which you will gain by +espousing our cause. If you wish to inflict irreparable injury on +Athens, you must promote every hostile movement against her in those +regions which contain the sources of her power, that is to say, the +islands and coast-lands of the Aegaean. For if our revolt is +successful, others will follow our example, and the Athenians will be +stripped of their revenues, the mainstay of their empire. You can lend +us aid most effectually by summoning your allies for a second +[Footnote: Attica had already been invaded earlier in the summer.] +invasion of Attica, and thus preventing the Athenians from sending +reinforcements to Lesbos. You have a rare opportunity, for their city +is wasted by the plague, and their navies are dispersed on foreign +service. Remember, then, your proud position as champions of Greek +liberty, and put away the reproach which you have sometimes incurred by +leaving the revolted subjects of Athens to fight their battles alone. +[Footnote: As in the case of Samos.] For the cause of Lesbos is the +cause of all Greece." + +It will be observed that the greater part of this remarkable speech +consists of an elaborate endeavour on the part of the Mytilenaeans to +justify themselves. The arguments employed were entirely sophistical, +for the Lesbians had no real grievance--and the statement that they +were in danger of losing their independence was a pure invention. But +they spoke to a partial audience, and the Spartans had already +prejudged the case in their favour. It was therefore decided to receive +them into the Peloponnesian alliance, and orders were issued to the +allies to assemble at the Isthmus with two-thirds of their forces for +an immediate invasion of Attica. The Spartans, acting with unusual +vigour, were the first to appear at the Isthmus, where they made +preparations for hauling ships overland from the northern harbour of +Corinth, intending to attack Athens by sea and land. But the rest of +the confederates came in but slowly, as they were engaged in getting in +their harvest, and had little inclination for a second campaign. + +The Spartans soon found out that they were mistaken in supposing the +energies of Athens to be exhausted. Without moving their fleet from +Lesbos, the Athenians manned a hundred triremes, raising the crews from +the whole body of the citizens, with the exception of the knights and +the wealthiest class of the Solonian census, and pressing even resident +foreigners into the service; and with this imposing force they made an +armed demonstration before the eyes of their enemies at the Isthmus, +and then, coasting along Peloponnesus, made descents wherever they +pleased. This spirited conduct produced the desired effect. For the +Spartans, who were still waiting for their allies at the Isthmus, saw +themselves baffled in all their calculations, and concluded that they +had been misinformed by the Lesbians as to the state of affairs at +Athens; and hearing that their own coast-lands were being ravaged by +the Athenian fleet, they hastily decamped, and the plan of a second +invasion came to nothing. + +The summer was now drawing to a close, and as yet no progress had been +made with the siege of Mytilene. The town was still blockaded by sea, +but the Mytilenaeans had free egress on the land-side, and marched up +and down the island, confirming the other towns which had joined in the +revolt, and threatening Methymna, which still remained loyal to the +Athenian alliance. When the Athenians were informed of this state of +things, they sent a thousand hoplites under Paches to reinforce the +besieging army; and on their arrival the investment of Mytilene was +completed by a wall drawn from sea to sea, and cutting off the town +from the rest of the island. The Mytilenaeans now began to despair, for +their supplies were failing, and there seemed no hope of relief. But +during the winter a ray of hope reached them from outside, and +encouraged them to persevere in their resistance. There was a weak +point in the Athenian wall, where it closed a ravine; and through this +interval a Spartan named Salaethus, who had sailed to Lesbos in a +trireme, and crossed the island on foot, succeeded in making his way +into the town. Salaethus announced himself as an agent sent from +Sparta, to inform the distressed garrison that, as soon as the season +permitted, forty triremes would be sent to their assistance, and that +Attica would be invaded at the same time, to keep the enemy occupied at +home. At this welcome news the hopes of the Mytilenaeans revived, and +all thoughts of surrender were laid aside. + + +II + +As soon as spring arrived, the Spartans, true to their promise, sent +off forty triremes, commanded by Alcidas, to raise the siege of +Mytilene, and marched in full force into Attica, thinking thus to +divert the attention of the Athenians, and prevent them from +interfering with the voyage of Alcidas. They remained a long time in +Attica, waiting for news from their fleet, and employing the time in a +systematic ravage of the whole territory. But time passed, and no +message arrived from Alcidas, who seemed to have disappeared with all +his ships; so that at last, as their expectations were disappointed, +and their supplies exhausted, they broke up their army and returned +home. + +The position of Mytilene was now growing desperate. Nothing more was +heard of the relieving squadron, and the scanty store of provisions was +rapidly failing; for, owing to the betrayal of their design, the +Mytilenaeans had been hurried into revolt before their preparations +were completed, and had had no time to lay up a sufficient stock of +food. Salaethus, therefore, determined to make a sudden sally, and +break out of the town; and the better to effect this purpose, he +furnished the common people, who had hitherto served as light-armed +soldiers, with the full equipment of heavy infantry. But this +proceeding brought on a catastrophe, for the commons no sooner found +themselves in possession of better weapons than they turned upon their +masters, and accused them of secreting supplies of corn for their own +use. "Bring out your corn," they cried, "and divide it equally, or we +will go out and make terms with the Athenians for ourselves." Alarmed +at this threat, which if carried out would leave them exposed as the +sole objects of Athenian vengeance, the nobles sent a message to +Paches, on behalf of the whole city, offering to surrender, on +condition that their case should be tried by the tribunals at Athens, +and stipulating that, while the decision was pending, no violence +should be offered to any of the inhabitants. The proposal was accepted, +and Paches marched his forces into the town. In spite of the +convention, the leaders of the revolt took sanctuary in the temples, +being in dread of summary execution. Paches reassured them, and sent +them in safe custody to Tenedos. + +We must now turn back a little, and follow the movements of Alcidas. +The Spartan admiral, it would seem, had small stomach for the bold +adventure on which he was bound--no less than to rob the Athenians of +one of their most important possessions, and defy the redoubtable +captains of Athens on their own element. After loitering for some time +off the coast of Peloponnesus, he sailed on slowly as far as Delos, and +then, touching at Icarus, he heard that Mytilene was already taken. +Wishing, however, to inform himself with certainty, he pushed on as far +as Erythrae, on the mainland of Asia, which he reached seven days after +the fall of Mytilene. Being now assured that the report was true, he +called a council of war to decide what was to be done. Then a certain +Greek of Elis, named Teutiaplus, made a bold suggestion: "Let us," he +said, "sail straight to Mytilene, and make an attempt to recapture the +town by surprise. Most likely the Athenians, flushed with success, will +be taken unawares, and we shall find the harbour open, and the land +forces dispersed, and if we make a sudden onfall, under cover of +darkness, we shall probably succeed." + +The prudent Alcidas found this proposal little to his taste; nor was he +better pleased by another plan, put forward by the Lesbian envoys who +were returning on board the Peloponnesian fleet, and seconded by a +party of exiles from the cities of Ionia. These men tried to persuade +Alcidas to establish himself in some city of Asia Minor, and raise a +revolt among the allies of Athens in these parts. He had, they said, +every prospect of success, for his arrival was welcomed on all sides. +Let him seize the opportunity of attacking the Athenians in their most +mortal part, first by withdrawing the tribute of Ionia, and secondly by +putting them to the expense of a blockade. + +This daring scheme might have led to something important, if the fleet +had been commanded by Brasidas. But Alcidas was a man of very different +temper, and having arrived too late to save Mytilene, he had now but +one thought,--to return to Peloponnesus as fast as he could, and get +out of the reach of the terrible Athenian triremes. So he set his fleet +in motion, and sailing along the coast in a southerly direction put in +at Ephesus. On the voyage he showed himself to be as cruel as he was +cowardly, by capturing and putting to death the crews of the vessels +which came in his way. These were not a few, for the ships which +crossed his path approached fearlessly, under the impression that his +fleet was from Athens; for no one dreamed that a Peloponnesian squadron +would dare to enter these waters. For this senseless barbarity he was +severely rebuked by a deputation of Samian exiles, now living on the +mainland, who met him at Ephesus. His was a strange method, they +remarked with bitter irony, of helping the Ionians to recover their +liberty--to butcher defenceless men, who had done him no harm, but +looked to him for rescue from their bondage to Athens! If he continued +to behave thus, he would make the name of Sparta detested throughout +Ionia. Dull as he was, Alcidas could not but feel the justice of this +reprimand, and he let the rest of his prisoners go. + +The presence of a Peloponnesian fleet had caused great alarm among the +inhabitants of Ionia, and urgent messages came in daily to Paches at +Mytilene, summoning him to their aid. For even though Alcidas had +declined to take up a permanent station on the coast, as the exiles had +suggested, it was apprehended that he would pillage the sea-side towns, +which were unfortified, on his homeward voyage. At last two state +triremes, the _Paralus_ and _Salaminia,_ which had been sent on public +business from Athens, came into Mytilene with the news that they had +sighted the fleet of Alcidas lying at anchor off Clarus. [Footnote: A +little town, north-west of Ephesus.] Thereupon Paches put to sea at +once, and gave chase. But Alcidas had got wind of his danger, and was +already on the high seas, making all speed for Peloponnesus. Paches +pursued him as far as Patmos, and then turned back. He would gladly +have caught the Peloponnesians in blue water, where he could have sent +all their ships to the bottom; but as it was he thought himself +fortunate to have escaped the necessity of forming a blockade, as he +must have done if he had come up with them near land, and driven them +ashore. As for Alcidas, he fled in wild haste, keeping the open sea, +being resolved not to touch land, if he could help it, until he reached +the shelter of a Peloponnesian harbour. + + +III + +On his return to Lesbos, Paches despatched to Athens the prisoners who +had been sent to Tenedos, among whom was the Spartan Salaethus. When +they arrived the Athenians immediately put Salaethus to death, and then +met in full assembly to decide on the fate of the rest. They had just +been delivered from a fearful danger, and in the natural reaction of +vindictive rage which had now set in they came to the horrible +resolution of putting all the adult male population of Mytilene to the +sword, and selling the women and children as slaves. The Mytilenaeans, +they argued, were without excuse: they were not subjects of Athens, who +might wish to escape from their burdens, but free and privileged +allies. They had treacherously plotted against Athens, when she was +sunk deep in calamity, and brought a Peloponnesian fleet within the +sacred circle of her empire. For a long time past they had evidently +been hatching a vile conspiracy against the very existence of Athens. +Having once come to this decision, the Athenians lost no time, but sent +off a trireme on the same day, with orders to Paches to carry the +decree into effect. + +But after a night of cool reflection they began to repent of their +haste. It was a cruel and monstrous thing, they now thought, to butcher +the population of a whole city, innocent and guilty alike. The +Mytilenaean envoys, who had been sent to Athens on the surrender of the +city, perceived that there was a change in the public temper, and +acting in concert with influential Athenians who were in their +interest, they induced the magistrates to summon a second assembly, and +re-open the debate. + +It is on this occasion that we first catch sight [Footnote: That is, in +the narrative of Thucydides.] of the notorious demagogue Cleon, who for +the next six years will be the most prominent figure in Athenian public +life. This man belongs to a class of politicians who had begun to +exercise great influence on the affairs of Athens after the death of +Pericles. That great statesman had really led the people, checking +their excesses, setting bounds to their ambition, and guiding all the +moods of the stormy democracy. But the demagogues were lowborn +upstarts, who, while seeming to lead the people, really followed it, +and kept their position by pandering to the worst passions of the +multitude. It must, however, be mentioned that the two contemporary +writers from whom we draw our materials for the portrait of Cleon, the +historian Thucydides and the comic poet Aristophanes, were both +violently prejudiced against him. Aristophanes hated him as the +representative of the new democracy, which was an object of abhorrence +to the great comic genius; and Thucydides, a born aristocrat, of strong +oligarchical sympathies, looked with cold scorn and aversion on the +coarse mechanic, [Footnote: Cleon was a tanner by trade.] who presumed +to usurp the place, and ape the style, of a true leader like Pericles. + +In the previous debate Cleon had been the chief promoter of the +murderous sentence passed against Mytilene; and when the question was +brought forward again, he made a vehement harangue, the substance of +which has been preserved by Thucydides. In this speech he appears as a +practised rhetorical bravo, whose one object is to vilify his +opponents, and throw contempt on their arguments, by an unscrupulous +use of the weapons of ridicule, calumny, and invective. He reproaches +the magistrates for convening a second assembly, in a matter which had +already been decided; and this was, in fact, strictly speaking, a +breach of the constitution. He laughs at the Athenians as weak +sentimentalists, always inclined to mercy, even when mercy was +suicidal. Of the subject communities he speaks as if they were mere +slaves and chattels, outside the pale of humanity, to be kept down with +the scourge and the sword. "Let the law prevail," cries this second +Draco. "The law is sacred, and must not be moved. You are so clever +that you will not live, by fixed rule and order, and you deride the +approved principles of political wisdom. Every one of you wants to be a +lawgiver, a statesman, and a reformer, and to manage the public affairs +in his own way. We, who understand your true interests, are bound to +resist this mood of lawless extravagance, and keep you in the right +path, whether you will or no." + +Then preserving the same tone, as of one who is exposing an outrageous +paradox, Cleon proceeds to deal with the actual subject of debate. To +massacre a whole population, was, in his view, a commonplace and +ordinary proceeding; and, in the present instance, the only course +consistent with prudence and common sense. Those who maintained the +contrary were either flighty enthusiasts, whose opinion was not worth +considering, or venal orators, who had sold their country for a bribe. +"Will you suffer yourselves," asked the indignant moralist, "to be +blinded by these corrupt advocates, who amuse you with their eloquence, +and then pocket the price? But it is your own fault: you have no sense +of public responsibility--you are like clever children, playing at a +game of politics. While you sit here, listening to your favourite +speakers, and sharpening your wits against theirs, your empire is going +to ruin. Plain fact is too simple a diet for your pampered appetites; +you must have it hashed and served up with a fine flavouring of fancy +and wit. In short, you have lost all hold upon reality, you live in an +intellectual Utopia, and treat grave matters of public interest as +though they were mere themes in a school of declamation." + +In drawing this remarkable picture of Athenian character, which, though +strangely out of place, really contained a large element of truth, +Cleon overreached himself, and was caught in his own snare. It was he, +and not his opponents, who was diverting attention from facts, and +involving a plain issue in a cloud of wordy rhetoric. He has no +arguments, worthy of the name, but tries to carry his case by playing +on the passions of the people, and blowing up the flames of their +anger, which was beginning to cool. But though the more discerning +among his audience must have seen through his sophistries, to a large +proportion of his hearers his speech no doubt seemed a masterpiece of +eloquence. The Athenians, who, like all people of lively talent, were +fond of laughing at themselves, would be especially amused by his +humorous description of their own besetting weakness, their restless +vanity, and inordinate love of change. + +The chief advocate for mitigating the sentence against Mytilene was a +certain Diodotus, who had taken a leading part in the previous debate, +and now stood up again to oppose the blood-thirsty counsels of Cleon. +The speech of Diodotus is calm, sober, and business-like. After a +dignified remonstrance against the vile insinuations of Cleon, by whom +all who differed from him were decried as fools or knaves, Diodotus +proceeded to argue the question from the point of view of expediency. +He was not there, he said, to plead the cause of the Mytilenaeans, or +to discuss abstract questions of law and justice. What they had to +consider was what course would be most conducive to the interests of +Athens. According to Cleon, those interests would be best served by a +wholesale massacre of the inhabitants of Mytilene, which would strike +terror into the other subjects of Athens, and prevent them from +yielding to the same temptation. But, reasoned Diodotus, experience had +shown that intending criminals were not deterred from wrongdoing by the +increased severity of penal statutes. For a long time lawgivers had +framed their codes in this belief, thinking to drive mankind into the +path of rectitude by appealing to their terrors. Yet crime had not +diminished, but rather increased. And what was true of individuals, was +still more true of cities, where each man hoped to be concealed among +the crowd of transgressors. Criminals, whether they acted singly, or in +large numbers, were only rendered desperate, if all degrees of crime +were confounded in one common penalty of death. + +Such were the enlightened principles of jurisprudence set forth by an +Athenian of the fifth century before Christ--principles which were +first recognised in modern Europe within the memory of men still +living. Then, bringing his theories to a practical test, he pointed out +the gross impolicy of driving a revolted city to desperation, by +excluding all rebels from the hope of pardon. This, he said, would be +the effect on the subjects of Athens, if they passed the same sentence +on the Mytilenaeans, without distinction between the innocent and the +guilty. At present the commons in every city were loyal to Athens; and +though they might be beguiled or coerced into rebellion, they would, if +assured of fair treatment, take the first opportunity of returning to +their allegiance, as the commoners of Mytilene had done. "Do not, +therefore," concluded Diodotus, "destroy this, the strongest guarantee +of your security, but punish the ringleaders of the revolt, after due +deliberation, and leave the rest in peace." + +The arguments of Diodotus were unanswerable, and it might have been +supposed that the Athenians, in their relenting mood, would have +carried the amendment by a large majority. But this was not the case. +The debate was keenly contested, and when the president called for a +show of hands, the more merciful decree was only passed by a few votes. +There was no time to be lost, for the first trireme was already a day +and a night on her voyage, and the fate of Mytilene hung by a hair. A +second trireme was launched with all speed, and the Mytilenaeans +present in Athens promised large rewards to the crew if they arrived in +time. With such inducements the rowers toiled day and night, taking +their meals, which consisted of barley-meal kneaded with wine and oil, +at the oar, and sleeping and rowing by turns. Happily there was no +contrary wind to retard their progress, and the crew of the first +vessel, bearing that savage mandate, made no efforts to shorten their +passage. As it was, they were not an hour too soon: for when they +arrived, Paches had already received the decree, and was preparing to +carry it out. Thus Mytilene escaped destruction by a hair's-breadth, +and Athens was saved from committing a great crime. But even the +modified sentence, which was passed directly afterwards on the motion +of Cleon, condemning more than a thousand Mytilenaean citizens to +death, was sufficiently ferocious, and was remembered against the +tyrant city in the days of her humiliation. + + + + +ESCAPE OF TWO HUNDRED PLATAEANS FALL OF PLATAEA + +I + + +The siege of Plataea had now lasted for more than a year, and the brave +garrison began to be in sore straits, for their supplies were giving +out, and they had no hope of rescue from outside. In this desperate +situation they resolved to make an attempt to break through the +besieging lines, and make their escape to Athens. All were to take part +in the adventure, leaving the Peloponnesians in possession of an empty +town. But when the time came for carrying out this bold design, half of +the garrison drew back, thinking the risk too great. The other half, +numbering about two hundred and twenty, persisted in their purpose, and +forthwith fell to work on their preparations. They began by making +ladders for scaling the enemy's wall; and in order to ascertain the +proper length of the ladders, they counted the courses of bricks in a +part of the wall facing the town, which happened to have been left +unplastered. Many counted the courses together, and by repeating the +process over and over again, and comparing the result, they at last hit +upon the right number. When once this was known, they could easily +calculate the length of their ladders, for the bricks were all of the +same dimensions, and they knew the thickness of a single brick. + +The Peloponnesians had built a double line of wall round Plataea, the +two lines being separated by a distance of sixteen feet. The whole of +the space within this double wall was covered by a flat roof, so as to +present the appearance of a single thick wall, with battlements on +either side; and this covered space, which was divided into rooms by +partition-walls, served as barracks for the besiegers. Along the top +were high towers, with intervals of ten battlements between them, and +built flush with the wall on both sides, so as to leave no passage, +except through the middle of the tower. These served as guard-rooms, +where the soldiers on duty took shelter on wet and stormy nights. For +the distance between the towers was very small, and they could rush out +and man the walls at a moment's notice. + +The Plataeans omitted no precaution which might secure success for +their hazardous enterprise. Every man understood exactly the part which +he had to play, and knew that his own life, and the lives of his +comrades, depended on his courage and coolness. They had chosen their +time well, for it was now mid-winter. So they waited for a night of +storm and rain, when there was no moon, and sallying forth from the +town crossed the inner ditch, and came up to the inner wall, +unperceived by the enemy; for the noise of their footsteps was drowned +by the roaring of the wind, and they were careful to advance in open +order, so as not to be discovered by the clashing of their arms. The +whole troop was lightly equipped, and they walked with their right foot +unsandalled, to give them a firmer hold on the muddy ground. Choosing +one of the spaces between two towers, they adjusted their ladders, and +began to ascend the wall. The first to mount were twelve picked men, +armed with breastplates and daggers, who as soon as they reached the +top, rushed to the towers, six men to each, and having overpowered the +guard, stood ready to defend the passage. These were followed by +others, armed with javelins, whose shields were handed up to them from +below as they ascended, to enable them to climb the more easily. +Several of this party had got up in safety, when one of those who were +following dislodged a tile as he grasped the battlements. The sound of +the falling tile alarmed the guards in the towers, and soon the whole +besieging force was in a commotion. But being bewildered by the +darkness, and deafened by the tempest which was blowing, they knew not +which way to turn, and remained at their quarters, waiting for orders. +And at the same time the Plataeans left in the town made a feigned +attack on the Peloponnesian wall at the opposite side to divert the +attention of the enemy. In the general confusion thus created the +besiegers were at a loss what to do, and three hundred of their men, +who were kept together for prompt service on any pressing occasion, +took up their station before the outer wall, thinking that the +Athenians had come to relieve the town. Fire-signals were now kindled +by the Peloponnesians, to summon help from Thebes; but the Plataeans +were prepared for this also, and they kindled other beacons which had +been raised for the purpose on their wall, so as to obscure the meaning +of the enemy's signals, and delay the march of the Thebans, until their +own comrades had had time to escape. + +The way was thus left clear for the gallant two hundred. Those who led +the party had secured possession of the passages through the towers, +and stood ready to bar the way against all assailants. Others who +followed brought ladders, and planting them at the foot of the towers, +mounted to the top, and kept off the Peloponnesians, when they +attempted to force an entrance, with a shower of javelins. Over the +intervening space now swarmed the main body of the Plataeans; and each +man, as he got over, halted at the edge of the outer ditch, and kept up +a hot fire of javelins and arrows, to cover the retreat of his +comrades, and repel any attack from below. When all the rest had +crossed the wall, those who held the towers began to descend; and this +was the most perilous part of the adventure, especially for those who +came last. All, however, succeeded in joining their comrades by the +ditch, and just at this moment the picked troop of three hundred, who +carried torches, came upon them. But fortune still favoured the +Plataeans; crouching in the deep shadow thrown by the high banks of the +ditch, they plied the enemy, who with their blazing torches afforded an +easy mark, with darts and arrows. And thus, fighting and retreating at +the same time, they made their way gradually across the ditch, but not +without a severe struggle, for the water was swollen by the snow which +had fallen in the night, and covered with rotten ice. Their best friend +was the tempest, which raged with extraordinary violence throughout the +night. + +When their last man had crossed, the Plataeans went off at a run in the +direction of Thebes, being assured that no one would expect them to +take the road which led to their worst enemy. And the prudence of this +course soon appeared, for looking back they saw the Peloponnesians +hurrying with lighted torches along the road to Athens. Then after +marching towards Thebes for about a mile, they doubled back, and taking +to the mountains soon reached the friendly territory of Attica. They +received a kind welcome at Athens, where it was found that out of the +original two hundred and twenty, only eight were missing. Seven of +these had lost heart at the last moment, and returned to Plataea, where +they announced that all the rest of the party had been slain. One only, +an archer, was taken prisoner at the outer ditch. + +On hearing the report of those who had turned back, the Plataeans +applied for a truce to bury their dead; and when their herald came back +from his useless errand, they learned to their delight that this +gallant enterprise, so ably planned, and so boldly executed, had been +crowned with complete success. + + +II + +Well would it have been for the Plataeans who remained in the town if +they had stood by their first purpose, and shared the fortunes of their +brave comrades. Better far to have died, sword in hand, than to meet +the ignoble fate which was now reserved for them. It was in the +following summer, two years after the beginning of the siege, that the +crisis arrived. The Plataeans had come to the end of their provisions, +and were suffering severely from want of food. In this state of +weakness they were suddenly attacked by the besiegers, who might easily +have carried the town by storm. But the Spartan general wished, if +possible, to avoid this, as all places taken by assault would have to +be given back to their original owners on the conclusion of peace, +whereas those which had voluntarily surrendered might be retained. +Accordingly he sent a herald, and summoned the Plataeans to surrender, +promising that they should have a fair trial by Spartan judges; and +they, being actually on the point of starvation, accepted the terms +offered, and laid down their arms. They were kept in custody and +supplied with food until the judges, five in number, arrived from +Sparta. On the arrival of the judges no express charge was made against +them, but they were called up one by one, and asked this simple +question: "Have you done any service to the Spartans or their allies in +the course of the present war?" + +The Plataeans saw the snare which was set for them, and seeking to +evade it they asked permission to plead their cause at length. Leave +being given, the Plataean advocate rose to address the court, and made +a most moving and eloquent appeal, which well deserves to be reproduced +in its main outlines. + +"Men of Sparta," began the orator, "we surrendered our city on the +faith of your promise that the innocent should be spared, and only the +guilty condemned. But we fear that our confidence has been misplaced. +That our doom is already pronounced we have but too plain evidence, in +your sinister question, in your cold, condemning looks, in the gloomy +faces of our enemies, who have poisoned your ears against us. We have +but little hope of turning you from your purpose by anything that we +can say. Nevertheless we have resolved to speak, lest in the hour of +death we should be tormented by the thought that a word might have +saved us, and that word remained unspoken. + +"In the history of the last fifty years no city in Greece has a fairer +record than ours. Though not trained to the sea, we served in the fleet +at Artemisium; we fought under Pausanias in the great battle which +decided the fate of Greece, and took part beyond our strength in all +the trials and perils of our common country. On the gratitude of Sparta +we have a special claim, for in the day of her direst extremity, after +the earthquake, when the Helots were in arms against her, we sent a +third part of our citizens to her aid. Since then we have been found in +the ranks of your enemies; but this was your fault, not ours. Who drove +us into the arms of Athens, when we were hard pressed by the tyranny of +Thebes? We joined the Athenian alliance at your bidding; they defended +us against our enemies, and admitted us to the rights of Athenian +citizenship. We were bound, therefore, by every tie of honour and duty +to stand by them, whether their cause was just or unjust. + +"What, then, is the meaning of your question, whether we have done you +or your allies any service during this war? If you ask as foes, how can +you claim any service? And if you ask as friends, you have done us +bitter wrong, by attacking us unprovoked. + +"The Thebans seized our city in time of peace, and at a holy season, +and we were justified by the laws of nature and of nations in wreaking +vengeance upon them. It may seem to your interest to pay court to them +now; but think how different was our conduct from theirs when the +Persian was at our doors, threatening slavery to us all. We were among +the few who obeyed the call of honour, while Thebes and all the other +towns of Boeotia took sides with the Barbarian. + +"Hitherto Sparta has been called the glass of honour in Greece. What, +then, will men say, if Spartan judges are guilty of blotting Plataea +out of the map of Greece, and of the judicial murder of her citizens? +Strange, indeed, and terrible has been the fate of our city, both now +and in the past. Our fathers were brought to the brink of ruin by their +valour and devotion; we, their sons, have just passed through all the +horrors of a siege, and now we are forced to plead for our lives. +Outcasts from our fatherland, spurned and rejected of all, we are +thrown upon your mercy; and much we fear that your hearts are hardened +against us. + +"We adjure you, then, by the memory of those times, and of the part +which we took in the salvation of Greece, not to betray us to our worst +enemies, the Thebans. Do not win their gratitude by murder, but ours by +mercy. Forget the cold calculations of policy; think of the everlasting +infamy of such a deed. Your fathers are buried in our land, and we have +been constant in paying all honour and service to their tombs. Will ye +give up the land in which they rest to the men [Footnote: The Thebans, +who fought on the side of the Persians at Plataea.] who are guilty of +their blood? Will ye enslave those fields which saw the triumph of +Greek liberty, and dishonour the gods by whose favour the victory was +won? By your own renown, by the conscience of Greece, by the memory of +your sires, we adjure you, men of Lacedaemon, not to do this deed. + +"But it is time to make an end. If we have spoken in vain, and you are +resolved on our death, we have still one request. Send us back into our +city, and keep us there immured until we have perished of hunger. Any +fate is better than falling into the hands of the Thebans, the enemies +of Plataea, and of all Greece." + +The orator had indeed spoken in vain, or if his words had made any +impression on the minds of the judges, it was speedily obliterated by a +fierce and bitter tirade which was delivered by a Theban speaker in +reply. As soon as he had finished his harangue, the prisoners were +called up again in turn, and questioned as before. When each of them +had answered, in the only manner possible, he was led away and put to +death; and not one of them was spared. The number of those slain was +two hundred and twenty-five, and of these twenty-five were Athenians. +The city was then levelled to the ground, and the territory left at the +disposal of the Thebans. Thus was this brave little community +sacrificed to the rancour of Thebes, and the selfish policy of Sparta. + + + + +CAPTURE OF A HUNDRED AND TWENTY SPARTANS AT SPHACTERIA + +I + + +The result of six years of desultory fighting had fully justified the +forebodings of Archidamus, and the sanguine anticipations of Pericles. +In spite of the terrible ravages of the plague, Athens had easily held +her own against the whole power of the Peloponnesian league. As yet, +however, no decisive advantage had been gained on either side. But in +the seventh year of the war an event occurred which would have enabled +the Athenians, but for their own folly, to conclude an honourable peace. + +The ablest of the Athenian generals at this time was Demosthenes, +[Footnote: To be carefully distinguished from the great orator, born +about forty years after the date reached in this chapter (425 B.C.).] +who in the previous year had greatly distinguished himself by a +brilliant campaign in Aetolia. In the following summer he obtained +permission to take passage on board a fleet which was bound on a voyage +to Corcyra and Sicily. He sailed in a private capacity, but he was +authorized to use the ships against the coasts of Peloponnesus, if he +saw any opening which might be utilized in the interests of Athens. + +On a rocky promontory, at the northern end of the spacious bay of +Navarino, lies the little town of Pylos, generally believed to have +been the home of the Homeric Nestor. Since the conquest of Messenia by +the Spartans, the town had remained in ruins, and the country for some +distance round was a desert. The natural advantages of the adjacent +coast had already caught the keen eye of Demosthenes, and he had formed +the plan of raising a fortified outpost on the spot, to be held by a +picked troop of the banished Messenians, and thus planting a thorn in +the side of Sparta. + +Fortune favoured his design. For on rounding the western headland of +Peloponnesus, the fleet encountered a storm, and was compelled to seek +shelter at Pylos. Demosthenes now urged the admirals to employ their +enforced leisure in fortifying the place. But they repulsed him rudely, +and treated his suggestion with contempt. He next tried to interest the +inferior officers in his project, but meeting with no better success, +he began to fear that this grand opportunity would be thrown away. The +discussion, however, had reached the ears of the soldiers, and having +nothing else to do, they agreed among themselves to pass the time by +building a fort. Choosing a place of great natural strength, where the +rocky coast descends abruptly to the open sea, they went to work with a +will. As they had no tools for stone-cutting, they picked out the +stones, and fitted them together according to their shape; and for want +of hods they carried the mortar, wherever it was required, on their +backs, stooping forward and clasping their hands together behind them, +to prevent it from slipping off. They carried out their self-imposed +task with great energy, and after six days of vigorous labour the fort +was completed, for the natural defences of the site were so strong that +in most places there was no need of a wall. As the weather was now +favourable, the fleet proceeded on its voyage, leaving Demosthenes with +five ships to garrison the fort. + +The news of the occupation of Pylos soon reached the Spartans, but at +first they paid little heed, thinking that they could expel the +audacious intruders whenever they chose to exert themselves. Moreover, +they were just then engaged in keeping one of those religious festivals +of which the Spartan calendar was so full, and a good part of their +army was absent in Attica. Agis, however, the Spartan king, and those +under him who were commanding in Attica, took a wiser view of the +situation, and cutting short their operations they led their forces +with all speed back to Sparta. They were the more inclined to do this +as the season was yet early, the weather inclement, and, the corn being +still green, they wanted means to nourish their troops. Thus the +inventive genius of Demosthenes had already proved of signal service to +his country; for this was the shortest of all the Peloponnesian +invasions, lasting only fifteen days. + +On the return of their troops from Attica the Spartans sent a small +force to commence the attack on Pylos, and ordered the main body of +their army to follow. There was some discontent among those who had +already been serving abroad at this second levy, and the full muster of +the troops was consequently delayed. In the meantime a message was +despatched to a Peloponnesian fleet then sailing to Corcyra, which at +this time was in a state of revolution, with orders to return at once, +and assist in the campaign against Pylos. Demosthenes was now in +imminent danger, being threatened with an immediate assault by sea and +land, which he had no adequate means of repelling. Having sent off two +of his ships to recall the Athenian squadron from its voyage to +Corcyra, he prepared to defend himself, until the arrival of succour, +as best he could. + +The Peloponnesian fleet was the first to arrive, and the Spartans, who +were now present in full force with their allies, determined to make +the most of their time. They hoped, by a simultaneous onslaught of +their army and fleet, to carry the fort before the Athenian ships had +time to return. But in case they should fail in this, they intended to +cripple the movements of the relieving squadron, by blocking the +entrances to the bay. For the long, narrow island of Sphacteria forms a +natural break water, converting the harbour of Navarino into a +land-locked basin, with two narrow passages at the northern and +southern end. [Footnote: The description of Thucydides does not +correspond to the picture of the harbour given in our modern maps. But +in the course of twenty centuries great changes may well have +occurred.] These inlets the Spartans proposed to close, by anchoring +triremes close together, with their prows turned seawards, which they +could easily have done, for at the southern entrance there was only +room for eight or nine vessels to sail abreast, and at the northern +entrance only room for two. This precaution, however, was never carried +out; and the Spartans, as if blinded by fate, adopted another measure, +which led to fatal consequences for themselves. Wishing to keep command +of every spot of land in the neighbourhood of Pylos, they landed a body +of their own men, numbering four hundred and twenty, with the usual +proportion of Helots, on the island, and the same time posted troops at +every assailable point on the opposite coast. + +Thinking now that the little garrison at Pylos, surrounded on all sides +by enemies, would fall an easy prey, they sent orders to the fleet to +get under way, and prepared to attack the fort on the land side. +Meanwhile Demosthenes had not been idle: having drawn his three +remaining ships under the shelter of the fort, and protected them in +front by a stockade, he armed the crews with such weapons as he had, +including a number of wicker-shields, taken from a thirty-oared +Messenian galley which had recently come to his assistance with a force +of forty hoplites. Then, having posted the greater part of his troops +for the defence of his position against the Peloponnesian army, he +himself descended with a picked body of sixty hoplites, and took up his +station on the rocky shore. For on this side the defences were weakest, +as the Athenians, in building the fort, had never anticipated an attack +from the sea. + +Demosthenes had just time to address a few words of caution and +encouragement to his men, assuring them of victory, if they would only +stand fast, when the Peloponnesian fleet was seen bearing down upon +them; and at the same moment a loud shout from the fort announced that +the garrison was already engaged behind them. The assault was fiercest +at the point where Demosthenes and his men were stationed, and the +Peloponnesians made desperate efforts to effect a landing. But they +were embarrassed by the difficult and rocky coast, which only allowed a +few ships to approach at a time. As fast as one division was beaten +back, another came on, with the white foam spouting round the prows, +and the waters roaring and eddying to the strokes of the gigantic oars, +while the cliffs resounded with the shouts of their comrades in the +ships behind, cheering them on to the attack. + +Conspicuous among those who fought on the ships was seen the gallant +figure of Brasidas, who exerted himself, by voice and by example, to +infuse his own heroic spirit into the rest of the crews and their +officers. His ringing tones were heard above the tumult, urging on the +captains and steersmen, when they hung back in fear lest their ships +should be shattered on the rocks. "Spare not these timbers," he cried, +"but let every hull among them go to wreck, rather than suffer the +enemy to violate the soil of Lacedaemon. Where is your loyalty to +Sparta? Have you forgotten the debt which you owe to her? Have at them, +I say, and hurl this fort with its defenders into the sea." Saying this +he ordered the master of his own trireme to beach the vessel, and stood +ready on the gangway, that he might be the first to leap on shore. But +as he attempted to land he was hurled back by the Athenians, and fell +fainting, covered with wounds, on the deck. His shield slipped off his +arm, and dropped into the sea, and having been washed ashore, was +picked up by the Athenians, who used it to adorn the trophy which they +afterwards erected. + +After the fall of Brasidas the Peloponnesians still continued their +efforts to effect a landing, but they were baffled by the obstinate +defence of the Athenians, and the rugged and inhospitable coast. It was +a strange reversal of affairs which had been brought about by the +fortune of war. On one side were the Spartans, trained to military +service on land, but now compelled to serve on board a fleet, in order +to obtain a footing on their own territory, and on the other side the +Athenians, whose natural element was the sea, drawn up on land to repel +a naval attack. + +Next day the assault was repeated, but again without success. The +Spartans sent for a supply of timber, to construct siege engines, +intending to try and batter down the Athenian wall where it overlooked +the harbour, as at this point there was a better landing-place for the +ships. In this task, however, they were interrupted by the sudden +appearance of the Athenian fleet, now numbering fifty vessels, having +been reinforced by four Chian ships, and six from Naupactus. Finding +the harbour occupied by the Peloponnesians, and the whole coast lined +with troops, they retired for the night to the little island of Prote. +Next day they weighed anchor early, and dividing their fleet, sailed +into the harbour of Navarino by both entrances at once. Though taken by +surprise, the Peloponnesians manned their ships, and as fast as they +were ready put out to meet them; but before their array was complete +they were attacked by the Athenians, who disabled many of their +vessels, captured five, and drove the rest ashore. So complete was the +rout that the Athenians pursued the flying ships into the very interior +of the harbour, and rammed some of them after they had been brought to +land. Others they charged while the crews were still getting on board, +and began to tow off the disabled hulls. But in the heat of victory the +Athenians had pushed their advantage somewhat too far, and they paid +for their audacity by the loss of a considerable number of their men. +For the Lacedaemonians, in wild dismay at the defeat of their ships, by +which their comrades on the island would be cut off from all help, made +desperate exertions to save their fleet, wading into the water in their +heavy armour, and hauling back the vessels as they were being towed +off. In the confined space manoeuvring was impossible, and the +sea-fight had now become a furious hand to hand encounter, as between +two armies on land. After a prolonged struggle, in which both sides +suffered severely, the Spartans succeeded in saving their ships, except +those which had been taken at first, and the Athenians then retired to +their station. + +The result of this battle was to give the Athenians complete command of +the sea, for the Peloponnesian fleet was in no condition to renew the +engagement. From their camp on the mainland the Spartans could see the +Athenian triremes rowing round and round the island, and keeping +vigilant watch, to prevent those who were confined there from escaping. +News of the disaster was sent without delay to Sparta, and the +magistrates, recognising the gravity of the crisis, proceeded at once +to Pylos, wishing to inform themselves on the spot, and then decide +what was best to be done. Finding on their arrival that there was no +prospect of rescuing their men on the island, they applied to the +Athenian commanders for a truce, to enable them to send envoys to +Athens, and arrange some terms for the recovery of the imprisoned +Spartans. The Athenians consented, and a truce was made on the +following conditions: The Spartans were to surrender all their fleet, +including any ships of war on the coast of Laconia, to the Athenians, +and to refrain from any attack on the fort, until the return of the +envoys. The Athenians, on their part, agreed to allow provisions to be +sent to the Spartans on the island, all such provision being conveyed +thither under their own inspection, and none by stealth. They further +agreed to carry the envoys to Athens in one of their own triremes, and +to suspend all hostilities until the expiration of the truce. When the +envoys returned, the Peloponnesian ships were to be given back. + +It was a proud moment for Athens when the Spartan envoys appeared +before the assembly, bearing the humble petition from her great enemy. +The terms offered by the spokesman of the embassy in the name of Sparta +were simple and concise, peace and friendship with Sparta, in return +for the men shut up on the island. The rest of his speech was made up +of grave moral reflections, such as are generally paraded by those on +the losing side. Let the Athenians beware of abusing their advantage; +though they had the upper hand to-day, they might be brought to their +knees to-morrow. War was a game of hazard, in which the luck was always +changing. Now they had an opportunity of concluding an honourable +peace, and establishing a lasting claim to the gratitude of Sparta. And +if the two leading states of Greece were once united, they could +dictate what terms they pleased to the rest. + +The notorious selfishness of Spartan policy is glaringly manifested in +this speech. In their anxiety to recover their own citizens, the +Spartans completely ignored the interests of their allies, and held out +the right hand of fellowship to the people whom they had lately branded +as the oppressors and spoilers of Greece. The Athenians might well +distrust the professions of these perfidious statesmen, who repudiated +their sworn obligations with such cynical levity. The Spartans in +Sphacteria were already, they thought, prisoners of Athens, to be dealt +with as they pleased; and were they to resign this costly prize, in +return for a vague promise of friendship from Sparta? Their answer was +framed on the advice of Cleon: they could not, they said, enter into +any discussion, until the men on the island had surrendered themselves, +and been brought to Athens. Then, if the Spartans agreed to restore to +the Athenians Nisaea and Pegae, [Footnote: The harbour-towns of +Megara.] and some other places which they had held before the Thirty +Years' Truce, peace might be made, and the prisoners restored. The +Spartan envoys were somewhat startled by these demands, which involved +a gross breach of faith to their own allies; so they affected to ignore +the proposal, and suggested a private conference between themselves and +select Athenian commissioners. It is not impossible that the terms +offered, infamous as they were to Sparta, might have been accepted; but +the whole negotiation was frustrated by the violence of Cleon, who, on +hearing the suggestion of the envoys, overwhelmed them with abuse, +accusing them of double-dealing and bad faith. The envoys were +confounded by this specimen of Athenian manners, and seeing that they +were wasting their time to no purpose, they turned their backs on the +city of free speech. + +On their return to Pylos the truce expired, and the Spartans demanded +back their ships, but the Athenians refused to restore them, on the +ground of some alleged violation of the conditions laid down. Thereupon +hostilities were resumed with vigour on both sides. The Spartans made +repeated attacks on the fort, and watched for an opportunity of +bringing off their men from the island: and the Athenians kept a +vigilant guard to prevent their escape. During the day two triremes +sailed continually round Sphacteria in opposite directions, and at +night their whole fleet, now raised to the number of seventy by the +arrival of twenty fresh ships, was moored about the island, except on +the exposed side in windy weather. + +Before long the Athenians began to feel the difficulties of their +position. They were but scantily supplied with food, and had much +trouble in obtaining water. The only spring to which they had access, +and even that by no means abundant, was in the citadel of Pylos, and +most of them were reduced to scraping the shingle, and thus obtaining a +meagre supply of brackish water. On land their quarters were straitened +and uncomfortable, and they had no proper anchorage for their ships, so +that the crews had to go ashore in turns to get their meals. They were +greatly disappointed to find their task thus prolonged, for they had +supposed that a few days' siege would suffice to starve the imprisoned +Spartans into a surrender, as the island was barren and ill-furnished +with water. But day followed day, and still they waited in vain for any +sign of yielding. For the Spartan magistrates had offered large rewards +to anyone who succeeded in conveying wine, meal, or other portable +provisions, to the island, and many were tempted to run the risk, +especially among the Helots, who were offered their liberty in return +for this service. They put out from various points of the mainland, and +landed under cover of night on the seaward side of the island, choosing +their time when the wind was blowing strong from the sea, which made it +impossible for the Athenian triremes to keep their exposed anchorage. +The Spartan hoplites stood ready on the rocks to help them; and so long +as they could get ashore with their freight, they cared nothing what +happened to their boats, for if they were wrecked, the Spartans had +pledged themselves for the full value. Others, still bolder, swam, +across the harbour, dragging after them leather bags filled with a +mixture of poppy-seed or linseed and honey, [Footnote: Poppy-seed was +valued in ancient medicine as an antidote against hunger, and linseed +against thirst.] and attached to a cord. These were soon detected; but +the other source of supply remained open, and it seemed likely that the +siege would be protracted till winter, when it would have to be given +up. + +The Athenians at home were much concerned when they were informed of +this state of affairs, and they began to regret that they had not +accepted the terms offered by Sparta. They were suspicious and uneasy, +and Cleon, on whose advice they had acted, saw himself in danger of +falling a victim to their resentment. But his boundless self-confidence +served him well in this crisis. At first he affected to disbelieve the +report sent from Pylos, and proposed to send commissioners to inquire +into the true state of the case. His motion was carried, and he himself +was nominated as one of the commissioners. Cleon was now placed in an +awkward position: either he would have to confirm the statement of the +messengers from Pylos, and thus make himself ridiculous, or, if he +contradicted them, he would be convicted of falsehood. So he turned +round again, and advised the Athenians, if they believed the report, to +waste no more time, but to order an immediate attack on the island. "If +I were general," [Footnote: The chief civil and military magistrate at +Athens, corresponding to the Roman consul.] he said, with a meaning +glance at Nicias, who was then holding that office, "it would not be +long before these Spartans were brought in chains to Athens. The +Athenians want a _man_ to lead them." + +This Nicias, on whom the demagogue had so scornfully reflected, was a +great noble, and the chief political opponent of Cleon. When he heard +the boastful words of his rival, it struck Nicias that there was a fine +opportunity of bringing him to ruin, by thrusting upon him a command +for which he was totally unqualified. Encouraged by the shouts of the +multitude, who were crying to Cleon, "Why don't you go and do it?" he +rose from his place, and proposed that the tanner should be sent in +charge of an expedition to take the men at Sphacteria. At first Cleon +agreed to go, thinking that Nicias was jesting; but when he saw that +the proposal was made seriously, he began to draw back. "It is your +business, not mine," he said to Nicias. "I am not general--you are; why +should I do your work for you?" "Never mind the title," answered +Nicias; "I resign my office on this occasion to you." The dispute grew +hotter and hotter, much to the amusement of the Athenians, who fell +readily into the humour of the situation, and loudly applauded the +proposal of Nicias. The more Cleon objected, the more they shouted that +he should go. Finding that he must make good his words, Cleon at last +plucked up a spirit, and accepted the honour thus contemptuously forced +upon him. "I am not afraid of the Spartans," he declared valiantly. +"Give me the contingent of soldiers from Lemnos and Imbros, the +Thracian peltasts, [Footnote: Light-armed soldiers.] and four hundred +archers, and without taking a single Athenian from the city, within +three weeks I will either bring those Spartans as prisoners to Athens, +or kill them where they are." + +There was some laughter among the Athenians at Cleon's vain-glorious +promise; but the more sober-minded were not displeased at his +appointment, expecting that, if he failed, they would be rid of a +nuisance; while, if he succeeded, they would gain an immense advantage +over their enemies. Such, at least, is the comment of the historian; +but he makes no remark on the incredible levity of the Athenians, to +whom the gravest interests of state were matter for mirth and pastime; +and he has not a word of censure for Nicias and his "sober-minded" +partisans, who, in their eagerness to ruin a political opponent, showed +a criminal disregard for the welfare of Athens. + + +II + +When Cleon arrived at Pylos with his forces, he found Demosthenes +engaged in active preparations for an attack on the island. For his +troops were growing impatient, and clamouring to be led into action, +and a happy accident had recently occurred, which greatly increased the +prospect of success. Till quite lately Sphacteria had been covered with +a dense growth of underwood, and Demosthenes knew by his experience in +Aetolia that an attacking force would be at a great disadvantage in +marching against an enemy who fought under cover, and knew every inch +of the ground. But a party of Athenian soldiers, who had landed on the +island to cook their breakfast, accidentally set fire to the brushwood, +and a wind springing up, the flames were carried over the greater part +of the island, leaving it a blackened waste. Demosthenes now discovered +that the besieged Spartans were more numerous than he had supposed, +having hitherto believed that their number had been purposely +exaggerated, to give an excuse for sending more food; and the main +obstacle being now removed, he issued the welcome order to make ready +for an immediate assault. + +When he received his commission, Cleon had prudently stipulated that +Demosthenes should be associated with him in the command. The two +ill-assorted colleagues--the turbulent demagogue, and the veteran +general--now took counsel together, and after a last fruitless attempt +at negotiation, they set sail at night with a force of eight hundred +hoplites, and disembarking just before dawn on both sides of the island +at once, led their men at a run against the first guard-station of the +Spartans. They found the enemy posted in three divisions: the first, +consisting of thirty hoplites, formed an advanced guard; some distance +behind these, where the ground forms a shallow basin, containing the +only spring in the island, was stationed the main body, commanded by +Epitadas; and at the extreme north, opposite Pylos, there was a small +reserve force, left to guard a sort of natural citadel, which would +serve as a last retreat, if Epitadas and his men were overpowered. + +The thirty Spartans in the outpost were taken by surprise, and cut down +to a man; for though they had seen the Athenian ships putting out, they +had no suspicion of what was intended, supposing that they were merely +proceeding to their anchorage for the night. At daybreak the rest of +the fleet put in at the island, bringing the whole of the forces which +Demosthenes had at his disposal, except a few, who were left to +garrison the fort at Pylos. They were a motley host, armed for the most +part with slings, javelins, and bows, but admirably suited for the work +which was to be done. Swarming over the island by hundreds and by +thousands they took up their stations on every piece of rising ground, +threatening the enemy in front, in the rear, on the right flank, and on +the left. The Spartans, in their heavy armour, were helpless against +these agile foes, who eluded every attempt to come to close quarters, +and kept up a continual shower of arrows, javelins, and stones. Such +had been the orders of Demosthenes, which were now carried into effect. + +When the Spartans under Epitadas saw their advanced guard cut up, and +the Athenians marching against them, they drew up in order, and tried +to come within spear-thrust of the enemy; but they were unable to +effect their purpose, for the Athenian hoplites kept their ground, and +at the same moment they themselves were assailed on both flanks and in +the rear by a cloud of light infantry. It was a kind of warfare to +which the Spartans were totally unaccustomed: if they attempted to +advance, their nimble assailants drew back, and pursuit was impossible +on the rocky and broken ground. For a time the light-armed troops +approached them with caution, being somewhat cowed in spirit when +brought face to face with the renowned warriors of Sparta, hitherto +supposed to be invincible. But seeing how the Spartans were +embarrassed, they took courage, and came on in a roaring multitude, +surrounding them on all sides, and leaving them not a moment to take +breath. The air was darkened by a tempest of missiles; and a fine dust, +caused by the ashes of the late fire, rose in choking clouds from the +trampling of many feet. Exhausted by their violent exertions, stunned +by the uproar, and blinded by the dust, the Spartans began to give +ground, and closing their ranks fell back on the stronghold where their +reserve was stationed. They were hotly pursued, and some few were cut +off in the retreat, but the greater part succeeded in reaching the +fort, where they turned at bay, and prepared to defend themselves to +the last. Until a late hour in the day the Athenians made vain attempts +to dislodge them from their position, which was only assailable in +front. At last, when both sides were sorely distressed by the long +conflict under a burning sun, an officer who was in command of the +Messenian troops came to the generals, and offered, if they would place +a few light-armed soldiers at his disposal, to lead them up the +precipitous cliffs at the northern end of Sphacteria, and take the +Spartans in the rear. Permission being readily granted, he chose his +men, and taking care that his movements were not perceived by the +enemy, made his way with them along the perilous and slippery face of +the cliffs to the rear of the beleaguered garrison, scaled the steep +ascent, and suddenly appearing on the heights, struck terror into the +Spartans, and gave fresh courage to their assailants. + +The situation of the Spartans was now similar to that of their +ancestors when they made their last stand at Thermopylae. They were +attacked in front and rear, and hemmed in on both sides by the natural +difficulties of the place. In their weak and exhausted condition it +would have been an easy task to make an end of them. But the great +object of Cleon and Demosthenes was to take them alive. They therefore +suspended the attack, and sent a herald, and summoned them to lay down +their arms. When they heard the proclamation, most of them lowered +their shields, and waved their hands in the air, to show that they had +dropped their weapons. The Athenian generals then entered into a parley +with Styphon the third in command of the Spartans; for Epitadas, the +chief officer, was slain, and Hippagretus, the second, had been left +for dead on the field. Styphon requested permission to communicate with +the Spartan authorities on the mainland, and ask what he and his +comrades were to do; and the Athenian commanders sent one of their own +men to carry the message. Having heard his report, the Spartan +magistrates sent a herald to see how matters stood; and after more than +one messenger had passed to and fro between their camp and the island, +they sent their final instructions, conveyed in these words "The +Spartans bid you to decide for yourselves, but to do nothing +dishonourable." + +Fifty years before, these wounded and weary men would have needed no +instructions to tell them their duty. According to the ancient +tradition of Sparta they had but one course open to them--to die at +their posts. But the lapse of time had softened the stern fibre of the +Spartan character; and the broken remnant now brought to bay in +Sphacteria interpreted the ambiguous mandate in their own favour, and +surrendered themselves and their arms. + +The number of the prisoners was two hundred and ninety-two, of whom +about a hundred and twenty were Spartans of pure descent, several of +them belonging to the highest families in Sparta. They were distributed +among the captains of the fleet for transportation to Athens. Dating +from the first sea-fight, the siege had lasted altogether seventy-two +days; and during seven weeks of this period they had subsisted on the +casual supplies smuggled over by the blockade-runners from the +mainland. Great was the joy at Athens when that costly freight was +brought safely into the harbour of Peiraeus; and Cleon, whose bustling +energy had really helped to precipitate a crisis, was the hero of the +hour. He had promised to settle the business, one way or the other, +within twenty days, and this promise, which had been laughed at as a +piece of crazy vanity, was fulfilled to the letter. The whole merit of +the performance, however, belonged to Demosthenes, who had planned the +attack on Sphacteria with admirable sagacity, and led the operations +from first to last. + +The surrender of a picked troop of Spartan warriors caused a revolution +of feeling throughout Greece. Hitherto it had been assumed as a matter +of course that no Spartan soldier, in any circumstances, would yield to +an enemy; but now more than a hundred Spartans had preferred life to +honour. It was generally believed that the survivors were inferior in +valour to those who had fallen; and some time afterwards one of the +captives was asked this insulting question by one of the Athenian +allies: "Your _brave_ comrades were buried on the field, I suppose?" +The Spartan's answer was couched in a riddle: "It would be a mighty +clever spindle, [Footnote: Arrow.] which singled out the brave." His +meaning was that the stones and arrows had dealt out death among his +comrades without distinction. + + + + +CAMPAIGNS OF BRASIDAS IN THRACE + +I + + +One advantage which accrued to the Athenians from the possession of the +Spartan captives was the immunity from invasion. For if the Spartans +prepared to make any movement against Attica, they could bring out +their prisoners, and threaten to put them to death. And in other +directions the future looked brighter than it had done for many years. +They held Pylos, which was garrisoned by Messenian troops, and served +as an open door, through which they could carry havoc over the whole +western district of Laconia; and the occupation of Cythera, which was +effected in the following year, gave them increased facility for +harassing the commerce of Sparta, and making descents on her eastern +coast. + +Elated by these successes, the Athenians determined on a bolder flight, +and forgetting the lessons of Pericles, thought of recovering the +possessions which they had held on the mainland thirty years before. +With this intention they planned an attack, which was to be carried out +from three different points at once, on Boeotia. But the whole scheme +proved a failure, and led to a severe defeat at Delium; and about the +same time news arrived from Thrace which showed that the tide was +turning, and should have warned them, if they were wise, to set bounds +to their restless ambition. + +Brasidas had long since recovered from the wounds received at Pylos. +The deep humiliation of Sparta, now reduced to become a suppliant for +peace, filled him with shame and sorrow, and in the eighth year of the +war he formed the bold design of organizing a campaign against the +coast-towns of Thrace, which were among the most important of the +Athenian tributaries. Having obtained the necessary commission from +Sparta, he collected a force of seventeen hundred heavy-armed infantry, +and in the summer following the disaster at Sphacteria, turned his +steps northward, and arrived without mishap at the borders of Thessaly. +The Thessalians generally were then on friendly terms with Athens, and, +apart from this, the passage of so large a force through their +territory caused suspicion and alarm among the inhabitants. But +Brasidas was a man of rare gifts: endowed with more than a full share +of the typical Spartan virtues, he combined with these a graciousness +of manner, and a winning eloquence, which made him an equal of the most +accomplished Athenian. He had, moreover, friends among the powerful +nobles of Thessaly, who undertook to guide him in safety to the +Macedonian frontier. On reaching the river Enipeus, he found his +passage barred by a Thessalian force, who seemed resolved to dispute +his progress. His courteous demeanour, and fair words, disarmed their +hostility, and he was allowed to pass. Fearing, however, a general +rising of the natives against him, and urged to despatch by his guides, +he pushed on by forced marches, and entering the passes of Olympus, +descended into the southern plain of Macedonia, whose king Perdiccas, a +shifty and treacherous barbarian, though nominally in alliance with +Athens, favoured the enterprise of Brasidas. + +Perdiccas had undertaken to provide pay for half the Spartan force, in +return for help to be rendered against a rebel chieftain with whom he +was at war. But Brasidas, whose main object was to raise a revolt among +the Athenian allies, insisted on entering into negotiations with the +rebel, and having patched up a truce, conducted his troops to the +neighbourhood of Acanthus, a town on the eastern side of the Chalcidian +peninsula, where there was a party discontented with the Athenian rule. +In all the cities subject to Athens the general mass of the people were +found loyal towards her, or, at the worst, disinclined for any change; +and Acanthus was no exception. When Brasidas with his little army +appeared before the walls the people at first refused him admission. +But it was just before the vintage, and their grapes were hanging in +ripe clusters, exposed to the hand of the spoiler; and so, to save +their vineyards from ravage, they were at last induced to give him a +hearing. + +It was very important for Brasidas to secure the voluntary adherence of +the Acanthians, whose action would have a powerful effect in +determining the attitude of the other Chalcidians towards them. +Accordingly he exerted all his skill as an orator, which was +considerable, to allay their suspicions, and rouse their enthusiasm for +the cause which he represented. That cause, he said, was the liberation +of Greece from the tyranny of Athens. Let none of them suppose that he +had come in the interests of a faction, to enslave the many to the few, +or the few to the many. He had bound the authorities of Sparta by the +most solemn oaths to respect the constitution of any state which +enlisted under their banner. Freedom for Greeks!--that was the +watchword which should find a response in every patriotic heart. After +this fine burst of sentiment, Brasidas descended to a much lower level, +and plainly intimated that if the Acanthians would not join him from +these high motives, he would employ coercion, and proceed to ravage +their estates, This last argument was decisive, and in order to save +their valuable harvest from destruction, they agreed to admit Brasidas +and his army into the town. Shortly afterwards their example was +followed by Stagirus, one day to become famous as the birthplace of +Aristotle. + +It is melancholy to find a man of really pure and generous character +like Brasidas lending himself to be the mouthpiece of Spartan +hypocrisy. To him the sounding phrases and lofty professions which he +uttered may have meant something: but in their essence they were mere +hollow cant, intended to divert attention from the true issue, and drag +a peaceful and prosperous community into the private quarrels of +Sparta. So degraded was now the tone of politics in Greece, even among +her best and ablest men. + + +II + +On the banks of the Strymon, just where the river sweeps round in a +sharp curve, west and east, the Athenians had founded, six years before +the outbreak of the war, the colony of Amphipolis. It was a site which +had long been coveted by the leaders of Greek colonial enterprise, +being the key to the richest district in Thrace, with unrivalled +facilities for commerce, and close to the gold-mines of Mount Pangeus. +A previous attempt which was made by the Athenians to occupy the +position had ended in ruinous disaster; but nearly thirty years later a +second body of emigrants, led by Hagnon from Athens, met with much +better success; Amphipolis now grew and prospered, and at the time +which we have reached was the most important city in the Athenian +empire. + +The Amphipolitans had a bitter and jealous enemy in the neighbouring +town of Argilus, situated a few miles to the west, on the road to +Amphipolis; and ever since the appearance of Brasidas in Thrace the +Argilians had been plotting against the tranquillity of their hated +rival. Accordingly, when Brasidas, who had planned a surprise on +Amphipolis, appeared before their gates, they welcomed him eagerly, and +conducted him and his army to the bridge over the Strymon, which +crossed the river just outside the southern end of the city wall. The +defenders of the bridge, few in number, and taken unawares, were +instantly cut to pieces; for Brasidas came upon them before daybreak, +and the weather, which was wintry and inclement, favoured his design. + +The farms and country-houses of the Amphipolitans, which occupied an +extensive district on the eastern side of the city, now lay at the +mercy of Brasidas, and after choosing a position for his camp, he began +to overrun the country. For those who were responsible for the safety +of Amphipolis had taken no precautions, though they knew that this +daring and active enemy had been carrying on a campaign for many weeks +in the adjacent parts of Thrace. Consequently, a good number of the +citizens, who were attending to the business of their estates, fell +into his hands, and it is not improbable that, if he had made a sudden +assault on the city, he would have captured it on the same day. + +There was a disaffected party in Amphipolis, who had planned the +betrayal of the place, acting in concert with Argilus, through the +agency of certain Argilian citizens residing in the town. The traitors +now proposed that Brasidas and his army should be admitted, but they +were overruled by the general voice of the people, and it was agreed +that the Athenian Eucles, governor of Amphipolis, should send a message +for help to another Athenian officer, who was commissioned to watch the +interests of Athens in Thrace. That officer was Thucydides, the +historian, from whose work the materials for the present narrative are +taken. Thucydides was descended on his mother's side from the royal +family of Thrace, [Footnote: Such, at least, is the highly probable +conjecture of Classen.] and through this connexion he was the owner of +valuable working rights in the gold-mines of Mount Pangaeus, and a man +of great power and, influence in these districts. When the message +arrived from Amphipolis, he was engaged in some business at Thasos, and +postponing all other concerns he collected a small squadron of seven +ships and hastened to the rescue with all speed. But Brasidas, who had +received intelligence of his movements, was too quick for him. He had +valuable hostages in the persons of those Amphipolitans who had been +taken outside the walls. The population of Amphipolis consisted almost +entirely of men of mixed or foreign descent, who were anxious about +their properties, and in fear for their friends, while the few Athenian +residents were alarmed for their own safety, having little hope of +prompt succour. Taking advantage of this state of public feeling, the +politic Spartan issued a proclamation, pledging him to respect the +rights and property of all who chose to remain; while those who +preferred to withdraw were allowed five days to take away their goods. +This tempting offer produced the desired effect. It was in vain that +the Athenian governor interposed his authority, and strove to uphold +the imperial claims of Athens. The people threatened to rise in mutiny +against him, and when the partisans of Brasidas, now grown bold, openly +moved a resolution to accept his conditions, the proposal was carried, +and the Spartan general marched unopposed into the town. + +Late on the same day Thucydides sailed into the harbour of Eion, the +port of Amphipolis, and learning that Brasidas was already in +possession of the inland city, took all necessary precautions to +provide against an immediate attack. He was only just in time; for on +the very next day Brasidas carried his troops down the river on a +flotilla of boats, and tried to establish himself in a strong position, +commanding the mouth of the river, and at the same time sent a storming +party to make an assault on the land side. But the attempt was +frustrated, and Eion at least was saved to Athens. + +The fall of Amphipolis, which occurred shortly after the crushing +defeat at Delium, caused great consternation among the Athenians. Apart +from the wound to their pride, they were deprived by this loss of a +large portion of their revenue, and cut off from the principal source +of their timber supply. And there were still further grounds for alarm. +For Amphipolis was now an open door, through which the Spartans could +send troops into eastern Thrace, and carry the war to the entrance of +the Euxine. For a moment it seemed as if all their fears would be +realized. The gentle manners of Brasidas--his fairness, modesty, and +strict regard for the rights of all men--had won the hearts of the +Athenian allies in Thrace, and secret agents were constantly arriving +at his head-quarters on the Strymon, inviting him to come and help them +to recover their liberty. He had skilfully appealed to the most +deeply-rooted instinct of the Greek, the desire for unfettered action +in his own city, free from all interference from outside. This +instinct, long held in abeyance, first by the necessity for protection +from Persia, and when that danger was removed, by the habits acquired +under the mild rule of Athens, was now awakened into new life by the +influence of the great warrior and accomplished statesman, whose +watchword was "Liberty for Greeks!" The recent reverses of Athens had +excited a feeling of contempt among her subjects, and led them greatly +to under-estimate her real power; and Brasidas himself, by a not +over-scrupulous perversion of facts, had been careful to encourage this +belief. All these causes produced a burst of enthusiasm throughout +Thrace, and if the Spartans had supported Brasidas with vigour, a +general insurrection would have followed among the Athenian allies. But +the authorities of Sparta were jealous of their brilliant officer, and +their chief anxiety was to recover the prisoners taken at Sphacteria. + +In the same winter the indefatigable Spartan effected the capture of +Torone, a town situated on the second of the three headlands which +project, like the prongs of a fork, from the peninsula of Chalcidice. +As in the case of Amphipolis, Torone fell into his hands by treachery; +but he had now made good his title as the champion of Greek +independence, and early in the following spring the citizens of Scione, +on the first or westernmost headland, invited him to come over and take +command of their town. On receiving this welcome summons Brasidas lost +no time, and crossed over by night in a skiff, which was convoyed by a +trireme, so that if any hostile vessel appeared in sight, it might be +engaged by the trireme, and leave him free to escape. He reached Scione +in safety, and having convened a general assembly of the citizens, +addressed them in flattering terms, praising their high courage and +patriotic spirit. "You," he said, "have set a noble example to your +oppressed brethren: isolated as you are, and cut off from all succour +from the mainland, you have defied all perils, and thrown in your lot, +for better or for worse, with the friends of liberty. Your gallantry +and self-devotion has given you a just claim to the gratitude of Sparta +and of all Greece." The revolt of Scione was indeed a daring defiance +of the Athenian power, for since the capitulation of Potidaea, which +occurred seven years before, the inhabitants had been in the position +of islanders, exposed to the whole maritime power of Athens. For the +moment, however, the people were carried away by a transport of +enthusiasm, and little dreaming of the terrible vengeance which was to +overtake them two years later, they greeted Brasidas as a deliverer, +and vied with one another who should honour him most. He was publicly +presented with a crown of gold, as the liberator of Greece; and in +private houses he was wreathed with garlands, and surrounded with +worship, like a victorious athlete. + +But a few days before the defection of Scione all the ambitious schemes +of Brasidas had been checkmated by the action of his own countrymen at +home. For some time past negotiations had been in progress between +Athens and Sparta; and since the battle of Delium, and the rapid +successes of their great enemy in Thrace, the Athenians had been more +disposed to come to terms. In this altered mood they agreed to make a +truce for one year with Sparta, which would give time to arrange the +conditions of a lasting peace, and leave them at leisure to repair the +shattered fabric of their empire. Two commissioners, an Athenian and a +Spartan, were at once despatched to announce the conclusion of the +truce to Brasidas. They found him at Torone, preparing to set out a +second time for the western peninsula, and continue his intrigues +against the subjects of Athens. In the interview which followed a +dispute arose between Brasidas and the commissioners, as to whether +Scione should be admitted into the truce. Brasidas asserted that the +city had joined the Spartan alliance before the truce was signed; but +the Athenian commissioner loudly protested that the revolt occurred +after the conclusion of the truce,--and such, indeed, was the fact. +Brasidas, however, was bound in honour to defend the hapless community +which had been drawn by his fatal influence into so fearful a peril; +and in the existing confusion of the Greek calendar it was not easy to +establish a date with perfect exactitude. Accordingly Brasidas refused +to surrender Scione to the vengeance of Athens, and placed the town in +a state of defence. Not content with this, he extended the same +measures of protection to Mende, which revolted after the arrival of +the commissioners. This was an open violation of the truce, and the +Athenians, in great fury, immediately prepared to send a fleet against +these audacious rebels, and passed a savage decree, condemning the +whole adult male population of Scione to death. + + +III + +During the following summer Mende was recovered by Nicias for the +Athenians, Scione was closely invested, and Perdiccas, who had +quarrelled with Brasidas, once more became an ally of Athens, and gave +proof of his sincerity by preventing the passage of Spartan +reinforcements to Thrace. The Athenians were thus left free to turn +their attention to Amphipolis, and at the beginning of the tenth year +of the war, the truce having now expired, Cleon was sent with a fleet +of thirty ships to conduct the siege of this important place. That so +weighty a charge should have been entrusted to hands so incompetent +argues a degree of infatuation in the Athenians which is very hard to +understand. On his voyage Cleon succeeded in retaking Torone by a +sudden assault, and then proceeding northwards dropped anchor at Eion, +where he remained inactive, after despatching messengers to Perdiccas, +and to a friendly Thracian prince, to ask for reinforcements. + +Meanwhile Brasidas, who some time before had returned to Amphipolis, +was waiting to strike a blow at his unwarlike enemy. His own troops, +though about equal in numbers to the force under Cleon, were far +inferior in equipment and discipline; but he counted on some incautious +movement on the part of the Athenian general, which would throw the +picked infantry of Athens into disorder, and place them at a +disadvantage. So he left Clearidas, a young Spartan, whom he had +appointed governor of Amphipolis, in charge of the garrison, and taking +with him fifteen hundred men occupied a position on the right bank of +the river, where the ground rises abruptly to a considerable height, +affording a wide view over the city to the country beyond, as far as +Eion. From this point, which is called Cerdylium, he could watch the +proceedings of the enemy, and still have ample time to rejoin Clearidas +in Amphipolis, if, as he expected, Cleon should leave his defences and +advance upon the town. + +He had not long to wait. The Athenian soldiers stationed at Eion were +chafing at their inaction, and mutinous speeches were heard on all +sides. What a man was this Cleon, this cowardly braggart, under whom +they were to take the field against the most daring and skilful leader +in Greece! They had known what to expect from such a general, since the +day when they sailed for Thrace. These murmurs reached the ears of +Cleon, and he saw that something must be attempted, or his men would be +totally demoralized. So he gave the order to march, and led his troops +up the ridge of hills which slope down towards Amphipolis on the +eastern side, where the town was defended by a single line of wall, +reaching from the northern to the southern bend of the river. He was +far from supposing that anyone would come out to attack him; he only +wanted, he said, to take a good view of the place, and when his +reinforcements arrived, he would surround the city on all sides, and +carry it by assault. For his wonderful good fortune at Pylos had given +him unbounded confidence in his powers as a strategist, and he thought +that Amphipolis would prove a second Pylos, forgetting that here he had +a Brasidas to deal with, and no Demosthenes to do the work for him. +When he reached the top of the ascent, he called a halt, and took a +leisurely survey of the wide sweep of country spread below him,--to the +north, the broad, marshy waters of Lake Cercynitis, from which the +river issues just above the town,--eastwards, the towering summit of +Mount Pangaeus,--and on the other side, just beneath his feet, the +devoted city, which now seemed cowering, silent and deserted, as if +conscious of Cleon's eagle glance. The gates were closed, and not a man +was to be seen on the battlements. "What a pity," remarked Cleon, "that +we brought no siege-engines with us! We might have battered down the +wall, and marched in at once,--there is none to oppose us." + +So readily did this holiday general fall into the trap which Brasidas, +with a just estimate of his capacity, had set for him. As soon as he +saw that Cleon had started from Eion, the Spartan general left his post +in Cerdylium, and led his men back into Amphipolis. Here he made such a +disposition of his forces as to give the place that peaceful and +innocent appearance which deceived Cleon's unpractised eye. Then he +took up his station with a picked troop of a hundred and fifty hoplites +at the southern gate of Amphipolis, leaving Clearidas in charge of the +main body, and awaited a favourable moment to attack. + +But these preparations could not be made without exciting some +attention among the more experienced of the Athenian officers. They had +seen Brasidas entering the city, and observed him offering sacrifice, +as for battle, before the temple of Athene; and Cleon, who was +standing, lost in his contemplations, some distance in advance of his +forces, suddenly received the alarming intelligence that the enemy were +on the point of making a sally. "The whole garrison is in motion," said +the messenger, "and we have caught sight of the feet of many horses and +men under the gates: evidently they mean to attack us." Thus rudely +startled from his meditations, Cleon went to look for himself, and +seeing that the messenger had spoken the truth he gave the order for a +retreat in the direction of Eion. This movement should have begun from +the left wing, but there was some delay in executing the order, and +Cleon, who was in a great hurry to reach a place of safety, led the way +with his own division, which, being on the right, ought to have closed +the retreat. The consequence was that the whole Athenian army was +thrown into confusion, and Brasidas, who was watching from his station +at the gate, saw by the irregular motion of their spears and helmets +that all discipline was at an end. "Now is our time," he cried to his +men: "Open the gates! The day is ours." With these words he rushed out +with his troops, and fell upon the Athenian centre; and at the same +moment the main body under Clearidas poured out from the northern gate, +and attacked them in the rear. + +The effect of this sudden assault was to cut the Athenian army in half: +the left wing, which was nearest to Eion, fled without striking a blow, +but the right made a vigorous resistance, though abandoned by their +cowardly general, who was cut down by a Thracian spearman as he tried +to make good his escape. A far nobler name was also added to the +death-roll of that fatal day: Brasidas, fighting at the head of his +troop, received a mortal wound, and was carried, unobserved by the +Athenians, into the city. He lived long enough to hear that his men had +gained a decisive victory, and then passed away, the purest and the +most heroic spirit among all those who played their part in this +unhappy war. After his death he received divine honours at Amphipolis, +and was worshipped as the second founder of the city. + + + + +THE HOLLOW PEACE + +I + + +The negotiations for peace, begun in the previous year; had been +interrupted by the brilliant successes of Brasidas, and the factious +opposition of Cleon, and after their death the main obstacle to a +pacific understanding was removed. The high hopes conceived by the +Athenians after the capture of the Spartans at Pylos had been damped by +their disastrous defeat at Delium, and by the revolt of their allies in +Thrace; and, above all, they were anxious to recover Amphipolis. Still +more depressed was the temper of the Spartans. They had entered on the +war in a spirit of sanguine confidence, expecting to make an end of the +conflict by a single invasion of Attica; and now, after ten years of +fighting, their great rival remained almost untouched in the chief +sources of her power. Their coasts were exposed to continual ravage by +the Athenian fleets, and Pylos was still occupied by their bitter +enemies, the Messenians, attracting all the discontented elements in +Sparta, and keeping the Helots in a continual ferment. And finally a +hundred and twenty of their noblest citizens were immured in the +dungeons of Athens, and they were ready to make great sacrifices to +procure their release. + +Accordingly, in the winter after the battle of Amphipolis, negotiations +were resumed, and early in the following spring a treaty of peace was +concluded between Athens and Sparta, on the understanding that all +places taken by force of arms should be restored, and all prisoners set +at liberty. Such was the Peace of Nicias, named after its chief +promoter, the former rival of Cleon, and now the leading politician at +Athens. It was really a private agreement between Athens and Sparta, +for the most important of the Spartan allies, who thought that their +interests were neglected, refused to sign the treaty. Alarmed by this, +the Spartans immediately concluded a second treaty with Athens, binding +both sides to mutual aid and defence, in case their territories were +attacked. The prisoners taken at Sphacteria were now restored, but +owing to the bungling of Nicias, the Athenians failed to regain +Amphipolis. + + +II + +Six years elapsed after the conclusion of the Peace of Nicias, before +war was again openly declared; but it was a peace only in name, and was +broken by many acts of hostility on both sides. During this period the +principal states of Greece were involved in a network of political +intrigue, treaty following treaty, and alliance succeeding to alliance, +for the most part with no result. To this statement, there is, however, +one important exception. A year after the signing of the second treaty +between Athens and Sparta, a coalition was formed, including Athens, +Elis, and Mantinea, under the leadership of Argos; and in mentioning +this event we have to usher on to the stage one of the most +extraordinary characters in history. This was Alcibiades, a young +Athenian noble, endowed with every advantage of mind, person, and +fortune, whose fatal gifts, and lawless ambition, made him the evil +genius of his country. His high birth, his wealth, his wit, and his +wonderful beauty, attracted to him a host of flatterers, who fed his +vanity with soft adulation, and led him to believe that nothing was too +great for such powers as his. Like most of the brilliant young men of +his day, he attached himself for a time to the philosopher Socrates, +for whom he seems to have felt a warm admiration. But his connexion +with that great teacher and thinker, though it served to sharpen his +understanding, could not eradicate the effects of evil habit and +example. His wilful, selfish, and despotic temper soon broke loose from +that salutary restraint, and henceforth we find him pursuing a course +of action which brought ruin on his people, and on himself a traitor's +death and a dishonoured name. + +Much irritation had been caused among the Athenians by the shifting and +treacherous conduct of the Spartans, who had failed to redeem their +sworn pledges, and had excited great suspicion at Athens by repeated +intrigues with Argos, and with their own offended allies of the +Peloponnesian League. Alcibiades had a private grudge against the +Spartans, to whom he had made overtures of friendship and service at +the time when the treaty was under discussion, only to be set aside as +a profligate and frivolous youth, unfit to meddle with serious matters +of state. He now placed himself at the head of the party hostile to +Sparta, and it was not long before he had an opportunity of revenging +the insult to his pride. He used all his influence to promote an +alliance with Argos, the ancient enemy and rival of Sparta in +Peloponnesus; and when envoys arrived from Sparta to remonstrate +against this proceeding, and reassure the Athenians as to their +intentions, he contrived by a masterpiece of low cunning to cover them +with shame and contempt. When the envoys were introduced to the senate +they declared that they had come with full powers to settle all +differences, and Alcibiades feared that if they made the same statement +to the general assembly of the citizens, they might induce the +Athenians to renounce their alliance with Argos. So, after the senate +had risen, he took the envoys aside, and with an air of great candour +and friendliness warned them that they must conceal the extent of their +powers when they appeared before the popular assembly. "You do not +understand," he said, "how to deal with the mob of Athens; if you show +your hand, they will force you into extravagant concessions. Leave the +matter to me, and everything will turn out as you wish." + +The simple Spartans fell into the snare. They were not at all startled +by the proposal that they should eat their own words, for in dishonesty +they were not behind Alcibiades himself, though they were no match for +him in cunning. Being brought before the people, and asked whether they +had come with full powers, they answered bluntly "No!" Great was the +amazement at this flat contradiction of the avowal which they had made +before the senate, and Alcibiades, giving voice to the general +indignation, overwhelmed the astonished envoys with a torrent of +invective and abuse. The Spartans were dumb-foundered by his perfidy, +and looked helplessly at Nicias, the staunch friend and supporter of +Sparta, whom they had forsaken for this shameless young reprobate. +Nicias, who of course knew nothing of the trick, was utterly confounded +by the double-dealing of the envoys, and could do nothing to relieve +their embarrassment. The result was that the envoys were abruptly +dismissed, and after a fruitless mission of Nicias to Sparta, which +only served to lower his own reputation, the Athenians entered heart +and soul into the Argive alliance. + + +III + +We have seen how much the credit of Sparta had been injured in the eyes +of Greece by the capture of her chosen warriors at Pylos, and by her +subsequent behaviour during the negotiations which led to the peace of +Nicias. Spartan valour was seen to be not above reproach, and the +Peloponnesian allies had still better reason to complain of the +hollowness of Spartan faith. The high reverence which had long been +attached to the name of Sparta had given place to something like +contempt, and the Eleans, who had an old grudge against her, took +advantage of this feeling to exclude her citizens from taking public +part in the Olympic festival, which was celebrated with great pomp and +splendour in the second year of the peace. And the degradation of the +proud Dorian city seemed to be complete, when a Spartan named Lichas, +who had entered for the chariot-race under another name, was driven +with blows from the racecourse. So deep was the abasement to which the +great name of Sparta had now sunk. + +The Spartans saw that a vigorous effort must be made, if they would +recover their lost ascendancy; and two years later the opportunity +occurred for which they were waiting. On the northern side of the +Argolic peninsula lies the ancient city of Epidaurus, famous for its +rich vineyards, and its great temple of Asclepius, [Footnote: +Aesculapius.] the god of healing. For some time past, the Epidaurians, +who were in alliance with Sparta, had been involved in a dispute, +arising out of some obscure question of ritual, with Argos; and they +were now in sore straits, being hard pressed by the whole weight of the +Argive power, backed by the new confederacy. This was the pretext +needed by the Spartans, and mustering their whole forces they marched, +under the command of their king Agis, against Argos. + +The Argives had received notice of the advance of Agis, and they +immediately marched out to meet him, wishing to engage the Spartans +before they had united with their allies from Corinth, Boeotia, and +elsewhere, who were assembling in great force at Phlius. The two armies +confronted each other for a moment at Methydrium, in Arcadia; but Agis +succeeded in avoiding an engagement, and breaking up his camp under +cover of darkness pushed on to Phlius. Thereupon the Argives, who were +accompanied by their allies from Mantinea and Elis, returned in haste +to Argos, and then, marching northwards, took up their position at +Nemea, which commanded the ordinary route from Phlius to the Argive +territory. But they were again outmanoeuvred by the skilful +dispositions of Agis. Avoiding the road by Nemea, which led through a +narrow and dangerous pass, he led his Spartans over the mountains and +descended into the plain which surrounds the city of Argos. One +contingent of his allies had orders to proceed in the same direction by +another mountain-path, while the Boeotians, who numbered no less than +ten thousand infantry, and five hundred cavalry, were directed to take +the high road by Nemea; for Agis expected that by threatening the +cultivated lands around Argos he would draw the Argives from their +position, and bring them down in haste to the defence of their estates. + +The plan was completely successful. As soon as the Argives learnt that +Agis was ravaging their fields they set out with all speed towards +Argos, and finding Agis engaged in the work of pillage, they drew up +their forces, and offered battle. Their situation was in the highest +degree perilous. In front of them, cutting them off from the city of +Argos, was the flower of the Spartan army, reinforced by the troops of +Tegea and Arcadia; on their right flank the mountain slopes swarmed +with the infantry of Corinth and Phlius; and in the rear their retreat +was cut off by the thronging masses of Boeotians, who were now pouring +along the road from Nemea. They were fairly cut off, and seemed +delivered over to destruction; nevertheless, such was the presumptuous +confidence which possessed them, that they awaited eagerly the signal +for battle, crying out that they had caught the Spartans in a trap. + +Fortunately for them there were two men among their leaders who took a +wiser view of the position; one of these was Alciphron, an official who +represented the interests of Sparta at Argos, [Footnote: The Greek word +is _Proxenos_,--a sort of consul.] and the other was Thrasyllus, one of +the five generals. These two men entered into a parley with Agis, and +by promising to satisfy the demands of Sparta induced him to grant a +truce. Agis then drew off his forces, and returned by way of Nemea to +Sparta; and the allies, much against their will, were compelled to +follow his example. Loud were the murmurs among the confederates, and +even among the Spartan soldiers, against Agis, who had thrown away this +golden opportunity of humbling the pride of Argos, and brought +dishonour on one of the finest armies that had ever been led into the +field by a Grecian general. Strange to say, the Argives were not less +indignant against the two men who had saved them from overwhelming +disaster; and Thrasyllus, the general, narrowly escaped being stoned to +death. + + +IV + +The Argives thought themselves bound to abide by the conditions of the +truce, though made without their consent; but shortly after the retreat +of Agis, an Athenian force of a thousand hoplites and three hundred +cavalry arrived at Argos, and Alcibiades, who was present in the +character of ambassador, strongly urged the renewal of the campaign. +His proposal was warmly supported by the Mantineans and Eleans, and +they and the Athenians marched forthwith against Orchomenus in Arcadia, +which was in alliance with Sparta; and the Argives, who had wavered at +first, soon afterwards joined them. Orchomenus was gained over with +little trouble, and then the Eleans were eager to proceed against +Lepreum, a town in their alliance which had gone over to Sparta. But +the Argives, Athenians, and Mantineans, insisted on attacking Tegea, +where there was a party opposed to Sparta, by whose means they hoped to +bring this powerful city, the ancient rival of Mantinea, to their side. +Thereupon the Eleans abandoned the expedition, and went home in a rage, +but the rest of the allies took up their quarters at Mantinea, and +prepared to make an attack on Tegea. + +The Spartans were in high anger against Agis for his unsoldier-like +conduct in the recent campaign, and when they heard of the capitulation +of Orchomenus their resentment rose to such a pitch that it was +proposed to inflict on him a heavy fine, and raze his house to the +ground. At his earnest entreaty they consented to reserve the sentence, +and give him an opportunity of wiping out the stain on his honour; but +as a mark of diminished confidence they appointed ten commissioners, +without whose consent he was not allowed to lead an army out of the +city. + +They had just come to this decision when an urgent message arrived from +Tegea, bidding them to bring help with all speed, or the town would be +lost. The imminent peril startled the Spartans from their wonted +apathy, and they set out at once in full force to the relief of Tegea. +On reaching the borders of Arcadia they sent back the elder and younger +men, amounting to a sixth part of the army, to serve as a garrison in +Sparta; and at the same time couriers were despatched to summon their +allies in Arcadia and central Greece. The Arcadians arrived in time to +take part in the battle, but the Boeotians, Corinthians, and others, +though they hastened to obey the order, were delayed by a long and +difficult march, through the hostile territory of Argos. + +Passing by Tegea, Agis entered the district of Mantinea, and having +pitched his camp began to lay waste the country. Informed of his +approach, the Argives and their allies marched out to meet him, and +choosing a position on the slope of a hill, defended in front by rugged +and broken ground, they drew up in order of battle. The Spartans, +incited, doubtless, by the example of their king, who was eager to +redeem his reputation, rushed impetuously to the assault; and they were +already within a stone's-throw of the enemy when a Spartan veteran +cried out to Agis: "Heal not ill with ill!" His meaning was that in +Argos Agis had been too cold, and now he was too hot. Agis heard the +warning voice, and his own good sense must have shown him how rashly he +was acting; accordingly, at the very moment of encounter, he gave the +word to retreat, and fell back to the neighbourhood of Tegea. At this +place there was a copious head of water, which, when properly +regulated, served to irrigate the fields of Tegea and Mantinea. The +disposal of the water-supply was a constant source of dispute between +the two rival cities; and Agis now prepared to turn the whole volume of +the fountain towards Mantinea, expecting that the Mantineans, when they +saw their fields threatened with inundation, would come down into the +plain to hinder the mischief. + +The Argives and their allies were dumb-foundered by the sudden +disappearance of the Spartans; and when they had recovered from their +astonishment, they waited impatiently for the order to pursue the +runaways. As no such order was given, cries of "Treason!" arose in the +ranks, and the generals were openly accused of having sold themselves +to the enemy. The Spartans, it was asserted, had been allowed to +escape, when they were fairly caught under the walls of Argos; and now +the confederates had been betrayed a second time by their officers. +Amid the general clamour the Argive commanders stood for a moment +confounded and amazed; then recovering themselves they gave the word to +advance, and led their forces down into the plain. Here they passed the +night in the open field, and early next morning they stood to their +arms, and prepared for an immediate attack. + +Agis was not aware that the Argive generals had taken up a new +position, and thinking that the confederates were still stationed on +the hill, he gave up his scheme of diverting the water, and directed +his march towards the place where he had first encamped. As they +proceeded thus in marching order, and quite unprepared for any hostile +movement, the Spartans suddenly found themselves face to face with the +whole Argive army, drawn up in order of battle. For one instant it +seemed as if a panic were about to spread through the Spartan ranks; +then their wonderful discipline prevailed, and with all promptitude, +but without flurry or confusion, the necessary orders were passed from +the King to the commanders of divisions, from these again to the +colonels, from the colonels to the captains, and from the captains down +to the sergeants, [Footnote: I have thought it best to give the English +titles, which of course have only a general correspondence with the +Greek Polemarch, Lochagus, etc.] who in their turn had to see that the +required movement was executed by the men under their command: for such +was the regular gradation of authority and responsibility in the +Spartan army. Thanks to this perfect organization, in a very few +minutes every man was in his place and ready for battle. + +On the left wing of the Spartan army were posted the Sciritae, hardy +mountaineers from southern Arcadia; next to them stood the enfranchised +Helots, who had served under Brasidas in Thrace, and others of the same +race who had received the Spartan citizenship in reward for public +service; then came the main body of the Spartans themselves, and after +them the rest of the Arcadian allies; while the right wing was assigned +by immemorial privilege to the Tegeans, with whom were a few picked +Spartans. The cavalry, never a very strong part of the Spartan army, +were posted on either flank. + +On the other side the Mantineans held the place of honour on the right +wing, because the engagement was fought in their territory; next in +order were the Arcadian allies of Argos, and after them, more towards +the centre, stood a picked troop of a thousand Argives, trained and +equipped at the public expense; then followed the main body of the +Argive troops, with the rest of their allies, the Athenians occupying +the extreme left. As to the numbers engaged, nothing certain is known. + +Some time was lost by the Argive army in delivering the customary +harangues addressed by the generals of the several contingents to their +men, and this enabled the Spartans to steady their ranks before the +fighting began. They, on their side, men of war from their youth, had +no need of set speeches to remind them of their duty; but pithy words +of exhortation passed from man to man, and high and clear rose their +national war-songs, thrilling them with the memories of their heroic +past. Then the signal was given on both sides to charge, and the +Argives and their allies rushed impetuously to the onset, while the +Spartans advanced to meet them with even and deliberate pace, timed to +the music of numerous pipers, who were stationed at regular intervals +in their ranks. + +The regular equipment of the Greek infantry soldier consisted, besides +his helmet and body-armour, of shield and lance, and in advancing to +battle he had always a tendency to diverge towards the right, from a +natural wish to keep his shielded side towards the enemy. This +divergence from the forward direction was begun by the man posted on +the extreme right; his comrade on the left followed his example, and +the deflection was continued along the whole line. The consequence was +that when two armies came into action, the left wing on either side was +greatly outflanked by the opponents' right; and the battle of Mantinea +affords no exception to this rule, for not even Spartan discipline was +able to counteract the overpowering instinct of self-preservation. +Seeing that his left wing was on the point of being outflanked by the +Mantineans, Agis signalled to the Sciritae and Brasideans to draw off +in a lateral direction towards the left, in order to present an equal +line to the right wing of the enemy. The order was executed, and to +fill up the gap thus produced on the left of his own centre, Agis +ordered the Spartan officers commanding on his right wing to bring up +their men and occupy the vacant space. They, however, flatly refused to +obey the order, and consequently the Sciritae and Brasideans were +assailed in front and on both flanks by overwhelming numbers, and +driven back with great loss to their camp. + +So completely were the Spartans out-manoeuvred and worsted in tactics, +through the blunders of their general, and the cowardice of his +subordinates. But in this terrible crisis they showed what native +valour, aided by life-long discipline, can do. Leaving a victorious +enemy in their rear, they advanced without flinching against the +opposing centre, where the main body of the Argives were posted, with +the troops of Orneae and Cleonaea supporting them on the left. Then it +was seen that neither the courage of the Spartans, nor the terror of +their name, had diminished with the lapse of time; for when the +confederate troops found themselves face to face with the renowned +warrior of the Eurotas, they turned and fled, almost without striking a +blow, and trampling their comrades under foot, in their haste to avoid +the thrust of the Spartan lances. The Athenians on the left wing were +now in great danger; for the charge of the troops of Agis had cut them +off from the centre, and they were attacked on the other flank by the +Tegeans and Spartans. They were saved from immediate destruction by the +exertions of their own cavalry, and presently found themselves at +liberty to retire from the field; for Agis, having completed the rout +of the main body, called off his men, and went to the relief of his own +left. The Mantineans and the Argive Thousand made no effort to retrieve +the fortunes of the day, but gave way before the first onset of the +Spartans, and joined the flight of their comrades. The Mantineans +suffered severely in their retreat, but of the Argives only a few were +slain. + +Such was the battle of Mantinea, which completely restored the military +fame of the Spartans, and blotted out the reproach of cowardice and +sloth which for some years past had rested on their name. + + +VI + +One incident remains to be recorded, before we proceed to the crowning +catastrophe of our great historical drama. The Athenians, it should be +observed, were still nominally at peace with Sparta, and if they had +been wise they would have taken the opportunity of this respite from +hostilities to recover Amphipolis, and consolidate their empire in +Thrace. Instead of this, they looked around for fresh conquests, and +fixed their eyes on the little island of Melos, belonging to the Cyclad +group, which had been colonized in very early times from Sparta. + +The Melians had not joined the Confederacy of Delos, and they might +therefore be reproached for sharing the protection of Athens without +making any return. Beyond this the Athenians had no ground of complaint +against them, for they had taken no part in the Peloponnesian War, but +had remained quietly at home, occupied with their own affairs. But +Athens claimed the haughty title of mistress of the sea, and pretended +to regard the neutrality of one insignificant island as an open +defiance of her power. Ten years before an Athenian fleet had been sent +under Nicias to reduce the refractory Melians to subjection; but the +attempt was unsuccessful, and Nicias withdrew, after having ravaged the +outlying districts. Being now more at leisure, the Athenians resolved, +in the mere wantonness of power, that Melos should only be suffered to +exist as a dependency of Athens, and thirty triremes sailed from the +harbour of Peiraeus to carry out the arbitrary decree. + +On their arrival at Melos the Athenian admirals sent envoys into the +town, to summon the inhabitants to surrender. The envoys were invited +to a private conference with the chief men of the island; and between +the representatives of Athens and the Melian nobles there ensued an +extraordinary dialogue, which is given at great length by the +historian, and is commonly known as the Melian Debate. We cannot +suppose that the arguments here placed by Thucydides in the mouth of +the Athenian speaker were really uttered as set down by that writer. +Such a paradox of iniquity, such a shameless insult to the general +conscience of humanity, might have been employed by Plato, in exposing +the vicious teaching of the Sophists, or by Aristophanes in the full +riot of his satire: but the total abnegation of principle here implied +could never have been openly avowed by a responsible agent, speaking +for the most polished community in Greece. Even the worst criminals +seek to give some specious colour to their villainy; and the condemned +felon, who will face death without a tremor, shudders at the cry of +execration which greets his appearance at the scaffold. So hard it is, +even for the most depraved, to stifle the last embers of the moral +sense. We cannot suppose, then, that an educated Athenian of the fifth +century would publicly have claimed for his state the right of rapine +and murder. For this is the line of argument pursued by the +representative of Athens in the Melian Debate. The substance of what he +says may briefly be stated as follows "You are weak--we are strong; +Melos is a paltry island, Athens is queen of the Aegaean, and the +existence of an independent city in these waters is an insult to her +empire. Let us waste no time in discussions about abstract law and +right. For the mighty there is but one law--to get what they can, and +to keep it; and the weak have no rights, except by the sufferance of +the strong. This rule of conduct we know to be universal among men, and +we believe that the gods themselves are governed by it. [1] To sum up +the whole case in one word: you must yield or perish." + +[1] + Desire of power, on earth a vicious weed, + Yet sprung from high, is of celestial seed; + In God 'tis glory; and when men aspire, + 'Tis but a spark too much of heavenly fire.--DRYDEN. + +It was in vain that the unhappy Melians tried to argue the question +from a higher standpoint; in vain they warned the Athenians that they +themselves might one day stand before the bar of justice, and plead for +their existence. They were brought back relentlessly to the grim +alternative-submission, or extermination. At length this strange +controversy came to an end, and after one final hint, of fearful +significance, the Athenian envoys withdrew, leaving the Melians to +consider their answer. The brave islanders were not long in coming to +their decision: they would not, they said, consent to enslave a city +which had maintained its liberty for seven hundred years; they put +their trust in divine justice, and in their kinsmen the Spartans, and +were resolved to resist to the last. + +On receiving this answer the Athenian commanders at once laid siege to +Melos, and the doomed city was soon closely blockaded by sea and land. +The Melians made a gallant defence, and twice succeeded in breaking +through the lines of the besiegers, and conveying supplies into the +town. But presently reinforcements arrived from Athens, and the Melians +were confined within their walls. All hope of succour from Sparta had +vanished, food began to fail, and treason was at work among the +garrison. Thus driven to extremity, the Melians surrendered at +discretion. Then the Athenians showed that their threats had not been +idly uttered. All the men of military age in Melos were put to death, +the women and children were sold into slavery, and the land was +distributed among Athenian settlers. + +In the fifth year of the war, after the capitulation of Mytilene, a +thousand of the inhabitants had been butchered in cold blood; and this +sentence, which seems so cruel to us, was regarded by the Athenians as +an act of mercy. Six years later, the decree which had originally been +passed against Mytilene, was actually executed on Scione, which had +revolted at the instigation of Brasidas. In this act of savage +retribution, Athens still remained within the limits of Greek +international law, which placed the inhabitants of a revolted city at +the mercy of their conquerors. But the case of Melos was different, for +that island had never been included in the Athenian alliance, and the +Melians had done nothing to provoke an attack. Thus the three names, +Mytilene, Scione, and Melos, mark an ascending scale of barbarity, +culminating in a massacre which, even in the eyes of Greeks, was an +atrocious crime. Athens had now offended beyond forgiveness, giving +colour to the accusations of her worst enemies, and heaping up +vengeance for the days to come. + + + + +THE ATHENIANS IN SICILY + + I + + +The Peloponnesian War may be conveniently divided into four chief +periods. The first of these periods lasted for ten years, down to the +peace of Nicias. The second extends from the peace of Nicias to the +massacre of Melos. In the third, the scene of war was shifted from +Greece to Sicily, and it was there that the Athenian power really +received its death-blow. The fourth and final period begins after the +overthrow of the Athenians at Syracuse, and ends, nine years +afterwards, with their final defeat at Aegospotami, and the downfall of +the Athenian empire. + +It is the third of these periods which will occupy our attention for +the remainder of the present volume, and as the momentous events which +we have to relate occurred entirely in Sicily, it is necessary to say +something of the previous history of that great island. The connexion +of the Greeks with Sicily begins in the latter half of the eighth +century before Christ, when settlers from Chalcis in Euboea founded the +city of Naxos on the north-eastern coast, under the shadow of Aetna. +Naxos in its turn sent out colonists, who built the cities of Leontini +and Catana, the former on an inland site, commanding the great plain +which extends southwards from Aetna, the latter on the coast, in a line +with the centre of the same plain. These were Ionic colonies, and we +may close the list with the name of Messene [Footnote: Originally +called Zancle.] founded twenty years later on the Sicilian side of the +strait which bears its name. + +We have now to enumerate the principal Dorian cities. First among these +in time, and by far the first in importance, was Syracuse, founded from +Corinth a year after the settlement of Naxos. Between Syracuse and the +mother-city there was a close and intimate tie of friendship, which +remained unbroken throughout the course of Greek history. The original +city was built on the island of Ortygia, but a new town afterwards +arose on the low-lying coast of the mainland, and spread northwards +till it covered the eastern part of the neighbouring heights. Ortygia +was then converted into a peninsula by the construction of a causeway, +connecting the new city with the old. Under the despotism of Gelo, who +made himself master of the city in the early part of the fifth century, +[Footnote: 485 B.C.] Syracuse rose to great power and splendour, and +her territory extended over a great part of eastern Sicily. Gelo gained +immortal renown by defeating a mighty host of Carthaginians, who +invaded Sicily at the time when the confederate cities of old Greece +were fighting for their existence against Xerxes and his great armada. +After his death the power passed to his brother Hiero, whose victories +in the Olympian and Pythian Games are commemorated in the Odes of +Pindar. Hiero reigned for twelve years, and was succeeded by his +brother Thrasybulus; but a year later the despotism was overthrown, and +the government returned to a democracy. + +A bare mention must suffice for Gela, founded from Rhodes and Crete +nearly half a century after Syracuse, and the more famous Agrigentum, a +colony from Gela, and next to Syracuse the greatest city in Sicily. +These played no part in the struggle with Athens; but Selinus and +Camarina, the two remaining Dorian cities of southern Sicily, will +occupy an important place in the following narrative. + +Thus the whole coast districts on southern and eastern Sicily were held +by opulent and flourishing Greek cities. On the north was Himera, an +Ionic colony, and the scene of Gelo's great victory over Carthage; +while the western and north-western district was divided between the +Phoenicians and the Elymi, a people of unknown origin, whose chief +seats were at Eryx and Egesta. The inland parts were held, in the west, +by the Sicans, who are believed to have come from Spain, and in the +east by the Sicels, a people of Latin race, who gave their name to the +island. + + +II + +Since the fourth year of the Peloponnesian War, Athens had been +meddling in the affairs of Sicily, under pretence of aiding the Ionian +cities, who dreaded the encroaching ambition of Syracuse. That these +fears were not unfounded was proved when, a few years afterwards, the +Syracusans expelled the commons of Leontini, and took possession of +their territory. The Leontine exiles sought refuge at Athens, but their +appeal for help remained for a time unanswered, as the Athenians were +then fully occupied in Greece. But six years after the conclusion of +the Peace of Nicias, an appeal came to Athens from a remote corner of +Sicily, which stimulated the Leontine exiles to fresh efforts, and led +to most important results. + +Between the Greeks of Selinus and the Elymians of Egesta there was a +long-standing quarrel, and in a war which had recently broken out the +Egestaeans were reduced to severe straits by the combined forces of +Selinus and Syracuse. In their distress they turned to Athens for help, +and envoys were sent to plead their cause before the Athenian assembly. +In aiding Egesta, argued the envoys, Athens would be serving her own +interests; for if the Syracusans were not speedily checked in their +aggressions, they would soon make themselves masters of the whole of +Sicily, and in that case they could bring such an accession of strength +to the enemies of Athens in Greece as to make them irresistible. They +had good reason, therefore, to take sides against the enemies of +Egesta, and the more so as the Egestaeans promised to defray all the +expenses of the war. + +The Athenians generally were inclined to take up the quarrel of Egesta, +but as a measure of precaution it was decided to send agents of their +own to make an inspection on the spot, and see whether the Egestaeans +were as wealthy as they pretended. On their return to Athens these men +reported that Egesta was possessed of fabulous riches. At every house +where they had been entertained, the tables and the sideboards had been +one blaze of gold and silver plate. The fact was that the Egestaeans +had collected all the gold and silver vessels in the town, and others +borrowed from the neighbouring cities, and by passing them on from +house to house, wherever these important guests were invited, had +contrived to make a great display. As an earnest of all this wealth, +the Athenian commissioners brought back with them sixty talents of +silver. + +The smallness of this sum ought to have been sufficient to arouse the +suspicions of the Athenians; but they were willing to be deceived, and +they gave ready credence to reports of their commissioners. Voting in +full assembly, they passed a decree that sixty ships should be sent to +Sicily, under the command of Nicias, Alcibiades, and Lamachus. The +fleet was first to be employed in helping Egesta, and when that contest +had been brought to a successful issue the Leontines were to be +restored to their homes; finally, the generals were empowered to act as +might seem best in the interests of Athens. The real purpose of the +enterprise is indicated in the last clause. Vague plans of conquest +were floating before the minds of the Athenians, and at a time when +their whole energies should have been employed to repair the breaches +in their empire, they dreamed of founding a new dominion in the west. + +Five days later the assembly met again to vote supplies and discuss any +further details which remained to be settled. But Nicias determined to +take the opportunity of reopening the whole question, wishing, if +possible, to divert his countrymen from their purpose, and put an end +to the expedition altogether. It was folly, he argued, to take up the +cause of needy foreigners, and drain the resources of Athens for a +distant and hazardous enterprise, when their subjects in Thrace were +still in open revolt, and their enemies in Greece were on the watch to +take them at a disadvantage. If they trusted in the treaty with Sparta, +they would soon find how infirm was the ground of their confidence. +That treaty had been forced upon the Spartans by their misfortunes, and +they would be only too glad to repudiate it, which they could easily +do, as many of the conditions were still under dispute. Moreover, the +most powerful cities of the Peloponnesian League had refused to sign +the treaty, and were ready, at the first hint from Sparta, to renew the +war. Athens was beset with perils, which were enough to tax her +strength to the utmost: and yet they talked of sailing to Sicily, and +raising up a new host of enemies against her! Even if the expedition +succeeded, they could never keep their hold on that vast and populous +island, while, if it failed, they would be utterly ruined. As to the +supposed danger from the ambition of Syracuse, that was mere idle talk. +The schemes of conquest, with which the Egestaeans had tried to alarm +the Athenians, would keep the Syracusans busy at home, and prevent them +from meddling in the affairs of Greece. "Leave the Greeks of Sicily +alone," said Nicias with true prophetic insight; "and they will not +trouble you. Do not disturb the prestige which belongs to a distant and +unfamiliar power. If they once learn to know you, they may learn to +despise you." + +Then fixing his eyes on Alcibiades, who was sitting surrounded by his +own partisans, young profligates like himself, Nicias concluded thus: +"There is another danger against which I would warn you, men of +Athens--the danger of being led astray by the wild eloquence of +unscrupulous politicians, who seek to dazzle you with visions of new +empire, that they may rise to high command, and restore their own +shattered fortunes. Yes, Athens is to pour out her blood and treasure, +to provide young spendthrifts with the means of filling their +racing-stables! Against the mad counsels of these desperate men I +invoke the mature prudence of the elder members of this assembly, and +call upon them to show by a unanimous vote that neither flattery nor +taunts can induce them to sacrifice the true interests of Athens." + +It must have been a severe ordeal for the young Alcibiades to sit and +listen to this keen and bitter invective, which set in a glaring light +the worst features in his character--his selfish ambition, his +shameless life, his total want of principle, his vulgar ostentation. +The last quality, so alien from the best traditions of Athenian +character, had been conspicuously displayed only a few weeks before at +the Olympic festival, where he had entered seven four-horsed cars for +the chariot-race, and won the first, second, and fourth prizes. Every +word of Nicias went home, galling him in his sorest point--his +outrageous vanity; and hardly had the elder statesman concluded his +speech, when he sprang to his feet, and burst without preface into a +wild harangue, which is a remarkable piece of self-revelation, +disclosing with perfect candour the inner motives of the man on whom, +more than on any other, the future of Athens depended. He began by +defending his barbaric extravagance, recently displayed at Olympia, +which, as he pretended to believe, had covered his native city with +glory, and spread the fame of Athenian wealth and power from one end of +Greece to another. The lavish outlay, and haughty demeanour, which +would be justly blamed in a common man, were right and proper in him, +one of the elect spirits of the time, inspired with great aims, and +treading the summits of public life. He had already shown what he could +do in the highest regions of diplomacy, by raising a great coalition in +Peloponnesus, which had faced the whole might of Sparta in the field, +and struck terror into the enemies of Athens. + +After this impudent defence of his own pernicious policy, which had led +to the crushing defeat at Mantinea, and thus enabled the Spartans to +restore their damaged reputation, Alcibiades proceeded to deal with the +question of the day, and exerted all his sophistry to confirm the +Athenians in their design of invading Sicily. That island, he asserted, +was inhabited by a mixed population with no settled homes, and no +common patriotic sentiment; and among these motley elements they would +find plenty of adherents. The Siceliots [Footnote: Greeks of Sicily.] +were poorly armed, ill-furnished with heavy infantry, and in constant +danger from the hostile Sicels. The risk of attack from the +Peloponnesians would not be increased by sending part of the Athenian +fleet to Sicily: for Attica was in any case always exposed to invasion, +and a sufficient force of ships would be left at home to keep command +of the sea. + +"We have no excuse, then," said Alcibiades in conclusion, "for breaking +our word to the Egestaeans, and drawing back from this enterprise. Both +honour and policy are pointing the way to Sicily. An empire like ours +is an ever-expanding circle, which lives by growing, and cannot stand +still. It is only by getting more, and always more, that we can keep +what we have. And let not Nicias succeed in his attempt to set the old +against the young, neither let us believe, like him, that the stability +of a state consists in stagnation. It is only by a hearty co-operation +of all ages and classes that any state can prosper, and a community +which finds no outlet for its energies abroad is soon worn out by +discord and faction at home. Above all is this true of us Athenians, to +whom ceaseless toil and endeavour is the very element in which we live." + +The advice of Alcibiades, thus tendered in the garb of political +wisdom, was of fatal and ruinous tendency, and in direct opposition to +the oft-repeated warnings of Pericles. But his speech was exactly +suited to the temper of his audience, and most of those who followed +him spoke to the same effect, and when the Egestaeans and Leontines +renewed their entreaties it became evident that the original motion +would be confirmed by a large majority. Nicias, however, resolved to +make one more effort, and he came forward to speak again, hoping by a +new device to check the torrent of popular enthusiasm. Affecting to +regard the matter as settled, he entered into an estimate of the force +required for the proposed expedition, prefaced by an alarming picture +of the wealth and power of the Sicilian Greeks. To act with effect +against such an enemy, they must send, not only an overwhelming naval +force, but a numerous body of troops, both cavalry and infantry, and a +fleet laden with supplies for many months. They must proceed, in fact, +as if they were founding a great city on a hostile soil. On no other +condition, added Nicias, would he undertake the command. Nicias had +intended, by exaggerating the difficulties of the undertaking, to damp +the ardour of the Athenians; but to his utter dismay, these timid +counsels were greeted with a great shout of applause. It was supposed +that he had changed his opinion, and even the elder men began to think +that so prudent a leader, backed by such an armament, could not fail of +success. A great wave of excitement swept over the assembly, and the +few who still doubted were cowed into silence. When the tumult had +subsided, a certain Demostratus, [Footnote: The name is given by +Plutarch.] who had spoken strongly in favour of the expedition, +addressing Nicias in the name of the assembly, asked him to state +plainly what force he required. Thus driven into a corner, Nicias +answered, with great reluctance, that the number of triremes must be +not less than one hundred, with five thousand heavy-armed infantry, and +slingers and bow-men in proportion. This enormous estimate was carried +without demur, and by the same vote full powers were conferred on the +generals to fix the scale of the armament as they might think best for +the interests of Athens. + +Thus, by a strange freak of fortune, the Athenians, at the most +momentous crisis of their history, were urged along the road to ruin by +the most opposite qualities in their leaders, the cold caution of +Nicias, and the wild energy of Alcibiades. + + +III + +During the whole of the following spring [Footnote: B.C. 415.] +preparations for the invasion of Sicily were actively pushed on, and +the whole city was in a bustle and stir of excitement. Athens had +recently recovered from the ravages of the plague, and six years of +peace had recruited her resources, both in men and money. Since the +first outbreak of the war a new generation had grown up, and these +young and untried spirits joined, with all the fire of youth, in an +enterprise which promised them a boundless field of adventure. Others +were attracted by the baser motive of gain, or by mere curiosity, and +the love of travel. No thought of danger or hardship, no hint of +possible failure, clouded the brilliant prospect; it was a gay holiday +excursion, and at the same time a grand scheme of conquest, offering +fame to the ambitious, wealth to the needy, and pleasant recreation to +all. Thousands flocked eagerly to enter their names for the service, +and the only trouble of the recruiting officers was in choosing the +stoutest and the best. + +The great armament was on the eve of departure, and all hearts were +full of joyful anticipation, when an event occurred which suddenly +chilled this happy mood, and cast a shadow of evil augury on the whole +undertaking. The Athenians of that age, like their descendants nearly +five centuries later, [Footnote: See Acts xvii. 22.] were "more +god-fearing than other men." They worshipped a multitude of divinities, +and their city was thronged with the temples and statues of heroes and +gods. Conspicuous among the objects of popular adoration was the god +Hermes, who is exhibited by ancient poets and artists as a gracious and +lovely youth, the special patron of eloquence and wit, the guardian +spirit of travellers and merchants, and the giver of good luck. A +familiar feature in the streets and public places of Athens was the +bust of Hermes, surmounting a quadrangular stone pillar. Many hundreds +of these pillars, which were called Hermae, were scattered about over +the whole city, standing before the doors of houses and temples, at +cross-ways and places of public resort. Wherever he went, whatever he +did, the Athenian felt himself to be in the presence of this genial and +friendly power, who attended him, with more than human sympathy, in all +his ways. + +If such were the feelings of the Athenians towards their favourite +deity, what must have been their horror when they awoke one morning to +find that all the busts of Hermes, with one or two exceptions, were +shattered and mutilated beyond all recognition. The whole population +was thunderstruck, and wild rumours ran from mouth to mouth concerning +the perpetrators and the motive of this shocking outrage. It was +evident that many hands must have been employed on the work of +destruction, and those who had so foully insulted the most hallowed +affections of their fellow-citizens were believed to be capable of any +enormity. It was loudly asserted that a black conspiracy was hatching +against the liberties of the people, and that the worst days of the +tyranny were about to be revived. For in those days religion and +politics were associated with a closeness of intimacy unknown in modern +Europe, and sacrilege might well be regarded as a prelude to treason. +Active measures were at once taken to bring the offenders to justice, +and great rewards were offered to anyone, whether citizen, slave, or +resident foreigner, who gave information concerning this or any similar +crime. At first nothing was disclosed as to the mutilation of the +Hermae, but other recent acts of profanation were brought to light, and +among these was mentioned a derisive parody of the great Eleusinian +Mysteries, alleged to have been performed in the house of Alcibiades, +and elsewhere. The enemies of Alcibiades, who were both numerous and +powerful, eagerly seized this handle against him; but when the matter +was debated in the public assembly, it became evident that, if he were +brought to trial at once, his present popularity, as chief promoter of +the Sicilian expedition, would ensure his acquittal. Seeing, therefore, +that their attack had been premature, those who had led the outcry +against him now drew back, reserving themselves for a more favourable +occasion. Being known as the bitter opponents of Alcibiades, they could +not, without exciting grave suspicions, propose the adjournment of his +trial; but other speakers, prompted by them, urged on grounds of public +expediency that the charges against him should be held in suspense, so +as not to delay the departure of the fleet. Alcibiades saw plainly that +this manoeuvre was contrived to get him out of the way, to remove his +adherents from Athens, and leave his enemies free to pursue their +machinations during his absence. But it was in vain that he exposed the +malicious motives of the last speakers, and pleaded earnestly for an +immediate trial. The Athenians were still possessed by their daring +scheme of conquest, and they decreed that Alcibiades should keep his +command, and sail at once to Sicily. + + +IV + +At last the great day arrived, and in the first light of a mid-summer +dawn, a vast multitude was seen pouring along the broad highway which +led, between the Long Walls, from Athens to Peiraeus. The Upper City +was almost deserted by its inhabitants, for there was hardly one +Athenian who had not some cherished comrade, or some near relation, +enrolled for service in Sicily, and the crowd was swelled by thousands +of strangers, who came as spectators of that memorable scene. Little +now appeared of that sanguine and joyous temper which had prevailed +among the Athenians when they first voted for the expedition. Their +feelings had lately been fearfully harrowed by the mutilation of the +Hermae, and now that the moment of parting was at hand, all the perils +and uncertainties of their grand enterprise rose up vividly before +them. They were restored, however, to some degree of cheerfulness, when +they reached the harbour of Peiraeus, and saw the magnificent fleet +riding at anchor. Nearly all the vessels lying in the bay were +Athenian; for the main body of the allies, and the commissariat ships, +had been ordered to muster at Corcyra. The triremes furnished by Athens +numbered a hundred, of which sixty were fully equipped as war-galleys, +while forty were employed as transports. These numbers had been +equalled more than once before during the war; but in efficiency, in +splendour of appearance, and in the quality of the crews, this was by +far the finest fleet that ever sailed from Peiraeus. Only the bare +hulls of the ships were provided by the state, and each vessel was +assigned to some wealthy citizen, who defrayed all the expense of +fitting her for active service. Sometimes the cost of equipping a ship +was divided between two or more citizens, and at ordinary times this +form of taxation must have been felt by the rich as a heavy burden. But +such was the popularity of the Sicilian expedition that the wealthy +Athenians who were charged with this duty went far beyond what was +required of them, each striving to surpass the others by the superior +beauty and speed of his own ship. The crews were all composed of picked +men, attracted by the double rate of pay which was furnished from the +state exchequer; and in addition to this, the trierarchs [Footnote: +Citizens charged with the duty of equipping a trireme.] paid special +premiums to the petty officers and to the highest class of rowers. The +same spirit of emulation extended to the whole body of Athenians +enrolled in the army and fleet; every man felt that whatever he spent +on his own personal equipment was spent for the honour and glory of +Athens. And the effect produced on the public mind in Greece was, in +fact, prodigious: after all the ravages of the plague, and ten years of +exhausting warfare, Athens, it seemed, was stronger than ever, and in +the mere exuberance of energy was making this imposing display of +wealth and power. As to the ostensible object of the expedition--the +conquest of Sicily--few doubted that it must follow as a matter of +course. + +The last farewell had been spoken, the troops were all embarked, and +the rowers sat ready at their oars. The trumpet sounded, commanding +silence, and the voice of the herald was heard, repeating a solemn +prayer, which was taken up by the whole multitude on sea and on shore, +while the captains and soldiers poured libations of wine from goblets +of silver and gold. When this act of worship was ended, the crews +raised the paean, and at a given signal the whole fleet was set in +motion, and passed, in single file, out of the harbour. On reaching the +open water, they quitted this order, and engaged in a friendly contest +of speed as far as Aegina. Then the crews settled down to their work, +and the great armament swept on, high in heart and hope, to join the +allied contingents, and commissariat fleet, now assembled at Corcyra. + +As yet only general rumours of the intended invasion had reached +Syracuse, and few of the citizens were aware of the imminent peril in +which they stood. Among those who were better informed was Hermocrates, +a Syracusan of high rank, who for many years had been the guiding +spirit in Sicilian politics. Speaking at a public assembly, about the +time when the Athenian fleet sailed from Peiraeus, he urged the +necessity of taking prompt measures for placing the city in a thorough +state of defence. He had no fear, he said, of the ultimate triumph of +Syracuse in the approaching struggle: only let them be on their guard, +and not underrate the power of the enemy whom they would have to face. +The words of Hermocrates, who enjoyed a high reputation for valour, +patriotism, and sagacity, were not without their effect, and it was +resolved that the generals should at once set about organizing the +military resources of Syracuse, and providing all things necessary for +the public safety. Some steps in this direction they had already taken; +and tidings soon arrived at Syracuse which caused them to redouble +their exertions. + +For in the meantime the Athenians had reached Corcyra, where they held +a final review of all their forces. The total number of the triremes +was a hundred and thirty-four, and with these sailed a vast fleet of +merchant ships, and smaller craft, laden with stores of all kinds, and +carrying a whole army of bakers, masons, and carpenters, with the tools +of their crafts, and all the engines required for a siege. Besides +these, there was a great number of other vessels, small and great, +fitted out by private speculators for purposes of trade. The military +force was on a corresponding scale, comprising five thousand, one +hundred hoplites, of whom fifteen hundred were full Athenian citizens, +four hundred and eighty archers, seven hundred slingers from Rhodes, +and a hundred and twenty exiles from Megara, equipped as light-armed +troops. The force of cavalry was but small, being conveyed in a single +transport. + +The whole armament now weighed anchor from Corcyra and sailed in three +divisions, each commanded by one of the generals, to the opposite coast +of Italy. On arriving at Rhegium, an Ionic city on the Italian side of +the strait, they received permission to beach their ships, and form a +camp outside the walls; and here they waited for the return of three +fast-sailing triremes, which had been sent forward from Corcyrato carry +the news of their approach to Egesta, and claim the promised subsidy, +and at the same time to sound the temper of the Greek cities in Sicily. +Before long the ships came back with their report, and the Athenians +now learned to their great chagrin that all the fabled wealth of Egesta +had dwindled to the paltry sum of thirty talents. + +The three generals now held a council of war, to decide on a plan of +campaign. It was evident that no help was to be obtained from Egesta, +and the attitude of the Rhegini, who declined to enter their alliance, +boded ill for the success of the expedition. As their prospects were so +discouraging, Nicias proposed to confine their operations within the +narrowest limits, to patch up a peace between Selinus and Egesta, to +aid the Leontines, if it could be done without risk or expense, and +after making a display of the Athenian power, to sail home to Athens. +Alcibiades protested strongly against such a course, as disgraceful to +Athens, and unworthy of the splendid armament entrusted to their +command. Let them try first what could be effected by negotiation with +the Greek cities and native tribes of Sicily, and after gaining as many +allies as possible in the island, let them proceed to the attack of +Selinus and Syracuse. Lamachus, on the other hand, a plain, downright +soldier, was for sailing straight to Syracuse, and striking immediately +at the heart of Sicily. The city, he argued, would be found unprepared, +and if they acted at once, in the first terror of their presence, they +were certain of victory; but if they waited, their men would lose +heart, the efficiency of the fleet would be impaired, and the +Syracusans would gather strength and courage from the delay. + +How true was the forecast of Lamachus was proved by the event; but his +bold plan was distasteful alike to the timid temper of Nicias, and to +the tortuous, intriguing spirit of Alcibiades. Finding, therefore, that +he had no hope of convincing his colleagues, he voted for the middle +course, and accordingly the plan of Alcibiades, unquestionably the +worst of the three, was adopted. + +In pursuance of this fatal policy Alcibiades crossed over to Messene, +and tried to win over that city to the side of Athens. Meeting with no +success, he returned to Rhegium, and immediately afterwards he and one +of his colleagues sailed with a force of sixty triremes to Naxos. Here +the Athenians found a hearty welcome, but at Catana, which was then +under the influence of Syracuse, their overtures were rejected, so they +continued their voyage southwards, and made their camp for the night at +the mouth of the river Terias. Starting early next day, they proceeded +along the coast, and, crossing the bay of Thapsus, came in sight, for +the first time, of their great enemy, Syracuse. The main body of the +fleet remained in the offing, but ten triremes were sent forward to +reconnoitre the Great Harbour, and get a nearer view of the +fortifications. When the little squadron came within hearing of the +walls, a herald proclaimed in a loud voice that any of the Leontines +now present in Syracuse should leave the city without fear, and come +over to their faithful kinsmen and allies, the Athenians. After this +futile demonstration, better calculated; to excite laughter than +terror, the reconnoitring triremes withdrew, and the whole fleet sailed +back in the direction of Rhegium. On their return voyage the Athenians +succeeded, by a lucky accident, in gaining the adherence of Catana, +which henceforth became the head-quarters of the whole armament. Soon +after they had effected this important change of station the Salaminian +state trireme arrived with momentous news from Athens. We have seen +what a panic of superstitious fear had been caused among the Athenians +by the mutilation of the Hermae. Arrested for the moment by the +all-absorbing interest of the Sicilian expedition, the excitement broke +out with renewed violence after the departure of the fleet. The enemies +of Alcibiades saw that the time was now ripe for bringing up against +him the charge of violating the mysteries, and pressing for a judgment. +A formal indictment was laid before the senate, and it was decided that +he should come home and stand his trial. But it was necessary to +proceed with caution, for Alcibiades was popular with the troops +serving in Sicily; and it was possible that, if any violence were +attempted against his person, they might break out into mutiny. +Accordingly the captain of the Salaminian trireme was instructed to +treat him with all respect, and allow him to return to Athens in his +own vessel. On receiving the summons Alcibiades affected to obey, and +set sail from Catana, with the state trireme in attendance. The two +ships remained in company as far as Thurii, a Greek town of southern +Italy, but there the great criminal disappeared, and after searching +for him in vain the officers of the Salaminia were obliged to return to +Athens without him. When the news of his flight was brought to Athens, +he was arraigned in his absence, and condemned to death. But if his +enemies supposed that they had heard the last of Alcibiades, they soon +learnt how deeply they were mistaken. + + +V + +The conduct of the campaign in Sicily was thus left in the feeble hands +of Nicias; for though Lamachus nominally held an equal command, his +poverty and political insignificance prevented him from holding the +position to which his military talents entitled him. The few remaining +weeks of summer were frittered away in trivial operations on the +western coasts of the island, and then the Athenians withdrew into +winter quarters at Catana. The predictions of Lamachus now began to be +fulfilled: seeing that Nicias, with the vast force at his disposal, +attempted nothing against them, the Syracusans began to despise their +enemy, and thought of taking the offensive. Horsemen from Syracuse rode +repeatedly up to the Athenian outposts at Catana, and tauntingly +inquired if the Athenians had come to found a colony in Sicily. At last +even Nicias felt that some display of activity was necessary to save +himself from contempt. He had learnt from certain Syracusan exiles that +there was a convenient place for landing troops, on the low-lying shore +where the river Anapus flows into the Great Harbour. Here he determined +to make a sudden descent, and in order to avoid disembarking in the +face of an enemy, he contrived a stratagem to remove the whole +Syracusan force out of reach. A citizen of Catana, who was attached to +the Athenian interest, was sent with a message to the Syracusan +generals, which held out a tempting prospect of gaining an easy and +decisive advantage over the Athenian army. Professing to come from the +partisans of Syracuse still remaining in Catana, he promised on their +behalf that if the Syracusans made a sudden assault on the Athenian +camp, their friends in Catana would simultaneously fall upon the +Athenian troops, who were in the habit of deserting their quarters and +straggling about the town, and set fire to their ships. + +This plausible story found ready credence with the Syracusan generals, +and they named a day on which they promised to appear in full force +before the walls of Catana. When the time appointed drew near, they +marched out with the whole Syracusan army, leaving the city to be +garrisoned by their allies, and took up a position within easy reach of +Catana. Thereupon Nicias, who was fully informed of their movements, +embarked his troops by night, sailed down the coast past Syracuse, and +entering the Great Harbour, came to land near the outlying suburb of +Polichne, where stood the great temple of the Olympian Zeus. Here he +planted a breastwork of palisades to defend his ships, and drew up his +army on ground which offered many obstacles to the advance of the +Syracusan cavalry. Then, having broken down the bridge over the Anapus, +he waited for the enemy to appear. + +Meanwhile the Syracusan generals had marched upon Catana, and finding +that they had been duped, returned with all speed to the defence of +their own city. After a long and fatiguing march, they came in view of +the Athenian position, and drew up their forces for battle. But Nicias +declined the challenge, and the day being now far advanced, they fell +back and encamped for the night in the open field. + +Next morning Nicias, acting with unusual vigour, drew up his army in +two equal divisions, and leaving one half to defend the camp, and act +as a reserve, with the other he advanced rapidly upon the enemy. The +Syracusans, who had perhaps reckoned too much on the known indolence of +Nicias, were taken by surprise. Their discipline was lax, and many of +them had left their posts, and gone off into the town. Nevertheless, +they met the attack with firmness: those who were on the spot hastened +to assume their weapons, which they had laid aside, while the +stragglers came running back, and took their stand wherever they saw a +gap in the ranks. After some preliminary skirmishing between the +light-armed troops, the heavy masses of the hoplites came to close +quarters, and a fierce hand to hand struggle ensued. While the issue +was still uncertain, a violent thunderstorm broke over the contending +armies, and struck terror into the Syracusans, who regarded it as an +omen of defeat. But the seasoned soldiers of Nicias saw nothing unusual +in an autumn tempest, and perceiving the enemy to waver, they pressed +their attack, and broke through the opposing lines. The whole Syracusan +army now fell back upon Syracuse, but they retired without haste or +disorder, and their retreat was covered by a numerous and efficient +body of cavalry, so that their total loss amounted only to two hundred +and sixty. + +The victory thus remained with the Athenians; but the moral advantage +was entirely on the side of the Syracusans. With an army composed of +raw recruits, they had met the flower of the Athenian forces, trained +by years of warfare, and led by experienced generals, in fair fight, +and though attacked at a disadvantage, they had fought with spirit, and +retreated with coolness and deliberation. They had good reason to be +satisfied with the result of their first encounter with the invader, +and they might well share the high and confident hopes expressed by +their most eminent citizen, Hermocrates. Speaking at a general +assembly, immediately after the battle, the great patriot congratulated +his countrymen on the courage which they had displayed, and at the same +time pointed out the necessity of improving their discipline and +military organization. One important reform should be made at once; the +number of the generals, which had hitherto been fifteen, should be +greatly reduced, and those appointed to the supreme command should be +given absolute power, so that they might act with secrecy and despatch. +Further, let the whole adult male population be placed under arms, and +kept in constant drill all through the winter. If these measures were +vigorously carried out, they might successfully defy the Athenians to +do their worst. + +Acting on this advice, the Syracusans deposed the existing generals, +and chose Hermocrates, with three others, to fill their place. The +reform of the army was at once taken in hand, and ambassadors were sent +to Corinth and Sparta to ask for aid. Corinth, as the mother-city of +Syracuse, might well respond to the call, and it was hoped that the +Spartans would be induced to declare open war on Athens, so as to +compel the Athenians to withdraw their forces from Sicily, or at least +prevent them from sending reinforcements. + +Various defensive works were undertaken by the Syracusans during the +winter. The most important of these was a new wall, extending from the +northern sea to the Great Harbour, and taking in a wide space of +ground, outside the old line of wall, to the west of the city. By thus +increasing the area of Syracuse, they made it much more difficult for +Nicias to draw his line of blockade, when the siege began in the +following spring. They also constructed a fort, with a permanent +garrison, to guard the temple of Zeus in the suburb of Polichne, and +drove piles into the sea at all the landing-places of the Great Harbour. + +Soon after the battle Nicias shifted his winter quarters to Naxos, and +learning this the Syracusans marched in full force to Catana, laid +waste the territory, and burnt the deserted huts of the Athenians. The +insult was tamely endured, and shortly afterwards the ever-active +Hermocrates had an opportunity of thwarting the Athenian intrigues +among the Greek cities of Sicily. The scene of this diplomatic +encounter was Camarina, a Dorian city which had hitherto wavered +between its hatred of Syracuse and its fear of Athens. Early in the +winter Athenian envoys appeared at Camarina with overtures of alliance, +and Hermocrates was sent to represent the interests of Syracuse. +Speaking first in the debate, Hermocrates set himself to unmask the +designs of the Athenians, who, under the thin pretence of helping the +Ionic cities of Sicily, had come (he said) to make a conquest of the +whole island. The Ionians of Greece had long groaned under their yoke, +and the same fate was in store for the Ionians of Sicily, if they +allowed themselves to be beguiled by specious lies. The plea of +friendship and goodwill might pass with the degenerate Greeks of Asia +and the Aegaean, born to be cajoled and enslaved; but the Camariaeans +were of the stout Dorian race, the hereditary foes of tyranny, too wise +and too brave to lend themselves as tools to a bare-faced scheme of +aggression. If not, let them beware: Syracuse was fighting in a +righteous cause, and must prevail in the end; help was coming from +Peloponnesus, and if the Camariaeans stood aloof, the day would come +when they would regret their disloyalty. + +There can be no doubt that Hermocrates was right in his view of the +motive which brought the Athenians to Sicily, and the arguments of +Euphemus, the advocate for Athens, who strove to confute him, will not +bear examination. But the people of Camarina were in a difficult +position; their city had suffered many things in the past at the hands +of Syracuse, and they had reason to fear that her oppressions might be +renewed, if she emerged triumphant from the present struggle. On the +other hand, if the Athenians were victorious, they might forfeit their +independence altogether. In this dilemma they determined to play a +waiting game, and when the time came for action, to throw their weight +on the winning side. For the present they answered that they chose to +remain neutral. + +The debate at Camarina, though interesting and instructive from the +light which it throws on the passions and motives of the combatants, +had little influence on the final issue of the war. But about the same +time a scene was being enacted in another part of the Greek world, +which led to most momentous consequences. Early in the winter the +Syracusan envoys arrived at Corinth, and made an earnest appeal for +help. The Corinthians were warmly attached to their famous colony, +which had never wavered in its allegiance to the mother-city, and +moreover they were the implacable enemies of Athens. They therefore +took up the cause of Syracuse with enthusiasm, and they sent the envoys +on to Sparta, accompanied by delegates of their own, to urge the +immediate resumption of hostilities against Athens, and the sending of +prompt aid to Sicily. + +At Sparta they found an able and unscrupulous ally, the very last whom +they had expected to meet there. This was the outlaw Alcibiades, who, +after eluding the vigilance of the Athenian officers at Thurii, had +crossed over in a merchant ship to Cyllene, the port of Elis. While +staying there, he received an invitation from the Lacedaemonians to +proceed to Sparta, and made his way thither, having first stipulated +for a safe-conduct; for he dreaded the vengeance of the Spartans, to +whom he had done much mischief by raising the coalition which led to +the battle of Mantinea. So there he was, the guest of his old enemies, +burning with all an exile's hatred, and ready to strike some deadly +blow against the city which had cast him out. + +At first the Spartans gave but a cool and qualified response to the +application of the envoys from Corinth. They were prepared to lend +moral support to the Syracusans, by sending an embassy to encourage +them in their resistance, but of more substantial aid they said little +or nothing. Now was the time for Alcibiades to play his part. He knew, +far better than any of his hearers, all the vulnerable points of +Athens, and had no scruple in using his knowledge for her ruin. Having +obtained permission from the magistrates, he rose to address the +Spartan assembly; and his speech is given at full length by the +historian, who was himself an exile at the time, and may possibly have +been present [Footnote: The suggestion is made by Grote.] on this +important occasion. + +The Spartans might smile when they heard this accomplished traitor +professing friendship towards themselves, and zeal for their service; +they might be disgusted at the flippant sophistries by which he strove +to defend his unexampled villainy. But far different feelings must have +been awakened, when he went on to unfold the gigantic scheme of +conquest, to which, as he pretended, the invasion of Sicily was no more +than a prelude. According to this statement, the Athenians intended, +after subjugating the Greeks of Sicily, to turn their arms against the +Italian Greeks, and finally to attack Carthage. If all these designs +were successful, they would build a great number of new ships, taking +their materials from the forests of Italy, raise a vast military force, +both of Greeks and barbarians, and then return, backed by the whole +power of the West, and draw a ring of war round Peloponnesus. With such +resources they would be irresistible, and all Greece must inevitably +fall under their sway. + +"Such," continued Alcibiades, "is the secret history of the Sicilian +expedition, which you have heard from the mouth of him who knows it +best. Remember, then, that the issue before you concerns not Syracuse +only, but Sparta also: for if Syracuse falls--and fall she must, if +left without support--all Sicily will be under the heel of Athens; then +will come the turn of Italy, and after that you will soon have the +enemy at your own doors. Now learn what you must do, if you would avert +all the evils which I have foretold. You must send a fleet to Sicily at +once, with hoplites who can row the ships themselves, and serve in the +army as soon as they land, and with them a Spartan commander, to +organize the fighting men of Sicily, and compel those who are hanging +back to do their duty. Such a man will be a host in himself, and will +infuse new life and energy into the defence. Further, you must +establish a fortified camp at Decelea, a position which commands the +whole territory of Attica; for by so doing you will reduce Athens to a +state of siege, and compel the whole male population to serve on +garrison duty; you will deprive the Athenians of their revenues from +the silver-mines at Laurium, and you will put new heart into the cities +subject to Athens, and encourage them to withhold their tribute. Let +these measures be carried out with promptitude and vigour, and you will +soon reap your reward, in the humiliation of Athens, and the honour and +gratitude of all Greece." + +At these words of Alcibiades the sluggish Spartans took fire, and +recognizing the importance of his advice they determined to follow the +course which he had indicated. Gylippus, a Spartan of high rank, +received orders to proceed at once to Syracuse, and assume the control +of the war, and the Corinthians were directed to provide ships for the +conveyance of troops. But after this brief display of energy the +Spartans relapsed into their wonted torpor. Many months elapsed before +Gylippus was able to embark for Sicily, and meanwhile important events +had been occurring at the seat of war. We return, therefore, to the +head-quarters of Nicias, which had once more been removed from Naxos to +Catana. + + +VI + +For the next year and a half [Footnote: Spring 414--autumn 413 B.C.] +the scene of our narrative lies almost entirely in the immediate +neighbourhood of Syracuse, so that it now becomes necessary to describe +in some detail the site of that city, and the character of the adjacent +country. Mention has already been made of the island of Ortygia, the +site of the original colony, connected with the mainland of Sicily by a +bridge or causeway. At the southern extremity of Ortygia there is a +narrow strip of land, pointing like a finger towards the rocky +peninsula of Plemmyrium; and between these two points lies the entrance +to a spacious bay, already alluded to under the name of the Great +Harbour. At the western end of the bay there is a long stretch of low, +marshy ground, intersected by the little rivers Cyana and Anapus, and +infested with fever during the heats of summer. On a rising ground, +south of the Anapus, stood the suburb of Polichne, with its great +temple, sacred to the Olympian Zeus. A little to the north of Ortygia +the coast rises abruptly in a bold line of cliffs, facing eastwards, +and forming the base of a triangular plateau, which slopes upwards from +the sea, and gradually grows narrower until it ends in a point, called +the hill of Euryelus. This plateau, which bore the name of Epipolae, is +guarded on all its three sides by rocky precipices, only to be ascended +at two or three places. Its eastern end, called Acheadina, from the +wild pear-trees which once flourished there, was occupied by a new +city, now included with Ortygia in the same wall of defence. Here were +situated the famous stone-quarries, which afterwards acquired so tragic +an interest from the sufferings of the captive Athenians; and +southwards from this district the ground shelves gently to the shores +of the Little Harbour, a sheltered inlet at the northern end of Ortygia. + +At the opening of spring the operations against Syracuse began in good +earnest. The first object of Nicias was to obtain possession of the +heights of Epipolae, for since the construction of the new Syracusan +wall it had become impossible for him to draw his line of blockade from +the side of the Great Harbour. His preparations were already far +advanced, when the Syracusan generals resolved to anticipate him, by +occupying all the approaches to Epipolae. With this intention they +issued an order for a full muster of troops in a meadow by the Anapus, +and after a general review and inspection of arms they appointed a +picked body of six hundred hoplites to guard the heights of Epipolae, +and hold themselves ready for any other pressing service. But the +precaution was taken too late. On the night before the review Nicias +set sail with his whole army from Catana, and landed at a place called +Leon, not more than six or seven furlongs from the northern side of +Epipolae. The fleet then took up its station in the sheltered water +behind the peninsula of Thapsus, while the land forces, advancing at a +run, crossed the level ground, and then, breasting the ascent, gained +the summit of Euryelus. + +News of their approach presently reached the Syracusans, who were still +mustered by the Anapus, and breaking off the review, they marched in +haste towards Epipolae, hoping still to dislodge the Athenians from +their position. But in their rapid advance over a distance of nearly +three miles their ranks became disordered, and their attack was so +straggling and ineffectual that they were easily repulsed, and driven +back with considerable loss into the town. On the following day Nicias +led his troops down the slope, and offered battle before the walls of +Syracuse; but the challenge was declined, and the Syracusans remained +within their defences, leaving the Athenians in undisputed possession +of Epipolae. + +After this important success the Athenian generals prepared at once to +form the siege of Syracuse. They first constructed a fort at a place +called Labdalum, on the northern verge of Epipolae, and near its +western extremity, to serve as a safe depositary for their baggage and +money. Then, taking up a position near the centre of Epipolae, they +built a circular wall, covering a considerable space of ground, and +defended on the side towards the city by an outer breastwork, a +thousand feet long. This enclosure, which was called the Circle, was +intended as a shelter for the men employed on construction of the +blockading wall, which started from either side of the Circle, and was +to be carried north and south until it reached the sea. The work made +rapid progress, and greatly alarmed the Syracusans, who saw themselves +in danger of being cut off from all hope of succour on the land side. +Dismayed by this prospect, they resolved to make one more effort to +drive the Athenians from their position, and marching out in full +force, offered battle. Advancing in haste and disorder, they would +certainly have suffered a crushing defeat, but for the prudent caution +of their generals, who were so much impressed by the superior +discipline of the Athenians, that they gave the order to retire, and +led their troops back into the city, leaving only a detachment of horse +to skirmish with the besiegers. But the Athenians had now an efficient +force of cavalry, which had been raised by successive reinforcements to +the number of six hundred and fifty men; and these, backed by a small +force of infantry, soon drove the horsemen of Syracuse from the field. + +The Athenians then completed the building of their Circle, and began to +lay the materials for the northern line of wall. By the advice of +Hermocrates the Syracusans made no further attempt to attack them in +full force, but began to build a counterwall, running out from the city +in a direction south of the Athenian Circle, so as to cross the line to +be followed by the wall of blockade, and prevent it from reaching the +Great Harbour. The work proceeded without interruption, for the +Athenians were engaged in their building operations north of the +Circle, and did not choose to divide their forces. When it was +completed, this counterwork consisted of a solid stone wall, crowned +with wooden towers, and defended in front by a palisade. The blockade +of Syracuse was thus rendered impossible, as long as the defenders +could keep possession of their counterwall. But unfortunately the +guards left in charge of the new wail soon began to neglect their duty, +and erected tents in the shade, where they passed the hot hours of the +afternoon, while some even left their posts, and went off to refresh +themselves in the city. The Athenian generals did not fail to take +advantage of this negligence. Watching their opportunity, when most of +the Syracusan guards were reposing under the shelter of the tents, they +sent a chosen troop of some three hundred men to make a sudden assault +on the counterwall. Then, having divided the main body of the Athenian +army between them, they disposed their forces so as to prevent any +rescue from the town. One division was drawn up before the principal +gate in the new Syracusan wall, while the other proceeded to a +postern-gate, at the point where the counterwall started from the city. +The combined movement was completely successful; the three hundred +carried the stockade and cross-wall by storm, and compelled the +defenders to take refuge within the ramparts of Syracuse. The whole +Athenian army then marched up to the counterwall and stockade, which +they speedily demolished, carrying off the materials for their own use. + +Wishing to prevent any second attempt on the part of the Syracusans to +cut them off from the southern slope of Epipolae, the Athenian generals +now fortified that part of the cliff which looks towards the Great +Harbour. By occupying this point they obtained a new centre, commanding +the space between the Circle and the southern edge of the cliff, and +placing them in communication with the level valley of the Anapus, +across which they had to carry their line of blockade. For the present +building operations were suspended on the northern side of the Circle, +as they wished first of all to complete the investment of Syracuse +towards the south. + +Perceiving their intention, the Syracusans began a second counterwork, +consisting of a stockade and ditch, which started at the point of +junction between the old city-wall and the new, and ran across the low +swampy ground as far as the Anapus. Thus the Athenians were confronted +by a new obstacle, which had to be removed, before they could make any +further progress. Acting with energy and decision, they sent orders to +the fleet, which was still lying at Thapsus, to sail round into the +Great Harbour; and without waiting for its arrival, before daybreak +Lamachus led his troops down the cliff, and advanced against the +stockade. His men carried hurdles and planks, to secure their footing +in the most treacherous parts of the swamp, and, proceeding thus, in +the first light of dawn they came up to the stockade. They found the +Syracusans assembled in force to resist them, and an engagement ensued, +which speedily ended in favour of the Athenians. The right wing of the +Syracusan army fled back into the city, while the left wing retreated +towards the suburb of Polichne, hotly pursued by the picked troop +[Footnote: P. 203.] of Athenian hoplites, who wished to cut them off +before they reached the river. By this rash movement the Athenians came +near to forfeiting the advantage which they had gained, and brought +upon themselves an irreparable loss. For the Syracusan cavalry turned +on their pursuers, and drove them back in disorder upon the Athenian +right. The sudden reverse created something like a panic in that part +of the line, and Lamachus, who was in command of the left wing, +hastened to their relief, and threw himself, with a handful of men, +between the Syracusan cavalry and the fugitives. This gallant action +turned the tide of battle once more, and gave the Athenians on the +right wing time to rally; but Lamachus and his followers, pushing +forward too hotly, were attacked by the enemy in a place where their +retreat was cut off by a ditch, and slain to a man. + +Meanwhile the Syracusans who had fled into the city, observing the +temporary defeat of the Athenians, had taken courage again, and they +returned to the field, having first sent a detachment to attack the +Athenian Circle, where Nicias, who was disabled by sickness, had been +left in charge with a small garrison. Thinking to make an easy capture, +the party sent on this service ran up the slope of Epipolae, and +reached the breastwork of the Circle, which they took and demolished. +With the scanty force at his disposal, Nicias had little hope of +repelling the attack, so he had recourse to a desperate expedient. He +ordered the camp-servants to set fire to a great pile of timber, which +was lying, together with a number of siege engines, in front of the +wall. They did as he directed, and a great flame arose, which drove +back the assailants, and gave warning of his danger to the Athenians in +the plain below, where the whole Syracusan army was now in full +retreat. Almost at the same moment the Athenian fleet was seen sailing +into the Great Harbour, and a strong contingent from the victorious +army came swarming up the hill to the rescue. Thereupon the storming +party from Syracuse turned and fled back to the city, where they found +the streets thronged by their beaten and dispirited comrades. + +The result of this battle was to leave the Athenian in undisputed +possession of the whole country round Syracuse. Lamachus, indeed, had +fallen, and the loss of that daring and active spirit soon made itself +severely felt. But for the present the fortunes of Athens were in the +ascendant, and everything seemed to promise a speedy triumph. The +Syracusans were thoroughly cowed by their defeat, and looked passively +on, while a double wall of blockade crept steadily forwards from the +southern edge of Epipolae towards the Great Harbour, where the Athenian +fleet had now taken up its permanent station. The native Sicels, who +had hitherto held back through fear of Syracuse, now joined the +Athenians in great numbers. Even the distant Etruscans, the ancient +enemies of Syracuse, sent three war-galleys to take part in the sack of +the great Dorian city. + +Day by day the spirits of the Syracusans sank lower and lower. They now +began to feel the actual pressure of a siege. Months had passed since +their envoys had sailed for Greece, and there was still no sign of help +from Corinth or Sparta. They had lost all hope of saving themselves by +their own unaided efforts, and no course seemed left to them but to +make the best terms they could with Nicias. Negotiations were +accordingly opened with the Athenian general, but after much discussion +no definite result was attained. In this hour of weakness and distress, +the Syracusans became divided against themselves, and every man +suspected his neighbour of treason. Then they turned upon their +generals, who, after holding out such high promises, had brought them +to this pass, either by mismanagement, or by deliberate treachery. +Hermocrates and his colleagues were deposed from their command, and +three other generals succeeded to their place. + +In the eyes of all those who were watching the struggle, the fate of +Syracuse was sealed; she was destined to fall a prey to the devouring +ambition of Athens. But at this very moment a little cloud was +approaching from the east, which was fraught with disaster and ruin to +the besieging army. + + +VII + +Just at the time when the Syracusans were brought to the brink of +despair, Gylippus, after so many months' delay, was on his voyage to +Sicily. While lying at Leucas, a Corinthian settlement in the Ionian +sea, he received the alarming intelligence that Syracuse was already +completely blockaded, and the report was confirmed by every vessel that +came in from the west. Deceived by these false rumours, he gave up all +hope of saving Sicily, but hoping still to forestall the Athenians in +Italy, he put out from Leucas with four ships, and steered a straight +course for Tarentum. From this city, which was friendly to Sparta and +Syracuse, he started on his mission among the Italian Greeks, and +putting in at Locri he heard for the first time that the Athenian wall +was still unfinished on the northern side of Epipolae, leaving a wide +gap, through which a relieving force might enter the town. + +Two courses now lay open to Gylippus. He might sail southwards, and +make an attempt to run the blockade of Syracuse--or he might land on +the northern coast of Sicily, march across the island, and fight his +way into the city through the unwalled interval. In either case, the +enterprise seemed desperate enough. By a very moderate exertion on the +part of Nicias, employing only a fraction of the immense force at his +disposal, Gylippus might have been destroyed, before he had time to +become dangerous. But Nicias was lulled into a fatal confidence. He had +heard of the mission of Gylippus, but made no attempt to oppose his +voyage to Italy, regarding him as a mere free-booter, unworthy of +serious notice. At last, learning that Gylippus was at Locri, he was +induced to send out four triremes against him. They were instructed to +take station at Rhegium, and cut off the daring intruder as he passed +through the strait. But when they reached Rhegium, the wary Spartan was +already beyond their reach. He had decided to approach Syracuse by +land, and was now far advanced on his voyage to Himera, the only Greek +settlement on the north coast of Sicily. Himera, though an Ionic +colony, was attached to the Dorian interest, and her citizens gave a +hearty welcome to the Spartan deliverer. Before long, a little army of +about three thousand men was assembled at Himera, and ready to follow +the fortunes of Gylippus. Seven hundred of these were the sailors and +marines from his own vessels, armed as hoplites, and the Himeraeans +furnished a thousand infantry, light and heavy-armed, and a hundred +cavalry. Owing to the recent death of a powerful chieftain, who had +been a strong partisan of Athens, the northern Sicels had now changed +sides, and they sent a thousand men to serve under the Spartan leader. +Small contingents also arrived, in answer to the call of Gylippus, from +Gela and Selinus. With this little force, composed of such motley +elements, Gylippus started from Himera, and entered on his march for +the relief of Syracuse. The fate of Syracuse was already wavering in +the balance. As yet no news of approaching succour had reached the +beleaguered city, and the Syracusans had abandoned all hope. To save +themselves from a worse calamity, they resolved to surrender, and an +assembly was summoned to settle the terms of capitulation. But at this +very moment a message came to them by sea, which kindled their courage +afresh, and banished these counsels of despair. When Gylippus left +Leucas, a Corinthian fleet of some fifteen vessels was preparing to +sail from that port for Syracuse. One of the ships, commanded by a +certain Gongylus, was delayed in the harbour, and started after the +rest. But Gongylus, instead of steering the ordinary course, which +would have taken him first to Italy, made a bold dash, straight across +the sea, and just when the momentous decision was pending, his ship +came to anchor in the Little Harbour. Forthwith the joyful tidings +spread like wildfire through the city: Gylippus was coming, armed with +full authority from Sparta--Corinth had taken up their cause--Syracuse +was saved! All thought of surrender was instantly flung away, and news +arriving shortly afterwards that Gylippus was near at hand, the whole +Syracusan force marched out to meet him, and escorted him triumphantly +into the town. + +Thus, without a blow being struck, an immense access of strength had +been brought to the besieged, and the grand condition of successful +resistance, on which Alcibiades had laid such weight, was fulfilled. A +Spartan officer of consummate ability was now in Syracuse, and he had +made his way into the city, not alone, not by stealth, but at the head +of an army, and before the very eyes of the enemy. Weeks must have +elapsed between the departure of Gylippus from Leucas, and his arrival +at Syracuse; and during all this time, with one trifling exception, +Nicias made no effort to oppose his progress. Prudent men might well +have regarded the enterprise of Gylippus as a wild and desperate +adventure; and such it must have proved, but for the astounding +blindness and apathy of Nicias. + +At the time when Gylippus reached Syracuse the Athenian lines of +circumvallation were all but completed on the side of the Great +Harbour; but a wide interval was still left between the Circle and the +northern sea, and it was here that Gylippus had effected an entrance. +To keep this space open was a matter of supreme importance, and the +scene of action is now shifted again to the northern slope of Epipolae. +On the day after his arrival Gylippus succeeded in capturing the +Athenian fort at Labdalum, and the command of this position gave +increased facilities for the construction of a third counterwall, which +was forthwith taken in hand, and carried in the direction of Labdalum, +until it crossed the blockading line at its northern end. + +If the Syracusans succeeded in completing and holding this counterwork, +the blockade of Syracuse would be rendered impossible. Yet for some +time Nicias made no attempt to interrupt its progress. As if already +convinced of his inferiority in the field, he took steps to keep his +communications open by sea, and with this object he employed a part of +his forces in fortifying the headland of Plemmyrium, which commanded +the entrance to the Great Harbour. Here he built three forts which +served as an arsenal for the Athenian stores; and henceforth Plemmyrium +became the chief station for his fleet. This removal had a disastrous +effect on the Athenian crews; for the place being almost a desert, and +the springs distant and scanty, they were compelled to go far from +their quarters in search of forage and water, and while thus engaged +they were cut off in great numbers by the Syracusan horse, who had been +posted at Polichne for this purpose. A rapid demoralization of the +crews was the consequence, and desertions became more frequent every +day. + +Meanwhile the counterwall was advancing steadily up the hill, and every +day Gylippus drew up his army, to cover the operations of the workmen. +At last he determined to force on an engagement, and in the first +encounter the Syracusans, fighting in a confined space, which prevented +their cavalry from coming into action, suffered a defeat. In no wise +discouraged by this reverse, on the next day they took up a position in +the more open ground, and offered battle again. By this time the +Syracusan counterwork had almost passed the end of the Athenian wall, +and if it were carried a few yards further, the siege of Syracuse would +be brought to a standstill. Roused by the imminence of the crisis, +Nicias determined to make one more effort to regain his mastery in the +field, and led his troops to the attack. The main body of the hoplites +were soon hotly engaged on both sides, and in the midst of the action +Gylippus directed his cavalry and light-armed infantry to make a sudden +charge on the Athenian left. This movement was executed with so much +skill and resolution that the Athenians in that part of the line gave +way, and drew after them the rest of their comrades, who broke their +ranks, and fled for shelter behind the siege works. + +The Syracusans lost no time in turning their victory to account. On the +very same night their wall was extended some distance beyond the +blockading line, and until this new barrier was overthrown, the +investment of Syracuse had now become impossible. + +Whichever way he looked, Nicias saw himself menaced with failure and +defeat. He had sent twenty ships to intercept the Corinthian squadron +on its voyage from Leucas; but the little fleet of rescue succeeded in +avoiding the snare, and made its way into the port of Syracuse, thus +adding twelve fresh vessels to the defending force. Gylippus himself +was marching unhindered up and down the island, passing from city to +city, and raising reinforcements of ships and men; and a second embassy +had been despatched by the Syracusans, to carry the news of their +victory to Corinth and Sparta, and ask for further help. Another +ominous sign of coming events was the bustle and activity now visible +in the dockyards of Syracuse and the waters of the Little Harbour; for +the Syracusans had turned their attention seriously to their fleet, and +thought of nothing less than attacking the Athenians on their own +element. + +These symptoms of renewed confidence and energy were observed by Nicias +with growing disquiet. And if he turned his eyes to his own camp, he +saw little to relieve his anxiety. For the predictions of Lamachus had +been fulfilled to the letter. By his fatal policy of procrastination +Nicias had frittered away the resources of the most splendid armament +that ever set sail from Peiraeus. His soldiers were infected by the +despondency of their leader, and many of them were stricken by the +marsh-fever which haunts the unwholesome district of the Anapus. Above +all the condition of the fleet showed the lamentable effect of long +inaction and delay. All the supplies of the Athenians came to them by +sea, and in order to keep their communications open, it was necessary +to keep the whole of the fleet on constant duty. In consequence of +this, the hulls of the triremes had become sodden with water, which +made them leaky, and difficult to row. Moreover the crews, which were +largely composed of foreign seamen, had grown restive and mutinous +under the severe strain of hardships and privation, so different from +the easy and lucrative service in the hope of which they had enlisted. +Some took the first opportunity of deserting to the enemy, while others +ran away to remote parts of Sicily; and there was no means of filling +the places thus left vacant. + +Such was the burden of care and apprehension which lay heavy on the +feeble shoulders of the Athenian general. He was naturally a weak man, +haunted by superstitious terrors, irresolute, easily cast down; and +this infirmity of character was aggravated by a painful and incurable +disease. There was no longer any question of laying siege to Syracuse: +he himself was now besieged, and it was all he could do to maintain his +position within his defences, and keep the sea open for the conveyance +of supplies. In this desperate situation he determined to send a +written despatch to Athens. We are led to suppose that this was an +unusual proceeding, and that news from the seat of war was generally +sent by word of mouth. The document is given at full length, with all +its grievous confessions of incompetence and failure. After setting +forth the facts of the case as stated above, Nicias insists that one of +two things must be done: either the army now lying before Syracuse must +be recalled to Athens, or the Athenians must send out a second army, +equal in strength to the first, and a general to relieve him of his +command. + +At the conclusion of his despatch Nicias peevishly complains of the +exacting temper of the Athenians, and their readiness to blame anyone +but themselves if anything untoward occurred. Whatever may be the truth +of the general charge, it was most ill-timed and ungrateful in his own +case. Towards him, at least, the conduct of his fellow-citizens was +marked by an excess of generosity, amounting to actual infatuation. +Nothing is more remarkable than the unshaken confidence of the +Athenians in their feeble general, after hearing this terrible +indictment, drawn up by his own hand. They refused to accept his +resignation, and passed a decree that large reinforcements should be +sent to Sicily, with Demosthenes and Eurymedon as generals; and in the +meantime they appointed Menander and Euthydemus, two officers already +serving before Syracuse, to share with Nicias the burden of command. +Before the winter was ended Eurymedon started with ten ships for +Sicily, to announce that effectual help was coming; while Demosthenes +was charged with the duty of enlisting troops and organizing a fleet. + +Meanwhile new perils were gathering round the Athenians at home, which +should have warned them to abandon their wild plans of conquest, and +concentrate all their strength for their own defence. The Spartans had +long been restrained by a scruple of conscience from an open +declaration of war, wishing to avoid the guilt which is associated with +the first act of aggression. Eighteen years before they had refused all +offers of arbitration, and deliberately provoked an encounter with +Athens, in direct violation of the Thirty Years' Truce, which provided +for an amicable settlement of differences; and by so acting they had, +as they believed, incurred the anger of heaven, and brought on +themselves a long train of disasters. But now the position was +reversed: for in the previous year the Athenians had made descents on +the coasts of Laconia, and other districts of Peloponnesus; and they +had repeatedly turned a deaf ear to the friendly overtures of the +Spartans, who proposed to submit all disputed matters to a peaceful +tribunal. + +Thus relieved of their scruples, the Spartans prepared to renew the war +in good earnest, and early in the following spring [Footnote: B.C. +413.] they summoned their allies to the Isthmus, and marched under Agis +their king into Attica. After ravaging the plain, they encamped at +Decelea, fourteen miles north of Athens, and here they established a +fortified post, which was garrisoned by contingents of the +Peloponnesian army, serving in regular order. Once more Alcibiades had +cause to exult in the success of his malignant counsels, which had sent +Gylippus to Syracuse, and had now planted this root of bitter mischief +on the very soil of Attica. + +While the allies were thus engaged at Decelea, a considerable body of +troops had embarked at Taenarum and at Corinth, and sailed to take part +in the defence of Syracuse. In Greece, all the old enemies of Athens +were arming against her, and beyond the sea her prospects grew darker +and darker every day. Yet nothing, it seemed, could break the spell of +fatal delusion which rested on the doomed city. While Attica lay in the +grip of the enemy, a fleet of sixty-five triremes, carrying a great +military force, weighed anchor from Peiraeus, and steered its course, +under the command of Demosthenes, for Sicily. + + +VIII + +We must now return to Syracuse, where fortune was preparing a new blow +for the ill-fated Athenian army. Gylippus came back from his mission at +the beginning of spring, bringing with him the reinforcements which he +had gathered from various parts of Sicily. At once resuming the +offensive, he planned an attack on the forts recently erected by Nicias +at Plemmyrium, and in order to divide the attention of the Athenians, +he determined to make a simultaneous movement against them by sea and +land. He himself took command of the army, and setting out at night, +made his way round to the rear of the Athenian position at Plemmyrium. +Meanwhile the Syracusan fleet lay ready in two divisions, one of which, +consisting of thirty-five vessels, was moored in the docks, within the +Great Harbour, while the other, to the number of forty-five, had its +station in the Lesser Harbour. At the hour appointed by Gylippus, just +as day was breaking, both squadrons got under weigh, and bore down upon +Plemmyrium, from the opposite sides of Ortygia. Though taken by +surprise, the Athenians put out in haste with sixty triremes, and a +sea-fight ensued, in which the Syracusans for some time had the +advantage. By this time Gylippus was at hand with his army, and by a +sudden assault on the Athenian forts he made an easy capture of all +three; for the greater part of the garrison had flocked down to the +sea, to watch the progress of the action in the Great Harbour. +Fortunately for these men, who had so grossly neglected their duty, the +Athenian fleet had now gained a decisive victory, and they were thus +enabled to make their escape by water, and cross over to the camp of +Nicias, on the other side of the bay. + +By the capture of Plemmyrium a great treasure fell into the hands of +the Syracusans. The loss to the Athenians, in money, stores, and men, +was serious enough; but further consequences ensued, which were nothing +less than disastrous. The enemy now commanded both sides of the +entrance to the Great Harbour, and not a ship-load of provisions could +reach the Athenian camp without an encounter with the Syracusan +triremes. Well might despondency and dismay take possession of the +beleaguered army, cramped in their narrow quarters on the swampy flats +of the Anapus. + +All Sicily, with one or two exceptions, had now declared for Syracuse, +and reinforcements came pouring in from every side. Gylippus was +resolved, if possible, to destroy the armament of Nicias, before the +fresh succours from Athens had time to arrive; and, as before, the +attack was to be made simultaneously by sea and land. Since the loss of +Plemmyrium, the Athenian fleet had been penned up in the confined space +at the head of the Great Harbour. Outside of these narrow limits, the +whole coast was in the hands of the enemy, and any Athenian trireme +which ventured out into open water ran the risk of being driven on a +hostile shore. Unless they chose to incur this great peril, the +Athenians would have to fight in close order, with the long, tapering +prows of their vessels exposed to collision. + +The Syracusans skilfully availed themselves of the advantage thus +offered. The impact of prow with prow, which had hitherto been regarded +as a disgraceful evidence of bad seamanship, had now become the most +effective method of attack; and in order to execute this simple +manoeuvre without damage to their own ships, the Syracusans shortened +the prows of their triremes, and strengthened them with heavy beams of +timber, thus converting them into a broad and solid mass, which could +be driven with crushing force against the slender beaks of the Athenian +galleys. + +When all was ready, Gylippus led out his troops, and assailed the +Athenian wall which faced towards Syracuse, and at the same time the +garrison stationed at Polichne left their quarters, and made another +attack on the opposite side. The assault had already commenced, when +the Syracusan fleet, which numbered eighty triremes, was seen advancing +towards the inner shore of the bay, where the ships of Nicias lay +moored; and the Athenian seamen, who had not expected to be called into +action, hastened in some confusion to man their ships, seventy-five of +which were presently engaged with the enemy. After a day passed in +irregular and desultory fighting, the battle ended slightly in favour +of the Syracusans. During the next day the Syracusans remained +inactive, and Nicias employed the interval in repairing the ships which +had suffered damage, and providing for the defence of his fleet. The +Athenian naval station was protected by a row of piles, rammed into the +bottom of the sea, forming a semi-circular breastwork, with an opening +about two hundred feet wide, where the ships passed in and out. On +either side of this entrance Nicias caused a merchant vessel to be +moored, and each vessel was provided with an engine called a dolphin, a +heavy mass of lead, suspended from the yard-arm, which could be dropped +on the deck of any hostile trireme attempting to pass. + +Early on the following morning the Syracusans resumed hostilities both +by sea and land, and after several hours of desultory fighting, they +drew off their fleet, and sailed back to their station under the walls +of the city. The Athenians were well pleased by this sudden relief, and +concluding that their work was done for the day, they disembarked at +leisure, and began to prepare their midday meal. But before they had +time to snatch a mouthful, the whole Syracusan fleet was seen advancing +again from the opposite shore, and the hungry and weary Athenian crews +were summoned on board to repel a second attack. This crafty manoeuvre +was due to a suggestion of Ariston, the most skilful of the Corinthian +seamen, by whose advice provisions had been brought down to the beach, +so that the Syracusan crews were kept together, and ready to renew the +action, after a brief interval for repose and refreshment. + +For a little while the two fleets faced each other, without venturing +to attack; then the Athenians, who were feverish with hunger and +fatigue, could restrain themselves no longer, but with one consent they +dashed their oars into the water, and with shouts of mutual +encouragement charged down upon the enemy. The Syracusans kept a firm +front, and opposing their massive prows to the rash assault, inflicted +great damage on the Athenian triremes, many of which were completely +wrecked by the shock of the collision. On every side the Athenians were +hard beset; the light-armed troops posted on the decks of the Syracusan +vessels, plied them with a shower of javelins, while the waters swarmed +with a multitude of boats, manned by daring adventurers, who rowed +boldly up to the sides of the Athenian triremes, broke the oars, and +hurled darts through the port-holes at the rowers. After fighting for +some time at a great disadvantage, with exhausted crews, and in a +narrow space, where they had no room to manoeuvre, the Athenians were +compelled to fall back, and sought refuge behind their palisade. + +This important success raised the spirits of the Syracusans higher than +ever. They had gained a decisive victory over the greatest naval power +in Greece, sunk seven triremes, disabled many more, and slain or taken +prisoners a large number of men. Flushed with pride and hope, they +immediately began to prepare for a final attack, which was to end in +the complete destruction of their enemies both by sea and land. But +these high expectations received a sudden check; for on the day after +the battle, [Footnote: Or possibly two days.] the watchers on the walls +of Syracuse descried a great fleet on the northern horizon. Presently +the regular beat of ten thousand oars could be distinctly heard; it +grew louder and louder, and as the vanguard came into full view, the +alarmed Syracusans recognized the truth. There was no mistaking the +peculiar build and familiar ensigns of the renowned Athenian galleys. +This could be no other than the fleet of Demosthenes, arrived just in +time to save the shattered armament of Nicias, and once more turn the +tide of war against Syracuse. A great multitude rushed to the +battlements, and gazed with keen pangs of anxiety as the long line of +triremes, seventy-three in number, swept past the walls of Ortygia, +rounded the southern point, and crossing the Great Harbour, dropped +anchor at the naval station of Nicias. If anyone not concerned in the +struggle had been present, he might have admired the grand exhibition +of military pomp and power, the perfect trim and condition of the +triremes, the precision of the rowing, and the glittering ranks of the +hoplites, javelin-men, archers, and slingers, who thronged the decks. +But no such feeling could find room in the minds of the Syracusans. +After their long trials and sufferings, on the very eve of their +crowning triumph, a new host of enemies had sprung up against them, and +all their toils were beginning anew. + + +IX + +When Demosthenes arrived at Syracuse, the position of affairs was as +follows: the blockading wall of the Athenians still extended in an +unbroken line from the circular fort on Epipolae to the camp and naval +station of Nicias at the head of the Great Harbour; but the Athenians +were cut off from access to the northern slope of Epipolae by the +Syracusan counterwall, which had been carried up the whole length of +the plateau as far as the hill of Euryelus. Along the northern edge of +the cliff the Syracusans had established three fortified camps, where +the defenders of the counterwall had their quarters, and on the summit +of Euryelus a fort had been erected, which held the key to the whole +system of defence. + +Demosthenes saw at once that, before any progress could be made with +the siege of Syracuse, it was necessary to gain possession of the +counterwall, and confine the Syracusans within the limits of their +city. The sooner he made the attempt, the greater was his chance of +success; for every day wasted would give new confidence to the enemy, +and the condition in which he found the troops of Nicias was a visible +warning against the fatal consequences of delay. An attack made on the +cross-wall from its southern side ended in total failure; his +siege-engines were burnt, and the storming-parties repulsed at every +point. The only course which remained was to march round to the +north-western extremity of the plateau, carry the fort of Euryelus, and +assail the Syracusans within their own lines. After consulting with his +colleagues, Demosthenes determined to try the hazardous method of a +night-attack, hoping thus to take the garrison on Euryelus by surprise. +He himself, with Eurymedon and Menander, took the command, and the +whole Athenian army was engaged in the adventure, except those who +remained behind with Nicias to guard the camp. On a moonlight night in +August, at the hour of the first watch, the march began. Moving +cautiously up the valley of the Anapus, they turned the northern end of +the hill, and reached the path by which Lamachus had ascended in the +spring of the previous year. At first all seemed to promise success to +the Athenians unobserved by the enemy, Demosthenes ascended the hill, +stormed the fort, and, drove the garrison back on the three fortified +camps which flanked the Syracusan counterwall on its northern side. The +fugitives raised the alarm, and the call was promptly answered by a +picked troop of six hundred hoplites, who were stationed nearest to the +point of danger. These men made a gallant stand, but they were +overpowered by superior numbers, and thrust back on the main body of +the Syracusans, who were now advancing under Gylippus to the rescue. +They in their turn were forced to give ground before the impetuous +charge of Demosthenes, and a general panic seemed about to spread +through the whole Syracusan army. Already the Athenians had begun to +throw down the battlements of the counterwall, and if they were allowed +to proceed, Syracuse would once more be exposed to imminent danger. + +But now occurred one of those sudden turns of fortune which were so +common in Greek warfare. As the soldiers of the Athenian van rushed +forward too hotly, wishing to complete the rout of the enemy they fell +into disorder, and in this condition they were confronted by a stout +little troop of Boeotian hoplites, who had found their way to Syracuse +earlier in the summer. This unexpected resistance checked the furious +onset of the Athenians, and the Boeotians, pursuing their advantage, +charged in solid phalanx and put them to flight. Once more the tide of +battle had turned against Athens. Restored to confidence by the steady +valour of their allies, the Syracusans closed their ranks, and advanced +in dense masses up the hill. A scene of indescribable horror and +confusion ensued, so that no one was afterwards able to give a clear +account of what had happened. On the narrow neck of land which forms +the western end of Epipolae two great armies were rushing to the +encounter. On one side was the main body of the Athenians, still +ignorant of the defeat of their comrades, and hurrying forward to share +in the victory. On the other side was the whole host of Syracuse, +advancing with deafening shouts to meet them; and in the middle were +the men of Demosthenes, flying in headlong rout before the conquering +Boeotians. In the uncertain light, the fugitives were at first mistaken +for enemies, and many of them perished miserably by the spears of their +own countrymen. On came the Syracusans, bearing down all before them; +but the Athenians, as they strove to escape, were flung back upon the +enemy by fresh bodies of their own men, who were still thronging by +thousands up the northern path of Euryelus. All semblance of order was +now lost in the Athenian army, which was broken up into detached +parties, some flying, some advancing, and shouting their watchword to +all whom they met, so as to learn whether they had to do with friend or +foe. But the Syracusans soon learnt the watchword, which thus became a +means of betraying the Athenians to their own destruction. To add to +the confusion, the Dorian allies of Athens raised a paean, or war-song, +so similar to that of the Syracusans, that the Athenians fled at their +approach supposing them to be enemies. The grand army of Demosthenes, +which had set out with such high hopes, was now no better than a mob of +wild and desperate men, friend fighting against friend, and citizen +against citizen. At length the whole multitude turned and fled, each +man seeking to save himself as best he could. Some, hard pressed by the +enemy, flung themselves from the cliffs, and were dashed to pieces on +the rocks below; others succeeded in reaching the plain, and found +their way back to the camp of Nicias; while not a few lost their way, +and wandered about the country until the following day, when they were +hunted down and slain by the Syracusan horseman. + +Demosthenes had done all that a man could to recover the ground lost by +Nicias, and resume the aggressive against Syracuse. His well-laid +scheme had ended disastrously, and only one course remained, consistent +with public duty and common sense. To waste the blood and treasure of +Athens in Sicily any longer would be suicidal folly. The Athenians at +home were in a state of siege, and needed every man and every ship for +the defence of their own territory, and the maintenance of their empire +in Greece. Sickness and despondency had already wrought dire havoc +among the troops encamped before Syracuse. To remain was utter ruin, +both to themselves and their fellow-citizens. The sea was still open, +and the new armament, with what remained of the old, would be strong +enough to secure their retreat. Let them embark without delay, turn +their backs on the fatal shores of Sicily, and hoist sail for home. + +These arguments were urged by Demosthenes with unanswerable force at a +private meeting of the generals which was held immediately after the +defeat on Epipolae But unhappily for all those most nearly concerned in +the debate, the influence of Nicias was still supreme in the Athenian +camp; and to spur that gloomy trifler into decisive action was beyond +the power even of Demosthenes. Nicias knew that, if he gave the word to +retreat, in a few weeks he would have to stand before the bar of his +countrymen, and give an account of the great trust which he had +betrayed. It would be better, he thought, to perish under the walls of +Syracuse, than to brave that stern tribunal, and read his doom on those +angry, accusing faces. And apart from these selfish terrors, he was +still in communication with his partisans in Syracuse, who encouraged +him to wait for a favourable turn of affairs. Thus fettered to the spot +both by his hopes and his fears, he obstinately refused to move. + +While Demosthenes argued, and Nicias demurred, Gylippus had not been +idle. A day or two after the battle, he once more left Syracuse, and +traversed the whole length of the island, collecting troops on his way. +At Selinus he was joined by the Peloponnesian and Boeotian soldiers who +had sailed from Taenarum early in the spring, and had just reached that +port, after a long and adventurous voyage. With this welcome addition +to his forces, and thousands more who had answered his call from all +parts of Sicily, he returned to Syracuse, and prepared to put out all +his strength in a general assault on the army and fleet of Athens. + +The Athenians had not yet abandoned their lines on the southern side of +Epipolae, and from this position they watched the arrival of the new +army raised by Gylippus, as it defiled down the slope, and poured +through the gates of Syracuse to swell the ranks of their enemies. In +their own camp the state of things was growing worse every day, and +even Nicias now became convinced that to remain any longer would be +sheer madness. With the hearty concurrence of his colleagues, he gave +his vote for immediate departure, and the order was secretly passed +round the camp that every man should hold himself in readiness to go on +board, as soon as the signal was given. It was necessary to proceed +with caution, for if the enemy were informed of their purpose, they +would have to fight their way through the Syracusan fleet. The +preparations were accordingly made with as little noise as possible and +in a short time all was ready for the voyage. Night sank down on the +Athenian camp, but among all that vast multitude no one thought of +sleep, for the whole host was waiting in breathless eagerness for the +signal to embark. Over the eastern waters the full moon was shining, +making a long path of silver and pointing the way to home. But suddenly +a dark shadow touched the outer rim of that gleaming disk, and crept +stealthily on, until the whole face of the moon was veiled in darkness. +A whisper, a murmur, a shudder went round among those anxious watchers, +and before the shadow had passed away, ten thousand tongues were +eagerly discussing the meaning of that mysterious portent. Most were +agreed that it was a warning from heaven, forbidding their departure +until the angry powers had been appeased by sacrifice and prayer. In +the mind of Nicias, enslaved by the grossest superstition, there was no +room for doubt. He was surrounded by prophets, whose advice he sought +on every occasion, and guided by them he proclaimed that for thrice +nine days, the time required for a complete circuit of the moon, there +could be no talk of departing. + +But the Athenians were soon engaged in a sterner task than the vain +rites of propitiation and penitential observance. The news of their +intended retreat, and its untoward interruption, so raised the spirits +of the Syracusans, that they resolved to risk another sea-fight, and +after some days spent in training their crews, they sailed out with +seventy-six ships, and offered battle, and Gylippus at the same time +attacked the Athenian lines by land. The Athenians succeeded in +repulsing the assault on their walls, but in the encounter between the +fleets, though they out-numbered the enemy by ten ships, they suffered +a decisive defeat. Eurymedon was slain, and eighteen vessels fell into +the hands of the Syracusans, who put all the crews to the sword. + +The pride and ambition of the Syracusans now knew no bounds. Relieved +from all fear for the safety of their city they began to take a loftier +view of the struggle, and to grasp the full compass and grandeur of the +issues involved. It was no mere feud between two rival states, but a +great national conflict, which was to end in the downfall of a +wide-spread usurpation, and the deliverance of a hundred cities from +bondage. The whole naval and military forces of Athens lay crippled and +helpless within their grasp; they would shatter to pieces the +instrument of tyranny, and win an immortal name as the liberators of +all Greece. Their first care was to prevent the escape of the +Athenians, and for this purpose they began to close the mouth of the +Great Harbour by a line of triremes and vessels of burden, anchored +broadside across the channel. + + +X + +The Athenians were thus caught in a trap, and their only hope of saving +themselves was to force the barrier of the Great Harbour, and escape by +sea, or, failing that, to make their way by land to some friendly city. +As a last sad confession of defeat, they withdrew the garrison from +their walls on Epipolae, and reduced the dimensions of their camp, +confining it to a narrow space of the coast, where the fleet lay +moored. Every vessel which could be kept afloat was prepared for +action, and when the whole force was mustered, out of two great +armaments only a hundred and ten were found fit for service. A small +body of troops was left to guard the camp, and all the rest, except +such as were totally disabled by sickness, were distributed as +fighting-men among the ships. For the countrymen of Phormio had now +reverted to the primitive conditions of naval warfare, in which the +trireme was a mere vehicle for carrying troops, and not, as in the days +of that great captain, the chief weapon of offence. Every foot of +standing-room on the decks was occupied by a crowd of hoplites, +javelin-men, archers, and slingers, and on their prowess the issue of +the battle depended. To lay their vessels aboard the enemy with as +little delay as possible, and leave the rest to the soldiers, was now +the chief object of the Athenian captains; and the better to effect. +this, men were stationed on the prows, armed with grappling-irons, to +hold the attacking trireme fast, and prevent her from backing away +after the first shock of collision. + +With hearts full of sad foreboding, the great multitude mustered on the +beach, and waited for the word to embark. On a rising ground, fronting +the camp, the generals; stood grouped in earnest consultation; then +every voice was hushed, as Nicias came forward, and beckoned with his +hand, commanding silence. The form of the general was bowed with years, +and his face lined with pain and sickness, but in his eye there was an +unwonted fire, and his tones rang clear and full, as he reminded his +hearers of the great cause for which they were to fight, and the mighty +interests which hung in the balance that day. "Men of Athens," he said, +"and you, our faithful allies, your lives, your liberty, and the future +of all who are dear to you, are in your own hands. If you would ever +see home again, you must resolve to conquer fortune, even against her +will, like seasoned veterans, inured to the perils and vicissitudes of +war. Hitherto we have generally got the better of the enemy on land and +we are now going to fight a land battle on the sea. As soon as you come +within reach of a Syracusan vessel, fling your grappling-irons, and +hold her fast, until not a man is left alive to defend her deck. This +will be the task of the soldiers, whom I need not tell to do their +duty. And you, seamen of the Athenian fleet, be not dismayed because we +have forsaken our former tactics, but trust to the strong arms of the +fighting men. Remember, those of you who are not of Attic descent, how +long you have enjoyed the high privileges of Athenian citizens, and the +honour reflected on you by your connection with Athens. + +"My last word shall be spoken to you, fellow-citizens, Athenians born +and bred. You know what you have to expect from the Syracusans, if this +last struggle should end in defeat. But consider further what will be +the fate of your friends at home. Their docks are empty, their walls +are stripped of defenders, and if you fail them, Syracuse will unite +with their old enemies, and bear them down. Here, where we stand, are +the army, the fleet, the city, and the great name of Athens; go, then, +and fight as you never fought before, for never yet had soldier such a +prize to win, and such a cause to defend." + +When Nicias had concluded his stirring appeal, the embarkation of the +troops began. As the fatal moment drew nearer and nearer, the anxiety +and distress of the Athenian general became unbearable. Feeling that he +had not said enough, he hurried to and fro, addressing each captain +with an agony of supplication, and imploring him by every sacred +name,--his wife, his children, his country, and his country's gods,--to +play a man's part, forgetting all thoughts of self. Having exhausted +every topic of entreaty, and seen the last man on board, he turned +away, still unsatisfied, and addressed himself to the task of drawing +up the troops left under his command for the defence of the camp. These +were disposed along the shore in as long a line as possible, that they +might encourage those fighting on the sea by their presence, and lend +prompt help in case of need. Behind them, every point of outlook was +held by a throng of anxious spectators,--the sick, the maimed, and the +wounded,--every man who had strength to crawl from his bed, and watch +that last desperate struggle for liberty and home. + +And now the Athenian admirals, Demosthenes, Menander, and Euthydemus, +raised the signal, and the great fight began. The foremost ships +succeeded in reaching the mouth of the Great Harbour, and began to +break through the barrier, when the whole Syracusan fleet closed in +upon them on all sides, and forced them back Then the battle became +general, and soon the two fleets were scattered over the whole surface +of the bay in little groups, and each group engaged in a wild and +furious melee. There was no attempt to manoeuvre, but ship encountered +ship; as accident brought them together, and advanced to the attack, +under a shower of javelins and arrows. Then followed the dull crash of +collision, and the fierce rush of the fighting-men, as they endeavoured +to board. Here and there could be seen knots of three or four triremes, +locked together with shattered hulls and broken oars, while the +soldiers on the decks strove for the mastery. Nearly two hundred +triremes, and some forty thousand men, were engaged in that tumultuous +fight; and the thunder of the oars, the crash of colliding triremes, +and the yells of the assailants, raised an uproar so tremendous that it +was impossible to hear the voice of command. All order and method was +lost, yet still they fought on, the Syracusans with a savage thirst for +vengeance, the Athenians with the fury of despair; and for a long time +the issue remained doubtful. + +All this scene of havoc and carnage was witnessed by the whole +population of Syracuse, who thronged the walls, or stood in arms along +the shore, and followed every incident with breathless interest. But +above all among the Athenians left behind in the camp excitement was +strained to the point of anguish. Here the view was more restricted, +and each group of spectators had its attention fixed on some one of the +many encounters which were raging in different parts of the bay. Some +who saw their friends conquering, shouted with joy and triumph; some +shrieked in terror, as an Athenian ship went down; and others, when the +combat long wavered, rocked their bodies to and fro in an agony of +suspense. Thus at the same moment every shifting turn of battle, +victory and defeat, panic and rally, flight and pursuit, was mirrored +on those pale faces, and echoed in a thousand mingled cries. + +But at length these discordant voices were united in one general note +of horror, as the whole Athenian fleet, or all that was left of it, was +seen making in headlong rout for the upper end of the bay, with the +victorious Syracusans pressing hard behind. Then most of those who were +watching from the shore were seized with uncontrollable terror, and +sought to hide themselves in holes and corners of the camp; while a +few, who were more stout-hearted, waded into the water, to save the +ships, or rushed to defend the walls on the land side. But for the +present the Syracusans were contented with their victory, and after +chasing the fugitive triremes as far as their defences, they wheeled +and rowed back across the Great Harbour, through floating corpses, and +the wrecks of more than seventy vessels. On their arrival at Syracuse +they were hailed with such a burst of enthusiasm as had rarely been +witnessed in any Greek city. The victory, indeed, had been dearly +bought, but it was well worth the cost, and the power of Athens had +sustained a blow from which it could never recover. But among all the +thronging hosts of Syracuse, who now gave themselves up to revel and +rejoicing, there was one man at least who knew that even now the danger +was not yet past. Forty thousand Athenian soldiers were still encamped +within sight of the walls, and if they were allowed to escape, they +might establish themselves in some friendly city, and begin the war +again. All this was strongly felt by Hermocrates, and he lost no time +in imparting his cares and anxieties to the responsible leaders. The +Athenians, he urged, would be almost certain to decamp during the +night: let a strong force be sent out at once from Syracuse, to occupy +all the roads, and cut off their retreat. The advice was good, but in +the present temper of the army it was felt to be impracticable. The +whole city had become a scene of riot and wassail, and if the order +were given to march, it was but too evident that not a man would obey. +Baffled in this direction, the keen-witted Syracusan hit upon another +plan, which he at once proceeded to carry into effect. + +Hermocrates was not mistaken in his conjecture. The beaten and +dispirited Athenians had now but one thought,--to break up their camp +with all despatch, and make their escape by land. They had still sixty +triremes left, and Demosthenes proposed to make one more attempt to +force the entrance of the Great Harbour; but when his suggestion was +made known to the crews, they broke into open mutiny, and flatly +refused to go on board. The generals were therefore compelled to adopt +the only alternative, and it was resolved to set out on that very +night. But Fortune had not yet exhausted her malice against the hapless +Athenians. The order to strike camp had been issued, and the soldiers +were busy preparing for the march, when a party of horsemen rode up to +the Athenian outposts, and hailing the sentinels, said that they had a +message to Nicias from his friends in Syracuse. "Tell him," said the +spokesman of the party, "That he must not attempt to stir to-night, for +all the roads are held by strong detachments of the Syracusans. Let him +wait until he has organised his forces, for a hasty and disordered +flight is sure to end in disaster." + +The message, of course, came from Hermocrates, who had contrived this +trick to delay the departure of the Athenians, until time had been +gained to occupy the passes on their route. That Nicias should have +fallen into the snare is not surprising, but it is less easy to explain +how Demosthenes and the other generals came to be deceived by so +transparent a fraud. Yet such was in fact the case; the insidious hint +was accepted as a piece of friendly advice, and the march was +postponed. For a whole day and night the Athenians still lingered on +the spot, and thus gave ample time for their enemies to draw the net +round them, and block every avenue to safety. + +On the third day after the battle, the order was given to march. As the +great army formed into column, the full horror of their situation came +home to every heart. This, then, was the end of those grand dreams of +conquest with which they had sailed to Sicily two years before! On the +heights of Epipolae their walls and their fort was still standing, a +monument of failure and defeat. Each familiar landmark reminded them of +some fallen comrade, or some disastrous incident in the siege. If they +glanced towards the Great Harbour, they could see the victorious +Syracusans towing off the shattered hull of an Athenian trireme, the +last sad remnant of two great armaments. If they turned their thoughts +towards Athens and home, they found no comfort there; for their beloved +city was beset with enemies, and in themselves, beaten and broken as +they were, lay her chief hope of salvation. The past was all black with +calamity, and the future loomed terrible before them, threatening +captivity and death; and the present, in that last hour of parting, was +full of such sights and sounds of woe as might have stirred pity even +in the breasts of their enemies. Around them, the camp was strewn with +the unburied corpses of brothers, comrades and sons, and thousands more +were tossing on the waves, or flung up on the shores of the bay. And +while the neglect of that sacred duty pressed heavily on their +conscience, still more harrowing were the cries of the sick and +wounded, who clung round their knees, imploring to be taken with them, +and when the army began to move followed with tottering steps, until +they sank down exhausted, calling down the curse of heaven on the +retreating host. Such was the anguish of that moment, that it seemed as +if the whole population of some great city had been driven into exile, +and was seeking a new home in a distant soil. + +In this dire extremity, when the strongest spirits were crushed with +misery, one voice was heard, which still spoke of hope. It was the +voice of Nicias, who, when all others faltered, rose to a pitch of +heroism which he had never shown before. Bowed as he was with care, and +wasted by disease, he braced himself with more than human energy, and +moved with light step from rank to rank, exhorting that stricken +multitude in words of power. "Comrades," he said, "even now there is no +need to despair. Others have been saved before now from calamities yet +deeper than ours. You see in what state I am, cast down from the summit +of human prosperity, and condemned, in my age and weakness, to share +the hardships of the humblest soldier among you,--I, who was ever +constant in the service of the gods, and punctual in the performance of +every social duty. Yet have I not lost faith in the righteousness of +heaven, nor should you give up all for lost, if by any act of yours you +have fallen under the scourge of divine vengeance. There is mercy, as +well as justice, among the gods, and we, in sinking thus low, have +become the proper objects of their compassion. Think too what firm +ground of confidence we have, in the shields and spears of so many +thousand warriors. There is no power in Sicily which can resist us, +either to prevent our coming or to shorten our stay. A few days march +will bring us to the country of the friendly Sicels, who have already +received notice of our approach. Once there, we can defy all attack, +and look forward to the time when we shall see our homes again, and +raise up the fallen power of Athens." + +These and similar exhortations were repeated by Nicias again and again, +as the army moved slowly forwards up the valley of the Anapus, keeping +a westerly direction, towards the interior of the island. The troops +were formed in a hollow oblong, with the baggage animals and +camp-followers in the middle, and advanced in two divisions, Nicias +leading the van, and Demosthenes bringing up the rear. The vigilance +and activity of Nicias never relaxed for a moment. Careless of his many +infirmities and exalted rank, he passed incessantly up and down the +column, chiding the stragglers, and attending to the even trim of his +lines. On reaching the ford of the Anapus, they put to flight a +detachment of the enemy which was stationed there to oppose their +passage, and crossing the river, continued their march. But now the +real difficulties of the retreat began to appear. The Syracusans had no +intention of hazarding a pitched battle, but their horsemen and light +infantry hung upon the flanks of the Athenian army, making sudden +charges, and keeping up a constant discharge of javelins. + +At nightfall the Athenians encamped under the shelter of a hill, some +five miles from their starting-point, and setting out at daybreak on +the following day, they pushed on with pain and difficulty, harassed at +every step by the galling attacks of the Syracusan troops. [Footnote: +Thucydides, with characteristic brevity, leaves this to be inferred +from the slowness of their progress.] A march of two miles and a half +brought them to a village, situated on a level plain, and here they +halted, wishing to supply themselves with food, and replenish their +water-vessels; for the country which they had now to traverse was a +desert, many miles in extent. Directly in their line of route there is +a narrow pass, when the road, on entering the hill country, drops sheer +down on either side into a deep ravine, and if they could once cross +this dangerous point they would be within reach of their allies, the +Sicels. But it was too late to proceed further that day, and while they +lay encamped in the village, the Syracusans hurried on in advance, and +blocked the pass by building a wall across the road. When the Athenians +resumed their march next morning, they were fiercely assailed by the +enemy's light horse and foot, who disputed every inch of ground, and at +last compelled them to fall back on the village where they had encamped +the night before. Provisions were now growing scanty, and every attempt +to leave their lines in search of plunder and forage was baffled by the +Syracusan horse. + +On the fourth day they broke up their camp early, and by incessant +fighting succeeded in forcing their way as far as the pass. But all +further advance was prevented by the wall, and the dense masses of +infantry posted behind it. In vain the Athenians flung themselves again +and again upon the barrier. The troops stationed on the cliffs above +assailed them with a shower of missiles, and the solid phalanx of +hoplites repulsed every assault. Convinced at last that they were +wasting their strength to no purpose, they desisted, and retiring from +the wall halted at some distance for a brief interval of repose. During +this pause a storm of rain and thunder broke over their heads; and to +the weary and disheartened Athenians it seemed that the very elements +were in league with the enemy against them. But they had little time to +indulge in these melancholy reflections; for while they were resting, +Gylippus stole round to their rear, and prepared to cut off their +retreat by building a second wall across the pass. The news of this +imminent peril roused the Athenians from their stupor, and they marched +back with all speed along the road by which they had come. A picked +body of troops, sent on in advance, scattered the soldiers of Gylippus, +and the whole army then emerged from that death-trap, and encamped for +the night in the open plain. + +The next day was spent in a last desperate effort to reach the hill +country. But being now on level ground, they were exposed on all sides +to the attacks of the Syracusan horse, who charged them incessantly, +and slew their men by hundreds, with hardly any loss to themselves. The +hopeless struggle continued until evening, and when the enemy drew off, +they left the Athenians not a mile from the place where they had passed +the previous night. + +The original plan of the Athenian generals had been to penetrate the +highlands of Sicily to the west of Syracuse, and then strike across +country, until they reached the southern coast, in the direction of +Gela or Camarina. [Footnote: I have followed Holm, as cited in +Classen's Appendix (Third Edition, 1908).] But after two days' fighting +they had utterly failed to force an entrance into the mountains. Many +of their soldiers were wounded, the whole army was weakened by famine, +and a third attempt, made in such conditions, must inevitably end in +utter disaster. They resolved therefore to change their route, and +march southwards along the level coast country, until they could reach +the interior by following one of the numerous glens which pierce the +hills on this side of Sicily. Having come to this decision, they caused +a great number of fires to be lighted, and then gave the order for an +immediate start, hoping by this means to steal a march on the enemy. +This sudden flight through the darkness, in a hostile country, with +unknown terrors around them, caused something like a panic in the +Athenian army. + +Nicias, however, who was still leading the van, contrived to keep his +men together, and made good progress; but the division under +Demosthenes fell into great disorder, and was left far behind. By +daybreak, both divisions [Footnote: See note, p. 242.] were within +sight of the sea, and entering the road which runs north and south +between Syracuse and Helorus, they continued their march towards the +river Cacyparis. Here they intended to turn off into the interior, with +the assistance of the Sicels, whom they expected to meet at the river. +But when they reached the ford of the Cacyparis, they found, instead of +the Sicels, a contingent of Syracusan troops, who were raising a wall +and palisade to block the passage. This obstruction was overcome +without much difficulty, and the whole Athenian army crossed the river +in safety. But the presence of the enemy on this side of Syracuse was +sufficient to deter them from taking the inland route by the valley of +the Cacyparis, and following the advice of their guides, they kept the +main road, and pressed on towards the south. + +We must now return for a moment to the Syracusans under Gylippus, who +remained in their camp all night, not far from the pass which they had +so successfully defended. When they found in the morning that the +Athenians had departed, they were loud in their anger against Gylippus, +thinking that he had purposely suffered them to escape. The tracks of +so many thousands left no room for doubt as to the direction which the +fugitives had taken, and full of rage at the supposed treachery of +their leader, the Syracusans set out at once in hot pursuit. About +noon, on the sixth day of the retreat, they overtook the division of +Demosthenes, which had again lagged behind, and was marching slowly and +in disorder separated from the other half of the army by a distance of +six miles. Deprived of all hope of succour from his colleague, and +hemmed in on all sides by implacable enemies, Demosthenes called a +halt, and prepared to make his last stand. But his men, who from the +first had held the post of honour and danger, were fearfully reduced in +numbers, faint with famine, and exhausted by their long march. Driven +to and fro by the incessant charges of the Syracusan cavalry, they +could make no effective resistance, and at last they huddled pell-mell +into a walled enclosure, planted with olive-trees, and skirted on +either side by a road. They were now at the mercy of the Syracusans. +who surrounded the enclosure, and plied them with javelins, stones, and +arrows. After this butchery had continued for many hours, and the +survivors were brought to extremity by wounds, hunger, and thirst, +Gylippus sent a herald, who was the bearer of a remarkable message. +"Let those of you," he said, "who are natives of the islands subject to +Athens, come over to us, and you shall be free men." The offer was +addressed to the Greeks from the maritime cities of the Aegaean, who +might be supposed to be serving under compulsion, and it speaks volumes +for the loyalty and attachment of these men to Athens that most of them +refused to accept their freedom from the hands of her enemies. At +length, however, the whole army of Demosthenes, which had now dwindled +to six thousand men, was induced to surrender, on condition that none +of them should suffer death by violence, by bonds, or by starvation. At +the command of their captors they gave up the money which they had with +them, and the amount collected was so considerable that it filled the +hollows of four shields. When the capitulation was concluded, +Demosthenes, who had refused to make any terms for himself, drew his +sword, and attempted to take his own life; [Footnote: This interesting +fact is recorded by Plutarch and Pausanias, who copied it from the +contemporary Syracusan historian, Philistus.] but he was prevented from +effecting his purpose, and compelled to take his place in the mournful +procession which was now conducted by a strong guard along the road to +Syracuse. + +Meanwhile the vanguard under Nicias, in total ignorance of the fate +which had befallen their comrades, marched steadily forwards, and +crossing the river Erineus, encamped for the night on a neighbouring +hill. Here they were found next morning by Gylippus and the Syracusans, +who informed them that Demosthenes and his men had surrendered, and +called upon them to do the same. Doubting their good faith, Nicias +obtained a truce, while he sent a horseman to ascertain the facts; and +even when he had learnt the truth from his messenger, he still tried to +parley, offering, in the name of the Athenian state, to defray the +whole cost of the war, and to give hostages for payment, at the rate of +an Athenian citizen for each talent, on condition that he and his men +were allowed to go. But the Syracusans were in no mood to listen to +such proposals, even if Nicias had spoken with full authority from +Athens. Bare life they would grant, but no more, and as the Athenians +refused to yield on these terms, they closed in upon them, and the +cruel, hopeless struggle began again, and continued until evening. The +wretched Athenians lay down supperless to snatch a few hours of rest, +intending, when all was quiet, to steal away under cover of darkness. +But when they rose at dead of night, and prepared to march, a shout +from the Syracusan camp warned them that the enemy were on the alert, +and they were compelled to return to their comfortless bivouac. Three +hundred, however, persisted in their intention, and forcing their way +through the Syracusan lines, gained for themselves a brief respite from +capture. + +A whole week had now elapsed since the ill-fated army left its quarters +on the shores of the Great Harbour, and a few thousand starving and +weary men were all that remained of that great host. At dawn on the +eighth day Nicias gave the word to march, and they pressed on eagerly +towards the Assinarus, a stream of some size, with high and precipitous +banks, not more than two miles distant from their last halting-place. +They had still some faint hope of making good their escape, if they +could but cross the river. So they fought their way onwards, through +the swarming ranks of the Syracusans, who closed them in on all sides, +and thrust them together into one solid mass. There was life, there was +freedom a little way beyond,--or, if that hope proved futile, at any +rate there was water; and every fibre in their bodies ached and burned +with intolerable thirst. They reached the river; both banks were +already lined by the Syracusan horse, who had ridden on before, and +stood guarding the ford: but there was no stopping the wild rush of +that maddened, desperate multitude. Down the steep bank they plunged, +trampling on one another, and flung themselves open-mouthed upon the +stream, with one thought, one wish, overpowering every other +impulse,--to drink, and then to die. Some fell upon the spears of their +comrades, and perished, others slipped on the floating baggage, lost +their foothold, and were swept away by the flood. Yet still they poured +on, by hundreds and by thousands, drawn by the same longing, and thrust +downwards by the weight of those behind, until the whole riverbed was +filled with a huddled, surging mob of furious men, who drank, and still +drank, or fought with one another to reach the water. All this time an +iron storm of missiles rained down upon them from the thronging hosts +of their enemies on the banks above, while some, in the midst of their +draught, were pierced by the spears of the Peloponnesians, who followed +them into the river, and slew them at close quarters. The water grew +red with blood, and foul from the trampling of so many feet, but the +thirsty multitude still came crowding in, and drank with avidity of the +polluted stream. + +For a long time the slaughter raged unchecked, and the river-bed was +choked with heaps of slain. A few, who escaped from the river, were +pursued and cut down by the Syracusan horse. Nicias had held out until +the last moment; but when he perceived that all was lost, his men being +powerless either to fight or fly, he made his way to Gylippus, and +implored him to stop the useless carnage. "I surrender myself," he +said, "to you and the Spartans. Do with me as you please, but put an +end to this butchery of defenceless men." Gylippus gave the necessary +order, and the word was passed round to kill no more, but take captive +those who survived. The order was obeyed, though slowly and with +reluctance, and the work of capture began. But few of those taken in +the river ever found their way into the public gaol, where Demosthenes +was now lying, with the six thousand who had surrendered on the day +before. For, as there had been no regular capitulation, large numbers +of the prisoners were secretly conveyed away by the Syracusans, who +afterwards sold them into slavery for their own profit. As for the +three hundred who had broken out of camp on the previous night, they +were presently brought in by a party of cavalry despatched in pursuit. + +When the first transports of joy and triumph were over, an assembly was +called to decide on the fate of the two Athenian generals, and of those +state prisoners, some seven thousand in number, who were the sole +visible remnant of two great armies. Then arose a strange conflict of +motives. The first who put forward his claims was Gylippus, to whose +genius and energy the victorious issue of the struggle was mainly due. +As a reward for his services, he asked that Nicias and Demosthenes +should be left to his disposal, for he wished to have the honour of +carrying home with him these famous captains, one the greatest friend, +the other the greatest enemy of Sparta. But the general voice of the +assembly was strongly against him. Nothing but the blood of the two +principal offenders could satisfy the vengeance of the Syracusans, and +those who had intrigued with Nicias were anxious to put him out of the +way, in fear lest he should betray them. Moreover the Corinthian allies +of Syracuse, who for some reason had a special grudge against Nicias, +demanded his immediate execution. In vain Hermocrates pleaded the cause +of mercy, [Footnote: Plutarch, _Nicias_, c. 28.] and urged his +fellow-citizens to make a generous use of their victory. Sentence of +death was passed, and these two eminent Athenians, so different in +character and achievement, were united in their end. + +Far worse was the doom pronounced on the six thousand men of +Demosthenes, and the thousand more who were brought to Syracuse after +the massacre at the Assinarus. They were condemned to confinement in +the stone quarries, deep pits surrounded by high walls of cliff, under +the south-eastern edge of Epipolae. Penned together in these roofless +dungeons, they were exposed to the fierce heat of the sun by day, and +to the bitter cold of the autumn nights, and having scarcely room to +move, they were unable to preserve common decency, or common +cleanliness. Many died of their wounds, or of the diseases engendered +by exposure, and their bodies were left unburied, a sight of horror and +a source of infection to the survivors. To these frightful miseries +were added a perpetual burning thirst, and the lingering torture of +slow starvation, for each man received as his daily allowance a poor +half pint of water, and a mere pittance of food, just enough to avoid +breaking the letter of the conditions which Demosthenes had made for +his troops. In this state they were left without relief for ten long +weeks; then all except the Athenians themselves, and their allies from +the Greek cities of Sicily and Italy, were taken out and sold as slaves. + + + + +EPILOGUE + +Such was the end of the Sicilian Expedition, which ultimately decided +the issue of the Peloponnesian War. Forsaking the wise counsels of +their greatest statesman, and carried away by the mad sophistry of +Alcibiades, the Athenians had committed themselves, heart and soul, to +a wild game of hazard, in which they had little to win, and everything +to lose. By this act of desperate folly they brought on themselves an +overwhelming disaster, from which it was impossible for them wholly to +recover. With wonderful vitality they rallied from the blow, and +struggled on for nine years more, against the whole power of +Peloponnesus, and their own revolted allies, backed by the influence +and the gold of Persia. They gained great victories, and under prudent +leaders they might still have been saved from the worst consequences of +their defeat in Sicily. But at every favourable crisis they wantonly +flung away the advantage they had gained, and abandoned themselves to +blind guides, who led them further and further on the road to ruin. + +The history of Thucydides ends abruptly in the twenty-first year of the +war, and for an account of the closing scenes we have to go to the +pages of Xenophon. It will be convenient, therefore, to bring our +narrative to a close at the point which we have reached, for any +attempt even to sketch the events of this confused and troubled period +would carry us far beyond the limits of the present volume. And so for +the present we take leave of the Athenians, in the hour of their +decline. Their light is burning dim, and yet darker days are awaiting +them in the future. But they are still great and illustrious, as the +chief guardians of those spiritual treasures which are our choicest +heritage from the past. + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Stories from Thucydides, by H. L. Havell + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORIES FROM THUCYDIDES *** + +***** This file should be named 9074-8.txt or 9074-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/9/0/7/9074/ + +Produced by Charles Franks, Delphine Lettau and Project +Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders. 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L. Havell +</title> + +<style type="text/css"> +body { color: black; + background: white; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; + text-align: justify } + +p {text-indent: 4% } + +p.noindent {text-indent: 0% } + +p.t1 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 200%; + text-align: center } + +p.t2 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 150%; + text-align: center } + +p.t3 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 100%; + text-align: center } + +p.t3b {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 100%; + font-weight: bold; + text-align: center } + +p.t4 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 80%; + text-align: center } + +p.t4b {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 80%; + font-weight: bold; + text-align: center } + +p.t5 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 60%; + text-align: center } + +h1 { text-align: center } +h2 { text-align: center } +h3 { text-align: center } +h4 { text-align: center } +h5 { text-align: center } + +p.poem {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; } + +p.contents {text-indent: -3%; + margin-left: 5% } + +p.thought {text-indent: 0% ; + letter-spacing: 4em ; + text-align: center } + +p.letter {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +p.footnote {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 80%; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +p.transnote {text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +p.intro {font-size: 90% ; + text-indent: -5% ; + margin-left: 5% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +p.quote {text-indent: 4% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +p.finis { font-size: larger ; + text-align: center ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +</style> + +</head> + +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Stories from Thucydides, by H. L. Havell + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Stories from Thucydides + +Author: H. L. Havell + +Posting Date: April 26, 2014 [EBook #9074] +Release Date: October, 2005 +First Posted: September 2, 2003 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORIES FROM THUCYDIDES *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Franks, Delphine Lettau and Project +Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders. HTML version by Al +Haines. + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<h1> +<br /><br /> +STORIES FROM THUCYDIDES +</h1> + +<p class="t3b"> +RETOLD BY H. L. HAVELL B. A. +</p> + +<p class="t3"> +FORMERLY SCHOLAR OF UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OXFORD +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<p class="poem"> + <i>O my poor Kingdom, sick with civil blows!</i><br /> + SHAKESPEARE, <i>Henry IV</i>.<br /> +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<p class="t3b"> + CONTENTS<br /> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> + <a href="#prologue">PROLOGUE</a><br /> + <a href="#corinth">CORINTH AND CORCYRA</a><br /> + <a href="#plataea">THE SURPRISE OF PLATAEA</a><br /> + <a href="#plague">THE PLAGUE AT ATHENS</a><br /> + <a href="#investment">INVESTMENT OF PLATAEA</a><br /> + <a href="#naval">NAVAL VICTORIES OF PHORMIO</a><br /> + <a href="#revolt">THE REVOLT OF LESBOS</a><br /> + <a href="#escape">ESCAPE OF TWO HUNDRED PLATAEANS. FALL OF PLATAEA</a><br /> + <a href="#capture">CAPTURE OF A HUNDRED AND TWENTY SPARTANS AT SPHACTERIA</a><br /> + <a href="#campaigns">CAMPAIGNS OF BRASIDAS IN THRACE</a><br /> + <a href="#hollow">THE HOLLOW PEACE</a><br /> + <a href="#athenians">THE ATHENIANS IN SICILY</a><br /> + <a href="#epilogue">EPILOGUE</a><br /> +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="prologue"></a> +PROLOGUE +</h3> + +<p> +In a former volume we have traced the course of events which ended in +the complete overthrow of Xerxes and his great army. Our present task +is to describe the chief incidents in the cruel and devastating war, +commonly known as the Peloponnesian War, which lasted for twenty-seven +years, and finally broke up the Athenian Empire. The cause of that war +was the envy and hatred excited in the other states of Greece by the +power and greatness of Athens; and in order to make our story +intelligible we must indicate briefly the steps by which she rose to +that dangerous eminence, and drew upon herself the armed hostility of +half the Greek world. +</p> + +<p> +We take up our narrative at the point of time when the Athenians +returned to their ruined homes after the defeat of the Persians at +Plataea. Of their ancient city nothing remained but a few houses which +had served as lodgings for the Persian grandees, and some scattered +fragments of the surrounding wall. Their first task was to restore the +outer line of defence, and by the advice of Themistocles the new wall +took in a much wider circuit than the old rampart which had been +destroyed by the Persians. The whole population toiled night and day to +raise the bulwark which was to guard their temples and their homes, +using as materials the walls of the houses which had been sacked and +burnt by the Persians, with whatever remained of public buildings, +sacred or profane, and sparing not even the monumental pillars of +graves in the urgency of their need. +</p> + +<p> +But jealous eyes were watching them, and busy tongues were wagging +against that gallant race of Attica which had been foremost in the +common cause against the barbarian invader. "These Athenians are +dangerous neighbours," was the cry. "Let us stop them from building +their wall, or Athens will become a standing menace to ourselves." +Before long these murmurs reached the ears of the Spartans, and they +sent envoys to dissuade the Athenians from fortifying their city. Their +real purpose was disguised under the mask of anxiety for the general +safety of Greece. "It is not expedient," they urged, "that the +Persians, when next they come against us, should find fencéd cities +which they may make their strongholds, as they have lately done in +Athens and in Thebes. Cease, therefore, from building this wall, and +help us to destroy all such defences, outside of Peloponnesus. If we +are attacked again, we will unite our forces within the isthmus, and +meet the invader from there." +</p> + +<p> +But Themistocles was not the man to be hoodwinked by the simple cunning +of the Spartans. By his advice the Athenians dismissed the envoys, +promising to send an embassy to discuss the matter at Sparta. As soon +as they were gone, Themistocles caused himself to be appointed as head +of the embassy, and set out at once for Sparta, instructing the +Athenians to keep his colleagues back until the wall had been raised to +a sufficient height for purposes of defence. Arrived at Sparta, he kept +himself close in his lodging, and declined all conference with the +authorities, alleging that he could do nothing without his colleagues. +</p> + +<p> +Meanwhile the Athenians were making incredible efforts to carry on the +work which was essential to their liberty and prosperity. Men, women, +and children toiled without intermission, and the wall was rapidly +approaching a defensible height. The clamour of their enemies grew +louder and louder, and angry messages reached the Spartans everyday, +reproaching them with their supineness and procrastination. Being asked +the meaning of these reports, Themistocles professed total ignorance, +and bade the Spartans send men to Athens to see for themselves. The +Spartans did so, and when the men arrived at Athens the Athenians, who +had been privately warned by Themistocles, kept them in custody, as +hostages for their own representatives at Sparta. Themistocles had +meanwhile been joined by his partners in the embassy, and learning from +them that the wall was now of sufficient height, he spoke out plainly, +and let the Spartans understand what his true purpose was. "Athens," he +said, "is once more a fortified city, and we are able to discuss +questions of public or private interest on a footing of equality. When +we forsook all, and took to our ships to fight for the common weal, it +was done without prompting of yours; and that peril being past, we +shall take such measures as concern our safety, without leave asked of +you. And in serving ourselves, we are serving you also; for if Athens +is not free, how can she give an unbiased vote in questions which +concern the general welfare of Greece?" +</p> + +<p> +It was impossible for the Spartans to express open resentment at a plea +so moderate and so reasonable. But they were secretly annoyed to find +that their malice had been detected and exposed; and by this incident +was sown the first seed of ill-will which was afterwards to bear such +bitter fruit for Athens and for Greece. For the present, however, the +affair was ended, and the first step secured for the Athenians in their +career of glory and power. +</p> + +<p> +Themistocles was the first who clearly saw that the future of Athens +lay on the sea. But if Athens was to hold and extend her position as +the first naval power in Greece, it was above all things necessary that +she should have a strong and fortified station for her fleets, her +arsenals, and her dockyards. Nature had provided her with what she +needed, in the peninsula of Peiraeus, which juts out into the Saronic +Gulf, about five miles south-west of the inland town. As soon as the +city-wall was completed, fortifications of immense strength were +carried round the whole of Peiraeus; and within this vast rampart rose +a second city, equal in size to the old one, with streets laid out in +straight lines, and filled with the stir and bustle of a maritime +population. Three land-locked harbours gave ample room for the fleets +of Athens to lie in shelter and safety; and this great sea-port town +was afterwards united to the original city by two long walls, which met +the sea, one at the north-western corner of Peiraeus, and the other at +the south-eastern point of the Bay of Phalerum. Between these, at a +later period, a third wall was built, running parallel to the northern +wall at a distance of about two hundred feet, and known as the Southern +or Middle Wall. +</p> + +<p> +Many years elapsed before these important works were completed; and in +the meantime great events had been happening in other parts of the +Greek world, tending more and more to realise the dream of +Themistocles, and make his beloved city the undisputed mistress of the +sea. After the defeat of the Persian armies and fleets at Salamis, +Plataea, and Mycale, much hard work remained to be done, in reducing +the outlying cities on the coasts of Thrace and in the eastern corners +of the Aegaean, which held out for the Great King. The Spartans were +still nominal leaders of the allied Greek navy; but after a year of +service they resigned this position, which they owed to their +acknowledged supremacy in land warfare, to the Athenians. They were +induced to take this step, partly by their own aversion to foreign +enterprises, and partly by the misconduct of their general Pausanias, +who had disgusted the allies serving under him in the fleet by his +intolerable arrogance and tyranny. The field was thus left open to the +Athenians, who willingly assumed the command offered them by the +maritime cities of Greece, with the object of prosecuting the war +vigorously against Persia. Each city was assessed to furnish a fixed +contribution of ships or money, and the sacred island of Delos was +appointed as the common treasury and meeting-place of the league. Thus +was formed the famous Delian Confederacy, with the avowed purpose of +making reprisals on the Great King's territory for the havoc which he +had wrought in Greece. For a time all went smoothly, and the various +members of the league fought under Athens as her independent allies. +But by degrees the Greeks from the islands and coast-lands of Asia +began to weary of their arduous duties, and murmured against the +Athenians, who proved hard task-masters, and compelled them by force to +perform their part in the bargain. One by one the cities revolted from +the leadership of Athens, were attacked by her navies, and reduced to +the position of subjects and tributaries. Others voluntarily withdrew +from all active co-operation in the war, agreeing to pay a fixed annual +sum as a substitute for service in the fleet. And before the outbreak +of the Peloponnesian War the two powerful islands of Lesbos and Chios +were the only members of the original league who still retained their +independence. +</p> + +<p> +Such were the circumstances which led to the foundation of the Athenian +Empire, which grew up, by the force of necessity, out of the decay of a +confederacy born of a common need, and organised for the special +benefit of the Asiatic Greeks. For the names of the Greek cities on the +coasts of Asia Minor still figured in the Persian tribute-lists; and +the moment that the grasp of Athens relaxed on the confines of the +King's dominions, after the ruinous defeat in Sicily, Persian +tax-gatherers came knocking at the gates of Ephesus and Miletus, +demanding the arrears of tribute. So urgent was the need supplied by +the energy of Athens, and so blind were these Greeks of Asia Minor to +their own interests. +</p> + +<p> +The visible sign of this momentous change, by which the Delian +Confederacy became merged in the Athenian Empire, was the removal of +the treasury from Delos to Athens. The Athenians now undertook the +whole administration of the common fund, using the surplus for the +adornment of Athens by magnificent public buildings. This appropriation +seems reasonable enough, when we consider that the whole burden of +defending the eastern Greeks against Persia, and keeping the barbarian +out of Greek waters, now lay upon Athens. This great public duty, which +had been thrown upon her by the indifference of Sparta, and the unmanly +sloth of her own allies, was faithfully performed; and she might well +ask why she should be called upon to lavish the blood of her own +citizens for nothing. That Athens should be great, splendid, and +powerful, was not only a reward due to her public spirit and devotion +to the common cause, but also a guarantee for the general dignity and +liberty of Greeks. And we, who have still before us the remnants of her +temples and statues, and learn from them what man can accomplish under +the inspiration of great ideals, need not scan too closely her claim to +appropriate the funds which she employed for so noble a purpose. For +this was the great age of Grecian art, the age of Phidias, Polycletus, +Myron, and Polygnotus. The greatest of these was Phidias; and in the +Parthenon, or Temple of the Virgin Goddess, [Footnote: Athene, the +patron goddess of Athens.] built under his direction on the Acropolis +at Athens, he has left the most enduring monument of his fame. He also +designed the Propylaea, a magnificent columned vestibule, fronting the +broad flight of steps which led up to the western entrance of the +Acropolis. But the most renowned of his works was the gigantic statue +of the Olympian Zeus, wrought in gold and ivory, which was the chief +glory of the temple at Olympia. Of this sublime creation, the highest +expression of divinity achieved by the ancients, only the fame +survives. These triumphs of art were not brought to completion until +nearly the close of the period of forty-eight years which separates the +Persian from the Peloponnesian War; and it is now necessary to glance +backward, and touch briefly on the principal events which occurred +after the formation of the Delian Confederacy. The war was carried on +with energy against Persia, and hostilities continued at intervals for +thirty years after the battle of Plataea. [Footnote: B.C. 479-449.] +</p> + +<p> +The chief leader in these enterprises was the heroic Cimon, leader of +the conservative party at Athens, and the great rival of Pericles; and +his most brilliant exploit was a crushing defeat inflicted on the +Persian army and fleet at the mouth of the river Eurymedon in +Pamphylia. But the victorious career of the Athenians received a severe +check twelve years later in Egypt, where a large force of ships and men +was totally destroyed by the Persian general Megabyzus. The war dragged +on for five years longer, and peace was then concluded on terms highly +advantageous to the Greeks. Shortly before this, Cimon, who had been +the chief promoter of the war, died at Cyprus. +</p> + +<p> +The same years which brought to a successful issue the long struggle +with Persia witnessed a renewal of those internal conflicts by which +the energies of Greece were finally exhausted, leaving her an easy prey +to the arms of Macedon. The guilt of renewing these suicidal quarrels +lies with the Spartans, who had long been nursing their grudge against +Athens, and were waiting for the opportunity to inflict on her a fatal +blow. Fifteen years [Footnote: B.C. 464. ] after the battle of Plataea +they seized the occasion when the Athenians were engaged with a large +part of their forces in carrying on operations against the revolted +island of Thasos to prepare an invasion of Attica. But at the very +moment when they were meditating this act of perfidy a double disaster +fell upon them at home, demanding all their exertions to save them from +ruin. Sparta was levelled to the ground by a terrible earthquake, in +which twenty thousand of her citizens perished; and in the midst of the +panic caused by this awful calamity the Helots rose in arms against +their oppressors, and forming an alliance with the Messenian subjects +of Sparta, entrenched themselves in a strong position on Mount Ithome. +Here they maintained themselves for two years, defying all the efforts +of the Spartans to drive them from their stronghold. In spite of their +recent treachery, the Spartans were not ashamed to apply to Athens for +help: and chiefly through the influence of Cimon, whose laurels from +the Eurymedon were still fresh, four thousand Athenian hoplites +[Footnote: Heavy-armed foot-soldiers.] were sent under his command to +aid in dislodging the Helots. The Athenians were famous for their skill +in attacking fortified places; but on this occasion they were +unsuccessful, and the Spartans, whose evil conscience made them prone +to suspicion, at once began to doubt the honesty of their intentions, +and dismissed them with scant ceremony. This unfriendly act helped to +embitter the relations between the two leading cities of Greece; and +two years later, when the Messenians were expelled from Ithome, and +driven into exile, the Athenians settled them with their families at +Naupactus, an important strategic position on the north of the +Corinthian Gulf, which has recently fallen into the hands of Athens. +</p> + +<p> +Deeply offended by the affront received at Ithome, the Athenians now +formed an alliance with Argos, the ancient rival and bitter enemy of +Sparta. Thessaly, connected with Athens by old ties of friendship, +joined the league; and Megara, now suffering from the oppressions of +Corinth, made a fourth. +</p> + +<p> +Within sight of the shores of Attica lies the island of Aegina, famous +in legend as the home of Aeacus, grandfather of Achilles, and +distinguished for its school of sculpture, and for its mighty breed of +athletes, whose feats are celebrated in the laureate strains of Pindar. +The Aeginetans had obtained the first prize for valour displayed in the +battle of Salamis, and for many years they had pressed the Athenians +hard in the race for maritime supremacy. They were now attacked by an +overwhelming Athenian force, and after a stubborn resistance were +totally defeated, and compelled to enroll themselves among the subjects +of Athens. A still harder fate was reserved for the hapless Dorian +islanders in the next generation. +</p> + +<p> +In the following nine years [Footnote: B.C. 456-447.] the power of +Athens reached its greatest height, and for a moment it seemed as if +she were destined to extend her empire over the whole mainland of +Greece. By the victory of Oenophyta, gained over the Boeotians just +before the reduction of Aegina, Athens became mistress of all the +central provinces of the Greek peninsula, from the pass of Thermopylae +to the gulf of Corinth. The alliance of Megara, lately united by long +walls to its harbour of Nisaea, secured her from invasion on the side +of Peloponnesus. The great island of Euboea, with its rich pastures and +fruitful corn lands, had, since the Persian War, become an Athenian +estate, and was jealously guarded as one of her most valuable +possessions; and on the sea, from the eastern corner of the Euxine to +the strait of Gibraltar, there was none to dispute her sway. +</p> + +<p> +But this rapid ascent was followed by no less speedy a fall, and one +act of indiscretion stripped the Athenians of all the advantages which +they had acquired on the mainland of Greece. In every city of Greece +there were always two parties, the wealthy and noble, called oligarchs, +and the demos, or commons; and according as Spartan or Athenian +influence was in the ascendant the balance of power in each city +wavered between the nobles and the people, the Athenians favouring the +Many, the Spartans the Few. Accordingly there was always a party living +in exile, and waiting for a turn of affairs which might enable them to +return to their city, and wrest the power from that faction which had +been the last to triumph. In the cities of Boeotia the leaders of the +oligarchs had been driven into banishment after the battle of +Oenophyta, and democracies were established under the control of +Athens. After nine years of banishment these exiles returned, and the +result was an oligarchical reaction in the chief cities of Boeotia. A +hastily equipped and ill-organised force was sent out from Athens to +put down the authors of the revolution, and in the battle which +followed, at Coronea, [Footnote: B.C. 447.] the Athenians sustained a +severe defeat, and a large number of their citizens were taken +prisoners by the Boeotians. To recover these prisoners the Athenians +consented to evacuate Boeotia, and by this surrender they lost their +hold on central Greece, as far as Thermopylae. +</p> + +<p> +This heavy blow was followed two years later by the revolt of Megara +and Euboea; and in the midst of the alarm thus occasioned, the +Athenians heard that a powerful Spartan army was threatening their +borders. It was a terrible moment for Athens; but she was saved by the +prudence and energy of Pericles, whose influence in her councils was +now supreme. By some means or other—as the Spartans asserted, by a +heavy bribe—he induced the Spartan king Pleistoanax to draw off his +forces; and then crossing over into Euboea, he quickly reduced the +whole island to submission, and took severe measures to prevent any +outbreak in the future. +</p> + +<p> +The exertions of the Athenians during the last thirty years had been +prodigious, and their efforts to found an empire in continental Greece +had ended in total failure. Discouraged by their reverses, they +concluded a thirty years' truce with the Spartans and their allies, +resigning the last remnant of their recent conquests, and leaving +Megara in her old position as a member of the Peloponnesian league +under Sparta. The loss of Megara was severely felt, and her conduct in +the late troubles was neither forgotten nor forgiven. The Megarians had +by their own free choice been admitted into the Athenian alliance, and +in an hour of great peril to Athens, without shadow of pretext they had +risen in arms against her. It was not long before they had to pay a +heavy penalty for their treachery and inconstancy. +</p> + +<p> +The last event which we have to record, before entering into the main +current of our narrative, is the secession of Samos, the most important +member of the maritime allies of Athens. This wealthy and powerful +island had hitherto, with Chios and Lesbos, enjoyed the distinction of +serving under Athens as an independent ally. The Athenians, with a view +to their own interests, had recently set up a democracy in Samos, which +had hitherto been governed by an oligarchy. Incensed by this +interference, the Samian nobles, who had been driven into exile, hired +a mercenary force, and making a sudden attack from the mainland, +overthrew the democracy and raised the standard of revolt. The crisis +called for prompt and vigorous action on the part of Athens; for if +Samos had been successful in defying her authority, the other members +of the league would speedily have followed the example, and the whole +fabric of her empire might have been shattered to pieces. Pericles was +again equal to the emergency, and by employing the whole naval power of +Athens he was able, after a siege of nine months, to reduce the +refractory islanders to submission. The Samians were compelled to +surrender their fleet, to pull down their walls, to pay a heavy war +indemnity, and to give hostages as a security for their good conduct in +the future. And henceforward they became subjects and tributaries of +Athens. +</p> + +<p> +We have now completed our review of the chief events which occurred +between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars. It was a period of rapid +development for Athens, of ceaseless activity at home and abroad, of +immense progress in all the arts of war and peace. The imperial city +had now risen to her full stature, and stood forth, supreme in +intellect and in action, the wonder and envy of mankind. Her mighty +walls bade defiance to her enemies at home, and she held in her hand +the islands and coast-districts of the Aegaean, where the last murmur +of resistance had been quelled. Her recent reverses on the mainland of +Greece had left the real sources of her power untouched; and taught +her, if she would but take the lesson to heart, the proper limits of +her empire. And she had risen to this height, not by the prevailing +force of any single mind, but by the united efforts of all her +citizens, working together for a whole generation, shunning no +sacrifice, and shrinking from no exertion, in their devotion to the +common mother of them all. Every Athenian, from the wealthiest noble to +the poorest rower in the fleet, felt that he had a stake in the +country, which to a Greek meant the city, where he was born. He gave +his vote in the Parliament [Footnote: Called the Ecclesia.] of Athens, +and served on the juries chosen by lot from the whole body of the +citizens, before whose judgment-seat, unassailable by bribery or +intimidation, the mightiest offenders trembled. He was a statesman, a +judge, a lawgiver, and a warrior, and he might even hope to climb to +the highest place in the State, and rule, like Pericles, as a prince of +democracy. Around him rose the temples and statues of the gods, fresh +from the chisel of the artist, the visible symbols of Athenian +greatness, and of the grand ideals which he served. The masterpieces of +Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides opened to him the boundless realms +of the imagination, taught him grave lessons of moral wisdom, and +connected the strenuous present with the heroic past; and the Old +Comedy, the most complete embodiment of the very genius of democracy, +afforded a feast of wit and fancy for his lighter hours. If he had a +taste for higher speculation, he might hear Anaxagoras discoursing on +the mysteries of the spiritual world, or Zeno applying his sharp tests +for the conviction of human error. And when the assembly was summoned +to discuss matters of high imperial policy, he felt all the greatness +and majesty of the Athenian state, as he hung entranced on the lips of +Pericles. +</p> + +<p> +Such was Athens in her prime, and such were the men who raised her to +the lofty eminence which she held among the cities of Greece. But the +years which had lifted her to that unparalleled height had raised up a +host of enemies against her, and it behoved her to temper ambition with +prudence if she would maintain the proud position which the held. The +scattered units which composed the Athenian empire were held together +by no tie of loyalty or affection to their common mistress, but solely +by the dread of her overwhelming naval power. Even in the noblest +spirits of ancient Greece, the feeling of patriotism, as we understand +it, was feeble and uncertain; when we speak of our <i>country</i>, the Greek +spoke of his <i>city</i>, and his love, his hopes, his highest aspirations, +were bounded by the narrow circuit of the walls which contained the +tombs of his ancestors and the temples of his gods. This feeling, the +most deeply-rooted instinct of Greek political life, had been +grievously offended by Athens, when she compelled the islanders of the +Aegaean, and the Greek cities of Asia, to serve in her navies, and pay +tribute to her exchequer. +</p> + +<p> +Turning now to the mainland of Greece we find, in most of the leading +states, a sentiment of mingled fear and hatred against Athens, which +had been steadily increasing in volume in the course of the last thirty +years. The haughty Thebans had not forgotten their defeat at Oenophyta, +and their nine years of servitude to Athens. Aegina was groaning under +her yoke, and threatened with total political extinction. Megara +complained that her commerce was ruined by a decree which excluded her +merchants from the ports in the Athenian Empire. In the heart of +Peloponnesus the Spartans were hatching mischief against their hated +rival, who had robbed them of half their dignity as the acknowledged +leaders of the Greeks. Corinth, whose commerce was chiefly in the +western sea, outside the sphere of Athenian influence, was disposed to +be friendly, and had done the Athenians good service during the revolt +of Samos.[Footnote: See below, p. 31.] But five years later [Footnote: +B.C. 435.] an event occurred which changed this feeling into bitter +hatred against Athens, and drove the Corinthians into the ranks of her +most inveterate foes. And it is at this point that we take up the main +thread of our story. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h2> +<a id="corinth"></a> +STORIES FROM THUCYDIDES +</h2> + +<h3> +CORINTH AND CORCYRA +</h3> + +<p class="t3b"> +I +</p> + +<p> +It was in a remote corner of the Greek world that the trouble began +which was destined to breed such mischief and havoc for the whole of +Greece. At the beginning of the seventh century before our era the +island of Corcyra had been colonised by the Corinthians. The colony +grew and flourished, and in its turn founded other settlements on the +opposite coasts of Epirus and Illyria. Among these was Epidamnus, +called by the Romans Dyrrachium, and in Roman times the ordinary +landing-place for travellers from Italy to Greece. After many years of +prosperity the resources of Epidamnus were much crippled by internal +faction, and by wars with the neighbouring barbarians. Four years +before the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War, the nobles of Epidamnus, +who had been expelled in the last revolution, made an alliance with the +native tribes of Illyria, and by constant plundering raids reduced the +Epidamnians to such straits that they were compelled to apply to +Corcyra for help. But the Corcyraeans, whose sympathies were on the +side of the banished nobles, refused to interfere. +</p> + +<p> +Epidamnus, as we have seen, was a colony founded by a colony, and +according to Greek custom the original settlers had been led by a +citizen of Corinth, the mother-city of Corcyra. Seeing, therefore, that +they had nothing to hope from the Corcyraeans, the distressed people of +Epidamnus began to turn their thoughts towards their ancient +metropolis, and considered whether they should appeal to her to save +them from ruin. But as this was a step of doubtful propriety, they +first consulted the oracle of Delphi, the great authority on questions +of international law. Receiving a favourable answer, they sent envoys +to Corinth, and offered to surrender their city to the Corinthians, in +return for their countenance and protection. +</p> + +<p> +The Corcyraeans had long been in evil odour at Corinth, for they had +grown insolent in prosperity, and neglected all the observances which +were due from a colony to the mother-city. They were, in fact, superior +to the Corinthians in wealth and power, and their fleet, numbering a +hundred and twenty triremes, was second only to that of Athens. Corcyra +was famous in legend as the seat of the Phaeacians, a heroic sailor +race, whose deeds are sung by Homer in the <i>Odyssey</i>; and the +Corcyraeans regarded themselves as the lawful inheritors of their fame. +For all these reasons they despised the Corinthians, and made no secret +of their contempt. Remembering the many occasions on which they had +been publicly insulted by Corcyra, the Corinthians lent a favourable +ear to the petition of Epidamnus, and determined to appropriate the +colony to themselves. Accordingly they invited all who chose to go and +settle at Epidamnus, and sent the new colonists under a military +escort, with instructions to proceed by land to Apollonia, for fear +lest they should be obstructed by the Corcyraean fleet, if they went by +sea. +</p> + +<p> +Great was the indignation at Corcyra when the news arrived that her +colony had been surrendered to Corinth, and a force of forty ships was +sent off in haste, bearing a peremptory demand to the Epidamnians that +they should receive back their exiles and send away the new colonists. +As the citizens refused to obey their mandate, they prepared to lay +siege to the town, which is situated on an isthmus. +</p> + +<p> +When the Corinthians heard of the danger of Epidamnus, they began to +make preparations on a much larger scale, collecting a host of new +colonists, and a fleet of seventy-five ships to convoy them on their +passage to Epidamnus. Apprised of these proceedings, the Corcyraeans +sent envoys to Corinth, with a civil remonstrance against the arbitrary +interference with their own colony. They were willing, they said, to +submit the matter to arbitration, and in the meantime to suspend all +hostilities against the revolted city. But the Corinthians paid no +attention to their overtures, and all being now ready, the great +multitude, drawn from all parts of Greece, set sail for Epidamnus. When +they reached Actium, at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf, they were met +by a herald, sent out from Corcyra in a skiff, to forbid their +approach. This was a mere manoeuvre, to throw the guilt of commencing +hostilities on the Corinthians; and meanwhile the Corcyraeans manned +their ships, to the number of eighty, and put out to meet the enemy's +fleet. In the sea-fight which followed the Corcyraeans gained a +complete victory, and on the same day Epidamnus was compelled to +capitulate to the besieging force. +</p> + +<p> +By this victory the Corcyraeans gained complete command of the western +or Ionian sea, and for the rest of the summer they sailed from place to +place, plundering the allies of Corinth. The Corinthians, however, were +not at all disposed to acquiesce in their defeat, and during the whole +of the following year they were busy organising a fresh expedition on a +vast scale, being resolved at all costs to put down the insolence of +Corcyra. These preparations caused no small anxiety to the Corcyraeans. +Hitherto they had stood apart, and refused to take any share in the +complicated game of Greek politics. The course of affairs during the +last forty years had tended more and more to divide the Greek world +into two opposite camps, arrayed under the banners of Athens and +Sparta. As Dorians, the Corcyraeans would naturally have enrolled +themselves among the allies of Sparta,—as islanders and seamen, they +might have leaned to the side of Athens: but confident in their remote +situation, and in the power of their fleet, they had chosen to remain +neutral. But finding themselves threatened with destruction, they now +resolved to abandon their policy of selfish isolation, and sue for +admission into the Athenian alliance. Ambassadors were sent to Athens +to urge their plea; and the Corinthians, hearing of their intention, +sent representatives of their own to oppose the application. +</p> + +<p> +The Athenians were fully alive to the gravity of the question which +they were called upon to decide, and after listening to the arguments +of the Corcyraean and Corinthian orators, they adjourned the debate +until the next day. To Corinth they were bound by old ties of +obligation; for on three distinct occasions the Corinthians had done +them signal service. More than seventy years before the date which we +have reached, the Spartans summoned their allies to consider whether it +was expedient to compel the Athenians to receive back the banished +tyrant Hippias; and it was chiefly by the eloquence of the Corinthian +speaker Sosicles, who drew a vivid picture of the miseries of +despotical government, that they were shamed out of their purpose. A +few years later, when the Athenians were at war with Aegina, they were +aided by twenty Corinthian ships. And quite recently, in the great +peril which menaced Athens at the revolt of Samos, Corinth had once +more shown herself a friend. At a congress of the Peloponnesian allies, +summoned to consider an appeal from the Samians for help, the +Corinthians had spoken strongly against interference with the revolted +allies of another city. Corinth was a place of old renown, the queen of +the Isthmus, a centre of civilisation; whereas Corcyra was a remote +island, and her people, though Greeks by descent, were in manners and +character more than half barbarians. +</p> + +<p> +But there were two arguments put forward by the Corcyraean orator, +which outweighed all other considerations of policy or friendship. The +first was addressed to the fears of the Athenians, the second to their +ambition. War, he argued, was inevitable, and it was of the utmost +importance for Athens to secure the alliance of the Corcyraean fleet, +and prevent it from being added to the naval forces of her enemies. And +his concluding words struck a note which found a response among the +more daring spirits among his hearers, whose thoughts, as it would +seem, were already turning to the western colonies of Greece, as a new +field of enterprise and conquest. "It will not do," he said, "to be too +nice. While you are hesitating, and weighing nice points of +international right, you will be outdistanced in the race for power, if +you tamely give up a great naval station which holds the key to Italy +and Sicily." +</p> + +<p> +Such reasoning, hollow and false as it was, turned the scale in favour +of Corcyra, and a defensive alliance was concluded, pledging the +Athenians and Corcyraeans to aid each other against any attack on the +territory or allies of either state. For the Athenians wished to avoid +breaking the Thirty Years' Truce, and therefore refrained from entering +into any agreement which might oblige them to acts of open aggression +against Corinth. +</p> + +<p> +There can be little doubt that Pericles, who was mainly responsible for +this decision, committed a fatal error in advising the Athenians to +take up the cause of Corcyra. By this act Athens incurred the +implacable hostility of Corinth, and revived the old grudge which that +city had conceived against her when Megara joined the Athenian +alliance. In the constantly shifting currents of Greek politics, Athens +might well, under wise guidance, have steered her way safely through +the perils which surrounded her. The Corinthians had half forgotten +their grievance, as is proved by their conduct at the revolt of Samos; +and the tone of their representative at the Corcyraean debate is +decidedly friendly. The Spartans were sluggish and procrastinating by +nature, and required some powerful impulse to induce them to act with +vigour; and this impulse was now supplied by Corinth. By accepting, +therefore, the alliance of Corcyra, Athens barred the way to all +compromise, and gathered into one head all the scattered causes of +jealousy and hatred which had been accumulating against her in the last +fifty years. +</p> + +<p> +Early in the following year the Corinthian fleet, numbering a hundred +and fifty sail, put to sea from Corinth, to renew the war with Corcyra, +and a battle was fought off the coast of Epirus. The engagement was +long and fierce, and the event was finally decided by a small squadron +of Athenian ships, which had been sent with instructions to hinder any +attempt of the enemy to land on the island Seeing that the Corcyraeans +were being forced back upon their own coast, the Athenian captains, who +had hitherto looked on, and taken no part in the battle, now assumed +the offensive, and lent such effectual aid that the Corinthians were +held in check until the sudden appearance of twenty additional ships +from Athens, which had been sent off immediately after the others, put +an end to the action. This timely interference saved Corcyra from ruin; +for next day the Corinthians, after a formal remonstrance, set sail for +home, taking with them two hundred and fifty prisoners, belonging to +the noblest families in Corcyra, whom they kept in safe custody, but +treated with great consideration, hoping by means of them at some +future time to recover their influence in the island. +</p> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p class="t3b"> +II +</p> + +<p> +It was not long before the effects of this impolitic breach with +Corinth were sensibly felt by Athens. In the course of the following +summer, Potidaea, a Corinthian colony, situated on the borders of +Macedon, and included in the Athenian alliance, openly raised the +standard of revolt, encouraged by promises from Sparta, and by the +presence of a strong body of hoplites, sent for its support from +Corinth. Potidaea was presently closely invested by an Athenian army +and fleet, and the Corinthians pretended to make this a fresh ground of +complaint, though they had themselves incited the city to throw off its +allegiance to Athens. +</p> + +<p> +Feeling that matters were now approaching a crisis, the Spartans +summoned a congress of their allies, and invited all who had any +grievance against Athens to state their case. Then some spoke of the +wrongs of Aegina, formerly not the least among Greek cities, but now so +crushed under the yoke of Athens that she had not dared to raise her +voice openly against the tyrant-city. The Megarians complained of the +restrictions on their commerce, which threatened them with an empty +exchequer and a starving population; and others followed in the same +strain. When all the rest had spoken, the Corinthian orator, who had +reserved his eloquence till the end, came forward and delivered a +vehement harangue, containing hardly any specific charge against +Athens, but well calculated to inflame the passions and provoke the +pride of the Spartans. Though the acknowledged leader of Greece, and +champion of her liberties, Sparta, he said, had always been the last to +see the dangers which menaced the common country, and the last to take +measures for her defence. Spartan apathy and indolence had brought the +Greeks to the brink of ruin in the Persian War; and when that danger +was passed, the same fatal indifference had enabled Athens to advance +step by step on the path of aggrandisement; until now she had grown so +strong that the united force of the whole Peloponnesian league would be +required to put her down. Why had not the Spartans listened to the +warnings which they had heard, when the Athenians were rebuilding their +walls? Then they might have stopped the evil at its source, and saved a +multitude of cities from slavery and oppression. "Consider," cried the +orator, warming to his subject, "what manner of men these Athenians +are, and how vast is the difference between them and you. While you are +shut up in this inland valley, treading the dull round of mechanical +routine, they are continually pushing forward the boundaries of their +empire, toiling night and day to make their city great, never satisfied +with what they have, always thirsting for more. Cautious, timid, and +conservative as you are, hardly to be roused from your sloth by the +most imminent perils, how can you hope to curb the flight of Athenian +ambition, which knows no limit, and is checked by no reverse? +</p> + +<p> +"Men of Sparta, I speak as a friend, and you will not take my candour +amiss. New times require new manners, and if you would maintain your +great position you must move with the march of events, and abandon your +old-fashioned ways. Do not mistake stagnation for stability, but learn +a lesson even from these hated Athenians, who have risen to their +present pitch of greatness by adapting themselves to every new need as +it arose. +</p> + +<p> +"You know what you have to do, if you would wipe out the reproach which +rests upon you, and keep the respect of your faithful allies. Send an +army into Attica, and compel the Athenians to withdraw their forces +from Potidaea. And let it be done speedily, for while we are talking +our kinsmen are perishing." +</p> + +<p> +It happened that an Athenian embassy was present in Sparta, having been +sent there on some other business, and not for the purpose of +representing Athens at the debate. But when they heard of the outcry +which had been raised against their city, the envoys asked permission +for one of their number to address the Spartan assembly, wishing to +explain the true character and origin of the Athenian Empire, and to +warn the Spartans against plunging the whole country into the horrors +of civil war. Leave being granted, the Athenian orator entered on his +subject by sketching the course of events for the last sixty years. +Athens, he said, had twice saved Greece, first at Marathon, and +afterwards at Salamis. On the first of these occasions she had stood +almost alone against an overwhelming force of Persians; and ten years +later, though betrayed by her allies, she had borne the brunt against +the navy of Xerxes. Who, then, was worthier than she to hold empire +over Greeks? That empire had been forced upon her by the inertness of +Sparta, and by the cowardice and sloth of her own allies in the Delian +league. The power thus gained had been used with moderation, in marked +contrast to the previous tyranny of Persia exercised over the same +cities, and the arrogance of Spartan officers when engaged on foreign +service. But a light yoke, it would seem, was harder to bear than a +heavy one; if Athens had openly oppressed her subjects, she would never +have heard a murmur. +</p> + +<p> +Having thus tried to combat the prejudice against Athens, the orator +addressed himself directly to the Spartans, and said: "Consider the +awful responsibility which you will incur, if you suffer yourselves to +be carried away by the invectives of your allies, and drive us against +our will to tempt with you the dark uncertainties and perilous issues +of war. There is still time for an amicable settlement of our +differences: Athens is prepared to make all reasonable concessions, and +to submit to arbitration, as the terms of the treaty direct. And if you +decline to accept this offer, the guilt of the aggressor will lie with +you." +</p> + +<p> +It is remarkable that the speaker, in tracing the later course of +Athenian policy, lays no claim to those high motives of patriotism +which had inspired his people with sublime self-devotion two +generations back. He boldly asserts the principle that it is lawful for +the stronger to rule the weaker, and claims merit for Athens in +abstaining from excessive abuse of her power. The Athenians, we may +believe, had been tainted by the baseness of their confederates. In the +early days of the Delian league they had not attempted to educate the +Greeks whom they led up to the standard of their own splendid +zeal,—or, if the attempt had been made, it was unsuccessful. They had +taken upon themselves the whole burden of a great public duty, and +standing alone, without moral support from their countrymen, they had +gradually fallen away from the pure and lofty virtues of their +ancestors. This decay of public morality proceeds with rapid strides in +the years which follow, and we shall presently hear the doctrine that +might is right proclaimed with cynical frankness by the lips of an +Athenian. +</p> + +<p> +Having heard the complaints of their allies against Athens, and the +reply of the Athenian orator, the Spartans ordered all but those of +their own race to withdraw, and continued the debate with closed doors. +A great majority of the speakers were in favour of declaring immediate +war on Athens. But there was one important exception: the aged +Archidamus, who for the last fourteen years had been reigning as sole +king at Sparta, spoke strongly against the imprudence of assuming the +aggressive, before they had made adequate preparations to cope with the +offending city. It was an opinion generally held by the war-party that +the Athenians would be ready to make any concessions, in order to save +the land of Attica from ravage. This, said Archidamus, was a great +error; and the event proved that he was right. The Athenians, with +their great colonial empire, and complete command of the sea, were +quite independent of the products of their own estates in Attica. And +many years must elapse before the states of Peloponnesus could train a +fleet, and attack them on the sea, where alone they were assailable. It +was folly to suppose that such a contest could be decided by a single +summer campaign, as was commonly believed by the enemies of Athens. "I +fear rather," said the king, with prophetic foresight, "that we shall +leave this war as an inheritance to our children; such is the power, +and such the pride, of the state with which we have to contend." On the +other hand, the Spartans, as champions of the liberties of Greece, must +not allow the common oppressors of their countrymen to continue their +career of tyranny unchecked. Let them first, however, try what could be +effected by negotiation, and in the meantime prepare for war, by +building ships, and above all by collecting money, without which all +their valour would be useless. Then, if Athens still refused to listen +to reason, they might declare war with better hope of success. +</p> + +<p> +The speech of Archidamus shows a true insight into the nature of the +crisis which the Spartans were called upon to face, and his views were +amply justified by subsequent events. His wise words were no doubt +applauded by the older and more sober-minded among his hearers. But +there was another and a much more numerous party at that time in +Sparta, filled with bitter envy and hatred against Athens. Their +passions had been inflamed by the invectives of the Corinthian orator, +and without counting the cost they were resolved to try the issues of +immediate battle. Their blind rancour found expression in the curt and +pithy harangue of Sthenelaidas, one of the five Ephors, a college of +magistrates which in recent years had greatly encroached on the +authority of the kings. Sthenelaidas spoke with true laconic brevity. +"I don't understand," he said, "all the fine talk of these Athenians. +They have told us a great deal about their own merits, but have not +said a word in answer to the charges brought against them. Even if we +accept their own account of themselves, their good conduct in the past +only lends a darker colour to their present crimes. We have one plain +duty to perform, and that is to save our faithful allies from +ill-treatment. The time for words is past—leave them to the +transgressor. Our part is to act, at once, and with all our might, and +put down the overwhelming insolence of Athens." +</p> + +<p> +Then, in his capacity as Ephor, Sthenelaidas, without staying for +further argument, forthwith put the question to the Spartan assembly. +According to their ordinary procedure, the Spartans gave their votes by +cries of "Ay" and "No." But on this occasion Sthenelaidas pretended to +be unable to distinguish whether the "Ays" or "Nos" had it, and wishing +to encourage the war-party by showing how much they were in the +majority, he ordered the house to divide on the question whether the +treaty was broken, and whether the Athenians were in the wrong or not. +The division was made, and a great majority were in favour of the +motion, recording their votes against Athens. The allies were then +called in, and informed to the result of the private debate, and a day +was named for a general synod of the whole Peloponnesian league, to +reconsider the situation and decide whether war was to be declared. +</p> + +<p> +In the interval, before the final assembly of the allies, the Spartans +sent to ask the oracle at Delphi whether it was expedient for them to +make war; and the answer, according to common report, was that if they +fought with all their might they would conquer, and that the god +[Footnote: Apollo.] would be on their side. The Corinthians were at the +same time carrying on an active canvass against Athens, sending their +agents from city to city to blow up the flames of war. +</p> + +<p> +In the autumn of the same year the allies met in full synod at Sparta, +and once more the Corinthian speaker led the cry against Athens, and +called for a unanimous war-vote, flattering his hearers with hopes of a +speedy victory. The Spartans, he said, had at last set a good example +to their allies, and shown themselves convinced that imperial cities +had imperial obligations, by pronouncing in favour of war. Every member +of the league must join heartily in the struggle, whether he belonged +to an inland or to a maritime city; for if the seaports were closed by +the Athenian fleets, the inland towns would be prevented from exporting +their products, and importing what they wanted from abroad. War, then, +was in the interest of the whole body of allies. And on the moral side +their position was equally sound, for they were only acting on +desperate provocation, and the common god of Greece had promised +success to their arms. But to deserve that success, all must co-operate +heartily, contributing freely from their private purses to raise a +fleet which would make them a match for Athens on her own element. And +they must watch the course of events with a vigilant eye, and be ready +to seize any opportunity which might arise to aim a decisive blow at +their common enemy. Let them be warned by the experience of the +Ionians, and put out all their strength to save themselves from being +swallowed up by the devouring ambition of Athens. Justice, heaven's +favour, the good-will of all Greece, were on their side. +</p> + +<p> +Others spoke to the same effect, and then the representatives of each +city were called up in turn to give their vote; and by far the greater +number voted for war. But many months elapsed before any overt act of +hostility occurred, and the time was occupied in preparations for an +invasion of Attica, and in a series of demands sent by Sparta to try +the temper of the Athenians, and put them in the wrong, if they refused +to comply. The first of these messages was conveyed in mysterious +terms, bidding the Athenians "to drive out the curse of the goddess." +The meaning of this was as follows: nearly two hundred years before a +certain Cylon tried to make himself tyrant of Athens: the attempt was +frustrated, and some of his adherents, who had taken refuge in the +sacred precinct of Athene, were put to death by the magistrates, after +they had surrendered under a solemn promise that their lives should be +spared. The illustrious family of the Alcmaeonidae was especially +concerned in this act of murder and sacrilege, and the Spartans, in +reviving the memory of an ancient crime, were aiming a blow at +Pericles, who was descended on his mother's side from the Alcmaeonidae. +For the Athenians were highly sensitive in all matters of religion, and +it was possible that they might even banish Pericles, if their +consciences were suddenly alarmed. And though this was not likely, the +Spartans hoped at any rate to lessen his influence, which was adverse +to themselves, and fasten on him the odium of being, in some sense, the +cause of the war. But their manoeuvre was unsuccessful, and the +Athenians retorted by bidding the Spartans drive out the curse of +Taenarus, in allusion to the murder of certain Helots who had taken +sanctuary in the temple of Poseidon at Taenarus. And they further +charged the Spartans to rid themselves of the curse of Athene of the +Brazen House. This was a holy place in Sparta, where Pausanias, when +convicted of treasonable correspondence with Persia, had sought refuge +from the vengeance of the Spartans. He was kept a close prisoner in the +temple by the Ephors, who set a watch on him, to prevent him from being +supplied with food, and when he was reduced to the last extremity, +brought him out to die. But though his death occurred outside the +temple, this did not save them from the sin of sacrilege, and a public +reprimand by the Delphic God. +</p> + +<p> +The game of diplomatic fencing went on for some time, and envoys were +continually passing to and fro between Athens and Sparta. The Athenians +were required to raise the siege of Potidaea—to allow the Aeginetans +to govern themselves—to rescind the decree against Megara; and when +all these demands were met by a firm refusal, the Spartans sent two +ambassadors, bearing their ultimatum, which was worded as follows: "The +Lacedaemonians wish that there should be peace, and war may be averted +if ye will let the Greeks go free." Knowing that the decisive moment +had now arrived, the Athenians met together in full assembly, to decide +on their final answer. There were many speakers on either side, some +arguing for peace, others for war: and then was heard that majestic +voice, which, for more than thirty years, had guided the counsels of +Athens—the voice of the Olympian Pericles. He had chosen his line of +policy a year before, in the fatal affair of Corcyra, and it was now +too late to draw back: peace with honour was no longer possible for +Athens. The furious zeal of Corinth had united her enemies against her, +and they were bent on her ruin. The demands put forward by Sparta were +a mere pretext, and if the Athenians had yielded the smallest point, +new concessions would have been required of them, until they were +stripped of all that had been won by the strenuous toil and devotion of +two generations. "We must listen," said Pericles, in the course of a +long speech, "to no proposal from Sparta which is not made as from an +equal to an equal. Dictation is not arbitration. If we are to fight at +all, the occasion matters little, be it small or great. What right has +Sparta to require of us that we should rescind the decree against +Megara, when her own laws jealously exclude all strangers from entering +her streets? Or why should we relax our hold upon our allies, or break +off the relations with them which were sanctioned by the Thirty Years' +Truce? No, all this is a mere pretence, and if we are deceived by it, +we shall be led on step by step to deeper and still deeper humiliation. +It may seem a hard thing to give up the fair land of Attica to pillage +and devastation. But think how far greater was the sacrifice made by +our grandsires, who refused the fairest offers from Persia, and gave up +all they had, rather than betray the common cause. Athens and Attica +were then all the country they had, and these lost they had nothing +left but their ships, their strong arms, and their stout hearts. In our +case, on the other hand, all the essential elements of our power—our +city, our fleet, our colonial empire—remain untouched. Shall we, then, +sell our honour to save a few vineyards and olive-grounds from +temporary damage? That would be a short-sighted policy indeed, and in +the end would involve not only dishonour, but the loss of our whole +empire. Let us act, then, in the spirit of our fathers, and send away +the Spartan ambassadors with the only answer which is consistent with +our dignity and our interest." +</p> + +<p> +The reply to the Spartan ultimatum was framed as Pericles had directed, +and from this moment all negotiations ceased. And here we close our +account of the events which led to the Peloponnesian War. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="plataea"></a> +THE SURPRISE OF PLATAEA +</h3> + +<p class="t3b"> +I +</p> + +<p> +On the northern slope of Cithaeron, the mountain range which divides +Attica from Boeotia, lies the little town of Plataea. By race and by +geographical position the Plataeans were naturally included in the +Boeotian confederacy, under the leadership of Thebes. But nearly a +century before the time of which we are now speaking they had deserted +the Thebans, whose rule was harsh and overbearing, and enrolled +themselves among the allies of Athens. On the eve of the battle of +Marathon, they had joined the Athenians with their whole force, a +thousand strong, and shared the peril and the honour of that glorious +day. Ten years later their city was laid in ruins by the army of +Xerxes, at the instigation of the Thebans; and in the following year +the great battle which ended the long struggle between Greece and +Persia was fought within sight of their shattered walls. In gratitude +for this great victory, the confederate Greeks under Pausanias declared +that the Plataean territory should be hallowed ground, and swore a +solemn oath to maintain the independence of the city. But the Thebans +had never forgotten or forgiven the secession of Plataea from the +confederacy of which they were the leaders; and seizing the opportunity +while the Athenians were occupied with measures for their own safety, +they made a treacherous attempt to gain possession of the town. +</p> + +<p> +On a dark and moonless night in the early spring three hundred armed +Thebans appeared before the gates of Plataea, which were opened to them +by a party of the citizens who favoured their design. Marching in a +body to the market-place, they made proclamation by a herald, inviting +all who chose to return to their allegiance, and take sides with their +lawful leaders, the Thebans. For they wished, if possible, to gain over +the place without bloodshed, and before the war had actually broken +out; otherwise, they might have to give it up again on the conclusion +of peace. +</p> + +<p> +The Plataeans, being wakened out of their first sleep, and thinking +that the Thebans were in much greater force than was really the case, +at first attempted no resistance, but were disposed to accept the terms +offered them. But perceiving by degrees that their enemies were far +weaker in numbers than themselves, they changed their minds, and +resolved to attack them. For the party which had betrayed the town was +but small, and the general body of the citizens detested the thought of +falling once more under the supremacy of Thebes. Their measures were +taken with great secrecy and despatch: to avoid exciting the suspicions +of the Thebans, they broke down the dividing walls of their houses, and +passed to and fro unobserved, until they had completed their +preparations. To embarrass the movements of the Thebans, they +barricaded the streets with waggons, and then, just before daybreak, +they poured out of their houses, and fell upon the enemy, who were +still stationed in the market-place. Though taken by surprise, the +Thebans defended themselves stoutly, and standing shoulder to shoulder +repulsed the assault of the Plataeans two or three times. But they were +greatly inferior in numbers, wearied by their long vigil, and soaked +with the heavy rain which had fallen in the night; the Plataeans +returned again and again to the attack, assailing them with furious +cries; and the women and slaves who crowded the roofs added to their +discomfiture, pelting them with tiles and stones, and stunning their +ears with a frightful uproar of yells and shrieks; so that at last +their hearts failed them, and breaking their ranks they fled wildly +through the streets. Some succeeded in reaching the gate by which they +had entered, but only to find that their escape was cut off in this +direction; for one of the Plataeans had closed the gate, using the +spike of his javelin to secure the bolt. Others lost their way in the +narrow and muddy streets, and wandered up and down until they were +slain by the Plataeans. A few contrived to escape by an unguarded +postern-gate, having cut through the bolt with an axe given them by a +woman. Others, in despair, flung themselves from the walls, and for the +most part perished. But a good number, who had kept together, were +caught in a trap; for coming to a large building which abutted on the +wall, and finding the doors open, they thought that they had reached +the town-gate, and rushed headlong in. The pursuers, who were close at +their heels, made fast the doors, and then the question arose what they +should do with their captives. Some proposed to set fire to the +building, and to burn it down, with the Thebans in it; but at last +those who were thus taken, and the few who were still straggling in the +town, were allowed to surrender at discretion. +</p> + +<p> +Meanwhile a strong reinforcement of Thebans, who had started after the +three hundred, were on the way to Plataea; but being delayed by the +state of the roads, and the swollen condition of the Asopus, which they +had to cross, they arrived too late. Being informed of what had +happened, they prepared to plunder the property of the Plataeans +outside the walls, and seize any of the citizens who crossed their +path, to serve as hostages for their own men in the town. The +Plataeans, perceiving their intention, sent a herald to remonstrate, +threatening that unless they desisted, all the Theban prisoners should +at once be put to death. And they promised further, under an oath, that +if the Thebans would withdraw their forces, the captives should be +restored—at least this was the account which was afterwards current at +Thebes, though the Plataeans denied that they had made any such promise +unconditionally, and declared that they had sworn no oath. It seems +probable that the Thebans had received some such explicit assurance as +they asserted; for, on receiving the answer from Plataea, they marched +away without doing any harm. No sooner were they gone than the +Plataeans made all haste to get their property within the walls, and +then put all their prisoners to death. The day was not far distant when +they were bitterly to rue this act of passion, which was not only +cruel, but grossly impolitic; for the Thebans thus slain in cold blood, +a hundred and eighty in number, would have been invaluable as hostages, +whereas the Plataeans had now cut themselves off from all hope of +reconciliation with Thebes, and virtually sealed their own fate. +</p> + +<p> +Two messengers had been despatched from Plataea to Athens, one after +the first entrance of the Thebans, and the second after their defeat +and capture; and the Athenians, on receiving the second message, sent +off a herald bidding the Plataeans to wait for further instructions, +before taking any steps against the prisoners. When the herald arrived, +he found the men already slain, and the Athenians then proceeded to +place the town in a state of defence, removing the women and children +and all those who were unfit for military service, to Athens, and +leaving a small body of their own citizens to direct operations. +</p> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p class="t3b"> +II +</p> + +<p> +The surprise of Plataea was the first open violation of the Thirty +Years' Truce, and from this time forward all Greece was involved for +many years in civil war. Public opinion was strongly on the side of the +Spartans, who stood forward as champions of the liberties of Greece; +but there was great enthusiasm on both sides, and the popular +imagination was much excited by the approaching struggle between the +two imperial cities. Both in Sparta and in Athens there was a younger +generation, who had grown up during a long period of peace, and now +entered gaily into the contest with all the light-hearted ignorance of +youth. Old prophecies current among the people, foretelling a great war +of Greeks against Greeks, passed from mouth to mouth, and the +professional soothsayers, whose business it was to collect and expound +such sayings, found eager hearers. The gods themselves could not be +indifferent on the eve of such mighty events, so deeply affecting the +destiny of the nation which worshipped them in a thousand temples; and +an earthquake, which had recently occurred at Delos, the sacred island +of Apollo, where such a visitation had never been known before, was +interpreted as a portent of great things to come. +</p> + +<p> +While the Peloponnesians were mustering their forces at the Isthmus, +the rural population of Attica were breaking up their homes, and +flocking by thousands into the city. A constant stream of waggons +passed along the roads, loaded with furniture, household utensils, and +even the woodwork of the farm-buildings; and many a little group of +women, children, and servants set out on that sorrowful journey, +leaving their fields, their gardens, and their vineyards, to be +trampled down and laid waste by the ruthless invader. Athens, indeed, +was the common mother of them all, their glory, their strength, and +their pride; for since the days of Theseus the scattered rural +communities of Attica had been united under the Aegis of Athene, and +acknowledged Athens as the head and centre of their civic life. But a +large proportion of the Athenian citizens still continued to reside in +the country, and all their dearest associations were connected with the +little spot of earth where they and their fathers were born. Here were +the graves of their ancestors, and the temples of the heroes who were +the guardian spirits of each little aggregate of families. It was +therefore with bitter and resentful feelings that they left these happy +scenes behind them, and turned their steps towards the gates of the +city, through which many of them were never to pass again. For all of +them it was a grievous change from the free and careless life of the +country-side to the confined space, polluted air, and jostling +multitudes of the town, now crowded to overflowing. Some few found +shelter in the houses of friends or relations; but by far the greater +number were obliged to encamp in the open spaces of the city, in the +precincts of temples, or in the narrow room between the Long Walls. +Even a place beneath the Acropolis, called the Pelasgic Field, was now +covered with the huts of the immigrants, though an ancient oracle had +forbidden its occupation under a curse. From day to day new crowds kept +flocking in, and the later comers were obliged to take up their +dwelling in Peiraeus, which was soon almost as much overcrowded as the +upper city. +</p> + +<p> +And now the younger generation of Athenians, who had entered so +cheerfully into the conflict, were to have their first taste of the +grim realities of war. The Peloponnesian army advanced leisurely, and +proceeded at first to Oenoe, an outlying fort near the borders of +Boeotia; for Archidamus, who held the chief command, still hoped that +the Athenians, when they saw the enemy on the confines of Attica, would +make some concessions, to save their farms from destruction. For this +reason he had long delayed his march from the Isthmus, and now wasted +more time in fruitless operations at Oenoe, until the allies began to +murmur against him, and suspected him of receiving bribes from the +Athenians to spare their lands. At last, being unable to put off the +fatal moment any longer, he turned southwards, and after ravaging the +plain of Eleusis, advanced to Acharnae, one of the most fertile and +prosperous districts of Attica, about seven miles north of Athens. Here +the Peloponnesians encamped, and applied themselves systematically to +the work of pillage and havoc. +</p> + +<p> +Great was the rage of the Acharnians, a hardy race of farmers and +charcoal-burners, when they saw the smoke rising from their ruined +homesteads; and their feelings were shared by the general body of the +citizens, who had watched the advance of Archidamus from Eleusis, and +had now no hope of saving their estates. Little knots of angry +disputants were seen in the streets and public places, for the most +part clamouring against Pericles, and demanding to be led against the +invader, while some few argued for the more prudent course. But +Pericles, who knew the fickle temper of the multitude, turned a deaf +ear to all this uproar, and steadily refused to summon an assembly, +lest some hasty resolution should be passed, which would lead to +useless loss of life. In order, however, to relieve the public +excitement, he sent out a body of horsemen to skirmish with the enemy, +and despatched a fleet of a hundred triremes to ravage the coasts of +Peloponnesus. +</p> + +<p> +When the first invasion of Attica was over, two cities, which had been +foremost in stirring up war against Athens, were made to feel the full +weight of her resentment. The unhappy Aeginetans were expelled from +their island, and the land of Aegina was distributed among Athenian +citizens. And later in the same summer the Athenians marched in full +force into the territory of Megara, which was laid waste from end to +end. This proceeding, which afforded a pleasant summer excursion to the +Athenians, was repeated annually for the next seven years. The banished +Aeginetans found an asylum at Thyrea, a coast district of eastern +Peloponnesus, which was assigned to them by Sparta. And so the first +year of the war came to an end; for, except on extraordinary occasions, +no military operations were undertaken during the winter. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="plague"></a> +THE PLAGUE AT ATHENS +</h3> + +<p class="t3b"> +I +</p> + +<p> +At the beginning of the next summer the Peloponnesians again entered +Attica, and resumed their work of devastation, destroying the young +crops, and wrecking whatever had been spared in the previous year. +Before they had been many days in Attica, a new and far more terrible +visitation came upon the Athenians, threatening them with total +extinction as a people. We have seen how the whole upper city, with the +space between the Long Walls, and the harbour-town of Peiraeus, was +packed with a vast multitude of human beings, penned together, like +sheep in a fold. Into these huddled masses now crept a subtle and +unseen foe, striking down his victims by hundreds and by thousands. +That foe was the Plague, which beginning in Southern Africa, and +descending thence to Egypt, reached the southern shores of the +Mediterranean, and passed on to Peiraeus, having been carried thither +by seamen who trafficked between northern Africa and Greece. From +Peiraeus it spread upwards with rapid strides, and before long the +whole space within the walls presented the appearance of a vast +lazar-house. +</p> + +<p> +From the description of the symptoms we may conclude that this epidemic +was similar to that dreadful scourge of mankind which has been almost +conquered by modern science, the small-pox. The patient who had taken +the infection was first attacked in the head, with inflammation of the +eyes, and violent headache. By degrees the poison worked its way into +the whole system, affecting every organ in the body, and appearing on +the surface in the shape of small ulcers and boils. One of the most +distressing features of the disease was a raging thirst, which could +not be appeased by the most copious draughts of water; and the internal +heat, which produced this effect, caused also a frightful irritability +of the skin, so that the sufferer could not bear the touch of the +lightest and most airy fabrics, but lay naked on his bed, in all the +deformity of his dire affliction. Of those who recovered, many bore the +marks of the sickness to their graves, by the loss of a hand, a foot, +or an eye; while others were affected in their minds, remaining in +blank oblivion, without power to recognise themselves or their friends. +The healing art had made great progress in Greece in the course of the +last generation; and in this, as in all else, the Greeks remained the +sole teachers of Europe for ages after. But against such a malady as +this, the most skilful physicians could do nothing, and those who +attempted to exercise their skill caught the plague themselves, and for +the most part perished. Still less, as we may well suppose, was the +benefit derived from amulets, incantations, inquiries of oracles, or +supplications at temples; and at last, finding no help in god or man, +the Athenians gave up the struggle, and resigned themselves to despair. +</p> + +<p> +It is recorded as a curious fact, showing the strange and outlandish +character of the pestilence, that the birds and animals which feed on +human flesh generally shunned the bodies of those who died of the +plague, though they might have eaten their fill, for hundreds were left +unburied. The very vultures fled from the infected city, and hardly one +was seen as long as the pestilence continued. +</p> + +<p> +The fearful rapidity with which the infection spread caused a panic +throughout the city, and even the boldest were not proof against the +general terror. If any man felt himself sickening of the plague, he at +once gave up all hope, and made no effort to fight against the disease. +Few were found brave enough to undertake the duty of nursing the sick, +and those who did generally paid for their devotion with their lives. +In most cases the patient was left to languish alone, and perished by +neglect, while his nearest and dearest avoided his presence, and had +grown so callous that they had not a sigh or a tear left for the death +of husband, or child, or friend. The few who recovered, now free from +risk of mortal infection, did what they could to help their suffering +fellow-citizens. +</p> + +<p> +The mischief was aggravated by the overcrowded state of the city, +especially among those who had come in from the country, and were +living in stifling huts through the intense heat of a southern summer. +Here the harvest of death fell thickest, and the corpses lay heaped +together, while dying wretches crawled about the public streets, and +encumbered the fountain-sides, to which they had dragged themselves in +their longing for drink. All sense of public decency, all regard for +laws, human or divine, was lost. The temples in which they had made +their dwellings were choked with dead, and the sacred duty of burial, +to which the conscience of antiquity attached so high an importance, +was performed in wild haste and disorder. Sometimes those who were +carrying out a corpse found a vacant pile prepared by the relatives of +another victim, flung their dead upon it, set fire to the pile, and +departed; and sometimes, when a body was already burning, others who +were seeking to dispose of a corpse forced their way to the fire, and +threw their burden upon it. +</p> + +<p> +In the general relaxation of public morality all the dark passions of +human nature, which at ordinary times lurk in secret places, came forth +to the light of day, and raged without restraint. Some, who had grown +rich in a day by the death of wealthy relatives, resolved to enjoy +their possessions, and indulge every appetite, before they were +overtaken by the same fate. Others, who had hitherto led good lives, +seeing the base and the noble swept away indifferently by the same +ruthless power, began to doubt the justice of heaven itself, and rushed +into debauch, convinced that conscience and honour were but empty +names. For human laws they cared still less, for in the universal panic +there was none to enforce them, and before the voice of public +authority could be heard again, both judge and transgressor, as they +believed, would be involved in a common doom. All shame and fear were +accordingly thrown aside, and those whom the plague had not yet touched +seemed possessed by one sole desire—to drown thought and care in an +orgy of fierce excess, and then to die. +</p> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p class="t3b"> +II +</p> + +<p> +The second invasion of the Peloponnesians was prolonged for forty days, +and the whole Attic territory was laid waste. Pericles again refused to +venture a pitched battle against them, knowing well that the Athenian +army was no match for them in the open field. But a powerful fleet was +sent to cruise round Peloponnesus, which inflicted much damage on the +coast districts. It was a welcome relief to the Athenians selected for +this service to escape for a time from the plague-stricken city; but +unhappily they carried the infection with them, and the crews were +decimated by the same disease. Nor did the evil stop here: for the same +armament being afterwards despatched to Potidaea, to reinforce the +blockading army and fleet, caused a virulent outbreak of the plague +among the forces stationed there, which up till then had been healthy. +After some fruitless operations against the town this second armament +was withdrawn, and returned to Athens with the loss of more than a +thousand men. +</p> + +<p> +After all these disasters the reaction against Pericles, which had +begun with the first invasion of Attica, reached a climax, and on all +sides he was loudly decried by the Athenians, as the author of all +their miseries. Envoys were sent with overtures of peace to Sparta, and +when these returned with no favourable answer, the storm of popular +fury grew more violent than ever. Pericles, who knew the temper of his +people, and had foreseen that some such outbreak would occur, remained +calm and unmoved. But wishing to allay the general excitement, and +bring back the citizens to a more reasonable view of their prospects, +he summoned an assembly, and addressed the multitude in terms of grave +and dignified rebuke. He reminded them that they themselves had voted +for war, and remonstrated against the unfairness of making him +responsible for their own decision. If war could have been avoided +without imperilling the very existence of their city, then that +decision was wrong; but if, as was the fact, peace could only have been +preserved by ruinous concessions, then his advice had been good, and +they had been right in following it. The welfare of the individual +citizen depended on the welfare of the community to which he belonged; +as long as that was secured, private losses could always be made good, +but public disaster meant private ruin. On this principle they had +acted two years before, when they determined to reject the demands of +Sparta. Why, then, were they now indulging in weak regrets, and turning +against him whom they had appointed as their chosen guide and adviser? +Was there anything in his character, any fact in his whole life, which +justified them in suspecting him of unworthy motives? Was he the man to +lead them astray, in order to save some selfish end—he, the great +Pericles, whose loyalty, eloquence, clear-sightedness, and +incorruptibility, had been proved in a public career of more than +thirty years? If any other course had been open to them, he would have +been to blame in counselling war; but the alternative was between that +and degradation. The immediate pressure of private calamity was +blinding them to the magnitude of the interests at stake—Athens, with +all her fond traditions, and all the lustre of her name. That they were +sure of victory he had already declared to them on many infallible +grounds. But seeing them so sunk in despair, he would speak in a tone +of loud assurance, and boldly assert a fact which they seemed to have +overlooked. They were lords of the sea, absolute masters, that was to +say, of half the world! Let them keep a firm grasp on this empire, and +they would soon recover those pretty ornaments of empire—their gardens +and their vineyards—which they held so dear: but, that once +relinquished, they would lose all. Surely this knowledge should inspire +them with a lofty contempt of their foes, a contempt grounded, not on +ignorance or shallow enthusiasm, but on rational calculation. They +could not now descend from the eminence on which they stood. Athens, +who had blazed so long in unrivalled splendour before the eyes of the +world, dared not suffer her lustre to be abated: for her, obscurity +meant extinction. Let them keep this in mind, and not listen to +counsels of seeming prudence and moderation, which were suicidal in a +ruling state. All their calamities, except the plague, were the +foreseen results of their own decision. Now was the time to display +their known courage and patience. Let them think of the glory of +Athens, and her imperial fame. +</p> + +<p> +This memorable speech, the last recorded utterance of Pericles, had the +desired effect. It was resolved to continue the war, and no further +embassies were sent to Sparta. But resentment still smouldered in the +hearts of the Athenians against their great statesman. How fearful was +the contrast between the high hopes with which they had embarked in +this struggle, and the scenes of horror and desolation which lay around +them! From the walls they could see their trampled fields, their +ravaged plantations, and the blackened ruins of their homes. Within, +the pestilence still raged undiminished, and the city was filled with +sounds and sights of woe. Under the pressure of these calamities the +ascendency of Pericles went through a brief period of eclipse, and he +was condemned to pay a fine. Soon, however, he recovered all his +influence, and remained at the head of affairs until his death, which +occurred in the autumn of the following year. +</p> + +<p> +Pericles is the representative figure in the golden age of Athenian +greatness, the most perfect example of that equable and harmonious +development in every faculty of body and mind which was the aim of +Greek civic life at its best. As an orator, he was probably never +equalled, and the effect of his eloquence has found immortal expression +in the lines of his contemporary Eupolis. Persuasion, we are told, sat +enthroned on his lips; like a strong athlete, he overtook and outran +all other orators; his words struck home like the lightning, while he +held his audience enchained, as by a powerful spell; and among all the +masters of eloquence, he was the only one who left his sting behind +him. As a statesman, it was his object to admit every freeborn Athenian +to a share of public duties and privileges; and for this purpose he +introduced the system of payment, which enabled the poorer citizens to +perform their part in the service of the state. His military talents, +though never employed for conquest or aggression, were of no mean +order; and on two occasions of supreme peril to Athens, the revolt of +Euboea, and the revolt of Samos, it was his energy and promptitude +which saved his city from ruin. +</p> + +<p> +But it is as the head of the great intellectual movement which +culminated in this epoch, as the friend of poets, philosophers, and +artists, that Pericles has won his most enduring fame. By his liberal +and enlightened policy the surplus of the Athenian revenues was devoted +to the creation of those wonders of architecture and sculpture, whose +fragments still serve as unapproachable models to the mind of modern +Europe. And under his rule Athens became the school of Greece, the +great centre for every form of intellectual activity, a position which +she maintained until the later period of the Roman Empire. +</p> + +<p> +If, however, we would understand the character of Pericles, and the +spirit of the age which he represents, we must never forget that this +aspect of Athenian greatness, to us by far the most important, was not +the aspect which awoke the highest enthusiasm in him and his +contemporaries. Those things which have made the name of Athens +immortal, her art and her literature, were matters of but secondary +importance to the Athenian of that age. He worshipped his city as a +beloved mistress, and, like a lover, he delighted to adorn her with +outward dignity and splendour. But to lavish all his thought and care +on these external embellishments would have been, in his estimation, a +senseless waste of his highest faculties, as if a lover should make the +robes and jewels of his mistress the objects of his highest adoration. +To make Athens the mightiest state in Greece, to build up the fabric of +her material greatness—these were the objects for which he was ready +to devote the best energies of heart and brain, and if need were, to +lay down his life. He might be skilled in every elegant accomplishment, +an acute reasoner, an orator, a musician, a poet; and to some extent he +was all of these. But before all else he was in the highest sense a +practical man, finding in strenuous action his chief glory and pride. +And such a man was the last to melt into ecstasies over the high notes +of a singer, or dream away his life in the fairyland of poetry. +</p> + +<p> +We have dwelt at some length on the work and character of Pericles, as +his death marks a turning point in Athenian history. From that day +onward the policy of Athens takes a downward direction, denoting a +corresponding decline in Athenian character and aspiration. Pericles +had been able, by his commanding talents and proved integrity, to +exercise a salutary check on the restless energies and soaring ambition +of his countrymen. He had been a true father and ruler of his people, +in evil times and in good, curbing them in the insolence of prosperity, +comforting and exalting them in the dark hour of disaster. But the +government now passed into the hands of weaker men, who, since they +were incapable of leading the people, were compelled to follow it, and +to maintain their position by pandering to the worst vices of the +Athenian character. Rash where they should have been cautious, yielding +where they should have been resolute, they squandered the immense +resources of Athens, and led her on, step by step, to humiliation and +defeat. The course of our narrative will show how easily the Athenians +might have emerged triumphant from the struggle with their enemies, if +they had followed the line of conduct marked out by Pericles. They +might, indeed, have avoided the occasion of offence which led +immediately to the war, and thus have escaped the necessity of fighting +altogether; and this, as we have seen, was the one fatal mistake made +by Pericles. But, once launched in the conflict, they were sure of an +easy victory, if they had only shown a very moderate degree of prudence +and self-restraint. And we need not blame the great statesmen too +harshly for not foreseeing the wild excesses of folly and extravagance +which we shall have to record in the following pages. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="investment"></a> +INVESTMENT OF PLATAEA +</h3> + +<p> +In the third year of the war the usual invasion of Attica was omitted, +and the Peloponnesian army under Archidamus marched against Plataea. +Having pitched their camp before the walls they prepared to lay waste +the territory; but before the work of havoc began, the Plataeans sent +envoys to remonstrate. "Unrighteous are your deeds," said the spokesman +of the embassy, "ye men of Sparta, and unworthy of the men whose sons +ye are. After the victory of Plataea, which ended the struggle against +Persia, Pausanias, the chief captain of the confederate Greeks, offered +sacrifice and thanksgiving at Plataea to Zeus the Liberator, and swore +a solemn oath, both he, and all the Greeks whom he led, to maintain the +independence of our city against all who should assail it. This they +did as a recompense for our valour and devotion in our country's +service. But ye, in direct violation of that oath, have made common +cause with our worst enemies, the Thebans, and have come hither to +enslave us. In the name of the gods who witnessed that covenant, in the +name of every power worshipped alike at Plataea and at Sparta, we +adjure you not to commit this sacrilege, but to leave us in peaceful +possession of the privileges vouchsafed to us on that memorable day." +</p> + +<p> +Such were the words of the Plataeans, to which Archidamus replied as +follows: "Ye say well, men of Plataea, if ye act in the spirit of the +compact to which ye have appealed. The oath which Pausanias swore was +taken in defence of the common liberties of Greece. Against those +liberties a new enemy has arisen, Athens, who holds half our nation in +bondage, and threatens to lay her yoke upon us all. To put down that +tyranny has this great coalition been called together, and if ye are +true men, ye will enlist in the same cause, and take up arms for the +relief of your distressed countrymen. Or at least, if ye cannot do +this, then stand apart from this conflict, helping neither one side nor +the other; and with this we shall be satisfied." +</p> + +<p> +Having heard the answer of Archidamus, the Plataean envoys went back, +and reported his words to their fellow-townsmen. But the Plataeans +replied that, without the consent of the Athenians, they dare not +accept his proposal, as their wives and children had been removed to +Athens. Moreover, they feared that if they remained neutral the Thebans +would seize the opportunity to make another attempt on their town. +"Well, then," answered Archidamus, "we make you this second offer: Hand +over your town and your dwellings to us, the Spartans; keep a strict +account of all your trees, [Footnote: Vines and olive-trees] and of all +else that can be numbered, and retire yourselves to some safe retreat, +as long as the war continues. When it is over, we will restore all your +property, and meanwhile keep the land in cultivation, and pay you a +fixed rent, such as may suffice you." +</p> + +<p> +The offer was fair, and even generous; but the Plataeans were powerless +to act, without the consent of the Athenians, who held their families +as hostages. Accordingly they asked for a truce, to enable them to lay +the proposal before the authorities at Athens, and this being granted, +they sent envoys to Athens, who speedily returned with this answer: "We +have never left you at the mercy of your enemies in the past, since ye +became our allies, nor will we do so now, but will help you to the best +of our power; and we charge you by the oath which your fathers swore +not to depart from your allegiance to Athens." +</p> + +<p> +It was a cruel alternative which was offered to the hapless Plataeans: +either they must leave their wives and children to the vengeance of +Athens, or face the whole power of the confederates, led by Sparta. +True to their character, they chose the nobler part, and determined to +stand by the Athenian alliance. Henceforth no one was allowed to leave +the town, and their final answer was delivered from the walls. They +were unable, they said, to accept the terms offered by Archidamus. +</p> + +<p> +On hearing their decision, the Spartan king made a last solemn appeal +to the powers who presided over the territory of Plataea, a hallowed +precinct, now about to be given up to plunder and ravage: "Ye gods and +heroes, who keep the land of Plataea, bear witness that we had just +cause from the first for marching hither, since the Plataeans had +forsaken the alliance, and that if we do aught against them, we shall +still be justified. For we have made them the fairest offers, but they +would not be persuaded. Therefore let those with whom the guilt lies be +punished, and prosper ye the cause of righteous vengeance." +</p> + +<p> +The siege of Plataea now began in earnest. First the town was +surrounded with a palisade, to prevent anyone from escaping, the +materials being taken from the plantations in the neighbourhood of the +town. Then they raised a mound against the wall, expecting that with so +large a force as theirs they would easily carry the place by storm. +Timber was brought from Cithaeron, and with this they set up two stout +buttresses of cross-beams, at right angles to the town-wall, to serve +as a support on either side of the mound. Within this framework they +piled up fascines, stones, earth, and whatever else was at hand. The +whole army was employed in this task, which was continued for seventy +days and nights without intermission, the men working in regular spells. +</p> + +<p> +Meanwhile the Plataeans had not been idle. First they built a wall of +bricks and timber opposite to the point where the mound was rising, and +resting on the ramparts, in order to raise the height of their +defences. The new wall was covered with hides, raw and dressed, to +protect the timber and the workmen from being injured by burning +arrows. And while this structure was in progress, they made a breach in +the old wall, and carted away the earth from the bottom of the mound. +To prevent this, the Peloponnesians filled up the space thus caused +with heavy masses of clay, rammed tightly into baskets of osier, which +made a solid structure, much harder to remove than the loose earth. +Then the Plataeans had recourse to another device: marking carefully +the position of the mound, they ran a mine from the city under it, and +as fast as the earth fell in, they carried it away. This continued for +a long time, for the Peloponnesians, who saw their mound rising no +higher, for all their labour, but rather growing less, did not guess +the cause, but went on heaping up materials, which were swallowed up as +fast as they were brought. +</p> + +<p> +Still the Plataeans feared that in spite of these counterworks they +would at length be overpowered by numbers, unless they contrived some +better means of defence. So they left off building the wall of bricks +and timber, and beginning at either end of it, they built a +crescent-shaped wall, curving inwards towards the city. Thus the +Peloponnesians, if they succeeded in carrying the first wall, would +find themselves confronted by a second line of defence, and would have +all their work to do over again, besides being exposed to a cross-fire. +</p> + +<p> +While the Plataeans were thus vigorously defending themselves, and +before the mound was completed, the Peloponnesians brought +siege-engines to bear on the wall, one of which greatly alarmed the +besieged garrison, by severely shaking their wall of timber and bricks. +But this new mode of attack was frustrated, like the rest, by the +ingenuity of the Plataeans, who dropped nooses over the ends of the +battering-rams, and drew them up just before the moment of impact. +Moreover they suspended heavy beams of wood at intervals along the +wall, each beam hanging by long chains from two cranes which rested on +the wall and projected outwards from it; and whenever a ram was being +brought up, they drew up the beam at right angles to it, and then, +letting go the chains, dropped the ponderous timber, which came +crashing down on the ram, and broke off its head. +</p> + +<p> +Thus baffled at every point, the Peloponnesians began to despair of +taking the town by assault, and thought that they would be compelled to +form a blockade. But before being driven to this costly and tedious +operation, they determined to try and set fire to the place, which +seemed possible, as it was but small in extent. So they waited till the +wind was in the right direction, and then brought vast quantities of +faggots, and threw them into the space between the mound and the wall; +and this being soon filled up, they piled up more faggots as far as +they could reach within the city itself, and then throwing in lighted +torches, with brimstone and pitch, they set fire to the whole mass. +Then arose a great sheet of flame, such as had never been raised by +human hands, though not, of course, to be compared to the vast +forest-fires, produced by natural means; yet it was sufficient to cause +a panic among the Plataeans, and bring their town to the verge of +destruction. The heat was so intense that a whole quarter of the place +was cleared of its defenders, and if a wind had arisen to drive the +flame inwards, nothing could have saved the whole town from +destruction. [Footnote: Thucydides seems to imply that there was a +wind, though a slight one.] But fortunately the breeze was but slight, +and it is said also that a heavy fall of rain came on, and quenched the +conflagration. +</p> + +<p> +Having failed in their last attempt, the Peloponnesians sent away part +of their army, and employed those who remained in building a blockading +wall round Plataea. The work was completed towards the end of +September, and they then disbanded their army, leaving a force +sufficient to guard half the wall; for the Thebans, relentless in their +zeal against Plataea, took charge of the other half. The number of the +besieged was four hundred and eighty, of whom eighty were Athenians, +and a hundred and ten women to make bread for the garrison. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="naval"></a> +NAVAL VICTORIES OF PHORMIO +</h3> + +<p class="t3b"> +I +</p> + +<p> +During the last half-century the art of naval warfare had made great +progress in Greece. The Greek war-galley, or trireme, a vessel +propelled by three banks of oars, had always been furnished with a +sharp-pointed prow, for the purpose of ramming an opponent's ship; but +many years elapsed before the Greeks attained genuine skill in the use +of this formidable weapon. According to the ordinary method of +fighting, after the first shock of collision the affair was decided by +the hoplites, or heavy-armed infantry, stationed on the decks of the +two contending ships; and in this manner was fought the engagement +between the Corcyraean and Corinthian fleets which occurred in the +year before the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War. There the ship was +simply a vehicle, which served to bring the antagonists together, and +the rest was left to the prowess of the hoplites. +</p> + +<p> +The Athenians were the first to abandon this crude and clumsy style of +fighting, and in the course of two generations their seamen had become +renowned throughout Greece for the unrivalled skill which they showed +in working and manoeuvring the trireme. A few hoplites were still +carried, to serve in cases of emergency; but by far the most important +part in the encounter was played by the trireme itself, with its long, +tapering, sharp-pointed prow. To use this deadly but delicate +instrument with effect required great coolness, dexterity, and +judgment, on the part of the steersman, and a crew under perfect +command. The tactics usually employed were as follows: watching his +opportunity, the captain gave the order "full speed ahead!" and darting +rapidly through the enemy's line, wheeled suddenly round, and drove the +beak of his galley with terrible force against the stern or side of the +vessel selected for attack. One blow from the long lance-like point, +propelled by the whole weight and impetus of the trireme, was +sufficient to sink or disable an enemy's ship, and the attacking galley +was then backed away from the wreck, and directed against another +victim. +</p> + +<p> +The incessant practice of nearly half a century had enabled the +Athenians to attain consummate mastery in this new method of naval +warfare; and they were now to give signal proof of their immense +superiority over the other maritime powers of Greece. +</p> + +<p> +In the same summer which witnessed the investment of Plataea, the +Spartans planned an expedition against Acarnania, the westernmost +province of Greece, which they wished to detach from the Athenian +alliance. A Spartan officer, named Cnemus, was sent off in advance, +with a thousand hoplites, to raise the wild mountain tribes, and led an +attack against Stratus, the capital of Acarnania; and in the meantime +orders were sent round to equip a numerous fleet, which was to support +the operations of Stratus by harassing the coast districts. +</p> + +<p> +The attack on Stratus failed altogether, chiefly in consequence of the +impetuosity of the rude mountaineers serving under Cnemus, who advanced +unsupported against the town, and meeting with a severe repulse +embarrassed the movements of their Greek allies. About the same time +the Peloponnesian fleet, consisting of forty-seven ships, was sailing +down the Corinthian Gulf to co-operate with Cnemus. It was known that +Phormio, the Athenian admiral, was stationed at Naupactus with a +squadron of twenty vessels; but the Peloponnesian captains never +dreamed that he would venture to attack them with so small a force, and +they pursued their voyage along the southern shore of the gulf, without +making any preparations for a battle. Phormio, however, had other +intentions: keeping close to the opposite shore, he followed their +movements, and allowed them to pass through the narrow strait which +divides the inner from the outer gulf, wishing to avoid an engagement +until they reached the open water. The Peloponnesians dropped anchor +for the night at Patrae in Achaia, and Phormio took up his station at +Chalcis, a harbour-town of Aetolia, at the mouth of the Evenus. Being +now convinced that Phormio meditated an encounter, for which they had +little inclination, the Peloponnesian admirals made an attempt +[Footnote: I have adopted the reading of Bloomfield, approved by +Classen (4th Edition).] to steal across under cover of darkness. But +this manoeuvre was detected, and they found their way barred by the +Athenian squadron in the middle of the channel. Being thus driven to +bay the Peloponnesians drew up their ships in a circle, with their +prows turned outwards, like a flock of sheep assailed by a dog. Within +the circle were placed the smaller vessels accompanying the fleet, and +five of the swiftest galleys, which were intended to lend assistance +against any attack of the enemy. +</p> + +<p> +To keep a large flotilla in such a position, even in a calm sea, where +no hostile movement was made against them, would have been a task to +try the skill of the most accomplished mariners. But the Peloponnesian +crews were untrained, the decks of their ships were crowded with +soldiers, and they were hampered by the crowd of smaller craft. Worst +of all, they were threatened in every direction by the agile Athenian +galleys, which, moving in single file, swept round and round them, +approaching closer and closer at every circuit, so that they were +penned together in an ever-narrowing space, and in danger of fouling +one another. To complete their confusion, the morning breeze began to +blow from the gulf; and Phormio, who had been waiting for this, now +gave the signal for attack. The Peloponnesians hardly attempted any +defence; for the unskilful crews of the galleys could not manage their +oars in the rising sea, and the steersmen had consequently no control +of their vessels. All their efforts were employed in keeping clear of +one another, warding off a collision with long poles, amid a hubbub of +curses and abuse. Into this huddled, swaying mass of war-galleys and +merchant-craft mingled together now dashed the Athenian triremes, +wrecking every vessel which they met. A wild panic ensued among the +Peloponnesian crews, and as fast as they could extricate themselves +they rowed off and sought shelter in the harbour of Patrae. From here +they afterwards sailed to Cyllene, the dockyard of Elis, where they +were joined by Cnemus with the troops from Acarnania. Twelve ships fell +into the hands of the Athenians, and taking these with them they sailed +first to Rhium, a level headland on the Locrian Coast, on which stood a +temple of Poseidon. Having left one of the captured ships as a +thank-offering to the god of the sea, they made their way back to the +original station at Naupactus. +</p> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p class="t3b"> +II +</p> + +<p> +The authorities at Sparta were highly indignant at the failure of their +expedition in Acarnania, and the defeat of the Peloponnesian fleet by +so inferior a force. For this was their first experience of a sea-fight +since the outbreak of the war, and they made no allowance for the want +of skill in their own crews, attributing the disaster to mere +cowardice. They did not reflect how vast was the difference between raw +sailors, lately transferred from the plough to the oar, and the veteran +seamen of Athens, trained under a system which had been slowly +perfected in the course of half a century. So they sent three +commissioners to Cnemus, with peremptory orders to prepare for another +sea-fight, and not allow himself to be shut up in harbour by the feeble +squadron of Phormio. One of these commissioners was Brasidas, a +brilliant young officer, who had gained distinction two years before by +saving the harbour-town of Methone, on the coast of Messenia, from +being captured by the Athenians. We shall hear much more of him in the +sequel. +</p> + +<p> +On the arrival of Brasidas and his colleagues, the ships lying at +Cyllene were made ready for immediate service, and orders were sent +round to the allied cities for other ships. Phormio also sent an urgent +despatch to Athens announcing his victory, and asking for +reinforcements; and the Athenians sent twenty triremes to his aid. +These vessels, however, arrived too late, for the admiral, acting on +instructions from Athens, sailed first to Crete, where he was delayed a +long time by contrary winds. Phormio, with his twenty triremes, was +therefore compelled to engage the whole Peloponnesian fleet, numbering +seventy-seven ships, which had now sailed round from Cyllene, and taken +up its station just within the strait, close to the Achaean town of +Panormus. A strong force of Peloponnesian soldiers was encamped on the +shore, to co-operate with the fleet. Phormio anchored his ships just +outside the strait, being resolved, if it were in any way possible, not +to fight the Peloponnesians in the narrow waters. As the +Peloponnesians, on their side, were equally determined not to be lured +out into the open sea, the two fleets remained confronting each other +for a whole week, without attempting any aggressive movement. At last +the Peloponnesian leaders decided to give battle with Phormio at once, +fearing that if they delayed any longer he would be reinforced from +Athens. +</p> + +<p> +It was the universal custom of Greek commanders to wind up the courage +of their men on the eve of a battle by a short and pithy address, +calculated to inspire them with confidence, by giving them a reasonable +hope of victory. Such a practice, strange as it may seem to us, was +natural among a people whose armies and fleets were recruited from the +general body of the citizens, accustomed to free speech in their public +assemblies. They were not men of war by profession, trained in habits +of blind obedience, but sensitive Greeks, who carried into the camp the +noble freedom of civic life, and were not prepared to shed their blood +without sufficient cause, and a fair prospect of success. +</p> + +<p> +Seldom was there greater need of this sort of military eloquence than +on the present occasion. On both sides there was much discouragement, +and a general reluctance to begin the fight. The Peloponnesians were +cowed by their recent defeat, and dreaded the naval skill of the +Athenians, which seemed to them almost supernatural; and Phormio's men +shrank from an encounter with such enormous odds. Accordingly the +Peloponnesian captains on one side, and Phormio on the other, did what +they could to argue their crews into a more hopeful frame of mind. The +Peloponnesian seamen who had taken part in the first battle were +reminded that they had been caught unprepared, and assured that this +time every precaution would be taken to prevent a second reverse. They +were flattered by the confident assertion that the superior skill of +the Athenians was far outweighed by their own superior courage. "Look," +said one of the admirals, speaking to his own division, "at this +powerful armament, outnumbering the enemy by four to one—look at the +army drawn up on the shore, ready to lend aid to any who are hard +pressed—and you will see that with such advantages defeat is +impossible. Do your duty like men, and expect to be rewarded or +punished according to your deserts." Similar addresses, combining +encouragement with threats, were heard in the other parts of the fleet. +</p> + +<p> +Among the Athenian sailors there had been much jesting about the +land-lubbers of Peloponnesus, and in the first flush of their victory +they had been ready to face any odds on the sea. But now, seeing +themselves confronted by such overwhelming numbers, they had lost heart +for the moment, and were seen standing about in little groups, shaking +their heads and whispering fearfully together. It was an anxious moment +for Phormio; he knew the immense importance of maintaining, at any +cost, the naval reputation of Athens, and if his men went into battle +in their present temper, they were certain to suffer a crushing defeat. +Determining, therefore, if possible, to allay the panic which was fast +spreading throughout the fleet, he summoned the crews into his +presence, and harangued them as follows:— +</p> + +<p> +"Comrades, I have called you hither to assure you that you have no +cause for alarm. The numbers of the enemy, which seem to you so +formidable, should, if properly considered, be a ground of confidence; +for this unwieldy armament is a sign that they are thoroughly +terrified, and seek safety in a huge crowd of ships. The firmness and +discipline which they have acquired by long experience of land warfare +will avail them little on the sea For courage is largely a matter of +habit, and the bravest landsman is a mere coward when he is taken away +from his own element, and set down on the heaving deck of a war-galley +where he can hardly keep his feet. The disorganized multitude with +which we shall have to deal is a mere mob, held together by the +authority of Sparta, demoralized by their late defeat, and forced to +fight against their will. Face them boldly, and our very audacity in +assailing such numbers will sink them still deeper into helpless +terror, for they will think that we must be invincible, or we should +never run such risks. It shall be my business to bring on the +engagement in blue water, where we shall have them at our mercy. Now +every man to his station; be prompt, and be silent, and attend to the +word of command. Remember your old spirit, and reflect that the honour +of Athens is in your hands to-day." +</p> + +<p> +The great object of the Peloponnesian leaders was to compel Phormio to +give battle in the confined space of the strait. With this intention +they determined to make a sudden movement towards the northern coast of +the gulf, threatening an attack on Naupactus. At daybreak they drew up +their ships in four lines, with the coast of Peloponnesus behind them, +and with twenty fast-sailing triremes stationed on the right wing, to +cut off Phormio's fleet, if, as they anticipated, he advanced to the +defence of Naupactus. Wheeling then to the right, the ships sailed some +distance, four abreast, towards the inner gulf; and when they came +opposite to Naupactus, they changed their course, and moved in column, +with the right wing leading towards the northern shore. +</p> + +<p> +The manoeuvre, so far as concerned its immediate purpose, was +completely successful. Phormio, much against his will, was obliged to +leave his station outside the strait, and go to the aid of Naupactus, +which had been left undefended. Great was the delight of the +Peloponnesian captains when they saw the little Athenian squadron +creeping close, in single file, along the northern side of the gulf, +for they thought that not one of the twenty would escape them. At a +given signal, the whole fleet formed into line, resuming its original +order, four deep, and bore down upon the Athenians. Eleven of Phormio's +triremes succeeded in clearing the strait, and getting into the open +waters in the direction of Naupactus; but the remaining nine were +overtaken and driven aground, and their crews, except those who escaped +by swimming, were put to the sword. Some of these vessels were towed +off as prizes by the Peloponnesians, and one they captured with all her +crew. The rest were saved by the valour of the Messenian soldiers, who +had followed the movements of Phormio's vessels along the shore, and +now did good service by boarding the stranded triremes, and hauling +them to land, after a sharp tussle with the enemy. +</p> + +<p> +Meanwhile the eleven ships which had eluded the attack were hotly +pursued by the twenty fast-sailing vessels on the Peloponnesian right +wing. All but one got through in safety, and took refuge in the harbour +of Naupactus, and drawing up in line, with their prows outwards, +prepared to defend themselves if the enemy advanced further against +them. But the rearmost vessel was hard pressed by a Leucadian ship, and +the rest of the pursuers followed at a considerable distance, singing +the paean [Footnote: A song of victory.] as they rowed, and expecting +an easy victory. Now, however, occurred one of those sudden turns of +fortune so frequent in the course of a sea-fight. The Athenian trireme +which had been left far behind in the chase, made a sudden sweep round +a merchant-vessel anchored at the mouth of the harbour, struck her +pursuer amidships, and sank her. +</p> + +<p> +This splendid feat of seamanship filled the Peloponnesians, who were +advancing in disorder, with amazement and terror. On every trireme the +cry of "Hold her!" [Footnote: This was done by thrusting the oars, with +the blades held flat, deep into the water] was heard, and some of the +vessels, losing way suddenly, ran aground on the shallows. The others +hung back, waiting until the main body of the fleet should come to +their support. Seeing them drifting thus, stupefied and helpless, the +Athenians took heart again, and raising a shout rowed swiftly from +their station within the harbour, and charged down upon them. The +Peloponnesians, after a feeble attempt at resistance, took to flight, +heading for their original station on the opposite coast. Six of their +vessels were captured, and the Athenians, not content with this, fell +upon the main body of the fleet, and recovered their own ships which +had been taken in the strait. The victorious crews of Phormio then +returned to Naupactus, and set up a trophy at the place where they had +been moored when this splendid rally was made, opposite to the temple +of Apollo. The Peloponnesians also raised a trophy, to commemorate +their first success, and then, fearing the arrival of the fresh ships +from Athens, they sailed off to Lechaeum, the northern harbour of +Corinth. +</p> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p class="t3b"> +III +</p> + +<p> +In strange contrast with the disgraceful exhibition of cowardice and +incompetence which we have just witnessed, we have now to record a +daring attempt, undertaken shortly afterwards, to strike at the very +heart of the Athenian power. While the beaten crews of the +Peloponnesian fleet were waiting to be paid off at Lechaeum, they +suddenly received orders to take their oars and rowing-cushions, and +proceed to Nisaea, the port of Megara. The plan was to embark them on +forty vessels, which were lying in the dockyards, and make a +night-attack on Peiraeus. The suggestion came from the Megarians, but +in carrying it out the Peloponnesians were probably influenced by the +bold and enterprising spirit of Brasidas. And in fact, the meditated +descent on Peiraeus was neither so wild nor so rash as it may at first +sight appear. For the Athenians, never dreaming that they might be +taken by surprise, had not taken the precaution to close the entrance +of their harbour, or to station guard-ships for its defence. +</p> + +<p> +Without delay, the officers in charge of the expedition mustered their +crews at Nisaea, and embarking by night, got their ships under way. But +at the last moment their hearts failed them, and instead of sailing to +Peiraeus, they landed on the island of Salamis, and after attacking a +sea-side fort, and capturing three triremes which were riding at anchor +near it, they spread themselves out, and began ravaging and plundering +the country. +</p> + +<p> +Meanwhile fire-signals had been raised, conveying the alarm to Peiraeus +and Athens. A wild panic ensued, and a rumour ran through the upper +city that the enemy had sailed into Peiraeus, while in the harbour-town +it was generally supposed that Salamis was lost, and Peiraeus on the +point of being invaded. The Peloponnesians employed in this adventure +afterwards pretended that they had been hindered by contrary winds from +carrying out their original design. But this was a mere excuse, and if +they had chosen they might have sailed unopposed to Peiraeus, and +inflicted terrible injury on Athens. But it was now too late, for the +Athenians, as soon as the news was brought, had marched down with their +whole military force to Peiraeus, and occupied every assailable point +in the harbour, while at the same time every ship in the docks was +launched and manned, and sent off in headlong haste to Salamis. +</p> + +<p> +By this time it was broad daylight, and the Peloponnesians, being +warned that a rescue was on the way from Peiraeus, made off with their +booty, and getting, on board their ships, sailed back to Nisaea. They +had the more reason for hastening their departure, as the Megarian +ships which had carried them to Salamis, having lain a long while in +dry-dock, were leaky and unseaworthy; for the harbour of Megara had for +some time past been kept in close blockade by the Athenians. +</p> + +<p> +This memorable incident, following close on the brilliant victories of +Phormio, taught the Athenians to take better precautions for the +future. Hitherto they would have scoffed at the suggestion that their +own arsenals and dockyards were exposed to attack. But now they +provided for the safety of Peiraeus by closing the harbours and keeping +a vigilant watch. And that terrible night left an impression on their +minds which was not soon forgotten. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="revolt"></a> +THE REVOLT OF LESBOS +</h3> + +<p class="t3b"> +I +</p> + +<p> +We have already traced the steps by which the various cities composing +the Confederacy of Delos gradually became subjects and tributaries of +Athens. After this great change was effected, the only members of the +original league who retained their independence were the wealthy and +powerful communities of Chios and Lesbos. These two islands were +allowed to retain undisturbed control of their own affairs, with the +sole obligation of sending a fixed quota of ships to serve in the +Athenian Navy. It does not appear that the performance of this duty was +felt as a grievance, and no act of oppression had been committed by +Athens, such as might have provoked her allies in Lesbos or Chios to +turn against her. In both islands the general body of the citizens were +on the whole friendly to the Athenians, who afforded them an effectual +means of protection against the tyranny of the nobles, by summoning +high-born offenders to be tried before the Athenian tribunals. +[Footnote: The evidence for this statement will be found in Thucydides, +viii. 48.] It was therefore not among the people at large, but among +the privileged few, that any movement of revolt against Athens was to +be expected. +</p> + +<p> +Some years before the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War the Lesbian +malcontents had solicited the Spartans to help them in throwing off the +yoke of Athens. This application, which was probably made at the time +of the revolt of Samos, found no favour with Sparta, and nothing +further was attempted on that occasion. But in the fourth year of the +war alarming rumours were brought to Athens from Tenedos, a small +island included in the Athenian alliance, whose inhabitants were +jealous of the threatened ascendancy of Lesbos in the eastern districts +of the Aegaean. There was a design, it was said, among the leading +citizens of Mytilene, the principal city of Lesbos, to unite the +inhabitants of the island by force under their rule, and renounce their +allegiance to Athens. Help was expected from Sparta, and the Boeotians, +who were of the same race as the Lesbians, were also in the plot. This +statement was confirmed by envoys from Methymna, the second city of +Lesbos, which stood apart from the conspiracy, and by certain citizens +of Mytilene, who had turned informers from motives of private revenge. +</p> + +<p> +Among the Athenians at this time there was a general feeling of +despondency and exhaustion. The full hardship of the war pressed +heavily upon them, and their population was thinned by the ravages of +the plague. In such a mood the thought of undertaking a campaign +against a great island like Lesbos, then at the height of her power, +filled them with dismay. Was it possible that a favoured and privileged +ally had taken up arms against them in the hour of their distress? It +was a slander, they could not, they would not believe it. At any rate, +before proceeding to extremities, they would try the effect of a +friendly remonstrance. So they sent envoys with a pacific message to +the Mytilenaeans, hoping by fair words to deter them from their +purpose. In this, however, they were disappointed, and being at last +convinced that the Lesbians were on the brink of revolt, they sent off +forty triremes without delay, in order, if possible, to catch them +unawares. For they had been informed that the Mytilenaeans were about +to celebrate the festival of Apollo, in which the whole population took +part, outside the city walls; and if the triremes arrived in time, +there would be a fine opportunity for a surprise. At the same time they +took possession of ten Mytilenaean triremes, which had been sent to +serve in the Athenian fleet, and imprisoned the crews. +</p> + +<p> +But now was seen one of the weaknesses inherent in the nature of the +Athenian constitution. These measures could not be taken without public +debate in the popular assembly, and such a method of procedure rendered +secrecy impossible. The Mytilenaeans received timely warning of their +danger, and keeping close within their walls, repaired the weak places +in their defences, and set a careful watch. Shortly afterwards the +Athenian fleet hove in sight. As the Mytilenaeans refused to obey the +summons delivered to them in the name of the imperial people,—that +they should raze their walls, and surrender their ships,—hostilities +commenced. But on neither side was much vigour displayed, for the +Athenian officers thought themselves too weak to undertake any decisive +operations with their present force, and the Mytilenaeans desired to +obtain a respite, to enable them to obtain aid from Sparta. Accordingly +they asked for an armistice, pretending that they wished to plead their +cause by their own representatives before the Athenian assembly; and +their request being granted, they sent envoys to Athens, who made a +show of carrying on negotiations. And in the meantime a trireme was +despatched in all haste to carry their petition to Sparta. +</p> + +<p> +On the return of the Mytilenaean envoys from Athens, where of course +they had accomplished nothing, the siege of Mytilene began in earnest. +The city was situated on a promontory facing the Asiatic coast on the +south-eastern side of the island, and had two harbours, on its northern +and southern side. Both of these harbours were now held in close +blockade by the Athenians, who established two camps, one on either +side of the town, and patrolled the harbour-mouths with their ships. +But on the land side the investment was not yet completed, so that +supplies could still be brought into the town from the island. +Reinforcements, however, came pouring into the Athenian quarters in +answer to a summons sent to the cities of the Athenian alliance, who +were the more willing to lend help, as the Lesbians made no vigorous +effort in their own defence. +</p> + +<p> +While the prospects of Athens were thus brightening, the Mytilenaean +envoys, after a stormy voyage, arrived at Sparta, and laid their +petition before the authorities. It happened that the Olympic festival +was close at hand, where representatives would be present from all the +cities of the Peloponnesian league; so the envoys received orders to go +to Olympia, and state their case in the presence of the Spartan allies. +They went, therefore, to Olympia, and when the festival was over, the +Mytilenaean orator addressed the confederates as follows:— +</p> + +<p> +"Before we urge our claim for assistance we wish to combat a prejudice +which we know to be general in Greece against those who desert their +allies in time of war. For we wish not only to obtain your countenance +and support, but also to preserve your respect. To abandon an ally +without just cause in a time of peril is justly regarded as an act of +treason. But then the alliance must be a fair and equal relation +voluntarily assumed on both sides, based on mutual esteem and parity of +power. Can anyone assert that our connexion with Athens answers to this +description? Have we not seen how the confederacy of maritime cities +formed against Persia was gradually converted into an Athenian empire? +And though we and the Chians enjoyed nominal independence, we had good +reason to fear that this was only a temporary concession, which would +be withdrawn as soon as the Athenians felt themselves strong enough to +attack us. We were allowed to retain our liberty, partly because they +feared our navy, and partly because they wished to make us accomplices +in their own aggressions, and lend an appearance of equity to the acts +of violence in which we were compelled to take part. Having swallowed +up the smaller states, they were ready to pounce upon us, and were only +prevented by the outbreak of the present war. Who, then, can blame us, +if we seized the opportunity when they were weakened to repudiate this +false alliance, and anticipate the blow which they were preparing for +us? Athens, we repeat, has no just title to our allegiance; the bond +which held us together was fear on our side and interest on theirs. We +are natural enemies; and when your foe is disabled, then is the time to +strike. +</p> + +<p> +"Having thus cleared ourselves from the imputation of disloyalty, we +will now make plain to you the advantages which you will gain by +espousing our cause. If you wish to inflict irreparable injury on +Athens, you must promote every hostile movement against her in those +regions which contain the sources of her power, that is to say, the +islands and coast-lands of the Aegaean. For if our revolt is +successful, others will follow our example, and the Athenians will be +stripped of their revenues, the mainstay of their empire. You can lend +us aid most effectually by summoning your allies for a second +[Footnote: Attica had already been invaded earlier in the summer.] +invasion of Attica, and thus preventing the Athenians from sending +reinforcements to Lesbos. You have a rare opportunity, for their city +is wasted by the plague, and their navies are dispersed on foreign +service. Remember, then, your proud position as champions of Greek +liberty, and put away the reproach which you have sometimes incurred by +leaving the revolted subjects of Athens to fight their battles alone. +[Footnote: As in the case of Samos.] For the cause of Lesbos is the +cause of all Greece." +</p> + +<p> +It will be observed that the greater part of this remarkable speech +consists of an elaborate endeavour on the part of the Mytilenaeans to +justify themselves. The arguments employed were entirely sophistical, +for the Lesbians had no real grievance—and the statement that they +were in danger of losing their independence was a pure invention. But +they spoke to a partial audience, and the Spartans had already +prejudged the case in their favour. It was therefore decided to receive +them into the Peloponnesian alliance, and orders were issued to the +allies to assemble at the Isthmus with two-thirds of their forces for +an immediate invasion of Attica. The Spartans, acting with unusual +vigour, were the first to appear at the Isthmus, where they made +preparations for hauling ships overland from the northern harbour of +Corinth, intending to attack Athens by sea and land. But the rest of +the confederates came in but slowly, as they were engaged in getting in +their harvest, and had little inclination for a second campaign. +</p> + +<p> +The Spartans soon found out that they were mistaken in supposing the +energies of Athens to be exhausted. Without moving their fleet from +Lesbos, the Athenians manned a hundred triremes, raising the crews from +the whole body of the citizens, with the exception of the knights and +the wealthiest class of the Solonian census, and pressing even resident +foreigners into the service; and with this imposing force they made an +armed demonstration before the eyes of their enemies at the Isthmus, +and then, coasting along Peloponnesus, made descents wherever they +pleased. This spirited conduct produced the desired effect. For the +Spartans, who were still waiting for their allies at the Isthmus, saw +themselves baffled in all their calculations, and concluded that they +had been misinformed by the Lesbians as to the state of affairs at +Athens; and hearing that their own coast-lands were being ravaged by +the Athenian fleet, they hastily decamped, and the plan of a second +invasion came to nothing. +</p> + +<p> +The summer was now drawing to a close, and as yet no progress had been +made with the siege of Mytilene. The town was still blockaded by sea, +but the Mytilenaeans had free egress on the land-side, and marched up +and down the island, confirming the other towns which had joined in the +revolt, and threatening Methymna, which still remained loyal to the +Athenian alliance. When the Athenians were informed of this state of +things, they sent a thousand hoplites under Paches to reinforce the +besieging army; and on their arrival the investment of Mytilene was +completed by a wall drawn from sea to sea, and cutting off the town +from the rest of the island. The Mytilenaeans now began to despair, for +their supplies were failing, and there seemed no hope of relief. But +during the winter a ray of hope reached them from outside, and +encouraged them to persevere in their resistance. There was a weak +point in the Athenian wall, where it closed a ravine; and through this +interval a Spartan named Salaethus, who had sailed to Lesbos in a +trireme, and crossed the island on foot, succeeded in making his way +into the town. Salaethus announced himself as an agent sent from +Sparta, to inform the distressed garrison that, as soon as the season +permitted, forty triremes would be sent to their assistance, and that +Attica would be invaded at the same time, to keep the enemy occupied at +home. At this welcome news the hopes of the Mytilenaeans revived, and +all thoughts of surrender were laid aside. +</p> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p class="t3b"> +II +</p> + +<p> +As soon as spring arrived, the Spartans, true to their promise, sent +off forty triremes, commanded by Alcidas, to raise the siege of +Mytilene, and marched in full force into Attica, thinking thus to +divert the attention of the Athenians, and prevent them from +interfering with the voyage of Alcidas. They remained a long time in +Attica, waiting for news from their fleet, and employing the time in a +systematic ravage of the whole territory. But time passed, and no +message arrived from Alcidas, who seemed to have disappeared with all +his ships; so that at last, as their expectations were disappointed, +and their supplies exhausted, they broke up their army and returned +home. +</p> + +<p> +The position of Mytilene was now growing desperate. Nothing more was +heard of the relieving squadron, and the scanty store of provisions was +rapidly failing; for, owing to the betrayal of their design, the +Mytilenaeans had been hurried into revolt before their preparations +were completed, and had had no time to lay up a sufficient stock of +food. Salaethus, therefore, determined to make a sudden sally, and +break out of the town; and the better to effect this purpose, he +furnished the common people, who had hitherto served as light-armed +soldiers, with the full equipment of heavy infantry. But this +proceeding brought on a catastrophe, for the commons no sooner found +themselves in possession of better weapons than they turned upon their +masters, and accused them of secreting supplies of corn for their own +use. "Bring out your corn," they cried, "and divide it equally, or we +will go out and make terms with the Athenians for ourselves." Alarmed +at this threat, which if carried out would leave them exposed as the +sole objects of Athenian vengeance, the nobles sent a message to +Paches, on behalf of the whole city, offering to surrender, on +condition that their case should be tried by the tribunals at Athens, +and stipulating that, while the decision was pending, no violence +should be offered to any of the inhabitants. The proposal was accepted, +and Paches marched his forces into the town. In spite of the +convention, the leaders of the revolt took sanctuary in the temples, +being in dread of summary execution. Paches reassured them, and sent +them in safe custody to Tenedos. +</p> + +<p> +We must now turn back a little, and follow the movements of Alcidas. +The Spartan admiral, it would seem, had small stomach for the bold +adventure on which he was bound—no less than to rob the Athenians of +one of their most important possessions, and defy the redoubtable +captains of Athens on their own element. After loitering for some time +off the coast of Peloponnesus, he sailed on slowly as far as Delos, and +then, touching at Icarus, he heard that Mytilene was already taken. +Wishing, however, to inform himself with certainty, he pushed on as far +as Erythrae, on the mainland of Asia, which he reached seven days after +the fall of Mytilene. Being now assured that the report was true, he +called a council of war to decide what was to be done. Then a certain +Greek of Elis, named Teutiaplus, made a bold suggestion: "Let us," he +said, "sail straight to Mytilene, and make an attempt to recapture the +town by surprise. Most likely the Athenians, flushed with success, will +be taken unawares, and we shall find the harbour open, and the land +forces dispersed, and if we make a sudden onfall, under cover of +darkness, we shall probably succeed." +</p> + +<p> +The prudent Alcidas found this proposal little to his taste; nor was he +better pleased by another plan, put forward by the Lesbian envoys who +were returning on board the Peloponnesian fleet, and seconded by a +party of exiles from the cities of Ionia. These men tried to persuade +Alcidas to establish himself in some city of Asia Minor, and raise a +revolt among the allies of Athens in these parts. He had, they said, +every prospect of success, for his arrival was welcomed on all sides. +Let him seize the opportunity of attacking the Athenians in their most +mortal part, first by withdrawing the tribute of Ionia, and secondly by +putting them to the expense of a blockade. +</p> + +<p> +This daring scheme might have led to something important, if the fleet +had been commanded by Brasidas. But Alcidas was a man of very different +temper, and having arrived too late to save Mytilene, he had now but +one thought,—to return to Peloponnesus as fast as he could, and get +out of the reach of the terrible Athenian triremes. So he set his fleet +in motion, and sailing along the coast in a southerly direction put in +at Ephesus. On the voyage he showed himself to be as cruel as he was +cowardly, by capturing and putting to death the crews of the vessels +which came in his way. These were not a few, for the ships which +crossed his path approached fearlessly, under the impression that his +fleet was from Athens; for no one dreamed that a Peloponnesian squadron +would dare to enter these waters. For this senseless barbarity he was +severely rebuked by a deputation of Samian exiles, now living on the +mainland, who met him at Ephesus. His was a strange method, they +remarked with bitter irony, of helping the Ionians to recover their +liberty—to butcher defenceless men, who had done him no harm, but +looked to him for rescue from their bondage to Athens! If he continued +to behave thus, he would make the name of Sparta detested throughout +Ionia. Dull as he was, Alcidas could not but feel the justice of this +reprimand, and he let the rest of his prisoners go. +</p> + +<p> +The presence of a Peloponnesian fleet had caused great alarm among the +inhabitants of Ionia, and urgent messages came in daily to Paches at +Mytilene, summoning him to their aid. For even though Alcidas had +declined to take up a permanent station on the coast, as the exiles had +suggested, it was apprehended that he would pillage the sea-side towns, +which were unfortified, on his homeward voyage. At last two state +triremes, the <i>Paralus</i> and <i>Salaminia,</i> which had been sent on public +business from Athens, came into Mytilene with the news that they had +sighted the fleet of Alcidas lying at anchor off Clarus. [Footnote: A +little town, north-west of Ephesus.] Thereupon Paches put to sea at +once, and gave chase. But Alcidas had got wind of his danger, and was +already on the high seas, making all speed for Peloponnesus. Paches +pursued him as far as Patmos, and then turned back. He would gladly +have caught the Peloponnesians in blue water, where he could have sent +all their ships to the bottom; but as it was he thought himself +fortunate to have escaped the necessity of forming a blockade, as he +must have done if he had come up with them near land, and driven them +ashore. As for Alcidas, he fled in wild haste, keeping the open sea, +being resolved not to touch land, if he could help it, until he reached +the shelter of a Peloponnesian harbour. +</p> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p class="t3b"> +III +</p> + +<p> +On his return to Lesbos, Paches despatched to Athens the prisoners who +had been sent to Tenedos, among whom was the Spartan Salaethus. When +they arrived the Athenians immediately put Salaethus to death, and then +met in full assembly to decide on the fate of the rest. They had just +been delivered from a fearful danger, and in the natural reaction of +vindictive rage which had now set in they came to the horrible +resolution of putting all the adult male population of Mytilene to the +sword, and selling the women and children as slaves. The Mytilenaeans, +they argued, were without excuse: they were not subjects of Athens, who +might wish to escape from their burdens, but free and privileged +allies. They had treacherously plotted against Athens, when she was +sunk deep in calamity, and brought a Peloponnesian fleet within the +sacred circle of her empire. For a long time past they had evidently +been hatching a vile conspiracy against the very existence of Athens. +Having once come to this decision, the Athenians lost no time, but sent +off a trireme on the same day, with orders to Paches to carry the +decree into effect. +</p> + +<p> +But after a night of cool reflection they began to repent of their +haste. It was a cruel and monstrous thing, they now thought, to butcher +the population of a whole city, innocent and guilty alike. The +Mytilenaean envoys, who had been sent to Athens on the surrender of the +city, perceived that there was a change in the public temper, and +acting in concert with influential Athenians who were in their +interest, they induced the magistrates to summon a second assembly, and +re-open the debate. +</p> + +<p> +It is on this occasion that we first catch sight [Footnote: That is, in +the narrative of Thucydides.] of the notorious demagogue Cleon, who for +the next six years will be the most prominent figure in Athenian public +life. This man belongs to a class of politicians who had begun to +exercise great influence on the affairs of Athens after the death of +Pericles. That great statesman had really led the people, checking +their excesses, setting bounds to their ambition, and guiding all the +moods of the stormy democracy. But the demagogues were lowborn +upstarts, who, while seeming to lead the people, really followed it, +and kept their position by pandering to the worst passions of the +multitude. It must, however, be mentioned that the two contemporary +writers from whom we draw our materials for the portrait of Cleon, the +historian Thucydides and the comic poet Aristophanes, were both +violently prejudiced against him. Aristophanes hated him as the +representative of the new democracy, which was an object of abhorrence +to the great comic genius; and Thucydides, a born aristocrat, of strong +oligarchical sympathies, looked with cold scorn and aversion on the +coarse mechanic, [Footnote: Cleon was a tanner by trade.] who presumed +to usurp the place, and ape the style, of a true leader like Pericles. +</p> + +<p> +In the previous debate Cleon had been the chief promoter of the +murderous sentence passed against Mytilene; and when the question was +brought forward again, he made a vehement harangue, the substance of +which has been preserved by Thucydides. In this speech he appears as a +practised rhetorical bravo, whose one object is to vilify his +opponents, and throw contempt on their arguments, by an unscrupulous +use of the weapons of ridicule, calumny, and invective. He reproaches +the magistrates for convening a second assembly, in a matter which had +already been decided; and this was, in fact, strictly speaking, a +breach of the constitution. He laughs at the Athenians as weak +sentimentalists, always inclined to mercy, even when mercy was +suicidal. Of the subject communities he speaks as if they were mere +slaves and chattels, outside the pale of humanity, to be kept down with +the scourge and the sword. "Let the law prevail," cries this second +Draco. "The law is sacred, and must not be moved. You are so clever +that you will not live, by fixed rule and order, and you deride the +approved principles of political wisdom. Every one of you wants to be a +lawgiver, a statesman, and a reformer, and to manage the public affairs +in his own way. We, who understand your true interests, are bound to +resist this mood of lawless extravagance, and keep you in the right +path, whether you will or no." +</p> + +<p> +Then preserving the same tone, as of one who is exposing an outrageous +paradox, Cleon proceeds to deal with the actual subject of debate. To +massacre a whole population, was, in his view, a commonplace and +ordinary proceeding; and, in the present instance, the only course +consistent with prudence and common sense. Those who maintained the +contrary were either flighty enthusiasts, whose opinion was not worth +considering, or venal orators, who had sold their country for a bribe. +"Will you suffer yourselves," asked the indignant moralist, "to be +blinded by these corrupt advocates, who amuse you with their eloquence, +and then pocket the price? But it is your own fault: you have no sense +of public responsibility—you are like clever children, playing at a +game of politics. While you sit here, listening to your favourite +speakers, and sharpening your wits against theirs, your empire is going +to ruin. Plain fact is too simple a diet for your pampered appetites; +you must have it hashed and served up with a fine flavouring of fancy +and wit. In short, you have lost all hold upon reality, you live in an +intellectual Utopia, and treat grave matters of public interest as +though they were mere themes in a school of declamation." +</p> + +<p> +In drawing this remarkable picture of Athenian character, which, though +strangely out of place, really contained a large element of truth, +Cleon overreached himself, and was caught in his own snare. It was he, +and not his opponents, who was diverting attention from facts, and +involving a plain issue in a cloud of wordy rhetoric. He has no +arguments, worthy of the name, but tries to carry his case by playing +on the passions of the people, and blowing up the flames of their +anger, which was beginning to cool. But though the more discerning +among his audience must have seen through his sophistries, to a large +proportion of his hearers his speech no doubt seemed a masterpiece of +eloquence. The Athenians, who, like all people of lively talent, were +fond of laughing at themselves, would be especially amused by his +humorous description of their own besetting weakness, their restless +vanity, and inordinate love of change. +</p> + +<p> +The chief advocate for mitigating the sentence against Mytilene was a +certain Diodotus, who had taken a leading part in the previous debate, +and now stood up again to oppose the blood-thirsty counsels of Cleon. +The speech of Diodotus is calm, sober, and business-like. After a +dignified remonstrance against the vile insinuations of Cleon, by whom +all who differed from him were decried as fools or knaves, Diodotus +proceeded to argue the question from the point of view of expediency. +He was not there, he said, to plead the cause of the Mytilenaeans, or +to discuss abstract questions of law and justice. What they had to +consider was what course would be most conducive to the interests of +Athens. According to Cleon, those interests would be best served by a +wholesale massacre of the inhabitants of Mytilene, which would strike +terror into the other subjects of Athens, and prevent them from +yielding to the same temptation. But, reasoned Diodotus, experience had +shown that intending criminals were not deterred from wrongdoing by the +increased severity of penal statutes. For a long time lawgivers had +framed their codes in this belief, thinking to drive mankind into the +path of rectitude by appealing to their terrors. Yet crime had not +diminished, but rather increased. And what was true of individuals, was +still more true of cities, where each man hoped to be concealed among +the crowd of transgressors. Criminals, whether they acted singly, or in +large numbers, were only rendered desperate, if all degrees of crime +were confounded in one common penalty of death. +</p> + +<p> +Such were the enlightened principles of jurisprudence set forth by an +Athenian of the fifth century before Christ—principles which were +first recognised in modern Europe within the memory of men still +living. Then, bringing his theories to a practical test, he pointed out +the gross impolicy of driving a revolted city to desperation, by +excluding all rebels from the hope of pardon. This, he said, would be +the effect on the subjects of Athens, if they passed the same sentence +on the Mytilenaeans, without distinction between the innocent and the +guilty. At present the commons in every city were loyal to Athens; and +though they might be beguiled or coerced into rebellion, they would, if +assured of fair treatment, take the first opportunity of returning to +their allegiance, as the commoners of Mytilene had done. "Do not, +therefore," concluded Diodotus, "destroy this, the strongest guarantee +of your security, but punish the ringleaders of the revolt, after due +deliberation, and leave the rest in peace." +</p> + +<p> +The arguments of Diodotus were unanswerable, and it might have been +supposed that the Athenians, in their relenting mood, would have +carried the amendment by a large majority. But this was not the case. +The debate was keenly contested, and when the president called for a +show of hands, the more merciful decree was only passed by a few votes. +There was no time to be lost, for the first trireme was already a day +and a night on her voyage, and the fate of Mytilene hung by a hair. A +second trireme was launched with all speed, and the Mytilenaeans +present in Athens promised large rewards to the crew if they arrived in +time. With such inducements the rowers toiled day and night, taking +their meals, which consisted of barley-meal kneaded with wine and oil, +at the oar, and sleeping and rowing by turns. Happily there was no +contrary wind to retard their progress, and the crew of the first +vessel, bearing that savage mandate, made no efforts to shorten their +passage. As it was, they were not an hour too soon: for when they +arrived, Paches had already received the decree, and was preparing to +carry it out. Thus Mytilene escaped destruction by a hair's-breadth, +and Athens was saved from committing a great crime. But even the +modified sentence, which was passed directly afterwards on the motion +of Cleon, condemning more than a thousand Mytilenaean citizens to +death, was sufficiently ferocious, and was remembered against the +tyrant city in the days of her humiliation. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="escape"></a> +ESCAPE OF TWO HUNDRED PLATAEANS FALL OF PLATAEA +</h3> + +<p class="t3b"> +I +</p> + +<p> +The siege of Plataea had now lasted for more than a year, and the brave +garrison began to be in sore straits, for their supplies were giving +out, and they had no hope of rescue from outside. In this desperate +situation they resolved to make an attempt to break through the +besieging lines, and make their escape to Athens. All were to take part +in the adventure, leaving the Peloponnesians in possession of an empty +town. But when the time came for carrying out this bold design, half of +the garrison drew back, thinking the risk too great. The other half, +numbering about two hundred and twenty, persisted in their purpose, and +forthwith fell to work on their preparations. They began by making +ladders for scaling the enemy's wall; and in order to ascertain the +proper length of the ladders, they counted the courses of bricks in a +part of the wall facing the town, which happened to have been left +unplastered. Many counted the courses together, and by repeating the +process over and over again, and comparing the result, they at last hit +upon the right number. When once this was known, they could easily +calculate the length of their ladders, for the bricks were all of the +same dimensions, and they knew the thickness of a single brick. +</p> + +<p> +The Peloponnesians had built a double line of wall round Plataea, the +two lines being separated by a distance of sixteen feet. The whole of +the space within this double wall was covered by a flat roof, so as to +present the appearance of a single thick wall, with battlements on +either side; and this covered space, which was divided into rooms by +partition-walls, served as barracks for the besiegers. Along the top +were high towers, with intervals of ten battlements between them, and +built flush with the wall on both sides, so as to leave no passage, +except through the middle of the tower. These served as guard-rooms, +where the soldiers on duty took shelter on wet and stormy nights. For +the distance between the towers was very small, and they could rush out +and man the walls at a moment's notice. +</p> + +<p> +The Plataeans omitted no precaution which might secure success for +their hazardous enterprise. Every man understood exactly the part which +he had to play, and knew that his own life, and the lives of his +comrades, depended on his courage and coolness. They had chosen their +time well, for it was now mid-winter. So they waited for a night of +storm and rain, when there was no moon, and sallying forth from the +town crossed the inner ditch, and came up to the inner wall, +unperceived by the enemy; for the noise of their footsteps was drowned +by the roaring of the wind, and they were careful to advance in open +order, so as not to be discovered by the clashing of their arms. The +whole troop was lightly equipped, and they walked with their right foot +unsandalled, to give them a firmer hold on the muddy ground. Choosing +one of the spaces between two towers, they adjusted their ladders, and +began to ascend the wall. The first to mount were twelve picked men, +armed with breastplates and daggers, who as soon as they reached the +top, rushed to the towers, six men to each, and having overpowered the +guard, stood ready to defend the passage. These were followed by +others, armed with javelins, whose shields were handed up to them from +below as they ascended, to enable them to climb the more easily. +Several of this party had got up in safety, when one of those who were +following dislodged a tile as he grasped the battlements. The sound of +the falling tile alarmed the guards in the towers, and soon the whole +besieging force was in a commotion. But being bewildered by the +darkness, and deafened by the tempest which was blowing, they knew not +which way to turn, and remained at their quarters, waiting for orders. +And at the same time the Plataeans left in the town made a feigned +attack on the Peloponnesian wall at the opposite side to divert the +attention of the enemy. In the general confusion thus created the +besiegers were at a loss what to do, and three hundred of their men, +who were kept together for prompt service on any pressing occasion, +took up their station before the outer wall, thinking that the +Athenians had come to relieve the town. Fire-signals were now kindled +by the Peloponnesians, to summon help from Thebes; but the Plataeans +were prepared for this also, and they kindled other beacons which had +been raised for the purpose on their wall, so as to obscure the meaning +of the enemy's signals, and delay the march of the Thebans, until their +own comrades had had time to escape. +</p> + +<p> +The way was thus left clear for the gallant two hundred. Those who led +the party had secured possession of the passages through the towers, +and stood ready to bar the way against all assailants. Others who +followed brought ladders, and planting them at the foot of the towers, +mounted to the top, and kept off the Peloponnesians, when they +attempted to force an entrance, with a shower of javelins. Over the +intervening space now swarmed the main body of the Plataeans; and each +man, as he got over, halted at the edge of the outer ditch, and kept up +a hot fire of javelins and arrows, to cover the retreat of his +comrades, and repel any attack from below. When all the rest had +crossed the wall, those who held the towers began to descend; and this +was the most perilous part of the adventure, especially for those who +came last. All, however, succeeded in joining their comrades by the +ditch, and just at this moment the picked troop of three hundred, who +carried torches, came upon them. But fortune still favoured the +Plataeans; crouching in the deep shadow thrown by the high banks of the +ditch, they plied the enemy, who with their blazing torches afforded an +easy mark, with darts and arrows. And thus, fighting and retreating at +the same time, they made their way gradually across the ditch, but not +without a severe struggle, for the water was swollen by the snow which +had fallen in the night, and covered with rotten ice. Their best friend +was the tempest, which raged with extraordinary violence throughout the +night. +</p> + +<p> +When their last man had crossed, the Plataeans went off at a run in the +direction of Thebes, being assured that no one would expect them to +take the road which led to their worst enemy. And the prudence of this +course soon appeared, for looking back they saw the Peloponnesians +hurrying with lighted torches along the road to Athens. Then after +marching towards Thebes for about a mile, they doubled back, and taking +to the mountains soon reached the friendly territory of Attica. They +received a kind welcome at Athens, where it was found that out of the +original two hundred and twenty, only eight were missing. Seven of +these had lost heart at the last moment, and returned to Plataea, where +they announced that all the rest of the party had been slain. One only, +an archer, was taken prisoner at the outer ditch. +</p> + +<p> +On hearing the report of those who had turned back, the Plataeans +applied for a truce to bury their dead; and when their herald came back +from his useless errand, they learned to their delight that this +gallant enterprise, so ably planned, and so boldly executed, had been +crowned with complete success. +</p> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p class="t3b"> +II +</p> + +<p> +Well would it have been for the Plataeans who remained in the town if +they had stood by their first purpose, and shared the fortunes of their +brave comrades. Better far to have died, sword in hand, than to meet +the ignoble fate which was now reserved for them. It was in the +following summer, two years after the beginning of the siege, that the +crisis arrived. The Plataeans had come to the end of their provisions, +and were suffering severely from want of food. In this state of +weakness they were suddenly attacked by the besiegers, who might easily +have carried the town by storm. But the Spartan general wished, if +possible, to avoid this, as all places taken by assault would have to +be given back to their original owners on the conclusion of peace, +whereas those which had voluntarily surrendered might be retained. +Accordingly he sent a herald, and summoned the Plataeans to surrender, +promising that they should have a fair trial by Spartan judges; and +they, being actually on the point of starvation, accepted the terms +offered, and laid down their arms. They were kept in custody and +supplied with food until the judges, five in number, arrived from +Sparta. On the arrival of the judges no express charge was made against +them, but they were called up one by one, and asked this simple +question: "Have you done any service to the Spartans or their allies in +the course of the present war?" +</p> + +<p> +The Plataeans saw the snare which was set for them, and seeking to +evade it they asked permission to plead their cause at length. Leave +being given, the Plataean advocate rose to address the court, and made +a most moving and eloquent appeal, which well deserves to be reproduced +in its main outlines. +</p> + +<p> +"Men of Sparta," began the orator, "we surrendered our city on the +faith of your promise that the innocent should be spared, and only the +guilty condemned. But we fear that our confidence has been misplaced. +That our doom is already pronounced we have but too plain evidence, in +your sinister question, in your cold, condemning looks, in the gloomy +faces of our enemies, who have poisoned your ears against us. We have +but little hope of turning you from your purpose by anything that we +can say. Nevertheless we have resolved to speak, lest in the hour of +death we should be tormented by the thought that a word might have +saved us, and that word remained unspoken. +</p> + +<p> +"In the history of the last fifty years no city in Greece has a fairer +record than ours. Though not trained to the sea, we served in the fleet +at Artemisium; we fought under Pausanias in the great battle which +decided the fate of Greece, and took part beyond our strength in all +the trials and perils of our common country. On the gratitude of Sparta +we have a special claim, for in the day of her direst extremity, after +the earthquake, when the Helots were in arms against her, we sent a +third part of our citizens to her aid. Since then we have been found in +the ranks of your enemies; but this was your fault, not ours. Who drove +us into the arms of Athens, when we were hard pressed by the tyranny of +Thebes? We joined the Athenian alliance at your bidding; they defended +us against our enemies, and admitted us to the rights of Athenian +citizenship. We were bound, therefore, by every tie of honour and duty +to stand by them, whether their cause was just or unjust. +</p> + +<p> +"What, then, is the meaning of your question, whether we have done you +or your allies any service during this war? If you ask as foes, how can +you claim any service? And if you ask as friends, you have done us +bitter wrong, by attacking us unprovoked. +</p> + +<p> +"The Thebans seized our city in time of peace, and at a holy season, +and we were justified by the laws of nature and of nations in wreaking +vengeance upon them. It may seem to your interest to pay court to them +now; but think how different was our conduct from theirs when the +Persian was at our doors, threatening slavery to us all. We were among +the few who obeyed the call of honour, while Thebes and all the other +towns of Boeotia took sides with the Barbarian. +</p> + +<p> +"Hitherto Sparta has been called the glass of honour in Greece. What, +then, will men say, if Spartan judges are guilty of blotting Plataea +out of the map of Greece, and of the judicial murder of her citizens? +Strange, indeed, and terrible has been the fate of our city, both now +and in the past. Our fathers were brought to the brink of ruin by their +valour and devotion; we, their sons, have just passed through all the +horrors of a siege, and now we are forced to plead for our lives. +Outcasts from our fatherland, spurned and rejected of all, we are +thrown upon your mercy; and much we fear that your hearts are hardened +against us. +</p> + +<p> +"We adjure you, then, by the memory of those times, and of the part +which we took in the salvation of Greece, not to betray us to our worst +enemies, the Thebans. Do not win their gratitude by murder, but ours by +mercy. Forget the cold calculations of policy; think of the everlasting +infamy of such a deed. Your fathers are buried in our land, and we have +been constant in paying all honour and service to their tombs. Will ye +give up the land in which they rest to the men [Footnote: The Thebans, +who fought on the side of the Persians at Plataea.] who are guilty of +their blood? Will ye enslave those fields which saw the triumph of +Greek liberty, and dishonour the gods by whose favour the victory was +won? By your own renown, by the conscience of Greece, by the memory of +your sires, we adjure you, men of Lacedaemon, not to do this deed. +</p> + +<p> +"But it is time to make an end. If we have spoken in vain, and you are +resolved on our death, we have still one request. Send us back into our +city, and keep us there immured until we have perished of hunger. Any +fate is better than falling into the hands of the Thebans, the enemies +of Plataea, and of all Greece." +</p> + +<p> +The orator had indeed spoken in vain, or if his words had made any +impression on the minds of the judges, it was speedily obliterated by a +fierce and bitter tirade which was delivered by a Theban speaker in +reply. As soon as he had finished his harangue, the prisoners were +called up again in turn, and questioned as before. When each of them +had answered, in the only manner possible, he was led away and put to +death; and not one of them was spared. The number of those slain was +two hundred and twenty-five, and of these twenty-five were Athenians. +The city was then levelled to the ground, and the territory left at the +disposal of the Thebans. Thus was this brave little community +sacrificed to the rancour of Thebes, and the selfish policy of Sparta. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="capture"></a> +CAPTURE OF A HUNDRED AND TWENTY SPARTANS AT SPHACTERIA +</h3> + +<p class="t3b"> +I +</p> + +<p> +The result of six years of desultory fighting had fully justified the +forebodings of Archidamus, and the sanguine anticipations of Pericles. +In spite of the terrible ravages of the plague, Athens had easily held +her own against the whole power of the Peloponnesian league. As yet, +however, no decisive advantage had been gained on either side. But in +the seventh year of the war an event occurred which would have enabled +the Athenians, but for their own folly, to conclude an honourable peace. +</p> + +<p> +The ablest of the Athenian generals at this time was Demosthenes, +[Footnote: To be carefully distinguished from the great orator, born +about forty years after the date reached in this chapter (425 B.C.).] +who in the previous year had greatly distinguished himself by a +brilliant campaign in Aetolia. In the following summer he obtained +permission to take passage on board a fleet which was bound on a voyage +to Corcyra and Sicily. He sailed in a private capacity, but he was +authorized to use the ships against the coasts of Peloponnesus, if he +saw any opening which might be utilized in the interests of Athens. +</p> + +<p> +On a rocky promontory, at the northern end of the spacious bay of +Navarino, lies the little town of Pylos, generally believed to have +been the home of the Homeric Nestor. Since the conquest of Messenia by +the Spartans, the town had remained in ruins, and the country for some +distance round was a desert. The natural advantages of the adjacent +coast had already caught the keen eye of Demosthenes, and he had formed +the plan of raising a fortified outpost on the spot, to be held by a +picked troop of the banished Messenians, and thus planting a thorn in +the side of Sparta. +</p> + +<p> +Fortune favoured his design. For on rounding the western headland of +Peloponnesus, the fleet encountered a storm, and was compelled to seek +shelter at Pylos. Demosthenes now urged the admirals to employ their +enforced leisure in fortifying the place. But they repulsed him rudely, +and treated his suggestion with contempt. He next tried to interest the +inferior officers in his project, but meeting with no better success, +he began to fear that this grand opportunity would be thrown away. The +discussion, however, had reached the ears of the soldiers, and having +nothing else to do, they agreed among themselves to pass the time by +building a fort. Choosing a place of great natural strength, where the +rocky coast descends abruptly to the open sea, they went to work with a +will. As they had no tools for stone-cutting, they picked out the +stones, and fitted them together according to their shape; and for want +of hods they carried the mortar, wherever it was required, on their +backs, stooping forward and clasping their hands together behind them, +to prevent it from slipping off. They carried out their self-imposed +task with great energy, and after six days of vigorous labour the fort +was completed, for the natural defences of the site were so strong that +in most places there was no need of a wall. As the weather was now +favourable, the fleet proceeded on its voyage, leaving Demosthenes with +five ships to garrison the fort. +</p> + +<p> +The news of the occupation of Pylos soon reached the Spartans, but at +first they paid little heed, thinking that they could expel the +audacious intruders whenever they chose to exert themselves. Moreover, +they were just then engaged in keeping one of those religious festivals +of which the Spartan calendar was so full, and a good part of their +army was absent in Attica. Agis, however, the Spartan king, and those +under him who were commanding in Attica, took a wiser view of the +situation, and cutting short their operations they led their forces +with all speed back to Sparta. They were the more inclined to do this +as the season was yet early, the weather inclement, and, the corn being +still green, they wanted means to nourish their troops. Thus the +inventive genius of Demosthenes had already proved of signal service to +his country; for this was the shortest of all the Peloponnesian +invasions, lasting only fifteen days. +</p> + +<p> +On the return of their troops from Attica the Spartans sent a small +force to commence the attack on Pylos, and ordered the main body of +their army to follow. There was some discontent among those who had +already been serving abroad at this second levy, and the full muster of +the troops was consequently delayed. In the meantime a message was +despatched to a Peloponnesian fleet then sailing to Corcyra, which at +this time was in a state of revolution, with orders to return at once, +and assist in the campaign against Pylos. Demosthenes was now in +imminent danger, being threatened with an immediate assault by sea and +land, which he had no adequate means of repelling. Having sent off two +of his ships to recall the Athenian squadron from its voyage to +Corcyra, he prepared to defend himself, until the arrival of succour, +as best he could. +</p> + +<p> +The Peloponnesian fleet was the first to arrive, and the Spartans, who +were now present in full force with their allies, determined to make +the most of their time. They hoped, by a simultaneous onslaught of +their army and fleet, to carry the fort before the Athenian ships had +time to return. But in case they should fail in this, they intended to +cripple the movements of the relieving squadron, by blocking the +entrances to the bay. For the long, narrow island of Sphacteria forms a +natural break water, converting the harbour of Navarino into a +land-locked basin, with two narrow passages at the northern and +southern end. [Footnote: The description of Thucydides does not +correspond to the picture of the harbour given in our modern maps. But +in the course of twenty centuries great changes may well have +occurred.] These inlets the Spartans proposed to close, by anchoring +triremes close together, with their prows turned seawards, which they +could easily have done, for at the southern entrance there was only +room for eight or nine vessels to sail abreast, and at the northern +entrance only room for two. This precaution, however, was never carried +out; and the Spartans, as if blinded by fate, adopted another measure, +which led to fatal consequences for themselves. Wishing to keep command +of every spot of land in the neighbourhood of Pylos, they landed a body +of their own men, numbering four hundred and twenty, with the usual +proportion of Helots, on the island, and the same time posted troops at +every assailable point on the opposite coast. +</p> + +<p> +Thinking now that the little garrison at Pylos, surrounded on all sides +by enemies, would fall an easy prey, they sent orders to the fleet to +get under way, and prepared to attack the fort on the land side. +Meanwhile Demosthenes had not been idle: having drawn his three +remaining ships under the shelter of the fort, and protected them in +front by a stockade, he armed the crews with such weapons as he had, +including a number of wicker-shields, taken from a thirty-oared +Messenian galley which had recently come to his assistance with a force +of forty hoplites. Then, having posted the greater part of his troops +for the defence of his position against the Peloponnesian army, he +himself descended with a picked body of sixty hoplites, and took up his +station on the rocky shore. For on this side the defences were weakest, +as the Athenians, in building the fort, had never anticipated an attack +from the sea. +</p> + +<p> +Demosthenes had just time to address a few words of caution and +encouragement to his men, assuring them of victory, if they would only +stand fast, when the Peloponnesian fleet was seen bearing down upon +them; and at the same moment a loud shout from the fort announced that +the garrison was already engaged behind them. The assault was fiercest +at the point where Demosthenes and his men were stationed, and the +Peloponnesians made desperate efforts to effect a landing. But they +were embarrassed by the difficult and rocky coast, which only allowed a +few ships to approach at a time. As fast as one division was beaten +back, another came on, with the white foam spouting round the prows, +and the waters roaring and eddying to the strokes of the gigantic oars, +while the cliffs resounded with the shouts of their comrades in the +ships behind, cheering them on to the attack. +</p> + +<p> +Conspicuous among those who fought on the ships was seen the gallant +figure of Brasidas, who exerted himself, by voice and by example, to +infuse his own heroic spirit into the rest of the crews and their +officers. His ringing tones were heard above the tumult, urging on the +captains and steersmen, when they hung back in fear lest their ships +should be shattered on the rocks. "Spare not these timbers," he cried, +"but let every hull among them go to wreck, rather than suffer the +enemy to violate the soil of Lacedaemon. Where is your loyalty to +Sparta? Have you forgotten the debt which you owe to her? Have at them, +I say, and hurl this fort with its defenders into the sea." Saying this +he ordered the master of his own trireme to beach the vessel, and stood +ready on the gangway, that he might be the first to leap on shore. But +as he attempted to land he was hurled back by the Athenians, and fell +fainting, covered with wounds, on the deck. His shield slipped off his +arm, and dropped into the sea, and having been washed ashore, was +picked up by the Athenians, who used it to adorn the trophy which they +afterwards erected. +</p> + +<p> +After the fall of Brasidas the Peloponnesians still continued their +efforts to effect a landing, but they were baffled by the obstinate +defence of the Athenians, and the rugged and inhospitable coast. It was +a strange reversal of affairs which had been brought about by the +fortune of war. On one side were the Spartans, trained to military +service on land, but now compelled to serve on board a fleet, in order +to obtain a footing on their own territory, and on the other side the +Athenians, whose natural element was the sea, drawn up on land to repel +a naval attack. +</p> + +<p> +Next day the assault was repeated, but again without success. The +Spartans sent for a supply of timber, to construct siege engines, +intending to try and batter down the Athenian wall where it overlooked +the harbour, as at this point there was a better landing-place for the +ships. In this task, however, they were interrupted by the sudden +appearance of the Athenian fleet, now numbering fifty vessels, having +been reinforced by four Chian ships, and six from Naupactus. Finding +the harbour occupied by the Peloponnesians, and the whole coast lined +with troops, they retired for the night to the little island of Prote. +Next day they weighed anchor early, and dividing their fleet, sailed +into the harbour of Navarino by both entrances at once. Though taken by +surprise, the Peloponnesians manned their ships, and as fast as they +were ready put out to meet them; but before their array was complete +they were attacked by the Athenians, who disabled many of their +vessels, captured five, and drove the rest ashore. So complete was the +rout that the Athenians pursued the flying ships into the very interior +of the harbour, and rammed some of them after they had been brought to +land. Others they charged while the crews were still getting on board, +and began to tow off the disabled hulls. But in the heat of victory the +Athenians had pushed their advantage somewhat too far, and they paid +for their audacity by the loss of a considerable number of their men. +For the Lacedaemonians, in wild dismay at the defeat of their ships, by +which their comrades on the island would be cut off from all help, made +desperate exertions to save their fleet, wading into the water in their +heavy armour, and hauling back the vessels as they were being towed +off. In the confined space manoeuvring was impossible, and the +sea-fight had now become a furious hand to hand encounter, as between +two armies on land. After a prolonged struggle, in which both sides +suffered severely, the Spartans succeeded in saving their ships, except +those which had been taken at first, and the Athenians then retired to +their station. +</p> + +<p> +The result of this battle was to give the Athenians complete command of +the sea, for the Peloponnesian fleet was in no condition to renew the +engagement. From their camp on the mainland the Spartans could see the +Athenian triremes rowing round and round the island, and keeping +vigilant watch, to prevent those who were confined there from escaping. +News of the disaster was sent without delay to Sparta, and the +magistrates, recognising the gravity of the crisis, proceeded at once +to Pylos, wishing to inform themselves on the spot, and then decide +what was best to be done. Finding on their arrival that there was no +prospect of rescuing their men on the island, they applied to the +Athenian commanders for a truce, to enable them to send envoys to +Athens, and arrange some terms for the recovery of the imprisoned +Spartans. The Athenians consented, and a truce was made on the +following conditions: The Spartans were to surrender all their fleet, +including any ships of war on the coast of Laconia, to the Athenians, +and to refrain from any attack on the fort, until the return of the +envoys. The Athenians, on their part, agreed to allow provisions to be +sent to the Spartans on the island, all such provision being conveyed +thither under their own inspection, and none by stealth. They further +agreed to carry the envoys to Athens in one of their own triremes, and +to suspend all hostilities until the expiration of the truce. When the +envoys returned, the Peloponnesian ships were to be given back. +</p> + +<p> +It was a proud moment for Athens when the Spartan envoys appeared +before the assembly, bearing the humble petition from her great enemy. +The terms offered by the spokesman of the embassy in the name of Sparta +were simple and concise, peace and friendship with Sparta, in return +for the men shut up on the island. The rest of his speech was made up +of grave moral reflections, such as are generally paraded by those on +the losing side. Let the Athenians beware of abusing their advantage; +though they had the upper hand to-day, they might be brought to their +knees to-morrow. War was a game of hazard, in which the luck was always +changing. Now they had an opportunity of concluding an honourable +peace, and establishing a lasting claim to the gratitude of Sparta. And +if the two leading states of Greece were once united, they could +dictate what terms they pleased to the rest. +</p> + +<p> +The notorious selfishness of Spartan policy is glaringly manifested in +this speech. In their anxiety to recover their own citizens, the +Spartans completely ignored the interests of their allies, and held out +the right hand of fellowship to the people whom they had lately branded +as the oppressors and spoilers of Greece. The Athenians might well +distrust the professions of these perfidious statesmen, who repudiated +their sworn obligations with such cynical levity. The Spartans in +Sphacteria were already, they thought, prisoners of Athens, to be dealt +with as they pleased; and were they to resign this costly prize, in +return for a vague promise of friendship from Sparta? Their answer was +framed on the advice of Cleon: they could not, they said, enter into +any discussion, until the men on the island had surrendered themselves, +and been brought to Athens. Then, if the Spartans agreed to restore to +the Athenians Nisaea and Pegae, [Footnote: The harbour-towns of +Megara.] and some other places which they had held before the Thirty +Years' Truce, peace might be made, and the prisoners restored. The +Spartan envoys were somewhat startled by these demands, which involved +a gross breach of faith to their own allies; so they affected to ignore +the proposal, and suggested a private conference between themselves and +select Athenian commissioners. It is not impossible that the terms +offered, infamous as they were to Sparta, might have been accepted; but +the whole negotiation was frustrated by the violence of Cleon, who, on +hearing the suggestion of the envoys, overwhelmed them with abuse, +accusing them of double-dealing and bad faith. The envoys were +confounded by this specimen of Athenian manners, and seeing that they +were wasting their time to no purpose, they turned their backs on the +city of free speech. +</p> + +<p> +On their return to Pylos the truce expired, and the Spartans demanded +back their ships, but the Athenians refused to restore them, on the +ground of some alleged violation of the conditions laid down. Thereupon +hostilities were resumed with vigour on both sides. The Spartans made +repeated attacks on the fort, and watched for an opportunity of +bringing off their men from the island: and the Athenians kept a +vigilant guard to prevent their escape. During the day two triremes +sailed continually round Sphacteria in opposite directions, and at +night their whole fleet, now raised to the number of seventy by the +arrival of twenty fresh ships, was moored about the island, except on +the exposed side in windy weather. +</p> + +<p> +Before long the Athenians began to feel the difficulties of their +position. They were but scantily supplied with food, and had much +trouble in obtaining water. The only spring to which they had access, +and even that by no means abundant, was in the citadel of Pylos, and +most of them were reduced to scraping the shingle, and thus obtaining a +meagre supply of brackish water. On land their quarters were straitened +and uncomfortable, and they had no proper anchorage for their ships, so +that the crews had to go ashore in turns to get their meals. They were +greatly disappointed to find their task thus prolonged, for they had +supposed that a few days' siege would suffice to starve the imprisoned +Spartans into a surrender, as the island was barren and ill-furnished +with water. But day followed day, and still they waited in vain for any +sign of yielding. For the Spartan magistrates had offered large rewards +to anyone who succeeded in conveying wine, meal, or other portable +provisions, to the island, and many were tempted to run the risk, +especially among the Helots, who were offered their liberty in return +for this service. They put out from various points of the mainland, and +landed under cover of night on the seaward side of the island, choosing +their time when the wind was blowing strong from the sea, which made it +impossible for the Athenian triremes to keep their exposed anchorage. +The Spartan hoplites stood ready on the rocks to help them; and so long +as they could get ashore with their freight, they cared nothing what +happened to their boats, for if they were wrecked, the Spartans had +pledged themselves for the full value. Others, still bolder, swam, +across the harbour, dragging after them leather bags filled with a +mixture of poppy-seed or linseed and honey, [Footnote: Poppy-seed was +valued in ancient medicine as an antidote against hunger, and linseed +against thirst.] and attached to a cord. These were soon detected; but +the other source of supply remained open, and it seemed likely that the +siege would be protracted till winter, when it would have to be given +up. +</p> + +<p> +The Athenians at home were much concerned when they were informed of +this state of affairs, and they began to regret that they had not +accepted the terms offered by Sparta. They were suspicious and uneasy, +and Cleon, on whose advice they had acted, saw himself in danger of +falling a victim to their resentment. But his boundless self-confidence +served him well in this crisis. At first he affected to disbelieve the +report sent from Pylos, and proposed to send commissioners to inquire +into the true state of the case. His motion was carried, and he himself +was nominated as one of the commissioners. Cleon was now placed in an +awkward position: either he would have to confirm the statement of the +messengers from Pylos, and thus make himself ridiculous, or, if he +contradicted them, he would be convicted of falsehood. So he turned +round again, and advised the Athenians, if they believed the report, to +waste no more time, but to order an immediate attack on the island. "If +I were general," [Footnote: The chief civil and military magistrate at +Athens, corresponding to the Roman consul.] he said, with a meaning +glance at Nicias, who was then holding that office, "it would not be +long before these Spartans were brought in chains to Athens. The +Athenians want a <i>man</i> to lead them." +</p> + +<p> +This Nicias, on whom the demagogue had so scornfully reflected, was a +great noble, and the chief political opponent of Cleon. When he heard +the boastful words of his rival, it struck Nicias that there was a fine +opportunity of bringing him to ruin, by thrusting upon him a command +for which he was totally unqualified. Encouraged by the shouts of the +multitude, who were crying to Cleon, "Why don't you go and do it?" he +rose from his place, and proposed that the tanner should be sent in +charge of an expedition to take the men at Sphacteria. At first Cleon +agreed to go, thinking that Nicias was jesting; but when he saw that +the proposal was made seriously, he began to draw back. "It is your +business, not mine," he said to Nicias. "I am not general—you are; why +should I do your work for you?" "Never mind the title," answered +Nicias; "I resign my office on this occasion to you." The dispute grew +hotter and hotter, much to the amusement of the Athenians, who fell +readily into the humour of the situation, and loudly applauded the +proposal of Nicias. The more Cleon objected, the more they shouted that +he should go. Finding that he must make good his words, Cleon at last +plucked up a spirit, and accepted the honour thus contemptuously forced +upon him. "I am not afraid of the Spartans," he declared valiantly. +"Give me the contingent of soldiers from Lemnos and Imbros, the +Thracian peltasts, [Footnote: Light-armed soldiers.] and four hundred +archers, and without taking a single Athenian from the city, within +three weeks I will either bring those Spartans as prisoners to Athens, +or kill them where they are." +</p> + +<p> +There was some laughter among the Athenians at Cleon's vain-glorious +promise; but the more sober-minded were not displeased at his +appointment, expecting that, if he failed, they would be rid of a +nuisance; while, if he succeeded, they would gain an immense advantage +over their enemies. Such, at least, is the comment of the historian; +but he makes no remark on the incredible levity of the Athenians, to +whom the gravest interests of state were matter for mirth and pastime; +and he has not a word of censure for Nicias and his "sober-minded" +partisans, who, in their eagerness to ruin a political opponent, showed +a criminal disregard for the welfare of Athens. +</p> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p class="t3b"> +II +</p> + +<p> +When Cleon arrived at Pylos with his forces, he found Demosthenes +engaged in active preparations for an attack on the island. For his +troops were growing impatient, and clamouring to be led into action, +and a happy accident had recently occurred, which greatly increased the +prospect of success. Till quite lately Sphacteria had been covered with +a dense growth of underwood, and Demosthenes knew by his experience in +Aetolia that an attacking force would be at a great disadvantage in +marching against an enemy who fought under cover, and knew every inch +of the ground. But a party of Athenian soldiers, who had landed on the +island to cook their breakfast, accidentally set fire to the brushwood, +and a wind springing up, the flames were carried over the greater part +of the island, leaving it a blackened waste. Demosthenes now discovered +that the besieged Spartans were more numerous than he had supposed, +having hitherto believed that their number had been purposely +exaggerated, to give an excuse for sending more food; and the main +obstacle being now removed, he issued the welcome order to make ready +for an immediate assault. +</p> + +<p> +When he received his commission, Cleon had prudently stipulated that +Demosthenes should be associated with him in the command. The two +ill-assorted colleagues—the turbulent demagogue, and the veteran +general—now took counsel together, and after a last fruitless attempt +at negotiation, they set sail at night with a force of eight hundred +hoplites, and disembarking just before dawn on both sides of the island +at once, led their men at a run against the first guard-station of the +Spartans. They found the enemy posted in three divisions: the first, +consisting of thirty hoplites, formed an advanced guard; some distance +behind these, where the ground forms a shallow basin, containing the +only spring in the island, was stationed the main body, commanded by +Epitadas; and at the extreme north, opposite Pylos, there was a small +reserve force, left to guard a sort of natural citadel, which would +serve as a last retreat, if Epitadas and his men were overpowered. +</p> + +<p> +The thirty Spartans in the outpost were taken by surprise, and cut down +to a man; for though they had seen the Athenian ships putting out, they +had no suspicion of what was intended, supposing that they were merely +proceeding to their anchorage for the night. At daybreak the rest of +the fleet put in at the island, bringing the whole of the forces which +Demosthenes had at his disposal, except a few, who were left to +garrison the fort at Pylos. They were a motley host, armed for the most +part with slings, javelins, and bows, but admirably suited for the work +which was to be done. Swarming over the island by hundreds and by +thousands they took up their stations on every piece of rising ground, +threatening the enemy in front, in the rear, on the right flank, and on +the left. The Spartans, in their heavy armour, were helpless against +these agile foes, who eluded every attempt to come to close quarters, +and kept up a continual shower of arrows, javelins, and stones. Such +had been the orders of Demosthenes, which were now carried into effect. +</p> + +<p> +When the Spartans under Epitadas saw their advanced guard cut up, and +the Athenians marching against them, they drew up in order, and tried +to come within spear-thrust of the enemy; but they were unable to +effect their purpose, for the Athenian hoplites kept their ground, and +at the same moment they themselves were assailed on both flanks and in +the rear by a cloud of light infantry. It was a kind of warfare to +which the Spartans were totally unaccustomed: if they attempted to +advance, their nimble assailants drew back, and pursuit was impossible +on the rocky and broken ground. For a time the light-armed troops +approached them with caution, being somewhat cowed in spirit when +brought face to face with the renowned warriors of Sparta, hitherto +supposed to be invincible. But seeing how the Spartans were +embarrassed, they took courage, and came on in a roaring multitude, +surrounding them on all sides, and leaving them not a moment to take +breath. The air was darkened by a tempest of missiles; and a fine dust, +caused by the ashes of the late fire, rose in choking clouds from the +trampling of many feet. Exhausted by their violent exertions, stunned +by the uproar, and blinded by the dust, the Spartans began to give +ground, and closing their ranks fell back on the stronghold where their +reserve was stationed. They were hotly pursued, and some few were cut +off in the retreat, but the greater part succeeded in reaching the +fort, where they turned at bay, and prepared to defend themselves to +the last. Until a late hour in the day the Athenians made vain attempts +to dislodge them from their position, which was only assailable in +front. At last, when both sides were sorely distressed by the long +conflict under a burning sun, an officer who was in command of the +Messenian troops came to the generals, and offered, if they would place +a few light-armed soldiers at his disposal, to lead them up the +precipitous cliffs at the northern end of Sphacteria, and take the +Spartans in the rear. Permission being readily granted, he chose his +men, and taking care that his movements were not perceived by the +enemy, made his way with them along the perilous and slippery face of +the cliffs to the rear of the beleaguered garrison, scaled the steep +ascent, and suddenly appearing on the heights, struck terror into the +Spartans, and gave fresh courage to their assailants. +</p> + +<p> +The situation of the Spartans was now similar to that of their +ancestors when they made their last stand at Thermopylae. They were +attacked in front and rear, and hemmed in on both sides by the natural +difficulties of the place. In their weak and exhausted condition it +would have been an easy task to make an end of them. But the great +object of Cleon and Demosthenes was to take them alive. They therefore +suspended the attack, and sent a herald, and summoned them to lay down +their arms. When they heard the proclamation, most of them lowered +their shields, and waved their hands in the air, to show that they had +dropped their weapons. The Athenian generals then entered into a parley +with Styphon the third in command of the Spartans; for Epitadas, the +chief officer, was slain, and Hippagretus, the second, had been left +for dead on the field. Styphon requested permission to communicate with +the Spartan authorities on the mainland, and ask what he and his +comrades were to do; and the Athenian commanders sent one of their own +men to carry the message. Having heard his report, the Spartan +magistrates sent a herald to see how matters stood; and after more than +one messenger had passed to and fro between their camp and the island, +they sent their final instructions, conveyed in these words "The +Spartans bid you to decide for yourselves, but to do nothing +dishonourable." +</p> + +<p> +Fifty years before, these wounded and weary men would have needed no +instructions to tell them their duty. According to the ancient +tradition of Sparta they had but one course open to them—to die at +their posts. But the lapse of time had softened the stern fibre of the +Spartan character; and the broken remnant now brought to bay in +Sphacteria interpreted the ambiguous mandate in their own favour, and +surrendered themselves and their arms. +</p> + +<p> +The number of the prisoners was two hundred and ninety-two, of whom +about a hundred and twenty were Spartans of pure descent, several of +them belonging to the highest families in Sparta. They were distributed +among the captains of the fleet for transportation to Athens. Dating +from the first sea-fight, the siege had lasted altogether seventy-two +days; and during seven weeks of this period they had subsisted on the +casual supplies smuggled over by the blockade-runners from the +mainland. Great was the joy at Athens when that costly freight was +brought safely into the harbour of Peiraeus; and Cleon, whose bustling +energy had really helped to precipitate a crisis, was the hero of the +hour. He had promised to settle the business, one way or the other, +within twenty days, and this promise, which had been laughed at as a +piece of crazy vanity, was fulfilled to the letter. The whole merit of +the performance, however, belonged to Demosthenes, who had planned the +attack on Sphacteria with admirable sagacity, and led the operations +from first to last. +</p> + +<p> +The surrender of a picked troop of Spartan warriors caused a revolution +of feeling throughout Greece. Hitherto it had been assumed as a matter +of course that no Spartan soldier, in any circumstances, would yield to +an enemy; but now more than a hundred Spartans had preferred life to +honour. It was generally believed that the survivors were inferior in +valour to those who had fallen; and some time afterwards one of the +captives was asked this insulting question by one of the Athenian +allies: "Your <i>brave</i> comrades were buried on the field, I suppose?" +The Spartan's answer was couched in a riddle: "It would be a mighty +clever spindle, [Footnote: Arrow.] which singled out the brave." His +meaning was that the stones and arrows had dealt out death among his +comrades without distinction. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="campaigns"></a> +CAMPAIGNS OF BRASIDAS IN THRACE +</h3> + +<p class="t3b"> +I +</p> + +<p> +One advantage which accrued to the Athenians from the possession of the +Spartan captives was the immunity from invasion. For if the Spartans +prepared to make any movement against Attica, they could bring out +their prisoners, and threaten to put them to death. And in other +directions the future looked brighter than it had done for many years. +They held Pylos, which was garrisoned by Messenian troops, and served +as an open door, through which they could carry havoc over the whole +western district of Laconia; and the occupation of Cythera, which was +effected in the following year, gave them increased facility for +harassing the commerce of Sparta, and making descents on her eastern +coast. +</p> + +<p> +Elated by these successes, the Athenians determined on a bolder flight, +and forgetting the lessons of Pericles, thought of recovering the +possessions which they had held on the mainland thirty years before. +With this intention they planned an attack, which was to be carried out +from three different points at once, on Boeotia. But the whole scheme +proved a failure, and led to a severe defeat at Delium; and about the +same time news arrived from Thrace which showed that the tide was +turning, and should have warned them, if they were wise, to set bounds +to their restless ambition. +</p> + +<p> +Brasidas had long since recovered from the wounds received at Pylos. +The deep humiliation of Sparta, now reduced to become a suppliant for +peace, filled him with shame and sorrow, and in the eighth year of the +war he formed the bold design of organizing a campaign against the +coast-towns of Thrace, which were among the most important of the +Athenian tributaries. Having obtained the necessary commission from +Sparta, he collected a force of seventeen hundred heavy-armed infantry, +and in the summer following the disaster at Sphacteria, turned his +steps northward, and arrived without mishap at the borders of Thessaly. +The Thessalians generally were then on friendly terms with Athens, and, +apart from this, the passage of so large a force through their +territory caused suspicion and alarm among the inhabitants. But +Brasidas was a man of rare gifts: endowed with more than a full share +of the typical Spartan virtues, he combined with these a graciousness +of manner, and a winning eloquence, which made him an equal of the most +accomplished Athenian. He had, moreover, friends among the powerful +nobles of Thessaly, who undertook to guide him in safety to the +Macedonian frontier. On reaching the river Enipeus, he found his +passage barred by a Thessalian force, who seemed resolved to dispute +his progress. His courteous demeanour, and fair words, disarmed their +hostility, and he was allowed to pass. Fearing, however, a general +rising of the natives against him, and urged to despatch by his guides, +he pushed on by forced marches, and entering the passes of Olympus, +descended into the southern plain of Macedonia, whose king Perdiccas, a +shifty and treacherous barbarian, though nominally in alliance with +Athens, favoured the enterprise of Brasidas. +</p> + +<p> +Perdiccas had undertaken to provide pay for half the Spartan force, in +return for help to be rendered against a rebel chieftain with whom he +was at war. But Brasidas, whose main object was to raise a revolt among +the Athenian allies, insisted on entering into negotiations with the +rebel, and having patched up a truce, conducted his troops to the +neighbourhood of Acanthus, a town on the eastern side of the Chalcidian +peninsula, where there was a party discontented with the Athenian rule. +In all the cities subject to Athens the general mass of the people were +found loyal towards her, or, at the worst, disinclined for any change; +and Acanthus was no exception. When Brasidas with his little army +appeared before the walls the people at first refused him admission. +But it was just before the vintage, and their grapes were hanging in +ripe clusters, exposed to the hand of the spoiler; and so, to save +their vineyards from ravage, they were at last induced to give him a +hearing. +</p> + +<p> +It was very important for Brasidas to secure the voluntary adherence of +the Acanthians, whose action would have a powerful effect in +determining the attitude of the other Chalcidians towards them. +Accordingly he exerted all his skill as an orator, which was +considerable, to allay their suspicions, and rouse their enthusiasm for +the cause which he represented. That cause, he said, was the liberation +of Greece from the tyranny of Athens. Let none of them suppose that he +had come in the interests of a faction, to enslave the many to the few, +or the few to the many. He had bound the authorities of Sparta by the +most solemn oaths to respect the constitution of any state which +enlisted under their banner. Freedom for Greeks!—that was the +watchword which should find a response in every patriotic heart. After +this fine burst of sentiment, Brasidas descended to a much lower level, +and plainly intimated that if the Acanthians would not join him from +these high motives, he would employ coercion, and proceed to ravage +their estates, This last argument was decisive, and in order to save +their valuable harvest from destruction, they agreed to admit Brasidas +and his army into the town. Shortly afterwards their example was +followed by Stagirus, one day to become famous as the birthplace of +Aristotle. +</p> + +<p> +It is melancholy to find a man of really pure and generous character +like Brasidas lending himself to be the mouthpiece of Spartan +hypocrisy. To him the sounding phrases and lofty professions which he +uttered may have meant something: but in their essence they were mere +hollow cant, intended to divert attention from the true issue, and drag +a peaceful and prosperous community into the private quarrels of +Sparta. So degraded was now the tone of politics in Greece, even among +her best and ablest men. +</p> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p class="t3b"> +II +</p> + +<p> +On the banks of the Strymon, just where the river sweeps round in a +sharp curve, west and east, the Athenians had founded, six years before +the outbreak of the war, the colony of Amphipolis. It was a site which +had long been coveted by the leaders of Greek colonial enterprise, +being the key to the richest district in Thrace, with unrivalled +facilities for commerce, and close to the gold-mines of Mount Pangeus. +A previous attempt which was made by the Athenians to occupy the +position had ended in ruinous disaster; but nearly thirty years later a +second body of emigrants, led by Hagnon from Athens, met with much +better success; Amphipolis now grew and prospered, and at the time +which we have reached was the most important city in the Athenian +empire. +</p> + +<p> +The Amphipolitans had a bitter and jealous enemy in the neighbouring +town of Argilus, situated a few miles to the west, on the road to +Amphipolis; and ever since the appearance of Brasidas in Thrace the +Argilians had been plotting against the tranquillity of their hated +rival. Accordingly, when Brasidas, who had planned a surprise on +Amphipolis, appeared before their gates, they welcomed him eagerly, and +conducted him and his army to the bridge over the Strymon, which +crossed the river just outside the southern end of the city wall. The +defenders of the bridge, few in number, and taken unawares, were +instantly cut to pieces; for Brasidas came upon them before daybreak, +and the weather, which was wintry and inclement, favoured his design. +</p> + +<p> +The farms and country-houses of the Amphipolitans, which occupied an +extensive district on the eastern side of the city, now lay at the +mercy of Brasidas, and after choosing a position for his camp, he began +to overrun the country. For those who were responsible for the safety +of Amphipolis had taken no precautions, though they knew that this +daring and active enemy had been carrying on a campaign for many weeks +in the adjacent parts of Thrace. Consequently, a good number of the +citizens, who were attending to the business of their estates, fell +into his hands, and it is not improbable that, if he had made a sudden +assault on the city, he would have captured it on the same day. +</p> + +<p> +There was a disaffected party in Amphipolis, who had planned the +betrayal of the place, acting in concert with Argilus, through the +agency of certain Argilian citizens residing in the town. The traitors +now proposed that Brasidas and his army should be admitted, but they +were overruled by the general voice of the people, and it was agreed +that the Athenian Eucles, governor of Amphipolis, should send a message +for help to another Athenian officer, who was commissioned to watch the +interests of Athens in Thrace. That officer was Thucydides, the +historian, from whose work the materials for the present narrative are +taken. Thucydides was descended on his mother's side from the royal +family of Thrace, [Footnote: Such, at least, is the highly probable +conjecture of Classen.] and through this connexion he was the owner of +valuable working rights in the gold-mines of Mount Pangaeus, and a man +of great power and, influence in these districts. When the message +arrived from Amphipolis, he was engaged in some business at Thasos, and +postponing all other concerns he collected a small squadron of seven +ships and hastened to the rescue with all speed. But Brasidas, who had +received intelligence of his movements, was too quick for him. He had +valuable hostages in the persons of those Amphipolitans who had been +taken outside the walls. The population of Amphipolis consisted almost +entirely of men of mixed or foreign descent, who were anxious about +their properties, and in fear for their friends, while the few Athenian +residents were alarmed for their own safety, having little hope of +prompt succour. Taking advantage of this state of public feeling, the +politic Spartan issued a proclamation, pledging him to respect the +rights and property of all who chose to remain; while those who +preferred to withdraw were allowed five days to take away their goods. +This tempting offer produced the desired effect. It was in vain that +the Athenian governor interposed his authority, and strove to uphold +the imperial claims of Athens. The people threatened to rise in mutiny +against him, and when the partisans of Brasidas, now grown bold, openly +moved a resolution to accept his conditions, the proposal was carried, +and the Spartan general marched unopposed into the town. +</p> + +<p> +Late on the same day Thucydides sailed into the harbour of Eion, the +port of Amphipolis, and learning that Brasidas was already in +possession of the inland city, took all necessary precautions to +provide against an immediate attack. He was only just in time; for on +the very next day Brasidas carried his troops down the river on a +flotilla of boats, and tried to establish himself in a strong position, +commanding the mouth of the river, and at the same time sent a storming +party to make an assault on the land side. But the attempt was +frustrated, and Eion at least was saved to Athens. +</p> + +<p> +The fall of Amphipolis, which occurred shortly after the crushing +defeat at Delium, caused great consternation among the Athenians. Apart +from the wound to their pride, they were deprived by this loss of a +large portion of their revenue, and cut off from the principal source +of their timber supply. And there were still further grounds for alarm. +For Amphipolis was now an open door, through which the Spartans could +send troops into eastern Thrace, and carry the war to the entrance of +the Euxine. For a moment it seemed as if all their fears would be +realized. The gentle manners of Brasidas—his fairness, modesty, and +strict regard for the rights of all men—had won the hearts of the +Athenian allies in Thrace, and secret agents were constantly arriving +at his head-quarters on the Strymon, inviting him to come and help them +to recover their liberty. He had skilfully appealed to the most +deeply-rooted instinct of the Greek, the desire for unfettered action +in his own city, free from all interference from outside. This +instinct, long held in abeyance, first by the necessity for protection +from Persia, and when that danger was removed, by the habits acquired +under the mild rule of Athens, was now awakened into new life by the +influence of the great warrior and accomplished statesman, whose +watchword was "Liberty for Greeks!" The recent reverses of Athens had +excited a feeling of contempt among her subjects, and led them greatly +to under-estimate her real power; and Brasidas himself, by a not +over-scrupulous perversion of facts, had been careful to encourage this +belief. All these causes produced a burst of enthusiasm throughout +Thrace, and if the Spartans had supported Brasidas with vigour, a +general insurrection would have followed among the Athenian allies. But +the authorities of Sparta were jealous of their brilliant officer, and +their chief anxiety was to recover the prisoners taken at Sphacteria. +</p> + +<p> +In the same winter the indefatigable Spartan effected the capture of +Torone, a town situated on the second of the three headlands which +project, like the prongs of a fork, from the peninsula of Chalcidice. +As in the case of Amphipolis, Torone fell into his hands by treachery; +but he had now made good his title as the champion of Greek +independence, and early in the following spring the citizens of Scione, +on the first or westernmost headland, invited him to come over and take +command of their town. On receiving this welcome summons Brasidas lost +no time, and crossed over by night in a skiff, which was convoyed by a +trireme, so that if any hostile vessel appeared in sight, it might be +engaged by the trireme, and leave him free to escape. He reached Scione +in safety, and having convened a general assembly of the citizens, +addressed them in flattering terms, praising their high courage and +patriotic spirit. "You," he said, "have set a noble example to your +oppressed brethren: isolated as you are, and cut off from all succour +from the mainland, you have defied all perils, and thrown in your lot, +for better or for worse, with the friends of liberty. Your gallantry +and self-devotion has given you a just claim to the gratitude of Sparta +and of all Greece." The revolt of Scione was indeed a daring defiance +of the Athenian power, for since the capitulation of Potidaea, which +occurred seven years before, the inhabitants had been in the position +of islanders, exposed to the whole maritime power of Athens. For the +moment, however, the people were carried away by a transport of +enthusiasm, and little dreaming of the terrible vengeance which was to +overtake them two years later, they greeted Brasidas as a deliverer, +and vied with one another who should honour him most. He was publicly +presented with a crown of gold, as the liberator of Greece; and in +private houses he was wreathed with garlands, and surrounded with +worship, like a victorious athlete. +</p> + +<p> +But a few days before the defection of Scione all the ambitious schemes +of Brasidas had been checkmated by the action of his own countrymen at +home. For some time past negotiations had been in progress between +Athens and Sparta; and since the battle of Delium, and the rapid +successes of their great enemy in Thrace, the Athenians had been more +disposed to come to terms. In this altered mood they agreed to make a +truce for one year with Sparta, which would give time to arrange the +conditions of a lasting peace, and leave them at leisure to repair the +shattered fabric of their empire. Two commissioners, an Athenian and a +Spartan, were at once despatched to announce the conclusion of the +truce to Brasidas. They found him at Torone, preparing to set out a +second time for the western peninsula, and continue his intrigues +against the subjects of Athens. In the interview which followed a +dispute arose between Brasidas and the commissioners, as to whether +Scione should be admitted into the truce. Brasidas asserted that the +city had joined the Spartan alliance before the truce was signed; but +the Athenian commissioner loudly protested that the revolt occurred +after the conclusion of the truce,—and such, indeed, was the fact. +Brasidas, however, was bound in honour to defend the hapless community +which had been drawn by his fatal influence into so fearful a peril; +and in the existing confusion of the Greek calendar it was not easy to +establish a date with perfect exactitude. Accordingly Brasidas refused +to surrender Scione to the vengeance of Athens, and placed the town in +a state of defence. Not content with this, he extended the same +measures of protection to Mende, which revolted after the arrival of +the commissioners. This was an open violation of the truce, and the +Athenians, in great fury, immediately prepared to send a fleet against +these audacious rebels, and passed a savage decree, condemning the +whole adult male population of Scione to death. +</p> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p class="t3b"> +III +</p> + +<p> +During the following summer Mende was recovered by Nicias for the +Athenians, Scione was closely invested, and Perdiccas, who had +quarrelled with Brasidas, once more became an ally of Athens, and gave +proof of his sincerity by preventing the passage of Spartan +reinforcements to Thrace. The Athenians were thus left free to turn +their attention to Amphipolis, and at the beginning of the tenth year +of the war, the truce having now expired, Cleon was sent with a fleet +of thirty ships to conduct the siege of this important place. That so +weighty a charge should have been entrusted to hands so incompetent +argues a degree of infatuation in the Athenians which is very hard to +understand. On his voyage Cleon succeeded in retaking Torone by a +sudden assault, and then proceeding northwards dropped anchor at Eion, +where he remained inactive, after despatching messengers to Perdiccas, +and to a friendly Thracian prince, to ask for reinforcements. +</p> + +<p> +Meanwhile Brasidas, who some time before had returned to Amphipolis, +was waiting to strike a blow at his unwarlike enemy. His own troops, +though about equal in numbers to the force under Cleon, were far +inferior in equipment and discipline; but he counted on some incautious +movement on the part of the Athenian general, which would throw the +picked infantry of Athens into disorder, and place them at a +disadvantage. So he left Clearidas, a young Spartan, whom he had +appointed governor of Amphipolis, in charge of the garrison, and taking +with him fifteen hundred men occupied a position on the right bank of +the river, where the ground rises abruptly to a considerable height, +affording a wide view over the city to the country beyond, as far as +Eion. From this point, which is called Cerdylium, he could watch the +proceedings of the enemy, and still have ample time to rejoin Clearidas +in Amphipolis, if, as he expected, Cleon should leave his defences and +advance upon the town. +</p> + +<p> +He had not long to wait. The Athenian soldiers stationed at Eion were +chafing at their inaction, and mutinous speeches were heard on all +sides. What a man was this Cleon, this cowardly braggart, under whom +they were to take the field against the most daring and skilful leader +in Greece! They had known what to expect from such a general, since the +day when they sailed for Thrace. These murmurs reached the ears of +Cleon, and he saw that something must be attempted, or his men would be +totally demoralized. So he gave the order to march, and led his troops +up the ridge of hills which slope down towards Amphipolis on the +eastern side, where the town was defended by a single line of wall, +reaching from the northern to the southern bend of the river. He was +far from supposing that anyone would come out to attack him; he only +wanted, he said, to take a good view of the place, and when his +reinforcements arrived, he would surround the city on all sides, and +carry it by assault. For his wonderful good fortune at Pylos had given +him unbounded confidence in his powers as a strategist, and he thought +that Amphipolis would prove a second Pylos, forgetting that here he had +a Brasidas to deal with, and no Demosthenes to do the work for him. +When he reached the top of the ascent, he called a halt, and took a +leisurely survey of the wide sweep of country spread below him,—to the +north, the broad, marshy waters of Lake Cercynitis, from which the +river issues just above the town,—eastwards, the towering summit of +Mount Pangaeus,—and on the other side, just beneath his feet, the +devoted city, which now seemed cowering, silent and deserted, as if +conscious of Cleon's eagle glance. The gates were closed, and not a man +was to be seen on the battlements. "What a pity," remarked Cleon, "that +we brought no siege-engines with us! We might have battered down the +wall, and marched in at once,—there is none to oppose us." +</p> + +<p> +So readily did this holiday general fall into the trap which Brasidas, +with a just estimate of his capacity, had set for him. As soon as he +saw that Cleon had started from Eion, the Spartan general left his post +in Cerdylium, and led his men back into Amphipolis. Here he made such a +disposition of his forces as to give the place that peaceful and +innocent appearance which deceived Cleon's unpractised eye. Then he +took up his station with a picked troop of a hundred and fifty hoplites +at the southern gate of Amphipolis, leaving Clearidas in charge of the +main body, and awaited a favourable moment to attack. +</p> + +<p> +But these preparations could not be made without exciting some +attention among the more experienced of the Athenian officers. They had +seen Brasidas entering the city, and observed him offering sacrifice, +as for battle, before the temple of Athene; and Cleon, who was +standing, lost in his contemplations, some distance in advance of his +forces, suddenly received the alarming intelligence that the enemy were +on the point of making a sally. "The whole garrison is in motion," said +the messenger, "and we have caught sight of the feet of many horses and +men under the gates: evidently they mean to attack us." Thus rudely +startled from his meditations, Cleon went to look for himself, and +seeing that the messenger had spoken the truth he gave the order for a +retreat in the direction of Eion. This movement should have begun from +the left wing, but there was some delay in executing the order, and +Cleon, who was in a great hurry to reach a place of safety, led the way +with his own division, which, being on the right, ought to have closed +the retreat. The consequence was that the whole Athenian army was +thrown into confusion, and Brasidas, who was watching from his station +at the gate, saw by the irregular motion of their spears and helmets +that all discipline was at an end. "Now is our time," he cried to his +men: "Open the gates! The day is ours." With these words he rushed out +with his troops, and fell upon the Athenian centre; and at the same +moment the main body under Clearidas poured out from the northern gate, +and attacked them in the rear. +</p> + +<p> +The effect of this sudden assault was to cut the Athenian army in half: +the left wing, which was nearest to Eion, fled without striking a blow, +but the right made a vigorous resistance, though abandoned by their +cowardly general, who was cut down by a Thracian spearman as he tried +to make good his escape. A far nobler name was also added to the +death-roll of that fatal day: Brasidas, fighting at the head of his +troop, received a mortal wound, and was carried, unobserved by the +Athenians, into the city. He lived long enough to hear that his men had +gained a decisive victory, and then passed away, the purest and the +most heroic spirit among all those who played their part in this +unhappy war. After his death he received divine honours at Amphipolis, +and was worshipped as the second founder of the city. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="hollow"></a> +THE HOLLOW PEACE +</h3> + +<p class="t3b"> +I +</p> + +<p> +The negotiations for peace, begun in the previous year; had been +interrupted by the brilliant successes of Brasidas, and the factious +opposition of Cleon, and after their death the main obstacle to a +pacific understanding was removed. The high hopes conceived by the +Athenians after the capture of the Spartans at Pylos had been damped by +their disastrous defeat at Delium, and by the revolt of their allies in +Thrace; and, above all, they were anxious to recover Amphipolis. Still +more depressed was the temper of the Spartans. They had entered on the +war in a spirit of sanguine confidence, expecting to make an end of the +conflict by a single invasion of Attica; and now, after ten years of +fighting, their great rival remained almost untouched in the chief +sources of her power. Their coasts were exposed to continual ravage by +the Athenian fleets, and Pylos was still occupied by their bitter +enemies, the Messenians, attracting all the discontented elements in +Sparta, and keeping the Helots in a continual ferment. And finally a +hundred and twenty of their noblest citizens were immured in the +dungeons of Athens, and they were ready to make great sacrifices to +procure their release. +</p> + +<p> +Accordingly, in the winter after the battle of Amphipolis, negotiations +were resumed, and early in the following spring a treaty of peace was +concluded between Athens and Sparta, on the understanding that all +places taken by force of arms should be restored, and all prisoners set +at liberty. Such was the Peace of Nicias, named after its chief +promoter, the former rival of Cleon, and now the leading politician at +Athens. It was really a private agreement between Athens and Sparta, +for the most important of the Spartan allies, who thought that their +interests were neglected, refused to sign the treaty. Alarmed by this, +the Spartans immediately concluded a second treaty with Athens, binding +both sides to mutual aid and defence, in case their territories were +attacked. The prisoners taken at Sphacteria were now restored, but +owing to the bungling of Nicias, the Athenians failed to regain +Amphipolis. +</p> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p class="t3b"> +II +</p> + +<p> +Six years elapsed after the conclusion of the Peace of Nicias, before +war was again openly declared; but it was a peace only in name, and was +broken by many acts of hostility on both sides. During this period the +principal states of Greece were involved in a network of political +intrigue, treaty following treaty, and alliance succeeding to alliance, +for the most part with no result. To this statement, there is, however, +one important exception. A year after the signing of the second treaty +between Athens and Sparta, a coalition was formed, including Athens, +Elis, and Mantinea, under the leadership of Argos; and in mentioning +this event we have to usher on to the stage one of the most +extraordinary characters in history. This was Alcibiades, a young +Athenian noble, endowed with every advantage of mind, person, and +fortune, whose fatal gifts, and lawless ambition, made him the evil +genius of his country. His high birth, his wealth, his wit, and his +wonderful beauty, attracted to him a host of flatterers, who fed his +vanity with soft adulation, and led him to believe that nothing was too +great for such powers as his. Like most of the brilliant young men of +his day, he attached himself for a time to the philosopher Socrates, +for whom he seems to have felt a warm admiration. But his connexion +with that great teacher and thinker, though it served to sharpen his +understanding, could not eradicate the effects of evil habit and +example. His wilful, selfish, and despotic temper soon broke loose from +that salutary restraint, and henceforth we find him pursuing a course +of action which brought ruin on his people, and on himself a traitor's +death and a dishonoured name. +</p> + +<p> +Much irritation had been caused among the Athenians by the shifting and +treacherous conduct of the Spartans, who had failed to redeem their +sworn pledges, and had excited great suspicion at Athens by repeated +intrigues with Argos, and with their own offended allies of the +Peloponnesian League. Alcibiades had a private grudge against the +Spartans, to whom he had made overtures of friendship and service at +the time when the treaty was under discussion, only to be set aside as +a profligate and frivolous youth, unfit to meddle with serious matters +of state. He now placed himself at the head of the party hostile to +Sparta, and it was not long before he had an opportunity of revenging +the insult to his pride. He used all his influence to promote an +alliance with Argos, the ancient enemy and rival of Sparta in +Peloponnesus; and when envoys arrived from Sparta to remonstrate +against this proceeding, and reassure the Athenians as to their +intentions, he contrived by a masterpiece of low cunning to cover them +with shame and contempt. When the envoys were introduced to the senate +they declared that they had come with full powers to settle all +differences, and Alcibiades feared that if they made the same statement +to the general assembly of the citizens, they might induce the +Athenians to renounce their alliance with Argos. So, after the senate +had risen, he took the envoys aside, and with an air of great candour +and friendliness warned them that they must conceal the extent of their +powers when they appeared before the popular assembly. "You do not +understand," he said, "how to deal with the mob of Athens; if you show +your hand, they will force you into extravagant concessions. Leave the +matter to me, and everything will turn out as you wish." +</p> + +<p> +The simple Spartans fell into the snare. They were not at all startled +by the proposal that they should eat their own words, for in dishonesty +they were not behind Alcibiades himself, though they were no match for +him in cunning. Being brought before the people, and asked whether they +had come with full powers, they answered bluntly "No!" Great was the +amazement at this flat contradiction of the avowal which they had made +before the senate, and Alcibiades, giving voice to the general +indignation, overwhelmed the astonished envoys with a torrent of +invective and abuse. The Spartans were dumb-foundered by his perfidy, +and looked helplessly at Nicias, the staunch friend and supporter of +Sparta, whom they had forsaken for this shameless young reprobate. +Nicias, who of course knew nothing of the trick, was utterly confounded +by the double-dealing of the envoys, and could do nothing to relieve +their embarrassment. The result was that the envoys were abruptly +dismissed, and after a fruitless mission of Nicias to Sparta, which +only served to lower his own reputation, the Athenians entered heart +and soul into the Argive alliance. +</p> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p class="t3b"> +III +</p> + +<p> +We have seen how much the credit of Sparta had been injured in the eyes +of Greece by the capture of her chosen warriors at Pylos, and by her +subsequent behaviour during the negotiations which led to the peace of +Nicias. Spartan valour was seen to be not above reproach, and the +Peloponnesian allies had still better reason to complain of the +hollowness of Spartan faith. The high reverence which had long been +attached to the name of Sparta had given place to something like +contempt, and the Eleans, who had an old grudge against her, took +advantage of this feeling to exclude her citizens from taking public +part in the Olympic festival, which was celebrated with great pomp and +splendour in the second year of the peace. And the degradation of the +proud Dorian city seemed to be complete, when a Spartan named Lichas, +who had entered for the chariot-race under another name, was driven +with blows from the racecourse. So deep was the abasement to which the +great name of Sparta had now sunk. +</p> + +<p> +The Spartans saw that a vigorous effort must be made, if they would +recover their lost ascendancy; and two years later the opportunity +occurred for which they were waiting. On the northern side of the +Argolic peninsula lies the ancient city of Epidaurus, famous for its +rich vineyards, and its great temple of Asclepius, [Footnote: +Aesculapius.] the god of healing. For some time past, the Epidaurians, +who were in alliance with Sparta, had been involved in a dispute, +arising out of some obscure question of ritual, with Argos; and they +were now in sore straits, being hard pressed by the whole weight of the +Argive power, backed by the new confederacy. This was the pretext +needed by the Spartans, and mustering their whole forces they marched, +under the command of their king Agis, against Argos. +</p> + +<p> +The Argives had received notice of the advance of Agis, and they +immediately marched out to meet him, wishing to engage the Spartans +before they had united with their allies from Corinth, Boeotia, and +elsewhere, who were assembling in great force at Phlius. The two armies +confronted each other for a moment at Methydrium, in Arcadia; but Agis +succeeded in avoiding an engagement, and breaking up his camp under +cover of darkness pushed on to Phlius. Thereupon the Argives, who were +accompanied by their allies from Mantinea and Elis, returned in haste +to Argos, and then, marching northwards, took up their position at +Nemea, which commanded the ordinary route from Phlius to the Argive +territory. But they were again outmanoeuvred by the skilful +dispositions of Agis. Avoiding the road by Nemea, which led through a +narrow and dangerous pass, he led his Spartans over the mountains and +descended into the plain which surrounds the city of Argos. One +contingent of his allies had orders to proceed in the same direction by +another mountain-path, while the Boeotians, who numbered no less than +ten thousand infantry, and five hundred cavalry, were directed to take +the high road by Nemea; for Agis expected that by threatening the +cultivated lands around Argos he would draw the Argives from their +position, and bring them down in haste to the defence of their estates. +</p> + +<p> +The plan was completely successful. As soon as the Argives learnt that +Agis was ravaging their fields they set out with all speed towards +Argos, and finding Agis engaged in the work of pillage, they drew up +their forces, and offered battle. Their situation was in the highest +degree perilous. In front of them, cutting them off from the city of +Argos, was the flower of the Spartan army, reinforced by the troops of +Tegea and Arcadia; on their right flank the mountain slopes swarmed +with the infantry of Corinth and Phlius; and in the rear their retreat +was cut off by the thronging masses of Boeotians, who were now pouring +along the road from Nemea. They were fairly cut off, and seemed +delivered over to destruction; nevertheless, such was the presumptuous +confidence which possessed them, that they awaited eagerly the signal +for battle, crying out that they had caught the Spartans in a trap. +</p> + +<p> +Fortunately for them there were two men among their leaders who took a +wiser view of the position; one of these was Alciphron, an official who +represented the interests of Sparta at Argos, [Footnote: The Greek word +is <i>Proxenos</i>,—a sort of consul.] and the other was Thrasyllus, one of +the five generals. These two men entered into a parley with Agis, and +by promising to satisfy the demands of Sparta induced him to grant a +truce. Agis then drew off his forces, and returned by way of Nemea to +Sparta; and the allies, much against their will, were compelled to +follow his example. Loud were the murmurs among the confederates, and +even among the Spartan soldiers, against Agis, who had thrown away this +golden opportunity of humbling the pride of Argos, and brought +dishonour on one of the finest armies that had ever been led into the +field by a Grecian general. Strange to say, the Argives were not less +indignant against the two men who had saved them from overwhelming +disaster; and Thrasyllus, the general, narrowly escaped being stoned to +death. +</p> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p class="t3b"> +IV +</p> + +<p> +The Argives thought themselves bound to abide by the conditions of the +truce, though made without their consent; but shortly after the retreat +of Agis, an Athenian force of a thousand hoplites and three hundred +cavalry arrived at Argos, and Alcibiades, who was present in the +character of ambassador, strongly urged the renewal of the campaign. +His proposal was warmly supported by the Mantineans and Eleans, and +they and the Athenians marched forthwith against Orchomenus in Arcadia, +which was in alliance with Sparta; and the Argives, who had wavered at +first, soon afterwards joined them. Orchomenus was gained over with +little trouble, and then the Eleans were eager to proceed against +Lepreum, a town in their alliance which had gone over to Sparta. But +the Argives, Athenians, and Mantineans, insisted on attacking Tegea, +where there was a party opposed to Sparta, by whose means they hoped to +bring this powerful city, the ancient rival of Mantinea, to their side. +Thereupon the Eleans abandoned the expedition, and went home in a rage, +but the rest of the allies took up their quarters at Mantinea, and +prepared to make an attack on Tegea. +</p> + +<p> +The Spartans were in high anger against Agis for his unsoldier-like +conduct in the recent campaign, and when they heard of the capitulation +of Orchomenus their resentment rose to such a pitch that it was +proposed to inflict on him a heavy fine, and raze his house to the +ground. At his earnest entreaty they consented to reserve the sentence, +and give him an opportunity of wiping out the stain on his honour; but +as a mark of diminished confidence they appointed ten commissioners, +without whose consent he was not allowed to lead an army out of the +city. +</p> + +<p> +They had just come to this decision when an urgent message arrived from +Tegea, bidding them to bring help with all speed, or the town would be +lost. The imminent peril startled the Spartans from their wonted +apathy, and they set out at once in full force to the relief of Tegea. +On reaching the borders of Arcadia they sent back the elder and younger +men, amounting to a sixth part of the army, to serve as a garrison in +Sparta; and at the same time couriers were despatched to summon their +allies in Arcadia and central Greece. The Arcadians arrived in time to +take part in the battle, but the Boeotians, Corinthians, and others, +though they hastened to obey the order, were delayed by a long and +difficult march, through the hostile territory of Argos. +</p> + +<p> +Passing by Tegea, Agis entered the district of Mantinea, and having +pitched his camp began to lay waste the country. Informed of his +approach, the Argives and their allies marched out to meet him, and +choosing a position on the slope of a hill, defended in front by rugged +and broken ground, they drew up in order of battle. The Spartans, +incited, doubtless, by the example of their king, who was eager to +redeem his reputation, rushed impetuously to the assault; and they were +already within a stone's-throw of the enemy when a Spartan veteran +cried out to Agis: "Heal not ill with ill!" His meaning was that in +Argos Agis had been too cold, and now he was too hot. Agis heard the +warning voice, and his own good sense must have shown him how rashly he +was acting; accordingly, at the very moment of encounter, he gave the +word to retreat, and fell back to the neighbourhood of Tegea. At this +place there was a copious head of water, which, when properly +regulated, served to irrigate the fields of Tegea and Mantinea. The +disposal of the water-supply was a constant source of dispute between +the two rival cities; and Agis now prepared to turn the whole volume of +the fountain towards Mantinea, expecting that the Mantineans, when they +saw their fields threatened with inundation, would come down into the +plain to hinder the mischief. +</p> + +<p> +The Argives and their allies were dumb-foundered by the sudden +disappearance of the Spartans; and when they had recovered from their +astonishment, they waited impatiently for the order to pursue the +runaways. As no such order was given, cries of "Treason!" arose in the +ranks, and the generals were openly accused of having sold themselves +to the enemy. The Spartans, it was asserted, had been allowed to +escape, when they were fairly caught under the walls of Argos; and now +the confederates had been betrayed a second time by their officers. +Amid the general clamour the Argive commanders stood for a moment +confounded and amazed; then recovering themselves they gave the word to +advance, and led their forces down into the plain. Here they passed the +night in the open field, and early next morning they stood to their +arms, and prepared for an immediate attack. +</p> + +<p> +Agis was not aware that the Argive generals had taken up a new +position, and thinking that the confederates were still stationed on +the hill, he gave up his scheme of diverting the water, and directed +his march towards the place where he had first encamped. As they +proceeded thus in marching order, and quite unprepared for any hostile +movement, the Spartans suddenly found themselves face to face with the +whole Argive army, drawn up in order of battle. For one instant it +seemed as if a panic were about to spread through the Spartan ranks; +then their wonderful discipline prevailed, and with all promptitude, +but without flurry or confusion, the necessary orders were passed from +the King to the commanders of divisions, from these again to the +colonels, from the colonels to the captains, and from the captains down +to the sergeants, [Footnote: I have thought it best to give the English +titles, which of course have only a general correspondence with the +Greek Polemarch, Lochagus, etc.] who in their turn had to see that the +required movement was executed by the men under their command: for such +was the regular gradation of authority and responsibility in the +Spartan army. Thanks to this perfect organization, in a very few +minutes every man was in his place and ready for battle. +</p> + +<p> +On the left wing of the Spartan army were posted the Sciritae, hardy +mountaineers from southern Arcadia; next to them stood the enfranchised +Helots, who had served under Brasidas in Thrace, and others of the same +race who had received the Spartan citizenship in reward for public +service; then came the main body of the Spartans themselves, and after +them the rest of the Arcadian allies; while the right wing was assigned +by immemorial privilege to the Tegeans, with whom were a few picked +Spartans. The cavalry, never a very strong part of the Spartan army, +were posted on either flank. +</p> + +<p> +On the other side the Mantineans held the place of honour on the right +wing, because the engagement was fought in their territory; next in +order were the Arcadian allies of Argos, and after them, more towards +the centre, stood a picked troop of a thousand Argives, trained and +equipped at the public expense; then followed the main body of the +Argive troops, with the rest of their allies, the Athenians occupying +the extreme left. As to the numbers engaged, nothing certain is known. +</p> + +<p> +Some time was lost by the Argive army in delivering the customary +harangues addressed by the generals of the several contingents to their +men, and this enabled the Spartans to steady their ranks before the +fighting began. They, on their side, men of war from their youth, had +no need of set speeches to remind them of their duty; but pithy words +of exhortation passed from man to man, and high and clear rose their +national war-songs, thrilling them with the memories of their heroic +past. Then the signal was given on both sides to charge, and the +Argives and their allies rushed impetuously to the onset, while the +Spartans advanced to meet them with even and deliberate pace, timed to +the music of numerous pipers, who were stationed at regular intervals +in their ranks. +</p> + +<p> +The regular equipment of the Greek infantry soldier consisted, besides +his helmet and body-armour, of shield and lance, and in advancing to +battle he had always a tendency to diverge towards the right, from a +natural wish to keep his shielded side towards the enemy. This +divergence from the forward direction was begun by the man posted on +the extreme right; his comrade on the left followed his example, and +the deflection was continued along the whole line. The consequence was +that when two armies came into action, the left wing on either side was +greatly outflanked by the opponents' right; and the battle of Mantinea +affords no exception to this rule, for not even Spartan discipline was +able to counteract the overpowering instinct of self-preservation. +Seeing that his left wing was on the point of being outflanked by the +Mantineans, Agis signalled to the Sciritae and Brasideans to draw off +in a lateral direction towards the left, in order to present an equal +line to the right wing of the enemy. The order was executed, and to +fill up the gap thus produced on the left of his own centre, Agis +ordered the Spartan officers commanding on his right wing to bring up +their men and occupy the vacant space. They, however, flatly refused to +obey the order, and consequently the Sciritae and Brasideans were +assailed in front and on both flanks by overwhelming numbers, and +driven back with great loss to their camp. +</p> + +<p> +So completely were the Spartans out-manoeuvred and worsted in tactics, +through the blunders of their general, and the cowardice of his +subordinates. But in this terrible crisis they showed what native +valour, aided by life-long discipline, can do. Leaving a victorious +enemy in their rear, they advanced without flinching against the +opposing centre, where the main body of the Argives were posted, with +the troops of Orneae and Cleonaea supporting them on the left. Then it +was seen that neither the courage of the Spartans, nor the terror of +their name, had diminished with the lapse of time; for when the +confederate troops found themselves face to face with the renowned +warrior of the Eurotas, they turned and fled, almost without striking a +blow, and trampling their comrades under foot, in their haste to avoid +the thrust of the Spartan lances. The Athenians on the left wing were +now in great danger; for the charge of the troops of Agis had cut them +off from the centre, and they were attacked on the other flank by the +Tegeans and Spartans. They were saved from immediate destruction by the +exertions of their own cavalry, and presently found themselves at +liberty to retire from the field; for Agis, having completed the rout +of the main body, called off his men, and went to the relief of his own +left. The Mantineans and the Argive Thousand made no effort to retrieve +the fortunes of the day, but gave way before the first onset of the +Spartans, and joined the flight of their comrades. The Mantineans +suffered severely in their retreat, but of the Argives only a few were +slain. +</p> + +<p> +Such was the battle of Mantinea, which completely restored the military +fame of the Spartans, and blotted out the reproach of cowardice and +sloth which for some years past had rested on their name. +</p> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p class="t3b"> +VI +</p> + +<p> +One incident remains to be recorded, before we proceed to the crowning +catastrophe of our great historical drama. The Athenians, it should be +observed, were still nominally at peace with Sparta, and if they had +been wise they would have taken the opportunity of this respite from +hostilities to recover Amphipolis, and consolidate their empire in +Thrace. Instead of this, they looked around for fresh conquests, and +fixed their eyes on the little island of Melos, belonging to the Cyclad +group, which had been colonized in very early times from Sparta. +</p> + +<p> +The Melians had not joined the Confederacy of Delos, and they might +therefore be reproached for sharing the protection of Athens without +making any return. Beyond this the Athenians had no ground of complaint +against them, for they had taken no part in the Peloponnesian War, but +had remained quietly at home, occupied with their own affairs. But +Athens claimed the haughty title of mistress of the sea, and pretended +to regard the neutrality of one insignificant island as an open +defiance of her power. Ten years before an Athenian fleet had been sent +under Nicias to reduce the refractory Melians to subjection; but the +attempt was unsuccessful, and Nicias withdrew, after having ravaged the +outlying districts. Being now more at leisure, the Athenians resolved, +in the mere wantonness of power, that Melos should only be suffered to +exist as a dependency of Athens, and thirty triremes sailed from the +harbour of Peiraeus to carry out the arbitrary decree. +</p> + +<p> +On their arrival at Melos the Athenian admirals sent envoys into the +town, to summon the inhabitants to surrender. The envoys were invited +to a private conference with the chief men of the island; and between +the representatives of Athens and the Melian nobles there ensued an +extraordinary dialogue, which is given at great length by the +historian, and is commonly known as the Melian Debate. We cannot +suppose that the arguments here placed by Thucydides in the mouth of +the Athenian speaker were really uttered as set down by that writer. +Such a paradox of iniquity, such a shameless insult to the general +conscience of humanity, might have been employed by Plato, in exposing +the vicious teaching of the Sophists, or by Aristophanes in the full +riot of his satire: but the total abnegation of principle here implied +could never have been openly avowed by a responsible agent, speaking +for the most polished community in Greece. Even the worst criminals +seek to give some specious colour to their villainy; and the condemned +felon, who will face death without a tremor, shudders at the cry of +execration which greets his appearance at the scaffold. So hard it is, +even for the most depraved, to stifle the last embers of the moral +sense. We cannot suppose, then, that an educated Athenian of the fifth +century would publicly have claimed for his state the right of rapine +and murder. For this is the line of argument pursued by the +representative of Athens in the Melian Debate. The substance of what he +says may briefly be stated as follows "You are weak—we are strong; +Melos is a paltry island, Athens is queen of the Aegaean, and the +existence of an independent city in these waters is an insult to her +empire. Let us waste no time in discussions about abstract law and +right. For the mighty there is but one law—to get what they can, and +to keep it; and the weak have no rights, except by the sufferance of +the strong. This rule of conduct we know to be universal among men, and +we believe that the gods themselves are governed by it. [1] To sum up +the whole case in one word: you must yield or perish." +</p> + +<p class="poem"> +[1] + Desire of power, on earth a vicious weed,<br /> + Yet sprung from high, is of celestial seed;<br /> + In God 'tis glory; and when men aspire,<br /> + 'Tis but a spark too much of heavenly fire.—DRYDEN.<br /> +</p> + +<p> +It was in vain that the unhappy Melians tried to argue the question +from a higher standpoint; in vain they warned the Athenians that they +themselves might one day stand before the bar of justice, and plead for +their existence. They were brought back relentlessly to the grim +alternative-submission, or extermination. At length this strange +controversy came to an end, and after one final hint, of fearful +significance, the Athenian envoys withdrew, leaving the Melians to +consider their answer. The brave islanders were not long in coming to +their decision: they would not, they said, consent to enslave a city +which had maintained its liberty for seven hundred years; they put +their trust in divine justice, and in their kinsmen the Spartans, and +were resolved to resist to the last. +</p> + +<p> +On receiving this answer the Athenian commanders at once laid siege to +Melos, and the doomed city was soon closely blockaded by sea and land. +The Melians made a gallant defence, and twice succeeded in breaking +through the lines of the besiegers, and conveying supplies into the +town. But presently reinforcements arrived from Athens, and the Melians +were confined within their walls. All hope of succour from Sparta had +vanished, food began to fail, and treason was at work among the +garrison. Thus driven to extremity, the Melians surrendered at +discretion. Then the Athenians showed that their threats had not been +idly uttered. All the men of military age in Melos were put to death, +the women and children were sold into slavery, and the land was +distributed among Athenian settlers. +</p> + +<p> +In the fifth year of the war, after the capitulation of Mytilene, a +thousand of the inhabitants had been butchered in cold blood; and this +sentence, which seems so cruel to us, was regarded by the Athenians as +an act of mercy. Six years later, the decree which had originally been +passed against Mytilene, was actually executed on Scione, which had +revolted at the instigation of Brasidas. In this act of savage +retribution, Athens still remained within the limits of Greek +international law, which placed the inhabitants of a revolted city at +the mercy of their conquerors. But the case of Melos was different, for +that island had never been included in the Athenian alliance, and the +Melians had done nothing to provoke an attack. Thus the three names, +Mytilene, Scione, and Melos, mark an ascending scale of barbarity, +culminating in a massacre which, even in the eyes of Greeks, was an +atrocious crime. Athens had now offended beyond forgiveness, giving +colour to the accusations of her worst enemies, and heaping up +vengeance for the days to come. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="athenians"></a> +THE ATHENIANS IN SICILY +</h3> + +<p class="t3b"> + I<br /> +</p> + +<p> +The Peloponnesian War may be conveniently divided into four chief +periods. The first of these periods lasted for ten years, down to the +peace of Nicias. The second extends from the peace of Nicias to the +massacre of Melos. In the third, the scene of war was shifted from +Greece to Sicily, and it was there that the Athenian power really +received its death-blow. The fourth and final period begins after the +overthrow of the Athenians at Syracuse, and ends, nine years +afterwards, with their final defeat at Aegospotami, and the downfall of +the Athenian empire. +</p> + +<p> +It is the third of these periods which will occupy our attention for +the remainder of the present volume, and as the momentous events which +we have to relate occurred entirely in Sicily, it is necessary to say +something of the previous history of that great island. The connexion +of the Greeks with Sicily begins in the latter half of the eighth +century before Christ, when settlers from Chalcis in Euboea founded the +city of Naxos on the north-eastern coast, under the shadow of Aetna. +Naxos in its turn sent out colonists, who built the cities of Leontini +and Catana, the former on an inland site, commanding the great plain +which extends southwards from Aetna, the latter on the coast, in a line +with the centre of the same plain. These were Ionic colonies, and we +may close the list with the name of Messene [Footnote: Originally +called Zancle.] founded twenty years later on the Sicilian side of the +strait which bears its name. +</p> + +<p> +We have now to enumerate the principal Dorian cities. First among these +in time, and by far the first in importance, was Syracuse, founded from +Corinth a year after the settlement of Naxos. Between Syracuse and the +mother-city there was a close and intimate tie of friendship, which +remained unbroken throughout the course of Greek history. The original +city was built on the island of Ortygia, but a new town afterwards +arose on the low-lying coast of the mainland, and spread northwards +till it covered the eastern part of the neighbouring heights. Ortygia +was then converted into a peninsula by the construction of a causeway, +connecting the new city with the old. Under the despotism of Gelo, who +made himself master of the city in the early part of the fifth century, +[Footnote: 485 B.C.] Syracuse rose to great power and splendour, and +her territory extended over a great part of eastern Sicily. Gelo gained +immortal renown by defeating a mighty host of Carthaginians, who +invaded Sicily at the time when the confederate cities of old Greece +were fighting for their existence against Xerxes and his great armada. +After his death the power passed to his brother Hiero, whose victories +in the Olympian and Pythian Games are commemorated in the Odes of +Pindar. Hiero reigned for twelve years, and was succeeded by his +brother Thrasybulus; but a year later the despotism was overthrown, and +the government returned to a democracy. +</p> + +<p> +A bare mention must suffice for Gela, founded from Rhodes and Crete +nearly half a century after Syracuse, and the more famous Agrigentum, a +colony from Gela, and next to Syracuse the greatest city in Sicily. +These played no part in the struggle with Athens; but Selinus and +Camarina, the two remaining Dorian cities of southern Sicily, will +occupy an important place in the following narrative. +</p> + +<p> +Thus the whole coast districts on southern and eastern Sicily were held +by opulent and flourishing Greek cities. On the north was Himera, an +Ionic colony, and the scene of Gelo's great victory over Carthage; +while the western and north-western district was divided between the +Phoenicians and the Elymi, a people of unknown origin, whose chief +seats were at Eryx and Egesta. The inland parts were held, in the west, +by the Sicans, who are believed to have come from Spain, and in the +east by the Sicels, a people of Latin race, who gave their name to the +island. +</p> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p class="t3b"> +II +</p> + +<p> +Since the fourth year of the Peloponnesian War, Athens had been +meddling in the affairs of Sicily, under pretence of aiding the Ionian +cities, who dreaded the encroaching ambition of Syracuse. That these +fears were not unfounded was proved when, a few years afterwards, the +Syracusans expelled the commons of Leontini, and took possession of +their territory. The Leontine exiles sought refuge at Athens, but their +appeal for help remained for a time unanswered, as the Athenians were +then fully occupied in Greece. But six years after the conclusion of +the Peace of Nicias, an appeal came to Athens from a remote corner of +Sicily, which stimulated the Leontine exiles to fresh efforts, and led +to most important results. +</p> + +<p> +Between the Greeks of Selinus and the Elymians of Egesta there was a +long-standing quarrel, and in a war which had recently broken out the +Egestaeans were reduced to severe straits by the combined forces of +Selinus and Syracuse. In their distress they turned to Athens for help, +and envoys were sent to plead their cause before the Athenian assembly. +In aiding Egesta, argued the envoys, Athens would be serving her own +interests; for if the Syracusans were not speedily checked in their +aggressions, they would soon make themselves masters of the whole of +Sicily, and in that case they could bring such an accession of strength +to the enemies of Athens in Greece as to make them irresistible. They +had good reason, therefore, to take sides against the enemies of +Egesta, and the more so as the Egestaeans promised to defray all the +expenses of the war. +</p> + +<p> +The Athenians generally were inclined to take up the quarrel of Egesta, +but as a measure of precaution it was decided to send agents of their +own to make an inspection on the spot, and see whether the Egestaeans +were as wealthy as they pretended. On their return to Athens these men +reported that Egesta was possessed of fabulous riches. At every house +where they had been entertained, the tables and the sideboards had been +one blaze of gold and silver plate. The fact was that the Egestaeans +had collected all the gold and silver vessels in the town, and others +borrowed from the neighbouring cities, and by passing them on from +house to house, wherever these important guests were invited, had +contrived to make a great display. As an earnest of all this wealth, +the Athenian commissioners brought back with them sixty talents of +silver. +</p> + +<p> +The smallness of this sum ought to have been sufficient to arouse the +suspicions of the Athenians; but they were willing to be deceived, and +they gave ready credence to reports of their commissioners. Voting in +full assembly, they passed a decree that sixty ships should be sent to +Sicily, under the command of Nicias, Alcibiades, and Lamachus. The +fleet was first to be employed in helping Egesta, and when that contest +had been brought to a successful issue the Leontines were to be +restored to their homes; finally, the generals were empowered to act as +might seem best in the interests of Athens. The real purpose of the +enterprise is indicated in the last clause. Vague plans of conquest +were floating before the minds of the Athenians, and at a time when +their whole energies should have been employed to repair the breaches +in their empire, they dreamed of founding a new dominion in the west. +</p> + +<p> +Five days later the assembly met again to vote supplies and discuss any +further details which remained to be settled. But Nicias determined to +take the opportunity of reopening the whole question, wishing, if +possible, to divert his countrymen from their purpose, and put an end +to the expedition altogether. It was folly, he argued, to take up the +cause of needy foreigners, and drain the resources of Athens for a +distant and hazardous enterprise, when their subjects in Thrace were +still in open revolt, and their enemies in Greece were on the watch to +take them at a disadvantage. If they trusted in the treaty with Sparta, +they would soon find how infirm was the ground of their confidence. +That treaty had been forced upon the Spartans by their misfortunes, and +they would be only too glad to repudiate it, which they could easily +do, as many of the conditions were still under dispute. Moreover, the +most powerful cities of the Peloponnesian League had refused to sign +the treaty, and were ready, at the first hint from Sparta, to renew the +war. Athens was beset with perils, which were enough to tax her +strength to the utmost: and yet they talked of sailing to Sicily, and +raising up a new host of enemies against her! Even if the expedition +succeeded, they could never keep their hold on that vast and populous +island, while, if it failed, they would be utterly ruined. As to the +supposed danger from the ambition of Syracuse, that was mere idle talk. +The schemes of conquest, with which the Egestaeans had tried to alarm +the Athenians, would keep the Syracusans busy at home, and prevent them +from meddling in the affairs of Greece. "Leave the Greeks of Sicily +alone," said Nicias with true prophetic insight; "and they will not +trouble you. Do not disturb the prestige which belongs to a distant and +unfamiliar power. If they once learn to know you, they may learn to +despise you." +</p> + +<p> +Then fixing his eyes on Alcibiades, who was sitting surrounded by his +own partisans, young profligates like himself, Nicias concluded thus: +"There is another danger against which I would warn you, men of +Athens—the danger of being led astray by the wild eloquence of +unscrupulous politicians, who seek to dazzle you with visions of new +empire, that they may rise to high command, and restore their own +shattered fortunes. Yes, Athens is to pour out her blood and treasure, +to provide young spendthrifts with the means of filling their +racing-stables! Against the mad counsels of these desperate men I +invoke the mature prudence of the elder members of this assembly, and +call upon them to show by a unanimous vote that neither flattery nor +taunts can induce them to sacrifice the true interests of Athens." +</p> + +<p> +It must have been a severe ordeal for the young Alcibiades to sit and +listen to this keen and bitter invective, which set in a glaring light +the worst features in his character—his selfish ambition, his +shameless life, his total want of principle, his vulgar ostentation. +The last quality, so alien from the best traditions of Athenian +character, had been conspicuously displayed only a few weeks before at +the Olympic festival, where he had entered seven four-horsed cars for +the chariot-race, and won the first, second, and fourth prizes. Every +word of Nicias went home, galling him in his sorest point—his +outrageous vanity; and hardly had the elder statesman concluded his +speech, when he sprang to his feet, and burst without preface into a +wild harangue, which is a remarkable piece of self-revelation, +disclosing with perfect candour the inner motives of the man on whom, +more than on any other, the future of Athens depended. He began by +defending his barbaric extravagance, recently displayed at Olympia, +which, as he pretended to believe, had covered his native city with +glory, and spread the fame of Athenian wealth and power from one end of +Greece to another. The lavish outlay, and haughty demeanour, which +would be justly blamed in a common man, were right and proper in him, +one of the elect spirits of the time, inspired with great aims, and +treading the summits of public life. He had already shown what he could +do in the highest regions of diplomacy, by raising a great coalition in +Peloponnesus, which had faced the whole might of Sparta in the field, +and struck terror into the enemies of Athens. +</p> + +<p> +After this impudent defence of his own pernicious policy, which had led +to the crushing defeat at Mantinea, and thus enabled the Spartans to +restore their damaged reputation, Alcibiades proceeded to deal with the +question of the day, and exerted all his sophistry to confirm the +Athenians in their design of invading Sicily. That island, he asserted, +was inhabited by a mixed population with no settled homes, and no +common patriotic sentiment; and among these motley elements they would +find plenty of adherents. The Siceliots [Footnote: Greeks of Sicily.] +were poorly armed, ill-furnished with heavy infantry, and in constant +danger from the hostile Sicels. The risk of attack from the +Peloponnesians would not be increased by sending part of the Athenian +fleet to Sicily: for Attica was in any case always exposed to invasion, +and a sufficient force of ships would be left at home to keep command +of the sea. +</p> + +<p> +"We have no excuse, then," said Alcibiades in conclusion, "for breaking +our word to the Egestaeans, and drawing back from this enterprise. Both +honour and policy are pointing the way to Sicily. An empire like ours +is an ever-expanding circle, which lives by growing, and cannot stand +still. It is only by getting more, and always more, that we can keep +what we have. And let not Nicias succeed in his attempt to set the old +against the young, neither let us believe, like him, that the stability +of a state consists in stagnation. It is only by a hearty co-operation +of all ages and classes that any state can prosper, and a community +which finds no outlet for its energies abroad is soon worn out by +discord and faction at home. Above all is this true of us Athenians, to +whom ceaseless toil and endeavour is the very element in which we live." +</p> + +<p> +The advice of Alcibiades, thus tendered in the garb of political +wisdom, was of fatal and ruinous tendency, and in direct opposition to +the oft-repeated warnings of Pericles. But his speech was exactly +suited to the temper of his audience, and most of those who followed +him spoke to the same effect, and when the Egestaeans and Leontines +renewed their entreaties it became evident that the original motion +would be confirmed by a large majority. Nicias, however, resolved to +make one more effort, and he came forward to speak again, hoping by a +new device to check the torrent of popular enthusiasm. Affecting to +regard the matter as settled, he entered into an estimate of the force +required for the proposed expedition, prefaced by an alarming picture +of the wealth and power of the Sicilian Greeks. To act with effect +against such an enemy, they must send, not only an overwhelming naval +force, but a numerous body of troops, both cavalry and infantry, and a +fleet laden with supplies for many months. They must proceed, in fact, +as if they were founding a great city on a hostile soil. On no other +condition, added Nicias, would he undertake the command. Nicias had +intended, by exaggerating the difficulties of the undertaking, to damp +the ardour of the Athenians; but to his utter dismay, these timid +counsels were greeted with a great shout of applause. It was supposed +that he had changed his opinion, and even the elder men began to think +that so prudent a leader, backed by such an armament, could not fail of +success. A great wave of excitement swept over the assembly, and the +few who still doubted were cowed into silence. When the tumult had +subsided, a certain Demostratus, [Footnote: The name is given by +Plutarch.] who had spoken strongly in favour of the expedition, +addressing Nicias in the name of the assembly, asked him to state +plainly what force he required. Thus driven into a corner, Nicias +answered, with great reluctance, that the number of triremes must be +not less than one hundred, with five thousand heavy-armed infantry, and +slingers and bow-men in proportion. This enormous estimate was carried +without demur, and by the same vote full powers were conferred on the +generals to fix the scale of the armament as they might think best for +the interests of Athens. +</p> + +<p> +Thus, by a strange freak of fortune, the Athenians, at the most +momentous crisis of their history, were urged along the road to ruin by +the most opposite qualities in their leaders, the cold caution of +Nicias, and the wild energy of Alcibiades. +</p> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p class="t3b"> +III +</p> + +<p> +During the whole of the following spring [Footnote: B.C. 415.] +preparations for the invasion of Sicily were actively pushed on, and +the whole city was in a bustle and stir of excitement. Athens had +recently recovered from the ravages of the plague, and six years of +peace had recruited her resources, both in men and money. Since the +first outbreak of the war a new generation had grown up, and these +young and untried spirits joined, with all the fire of youth, in an +enterprise which promised them a boundless field of adventure. Others +were attracted by the baser motive of gain, or by mere curiosity, and +the love of travel. No thought of danger or hardship, no hint of +possible failure, clouded the brilliant prospect; it was a gay holiday +excursion, and at the same time a grand scheme of conquest, offering +fame to the ambitious, wealth to the needy, and pleasant recreation to +all. Thousands flocked eagerly to enter their names for the service, +and the only trouble of the recruiting officers was in choosing the +stoutest and the best. +</p> + +<p> +The great armament was on the eve of departure, and all hearts were +full of joyful anticipation, when an event occurred which suddenly +chilled this happy mood, and cast a shadow of evil augury on the whole +undertaking. The Athenians of that age, like their descendants nearly +five centuries later, [Footnote: See Acts xvii. 22.] were "more +god-fearing than other men." They worshipped a multitude of divinities, +and their city was thronged with the temples and statues of heroes and +gods. Conspicuous among the objects of popular adoration was the god +Hermes, who is exhibited by ancient poets and artists as a gracious and +lovely youth, the special patron of eloquence and wit, the guardian +spirit of travellers and merchants, and the giver of good luck. A +familiar feature in the streets and public places of Athens was the +bust of Hermes, surmounting a quadrangular stone pillar. Many hundreds +of these pillars, which were called Hermae, were scattered about over +the whole city, standing before the doors of houses and temples, at +cross-ways and places of public resort. Wherever he went, whatever he +did, the Athenian felt himself to be in the presence of this genial and +friendly power, who attended him, with more than human sympathy, in all +his ways. +</p> + +<p> +If such were the feelings of the Athenians towards their favourite +deity, what must have been their horror when they awoke one morning to +find that all the busts of Hermes, with one or two exceptions, were +shattered and mutilated beyond all recognition. The whole population +was thunderstruck, and wild rumours ran from mouth to mouth concerning +the perpetrators and the motive of this shocking outrage. It was +evident that many hands must have been employed on the work of +destruction, and those who had so foully insulted the most hallowed +affections of their fellow-citizens were believed to be capable of any +enormity. It was loudly asserted that a black conspiracy was hatching +against the liberties of the people, and that the worst days of the +tyranny were about to be revived. For in those days religion and +politics were associated with a closeness of intimacy unknown in modern +Europe, and sacrilege might well be regarded as a prelude to treason. +Active measures were at once taken to bring the offenders to justice, +and great rewards were offered to anyone, whether citizen, slave, or +resident foreigner, who gave information concerning this or any similar +crime. At first nothing was disclosed as to the mutilation of the +Hermae, but other recent acts of profanation were brought to light, and +among these was mentioned a derisive parody of the great Eleusinian +Mysteries, alleged to have been performed in the house of Alcibiades, +and elsewhere. The enemies of Alcibiades, who were both numerous and +powerful, eagerly seized this handle against him; but when the matter +was debated in the public assembly, it became evident that, if he were +brought to trial at once, his present popularity, as chief promoter of +the Sicilian expedition, would ensure his acquittal. Seeing, therefore, +that their attack had been premature, those who had led the outcry +against him now drew back, reserving themselves for a more favourable +occasion. Being known as the bitter opponents of Alcibiades, they could +not, without exciting grave suspicions, propose the adjournment of his +trial; but other speakers, prompted by them, urged on grounds of public +expediency that the charges against him should be held in suspense, so +as not to delay the departure of the fleet. Alcibiades saw plainly that +this manoeuvre was contrived to get him out of the way, to remove his +adherents from Athens, and leave his enemies free to pursue their +machinations during his absence. But it was in vain that he exposed the +malicious motives of the last speakers, and pleaded earnestly for an +immediate trial. The Athenians were still possessed by their daring +scheme of conquest, and they decreed that Alcibiades should keep his +command, and sail at once to Sicily. +</p> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p class="t3b"> +IV +</p> + +<p> +At last the great day arrived, and in the first light of a mid-summer +dawn, a vast multitude was seen pouring along the broad highway which +led, between the Long Walls, from Athens to Peiraeus. The Upper City +was almost deserted by its inhabitants, for there was hardly one +Athenian who had not some cherished comrade, or some near relation, +enrolled for service in Sicily, and the crowd was swelled by thousands +of strangers, who came as spectators of that memorable scene. Little +now appeared of that sanguine and joyous temper which had prevailed +among the Athenians when they first voted for the expedition. Their +feelings had lately been fearfully harrowed by the mutilation of the +Hermae, and now that the moment of parting was at hand, all the perils +and uncertainties of their grand enterprise rose up vividly before +them. They were restored, however, to some degree of cheerfulness, when +they reached the harbour of Peiraeus, and saw the magnificent fleet +riding at anchor. Nearly all the vessels lying in the bay were +Athenian; for the main body of the allies, and the commissariat ships, +had been ordered to muster at Corcyra. The triremes furnished by Athens +numbered a hundred, of which sixty were fully equipped as war-galleys, +while forty were employed as transports. These numbers had been +equalled more than once before during the war; but in efficiency, in +splendour of appearance, and in the quality of the crews, this was by +far the finest fleet that ever sailed from Peiraeus. Only the bare +hulls of the ships were provided by the state, and each vessel was +assigned to some wealthy citizen, who defrayed all the expense of +fitting her for active service. Sometimes the cost of equipping a ship +was divided between two or more citizens, and at ordinary times this +form of taxation must have been felt by the rich as a heavy burden. But +such was the popularity of the Sicilian expedition that the wealthy +Athenians who were charged with this duty went far beyond what was +required of them, each striving to surpass the others by the superior +beauty and speed of his own ship. The crews were all composed of picked +men, attracted by the double rate of pay which was furnished from the +state exchequer; and in addition to this, the trierarchs [Footnote: +Citizens charged with the duty of equipping a trireme.] paid special +premiums to the petty officers and to the highest class of rowers. The +same spirit of emulation extended to the whole body of Athenians +enrolled in the army and fleet; every man felt that whatever he spent +on his own personal equipment was spent for the honour and glory of +Athens. And the effect produced on the public mind in Greece was, in +fact, prodigious: after all the ravages of the plague, and ten years of +exhausting warfare, Athens, it seemed, was stronger than ever, and in +the mere exuberance of energy was making this imposing display of +wealth and power. As to the ostensible object of the expedition—the +conquest of Sicily—few doubted that it must follow as a matter of +course. +</p> + +<p> +The last farewell had been spoken, the troops were all embarked, and +the rowers sat ready at their oars. The trumpet sounded, commanding +silence, and the voice of the herald was heard, repeating a solemn +prayer, which was taken up by the whole multitude on sea and on shore, +while the captains and soldiers poured libations of wine from goblets +of silver and gold. When this act of worship was ended, the crews +raised the paean, and at a given signal the whole fleet was set in +motion, and passed, in single file, out of the harbour. On reaching the +open water, they quitted this order, and engaged in a friendly contest +of speed as far as Aegina. Then the crews settled down to their work, +and the great armament swept on, high in heart and hope, to join the +allied contingents, and commissariat fleet, now assembled at Corcyra. +</p> + +<p> +As yet only general rumours of the intended invasion had reached +Syracuse, and few of the citizens were aware of the imminent peril in +which they stood. Among those who were better informed was Hermocrates, +a Syracusan of high rank, who for many years had been the guiding +spirit in Sicilian politics. Speaking at a public assembly, about the +time when the Athenian fleet sailed from Peiraeus, he urged the +necessity of taking prompt measures for placing the city in a thorough +state of defence. He had no fear, he said, of the ultimate triumph of +Syracuse in the approaching struggle: only let them be on their guard, +and not underrate the power of the enemy whom they would have to face. +The words of Hermocrates, who enjoyed a high reputation for valour, +patriotism, and sagacity, were not without their effect, and it was +resolved that the generals should at once set about organizing the +military resources of Syracuse, and providing all things necessary for +the public safety. Some steps in this direction they had already taken; +and tidings soon arrived at Syracuse which caused them to redouble +their exertions. +</p> + +<p> +For in the meantime the Athenians had reached Corcyra, where they held +a final review of all their forces. The total number of the triremes +was a hundred and thirty-four, and with these sailed a vast fleet of +merchant ships, and smaller craft, laden with stores of all kinds, and +carrying a whole army of bakers, masons, and carpenters, with the tools +of their crafts, and all the engines required for a siege. Besides +these, there was a great number of other vessels, small and great, +fitted out by private speculators for purposes of trade. The military +force was on a corresponding scale, comprising five thousand, one +hundred hoplites, of whom fifteen hundred were full Athenian citizens, +four hundred and eighty archers, seven hundred slingers from Rhodes, +and a hundred and twenty exiles from Megara, equipped as light-armed +troops. The force of cavalry was but small, being conveyed in a single +transport. +</p> + +<p> +The whole armament now weighed anchor from Corcyra and sailed in three +divisions, each commanded by one of the generals, to the opposite coast +of Italy. On arriving at Rhegium, an Ionic city on the Italian side of +the strait, they received permission to beach their ships, and form a +camp outside the walls; and here they waited for the return of three +fast-sailing triremes, which had been sent forward from Corcyrato carry +the news of their approach to Egesta, and claim the promised subsidy, +and at the same time to sound the temper of the Greek cities in Sicily. +Before long the ships came back with their report, and the Athenians +now learned to their great chagrin that all the fabled wealth of Egesta +had dwindled to the paltry sum of thirty talents. +</p> + +<p> +The three generals now held a council of war, to decide on a plan of +campaign. It was evident that no help was to be obtained from Egesta, +and the attitude of the Rhegini, who declined to enter their alliance, +boded ill for the success of the expedition. As their prospects were so +discouraging, Nicias proposed to confine their operations within the +narrowest limits, to patch up a peace between Selinus and Egesta, to +aid the Leontines, if it could be done without risk or expense, and +after making a display of the Athenian power, to sail home to Athens. +Alcibiades protested strongly against such a course, as disgraceful to +Athens, and unworthy of the splendid armament entrusted to their +command. Let them try first what could be effected by negotiation with +the Greek cities and native tribes of Sicily, and after gaining as many +allies as possible in the island, let them proceed to the attack of +Selinus and Syracuse. Lamachus, on the other hand, a plain, downright +soldier, was for sailing straight to Syracuse, and striking immediately +at the heart of Sicily. The city, he argued, would be found unprepared, +and if they acted at once, in the first terror of their presence, they +were certain of victory; but if they waited, their men would lose +heart, the efficiency of the fleet would be impaired, and the +Syracusans would gather strength and courage from the delay. +</p> + +<p> +How true was the forecast of Lamachus was proved by the event; but his +bold plan was distasteful alike to the timid temper of Nicias, and to +the tortuous, intriguing spirit of Alcibiades. Finding, therefore, that +he had no hope of convincing his colleagues, he voted for the middle +course, and accordingly the plan of Alcibiades, unquestionably the +worst of the three, was adopted. +</p> + +<p> +In pursuance of this fatal policy Alcibiades crossed over to Messene, +and tried to win over that city to the side of Athens. Meeting with no +success, he returned to Rhegium, and immediately afterwards he and one +of his colleagues sailed with a force of sixty triremes to Naxos. Here +the Athenians found a hearty welcome, but at Catana, which was then +under the influence of Syracuse, their overtures were rejected, so they +continued their voyage southwards, and made their camp for the night at +the mouth of the river Terias. Starting early next day, they proceeded +along the coast, and, crossing the bay of Thapsus, came in sight, for +the first time, of their great enemy, Syracuse. The main body of the +fleet remained in the offing, but ten triremes were sent forward to +reconnoitre the Great Harbour, and get a nearer view of the +fortifications. When the little squadron came within hearing of the +walls, a herald proclaimed in a loud voice that any of the Leontines +now present in Syracuse should leave the city without fear, and come +over to their faithful kinsmen and allies, the Athenians. After this +futile demonstration, better calculated; to excite laughter than +terror, the reconnoitring triremes withdrew, and the whole fleet sailed +back in the direction of Rhegium. On their return voyage the Athenians +succeeded, by a lucky accident, in gaining the adherence of Catana, +which henceforth became the head-quarters of the whole armament. Soon +after they had effected this important change of station the Salaminian +state trireme arrived with momentous news from Athens. We have seen +what a panic of superstitious fear had been caused among the Athenians +by the mutilation of the Hermae. Arrested for the moment by the +all-absorbing interest of the Sicilian expedition, the excitement broke +out with renewed violence after the departure of the fleet. The enemies +of Alcibiades saw that the time was now ripe for bringing up against +him the charge of violating the mysteries, and pressing for a judgment. +A formal indictment was laid before the senate, and it was decided that +he should come home and stand his trial. But it was necessary to +proceed with caution, for Alcibiades was popular with the troops +serving in Sicily; and it was possible that, if any violence were +attempted against his person, they might break out into mutiny. +Accordingly the captain of the Salaminian trireme was instructed to +treat him with all respect, and allow him to return to Athens in his +own vessel. On receiving the summons Alcibiades affected to obey, and +set sail from Catana, with the state trireme in attendance. The two +ships remained in company as far as Thurii, a Greek town of southern +Italy, but there the great criminal disappeared, and after searching +for him in vain the officers of the Salaminia were obliged to return to +Athens without him. When the news of his flight was brought to Athens, +he was arraigned in his absence, and condemned to death. But if his +enemies supposed that they had heard the last of Alcibiades, they soon +learnt how deeply they were mistaken. +</p> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p class="t3b"> +V +</p> + +<p> +The conduct of the campaign in Sicily was thus left in the feeble hands +of Nicias; for though Lamachus nominally held an equal command, his +poverty and political insignificance prevented him from holding the +position to which his military talents entitled him. The few remaining +weeks of summer were frittered away in trivial operations on the +western coasts of the island, and then the Athenians withdrew into +winter quarters at Catana. The predictions of Lamachus now began to be +fulfilled: seeing that Nicias, with the vast force at his disposal, +attempted nothing against them, the Syracusans began to despise their +enemy, and thought of taking the offensive. Horsemen from Syracuse rode +repeatedly up to the Athenian outposts at Catana, and tauntingly +inquired if the Athenians had come to found a colony in Sicily. At last +even Nicias felt that some display of activity was necessary to save +himself from contempt. He had learnt from certain Syracusan exiles that +there was a convenient place for landing troops, on the low-lying shore +where the river Anapus flows into the Great Harbour. Here he determined +to make a sudden descent, and in order to avoid disembarking in the +face of an enemy, he contrived a stratagem to remove the whole +Syracusan force out of reach. A citizen of Catana, who was attached to +the Athenian interest, was sent with a message to the Syracusan +generals, which held out a tempting prospect of gaining an easy and +decisive advantage over the Athenian army. Professing to come from the +partisans of Syracuse still remaining in Catana, he promised on their +behalf that if the Syracusans made a sudden assault on the Athenian +camp, their friends in Catana would simultaneously fall upon the +Athenian troops, who were in the habit of deserting their quarters and +straggling about the town, and set fire to their ships. +</p> + +<p> +This plausible story found ready credence with the Syracusan generals, +and they named a day on which they promised to appear in full force +before the walls of Catana. When the time appointed drew near, they +marched out with the whole Syracusan army, leaving the city to be +garrisoned by their allies, and took up a position within easy reach of +Catana. Thereupon Nicias, who was fully informed of their movements, +embarked his troops by night, sailed down the coast past Syracuse, and +entering the Great Harbour, came to land near the outlying suburb of +Polichne, where stood the great temple of the Olympian Zeus. Here he +planted a breastwork of palisades to defend his ships, and drew up his +army on ground which offered many obstacles to the advance of the +Syracusan cavalry. Then, having broken down the bridge over the Anapus, +he waited for the enemy to appear. +</p> + +<p> +Meanwhile the Syracusan generals had marched upon Catana, and finding +that they had been duped, returned with all speed to the defence of +their own city. After a long and fatiguing march, they came in view of +the Athenian position, and drew up their forces for battle. But Nicias +declined the challenge, and the day being now far advanced, they fell +back and encamped for the night in the open field. +</p> + +<p> +Next morning Nicias, acting with unusual vigour, drew up his army in +two equal divisions, and leaving one half to defend the camp, and act +as a reserve, with the other he advanced rapidly upon the enemy. The +Syracusans, who had perhaps reckoned too much on the known indolence of +Nicias, were taken by surprise. Their discipline was lax, and many of +them had left their posts, and gone off into the town. Nevertheless, +they met the attack with firmness: those who were on the spot hastened +to assume their weapons, which they had laid aside, while the +stragglers came running back, and took their stand wherever they saw a +gap in the ranks. After some preliminary skirmishing between the +light-armed troops, the heavy masses of the hoplites came to close +quarters, and a fierce hand to hand struggle ensued. While the issue +was still uncertain, a violent thunderstorm broke over the contending +armies, and struck terror into the Syracusans, who regarded it as an +omen of defeat. But the seasoned soldiers of Nicias saw nothing unusual +in an autumn tempest, and perceiving the enemy to waver, they pressed +their attack, and broke through the opposing lines. The whole Syracusan +army now fell back upon Syracuse, but they retired without haste or +disorder, and their retreat was covered by a numerous and efficient +body of cavalry, so that their total loss amounted only to two hundred +and sixty. +</p> + +<p> +The victory thus remained with the Athenians; but the moral advantage +was entirely on the side of the Syracusans. With an army composed of +raw recruits, they had met the flower of the Athenian forces, trained +by years of warfare, and led by experienced generals, in fair fight, +and though attacked at a disadvantage, they had fought with spirit, and +retreated with coolness and deliberation. They had good reason to be +satisfied with the result of their first encounter with the invader, +and they might well share the high and confident hopes expressed by +their most eminent citizen, Hermocrates. Speaking at a general +assembly, immediately after the battle, the great patriot congratulated +his countrymen on the courage which they had displayed, and at the same +time pointed out the necessity of improving their discipline and +military organization. One important reform should be made at once; the +number of the generals, which had hitherto been fifteen, should be +greatly reduced, and those appointed to the supreme command should be +given absolute power, so that they might act with secrecy and despatch. +Further, let the whole adult male population be placed under arms, and +kept in constant drill all through the winter. If these measures were +vigorously carried out, they might successfully defy the Athenians to +do their worst. +</p> + +<p> +Acting on this advice, the Syracusans deposed the existing generals, +and chose Hermocrates, with three others, to fill their place. The +reform of the army was at once taken in hand, and ambassadors were sent +to Corinth and Sparta to ask for aid. Corinth, as the mother-city of +Syracuse, might well respond to the call, and it was hoped that the +Spartans would be induced to declare open war on Athens, so as to +compel the Athenians to withdraw their forces from Sicily, or at least +prevent them from sending reinforcements. +</p> + +<p> +Various defensive works were undertaken by the Syracusans during the +winter. The most important of these was a new wall, extending from the +northern sea to the Great Harbour, and taking in a wide space of +ground, outside the old line of wall, to the west of the city. By thus +increasing the area of Syracuse, they made it much more difficult for +Nicias to draw his line of blockade, when the siege began in the +following spring. They also constructed a fort, with a permanent +garrison, to guard the temple of Zeus in the suburb of Polichne, and +drove piles into the sea at all the landing-places of the Great Harbour. +</p> + +<p> +Soon after the battle Nicias shifted his winter quarters to Naxos, and +learning this the Syracusans marched in full force to Catana, laid +waste the territory, and burnt the deserted huts of the Athenians. The +insult was tamely endured, and shortly afterwards the ever-active +Hermocrates had an opportunity of thwarting the Athenian intrigues +among the Greek cities of Sicily. The scene of this diplomatic +encounter was Camarina, a Dorian city which had hitherto wavered +between its hatred of Syracuse and its fear of Athens. Early in the +winter Athenian envoys appeared at Camarina with overtures of alliance, +and Hermocrates was sent to represent the interests of Syracuse. +Speaking first in the debate, Hermocrates set himself to unmask the +designs of the Athenians, who, under the thin pretence of helping the +Ionic cities of Sicily, had come (he said) to make a conquest of the +whole island. The Ionians of Greece had long groaned under their yoke, +and the same fate was in store for the Ionians of Sicily, if they +allowed themselves to be beguiled by specious lies. The plea of +friendship and goodwill might pass with the degenerate Greeks of Asia +and the Aegaean, born to be cajoled and enslaved; but the Camariaeans +were of the stout Dorian race, the hereditary foes of tyranny, too wise +and too brave to lend themselves as tools to a bare-faced scheme of +aggression. If not, let them beware: Syracuse was fighting in a +righteous cause, and must prevail in the end; help was coming from +Peloponnesus, and if the Camariaeans stood aloof, the day would come +when they would regret their disloyalty. +</p> + +<p> +There can be no doubt that Hermocrates was right in his view of the +motive which brought the Athenians to Sicily, and the arguments of +Euphemus, the advocate for Athens, who strove to confute him, will not +bear examination. But the people of Camarina were in a difficult +position; their city had suffered many things in the past at the hands +of Syracuse, and they had reason to fear that her oppressions might be +renewed, if she emerged triumphant from the present struggle. On the +other hand, if the Athenians were victorious, they might forfeit their +independence altogether. In this dilemma they determined to play a +waiting game, and when the time came for action, to throw their weight +on the winning side. For the present they answered that they chose to +remain neutral. +</p> + +<p> +The debate at Camarina, though interesting and instructive from the +light which it throws on the passions and motives of the combatants, +had little influence on the final issue of the war. But about the same +time a scene was being enacted in another part of the Greek world, +which led to most momentous consequences. Early in the winter the +Syracusan envoys arrived at Corinth, and made an earnest appeal for +help. The Corinthians were warmly attached to their famous colony, +which had never wavered in its allegiance to the mother-city, and +moreover they were the implacable enemies of Athens. They therefore +took up the cause of Syracuse with enthusiasm, and they sent the envoys +on to Sparta, accompanied by delegates of their own, to urge the +immediate resumption of hostilities against Athens, and the sending of +prompt aid to Sicily. +</p> + +<p> +At Sparta they found an able and unscrupulous ally, the very last whom +they had expected to meet there. This was the outlaw Alcibiades, who, +after eluding the vigilance of the Athenian officers at Thurii, had +crossed over in a merchant ship to Cyllene, the port of Elis. While +staying there, he received an invitation from the Lacedaemonians to +proceed to Sparta, and made his way thither, having first stipulated +for a safe-conduct; for he dreaded the vengeance of the Spartans, to +whom he had done much mischief by raising the coalition which led to +the battle of Mantinea. So there he was, the guest of his old enemies, +burning with all an exile's hatred, and ready to strike some deadly +blow against the city which had cast him out. +</p> + +<p> +At first the Spartans gave but a cool and qualified response to the +application of the envoys from Corinth. They were prepared to lend +moral support to the Syracusans, by sending an embassy to encourage +them in their resistance, but of more substantial aid they said little +or nothing. Now was the time for Alcibiades to play his part. He knew, +far better than any of his hearers, all the vulnerable points of +Athens, and had no scruple in using his knowledge for her ruin. Having +obtained permission from the magistrates, he rose to address the +Spartan assembly; and his speech is given at full length by the +historian, who was himself an exile at the time, and may possibly have +been present [Footnote: The suggestion is made by Grote.] on this +important occasion. +</p> + +<p> +The Spartans might smile when they heard this accomplished traitor +professing friendship towards themselves, and zeal for their service; +they might be disgusted at the flippant sophistries by which he strove +to defend his unexampled villainy. But far different feelings must have +been awakened, when he went on to unfold the gigantic scheme of +conquest, to which, as he pretended, the invasion of Sicily was no more +than a prelude. According to this statement, the Athenians intended, +after subjugating the Greeks of Sicily, to turn their arms against the +Italian Greeks, and finally to attack Carthage. If all these designs +were successful, they would build a great number of new ships, taking +their materials from the forests of Italy, raise a vast military force, +both of Greeks and barbarians, and then return, backed by the whole +power of the West, and draw a ring of war round Peloponnesus. With such +resources they would be irresistible, and all Greece must inevitably +fall under their sway. +</p> + +<p> +"Such," continued Alcibiades, "is the secret history of the Sicilian +expedition, which you have heard from the mouth of him who knows it +best. Remember, then, that the issue before you concerns not Syracuse +only, but Sparta also: for if Syracuse falls—and fall she must, if +left without support—all Sicily will be under the heel of Athens; then +will come the turn of Italy, and after that you will soon have the +enemy at your own doors. Now learn what you must do, if you would avert +all the evils which I have foretold. You must send a fleet to Sicily at +once, with hoplites who can row the ships themselves, and serve in the +army as soon as they land, and with them a Spartan commander, to +organize the fighting men of Sicily, and compel those who are hanging +back to do their duty. Such a man will be a host in himself, and will +infuse new life and energy into the defence. Further, you must +establish a fortified camp at Decelea, a position which commands the +whole territory of Attica; for by so doing you will reduce Athens to a +state of siege, and compel the whole male population to serve on +garrison duty; you will deprive the Athenians of their revenues from +the silver-mines at Laurium, and you will put new heart into the cities +subject to Athens, and encourage them to withhold their tribute. Let +these measures be carried out with promptitude and vigour, and you will +soon reap your reward, in the humiliation of Athens, and the honour and +gratitude of all Greece." +</p> + +<p> +At these words of Alcibiades the sluggish Spartans took fire, and +recognizing the importance of his advice they determined to follow the +course which he had indicated. Gylippus, a Spartan of high rank, +received orders to proceed at once to Syracuse, and assume the control +of the war, and the Corinthians were directed to provide ships for the +conveyance of troops. But after this brief display of energy the +Spartans relapsed into their wonted torpor. Many months elapsed before +Gylippus was able to embark for Sicily, and meanwhile important events +had been occurring at the seat of war. We return, therefore, to the +head-quarters of Nicias, which had once more been removed from Naxos to +Catana. +</p> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p class="t3b"> +VI +</p> + +<p> +For the next year and a half [Footnote: Spring 414—autumn 413 B.C.] +the scene of our narrative lies almost entirely in the immediate +neighbourhood of Syracuse, so that it now becomes necessary to describe +in some detail the site of that city, and the character of the adjacent +country. Mention has already been made of the island of Ortygia, the +site of the original colony, connected with the mainland of Sicily by a +bridge or causeway. At the southern extremity of Ortygia there is a +narrow strip of land, pointing like a finger towards the rocky +peninsula of Plemmyrium; and between these two points lies the entrance +to a spacious bay, already alluded to under the name of the Great +Harbour. At the western end of the bay there is a long stretch of low, +marshy ground, intersected by the little rivers Cyana and Anapus, and +infested with fever during the heats of summer. On a rising ground, +south of the Anapus, stood the suburb of Polichne, with its great +temple, sacred to the Olympian Zeus. A little to the north of Ortygia +the coast rises abruptly in a bold line of cliffs, facing eastwards, +and forming the base of a triangular plateau, which slopes upwards from +the sea, and gradually grows narrower until it ends in a point, called +the hill of Euryelus. This plateau, which bore the name of Epipolae, is +guarded on all its three sides by rocky precipices, only to be ascended +at two or three places. Its eastern end, called Acheadina, from the +wild pear-trees which once flourished there, was occupied by a new +city, now included with Ortygia in the same wall of defence. Here were +situated the famous stone-quarries, which afterwards acquired so tragic +an interest from the sufferings of the captive Athenians; and +southwards from this district the ground shelves gently to the shores +of the Little Harbour, a sheltered inlet at the northern end of Ortygia. +</p> + +<p> +At the opening of spring the operations against Syracuse began in good +earnest. The first object of Nicias was to obtain possession of the +heights of Epipolae, for since the construction of the new Syracusan +wall it had become impossible for him to draw his line of blockade from +the side of the Great Harbour. His preparations were already far +advanced, when the Syracusan generals resolved to anticipate him, by +occupying all the approaches to Epipolae. With this intention they +issued an order for a full muster of troops in a meadow by the Anapus, +and after a general review and inspection of arms they appointed a +picked body of six hundred hoplites to guard the heights of Epipolae, +and hold themselves ready for any other pressing service. But the +precaution was taken too late. On the night before the review Nicias +set sail with his whole army from Catana, and landed at a place called +Leon, not more than six or seven furlongs from the northern side of +Epipolae. The fleet then took up its station in the sheltered water +behind the peninsula of Thapsus, while the land forces, advancing at a +run, crossed the level ground, and then, breasting the ascent, gained +the summit of Euryelus. +</p> + +<p> +News of their approach presently reached the Syracusans, who were still +mustered by the Anapus, and breaking off the review, they marched in +haste towards Epipolae, hoping still to dislodge the Athenians from +their position. But in their rapid advance over a distance of nearly +three miles their ranks became disordered, and their attack was so +straggling and ineffectual that they were easily repulsed, and driven +back with considerable loss into the town. On the following day Nicias +led his troops down the slope, and offered battle before the walls of +Syracuse; but the challenge was declined, and the Syracusans remained +within their defences, leaving the Athenians in undisputed possession +of Epipolae. +</p> + +<p> +After this important success the Athenian generals prepared at once to +form the siege of Syracuse. They first constructed a fort at a place +called Labdalum, on the northern verge of Epipolae, and near its +western extremity, to serve as a safe depositary for their baggage and +money. Then, taking up a position near the centre of Epipolae, they +built a circular wall, covering a considerable space of ground, and +defended on the side towards the city by an outer breastwork, a +thousand feet long. This enclosure, which was called the Circle, was +intended as a shelter for the men employed on construction of the +blockading wall, which started from either side of the Circle, and was +to be carried north and south until it reached the sea. The work made +rapid progress, and greatly alarmed the Syracusans, who saw themselves +in danger of being cut off from all hope of succour on the land side. +Dismayed by this prospect, they resolved to make one more effort to +drive the Athenians from their position, and marching out in full +force, offered battle. Advancing in haste and disorder, they would +certainly have suffered a crushing defeat, but for the prudent caution +of their generals, who were so much impressed by the superior +discipline of the Athenians, that they gave the order to retire, and +led their troops back into the city, leaving only a detachment of horse +to skirmish with the besiegers. But the Athenians had now an efficient +force of cavalry, which had been raised by successive reinforcements to +the number of six hundred and fifty men; and these, backed by a small +force of infantry, soon drove the horsemen of Syracuse from the field. +</p> + +<p> +The Athenians then completed the building of their Circle, and began to +lay the materials for the northern line of wall. By the advice of +Hermocrates the Syracusans made no further attempt to attack them in +full force, but began to build a counterwall, running out from the city +in a direction south of the Athenian Circle, so as to cross the line to +be followed by the wall of blockade, and prevent it from reaching the +Great Harbour. The work proceeded without interruption, for the +Athenians were engaged in their building operations north of the +Circle, and did not choose to divide their forces. When it was +completed, this counterwork consisted of a solid stone wall, crowned +with wooden towers, and defended in front by a palisade. The blockade +of Syracuse was thus rendered impossible, as long as the defenders +could keep possession of their counterwall. But unfortunately the +guards left in charge of the new wail soon began to neglect their duty, +and erected tents in the shade, where they passed the hot hours of the +afternoon, while some even left their posts, and went off to refresh +themselves in the city. The Athenian generals did not fail to take +advantage of this negligence. Watching their opportunity, when most of +the Syracusan guards were reposing under the shelter of the tents, they +sent a chosen troop of some three hundred men to make a sudden assault +on the counterwall. Then, having divided the main body of the Athenian +army between them, they disposed their forces so as to prevent any +rescue from the town. One division was drawn up before the principal +gate in the new Syracusan wall, while the other proceeded to a +postern-gate, at the point where the counterwall started from the city. +The combined movement was completely successful; the three hundred +carried the stockade and cross-wall by storm, and compelled the +defenders to take refuge within the ramparts of Syracuse. The whole +Athenian army then marched up to the counterwall and stockade, which +they speedily demolished, carrying off the materials for their own use. +</p> + +<p> +Wishing to prevent any second attempt on the part of the Syracusans to +cut them off from the southern slope of Epipolae, the Athenian generals +now fortified that part of the cliff which looks towards the Great +Harbour. By occupying this point they obtained a new centre, commanding +the space between the Circle and the southern edge of the cliff, and +placing them in communication with the level valley of the Anapus, +across which they had to carry their line of blockade. For the present +building operations were suspended on the northern side of the Circle, +as they wished first of all to complete the investment of Syracuse +towards the south. +</p> + +<p> +Perceiving their intention, the Syracusans began a second counterwork, +consisting of a stockade and ditch, which started at the point of +junction between the old city-wall and the new, and ran across the low +swampy ground as far as the Anapus. Thus the Athenians were confronted +by a new obstacle, which had to be removed, before they could make any +further progress. Acting with energy and decision, they sent orders to +the fleet, which was still lying at Thapsus, to sail round into the +Great Harbour; and without waiting for its arrival, before daybreak +Lamachus led his troops down the cliff, and advanced against the +stockade. His men carried hurdles and planks, to secure their footing +in the most treacherous parts of the swamp, and, proceeding thus, in +the first light of dawn they came up to the stockade. They found the +Syracusans assembled in force to resist them, and an engagement ensued, +which speedily ended in favour of the Athenians. The right wing of the +Syracusan army fled back into the city, while the left wing retreated +towards the suburb of Polichne, hotly pursued by the picked troop +[Footnote: P. 203.] of Athenian hoplites, who wished to cut them off +before they reached the river. By this rash movement the Athenians came +near to forfeiting the advantage which they had gained, and brought +upon themselves an irreparable loss. For the Syracusan cavalry turned +on their pursuers, and drove them back in disorder upon the Athenian +right. The sudden reverse created something like a panic in that part +of the line, and Lamachus, who was in command of the left wing, +hastened to their relief, and threw himself, with a handful of men, +between the Syracusan cavalry and the fugitives. This gallant action +turned the tide of battle once more, and gave the Athenians on the +right wing time to rally; but Lamachus and his followers, pushing +forward too hotly, were attacked by the enemy in a place where their +retreat was cut off by a ditch, and slain to a man. +</p> + +<p> +Meanwhile the Syracusans who had fled into the city, observing the +temporary defeat of the Athenians, had taken courage again, and they +returned to the field, having first sent a detachment to attack the +Athenian Circle, where Nicias, who was disabled by sickness, had been +left in charge with a small garrison. Thinking to make an easy capture, +the party sent on this service ran up the slope of Epipolae, and +reached the breastwork of the Circle, which they took and demolished. +With the scanty force at his disposal, Nicias had little hope of +repelling the attack, so he had recourse to a desperate expedient. He +ordered the camp-servants to set fire to a great pile of timber, which +was lying, together with a number of siege engines, in front of the +wall. They did as he directed, and a great flame arose, which drove +back the assailants, and gave warning of his danger to the Athenians in +the plain below, where the whole Syracusan army was now in full +retreat. Almost at the same moment the Athenian fleet was seen sailing +into the Great Harbour, and a strong contingent from the victorious +army came swarming up the hill to the rescue. Thereupon the storming +party from Syracuse turned and fled back to the city, where they found +the streets thronged by their beaten and dispirited comrades. +</p> + +<p> +The result of this battle was to leave the Athenian in undisputed +possession of the whole country round Syracuse. Lamachus, indeed, had +fallen, and the loss of that daring and active spirit soon made itself +severely felt. But for the present the fortunes of Athens were in the +ascendant, and everything seemed to promise a speedy triumph. The +Syracusans were thoroughly cowed by their defeat, and looked passively +on, while a double wall of blockade crept steadily forwards from the +southern edge of Epipolae towards the Great Harbour, where the Athenian +fleet had now taken up its permanent station. The native Sicels, who +had hitherto held back through fear of Syracuse, now joined the +Athenians in great numbers. Even the distant Etruscans, the ancient +enemies of Syracuse, sent three war-galleys to take part in the sack of +the great Dorian city. +</p> + +<p> +Day by day the spirits of the Syracusans sank lower and lower. They now +began to feel the actual pressure of a siege. Months had passed since +their envoys had sailed for Greece, and there was still no sign of help +from Corinth or Sparta. They had lost all hope of saving themselves by +their own unaided efforts, and no course seemed left to them but to +make the best terms they could with Nicias. Negotiations were +accordingly opened with the Athenian general, but after much discussion +no definite result was attained. In this hour of weakness and distress, +the Syracusans became divided against themselves, and every man +suspected his neighbour of treason. Then they turned upon their +generals, who, after holding out such high promises, had brought them +to this pass, either by mismanagement, or by deliberate treachery. +Hermocrates and his colleagues were deposed from their command, and +three other generals succeeded to their place. +</p> + +<p> +In the eyes of all those who were watching the struggle, the fate of +Syracuse was sealed; she was destined to fall a prey to the devouring +ambition of Athens. But at this very moment a little cloud was +approaching from the east, which was fraught with disaster and ruin to +the besieging army. +</p> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p class="t3b"> +VII +</p> + +<p> +Just at the time when the Syracusans were brought to the brink of +despair, Gylippus, after so many months' delay, was on his voyage to +Sicily. While lying at Leucas, a Corinthian settlement in the Ionian +sea, he received the alarming intelligence that Syracuse was already +completely blockaded, and the report was confirmed by every vessel that +came in from the west. Deceived by these false rumours, he gave up all +hope of saving Sicily, but hoping still to forestall the Athenians in +Italy, he put out from Leucas with four ships, and steered a straight +course for Tarentum. From this city, which was friendly to Sparta and +Syracuse, he started on his mission among the Italian Greeks, and +putting in at Locri he heard for the first time that the Athenian wall +was still unfinished on the northern side of Epipolae, leaving a wide +gap, through which a relieving force might enter the town. +</p> + +<p> +Two courses now lay open to Gylippus. He might sail southwards, and +make an attempt to run the blockade of Syracuse—or he might land on +the northern coast of Sicily, march across the island, and fight his +way into the city through the unwalled interval. In either case, the +enterprise seemed desperate enough. By a very moderate exertion on the +part of Nicias, employing only a fraction of the immense force at his +disposal, Gylippus might have been destroyed, before he had time to +become dangerous. But Nicias was lulled into a fatal confidence. He had +heard of the mission of Gylippus, but made no attempt to oppose his +voyage to Italy, regarding him as a mere free-booter, unworthy of +serious notice. At last, learning that Gylippus was at Locri, he was +induced to send out four triremes against him. They were instructed to +take station at Rhegium, and cut off the daring intruder as he passed +through the strait. But when they reached Rhegium, the wary Spartan was +already beyond their reach. He had decided to approach Syracuse by +land, and was now far advanced on his voyage to Himera, the only Greek +settlement on the north coast of Sicily. Himera, though an Ionic +colony, was attached to the Dorian interest, and her citizens gave a +hearty welcome to the Spartan deliverer. Before long, a little army of +about three thousand men was assembled at Himera, and ready to follow +the fortunes of Gylippus. Seven hundred of these were the sailors and +marines from his own vessels, armed as hoplites, and the Himeraeans +furnished a thousand infantry, light and heavy-armed, and a hundred +cavalry. Owing to the recent death of a powerful chieftain, who had +been a strong partisan of Athens, the northern Sicels had now changed +sides, and they sent a thousand men to serve under the Spartan leader. +Small contingents also arrived, in answer to the call of Gylippus, from +Gela and Selinus. With this little force, composed of such motley +elements, Gylippus started from Himera, and entered on his march for +the relief of Syracuse. The fate of Syracuse was already wavering in +the balance. As yet no news of approaching succour had reached the +beleaguered city, and the Syracusans had abandoned all hope. To save +themselves from a worse calamity, they resolved to surrender, and an +assembly was summoned to settle the terms of capitulation. But at this +very moment a message came to them by sea, which kindled their courage +afresh, and banished these counsels of despair. When Gylippus left +Leucas, a Corinthian fleet of some fifteen vessels was preparing to +sail from that port for Syracuse. One of the ships, commanded by a +certain Gongylus, was delayed in the harbour, and started after the +rest. But Gongylus, instead of steering the ordinary course, which +would have taken him first to Italy, made a bold dash, straight across +the sea, and just when the momentous decision was pending, his ship +came to anchor in the Little Harbour. Forthwith the joyful tidings +spread like wildfire through the city: Gylippus was coming, armed with +full authority from Sparta—Corinth had taken up their cause—Syracuse +was saved! All thought of surrender was instantly flung away, and news +arriving shortly afterwards that Gylippus was near at hand, the whole +Syracusan force marched out to meet him, and escorted him triumphantly +into the town. +</p> + +<p> +Thus, without a blow being struck, an immense access of strength had +been brought to the besieged, and the grand condition of successful +resistance, on which Alcibiades had laid such weight, was fulfilled. A +Spartan officer of consummate ability was now in Syracuse, and he had +made his way into the city, not alone, not by stealth, but at the head +of an army, and before the very eyes of the enemy. Weeks must have +elapsed between the departure of Gylippus from Leucas, and his arrival +at Syracuse; and during all this time, with one trifling exception, +Nicias made no effort to oppose his progress. Prudent men might well +have regarded the enterprise of Gylippus as a wild and desperate +adventure; and such it must have proved, but for the astounding +blindness and apathy of Nicias. +</p> + +<p> +At the time when Gylippus reached Syracuse the Athenian lines of +circumvallation were all but completed on the side of the Great +Harbour; but a wide interval was still left between the Circle and the +northern sea, and it was here that Gylippus had effected an entrance. +To keep this space open was a matter of supreme importance, and the +scene of action is now shifted again to the northern slope of Epipolae. +On the day after his arrival Gylippus succeeded in capturing the +Athenian fort at Labdalum, and the command of this position gave +increased facilities for the construction of a third counterwall, which +was forthwith taken in hand, and carried in the direction of Labdalum, +until it crossed the blockading line at its northern end. +</p> + +<p> +If the Syracusans succeeded in completing and holding this counterwork, +the blockade of Syracuse would be rendered impossible. Yet for some +time Nicias made no attempt to interrupt its progress. As if already +convinced of his inferiority in the field, he took steps to keep his +communications open by sea, and with this object he employed a part of +his forces in fortifying the headland of Plemmyrium, which commanded +the entrance to the Great Harbour. Here he built three forts which +served as an arsenal for the Athenian stores; and henceforth Plemmyrium +became the chief station for his fleet. This removal had a disastrous +effect on the Athenian crews; for the place being almost a desert, and +the springs distant and scanty, they were compelled to go far from +their quarters in search of forage and water, and while thus engaged +they were cut off in great numbers by the Syracusan horse, who had been +posted at Polichne for this purpose. A rapid demoralization of the +crews was the consequence, and desertions became more frequent every +day. +</p> + +<p> +Meanwhile the counterwall was advancing steadily up the hill, and every +day Gylippus drew up his army, to cover the operations of the workmen. +At last he determined to force on an engagement, and in the first +encounter the Syracusans, fighting in a confined space, which prevented +their cavalry from coming into action, suffered a defeat. In no wise +discouraged by this reverse, on the next day they took up a position in +the more open ground, and offered battle again. By this time the +Syracusan counterwork had almost passed the end of the Athenian wall, +and if it were carried a few yards further, the siege of Syracuse would +be brought to a standstill. Roused by the imminence of the crisis, +Nicias determined to make one more effort to regain his mastery in the +field, and led his troops to the attack. The main body of the hoplites +were soon hotly engaged on both sides, and in the midst of the action +Gylippus directed his cavalry and light-armed infantry to make a sudden +charge on the Athenian left. This movement was executed with so much +skill and resolution that the Athenians in that part of the line gave +way, and drew after them the rest of their comrades, who broke their +ranks, and fled for shelter behind the siege works. +</p> + +<p> +The Syracusans lost no time in turning their victory to account. On the +very same night their wall was extended some distance beyond the +blockading line, and until this new barrier was overthrown, the +investment of Syracuse had now become impossible. +</p> + +<p> +Whichever way he looked, Nicias saw himself menaced with failure and +defeat. He had sent twenty ships to intercept the Corinthian squadron +on its voyage from Leucas; but the little fleet of rescue succeeded in +avoiding the snare, and made its way into the port of Syracuse, thus +adding twelve fresh vessels to the defending force. Gylippus himself +was marching unhindered up and down the island, passing from city to +city, and raising reinforcements of ships and men; and a second embassy +had been despatched by the Syracusans, to carry the news of their +victory to Corinth and Sparta, and ask for further help. Another +ominous sign of coming events was the bustle and activity now visible +in the dockyards of Syracuse and the waters of the Little Harbour; for +the Syracusans had turned their attention seriously to their fleet, and +thought of nothing less than attacking the Athenians on their own +element. +</p> + +<p> +These symptoms of renewed confidence and energy were observed by Nicias +with growing disquiet. And if he turned his eyes to his own camp, he +saw little to relieve his anxiety. For the predictions of Lamachus had +been fulfilled to the letter. By his fatal policy of procrastination +Nicias had frittered away the resources of the most splendid armament +that ever set sail from Peiraeus. His soldiers were infected by the +despondency of their leader, and many of them were stricken by the +marsh-fever which haunts the unwholesome district of the Anapus. Above +all the condition of the fleet showed the lamentable effect of long +inaction and delay. All the supplies of the Athenians came to them by +sea, and in order to keep their communications open, it was necessary +to keep the whole of the fleet on constant duty. In consequence of +this, the hulls of the triremes had become sodden with water, which +made them leaky, and difficult to row. Moreover the crews, which were +largely composed of foreign seamen, had grown restive and mutinous +under the severe strain of hardships and privation, so different from +the easy and lucrative service in the hope of which they had enlisted. +Some took the first opportunity of deserting to the enemy, while others +ran away to remote parts of Sicily; and there was no means of filling +the places thus left vacant. +</p> + +<p> +Such was the burden of care and apprehension which lay heavy on the +feeble shoulders of the Athenian general. He was naturally a weak man, +haunted by superstitious terrors, irresolute, easily cast down; and +this infirmity of character was aggravated by a painful and incurable +disease. There was no longer any question of laying siege to Syracuse: +he himself was now besieged, and it was all he could do to maintain his +position within his defences, and keep the sea open for the conveyance +of supplies. In this desperate situation he determined to send a +written despatch to Athens. We are led to suppose that this was an +unusual proceeding, and that news from the seat of war was generally +sent by word of mouth. The document is given at full length, with all +its grievous confessions of incompetence and failure. After setting +forth the facts of the case as stated above, Nicias insists that one of +two things must be done: either the army now lying before Syracuse must +be recalled to Athens, or the Athenians must send out a second army, +equal in strength to the first, and a general to relieve him of his +command. +</p> + +<p> +At the conclusion of his despatch Nicias peevishly complains of the +exacting temper of the Athenians, and their readiness to blame anyone +but themselves if anything untoward occurred. Whatever may be the truth +of the general charge, it was most ill-timed and ungrateful in his own +case. Towards him, at least, the conduct of his fellow-citizens was +marked by an excess of generosity, amounting to actual infatuation. +Nothing is more remarkable than the unshaken confidence of the +Athenians in their feeble general, after hearing this terrible +indictment, drawn up by his own hand. They refused to accept his +resignation, and passed a decree that large reinforcements should be +sent to Sicily, with Demosthenes and Eurymedon as generals; and in the +meantime they appointed Menander and Euthydemus, two officers already +serving before Syracuse, to share with Nicias the burden of command. +Before the winter was ended Eurymedon started with ten ships for +Sicily, to announce that effectual help was coming; while Demosthenes +was charged with the duty of enlisting troops and organizing a fleet. +</p> + +<p> +Meanwhile new perils were gathering round the Athenians at home, which +should have warned them to abandon their wild plans of conquest, and +concentrate all their strength for their own defence. The Spartans had +long been restrained by a scruple of conscience from an open +declaration of war, wishing to avoid the guilt which is associated with +the first act of aggression. Eighteen years before they had refused all +offers of arbitration, and deliberately provoked an encounter with +Athens, in direct violation of the Thirty Years' Truce, which provided +for an amicable settlement of differences; and by so acting they had, +as they believed, incurred the anger of heaven, and brought on +themselves a long train of disasters. But now the position was +reversed: for in the previous year the Athenians had made descents on +the coasts of Laconia, and other districts of Peloponnesus; and they +had repeatedly turned a deaf ear to the friendly overtures of the +Spartans, who proposed to submit all disputed matters to a peaceful +tribunal. +</p> + +<p> +Thus relieved of their scruples, the Spartans prepared to renew the war +in good earnest, and early in the following spring [Footnote: B.C. +413.] they summoned their allies to the Isthmus, and marched under Agis +their king into Attica. After ravaging the plain, they encamped at +Decelea, fourteen miles north of Athens, and here they established a +fortified post, which was garrisoned by contingents of the +Peloponnesian army, serving in regular order. Once more Alcibiades had +cause to exult in the success of his malignant counsels, which had sent +Gylippus to Syracuse, and had now planted this root of bitter mischief +on the very soil of Attica. +</p> + +<p> +While the allies were thus engaged at Decelea, a considerable body of +troops had embarked at Taenarum and at Corinth, and sailed to take part +in the defence of Syracuse. In Greece, all the old enemies of Athens +were arming against her, and beyond the sea her prospects grew darker +and darker every day. Yet nothing, it seemed, could break the spell of +fatal delusion which rested on the doomed city. While Attica lay in the +grip of the enemy, a fleet of sixty-five triremes, carrying a great +military force, weighed anchor from Peiraeus, and steered its course, +under the command of Demosthenes, for Sicily. +</p> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p class="t3b"> +VIII +</p> + +<p> +We must now return to Syracuse, where fortune was preparing a new blow +for the ill-fated Athenian army. Gylippus came back from his mission at +the beginning of spring, bringing with him the reinforcements which he +had gathered from various parts of Sicily. At once resuming the +offensive, he planned an attack on the forts recently erected by Nicias +at Plemmyrium, and in order to divide the attention of the Athenians, +he determined to make a simultaneous movement against them by sea and +land. He himself took command of the army, and setting out at night, +made his way round to the rear of the Athenian position at Plemmyrium. +Meanwhile the Syracusan fleet lay ready in two divisions, one of which, +consisting of thirty-five vessels, was moored in the docks, within the +Great Harbour, while the other, to the number of forty-five, had its +station in the Lesser Harbour. At the hour appointed by Gylippus, just +as day was breaking, both squadrons got under weigh, and bore down upon +Plemmyrium, from the opposite sides of Ortygia. Though taken by +surprise, the Athenians put out in haste with sixty triremes, and a +sea-fight ensued, in which the Syracusans for some time had the +advantage. By this time Gylippus was at hand with his army, and by a +sudden assault on the Athenian forts he made an easy capture of all +three; for the greater part of the garrison had flocked down to the +sea, to watch the progress of the action in the Great Harbour. +Fortunately for these men, who had so grossly neglected their duty, the +Athenian fleet had now gained a decisive victory, and they were thus +enabled to make their escape by water, and cross over to the camp of +Nicias, on the other side of the bay. +</p> + +<p> +By the capture of Plemmyrium a great treasure fell into the hands of +the Syracusans. The loss to the Athenians, in money, stores, and men, +was serious enough; but further consequences ensued, which were nothing +less than disastrous. The enemy now commanded both sides of the +entrance to the Great Harbour, and not a ship-load of provisions could +reach the Athenian camp without an encounter with the Syracusan +triremes. Well might despondency and dismay take possession of the +beleaguered army, cramped in their narrow quarters on the swampy flats +of the Anapus. +</p> + +<p> +All Sicily, with one or two exceptions, had now declared for Syracuse, +and reinforcements came pouring in from every side. Gylippus was +resolved, if possible, to destroy the armament of Nicias, before the +fresh succours from Athens had time to arrive; and, as before, the +attack was to be made simultaneously by sea and land. Since the loss of +Plemmyrium, the Athenian fleet had been penned up in the confined space +at the head of the Great Harbour. Outside of these narrow limits, the +whole coast was in the hands of the enemy, and any Athenian trireme +which ventured out into open water ran the risk of being driven on a +hostile shore. Unless they chose to incur this great peril, the +Athenians would have to fight in close order, with the long, tapering +prows of their vessels exposed to collision. +</p> + +<p> +The Syracusans skilfully availed themselves of the advantage thus +offered. The impact of prow with prow, which had hitherto been regarded +as a disgraceful evidence of bad seamanship, had now become the most +effective method of attack; and in order to execute this simple +manoeuvre without damage to their own ships, the Syracusans shortened +the prows of their triremes, and strengthened them with heavy beams of +timber, thus converting them into a broad and solid mass, which could +be driven with crushing force against the slender beaks of the Athenian +galleys. +</p> + +<p> +When all was ready, Gylippus led out his troops, and assailed the +Athenian wall which faced towards Syracuse, and at the same time the +garrison stationed at Polichne left their quarters, and made another +attack on the opposite side. The assault had already commenced, when +the Syracusan fleet, which numbered eighty triremes, was seen advancing +towards the inner shore of the bay, where the ships of Nicias lay +moored; and the Athenian seamen, who had not expected to be called into +action, hastened in some confusion to man their ships, seventy-five of +which were presently engaged with the enemy. After a day passed in +irregular and desultory fighting, the battle ended slightly in favour +of the Syracusans. During the next day the Syracusans remained +inactive, and Nicias employed the interval in repairing the ships which +had suffered damage, and providing for the defence of his fleet. The +Athenian naval station was protected by a row of piles, rammed into the +bottom of the sea, forming a semi-circular breastwork, with an opening +about two hundred feet wide, where the ships passed in and out. On +either side of this entrance Nicias caused a merchant vessel to be +moored, and each vessel was provided with an engine called a dolphin, a +heavy mass of lead, suspended from the yard-arm, which could be dropped +on the deck of any hostile trireme attempting to pass. +</p> + +<p> +Early on the following morning the Syracusans resumed hostilities both +by sea and land, and after several hours of desultory fighting, they +drew off their fleet, and sailed back to their station under the walls +of the city. The Athenians were well pleased by this sudden relief, and +concluding that their work was done for the day, they disembarked at +leisure, and began to prepare their midday meal. But before they had +time to snatch a mouthful, the whole Syracusan fleet was seen advancing +again from the opposite shore, and the hungry and weary Athenian crews +were summoned on board to repel a second attack. This crafty manoeuvre +was due to a suggestion of Ariston, the most skilful of the Corinthian +seamen, by whose advice provisions had been brought down to the beach, +so that the Syracusan crews were kept together, and ready to renew the +action, after a brief interval for repose and refreshment. +</p> + +<p> +For a little while the two fleets faced each other, without venturing +to attack; then the Athenians, who were feverish with hunger and +fatigue, could restrain themselves no longer, but with one consent they +dashed their oars into the water, and with shouts of mutual +encouragement charged down upon the enemy. The Syracusans kept a firm +front, and opposing their massive prows to the rash assault, inflicted +great damage on the Athenian triremes, many of which were completely +wrecked by the shock of the collision. On every side the Athenians were +hard beset; the light-armed troops posted on the decks of the Syracusan +vessels, plied them with a shower of javelins, while the waters swarmed +with a multitude of boats, manned by daring adventurers, who rowed +boldly up to the sides of the Athenian triremes, broke the oars, and +hurled darts through the port-holes at the rowers. After fighting for +some time at a great disadvantage, with exhausted crews, and in a +narrow space, where they had no room to manoeuvre, the Athenians were +compelled to fall back, and sought refuge behind their palisade. +</p> + +<p> +This important success raised the spirits of the Syracusans higher than +ever. They had gained a decisive victory over the greatest naval power +in Greece, sunk seven triremes, disabled many more, and slain or taken +prisoners a large number of men. Flushed with pride and hope, they +immediately began to prepare for a final attack, which was to end in +the complete destruction of their enemies both by sea and land. But +these high expectations received a sudden check; for on the day after +the battle, [Footnote: Or possibly two days.] the watchers on the walls +of Syracuse descried a great fleet on the northern horizon. Presently +the regular beat of ten thousand oars could be distinctly heard; it +grew louder and louder, and as the vanguard came into full view, the +alarmed Syracusans recognized the truth. There was no mistaking the +peculiar build and familiar ensigns of the renowned Athenian galleys. +This could be no other than the fleet of Demosthenes, arrived just in +time to save the shattered armament of Nicias, and once more turn the +tide of war against Syracuse. A great multitude rushed to the +battlements, and gazed with keen pangs of anxiety as the long line of +triremes, seventy-three in number, swept past the walls of Ortygia, +rounded the southern point, and crossing the Great Harbour, dropped +anchor at the naval station of Nicias. If anyone not concerned in the +struggle had been present, he might have admired the grand exhibition +of military pomp and power, the perfect trim and condition of the +triremes, the precision of the rowing, and the glittering ranks of the +hoplites, javelin-men, archers, and slingers, who thronged the decks. +But no such feeling could find room in the minds of the Syracusans. +After their long trials and sufferings, on the very eve of their +crowning triumph, a new host of enemies had sprung up against them, and +all their toils were beginning anew. +</p> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p class="t3b"> +IX +</p> + +<p> +When Demosthenes arrived at Syracuse, the position of affairs was as +follows: the blockading wall of the Athenians still extended in an +unbroken line from the circular fort on Epipolae to the camp and naval +station of Nicias at the head of the Great Harbour; but the Athenians +were cut off from access to the northern slope of Epipolae by the +Syracusan counterwall, which had been carried up the whole length of +the plateau as far as the hill of Euryelus. Along the northern edge of +the cliff the Syracusans had established three fortified camps, where +the defenders of the counterwall had their quarters, and on the summit +of Euryelus a fort had been erected, which held the key to the whole +system of defence. +</p> + +<p> +Demosthenes saw at once that, before any progress could be made with +the siege of Syracuse, it was necessary to gain possession of the +counterwall, and confine the Syracusans within the limits of their +city. The sooner he made the attempt, the greater was his chance of +success; for every day wasted would give new confidence to the enemy, +and the condition in which he found the troops of Nicias was a visible +warning against the fatal consequences of delay. An attack made on the +cross-wall from its southern side ended in total failure; his +siege-engines were burnt, and the storming-parties repulsed at every +point. The only course which remained was to march round to the +north-western extremity of the plateau, carry the fort of Euryelus, and +assail the Syracusans within their own lines. After consulting with his +colleagues, Demosthenes determined to try the hazardous method of a +night-attack, hoping thus to take the garrison on Euryelus by surprise. +He himself, with Eurymedon and Menander, took the command, and the +whole Athenian army was engaged in the adventure, except those who +remained behind with Nicias to guard the camp. On a moonlight night in +August, at the hour of the first watch, the march began. Moving +cautiously up the valley of the Anapus, they turned the northern end of +the hill, and reached the path by which Lamachus had ascended in the +spring of the previous year. At first all seemed to promise success to +the Athenians unobserved by the enemy, Demosthenes ascended the hill, +stormed the fort, and, drove the garrison back on the three fortified +camps which flanked the Syracusan counterwall on its northern side. The +fugitives raised the alarm, and the call was promptly answered by a +picked troop of six hundred hoplites, who were stationed nearest to the +point of danger. These men made a gallant stand, but they were +overpowered by superior numbers, and thrust back on the main body of +the Syracusans, who were now advancing under Gylippus to the rescue. +They in their turn were forced to give ground before the impetuous +charge of Demosthenes, and a general panic seemed about to spread +through the whole Syracusan army. Already the Athenians had begun to +throw down the battlements of the counterwall, and if they were allowed +to proceed, Syracuse would once more be exposed to imminent danger. +</p> + +<p> +But now occurred one of those sudden turns of fortune which were so +common in Greek warfare. As the soldiers of the Athenian van rushed +forward too hotly, wishing to complete the rout of the enemy they fell +into disorder, and in this condition they were confronted by a stout +little troop of Boeotian hoplites, who had found their way to Syracuse +earlier in the summer. This unexpected resistance checked the furious +onset of the Athenians, and the Boeotians, pursuing their advantage, +charged in solid phalanx and put them to flight. Once more the tide of +battle had turned against Athens. Restored to confidence by the steady +valour of their allies, the Syracusans closed their ranks, and advanced +in dense masses up the hill. A scene of indescribable horror and +confusion ensued, so that no one was afterwards able to give a clear +account of what had happened. On the narrow neck of land which forms +the western end of Epipolae two great armies were rushing to the +encounter. On one side was the main body of the Athenians, still +ignorant of the defeat of their comrades, and hurrying forward to share +in the victory. On the other side was the whole host of Syracuse, +advancing with deafening shouts to meet them; and in the middle were +the men of Demosthenes, flying in headlong rout before the conquering +Boeotians. In the uncertain light, the fugitives were at first mistaken +for enemies, and many of them perished miserably by the spears of their +own countrymen. On came the Syracusans, bearing down all before them; +but the Athenians, as they strove to escape, were flung back upon the +enemy by fresh bodies of their own men, who were still thronging by +thousands up the northern path of Euryelus. All semblance of order was +now lost in the Athenian army, which was broken up into detached +parties, some flying, some advancing, and shouting their watchword to +all whom they met, so as to learn whether they had to do with friend or +foe. But the Syracusans soon learnt the watchword, which thus became a +means of betraying the Athenians to their own destruction. To add to +the confusion, the Dorian allies of Athens raised a paean, or war-song, +so similar to that of the Syracusans, that the Athenians fled at their +approach supposing them to be enemies. The grand army of Demosthenes, +which had set out with such high hopes, was now no better than a mob of +wild and desperate men, friend fighting against friend, and citizen +against citizen. At length the whole multitude turned and fled, each +man seeking to save himself as best he could. Some, hard pressed by the +enemy, flung themselves from the cliffs, and were dashed to pieces on +the rocks below; others succeeded in reaching the plain, and found +their way back to the camp of Nicias; while not a few lost their way, +and wandered about the country until the following day, when they were +hunted down and slain by the Syracusan horseman. +</p> + +<p> +Demosthenes had done all that a man could to recover the ground lost by +Nicias, and resume the aggressive against Syracuse. His well-laid +scheme had ended disastrously, and only one course remained, consistent +with public duty and common sense. To waste the blood and treasure of +Athens in Sicily any longer would be suicidal folly. The Athenians at +home were in a state of siege, and needed every man and every ship for +the defence of their own territory, and the maintenance of their empire +in Greece. Sickness and despondency had already wrought dire havoc +among the troops encamped before Syracuse. To remain was utter ruin, +both to themselves and their fellow-citizens. The sea was still open, +and the new armament, with what remained of the old, would be strong +enough to secure their retreat. Let them embark without delay, turn +their backs on the fatal shores of Sicily, and hoist sail for home. +</p> + +<p> +These arguments were urged by Demosthenes with unanswerable force at a +private meeting of the generals which was held immediately after the +defeat on Epipolae But unhappily for all those most nearly concerned in +the debate, the influence of Nicias was still supreme in the Athenian +camp; and to spur that gloomy trifler into decisive action was beyond +the power even of Demosthenes. Nicias knew that, if he gave the word to +retreat, in a few weeks he would have to stand before the bar of his +countrymen, and give an account of the great trust which he had +betrayed. It would be better, he thought, to perish under the walls of +Syracuse, than to brave that stern tribunal, and read his doom on those +angry, accusing faces. And apart from these selfish terrors, he was +still in communication with his partisans in Syracuse, who encouraged +him to wait for a favourable turn of affairs. Thus fettered to the spot +both by his hopes and his fears, he obstinately refused to move. +</p> + +<p> +While Demosthenes argued, and Nicias demurred, Gylippus had not been +idle. A day or two after the battle, he once more left Syracuse, and +traversed the whole length of the island, collecting troops on his way. +At Selinus he was joined by the Peloponnesian and Boeotian soldiers who +had sailed from Taenarum early in the spring, and had just reached that +port, after a long and adventurous voyage. With this welcome addition +to his forces, and thousands more who had answered his call from all +parts of Sicily, he returned to Syracuse, and prepared to put out all +his strength in a general assault on the army and fleet of Athens. +</p> + +<p> +The Athenians had not yet abandoned their lines on the southern side of +Epipolae, and from this position they watched the arrival of the new +army raised by Gylippus, as it defiled down the slope, and poured +through the gates of Syracuse to swell the ranks of their enemies. In +their own camp the state of things was growing worse every day, and +even Nicias now became convinced that to remain any longer would be +sheer madness. With the hearty concurrence of his colleagues, he gave +his vote for immediate departure, and the order was secretly passed +round the camp that every man should hold himself in readiness to go on +board, as soon as the signal was given. It was necessary to proceed +with caution, for if the enemy were informed of their purpose, they +would have to fight their way through the Syracusan fleet. The +preparations were accordingly made with as little noise as possible and +in a short time all was ready for the voyage. Night sank down on the +Athenian camp, but among all that vast multitude no one thought of +sleep, for the whole host was waiting in breathless eagerness for the +signal to embark. Over the eastern waters the full moon was shining, +making a long path of silver and pointing the way to home. But suddenly +a dark shadow touched the outer rim of that gleaming disk, and crept +stealthily on, until the whole face of the moon was veiled in darkness. +A whisper, a murmur, a shudder went round among those anxious watchers, +and before the shadow had passed away, ten thousand tongues were +eagerly discussing the meaning of that mysterious portent. Most were +agreed that it was a warning from heaven, forbidding their departure +until the angry powers had been appeased by sacrifice and prayer. In +the mind of Nicias, enslaved by the grossest superstition, there was no +room for doubt. He was surrounded by prophets, whose advice he sought +on every occasion, and guided by them he proclaimed that for thrice +nine days, the time required for a complete circuit of the moon, there +could be no talk of departing. +</p> + +<p> +But the Athenians were soon engaged in a sterner task than the vain +rites of propitiation and penitential observance. The news of their +intended retreat, and its untoward interruption, so raised the spirits +of the Syracusans, that they resolved to risk another sea-fight, and +after some days spent in training their crews, they sailed out with +seventy-six ships, and offered battle, and Gylippus at the same time +attacked the Athenian lines by land. The Athenians succeeded in +repulsing the assault on their walls, but in the encounter between the +fleets, though they out-numbered the enemy by ten ships, they suffered +a decisive defeat. Eurymedon was slain, and eighteen vessels fell into +the hands of the Syracusans, who put all the crews to the sword. +</p> + +<p> +The pride and ambition of the Syracusans now knew no bounds. Relieved +from all fear for the safety of their city they began to take a loftier +view of the struggle, and to grasp the full compass and grandeur of the +issues involved. It was no mere feud between two rival states, but a +great national conflict, which was to end in the downfall of a +wide-spread usurpation, and the deliverance of a hundred cities from +bondage. The whole naval and military forces of Athens lay crippled and +helpless within their grasp; they would shatter to pieces the +instrument of tyranny, and win an immortal name as the liberators of +all Greece. Their first care was to prevent the escape of the +Athenians, and for this purpose they began to close the mouth of the +Great Harbour by a line of triremes and vessels of burden, anchored +broadside across the channel. +</p> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p class="t3b"> +X +</p> + +<p> +The Athenians were thus caught in a trap, and their only hope of saving +themselves was to force the barrier of the Great Harbour, and escape by +sea, or, failing that, to make their way by land to some friendly city. +As a last sad confession of defeat, they withdrew the garrison from +their walls on Epipolae, and reduced the dimensions of their camp, +confining it to a narrow space of the coast, where the fleet lay +moored. Every vessel which could be kept afloat was prepared for +action, and when the whole force was mustered, out of two great +armaments only a hundred and ten were found fit for service. A small +body of troops was left to guard the camp, and all the rest, except +such as were totally disabled by sickness, were distributed as +fighting-men among the ships. For the countrymen of Phormio had now +reverted to the primitive conditions of naval warfare, in which the +trireme was a mere vehicle for carrying troops, and not, as in the days +of that great captain, the chief weapon of offence. Every foot of +standing-room on the decks was occupied by a crowd of hoplites, +javelin-men, archers, and slingers, and on their prowess the issue of +the battle depended. To lay their vessels aboard the enemy with as +little delay as possible, and leave the rest to the soldiers, was now +the chief object of the Athenian captains; and the better to effect. +this, men were stationed on the prows, armed with grappling-irons, to +hold the attacking trireme fast, and prevent her from backing away +after the first shock of collision. +</p> + +<p> +With hearts full of sad foreboding, the great multitude mustered on the +beach, and waited for the word to embark. On a rising ground, fronting +the camp, the generals; stood grouped in earnest consultation; then +every voice was hushed, as Nicias came forward, and beckoned with his +hand, commanding silence. The form of the general was bowed with years, +and his face lined with pain and sickness, but in his eye there was an +unwonted fire, and his tones rang clear and full, as he reminded his +hearers of the great cause for which they were to fight, and the mighty +interests which hung in the balance that day. "Men of Athens," he said, +"and you, our faithful allies, your lives, your liberty, and the future +of all who are dear to you, are in your own hands. If you would ever +see home again, you must resolve to conquer fortune, even against her +will, like seasoned veterans, inured to the perils and vicissitudes of +war. Hitherto we have generally got the better of the enemy on land and +we are now going to fight a land battle on the sea. As soon as you come +within reach of a Syracusan vessel, fling your grappling-irons, and +hold her fast, until not a man is left alive to defend her deck. This +will be the task of the soldiers, whom I need not tell to do their +duty. And you, seamen of the Athenian fleet, be not dismayed because we +have forsaken our former tactics, but trust to the strong arms of the +fighting men. Remember, those of you who are not of Attic descent, how +long you have enjoyed the high privileges of Athenian citizens, and the +honour reflected on you by your connection with Athens. +</p> + +<p> +"My last word shall be spoken to you, fellow-citizens, Athenians born +and bred. You know what you have to expect from the Syracusans, if this +last struggle should end in defeat. But consider further what will be +the fate of your friends at home. Their docks are empty, their walls +are stripped of defenders, and if you fail them, Syracuse will unite +with their old enemies, and bear them down. Here, where we stand, are +the army, the fleet, the city, and the great name of Athens; go, then, +and fight as you never fought before, for never yet had soldier such a +prize to win, and such a cause to defend." +</p> + +<p> +When Nicias had concluded his stirring appeal, the embarkation of the +troops began. As the fatal moment drew nearer and nearer, the anxiety +and distress of the Athenian general became unbearable. Feeling that he +had not said enough, he hurried to and fro, addressing each captain +with an agony of supplication, and imploring him by every sacred +name,—his wife, his children, his country, and his country's gods,—to +play a man's part, forgetting all thoughts of self. Having exhausted +every topic of entreaty, and seen the last man on board, he turned +away, still unsatisfied, and addressed himself to the task of drawing +up the troops left under his command for the defence of the camp. These +were disposed along the shore in as long a line as possible, that they +might encourage those fighting on the sea by their presence, and lend +prompt help in case of need. Behind them, every point of outlook was +held by a throng of anxious spectators,—the sick, the maimed, and the +wounded,—every man who had strength to crawl from his bed, and watch +that last desperate struggle for liberty and home. +</p> + +<p> +And now the Athenian admirals, Demosthenes, Menander, and Euthydemus, +raised the signal, and the great fight began. The foremost ships +succeeded in reaching the mouth of the Great Harbour, and began to +break through the barrier, when the whole Syracusan fleet closed in +upon them on all sides, and forced them back Then the battle became +general, and soon the two fleets were scattered over the whole surface +of the bay in little groups, and each group engaged in a wild and +furious melee. There was no attempt to manoeuvre, but ship encountered +ship; as accident brought them together, and advanced to the attack, +under a shower of javelins and arrows. Then followed the dull crash of +collision, and the fierce rush of the fighting-men, as they endeavoured +to board. Here and there could be seen knots of three or four triremes, +locked together with shattered hulls and broken oars, while the +soldiers on the decks strove for the mastery. Nearly two hundred +triremes, and some forty thousand men, were engaged in that tumultuous +fight; and the thunder of the oars, the crash of colliding triremes, +and the yells of the assailants, raised an uproar so tremendous that it +was impossible to hear the voice of command. All order and method was +lost, yet still they fought on, the Syracusans with a savage thirst for +vengeance, the Athenians with the fury of despair; and for a long time +the issue remained doubtful. +</p> + +<p> +All this scene of havoc and carnage was witnessed by the whole +population of Syracuse, who thronged the walls, or stood in arms along +the shore, and followed every incident with breathless interest. But +above all among the Athenians left behind in the camp excitement was +strained to the point of anguish. Here the view was more restricted, +and each group of spectators had its attention fixed on some one of the +many encounters which were raging in different parts of the bay. Some +who saw their friends conquering, shouted with joy and triumph; some +shrieked in terror, as an Athenian ship went down; and others, when the +combat long wavered, rocked their bodies to and fro in an agony of +suspense. Thus at the same moment every shifting turn of battle, +victory and defeat, panic and rally, flight and pursuit, was mirrored +on those pale faces, and echoed in a thousand mingled cries. +</p> + +<p> +But at length these discordant voices were united in one general note +of horror, as the whole Athenian fleet, or all that was left of it, was +seen making in headlong rout for the upper end of the bay, with the +victorious Syracusans pressing hard behind. Then most of those who were +watching from the shore were seized with uncontrollable terror, and +sought to hide themselves in holes and corners of the camp; while a +few, who were more stout-hearted, waded into the water, to save the +ships, or rushed to defend the walls on the land side. But for the +present the Syracusans were contented with their victory, and after +chasing the fugitive triremes as far as their defences, they wheeled +and rowed back across the Great Harbour, through floating corpses, and +the wrecks of more than seventy vessels. On their arrival at Syracuse +they were hailed with such a burst of enthusiasm as had rarely been +witnessed in any Greek city. The victory, indeed, had been dearly +bought, but it was well worth the cost, and the power of Athens had +sustained a blow from which it could never recover. But among all the +thronging hosts of Syracuse, who now gave themselves up to revel and +rejoicing, there was one man at least who knew that even now the danger +was not yet past. Forty thousand Athenian soldiers were still encamped +within sight of the walls, and if they were allowed to escape, they +might establish themselves in some friendly city, and begin the war +again. All this was strongly felt by Hermocrates, and he lost no time +in imparting his cares and anxieties to the responsible leaders. The +Athenians, he urged, would be almost certain to decamp during the +night: let a strong force be sent out at once from Syracuse, to occupy +all the roads, and cut off their retreat. The advice was good, but in +the present temper of the army it was felt to be impracticable. The +whole city had become a scene of riot and wassail, and if the order +were given to march, it was but too evident that not a man would obey. +Baffled in this direction, the keen-witted Syracusan hit upon another +plan, which he at once proceeded to carry into effect. +</p> + +<p> +Hermocrates was not mistaken in his conjecture. The beaten and +dispirited Athenians had now but one thought,—to break up their camp +with all despatch, and make their escape by land. They had still sixty +triremes left, and Demosthenes proposed to make one more attempt to +force the entrance of the Great Harbour; but when his suggestion was +made known to the crews, they broke into open mutiny, and flatly +refused to go on board. The generals were therefore compelled to adopt +the only alternative, and it was resolved to set out on that very +night. But Fortune had not yet exhausted her malice against the hapless +Athenians. The order to strike camp had been issued, and the soldiers +were busy preparing for the march, when a party of horsemen rode up to +the Athenian outposts, and hailing the sentinels, said that they had a +message to Nicias from his friends in Syracuse. "Tell him," said the +spokesman of the party, "That he must not attempt to stir to-night, for +all the roads are held by strong detachments of the Syracusans. Let him +wait until he has organised his forces, for a hasty and disordered +flight is sure to end in disaster." +</p> + +<p> +The message, of course, came from Hermocrates, who had contrived this +trick to delay the departure of the Athenians, until time had been +gained to occupy the passes on their route. That Nicias should have +fallen into the snare is not surprising, but it is less easy to explain +how Demosthenes and the other generals came to be deceived by so +transparent a fraud. Yet such was in fact the case; the insidious hint +was accepted as a piece of friendly advice, and the march was +postponed. For a whole day and night the Athenians still lingered on +the spot, and thus gave ample time for their enemies to draw the net +round them, and block every avenue to safety. +</p> + +<p> +On the third day after the battle, the order was given to march. As the +great army formed into column, the full horror of their situation came +home to every heart. This, then, was the end of those grand dreams of +conquest with which they had sailed to Sicily two years before! On the +heights of Epipolae their walls and their fort was still standing, a +monument of failure and defeat. Each familiar landmark reminded them of +some fallen comrade, or some disastrous incident in the siege. If they +glanced towards the Great Harbour, they could see the victorious +Syracusans towing off the shattered hull of an Athenian trireme, the +last sad remnant of two great armaments. If they turned their thoughts +towards Athens and home, they found no comfort there; for their beloved +city was beset with enemies, and in themselves, beaten and broken as +they were, lay her chief hope of salvation. The past was all black with +calamity, and the future loomed terrible before them, threatening +captivity and death; and the present, in that last hour of parting, was +full of such sights and sounds of woe as might have stirred pity even +in the breasts of their enemies. Around them, the camp was strewn with +the unburied corpses of brothers, comrades and sons, and thousands more +were tossing on the waves, or flung up on the shores of the bay. And +while the neglect of that sacred duty pressed heavily on their +conscience, still more harrowing were the cries of the sick and +wounded, who clung round their knees, imploring to be taken with them, +and when the army began to move followed with tottering steps, until +they sank down exhausted, calling down the curse of heaven on the +retreating host. Such was the anguish of that moment, that it seemed as +if the whole population of some great city had been driven into exile, +and was seeking a new home in a distant soil. +</p> + +<p> +In this dire extremity, when the strongest spirits were crushed with +misery, one voice was heard, which still spoke of hope. It was the +voice of Nicias, who, when all others faltered, rose to a pitch of +heroism which he had never shown before. Bowed as he was with care, and +wasted by disease, he braced himself with more than human energy, and +moved with light step from rank to rank, exhorting that stricken +multitude in words of power. "Comrades," he said, "even now there is no +need to despair. Others have been saved before now from calamities yet +deeper than ours. You see in what state I am, cast down from the summit +of human prosperity, and condemned, in my age and weakness, to share +the hardships of the humblest soldier among you,—I, who was ever +constant in the service of the gods, and punctual in the performance of +every social duty. Yet have I not lost faith in the righteousness of +heaven, nor should you give up all for lost, if by any act of yours you +have fallen under the scourge of divine vengeance. There is mercy, as +well as justice, among the gods, and we, in sinking thus low, have +become the proper objects of their compassion. Think too what firm +ground of confidence we have, in the shields and spears of so many +thousand warriors. There is no power in Sicily which can resist us, +either to prevent our coming or to shorten our stay. A few days march +will bring us to the country of the friendly Sicels, who have already +received notice of our approach. Once there, we can defy all attack, +and look forward to the time when we shall see our homes again, and +raise up the fallen power of Athens." +</p> + +<p> +These and similar exhortations were repeated by Nicias again and again, +as the army moved slowly forwards up the valley of the Anapus, keeping +a westerly direction, towards the interior of the island. The troops +were formed in a hollow oblong, with the baggage animals and +camp-followers in the middle, and advanced in two divisions, Nicias +leading the van, and Demosthenes bringing up the rear. The vigilance +and activity of Nicias never relaxed for a moment. Careless of his many +infirmities and exalted rank, he passed incessantly up and down the +column, chiding the stragglers, and attending to the even trim of his +lines. On reaching the ford of the Anapus, they put to flight a +detachment of the enemy which was stationed there to oppose their +passage, and crossing the river, continued their march. But now the +real difficulties of the retreat began to appear. The Syracusans had no +intention of hazarding a pitched battle, but their horsemen and light +infantry hung upon the flanks of the Athenian army, making sudden +charges, and keeping up a constant discharge of javelins. +</p> + +<p> +At nightfall the Athenians encamped under the shelter of a hill, some +five miles from their starting-point, and setting out at daybreak on +the following day, they pushed on with pain and difficulty, harassed at +every step by the galling attacks of the Syracusan troops. [Footnote: +Thucydides, with characteristic brevity, leaves this to be inferred +from the slowness of their progress.] A march of two miles and a half +brought them to a village, situated on a level plain, and here they +halted, wishing to supply themselves with food, and replenish their +water-vessels; for the country which they had now to traverse was a +desert, many miles in extent. Directly in their line of route there is +a narrow pass, when the road, on entering the hill country, drops sheer +down on either side into a deep ravine, and if they could once cross +this dangerous point they would be within reach of their allies, the +Sicels. But it was too late to proceed further that day, and while they +lay encamped in the village, the Syracusans hurried on in advance, and +blocked the pass by building a wall across the road. When the Athenians +resumed their march next morning, they were fiercely assailed by the +enemy's light horse and foot, who disputed every inch of ground, and at +last compelled them to fall back on the village where they had encamped +the night before. Provisions were now growing scanty, and every attempt +to leave their lines in search of plunder and forage was baffled by the +Syracusan horse. +</p> + +<p> +On the fourth day they broke up their camp early, and by incessant +fighting succeeded in forcing their way as far as the pass. But all +further advance was prevented by the wall, and the dense masses of +infantry posted behind it. In vain the Athenians flung themselves again +and again upon the barrier. The troops stationed on the cliffs above +assailed them with a shower of missiles, and the solid phalanx of +hoplites repulsed every assault. Convinced at last that they were +wasting their strength to no purpose, they desisted, and retiring from +the wall halted at some distance for a brief interval of repose. During +this pause a storm of rain and thunder broke over their heads; and to +the weary and disheartened Athenians it seemed that the very elements +were in league with the enemy against them. But they had little time to +indulge in these melancholy reflections; for while they were resting, +Gylippus stole round to their rear, and prepared to cut off their +retreat by building a second wall across the pass. The news of this +imminent peril roused the Athenians from their stupor, and they marched +back with all speed along the road by which they had come. A picked +body of troops, sent on in advance, scattered the soldiers of Gylippus, +and the whole army then emerged from that death-trap, and encamped for +the night in the open plain. +</p> + +<p> +The next day was spent in a last desperate effort to reach the hill +country. But being now on level ground, they were exposed on all sides +to the attacks of the Syracusan horse, who charged them incessantly, +and slew their men by hundreds, with hardly any loss to themselves. The +hopeless struggle continued until evening, and when the enemy drew off, +they left the Athenians not a mile from the place where they had passed +the previous night. +</p> + +<p> +The original plan of the Athenian generals had been to penetrate the +highlands of Sicily to the west of Syracuse, and then strike across +country, until they reached the southern coast, in the direction of +Gela or Camarina. [Footnote: I have followed Holm, as cited in +Classen's Appendix (Third Edition, 1908).] But after two days' fighting +they had utterly failed to force an entrance into the mountains. Many +of their soldiers were wounded, the whole army was weakened by famine, +and a third attempt, made in such conditions, must inevitably end in +utter disaster. They resolved therefore to change their route, and +march southwards along the level coast country, until they could reach +the interior by following one of the numerous glens which pierce the +hills on this side of Sicily. Having come to this decision, they caused +a great number of fires to be lighted, and then gave the order for an +immediate start, hoping by this means to steal a march on the enemy. +This sudden flight through the darkness, in a hostile country, with +unknown terrors around them, caused something like a panic in the +Athenian army. +</p> + +<p> +Nicias, however, who was still leading the van, contrived to keep his +men together, and made good progress; but the division under +Demosthenes fell into great disorder, and was left far behind. By +daybreak, both divisions [Footnote: See note, p. 242.] were within +sight of the sea, and entering the road which runs north and south +between Syracuse and Helorus, they continued their march towards the +river Cacyparis. Here they intended to turn off into the interior, with +the assistance of the Sicels, whom they expected to meet at the river. +But when they reached the ford of the Cacyparis, they found, instead of +the Sicels, a contingent of Syracusan troops, who were raising a wall +and palisade to block the passage. This obstruction was overcome +without much difficulty, and the whole Athenian army crossed the river +in safety. But the presence of the enemy on this side of Syracuse was +sufficient to deter them from taking the inland route by the valley of +the Cacyparis, and following the advice of their guides, they kept the +main road, and pressed on towards the south. +</p> + +<p> +We must now return for a moment to the Syracusans under Gylippus, who +remained in their camp all night, not far from the pass which they had +so successfully defended. When they found in the morning that the +Athenians had departed, they were loud in their anger against Gylippus, +thinking that he had purposely suffered them to escape. The tracks of +so many thousands left no room for doubt as to the direction which the +fugitives had taken, and full of rage at the supposed treachery of +their leader, the Syracusans set out at once in hot pursuit. About +noon, on the sixth day of the retreat, they overtook the division of +Demosthenes, which had again lagged behind, and was marching slowly and +in disorder separated from the other half of the army by a distance of +six miles. Deprived of all hope of succour from his colleague, and +hemmed in on all sides by implacable enemies, Demosthenes called a +halt, and prepared to make his last stand. But his men, who from the +first had held the post of honour and danger, were fearfully reduced in +numbers, faint with famine, and exhausted by their long march. Driven +to and fro by the incessant charges of the Syracusan cavalry, they +could make no effective resistance, and at last they huddled pell-mell +into a walled enclosure, planted with olive-trees, and skirted on +either side by a road. They were now at the mercy of the Syracusans. +who surrounded the enclosure, and plied them with javelins, stones, and +arrows. After this butchery had continued for many hours, and the +survivors were brought to extremity by wounds, hunger, and thirst, +Gylippus sent a herald, who was the bearer of a remarkable message. +"Let those of you," he said, "who are natives of the islands subject to +Athens, come over to us, and you shall be free men." The offer was +addressed to the Greeks from the maritime cities of the Aegaean, who +might be supposed to be serving under compulsion, and it speaks volumes +for the loyalty and attachment of these men to Athens that most of them +refused to accept their freedom from the hands of her enemies. At +length, however, the whole army of Demosthenes, which had now dwindled +to six thousand men, was induced to surrender, on condition that none +of them should suffer death by violence, by bonds, or by starvation. At +the command of their captors they gave up the money which they had with +them, and the amount collected was so considerable that it filled the +hollows of four shields. When the capitulation was concluded, +Demosthenes, who had refused to make any terms for himself, drew his +sword, and attempted to take his own life; [Footnote: This interesting +fact is recorded by Plutarch and Pausanias, who copied it from the +contemporary Syracusan historian, Philistus.] but he was prevented from +effecting his purpose, and compelled to take his place in the mournful +procession which was now conducted by a strong guard along the road to +Syracuse. +</p> + +<p> +Meanwhile the vanguard under Nicias, in total ignorance of the fate +which had befallen their comrades, marched steadily forwards, and +crossing the river Erineus, encamped for the night on a neighbouring +hill. Here they were found next morning by Gylippus and the Syracusans, +who informed them that Demosthenes and his men had surrendered, and +called upon them to do the same. Doubting their good faith, Nicias +obtained a truce, while he sent a horseman to ascertain the facts; and +even when he had learnt the truth from his messenger, he still tried to +parley, offering, in the name of the Athenian state, to defray the +whole cost of the war, and to give hostages for payment, at the rate of +an Athenian citizen for each talent, on condition that he and his men +were allowed to go. But the Syracusans were in no mood to listen to +such proposals, even if Nicias had spoken with full authority from +Athens. Bare life they would grant, but no more, and as the Athenians +refused to yield on these terms, they closed in upon them, and the +cruel, hopeless struggle began again, and continued until evening. The +wretched Athenians lay down supperless to snatch a few hours of rest, +intending, when all was quiet, to steal away under cover of darkness. +But when they rose at dead of night, and prepared to march, a shout +from the Syracusan camp warned them that the enemy were on the alert, +and they were compelled to return to their comfortless bivouac. Three +hundred, however, persisted in their intention, and forcing their way +through the Syracusan lines, gained for themselves a brief respite from +capture. +</p> + +<p> +A whole week had now elapsed since the ill-fated army left its quarters +on the shores of the Great Harbour, and a few thousand starving and +weary men were all that remained of that great host. At dawn on the +eighth day Nicias gave the word to march, and they pressed on eagerly +towards the Assinarus, a stream of some size, with high and precipitous +banks, not more than two miles distant from their last halting-place. +They had still some faint hope of making good their escape, if they +could but cross the river. So they fought their way onwards, through +the swarming ranks of the Syracusans, who closed them in on all sides, +and thrust them together into one solid mass. There was life, there was +freedom a little way beyond,—or, if that hope proved futile, at any +rate there was water; and every fibre in their bodies ached and burned +with intolerable thirst. They reached the river; both banks were +already lined by the Syracusan horse, who had ridden on before, and +stood guarding the ford: but there was no stopping the wild rush of +that maddened, desperate multitude. Down the steep bank they plunged, +trampling on one another, and flung themselves open-mouthed upon the +stream, with one thought, one wish, overpowering every other +impulse,—to drink, and then to die. Some fell upon the spears of their +comrades, and perished, others slipped on the floating baggage, lost +their foothold, and were swept away by the flood. Yet still they poured +on, by hundreds and by thousands, drawn by the same longing, and thrust +downwards by the weight of those behind, until the whole riverbed was +filled with a huddled, surging mob of furious men, who drank, and still +drank, or fought with one another to reach the water. All this time an +iron storm of missiles rained down upon them from the thronging hosts +of their enemies on the banks above, while some, in the midst of their +draught, were pierced by the spears of the Peloponnesians, who followed +them into the river, and slew them at close quarters. The water grew +red with blood, and foul from the trampling of so many feet, but the +thirsty multitude still came crowding in, and drank with avidity of the +polluted stream. +</p> + +<p> +For a long time the slaughter raged unchecked, and the river-bed was +choked with heaps of slain. A few, who escaped from the river, were +pursued and cut down by the Syracusan horse. Nicias had held out until +the last moment; but when he perceived that all was lost, his men being +powerless either to fight or fly, he made his way to Gylippus, and +implored him to stop the useless carnage. "I surrender myself," he +said, "to you and the Spartans. Do with me as you please, but put an +end to this butchery of defenceless men." Gylippus gave the necessary +order, and the word was passed round to kill no more, but take captive +those who survived. The order was obeyed, though slowly and with +reluctance, and the work of capture began. But few of those taken in +the river ever found their way into the public gaol, where Demosthenes +was now lying, with the six thousand who had surrendered on the day +before. For, as there had been no regular capitulation, large numbers +of the prisoners were secretly conveyed away by the Syracusans, who +afterwards sold them into slavery for their own profit. As for the +three hundred who had broken out of camp on the previous night, they +were presently brought in by a party of cavalry despatched in pursuit. +</p> + +<p> +When the first transports of joy and triumph were over, an assembly was +called to decide on the fate of the two Athenian generals, and of those +state prisoners, some seven thousand in number, who were the sole +visible remnant of two great armies. Then arose a strange conflict of +motives. The first who put forward his claims was Gylippus, to whose +genius and energy the victorious issue of the struggle was mainly due. +As a reward for his services, he asked that Nicias and Demosthenes +should be left to his disposal, for he wished to have the honour of +carrying home with him these famous captains, one the greatest friend, +the other the greatest enemy of Sparta. But the general voice of the +assembly was strongly against him. Nothing but the blood of the two +principal offenders could satisfy the vengeance of the Syracusans, and +those who had intrigued with Nicias were anxious to put him out of the +way, in fear lest he should betray them. Moreover the Corinthian allies +of Syracuse, who for some reason had a special grudge against Nicias, +demanded his immediate execution. In vain Hermocrates pleaded the cause +of mercy, [Footnote: Plutarch, <i>Nicias</i>, c. 28.] and urged his +fellow-citizens to make a generous use of their victory. Sentence of +death was passed, and these two eminent Athenians, so different in +character and achievement, were united in their end. +</p> + +<p> +Far worse was the doom pronounced on the six thousand men of +Demosthenes, and the thousand more who were brought to Syracuse after +the massacre at the Assinarus. They were condemned to confinement in +the stone quarries, deep pits surrounded by high walls of cliff, under +the south-eastern edge of Epipolae. Penned together in these roofless +dungeons, they were exposed to the fierce heat of the sun by day, and +to the bitter cold of the autumn nights, and having scarcely room to +move, they were unable to preserve common decency, or common +cleanliness. Many died of their wounds, or of the diseases engendered +by exposure, and their bodies were left unburied, a sight of horror and +a source of infection to the survivors. To these frightful miseries +were added a perpetual burning thirst, and the lingering torture of +slow starvation, for each man received as his daily allowance a poor +half pint of water, and a mere pittance of food, just enough to avoid +breaking the letter of the conditions which Demosthenes had made for +his troops. In this state they were left without relief for ten long +weeks; then all except the Athenians themselves, and their allies from +the Greek cities of Sicily and Italy, were taken out and sold as slaves. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="epilogue"></a> +EPILOGUE +</h3> + +<p> +Such was the end of the Sicilian Expedition, which ultimately decided +the issue of the Peloponnesian War. Forsaking the wise counsels of +their greatest statesman, and carried away by the mad sophistry of +Alcibiades, the Athenians had committed themselves, heart and soul, to +a wild game of hazard, in which they had little to win, and everything +to lose. By this act of desperate folly they brought on themselves an +overwhelming disaster, from which it was impossible for them wholly to +recover. With wonderful vitality they rallied from the blow, and +struggled on for nine years more, against the whole power of +Peloponnesus, and their own revolted allies, backed by the influence +and the gold of Persia. They gained great victories, and under prudent +leaders they might still have been saved from the worst consequences of +their defeat in Sicily. But at every favourable crisis they wantonly +flung away the advantage they had gained, and abandoned themselves to +blind guides, who led them further and further on the road to ruin. +</p> + +<p> +The history of Thucydides ends abruptly in the twenty-first year of the +war, and for an account of the closing scenes we have to go to the +pages of Xenophon. It will be convenient, therefore, to bring our +narrative to a close at the point which we have reached, for any +attempt even to sketch the events of this confused and troubled period +would carry us far beyond the limits of the present volume. And so for +the present we take leave of the Athenians, in the hour of their +decline. Their light is burning dim, and yet darker days are awaiting +them in the future. But they are still great and illustrious, as the +chief guardians of those spiritual treasures which are our choicest +heritage from the past. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /><br /></p> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Stories from Thucydides, by H. L. 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Havell + +Posting Date: April 26, 2014 [EBook #9074] +Release Date: October, 2005 +First Posted: September 2, 2003 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORIES FROM THUCYDIDES *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Franks, Delphine Lettau and Project +Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders. HTML version by Al +Haines. + + + + + + + + + + + +STORIES FROM THUCYDIDES + +RETOLD BY H. L. HAVELL B. A. + +FORMERLY SCHOLAR OF UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OXFORD + + + + + _O my poor Kingdom, sick with civil blows!_ + SHAKESPEARE, _Henry IV_. + + + + CONTENTS + + PROLOGUE + CORINTH AND CORCYRA + THE SURPRISE OF PLATAEA + THE PLAGUE AT ATHENS + INVESTMENT OF PLATAEA + NAVAL VICTORIES OF PHORMIO + THE REVOLT OF LESBOS + ESCAPE OF TWO HUNDRED PLATAEANS. FALL OF PLATAEA + CAPTURE OF A HUNDRED AND TWENTY SPARTANS AT SPHACTERIA + CAMPAIGNS OF BRASIDAS IN THRACE + THE HOLLOW PEACE + THE ATHENIANS IN SICILY + EPILOGUE + + + + +PROLOGUE + +In a former volume we have traced the course of events which ended in +the complete overthrow of Xerxes and his great army. Our present task +is to describe the chief incidents in the cruel and devastating war, +commonly known as the Peloponnesian War, which lasted for twenty-seven +years, and finally broke up the Athenian Empire. The cause of that war +was the envy and hatred excited in the other states of Greece by the +power and greatness of Athens; and in order to make our story +intelligible we must indicate briefly the steps by which she rose to +that dangerous eminence, and drew upon herself the armed hostility of +half the Greek world. + +We take up our narrative at the point of time when the Athenians +returned to their ruined homes after the defeat of the Persians at +Plataea. Of their ancient city nothing remained but a few houses which +had served as lodgings for the Persian grandees, and some scattered +fragments of the surrounding wall. Their first task was to restore the +outer line of defence, and by the advice of Themistocles the new wall +took in a much wider circuit than the old rampart which had been +destroyed by the Persians. The whole population toiled night and day to +raise the bulwark which was to guard their temples and their homes, +using as materials the walls of the houses which had been sacked and +burnt by the Persians, with whatever remained of public buildings, +sacred or profane, and sparing not even the monumental pillars of +graves in the urgency of their need. + +But jealous eyes were watching them, and busy tongues were wagging +against that gallant race of Attica which had been foremost in the +common cause against the barbarian invader. "These Athenians are +dangerous neighbours," was the cry. "Let us stop them from building +their wall, or Athens will become a standing menace to ourselves." +Before long these murmurs reached the ears of the Spartans, and they +sent envoys to dissuade the Athenians from fortifying their city. Their +real purpose was disguised under the mask of anxiety for the general +safety of Greece. "It is not expedient," they urged, "that the +Persians, when next they come against us, should find fenced cities +which they may make their strongholds, as they have lately done in +Athens and in Thebes. Cease, therefore, from building this wall, and +help us to destroy all such defences, outside of Peloponnesus. If we +are attacked again, we will unite our forces within the isthmus, and +meet the invader from there." + +But Themistocles was not the man to be hoodwinked by the simple cunning +of the Spartans. By his advice the Athenians dismissed the envoys, +promising to send an embassy to discuss the matter at Sparta. As soon +as they were gone, Themistocles caused himself to be appointed as head +of the embassy, and set out at once for Sparta, instructing the +Athenians to keep his colleagues back until the wall had been raised to +a sufficient height for purposes of defence. Arrived at Sparta, he kept +himself close in his lodging, and declined all conference with the +authorities, alleging that he could do nothing without his colleagues. + +Meanwhile the Athenians were making incredible efforts to carry on the +work which was essential to their liberty and prosperity. Men, women, +and children toiled without intermission, and the wall was rapidly +approaching a defensible height. The clamour of their enemies grew +louder and louder, and angry messages reached the Spartans everyday, +reproaching them with their supineness and procrastination. Being asked +the meaning of these reports, Themistocles professed total ignorance, +and bade the Spartans send men to Athens to see for themselves. The +Spartans did so, and when the men arrived at Athens the Athenians, who +had been privately warned by Themistocles, kept them in custody, as +hostages for their own representatives at Sparta. Themistocles had +meanwhile been joined by his partners in the embassy, and learning from +them that the wall was now of sufficient height, he spoke out plainly, +and let the Spartans understand what his true purpose was. "Athens," he +said, "is once more a fortified city, and we are able to discuss +questions of public or private interest on a footing of equality. When +we forsook all, and took to our ships to fight for the common weal, it +was done without prompting of yours; and that peril being past, we +shall take such measures as concern our safety, without leave asked of +you. And in serving ourselves, we are serving you also; for if Athens +is not free, how can she give an unbiased vote in questions which +concern the general welfare of Greece?" + +It was impossible for the Spartans to express open resentment at a plea +so moderate and so reasonable. But they were secretly annoyed to find +that their malice had been detected and exposed; and by this incident +was sown the first seed of ill-will which was afterwards to bear such +bitter fruit for Athens and for Greece. For the present, however, the +affair was ended, and the first step secured for the Athenians in their +career of glory and power. + +Themistocles was the first who clearly saw that the future of Athens +lay on the sea. But if Athens was to hold and extend her position as +the first naval power in Greece, it was above all things necessary that +she should have a strong and fortified station for her fleets, her +arsenals, and her dockyards. Nature had provided her with what she +needed, in the peninsula of Peiraeus, which juts out into the Saronic +Gulf, about five miles south-west of the inland town. As soon as the +city-wall was completed, fortifications of immense strength were +carried round the whole of Peiraeus; and within this vast rampart rose +a second city, equal in size to the old one, with streets laid out in +straight lines, and filled with the stir and bustle of a maritime +population. Three land-locked harbours gave ample room for the fleets +of Athens to lie in shelter and safety; and this great sea-port town +was afterwards united to the original city by two long walls, which met +the sea, one at the north-western corner of Peiraeus, and the other at +the south-eastern point of the Bay of Phalerum. Between these, at a +later period, a third wall was built, running parallel to the northern +wall at a distance of about two hundred feet, and known as the Southern +or Middle Wall. + +Many years elapsed before these important works were completed; and in +the meantime great events had been happening in other parts of the +Greek world, tending more and more to realise the dream of +Themistocles, and make his beloved city the undisputed mistress of the +sea. After the defeat of the Persian armies and fleets at Salamis, +Plataea, and Mycale, much hard work remained to be done, in reducing +the outlying cities on the coasts of Thrace and in the eastern corners +of the Aegaean, which held out for the Great King. The Spartans were +still nominal leaders of the allied Greek navy; but after a year of +service they resigned this position, which they owed to their +acknowledged supremacy in land warfare, to the Athenians. They were +induced to take this step, partly by their own aversion to foreign +enterprises, and partly by the misconduct of their general Pausanias, +who had disgusted the allies serving under him in the fleet by his +intolerable arrogance and tyranny. The field was thus left open to the +Athenians, who willingly assumed the command offered them by the +maritime cities of Greece, with the object of prosecuting the war +vigorously against Persia. Each city was assessed to furnish a fixed +contribution of ships or money, and the sacred island of Delos was +appointed as the common treasury and meeting-place of the league. Thus +was formed the famous Delian Confederacy, with the avowed purpose of +making reprisals on the Great King's territory for the havoc which he +had wrought in Greece. For a time all went smoothly, and the various +members of the league fought under Athens as her independent allies. +But by degrees the Greeks from the islands and coast-lands of Asia +began to weary of their arduous duties, and murmured against the +Athenians, who proved hard task-masters, and compelled them by force to +perform their part in the bargain. One by one the cities revolted from +the leadership of Athens, were attacked by her navies, and reduced to +the position of subjects and tributaries. Others voluntarily withdrew +from all active co-operation in the war, agreeing to pay a fixed annual +sum as a substitute for service in the fleet. And before the outbreak +of the Peloponnesian War the two powerful islands of Lesbos and Chios +were the only members of the original league who still retained their +independence. + +Such were the circumstances which led to the foundation of the Athenian +Empire, which grew up, by the force of necessity, out of the decay of a +confederacy born of a common need, and organised for the special +benefit of the Asiatic Greeks. For the names of the Greek cities on the +coasts of Asia Minor still figured in the Persian tribute-lists; and +the moment that the grasp of Athens relaxed on the confines of the +King's dominions, after the ruinous defeat in Sicily, Persian +tax-gatherers came knocking at the gates of Ephesus and Miletus, +demanding the arrears of tribute. So urgent was the need supplied by +the energy of Athens, and so blind were these Greeks of Asia Minor to +their own interests. + +The visible sign of this momentous change, by which the Delian +Confederacy became merged in the Athenian Empire, was the removal of +the treasury from Delos to Athens. The Athenians now undertook the +whole administration of the common fund, using the surplus for the +adornment of Athens by magnificent public buildings. This appropriation +seems reasonable enough, when we consider that the whole burden of +defending the eastern Greeks against Persia, and keeping the barbarian +out of Greek waters, now lay upon Athens. This great public duty, which +had been thrown upon her by the indifference of Sparta, and the unmanly +sloth of her own allies, was faithfully performed; and she might well +ask why she should be called upon to lavish the blood of her own +citizens for nothing. That Athens should be great, splendid, and +powerful, was not only a reward due to her public spirit and devotion +to the common cause, but also a guarantee for the general dignity and +liberty of Greeks. And we, who have still before us the remnants of her +temples and statues, and learn from them what man can accomplish under +the inspiration of great ideals, need not scan too closely her claim to +appropriate the funds which she employed for so noble a purpose. For +this was the great age of Grecian art, the age of Phidias, Polycletus, +Myron, and Polygnotus. The greatest of these was Phidias; and in the +Parthenon, or Temple of the Virgin Goddess, [Footnote: Athene, the +patron goddess of Athens.] built under his direction on the Acropolis +at Athens, he has left the most enduring monument of his fame. He also +designed the Propylaea, a magnificent columned vestibule, fronting the +broad flight of steps which led up to the western entrance of the +Acropolis. But the most renowned of his works was the gigantic statue +of the Olympian Zeus, wrought in gold and ivory, which was the chief +glory of the temple at Olympia. Of this sublime creation, the highest +expression of divinity achieved by the ancients, only the fame +survives. These triumphs of art were not brought to completion until +nearly the close of the period of forty-eight years which separates the +Persian from the Peloponnesian War; and it is now necessary to glance +backward, and touch briefly on the principal events which occurred +after the formation of the Delian Confederacy. The war was carried on +with energy against Persia, and hostilities continued at intervals for +thirty years after the battle of Plataea. [Footnote: B.C. 479-449.] + +The chief leader in these enterprises was the heroic Cimon, leader of +the conservative party at Athens, and the great rival of Pericles; and +his most brilliant exploit was a crushing defeat inflicted on the +Persian army and fleet at the mouth of the river Eurymedon in +Pamphylia. But the victorious career of the Athenians received a severe +check twelve years later in Egypt, where a large force of ships and men +was totally destroyed by the Persian general Megabyzus. The war dragged +on for five years longer, and peace was then concluded on terms highly +advantageous to the Greeks. Shortly before this, Cimon, who had been +the chief promoter of the war, died at Cyprus. + +The same years which brought to a successful issue the long struggle +with Persia witnessed a renewal of those internal conflicts by which +the energies of Greece were finally exhausted, leaving her an easy prey +to the arms of Macedon. The guilt of renewing these suicidal quarrels +lies with the Spartans, who had long been nursing their grudge against +Athens, and were waiting for the opportunity to inflict on her a fatal +blow. Fifteen years [Footnote: B.C. 464. ] after the battle of Plataea +they seized the occasion when the Athenians were engaged with a large +part of their forces in carrying on operations against the revolted +island of Thasos to prepare an invasion of Attica. But at the very +moment when they were meditating this act of perfidy a double disaster +fell upon them at home, demanding all their exertions to save them from +ruin. Sparta was levelled to the ground by a terrible earthquake, in +which twenty thousand of her citizens perished; and in the midst of the +panic caused by this awful calamity the Helots rose in arms against +their oppressors, and forming an alliance with the Messenian subjects +of Sparta, entrenched themselves in a strong position on Mount Ithome. +Here they maintained themselves for two years, defying all the efforts +of the Spartans to drive them from their stronghold. In spite of their +recent treachery, the Spartans were not ashamed to apply to Athens for +help: and chiefly through the influence of Cimon, whose laurels from +the Eurymedon were still fresh, four thousand Athenian hoplites +[Footnote: Heavy-armed foot-soldiers.] were sent under his command to +aid in dislodging the Helots. The Athenians were famous for their skill +in attacking fortified places; but on this occasion they were +unsuccessful, and the Spartans, whose evil conscience made them prone +to suspicion, at once began to doubt the honesty of their intentions, +and dismissed them with scant ceremony. This unfriendly act helped to +embitter the relations between the two leading cities of Greece; and +two years later, when the Messenians were expelled from Ithome, and +driven into exile, the Athenians settled them with their families at +Naupactus, an important strategic position on the north of the +Corinthian Gulf, which has recently fallen into the hands of Athens. + +Deeply offended by the affront received at Ithome, the Athenians now +formed an alliance with Argos, the ancient rival and bitter enemy of +Sparta. Thessaly, connected with Athens by old ties of friendship, +joined the league; and Megara, now suffering from the oppressions of +Corinth, made a fourth. + +Within sight of the shores of Attica lies the island of Aegina, famous +in legend as the home of Aeacus, grandfather of Achilles, and +distinguished for its school of sculpture, and for its mighty breed of +athletes, whose feats are celebrated in the laureate strains of Pindar. +The Aeginetans had obtained the first prize for valour displayed in the +battle of Salamis, and for many years they had pressed the Athenians +hard in the race for maritime supremacy. They were now attacked by an +overwhelming Athenian force, and after a stubborn resistance were +totally defeated, and compelled to enroll themselves among the subjects +of Athens. A still harder fate was reserved for the hapless Dorian +islanders in the next generation. + +In the following nine years [Footnote: B.C. 456-447.] the power of +Athens reached its greatest height, and for a moment it seemed as if +she were destined to extend her empire over the whole mainland of +Greece. By the victory of Oenophyta, gained over the Boeotians just +before the reduction of Aegina, Athens became mistress of all the +central provinces of the Greek peninsula, from the pass of Thermopylae +to the gulf of Corinth. The alliance of Megara, lately united by long +walls to its harbour of Nisaea, secured her from invasion on the side +of Peloponnesus. The great island of Euboea, with its rich pastures and +fruitful corn lands, had, since the Persian War, become an Athenian +estate, and was jealously guarded as one of her most valuable +possessions; and on the sea, from the eastern corner of the Euxine to +the strait of Gibraltar, there was none to dispute her sway. + +But this rapid ascent was followed by no less speedy a fall, and one +act of indiscretion stripped the Athenians of all the advantages which +they had acquired on the mainland of Greece. In every city of Greece +there were always two parties, the wealthy and noble, called oligarchs, +and the demos, or commons; and according as Spartan or Athenian +influence was in the ascendant the balance of power in each city +wavered between the nobles and the people, the Athenians favouring the +Many, the Spartans the Few. Accordingly there was always a party living +in exile, and waiting for a turn of affairs which might enable them to +return to their city, and wrest the power from that faction which had +been the last to triumph. In the cities of Boeotia the leaders of the +oligarchs had been driven into banishment after the battle of +Oenophyta, and democracies were established under the control of +Athens. After nine years of banishment these exiles returned, and the +result was an oligarchical reaction in the chief cities of Boeotia. A +hastily equipped and ill-organised force was sent out from Athens to +put down the authors of the revolution, and in the battle which +followed, at Coronea, [Footnote: B.C. 447.] the Athenians sustained a +severe defeat, and a large number of their citizens were taken +prisoners by the Boeotians. To recover these prisoners the Athenians +consented to evacuate Boeotia, and by this surrender they lost their +hold on central Greece, as far as Thermopylae. + +This heavy blow was followed two years later by the revolt of Megara +and Euboea; and in the midst of the alarm thus occasioned, the +Athenians heard that a powerful Spartan army was threatening their +borders. It was a terrible moment for Athens; but she was saved by the +prudence and energy of Pericles, whose influence in her councils was +now supreme. By some means or other--as the Spartans asserted, by a +heavy bribe--he induced the Spartan king Pleistoanax to draw off his +forces; and then crossing over into Euboea, he quickly reduced the +whole island to submission, and took severe measures to prevent any +outbreak in the future. + +The exertions of the Athenians during the last thirty years had been +prodigious, and their efforts to found an empire in continental Greece +had ended in total failure. Discouraged by their reverses, they +concluded a thirty years' truce with the Spartans and their allies, +resigning the last remnant of their recent conquests, and leaving +Megara in her old position as a member of the Peloponnesian league +under Sparta. The loss of Megara was severely felt, and her conduct in +the late troubles was neither forgotten nor forgiven. The Megarians had +by their own free choice been admitted into the Athenian alliance, and +in an hour of great peril to Athens, without shadow of pretext they had +risen in arms against her. It was not long before they had to pay a +heavy penalty for their treachery and inconstancy. + +The last event which we have to record, before entering into the main +current of our narrative, is the secession of Samos, the most important +member of the maritime allies of Athens. This wealthy and powerful +island had hitherto, with Chios and Lesbos, enjoyed the distinction of +serving under Athens as an independent ally. The Athenians, with a view +to their own interests, had recently set up a democracy in Samos, which +had hitherto been governed by an oligarchy. Incensed by this +interference, the Samian nobles, who had been driven into exile, hired +a mercenary force, and making a sudden attack from the mainland, +overthrew the democracy and raised the standard of revolt. The crisis +called for prompt and vigorous action on the part of Athens; for if +Samos had been successful in defying her authority, the other members +of the league would speedily have followed the example, and the whole +fabric of her empire might have been shattered to pieces. Pericles was +again equal to the emergency, and by employing the whole naval power of +Athens he was able, after a siege of nine months, to reduce the +refractory islanders to submission. The Samians were compelled to +surrender their fleet, to pull down their walls, to pay a heavy war +indemnity, and to give hostages as a security for their good conduct in +the future. And henceforward they became subjects and tributaries of +Athens. + +We have now completed our review of the chief events which occurred +between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars. It was a period of rapid +development for Athens, of ceaseless activity at home and abroad, of +immense progress in all the arts of war and peace. The imperial city +had now risen to her full stature, and stood forth, supreme in +intellect and in action, the wonder and envy of mankind. Her mighty +walls bade defiance to her enemies at home, and she held in her hand +the islands and coast-districts of the Aegaean, where the last murmur +of resistance had been quelled. Her recent reverses on the mainland of +Greece had left the real sources of her power untouched; and taught +her, if she would but take the lesson to heart, the proper limits of +her empire. And she had risen to this height, not by the prevailing +force of any single mind, but by the united efforts of all her +citizens, working together for a whole generation, shunning no +sacrifice, and shrinking from no exertion, in their devotion to the +common mother of them all. Every Athenian, from the wealthiest noble to +the poorest rower in the fleet, felt that he had a stake in the +country, which to a Greek meant the city, where he was born. He gave +his vote in the Parliament [Footnote: Called the Ecclesia.] of Athens, +and served on the juries chosen by lot from the whole body of the +citizens, before whose judgment-seat, unassailable by bribery or +intimidation, the mightiest offenders trembled. He was a statesman, a +judge, a lawgiver, and a warrior, and he might even hope to climb to +the highest place in the State, and rule, like Pericles, as a prince of +democracy. Around him rose the temples and statues of the gods, fresh +from the chisel of the artist, the visible symbols of Athenian +greatness, and of the grand ideals which he served. The masterpieces of +Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides opened to him the boundless realms +of the imagination, taught him grave lessons of moral wisdom, and +connected the strenuous present with the heroic past; and the Old +Comedy, the most complete embodiment of the very genius of democracy, +afforded a feast of wit and fancy for his lighter hours. If he had a +taste for higher speculation, he might hear Anaxagoras discoursing on +the mysteries of the spiritual world, or Zeno applying his sharp tests +for the conviction of human error. And when the assembly was summoned +to discuss matters of high imperial policy, he felt all the greatness +and majesty of the Athenian state, as he hung entranced on the lips of +Pericles. + +Such was Athens in her prime, and such were the men who raised her to +the lofty eminence which she held among the cities of Greece. But the +years which had lifted her to that unparalleled height had raised up a +host of enemies against her, and it behoved her to temper ambition with +prudence if she would maintain the proud position which the held. The +scattered units which composed the Athenian empire were held together +by no tie of loyalty or affection to their common mistress, but solely +by the dread of her overwhelming naval power. Even in the noblest +spirits of ancient Greece, the feeling of patriotism, as we understand +it, was feeble and uncertain; when we speak of our _country_, the Greek +spoke of his _city_, and his love, his hopes, his highest aspirations, +were bounded by the narrow circuit of the walls which contained the +tombs of his ancestors and the temples of his gods. This feeling, the +most deeply-rooted instinct of Greek political life, had been +grievously offended by Athens, when she compelled the islanders of the +Aegaean, and the Greek cities of Asia, to serve in her navies, and pay +tribute to her exchequer. + +Turning now to the mainland of Greece we find, in most of the leading +states, a sentiment of mingled fear and hatred against Athens, which +had been steadily increasing in volume in the course of the last thirty +years. The haughty Thebans had not forgotten their defeat at Oenophyta, +and their nine years of servitude to Athens. Aegina was groaning under +her yoke, and threatened with total political extinction. Megara +complained that her commerce was ruined by a decree which excluded her +merchants from the ports in the Athenian Empire. In the heart of +Peloponnesus the Spartans were hatching mischief against their hated +rival, who had robbed them of half their dignity as the acknowledged +leaders of the Greeks. Corinth, whose commerce was chiefly in the +western sea, outside the sphere of Athenian influence, was disposed to +be friendly, and had done the Athenians good service during the revolt +of Samos.[Footnote: See below, p. 31.] But five years later [Footnote: +B.C. 435.] an event occurred which changed this feeling into bitter +hatred against Athens, and drove the Corinthians into the ranks of her +most inveterate foes. And it is at this point that we take up the main +thread of our story. + + + + +STORIES FROM THUCYDIDES + +CORINTH AND CORCYRA + +I + +It was in a remote corner of the Greek world that the trouble began +which was destined to breed such mischief and havoc for the whole of +Greece. At the beginning of the seventh century before our era the +island of Corcyra had been colonised by the Corinthians. The colony +grew and flourished, and in its turn founded other settlements on the +opposite coasts of Epirus and Illyria. Among these was Epidamnus, +called by the Romans Dyrrachium, and in Roman times the ordinary +landing-place for travellers from Italy to Greece. After many years of +prosperity the resources of Epidamnus were much crippled by internal +faction, and by wars with the neighbouring barbarians. Four years +before the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War, the nobles of Epidamnus, +who had been expelled in the last revolution, made an alliance with the +native tribes of Illyria, and by constant plundering raids reduced the +Epidamnians to such straits that they were compelled to apply to +Corcyra for help. But the Corcyraeans, whose sympathies were on the +side of the banished nobles, refused to interfere. + +Epidamnus, as we have seen, was a colony founded by a colony, and +according to Greek custom the original settlers had been led by a +citizen of Corinth, the mother-city of Corcyra. Seeing, therefore, that +they had nothing to hope from the Corcyraeans, the distressed people of +Epidamnus began to turn their thoughts towards their ancient +metropolis, and considered whether they should appeal to her to save +them from ruin. But as this was a step of doubtful propriety, they +first consulted the oracle of Delphi, the great authority on questions +of international law. Receiving a favourable answer, they sent envoys +to Corinth, and offered to surrender their city to the Corinthians, in +return for their countenance and protection. + +The Corcyraeans had long been in evil odour at Corinth, for they had +grown insolent in prosperity, and neglected all the observances which +were due from a colony to the mother-city. They were, in fact, superior +to the Corinthians in wealth and power, and their fleet, numbering a +hundred and twenty triremes, was second only to that of Athens. Corcyra +was famous in legend as the seat of the Phaeacians, a heroic sailor +race, whose deeds are sung by Homer in the _Odyssey_; and the +Corcyraeans regarded themselves as the lawful inheritors of their fame. +For all these reasons they despised the Corinthians, and made no secret +of their contempt. Remembering the many occasions on which they had +been publicly insulted by Corcyra, the Corinthians lent a favourable +ear to the petition of Epidamnus, and determined to appropriate the +colony to themselves. Accordingly they invited all who chose to go and +settle at Epidamnus, and sent the new colonists under a military +escort, with instructions to proceed by land to Apollonia, for fear +lest they should be obstructed by the Corcyraean fleet, if they went by +sea. + +Great was the indignation at Corcyra when the news arrived that her +colony had been surrendered to Corinth, and a force of forty ships was +sent off in haste, bearing a peremptory demand to the Epidamnians that +they should receive back their exiles and send away the new colonists. +As the citizens refused to obey their mandate, they prepared to lay +siege to the town, which is situated on an isthmus. + +When the Corinthians heard of the danger of Epidamnus, they began to +make preparations on a much larger scale, collecting a host of new +colonists, and a fleet of seventy-five ships to convoy them on their +passage to Epidamnus. Apprised of these proceedings, the Corcyraeans +sent envoys to Corinth, with a civil remonstrance against the arbitrary +interference with their own colony. They were willing, they said, to +submit the matter to arbitration, and in the meantime to suspend all +hostilities against the revolted city. But the Corinthians paid no +attention to their overtures, and all being now ready, the great +multitude, drawn from all parts of Greece, set sail for Epidamnus. When +they reached Actium, at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf, they were met +by a herald, sent out from Corcyra in a skiff, to forbid their +approach. This was a mere manoeuvre, to throw the guilt of commencing +hostilities on the Corinthians; and meanwhile the Corcyraeans manned +their ships, to the number of eighty, and put out to meet the enemy's +fleet. In the sea-fight which followed the Corcyraeans gained a +complete victory, and on the same day Epidamnus was compelled to +capitulate to the besieging force. + +By this victory the Corcyraeans gained complete command of the western +or Ionian sea, and for the rest of the summer they sailed from place to +place, plundering the allies of Corinth. The Corinthians, however, were +not at all disposed to acquiesce in their defeat, and during the whole +of the following year they were busy organising a fresh expedition on a +vast scale, being resolved at all costs to put down the insolence of +Corcyra. These preparations caused no small anxiety to the Corcyraeans. +Hitherto they had stood apart, and refused to take any share in the +complicated game of Greek politics. The course of affairs during the +last forty years had tended more and more to divide the Greek world +into two opposite camps, arrayed under the banners of Athens and +Sparta. As Dorians, the Corcyraeans would naturally have enrolled +themselves among the allies of Sparta,--as islanders and seamen, they +might have leaned to the side of Athens: but confident in their remote +situation, and in the power of their fleet, they had chosen to remain +neutral. But finding themselves threatened with destruction, they now +resolved to abandon their policy of selfish isolation, and sue for +admission into the Athenian alliance. Ambassadors were sent to Athens +to urge their plea; and the Corinthians, hearing of their intention, +sent representatives of their own to oppose the application. + +The Athenians were fully alive to the gravity of the question which +they were called upon to decide, and after listening to the arguments +of the Corcyraean and Corinthian orators, they adjourned the debate +until the next day. To Corinth they were bound by old ties of +obligation; for on three distinct occasions the Corinthians had done +them signal service. More than seventy years before the date which we +have reached, the Spartans summoned their allies to consider whether it +was expedient to compel the Athenians to receive back the banished +tyrant Hippias; and it was chiefly by the eloquence of the Corinthian +speaker Sosicles, who drew a vivid picture of the miseries of +despotical government, that they were shamed out of their purpose. A +few years later, when the Athenians were at war with Aegina, they were +aided by twenty Corinthian ships. And quite recently, in the great +peril which menaced Athens at the revolt of Samos, Corinth had once +more shown herself a friend. At a congress of the Peloponnesian allies, +summoned to consider an appeal from the Samians for help, the +Corinthians had spoken strongly against interference with the revolted +allies of another city. Corinth was a place of old renown, the queen of +the Isthmus, a centre of civilisation; whereas Corcyra was a remote +island, and her people, though Greeks by descent, were in manners and +character more than half barbarians. + +But there were two arguments put forward by the Corcyraean orator, +which outweighed all other considerations of policy or friendship. The +first was addressed to the fears of the Athenians, the second to their +ambition. War, he argued, was inevitable, and it was of the utmost +importance for Athens to secure the alliance of the Corcyraean fleet, +and prevent it from being added to the naval forces of her enemies. And +his concluding words struck a note which found a response among the +more daring spirits among his hearers, whose thoughts, as it would +seem, were already turning to the western colonies of Greece, as a new +field of enterprise and conquest. "It will not do," he said, "to be too +nice. While you are hesitating, and weighing nice points of +international right, you will be outdistanced in the race for power, if +you tamely give up a great naval station which holds the key to Italy +and Sicily." + +Such reasoning, hollow and false as it was, turned the scale in favour +of Corcyra, and a defensive alliance was concluded, pledging the +Athenians and Corcyraeans to aid each other against any attack on the +territory or allies of either state. For the Athenians wished to avoid +breaking the Thirty Years' Truce, and therefore refrained from entering +into any agreement which might oblige them to acts of open aggression +against Corinth. + +There can be little doubt that Pericles, who was mainly responsible for +this decision, committed a fatal error in advising the Athenians to +take up the cause of Corcyra. By this act Athens incurred the +implacable hostility of Corinth, and revived the old grudge which that +city had conceived against her when Megara joined the Athenian +alliance. In the constantly shifting currents of Greek politics, Athens +might well, under wise guidance, have steered her way safely through +the perils which surrounded her. The Corinthians had half forgotten +their grievance, as is proved by their conduct at the revolt of Samos; +and the tone of their representative at the Corcyraean debate is +decidedly friendly. The Spartans were sluggish and procrastinating by +nature, and required some powerful impulse to induce them to act with +vigour; and this impulse was now supplied by Corinth. By accepting, +therefore, the alliance of Corcyra, Athens barred the way to all +compromise, and gathered into one head all the scattered causes of +jealousy and hatred which had been accumulating against her in the last +fifty years. + +Early in the following year the Corinthian fleet, numbering a hundred +and fifty sail, put to sea from Corinth, to renew the war with Corcyra, +and a battle was fought off the coast of Epirus. The engagement was +long and fierce, and the event was finally decided by a small squadron +of Athenian ships, which had been sent with instructions to hinder any +attempt of the enemy to land on the island Seeing that the Corcyraeans +were being forced back upon their own coast, the Athenian captains, who +had hitherto looked on, and taken no part in the battle, now assumed +the offensive, and lent such effectual aid that the Corinthians were +held in check until the sudden appearance of twenty additional ships +from Athens, which had been sent off immediately after the others, put +an end to the action. This timely interference saved Corcyra from ruin; +for next day the Corinthians, after a formal remonstrance, set sail for +home, taking with them two hundred and fifty prisoners, belonging to +the noblest families in Corcyra, whom they kept in safe custody, but +treated with great consideration, hoping by means of them at some +future time to recover their influence in the island. + + +II + +It was not long before the effects of this impolitic breach with +Corinth were sensibly felt by Athens. In the course of the following +summer, Potidaea, a Corinthian colony, situated on the borders of +Macedon, and included in the Athenian alliance, openly raised the +standard of revolt, encouraged by promises from Sparta, and by the +presence of a strong body of hoplites, sent for its support from +Corinth. Potidaea was presently closely invested by an Athenian army +and fleet, and the Corinthians pretended to make this a fresh ground of +complaint, though they had themselves incited the city to throw off its +allegiance to Athens. + +Feeling that matters were now approaching a crisis, the Spartans +summoned a congress of their allies, and invited all who had any +grievance against Athens to state their case. Then some spoke of the +wrongs of Aegina, formerly not the least among Greek cities, but now so +crushed under the yoke of Athens that she had not dared to raise her +voice openly against the tyrant-city. The Megarians complained of the +restrictions on their commerce, which threatened them with an empty +exchequer and a starving population; and others followed in the same +strain. When all the rest had spoken, the Corinthian orator, who had +reserved his eloquence till the end, came forward and delivered a +vehement harangue, containing hardly any specific charge against +Athens, but well calculated to inflame the passions and provoke the +pride of the Spartans. Though the acknowledged leader of Greece, and +champion of her liberties, Sparta, he said, had always been the last to +see the dangers which menaced the common country, and the last to take +measures for her defence. Spartan apathy and indolence had brought the +Greeks to the brink of ruin in the Persian War; and when that danger +was passed, the same fatal indifference had enabled Athens to advance +step by step on the path of aggrandisement; until now she had grown so +strong that the united force of the whole Peloponnesian league would be +required to put her down. Why had not the Spartans listened to the +warnings which they had heard, when the Athenians were rebuilding their +walls? Then they might have stopped the evil at its source, and saved a +multitude of cities from slavery and oppression. "Consider," cried the +orator, warming to his subject, "what manner of men these Athenians +are, and how vast is the difference between them and you. While you are +shut up in this inland valley, treading the dull round of mechanical +routine, they are continually pushing forward the boundaries of their +empire, toiling night and day to make their city great, never satisfied +with what they have, always thirsting for more. Cautious, timid, and +conservative as you are, hardly to be roused from your sloth by the +most imminent perils, how can you hope to curb the flight of Athenian +ambition, which knows no limit, and is checked by no reverse? + +"Men of Sparta, I speak as a friend, and you will not take my candour +amiss. New times require new manners, and if you would maintain your +great position you must move with the march of events, and abandon your +old-fashioned ways. Do not mistake stagnation for stability, but learn +a lesson even from these hated Athenians, who have risen to their +present pitch of greatness by adapting themselves to every new need as +it arose. + +"You know what you have to do, if you would wipe out the reproach which +rests upon you, and keep the respect of your faithful allies. Send an +army into Attica, and compel the Athenians to withdraw their forces +from Potidaea. And let it be done speedily, for while we are talking +our kinsmen are perishing." + +It happened that an Athenian embassy was present in Sparta, having been +sent there on some other business, and not for the purpose of +representing Athens at the debate. But when they heard of the outcry +which had been raised against their city, the envoys asked permission +for one of their number to address the Spartan assembly, wishing to +explain the true character and origin of the Athenian Empire, and to +warn the Spartans against plunging the whole country into the horrors +of civil war. Leave being granted, the Athenian orator entered on his +subject by sketching the course of events for the last sixty years. +Athens, he said, had twice saved Greece, first at Marathon, and +afterwards at Salamis. On the first of these occasions she had stood +almost alone against an overwhelming force of Persians; and ten years +later, though betrayed by her allies, she had borne the brunt against +the navy of Xerxes. Who, then, was worthier than she to hold empire +over Greeks? That empire had been forced upon her by the inertness of +Sparta, and by the cowardice and sloth of her own allies in the Delian +league. The power thus gained had been used with moderation, in marked +contrast to the previous tyranny of Persia exercised over the same +cities, and the arrogance of Spartan officers when engaged on foreign +service. But a light yoke, it would seem, was harder to bear than a +heavy one; if Athens had openly oppressed her subjects, she would never +have heard a murmur. + +Having thus tried to combat the prejudice against Athens, the orator +addressed himself directly to the Spartans, and said: "Consider the +awful responsibility which you will incur, if you suffer yourselves to +be carried away by the invectives of your allies, and drive us against +our will to tempt with you the dark uncertainties and perilous issues +of war. There is still time for an amicable settlement of our +differences: Athens is prepared to make all reasonable concessions, and +to submit to arbitration, as the terms of the treaty direct. And if you +decline to accept this offer, the guilt of the aggressor will lie with +you." + +It is remarkable that the speaker, in tracing the later course of +Athenian policy, lays no claim to those high motives of patriotism +which had inspired his people with sublime self-devotion two +generations back. He boldly asserts the principle that it is lawful for +the stronger to rule the weaker, and claims merit for Athens in +abstaining from excessive abuse of her power. The Athenians, we may +believe, had been tainted by the baseness of their confederates. In the +early days of the Delian league they had not attempted to educate the +Greeks whom they led up to the standard of their own splendid +zeal,--or, if the attempt had been made, it was unsuccessful. They had +taken upon themselves the whole burden of a great public duty, and +standing alone, without moral support from their countrymen, they had +gradually fallen away from the pure and lofty virtues of their +ancestors. This decay of public morality proceeds with rapid strides in +the years which follow, and we shall presently hear the doctrine that +might is right proclaimed with cynical frankness by the lips of an +Athenian. + +Having heard the complaints of their allies against Athens, and the +reply of the Athenian orator, the Spartans ordered all but those of +their own race to withdraw, and continued the debate with closed doors. +A great majority of the speakers were in favour of declaring immediate +war on Athens. But there was one important exception: the aged +Archidamus, who for the last fourteen years had been reigning as sole +king at Sparta, spoke strongly against the imprudence of assuming the +aggressive, before they had made adequate preparations to cope with the +offending city. It was an opinion generally held by the war-party that +the Athenians would be ready to make any concessions, in order to save +the land of Attica from ravage. This, said Archidamus, was a great +error; and the event proved that he was right. The Athenians, with +their great colonial empire, and complete command of the sea, were +quite independent of the products of their own estates in Attica. And +many years must elapse before the states of Peloponnesus could train a +fleet, and attack them on the sea, where alone they were assailable. It +was folly to suppose that such a contest could be decided by a single +summer campaign, as was commonly believed by the enemies of Athens. "I +fear rather," said the king, with prophetic foresight, "that we shall +leave this war as an inheritance to our children; such is the power, +and such the pride, of the state with which we have to contend." On the +other hand, the Spartans, as champions of the liberties of Greece, must +not allow the common oppressors of their countrymen to continue their +career of tyranny unchecked. Let them first, however, try what could be +effected by negotiation, and in the meantime prepare for war, by +building ships, and above all by collecting money, without which all +their valour would be useless. Then, if Athens still refused to listen +to reason, they might declare war with better hope of success. + +The speech of Archidamus shows a true insight into the nature of the +crisis which the Spartans were called upon to face, and his views were +amply justified by subsequent events. His wise words were no doubt +applauded by the older and more sober-minded among his hearers. But +there was another and a much more numerous party at that time in +Sparta, filled with bitter envy and hatred against Athens. Their +passions had been inflamed by the invectives of the Corinthian orator, +and without counting the cost they were resolved to try the issues of +immediate battle. Their blind rancour found expression in the curt and +pithy harangue of Sthenelaidas, one of the five Ephors, a college of +magistrates which in recent years had greatly encroached on the +authority of the kings. Sthenelaidas spoke with true laconic brevity. +"I don't understand," he said, "all the fine talk of these Athenians. +They have told us a great deal about their own merits, but have not +said a word in answer to the charges brought against them. Even if we +accept their own account of themselves, their good conduct in the past +only lends a darker colour to their present crimes. We have one plain +duty to perform, and that is to save our faithful allies from +ill-treatment. The time for words is past--leave them to the +transgressor. Our part is to act, at once, and with all our might, and +put down the overwhelming insolence of Athens." + +Then, in his capacity as Ephor, Sthenelaidas, without staying for +further argument, forthwith put the question to the Spartan assembly. +According to their ordinary procedure, the Spartans gave their votes by +cries of "Ay" and "No." But on this occasion Sthenelaidas pretended to +be unable to distinguish whether the "Ays" or "Nos" had it, and wishing +to encourage the war-party by showing how much they were in the +majority, he ordered the house to divide on the question whether the +treaty was broken, and whether the Athenians were in the wrong or not. +The division was made, and a great majority were in favour of the +motion, recording their votes against Athens. The allies were then +called in, and informed to the result of the private debate, and a day +was named for a general synod of the whole Peloponnesian league, to +reconsider the situation and decide whether war was to be declared. + +In the interval, before the final assembly of the allies, the Spartans +sent to ask the oracle at Delphi whether it was expedient for them to +make war; and the answer, according to common report, was that if they +fought with all their might they would conquer, and that the god +[Footnote: Apollo.] would be on their side. The Corinthians were at the +same time carrying on an active canvass against Athens, sending their +agents from city to city to blow up the flames of war. + +In the autumn of the same year the allies met in full synod at Sparta, +and once more the Corinthian speaker led the cry against Athens, and +called for a unanimous war-vote, flattering his hearers with hopes of a +speedy victory. The Spartans, he said, had at last set a good example +to their allies, and shown themselves convinced that imperial cities +had imperial obligations, by pronouncing in favour of war. Every member +of the league must join heartily in the struggle, whether he belonged +to an inland or to a maritime city; for if the seaports were closed by +the Athenian fleets, the inland towns would be prevented from exporting +their products, and importing what they wanted from abroad. War, then, +was in the interest of the whole body of allies. And on the moral side +their position was equally sound, for they were only acting on +desperate provocation, and the common god of Greece had promised +success to their arms. But to deserve that success, all must co-operate +heartily, contributing freely from their private purses to raise a +fleet which would make them a match for Athens on her own element. And +they must watch the course of events with a vigilant eye, and be ready +to seize any opportunity which might arise to aim a decisive blow at +their common enemy. Let them be warned by the experience of the +Ionians, and put out all their strength to save themselves from being +swallowed up by the devouring ambition of Athens. Justice, heaven's +favour, the good-will of all Greece, were on their side. + +Others spoke to the same effect, and then the representatives of each +city were called up in turn to give their vote; and by far the greater +number voted for war. But many months elapsed before any overt act of +hostility occurred, and the time was occupied in preparations for an +invasion of Attica, and in a series of demands sent by Sparta to try +the temper of the Athenians, and put them in the wrong, if they refused +to comply. The first of these messages was conveyed in mysterious +terms, bidding the Athenians "to drive out the curse of the goddess." +The meaning of this was as follows: nearly two hundred years before a +certain Cylon tried to make himself tyrant of Athens: the attempt was +frustrated, and some of his adherents, who had taken refuge in the +sacred precinct of Athene, were put to death by the magistrates, after +they had surrendered under a solemn promise that their lives should be +spared. The illustrious family of the Alcmaeonidae was especially +concerned in this act of murder and sacrilege, and the Spartans, in +reviving the memory of an ancient crime, were aiming a blow at +Pericles, who was descended on his mother's side from the Alcmaeonidae. +For the Athenians were highly sensitive in all matters of religion, and +it was possible that they might even banish Pericles, if their +consciences were suddenly alarmed. And though this was not likely, the +Spartans hoped at any rate to lessen his influence, which was adverse +to themselves, and fasten on him the odium of being, in some sense, the +cause of the war. But their manoeuvre was unsuccessful, and the +Athenians retorted by bidding the Spartans drive out the curse of +Taenarus, in allusion to the murder of certain Helots who had taken +sanctuary in the temple of Poseidon at Taenarus. And they further +charged the Spartans to rid themselves of the curse of Athene of the +Brazen House. This was a holy place in Sparta, where Pausanias, when +convicted of treasonable correspondence with Persia, had sought refuge +from the vengeance of the Spartans. He was kept a close prisoner in the +temple by the Ephors, who set a watch on him, to prevent him from being +supplied with food, and when he was reduced to the last extremity, +brought him out to die. But though his death occurred outside the +temple, this did not save them from the sin of sacrilege, and a public +reprimand by the Delphic God. + +The game of diplomatic fencing went on for some time, and envoys were +continually passing to and fro between Athens and Sparta. The Athenians +were required to raise the siege of Potidaea--to allow the Aeginetans +to govern themselves--to rescind the decree against Megara; and when +all these demands were met by a firm refusal, the Spartans sent two +ambassadors, bearing their ultimatum, which was worded as follows: "The +Lacedaemonians wish that there should be peace, and war may be averted +if ye will let the Greeks go free." Knowing that the decisive moment +had now arrived, the Athenians met together in full assembly, to decide +on their final answer. There were many speakers on either side, some +arguing for peace, others for war: and then was heard that majestic +voice, which, for more than thirty years, had guided the counsels of +Athens--the voice of the Olympian Pericles. He had chosen his line of +policy a year before, in the fatal affair of Corcyra, and it was now +too late to draw back: peace with honour was no longer possible for +Athens. The furious zeal of Corinth had united her enemies against her, +and they were bent on her ruin. The demands put forward by Sparta were +a mere pretext, and if the Athenians had yielded the smallest point, +new concessions would have been required of them, until they were +stripped of all that had been won by the strenuous toil and devotion of +two generations. "We must listen," said Pericles, in the course of a +long speech, "to no proposal from Sparta which is not made as from an +equal to an equal. Dictation is not arbitration. If we are to fight at +all, the occasion matters little, be it small or great. What right has +Sparta to require of us that we should rescind the decree against +Megara, when her own laws jealously exclude all strangers from entering +her streets? Or why should we relax our hold upon our allies, or break +off the relations with them which were sanctioned by the Thirty Years' +Truce? No, all this is a mere pretence, and if we are deceived by it, +we shall be led on step by step to deeper and still deeper humiliation. +It may seem a hard thing to give up the fair land of Attica to pillage +and devastation. But think how far greater was the sacrifice made by +our grandsires, who refused the fairest offers from Persia, and gave up +all they had, rather than betray the common cause. Athens and Attica +were then all the country they had, and these lost they had nothing +left but their ships, their strong arms, and their stout hearts. In our +case, on the other hand, all the essential elements of our power--our +city, our fleet, our colonial empire--remain untouched. Shall we, then, +sell our honour to save a few vineyards and olive-grounds from +temporary damage? That would be a short-sighted policy indeed, and in +the end would involve not only dishonour, but the loss of our whole +empire. Let us act, then, in the spirit of our fathers, and send away +the Spartan ambassadors with the only answer which is consistent with +our dignity and our interest." + +The reply to the Spartan ultimatum was framed as Pericles had directed, +and from this moment all negotiations ceased. And here we close our +account of the events which led to the Peloponnesian War. + + + + +THE SURPRISE OF PLATAEA + +I + +On the northern slope of Cithaeron, the mountain range which divides +Attica from Boeotia, lies the little town of Plataea. By race and by +geographical position the Plataeans were naturally included in the +Boeotian confederacy, under the leadership of Thebes. But nearly a +century before the time of which we are now speaking they had deserted +the Thebans, whose rule was harsh and overbearing, and enrolled +themselves among the allies of Athens. On the eve of the battle of +Marathon, they had joined the Athenians with their whole force, a +thousand strong, and shared the peril and the honour of that glorious +day. Ten years later their city was laid in ruins by the army of +Xerxes, at the instigation of the Thebans; and in the following year +the great battle which ended the long struggle between Greece and +Persia was fought within sight of their shattered walls. In gratitude +for this great victory, the confederate Greeks under Pausanias declared +that the Plataean territory should be hallowed ground, and swore a +solemn oath to maintain the independence of the city. But the Thebans +had never forgotten or forgiven the secession of Plataea from the +confederacy of which they were the leaders; and seizing the opportunity +while the Athenians were occupied with measures for their own safety, +they made a treacherous attempt to gain possession of the town. + +On a dark and moonless night in the early spring three hundred armed +Thebans appeared before the gates of Plataea, which were opened to them +by a party of the citizens who favoured their design. Marching in a +body to the market-place, they made proclamation by a herald, inviting +all who chose to return to their allegiance, and take sides with their +lawful leaders, the Thebans. For they wished, if possible, to gain over +the place without bloodshed, and before the war had actually broken +out; otherwise, they might have to give it up again on the conclusion +of peace. + +The Plataeans, being wakened out of their first sleep, and thinking +that the Thebans were in much greater force than was really the case, +at first attempted no resistance, but were disposed to accept the terms +offered them. But perceiving by degrees that their enemies were far +weaker in numbers than themselves, they changed their minds, and +resolved to attack them. For the party which had betrayed the town was +but small, and the general body of the citizens detested the thought of +falling once more under the supremacy of Thebes. Their measures were +taken with great secrecy and despatch: to avoid exciting the suspicions +of the Thebans, they broke down the dividing walls of their houses, and +passed to and fro unobserved, until they had completed their +preparations. To embarrass the movements of the Thebans, they +barricaded the streets with waggons, and then, just before daybreak, +they poured out of their houses, and fell upon the enemy, who were +still stationed in the market-place. Though taken by surprise, the +Thebans defended themselves stoutly, and standing shoulder to shoulder +repulsed the assault of the Plataeans two or three times. But they were +greatly inferior in numbers, wearied by their long vigil, and soaked +with the heavy rain which had fallen in the night; the Plataeans +returned again and again to the attack, assailing them with furious +cries; and the women and slaves who crowded the roofs added to their +discomfiture, pelting them with tiles and stones, and stunning their +ears with a frightful uproar of yells and shrieks; so that at last +their hearts failed them, and breaking their ranks they fled wildly +through the streets. Some succeeded in reaching the gate by which they +had entered, but only to find that their escape was cut off in this +direction; for one of the Plataeans had closed the gate, using the +spike of his javelin to secure the bolt. Others lost their way in the +narrow and muddy streets, and wandered up and down until they were +slain by the Plataeans. A few contrived to escape by an unguarded +postern-gate, having cut through the bolt with an axe given them by a +woman. Others, in despair, flung themselves from the walls, and for the +most part perished. But a good number, who had kept together, were +caught in a trap; for coming to a large building which abutted on the +wall, and finding the doors open, they thought that they had reached +the town-gate, and rushed headlong in. The pursuers, who were close at +their heels, made fast the doors, and then the question arose what they +should do with their captives. Some proposed to set fire to the +building, and to burn it down, with the Thebans in it; but at last +those who were thus taken, and the few who were still straggling in the +town, were allowed to surrender at discretion. + +Meanwhile a strong reinforcement of Thebans, who had started after the +three hundred, were on the way to Plataea; but being delayed by the +state of the roads, and the swollen condition of the Asopus, which they +had to cross, they arrived too late. Being informed of what had +happened, they prepared to plunder the property of the Plataeans +outside the walls, and seize any of the citizens who crossed their +path, to serve as hostages for their own men in the town. The +Plataeans, perceiving their intention, sent a herald to remonstrate, +threatening that unless they desisted, all the Theban prisoners should +at once be put to death. And they promised further, under an oath, that +if the Thebans would withdraw their forces, the captives should be +restored--at least this was the account which was afterwards current at +Thebes, though the Plataeans denied that they had made any such promise +unconditionally, and declared that they had sworn no oath. It seems +probable that the Thebans had received some such explicit assurance as +they asserted; for, on receiving the answer from Plataea, they marched +away without doing any harm. No sooner were they gone than the +Plataeans made all haste to get their property within the walls, and +then put all their prisoners to death. The day was not far distant when +they were bitterly to rue this act of passion, which was not only +cruel, but grossly impolitic; for the Thebans thus slain in cold blood, +a hundred and eighty in number, would have been invaluable as hostages, +whereas the Plataeans had now cut themselves off from all hope of +reconciliation with Thebes, and virtually sealed their own fate. + +Two messengers had been despatched from Plataea to Athens, one after +the first entrance of the Thebans, and the second after their defeat +and capture; and the Athenians, on receiving the second message, sent +off a herald bidding the Plataeans to wait for further instructions, +before taking any steps against the prisoners. When the herald arrived, +he found the men already slain, and the Athenians then proceeded to +place the town in a state of defence, removing the women and children +and all those who were unfit for military service, to Athens, and +leaving a small body of their own citizens to direct operations. + + +II + +The surprise of Plataea was the first open violation of the Thirty +Years' Truce, and from this time forward all Greece was involved for +many years in civil war. Public opinion was strongly on the side of the +Spartans, who stood forward as champions of the liberties of Greece; +but there was great enthusiasm on both sides, and the popular +imagination was much excited by the approaching struggle between the +two imperial cities. Both in Sparta and in Athens there was a younger +generation, who had grown up during a long period of peace, and now +entered gaily into the contest with all the light-hearted ignorance of +youth. Old prophecies current among the people, foretelling a great war +of Greeks against Greeks, passed from mouth to mouth, and the +professional soothsayers, whose business it was to collect and expound +such sayings, found eager hearers. The gods themselves could not be +indifferent on the eve of such mighty events, so deeply affecting the +destiny of the nation which worshipped them in a thousand temples; and +an earthquake, which had recently occurred at Delos, the sacred island +of Apollo, where such a visitation had never been known before, was +interpreted as a portent of great things to come. + +While the Peloponnesians were mustering their forces at the Isthmus, +the rural population of Attica were breaking up their homes, and +flocking by thousands into the city. A constant stream of waggons +passed along the roads, loaded with furniture, household utensils, and +even the woodwork of the farm-buildings; and many a little group of +women, children, and servants set out on that sorrowful journey, +leaving their fields, their gardens, and their vineyards, to be +trampled down and laid waste by the ruthless invader. Athens, indeed, +was the common mother of them all, their glory, their strength, and +their pride; for since the days of Theseus the scattered rural +communities of Attica had been united under the Aegis of Athene, and +acknowledged Athens as the head and centre of their civic life. But a +large proportion of the Athenian citizens still continued to reside in +the country, and all their dearest associations were connected with the +little spot of earth where they and their fathers were born. Here were +the graves of their ancestors, and the temples of the heroes who were +the guardian spirits of each little aggregate of families. It was +therefore with bitter and resentful feelings that they left these happy +scenes behind them, and turned their steps towards the gates of the +city, through which many of them were never to pass again. For all of +them it was a grievous change from the free and careless life of the +country-side to the confined space, polluted air, and jostling +multitudes of the town, now crowded to overflowing. Some few found +shelter in the houses of friends or relations; but by far the greater +number were obliged to encamp in the open spaces of the city, in the +precincts of temples, or in the narrow room between the Long Walls. +Even a place beneath the Acropolis, called the Pelasgic Field, was now +covered with the huts of the immigrants, though an ancient oracle had +forbidden its occupation under a curse. From day to day new crowds kept +flocking in, and the later comers were obliged to take up their +dwelling in Peiraeus, which was soon almost as much overcrowded as the +upper city. + +And now the younger generation of Athenians, who had entered so +cheerfully into the conflict, were to have their first taste of the +grim realities of war. The Peloponnesian army advanced leisurely, and +proceeded at first to Oenoe, an outlying fort near the borders of +Boeotia; for Archidamus, who held the chief command, still hoped that +the Athenians, when they saw the enemy on the confines of Attica, would +make some concessions, to save their farms from destruction. For this +reason he had long delayed his march from the Isthmus, and now wasted +more time in fruitless operations at Oenoe, until the allies began to +murmur against him, and suspected him of receiving bribes from the +Athenians to spare their lands. At last, being unable to put off the +fatal moment any longer, he turned southwards, and after ravaging the +plain of Eleusis, advanced to Acharnae, one of the most fertile and +prosperous districts of Attica, about seven miles north of Athens. Here +the Peloponnesians encamped, and applied themselves systematically to +the work of pillage and havoc. + +Great was the rage of the Acharnians, a hardy race of farmers and +charcoal-burners, when they saw the smoke rising from their ruined +homesteads; and their feelings were shared by the general body of the +citizens, who had watched the advance of Archidamus from Eleusis, and +had now no hope of saving their estates. Little knots of angry +disputants were seen in the streets and public places, for the most +part clamouring against Pericles, and demanding to be led against the +invader, while some few argued for the more prudent course. But +Pericles, who knew the fickle temper of the multitude, turned a deaf +ear to all this uproar, and steadily refused to summon an assembly, +lest some hasty resolution should be passed, which would lead to +useless loss of life. In order, however, to relieve the public +excitement, he sent out a body of horsemen to skirmish with the enemy, +and despatched a fleet of a hundred triremes to ravage the coasts of +Peloponnesus. + +When the first invasion of Attica was over, two cities, which had been +foremost in stirring up war against Athens, were made to feel the full +weight of her resentment. The unhappy Aeginetans were expelled from +their island, and the land of Aegina was distributed among Athenian +citizens. And later in the same summer the Athenians marched in full +force into the territory of Megara, which was laid waste from end to +end. This proceeding, which afforded a pleasant summer excursion to the +Athenians, was repeated annually for the next seven years. The banished +Aeginetans found an asylum at Thyrea, a coast district of eastern +Peloponnesus, which was assigned to them by Sparta. And so the first +year of the war came to an end; for, except on extraordinary occasions, +no military operations were undertaken during the winter. + + + + +THE PLAGUE AT ATHENS + +I + + +At the beginning of the next summer the Peloponnesians again entered +Attica, and resumed their work of devastation, destroying the young +crops, and wrecking whatever had been spared in the previous year. +Before they had been many days in Attica, a new and far more terrible +visitation came upon the Athenians, threatening them with total +extinction as a people. We have seen how the whole upper city, with the +space between the Long Walls, and the harbour-town of Peiraeus, was +packed with a vast multitude of human beings, penned together, like +sheep in a fold. Into these huddled masses now crept a subtle and +unseen foe, striking down his victims by hundreds and by thousands. +That foe was the Plague, which beginning in Southern Africa, and +descending thence to Egypt, reached the southern shores of the +Mediterranean, and passed on to Peiraeus, having been carried thither +by seamen who trafficked between northern Africa and Greece. From +Peiraeus it spread upwards with rapid strides, and before long the +whole space within the walls presented the appearance of a vast +lazar-house. + +From the description of the symptoms we may conclude that this epidemic +was similar to that dreadful scourge of mankind which has been almost +conquered by modern science, the small-pox. The patient who had taken +the infection was first attacked in the head, with inflammation of the +eyes, and violent headache. By degrees the poison worked its way into +the whole system, affecting every organ in the body, and appearing on +the surface in the shape of small ulcers and boils. One of the most +distressing features of the disease was a raging thirst, which could +not be appeased by the most copious draughts of water; and the internal +heat, which produced this effect, caused also a frightful irritability +of the skin, so that the sufferer could not bear the touch of the +lightest and most airy fabrics, but lay naked on his bed, in all the +deformity of his dire affliction. Of those who recovered, many bore the +marks of the sickness to their graves, by the loss of a hand, a foot, +or an eye; while others were affected in their minds, remaining in +blank oblivion, without power to recognise themselves or their friends. +The healing art had made great progress in Greece in the course of the +last generation; and in this, as in all else, the Greeks remained the +sole teachers of Europe for ages after. But against such a malady as +this, the most skilful physicians could do nothing, and those who +attempted to exercise their skill caught the plague themselves, and for +the most part perished. Still less, as we may well suppose, was the +benefit derived from amulets, incantations, inquiries of oracles, or +supplications at temples; and at last, finding no help in god or man, +the Athenians gave up the struggle, and resigned themselves to despair. + +It is recorded as a curious fact, showing the strange and outlandish +character of the pestilence, that the birds and animals which feed on +human flesh generally shunned the bodies of those who died of the +plague, though they might have eaten their fill, for hundreds were left +unburied. The very vultures fled from the infected city, and hardly one +was seen as long as the pestilence continued. + +The fearful rapidity with which the infection spread caused a panic +throughout the city, and even the boldest were not proof against the +general terror. If any man felt himself sickening of the plague, he at +once gave up all hope, and made no effort to fight against the disease. +Few were found brave enough to undertake the duty of nursing the sick, +and those who did generally paid for their devotion with their lives. +In most cases the patient was left to languish alone, and perished by +neglect, while his nearest and dearest avoided his presence, and had +grown so callous that they had not a sigh or a tear left for the death +of husband, or child, or friend. The few who recovered, now free from +risk of mortal infection, did what they could to help their suffering +fellow-citizens. + +The mischief was aggravated by the overcrowded state of the city, +especially among those who had come in from the country, and were +living in stifling huts through the intense heat of a southern summer. +Here the harvest of death fell thickest, and the corpses lay heaped +together, while dying wretches crawled about the public streets, and +encumbered the fountain-sides, to which they had dragged themselves in +their longing for drink. All sense of public decency, all regard for +laws, human or divine, was lost. The temples in which they had made +their dwellings were choked with dead, and the sacred duty of burial, +to which the conscience of antiquity attached so high an importance, +was performed in wild haste and disorder. Sometimes those who were +carrying out a corpse found a vacant pile prepared by the relatives of +another victim, flung their dead upon it, set fire to the pile, and +departed; and sometimes, when a body was already burning, others who +were seeking to dispose of a corpse forced their way to the fire, and +threw their burden upon it. + +In the general relaxation of public morality all the dark passions of +human nature, which at ordinary times lurk in secret places, came forth +to the light of day, and raged without restraint. Some, who had grown +rich in a day by the death of wealthy relatives, resolved to enjoy +their possessions, and indulge every appetite, before they were +overtaken by the same fate. Others, who had hitherto led good lives, +seeing the base and the noble swept away indifferently by the same +ruthless power, began to doubt the justice of heaven itself, and rushed +into debauch, convinced that conscience and honour were but empty +names. For human laws they cared still less, for in the universal panic +there was none to enforce them, and before the voice of public +authority could be heard again, both judge and transgressor, as they +believed, would be involved in a common doom. All shame and fear were +accordingly thrown aside, and those whom the plague had not yet touched +seemed possessed by one sole desire--to drown thought and care in an +orgy of fierce excess, and then to die. + + +II + +The second invasion of the Peloponnesians was prolonged for forty days, +and the whole Attic territory was laid waste. Pericles again refused to +venture a pitched battle against them, knowing well that the Athenian +army was no match for them in the open field. But a powerful fleet was +sent to cruise round Peloponnesus, which inflicted much damage on the +coast districts. It was a welcome relief to the Athenians selected for +this service to escape for a time from the plague-stricken city; but +unhappily they carried the infection with them, and the crews were +decimated by the same disease. Nor did the evil stop here: for the same +armament being afterwards despatched to Potidaea, to reinforce the +blockading army and fleet, caused a virulent outbreak of the plague +among the forces stationed there, which up till then had been healthy. +After some fruitless operations against the town this second armament +was withdrawn, and returned to Athens with the loss of more than a +thousand men. + +After all these disasters the reaction against Pericles, which had +begun with the first invasion of Attica, reached a climax, and on all +sides he was loudly decried by the Athenians, as the author of all +their miseries. Envoys were sent with overtures of peace to Sparta, and +when these returned with no favourable answer, the storm of popular +fury grew more violent than ever. Pericles, who knew the temper of his +people, and had foreseen that some such outbreak would occur, remained +calm and unmoved. But wishing to allay the general excitement, and +bring back the citizens to a more reasonable view of their prospects, +he summoned an assembly, and addressed the multitude in terms of grave +and dignified rebuke. He reminded them that they themselves had voted +for war, and remonstrated against the unfairness of making him +responsible for their own decision. If war could have been avoided +without imperilling the very existence of their city, then that +decision was wrong; but if, as was the fact, peace could only have been +preserved by ruinous concessions, then his advice had been good, and +they had been right in following it. The welfare of the individual +citizen depended on the welfare of the community to which he belonged; +as long as that was secured, private losses could always be made good, +but public disaster meant private ruin. On this principle they had +acted two years before, when they determined to reject the demands of +Sparta. Why, then, were they now indulging in weak regrets, and turning +against him whom they had appointed as their chosen guide and adviser? +Was there anything in his character, any fact in his whole life, which +justified them in suspecting him of unworthy motives? Was he the man to +lead them astray, in order to save some selfish end--he, the great +Pericles, whose loyalty, eloquence, clear-sightedness, and +incorruptibility, had been proved in a public career of more than +thirty years? If any other course had been open to them, he would have +been to blame in counselling war; but the alternative was between that +and degradation. The immediate pressure of private calamity was +blinding them to the magnitude of the interests at stake--Athens, with +all her fond traditions, and all the lustre of her name. That they were +sure of victory he had already declared to them on many infallible +grounds. But seeing them so sunk in despair, he would speak in a tone +of loud assurance, and boldly assert a fact which they seemed to have +overlooked. They were lords of the sea, absolute masters, that was to +say, of half the world! Let them keep a firm grasp on this empire, and +they would soon recover those pretty ornaments of empire--their gardens +and their vineyards--which they held so dear: but, that once +relinquished, they would lose all. Surely this knowledge should inspire +them with a lofty contempt of their foes, a contempt grounded, not on +ignorance or shallow enthusiasm, but on rational calculation. They +could not now descend from the eminence on which they stood. Athens, +who had blazed so long in unrivalled splendour before the eyes of the +world, dared not suffer her lustre to be abated: for her, obscurity +meant extinction. Let them keep this in mind, and not listen to +counsels of seeming prudence and moderation, which were suicidal in a +ruling state. All their calamities, except the plague, were the +foreseen results of their own decision. Now was the time to display +their known courage and patience. Let them think of the glory of +Athens, and her imperial fame. + +This memorable speech, the last recorded utterance of Pericles, had the +desired effect. It was resolved to continue the war, and no further +embassies were sent to Sparta. But resentment still smouldered in the +hearts of the Athenians against their great statesman. How fearful was +the contrast between the high hopes with which they had embarked in +this struggle, and the scenes of horror and desolation which lay around +them! From the walls they could see their trampled fields, their +ravaged plantations, and the blackened ruins of their homes. Within, +the pestilence still raged undiminished, and the city was filled with +sounds and sights of woe. Under the pressure of these calamities the +ascendency of Pericles went through a brief period of eclipse, and he +was condemned to pay a fine. Soon, however, he recovered all his +influence, and remained at the head of affairs until his death, which +occurred in the autumn of the following year. + +Pericles is the representative figure in the golden age of Athenian +greatness, the most perfect example of that equable and harmonious +development in every faculty of body and mind which was the aim of +Greek civic life at its best. As an orator, he was probably never +equalled, and the effect of his eloquence has found immortal expression +in the lines of his contemporary Eupolis. Persuasion, we are told, sat +enthroned on his lips; like a strong athlete, he overtook and outran +all other orators; his words struck home like the lightning, while he +held his audience enchained, as by a powerful spell; and among all the +masters of eloquence, he was the only one who left his sting behind +him. As a statesman, it was his object to admit every freeborn Athenian +to a share of public duties and privileges; and for this purpose he +introduced the system of payment, which enabled the poorer citizens to +perform their part in the service of the state. His military talents, +though never employed for conquest or aggression, were of no mean +order; and on two occasions of supreme peril to Athens, the revolt of +Euboea, and the revolt of Samos, it was his energy and promptitude +which saved his city from ruin. + +But it is as the head of the great intellectual movement which +culminated in this epoch, as the friend of poets, philosophers, and +artists, that Pericles has won his most enduring fame. By his liberal +and enlightened policy the surplus of the Athenian revenues was devoted +to the creation of those wonders of architecture and sculpture, whose +fragments still serve as unapproachable models to the mind of modern +Europe. And under his rule Athens became the school of Greece, the +great centre for every form of intellectual activity, a position which +she maintained until the later period of the Roman Empire. + +If, however, we would understand the character of Pericles, and the +spirit of the age which he represents, we must never forget that this +aspect of Athenian greatness, to us by far the most important, was not +the aspect which awoke the highest enthusiasm in him and his +contemporaries. Those things which have made the name of Athens +immortal, her art and her literature, were matters of but secondary +importance to the Athenian of that age. He worshipped his city as a +beloved mistress, and, like a lover, he delighted to adorn her with +outward dignity and splendour. But to lavish all his thought and care +on these external embellishments would have been, in his estimation, a +senseless waste of his highest faculties, as if a lover should make the +robes and jewels of his mistress the objects of his highest adoration. +To make Athens the mightiest state in Greece, to build up the fabric of +her material greatness--these were the objects for which he was ready +to devote the best energies of heart and brain, and if need were, to +lay down his life. He might be skilled in every elegant accomplishment, +an acute reasoner, an orator, a musician, a poet; and to some extent he +was all of these. But before all else he was in the highest sense a +practical man, finding in strenuous action his chief glory and pride. +And such a man was the last to melt into ecstasies over the high notes +of a singer, or dream away his life in the fairyland of poetry. + +We have dwelt at some length on the work and character of Pericles, as +his death marks a turning point in Athenian history. From that day +onward the policy of Athens takes a downward direction, denoting a +corresponding decline in Athenian character and aspiration. Pericles +had been able, by his commanding talents and proved integrity, to +exercise a salutary check on the restless energies and soaring ambition +of his countrymen. He had been a true father and ruler of his people, +in evil times and in good, curbing them in the insolence of prosperity, +comforting and exalting them in the dark hour of disaster. But the +government now passed into the hands of weaker men, who, since they +were incapable of leading the people, were compelled to follow it, and +to maintain their position by pandering to the worst vices of the +Athenian character. Rash where they should have been cautious, yielding +where they should have been resolute, they squandered the immense +resources of Athens, and led her on, step by step, to humiliation and +defeat. The course of our narrative will show how easily the Athenians +might have emerged triumphant from the struggle with their enemies, if +they had followed the line of conduct marked out by Pericles. They +might, indeed, have avoided the occasion of offence which led +immediately to the war, and thus have escaped the necessity of fighting +altogether; and this, as we have seen, was the one fatal mistake made +by Pericles. But, once launched in the conflict, they were sure of an +easy victory, if they had only shown a very moderate degree of prudence +and self-restraint. And we need not blame the great statesmen too +harshly for not foreseeing the wild excesses of folly and extravagance +which we shall have to record in the following pages. + + + + +INVESTMENT OF PLATAEA + +In the third year of the war the usual invasion of Attica was omitted, +and the Peloponnesian army under Archidamus marched against Plataea. +Having pitched their camp before the walls they prepared to lay waste +the territory; but before the work of havoc began, the Plataeans sent +envoys to remonstrate. "Unrighteous are your deeds," said the spokesman +of the embassy, "ye men of Sparta, and unworthy of the men whose sons +ye are. After the victory of Plataea, which ended the struggle against +Persia, Pausanias, the chief captain of the confederate Greeks, offered +sacrifice and thanksgiving at Plataea to Zeus the Liberator, and swore +a solemn oath, both he, and all the Greeks whom he led, to maintain the +independence of our city against all who should assail it. This they +did as a recompense for our valour and devotion in our country's +service. But ye, in direct violation of that oath, have made common +cause with our worst enemies, the Thebans, and have come hither to +enslave us. In the name of the gods who witnessed that covenant, in the +name of every power worshipped alike at Plataea and at Sparta, we +adjure you not to commit this sacrilege, but to leave us in peaceful +possession of the privileges vouchsafed to us on that memorable day." + +Such were the words of the Plataeans, to which Archidamus replied as +follows: "Ye say well, men of Plataea, if ye act in the spirit of the +compact to which ye have appealed. The oath which Pausanias swore was +taken in defence of the common liberties of Greece. Against those +liberties a new enemy has arisen, Athens, who holds half our nation in +bondage, and threatens to lay her yoke upon us all. To put down that +tyranny has this great coalition been called together, and if ye are +true men, ye will enlist in the same cause, and take up arms for the +relief of your distressed countrymen. Or at least, if ye cannot do +this, then stand apart from this conflict, helping neither one side nor +the other; and with this we shall be satisfied." + +Having heard the answer of Archidamus, the Plataean envoys went back, +and reported his words to their fellow-townsmen. But the Plataeans +replied that, without the consent of the Athenians, they dare not +accept his proposal, as their wives and children had been removed to +Athens. Moreover, they feared that if they remained neutral the Thebans +would seize the opportunity to make another attempt on their town. +"Well, then," answered Archidamus, "we make you this second offer: Hand +over your town and your dwellings to us, the Spartans; keep a strict +account of all your trees, [Footnote: Vines and olive-trees] and of all +else that can be numbered, and retire yourselves to some safe retreat, +as long as the war continues. When it is over, we will restore all your +property, and meanwhile keep the land in cultivation, and pay you a +fixed rent, such as may suffice you." + +The offer was fair, and even generous; but the Plataeans were powerless +to act, without the consent of the Athenians, who held their families +as hostages. Accordingly they asked for a truce, to enable them to lay +the proposal before the authorities at Athens, and this being granted, +they sent envoys to Athens, who speedily returned with this answer: "We +have never left you at the mercy of your enemies in the past, since ye +became our allies, nor will we do so now, but will help you to the best +of our power; and we charge you by the oath which your fathers swore +not to depart from your allegiance to Athens." + +It was a cruel alternative which was offered to the hapless Plataeans: +either they must leave their wives and children to the vengeance of +Athens, or face the whole power of the confederates, led by Sparta. +True to their character, they chose the nobler part, and determined to +stand by the Athenian alliance. Henceforth no one was allowed to leave +the town, and their final answer was delivered from the walls. They +were unable, they said, to accept the terms offered by Archidamus. + +On hearing their decision, the Spartan king made a last solemn appeal +to the powers who presided over the territory of Plataea, a hallowed +precinct, now about to be given up to plunder and ravage: "Ye gods and +heroes, who keep the land of Plataea, bear witness that we had just +cause from the first for marching hither, since the Plataeans had +forsaken the alliance, and that if we do aught against them, we shall +still be justified. For we have made them the fairest offers, but they +would not be persuaded. Therefore let those with whom the guilt lies be +punished, and prosper ye the cause of righteous vengeance." + +The siege of Plataea now began in earnest. First the town was +surrounded with a palisade, to prevent anyone from escaping, the +materials being taken from the plantations in the neighbourhood of the +town. Then they raised a mound against the wall, expecting that with so +large a force as theirs they would easily carry the place by storm. +Timber was brought from Cithaeron, and with this they set up two stout +buttresses of cross-beams, at right angles to the town-wall, to serve +as a support on either side of the mound. Within this framework they +piled up fascines, stones, earth, and whatever else was at hand. The +whole army was employed in this task, which was continued for seventy +days and nights without intermission, the men working in regular spells. + +Meanwhile the Plataeans had not been idle. First they built a wall of +bricks and timber opposite to the point where the mound was rising, and +resting on the ramparts, in order to raise the height of their +defences. The new wall was covered with hides, raw and dressed, to +protect the timber and the workmen from being injured by burning +arrows. And while this structure was in progress, they made a breach in +the old wall, and carted away the earth from the bottom of the mound. +To prevent this, the Peloponnesians filled up the space thus caused +with heavy masses of clay, rammed tightly into baskets of osier, which +made a solid structure, much harder to remove than the loose earth. +Then the Plataeans had recourse to another device: marking carefully +the position of the mound, they ran a mine from the city under it, and +as fast as the earth fell in, they carried it away. This continued for +a long time, for the Peloponnesians, who saw their mound rising no +higher, for all their labour, but rather growing less, did not guess +the cause, but went on heaping up materials, which were swallowed up as +fast as they were brought. + +Still the Plataeans feared that in spite of these counterworks they +would at length be overpowered by numbers, unless they contrived some +better means of defence. So they left off building the wall of bricks +and timber, and beginning at either end of it, they built a +crescent-shaped wall, curving inwards towards the city. Thus the +Peloponnesians, if they succeeded in carrying the first wall, would +find themselves confronted by a second line of defence, and would have +all their work to do over again, besides being exposed to a cross-fire. + +While the Plataeans were thus vigorously defending themselves, and +before the mound was completed, the Peloponnesians brought +siege-engines to bear on the wall, one of which greatly alarmed the +besieged garrison, by severely shaking their wall of timber and bricks. +But this new mode of attack was frustrated, like the rest, by the +ingenuity of the Plataeans, who dropped nooses over the ends of the +battering-rams, and drew them up just before the moment of impact. +Moreover they suspended heavy beams of wood at intervals along the +wall, each beam hanging by long chains from two cranes which rested on +the wall and projected outwards from it; and whenever a ram was being +brought up, they drew up the beam at right angles to it, and then, +letting go the chains, dropped the ponderous timber, which came +crashing down on the ram, and broke off its head. + +Thus baffled at every point, the Peloponnesians began to despair of +taking the town by assault, and thought that they would be compelled to +form a blockade. But before being driven to this costly and tedious +operation, they determined to try and set fire to the place, which +seemed possible, as it was but small in extent. So they waited till the +wind was in the right direction, and then brought vast quantities of +faggots, and threw them into the space between the mound and the wall; +and this being soon filled up, they piled up more faggots as far as +they could reach within the city itself, and then throwing in lighted +torches, with brimstone and pitch, they set fire to the whole mass. +Then arose a great sheet of flame, such as had never been raised by +human hands, though not, of course, to be compared to the vast +forest-fires, produced by natural means; yet it was sufficient to cause +a panic among the Plataeans, and bring their town to the verge of +destruction. The heat was so intense that a whole quarter of the place +was cleared of its defenders, and if a wind had arisen to drive the +flame inwards, nothing could have saved the whole town from +destruction. [Footnote: Thucydides seems to imply that there was a +wind, though a slight one.] But fortunately the breeze was but slight, +and it is said also that a heavy fall of rain came on, and quenched the +conflagration. + +Having failed in their last attempt, the Peloponnesians sent away part +of their army, and employed those who remained in building a blockading +wall round Plataea. The work was completed towards the end of +September, and they then disbanded their army, leaving a force +sufficient to guard half the wall; for the Thebans, relentless in their +zeal against Plataea, took charge of the other half. The number of the +besieged was four hundred and eighty, of whom eighty were Athenians, +and a hundred and ten women to make bread for the garrison. + + + + +NAVAL VICTORIES OF PHORMIO + +I + + +During the last half-century the art of naval warfare had made great +progress in Greece. The Greek war-galley, or trireme, a vessel +propelled by three banks of oars, had always been furnished with a +sharp-pointed prow, for the purpose of ramming an opponent's ship; but +many years elapsed before the Greeks attained genuine skill in the use +of this formidable weapon. According to the ordinary method of +fighting, after the first shock of collision the affair was decided by +the hoplites, or heavy-armed infantry, stationed on the decks of the +two contending ships; and in this manner was fought the engagement +between the Corcyraean and Corinthian fleets which occurred in the +year before the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War. There the ship was +simply a vehicle, which served to bring the antagonists together, and +the rest was left to the prowess of the hoplites. + +The Athenians were the first to abandon this crude and clumsy style of +fighting, and in the course of two generations their seamen had become +renowned throughout Greece for the unrivalled skill which they showed +in working and manoeuvring the trireme. A few hoplites were still +carried, to serve in cases of emergency; but by far the most important +part in the encounter was played by the trireme itself, with its long, +tapering, sharp-pointed prow. To use this deadly but delicate +instrument with effect required great coolness, dexterity, and +judgment, on the part of the steersman, and a crew under perfect +command. The tactics usually employed were as follows: watching his +opportunity, the captain gave the order "full speed ahead!" and darting +rapidly through the enemy's line, wheeled suddenly round, and drove the +beak of his galley with terrible force against the stern or side of the +vessel selected for attack. One blow from the long lance-like point, +propelled by the whole weight and impetus of the trireme, was +sufficient to sink or disable an enemy's ship, and the attacking galley +was then backed away from the wreck, and directed against another +victim. + +The incessant practice of nearly half a century had enabled the +Athenians to attain consummate mastery in this new method of naval +warfare; and they were now to give signal proof of their immense +superiority over the other maritime powers of Greece. + +In the same summer which witnessed the investment of Plataea, the +Spartans planned an expedition against Acarnania, the westernmost +province of Greece, which they wished to detach from the Athenian +alliance. A Spartan officer, named Cnemus, was sent off in advance, +with a thousand hoplites, to raise the wild mountain tribes, and led an +attack against Stratus, the capital of Acarnania; and in the meantime +orders were sent round to equip a numerous fleet, which was to support +the operations of Stratus by harassing the coast districts. + +The attack on Stratus failed altogether, chiefly in consequence of the +impetuosity of the rude mountaineers serving under Cnemus, who advanced +unsupported against the town, and meeting with a severe repulse +embarrassed the movements of their Greek allies. About the same time +the Peloponnesian fleet, consisting of forty-seven ships, was sailing +down the Corinthian Gulf to co-operate with Cnemus. It was known that +Phormio, the Athenian admiral, was stationed at Naupactus with a +squadron of twenty vessels; but the Peloponnesian captains never +dreamed that he would venture to attack them with so small a force, and +they pursued their voyage along the southern shore of the gulf, without +making any preparations for a battle. Phormio, however, had other +intentions: keeping close to the opposite shore, he followed their +movements, and allowed them to pass through the narrow strait which +divides the inner from the outer gulf, wishing to avoid an engagement +until they reached the open water. The Peloponnesians dropped anchor +for the night at Patrae in Achaia, and Phormio took up his station at +Chalcis, a harbour-town of Aetolia, at the mouth of the Evenus. Being +now convinced that Phormio meditated an encounter, for which they had +little inclination, the Peloponnesian admirals made an attempt +[Footnote: I have adopted the reading of Bloomfield, approved by +Classen (4th Edition).] to steal across under cover of darkness. But +this manoeuvre was detected, and they found their way barred by the +Athenian squadron in the middle of the channel. Being thus driven to +bay the Peloponnesians drew up their ships in a circle, with their +prows turned outwards, like a flock of sheep assailed by a dog. Within +the circle were placed the smaller vessels accompanying the fleet, and +five of the swiftest galleys, which were intended to lend assistance +against any attack of the enemy. + +To keep a large flotilla in such a position, even in a calm sea, where +no hostile movement was made against them, would have been a task to +try the skill of the most accomplished mariners. But the Peloponnesian +crews were untrained, the decks of their ships were crowded with +soldiers, and they were hampered by the crowd of smaller craft. Worst +of all, they were threatened in every direction by the agile Athenian +galleys, which, moving in single file, swept round and round them, +approaching closer and closer at every circuit, so that they were +penned together in an ever-narrowing space, and in danger of fouling +one another. To complete their confusion, the morning breeze began to +blow from the gulf; and Phormio, who had been waiting for this, now +gave the signal for attack. The Peloponnesians hardly attempted any +defence; for the unskilful crews of the galleys could not manage their +oars in the rising sea, and the steersmen had consequently no control +of their vessels. All their efforts were employed in keeping clear of +one another, warding off a collision with long poles, amid a hubbub of +curses and abuse. Into this huddled, swaying mass of war-galleys and +merchant-craft mingled together now dashed the Athenian triremes, +wrecking every vessel which they met. A wild panic ensued among the +Peloponnesian crews, and as fast as they could extricate themselves +they rowed off and sought shelter in the harbour of Patrae. From here +they afterwards sailed to Cyllene, the dockyard of Elis, where they +were joined by Cnemus with the troops from Acarnania. Twelve ships fell +into the hands of the Athenians, and taking these with them they sailed +first to Rhium, a level headland on the Locrian Coast, on which stood a +temple of Poseidon. Having left one of the captured ships as a +thank-offering to the god of the sea, they made their way back to the +original station at Naupactus. + + +II + +The authorities at Sparta were highly indignant at the failure of their +expedition in Acarnania, and the defeat of the Peloponnesian fleet by +so inferior a force. For this was their first experience of a sea-fight +since the outbreak of the war, and they made no allowance for the want +of skill in their own crews, attributing the disaster to mere +cowardice. They did not reflect how vast was the difference between raw +sailors, lately transferred from the plough to the oar, and the veteran +seamen of Athens, trained under a system which had been slowly +perfected in the course of half a century. So they sent three +commissioners to Cnemus, with peremptory orders to prepare for another +sea-fight, and not allow himself to be shut up in harbour by the feeble +squadron of Phormio. One of these commissioners was Brasidas, a +brilliant young officer, who had gained distinction two years before by +saving the harbour-town of Methone, on the coast of Messenia, from +being captured by the Athenians. We shall hear much more of him in the +sequel. + +On the arrival of Brasidas and his colleagues, the ships lying at +Cyllene were made ready for immediate service, and orders were sent +round to the allied cities for other ships. Phormio also sent an urgent +despatch to Athens announcing his victory, and asking for +reinforcements; and the Athenians sent twenty triremes to his aid. +These vessels, however, arrived too late, for the admiral, acting on +instructions from Athens, sailed first to Crete, where he was delayed a +long time by contrary winds. Phormio, with his twenty triremes, was +therefore compelled to engage the whole Peloponnesian fleet, numbering +seventy-seven ships, which had now sailed round from Cyllene, and taken +up its station just within the strait, close to the Achaean town of +Panormus. A strong force of Peloponnesian soldiers was encamped on the +shore, to co-operate with the fleet. Phormio anchored his ships just +outside the strait, being resolved, if it were in any way possible, not +to fight the Peloponnesians in the narrow waters. As the +Peloponnesians, on their side, were equally determined not to be lured +out into the open sea, the two fleets remained confronting each other +for a whole week, without attempting any aggressive movement. At last +the Peloponnesian leaders decided to give battle with Phormio at once, +fearing that if they delayed any longer he would be reinforced from +Athens. + +It was the universal custom of Greek commanders to wind up the courage +of their men on the eve of a battle by a short and pithy address, +calculated to inspire them with confidence, by giving them a reasonable +hope of victory. Such a practice, strange as it may seem to us, was +natural among a people whose armies and fleets were recruited from the +general body of the citizens, accustomed to free speech in their public +assemblies. They were not men of war by profession, trained in habits +of blind obedience, but sensitive Greeks, who carried into the camp the +noble freedom of civic life, and were not prepared to shed their blood +without sufficient cause, and a fair prospect of success. + +Seldom was there greater need of this sort of military eloquence than +on the present occasion. On both sides there was much discouragement, +and a general reluctance to begin the fight. The Peloponnesians were +cowed by their recent defeat, and dreaded the naval skill of the +Athenians, which seemed to them almost supernatural; and Phormio's men +shrank from an encounter with such enormous odds. Accordingly the +Peloponnesian captains on one side, and Phormio on the other, did what +they could to argue their crews into a more hopeful frame of mind. The +Peloponnesian seamen who had taken part in the first battle were +reminded that they had been caught unprepared, and assured that this +time every precaution would be taken to prevent a second reverse. They +were flattered by the confident assertion that the superior skill of +the Athenians was far outweighed by their own superior courage. "Look," +said one of the admirals, speaking to his own division, "at this +powerful armament, outnumbering the enemy by four to one--look at the +army drawn up on the shore, ready to lend aid to any who are hard +pressed--and you will see that with such advantages defeat is +impossible. Do your duty like men, and expect to be rewarded or +punished according to your deserts." Similar addresses, combining +encouragement with threats, were heard in the other parts of the fleet. + +Among the Athenian sailors there had been much jesting about the +land-lubbers of Peloponnesus, and in the first flush of their victory +they had been ready to face any odds on the sea. But now, seeing +themselves confronted by such overwhelming numbers, they had lost heart +for the moment, and were seen standing about in little groups, shaking +their heads and whispering fearfully together. It was an anxious moment +for Phormio; he knew the immense importance of maintaining, at any +cost, the naval reputation of Athens, and if his men went into battle +in their present temper, they were certain to suffer a crushing defeat. +Determining, therefore, if possible, to allay the panic which was fast +spreading throughout the fleet, he summoned the crews into his +presence, and harangued them as follows:-- + +"Comrades, I have called you hither to assure you that you have no +cause for alarm. The numbers of the enemy, which seem to you so +formidable, should, if properly considered, be a ground of confidence; +for this unwieldy armament is a sign that they are thoroughly +terrified, and seek safety in a huge crowd of ships. The firmness and +discipline which they have acquired by long experience of land warfare +will avail them little on the sea For courage is largely a matter of +habit, and the bravest landsman is a mere coward when he is taken away +from his own element, and set down on the heaving deck of a war-galley +where he can hardly keep his feet. The disorganized multitude with +which we shall have to deal is a mere mob, held together by the +authority of Sparta, demoralized by their late defeat, and forced to +fight against their will. Face them boldly, and our very audacity in +assailing such numbers will sink them still deeper into helpless +terror, for they will think that we must be invincible, or we should +never run such risks. It shall be my business to bring on the +engagement in blue water, where we shall have them at our mercy. Now +every man to his station; be prompt, and be silent, and attend to the +word of command. Remember your old spirit, and reflect that the honour +of Athens is in your hands to-day." + +The great object of the Peloponnesian leaders was to compel Phormio to +give battle in the confined space of the strait. With this intention +they determined to make a sudden movement towards the northern coast of +the gulf, threatening an attack on Naupactus. At daybreak they drew up +their ships in four lines, with the coast of Peloponnesus behind them, +and with twenty fast-sailing triremes stationed on the right wing, to +cut off Phormio's fleet, if, as they anticipated, he advanced to the +defence of Naupactus. Wheeling then to the right, the ships sailed some +distance, four abreast, towards the inner gulf; and when they came +opposite to Naupactus, they changed their course, and moved in column, +with the right wing leading towards the northern shore. + +The manoeuvre, so far as concerned its immediate purpose, was +completely successful. Phormio, much against his will, was obliged to +leave his station outside the strait, and go to the aid of Naupactus, +which had been left undefended. Great was the delight of the +Peloponnesian captains when they saw the little Athenian squadron +creeping close, in single file, along the northern side of the gulf, +for they thought that not one of the twenty would escape them. At a +given signal, the whole fleet formed into line, resuming its original +order, four deep, and bore down upon the Athenians. Eleven of Phormio's +triremes succeeded in clearing the strait, and getting into the open +waters in the direction of Naupactus; but the remaining nine were +overtaken and driven aground, and their crews, except those who escaped +by swimming, were put to the sword. Some of these vessels were towed +off as prizes by the Peloponnesians, and one they captured with all her +crew. The rest were saved by the valour of the Messenian soldiers, who +had followed the movements of Phormio's vessels along the shore, and +now did good service by boarding the stranded triremes, and hauling +them to land, after a sharp tussle with the enemy. + +Meanwhile the eleven ships which had eluded the attack were hotly +pursued by the twenty fast-sailing vessels on the Peloponnesian right +wing. All but one got through in safety, and took refuge in the harbour +of Naupactus, and drawing up in line, with their prows outwards, +prepared to defend themselves if the enemy advanced further against +them. But the rearmost vessel was hard pressed by a Leucadian ship, and +the rest of the pursuers followed at a considerable distance, singing +the paean [Footnote: A song of victory.] as they rowed, and expecting +an easy victory. Now, however, occurred one of those sudden turns of +fortune so frequent in the course of a sea-fight. The Athenian trireme +which had been left far behind in the chase, made a sudden sweep round +a merchant-vessel anchored at the mouth of the harbour, struck her +pursuer amidships, and sank her. + +This splendid feat of seamanship filled the Peloponnesians, who were +advancing in disorder, with amazement and terror. On every trireme the +cry of "Hold her!" [Footnote: This was done by thrusting the oars, with +the blades held flat, deep into the water] was heard, and some of the +vessels, losing way suddenly, ran aground on the shallows. The others +hung back, waiting until the main body of the fleet should come to +their support. Seeing them drifting thus, stupefied and helpless, the +Athenians took heart again, and raising a shout rowed swiftly from +their station within the harbour, and charged down upon them. The +Peloponnesians, after a feeble attempt at resistance, took to flight, +heading for their original station on the opposite coast. Six of their +vessels were captured, and the Athenians, not content with this, fell +upon the main body of the fleet, and recovered their own ships which +had been taken in the strait. The victorious crews of Phormio then +returned to Naupactus, and set up a trophy at the place where they had +been moored when this splendid rally was made, opposite to the temple +of Apollo. The Peloponnesians also raised a trophy, to commemorate +their first success, and then, fearing the arrival of the fresh ships +from Athens, they sailed off to Lechaeum, the northern harbour of +Corinth. + + +III + +In strange contrast with the disgraceful exhibition of cowardice and +incompetence which we have just witnessed, we have now to record a +daring attempt, undertaken shortly afterwards, to strike at the very +heart of the Athenian power. While the beaten crews of the +Peloponnesian fleet were waiting to be paid off at Lechaeum, they +suddenly received orders to take their oars and rowing-cushions, and +proceed to Nisaea, the port of Megara. The plan was to embark them on +forty vessels, which were lying in the dockyards, and make a +night-attack on Peiraeus. The suggestion came from the Megarians, but +in carrying it out the Peloponnesians were probably influenced by the +bold and enterprising spirit of Brasidas. And in fact, the meditated +descent on Peiraeus was neither so wild nor so rash as it may at first +sight appear. For the Athenians, never dreaming that they might be +taken by surprise, had not taken the precaution to close the entrance +of their harbour, or to station guard-ships for its defence. + +Without delay, the officers in charge of the expedition mustered their +crews at Nisaea, and embarking by night, got their ships under way. But +at the last moment their hearts failed them, and instead of sailing to +Peiraeus, they landed on the island of Salamis, and after attacking a +sea-side fort, and capturing three triremes which were riding at anchor +near it, they spread themselves out, and began ravaging and plundering +the country. + +Meanwhile fire-signals had been raised, conveying the alarm to Peiraeus +and Athens. A wild panic ensued, and a rumour ran through the upper +city that the enemy had sailed into Peiraeus, while in the harbour-town +it was generally supposed that Salamis was lost, and Peiraeus on the +point of being invaded. The Peloponnesians employed in this adventure +afterwards pretended that they had been hindered by contrary winds from +carrying out their original design. But this was a mere excuse, and if +they had chosen they might have sailed unopposed to Peiraeus, and +inflicted terrible injury on Athens. But it was now too late, for the +Athenians, as soon as the news was brought, had marched down with their +whole military force to Peiraeus, and occupied every assailable point +in the harbour, while at the same time every ship in the docks was +launched and manned, and sent off in headlong haste to Salamis. + +By this time it was broad daylight, and the Peloponnesians, being +warned that a rescue was on the way from Peiraeus, made off with their +booty, and getting, on board their ships, sailed back to Nisaea. They +had the more reason for hastening their departure, as the Megarian +ships which had carried them to Salamis, having lain a long while in +dry-dock, were leaky and unseaworthy; for the harbour of Megara had for +some time past been kept in close blockade by the Athenians. + +This memorable incident, following close on the brilliant victories of +Phormio, taught the Athenians to take better precautions for the +future. Hitherto they would have scoffed at the suggestion that their +own arsenals and dockyards were exposed to attack. But now they +provided for the safety of Peiraeus by closing the harbours and keeping +a vigilant watch. And that terrible night left an impression on their +minds which was not soon forgotten. + + + + +THE REVOLT OF LESBOS + +I + + +We have already traced the steps by which the various cities composing +the Confederacy of Delos gradually became subjects and tributaries of +Athens. After this great change was effected, the only members of the +original league who retained their independence were the wealthy and +powerful communities of Chios and Lesbos. These two islands were +allowed to retain undisturbed control of their own affairs, with the +sole obligation of sending a fixed quota of ships to serve in the +Athenian Navy. It does not appear that the performance of this duty was +felt as a grievance, and no act of oppression had been committed by +Athens, such as might have provoked her allies in Lesbos or Chios to +turn against her. In both islands the general body of the citizens were +on the whole friendly to the Athenians, who afforded them an effectual +means of protection against the tyranny of the nobles, by summoning +high-born offenders to be tried before the Athenian tribunals. +[Footnote: The evidence for this statement will be found in Thucydides, +viii. 48.] It was therefore not among the people at large, but among +the privileged few, that any movement of revolt against Athens was to +be expected. + +Some years before the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War the Lesbian +malcontents had solicited the Spartans to help them in throwing off the +yoke of Athens. This application, which was probably made at the time +of the revolt of Samos, found no favour with Sparta, and nothing +further was attempted on that occasion. But in the fourth year of the +war alarming rumours were brought to Athens from Tenedos, a small +island included in the Athenian alliance, whose inhabitants were +jealous of the threatened ascendancy of Lesbos in the eastern districts +of the Aegaean. There was a design, it was said, among the leading +citizens of Mytilene, the principal city of Lesbos, to unite the +inhabitants of the island by force under their rule, and renounce their +allegiance to Athens. Help was expected from Sparta, and the Boeotians, +who were of the same race as the Lesbians, were also in the plot. This +statement was confirmed by envoys from Methymna, the second city of +Lesbos, which stood apart from the conspiracy, and by certain citizens +of Mytilene, who had turned informers from motives of private revenge. + +Among the Athenians at this time there was a general feeling of +despondency and exhaustion. The full hardship of the war pressed +heavily upon them, and their population was thinned by the ravages of +the plague. In such a mood the thought of undertaking a campaign +against a great island like Lesbos, then at the height of her power, +filled them with dismay. Was it possible that a favoured and privileged +ally had taken up arms against them in the hour of their distress? It +was a slander, they could not, they would not believe it. At any rate, +before proceeding to extremities, they would try the effect of a +friendly remonstrance. So they sent envoys with a pacific message to +the Mytilenaeans, hoping by fair words to deter them from their +purpose. In this, however, they were disappointed, and being at last +convinced that the Lesbians were on the brink of revolt, they sent off +forty triremes without delay, in order, if possible, to catch them +unawares. For they had been informed that the Mytilenaeans were about +to celebrate the festival of Apollo, in which the whole population took +part, outside the city walls; and if the triremes arrived in time, +there would be a fine opportunity for a surprise. At the same time they +took possession of ten Mytilenaean triremes, which had been sent to +serve in the Athenian fleet, and imprisoned the crews. + +But now was seen one of the weaknesses inherent in the nature of the +Athenian constitution. These measures could not be taken without public +debate in the popular assembly, and such a method of procedure rendered +secrecy impossible. The Mytilenaeans received timely warning of their +danger, and keeping close within their walls, repaired the weak places +in their defences, and set a careful watch. Shortly afterwards the +Athenian fleet hove in sight. As the Mytilenaeans refused to obey the +summons delivered to them in the name of the imperial people,--that +they should raze their walls, and surrender their ships,--hostilities +commenced. But on neither side was much vigour displayed, for the +Athenian officers thought themselves too weak to undertake any decisive +operations with their present force, and the Mytilenaeans desired to +obtain a respite, to enable them to obtain aid from Sparta. Accordingly +they asked for an armistice, pretending that they wished to plead their +cause by their own representatives before the Athenian assembly; and +their request being granted, they sent envoys to Athens, who made a +show of carrying on negotiations. And in the meantime a trireme was +despatched in all haste to carry their petition to Sparta. + +On the return of the Mytilenaean envoys from Athens, where of course +they had accomplished nothing, the siege of Mytilene began in earnest. +The city was situated on a promontory facing the Asiatic coast on the +south-eastern side of the island, and had two harbours, on its northern +and southern side. Both of these harbours were now held in close +blockade by the Athenians, who established two camps, one on either +side of the town, and patrolled the harbour-mouths with their ships. +But on the land side the investment was not yet completed, so that +supplies could still be brought into the town from the island. +Reinforcements, however, came pouring into the Athenian quarters in +answer to a summons sent to the cities of the Athenian alliance, who +were the more willing to lend help, as the Lesbians made no vigorous +effort in their own defence. + +While the prospects of Athens were thus brightening, the Mytilenaean +envoys, after a stormy voyage, arrived at Sparta, and laid their +petition before the authorities. It happened that the Olympic festival +was close at hand, where representatives would be present from all the +cities of the Peloponnesian league; so the envoys received orders to go +to Olympia, and state their case in the presence of the Spartan allies. +They went, therefore, to Olympia, and when the festival was over, the +Mytilenaean orator addressed the confederates as follows:-- + +"Before we urge our claim for assistance we wish to combat a prejudice +which we know to be general in Greece against those who desert their +allies in time of war. For we wish not only to obtain your countenance +and support, but also to preserve your respect. To abandon an ally +without just cause in a time of peril is justly regarded as an act of +treason. But then the alliance must be a fair and equal relation +voluntarily assumed on both sides, based on mutual esteem and parity of +power. Can anyone assert that our connexion with Athens answers to this +description? Have we not seen how the confederacy of maritime cities +formed against Persia was gradually converted into an Athenian empire? +And though we and the Chians enjoyed nominal independence, we had good +reason to fear that this was only a temporary concession, which would +be withdrawn as soon as the Athenians felt themselves strong enough to +attack us. We were allowed to retain our liberty, partly because they +feared our navy, and partly because they wished to make us accomplices +in their own aggressions, and lend an appearance of equity to the acts +of violence in which we were compelled to take part. Having swallowed +up the smaller states, they were ready to pounce upon us, and were only +prevented by the outbreak of the present war. Who, then, can blame us, +if we seized the opportunity when they were weakened to repudiate this +false alliance, and anticipate the blow which they were preparing for +us? Athens, we repeat, has no just title to our allegiance; the bond +which held us together was fear on our side and interest on theirs. We +are natural enemies; and when your foe is disabled, then is the time to +strike. + +"Having thus cleared ourselves from the imputation of disloyalty, we +will now make plain to you the advantages which you will gain by +espousing our cause. If you wish to inflict irreparable injury on +Athens, you must promote every hostile movement against her in those +regions which contain the sources of her power, that is to say, the +islands and coast-lands of the Aegaean. For if our revolt is +successful, others will follow our example, and the Athenians will be +stripped of their revenues, the mainstay of their empire. You can lend +us aid most effectually by summoning your allies for a second +[Footnote: Attica had already been invaded earlier in the summer.] +invasion of Attica, and thus preventing the Athenians from sending +reinforcements to Lesbos. You have a rare opportunity, for their city +is wasted by the plague, and their navies are dispersed on foreign +service. Remember, then, your proud position as champions of Greek +liberty, and put away the reproach which you have sometimes incurred by +leaving the revolted subjects of Athens to fight their battles alone. +[Footnote: As in the case of Samos.] For the cause of Lesbos is the +cause of all Greece." + +It will be observed that the greater part of this remarkable speech +consists of an elaborate endeavour on the part of the Mytilenaeans to +justify themselves. The arguments employed were entirely sophistical, +for the Lesbians had no real grievance--and the statement that they +were in danger of losing their independence was a pure invention. But +they spoke to a partial audience, and the Spartans had already +prejudged the case in their favour. It was therefore decided to receive +them into the Peloponnesian alliance, and orders were issued to the +allies to assemble at the Isthmus with two-thirds of their forces for +an immediate invasion of Attica. The Spartans, acting with unusual +vigour, were the first to appear at the Isthmus, where they made +preparations for hauling ships overland from the northern harbour of +Corinth, intending to attack Athens by sea and land. But the rest of +the confederates came in but slowly, as they were engaged in getting in +their harvest, and had little inclination for a second campaign. + +The Spartans soon found out that they were mistaken in supposing the +energies of Athens to be exhausted. Without moving their fleet from +Lesbos, the Athenians manned a hundred triremes, raising the crews from +the whole body of the citizens, with the exception of the knights and +the wealthiest class of the Solonian census, and pressing even resident +foreigners into the service; and with this imposing force they made an +armed demonstration before the eyes of their enemies at the Isthmus, +and then, coasting along Peloponnesus, made descents wherever they +pleased. This spirited conduct produced the desired effect. For the +Spartans, who were still waiting for their allies at the Isthmus, saw +themselves baffled in all their calculations, and concluded that they +had been misinformed by the Lesbians as to the state of affairs at +Athens; and hearing that their own coast-lands were being ravaged by +the Athenian fleet, they hastily decamped, and the plan of a second +invasion came to nothing. + +The summer was now drawing to a close, and as yet no progress had been +made with the siege of Mytilene. The town was still blockaded by sea, +but the Mytilenaeans had free egress on the land-side, and marched up +and down the island, confirming the other towns which had joined in the +revolt, and threatening Methymna, which still remained loyal to the +Athenian alliance. When the Athenians were informed of this state of +things, they sent a thousand hoplites under Paches to reinforce the +besieging army; and on their arrival the investment of Mytilene was +completed by a wall drawn from sea to sea, and cutting off the town +from the rest of the island. The Mytilenaeans now began to despair, for +their supplies were failing, and there seemed no hope of relief. But +during the winter a ray of hope reached them from outside, and +encouraged them to persevere in their resistance. There was a weak +point in the Athenian wall, where it closed a ravine; and through this +interval a Spartan named Salaethus, who had sailed to Lesbos in a +trireme, and crossed the island on foot, succeeded in making his way +into the town. Salaethus announced himself as an agent sent from +Sparta, to inform the distressed garrison that, as soon as the season +permitted, forty triremes would be sent to their assistance, and that +Attica would be invaded at the same time, to keep the enemy occupied at +home. At this welcome news the hopes of the Mytilenaeans revived, and +all thoughts of surrender were laid aside. + + +II + +As soon as spring arrived, the Spartans, true to their promise, sent +off forty triremes, commanded by Alcidas, to raise the siege of +Mytilene, and marched in full force into Attica, thinking thus to +divert the attention of the Athenians, and prevent them from +interfering with the voyage of Alcidas. They remained a long time in +Attica, waiting for news from their fleet, and employing the time in a +systematic ravage of the whole territory. But time passed, and no +message arrived from Alcidas, who seemed to have disappeared with all +his ships; so that at last, as their expectations were disappointed, +and their supplies exhausted, they broke up their army and returned +home. + +The position of Mytilene was now growing desperate. Nothing more was +heard of the relieving squadron, and the scanty store of provisions was +rapidly failing; for, owing to the betrayal of their design, the +Mytilenaeans had been hurried into revolt before their preparations +were completed, and had had no time to lay up a sufficient stock of +food. Salaethus, therefore, determined to make a sudden sally, and +break out of the town; and the better to effect this purpose, he +furnished the common people, who had hitherto served as light-armed +soldiers, with the full equipment of heavy infantry. But this +proceeding brought on a catastrophe, for the commons no sooner found +themselves in possession of better weapons than they turned upon their +masters, and accused them of secreting supplies of corn for their own +use. "Bring out your corn," they cried, "and divide it equally, or we +will go out and make terms with the Athenians for ourselves." Alarmed +at this threat, which if carried out would leave them exposed as the +sole objects of Athenian vengeance, the nobles sent a message to +Paches, on behalf of the whole city, offering to surrender, on +condition that their case should be tried by the tribunals at Athens, +and stipulating that, while the decision was pending, no violence +should be offered to any of the inhabitants. The proposal was accepted, +and Paches marched his forces into the town. In spite of the +convention, the leaders of the revolt took sanctuary in the temples, +being in dread of summary execution. Paches reassured them, and sent +them in safe custody to Tenedos. + +We must now turn back a little, and follow the movements of Alcidas. +The Spartan admiral, it would seem, had small stomach for the bold +adventure on which he was bound--no less than to rob the Athenians of +one of their most important possessions, and defy the redoubtable +captains of Athens on their own element. After loitering for some time +off the coast of Peloponnesus, he sailed on slowly as far as Delos, and +then, touching at Icarus, he heard that Mytilene was already taken. +Wishing, however, to inform himself with certainty, he pushed on as far +as Erythrae, on the mainland of Asia, which he reached seven days after +the fall of Mytilene. Being now assured that the report was true, he +called a council of war to decide what was to be done. Then a certain +Greek of Elis, named Teutiaplus, made a bold suggestion: "Let us," he +said, "sail straight to Mytilene, and make an attempt to recapture the +town by surprise. Most likely the Athenians, flushed with success, will +be taken unawares, and we shall find the harbour open, and the land +forces dispersed, and if we make a sudden onfall, under cover of +darkness, we shall probably succeed." + +The prudent Alcidas found this proposal little to his taste; nor was he +better pleased by another plan, put forward by the Lesbian envoys who +were returning on board the Peloponnesian fleet, and seconded by a +party of exiles from the cities of Ionia. These men tried to persuade +Alcidas to establish himself in some city of Asia Minor, and raise a +revolt among the allies of Athens in these parts. He had, they said, +every prospect of success, for his arrival was welcomed on all sides. +Let him seize the opportunity of attacking the Athenians in their most +mortal part, first by withdrawing the tribute of Ionia, and secondly by +putting them to the expense of a blockade. + +This daring scheme might have led to something important, if the fleet +had been commanded by Brasidas. But Alcidas was a man of very different +temper, and having arrived too late to save Mytilene, he had now but +one thought,--to return to Peloponnesus as fast as he could, and get +out of the reach of the terrible Athenian triremes. So he set his fleet +in motion, and sailing along the coast in a southerly direction put in +at Ephesus. On the voyage he showed himself to be as cruel as he was +cowardly, by capturing and putting to death the crews of the vessels +which came in his way. These were not a few, for the ships which +crossed his path approached fearlessly, under the impression that his +fleet was from Athens; for no one dreamed that a Peloponnesian squadron +would dare to enter these waters. For this senseless barbarity he was +severely rebuked by a deputation of Samian exiles, now living on the +mainland, who met him at Ephesus. His was a strange method, they +remarked with bitter irony, of helping the Ionians to recover their +liberty--to butcher defenceless men, who had done him no harm, but +looked to him for rescue from their bondage to Athens! If he continued +to behave thus, he would make the name of Sparta detested throughout +Ionia. Dull as he was, Alcidas could not but feel the justice of this +reprimand, and he let the rest of his prisoners go. + +The presence of a Peloponnesian fleet had caused great alarm among the +inhabitants of Ionia, and urgent messages came in daily to Paches at +Mytilene, summoning him to their aid. For even though Alcidas had +declined to take up a permanent station on the coast, as the exiles had +suggested, it was apprehended that he would pillage the sea-side towns, +which were unfortified, on his homeward voyage. At last two state +triremes, the _Paralus_ and _Salaminia,_ which had been sent on public +business from Athens, came into Mytilene with the news that they had +sighted the fleet of Alcidas lying at anchor off Clarus. [Footnote: A +little town, north-west of Ephesus.] Thereupon Paches put to sea at +once, and gave chase. But Alcidas had got wind of his danger, and was +already on the high seas, making all speed for Peloponnesus. Paches +pursued him as far as Patmos, and then turned back. He would gladly +have caught the Peloponnesians in blue water, where he could have sent +all their ships to the bottom; but as it was he thought himself +fortunate to have escaped the necessity of forming a blockade, as he +must have done if he had come up with them near land, and driven them +ashore. As for Alcidas, he fled in wild haste, keeping the open sea, +being resolved not to touch land, if he could help it, until he reached +the shelter of a Peloponnesian harbour. + + +III + +On his return to Lesbos, Paches despatched to Athens the prisoners who +had been sent to Tenedos, among whom was the Spartan Salaethus. When +they arrived the Athenians immediately put Salaethus to death, and then +met in full assembly to decide on the fate of the rest. They had just +been delivered from a fearful danger, and in the natural reaction of +vindictive rage which had now set in they came to the horrible +resolution of putting all the adult male population of Mytilene to the +sword, and selling the women and children as slaves. The Mytilenaeans, +they argued, were without excuse: they were not subjects of Athens, who +might wish to escape from their burdens, but free and privileged +allies. They had treacherously plotted against Athens, when she was +sunk deep in calamity, and brought a Peloponnesian fleet within the +sacred circle of her empire. For a long time past they had evidently +been hatching a vile conspiracy against the very existence of Athens. +Having once come to this decision, the Athenians lost no time, but sent +off a trireme on the same day, with orders to Paches to carry the +decree into effect. + +But after a night of cool reflection they began to repent of their +haste. It was a cruel and monstrous thing, they now thought, to butcher +the population of a whole city, innocent and guilty alike. The +Mytilenaean envoys, who had been sent to Athens on the surrender of the +city, perceived that there was a change in the public temper, and +acting in concert with influential Athenians who were in their +interest, they induced the magistrates to summon a second assembly, and +re-open the debate. + +It is on this occasion that we first catch sight [Footnote: That is, in +the narrative of Thucydides.] of the notorious demagogue Cleon, who for +the next six years will be the most prominent figure in Athenian public +life. This man belongs to a class of politicians who had begun to +exercise great influence on the affairs of Athens after the death of +Pericles. That great statesman had really led the people, checking +their excesses, setting bounds to their ambition, and guiding all the +moods of the stormy democracy. But the demagogues were lowborn +upstarts, who, while seeming to lead the people, really followed it, +and kept their position by pandering to the worst passions of the +multitude. It must, however, be mentioned that the two contemporary +writers from whom we draw our materials for the portrait of Cleon, the +historian Thucydides and the comic poet Aristophanes, were both +violently prejudiced against him. Aristophanes hated him as the +representative of the new democracy, which was an object of abhorrence +to the great comic genius; and Thucydides, a born aristocrat, of strong +oligarchical sympathies, looked with cold scorn and aversion on the +coarse mechanic, [Footnote: Cleon was a tanner by trade.] who presumed +to usurp the place, and ape the style, of a true leader like Pericles. + +In the previous debate Cleon had been the chief promoter of the +murderous sentence passed against Mytilene; and when the question was +brought forward again, he made a vehement harangue, the substance of +which has been preserved by Thucydides. In this speech he appears as a +practised rhetorical bravo, whose one object is to vilify his +opponents, and throw contempt on their arguments, by an unscrupulous +use of the weapons of ridicule, calumny, and invective. He reproaches +the magistrates for convening a second assembly, in a matter which had +already been decided; and this was, in fact, strictly speaking, a +breach of the constitution. He laughs at the Athenians as weak +sentimentalists, always inclined to mercy, even when mercy was +suicidal. Of the subject communities he speaks as if they were mere +slaves and chattels, outside the pale of humanity, to be kept down with +the scourge and the sword. "Let the law prevail," cries this second +Draco. "The law is sacred, and must not be moved. You are so clever +that you will not live, by fixed rule and order, and you deride the +approved principles of political wisdom. Every one of you wants to be a +lawgiver, a statesman, and a reformer, and to manage the public affairs +in his own way. We, who understand your true interests, are bound to +resist this mood of lawless extravagance, and keep you in the right +path, whether you will or no." + +Then preserving the same tone, as of one who is exposing an outrageous +paradox, Cleon proceeds to deal with the actual subject of debate. To +massacre a whole population, was, in his view, a commonplace and +ordinary proceeding; and, in the present instance, the only course +consistent with prudence and common sense. Those who maintained the +contrary were either flighty enthusiasts, whose opinion was not worth +considering, or venal orators, who had sold their country for a bribe. +"Will you suffer yourselves," asked the indignant moralist, "to be +blinded by these corrupt advocates, who amuse you with their eloquence, +and then pocket the price? But it is your own fault: you have no sense +of public responsibility--you are like clever children, playing at a +game of politics. While you sit here, listening to your favourite +speakers, and sharpening your wits against theirs, your empire is going +to ruin. Plain fact is too simple a diet for your pampered appetites; +you must have it hashed and served up with a fine flavouring of fancy +and wit. In short, you have lost all hold upon reality, you live in an +intellectual Utopia, and treat grave matters of public interest as +though they were mere themes in a school of declamation." + +In drawing this remarkable picture of Athenian character, which, though +strangely out of place, really contained a large element of truth, +Cleon overreached himself, and was caught in his own snare. It was he, +and not his opponents, who was diverting attention from facts, and +involving a plain issue in a cloud of wordy rhetoric. He has no +arguments, worthy of the name, but tries to carry his case by playing +on the passions of the people, and blowing up the flames of their +anger, which was beginning to cool. But though the more discerning +among his audience must have seen through his sophistries, to a large +proportion of his hearers his speech no doubt seemed a masterpiece of +eloquence. The Athenians, who, like all people of lively talent, were +fond of laughing at themselves, would be especially amused by his +humorous description of their own besetting weakness, their restless +vanity, and inordinate love of change. + +The chief advocate for mitigating the sentence against Mytilene was a +certain Diodotus, who had taken a leading part in the previous debate, +and now stood up again to oppose the blood-thirsty counsels of Cleon. +The speech of Diodotus is calm, sober, and business-like. After a +dignified remonstrance against the vile insinuations of Cleon, by whom +all who differed from him were decried as fools or knaves, Diodotus +proceeded to argue the question from the point of view of expediency. +He was not there, he said, to plead the cause of the Mytilenaeans, or +to discuss abstract questions of law and justice. What they had to +consider was what course would be most conducive to the interests of +Athens. According to Cleon, those interests would be best served by a +wholesale massacre of the inhabitants of Mytilene, which would strike +terror into the other subjects of Athens, and prevent them from +yielding to the same temptation. But, reasoned Diodotus, experience had +shown that intending criminals were not deterred from wrongdoing by the +increased severity of penal statutes. For a long time lawgivers had +framed their codes in this belief, thinking to drive mankind into the +path of rectitude by appealing to their terrors. Yet crime had not +diminished, but rather increased. And what was true of individuals, was +still more true of cities, where each man hoped to be concealed among +the crowd of transgressors. Criminals, whether they acted singly, or in +large numbers, were only rendered desperate, if all degrees of crime +were confounded in one common penalty of death. + +Such were the enlightened principles of jurisprudence set forth by an +Athenian of the fifth century before Christ--principles which were +first recognised in modern Europe within the memory of men still +living. Then, bringing his theories to a practical test, he pointed out +the gross impolicy of driving a revolted city to desperation, by +excluding all rebels from the hope of pardon. This, he said, would be +the effect on the subjects of Athens, if they passed the same sentence +on the Mytilenaeans, without distinction between the innocent and the +guilty. At present the commons in every city were loyal to Athens; and +though they might be beguiled or coerced into rebellion, they would, if +assured of fair treatment, take the first opportunity of returning to +their allegiance, as the commoners of Mytilene had done. "Do not, +therefore," concluded Diodotus, "destroy this, the strongest guarantee +of your security, but punish the ringleaders of the revolt, after due +deliberation, and leave the rest in peace." + +The arguments of Diodotus were unanswerable, and it might have been +supposed that the Athenians, in their relenting mood, would have +carried the amendment by a large majority. But this was not the case. +The debate was keenly contested, and when the president called for a +show of hands, the more merciful decree was only passed by a few votes. +There was no time to be lost, for the first trireme was already a day +and a night on her voyage, and the fate of Mytilene hung by a hair. A +second trireme was launched with all speed, and the Mytilenaeans +present in Athens promised large rewards to the crew if they arrived in +time. With such inducements the rowers toiled day and night, taking +their meals, which consisted of barley-meal kneaded with wine and oil, +at the oar, and sleeping and rowing by turns. Happily there was no +contrary wind to retard their progress, and the crew of the first +vessel, bearing that savage mandate, made no efforts to shorten their +passage. As it was, they were not an hour too soon: for when they +arrived, Paches had already received the decree, and was preparing to +carry it out. Thus Mytilene escaped destruction by a hair's-breadth, +and Athens was saved from committing a great crime. But even the +modified sentence, which was passed directly afterwards on the motion +of Cleon, condemning more than a thousand Mytilenaean citizens to +death, was sufficiently ferocious, and was remembered against the +tyrant city in the days of her humiliation. + + + + +ESCAPE OF TWO HUNDRED PLATAEANS FALL OF PLATAEA + +I + + +The siege of Plataea had now lasted for more than a year, and the brave +garrison began to be in sore straits, for their supplies were giving +out, and they had no hope of rescue from outside. In this desperate +situation they resolved to make an attempt to break through the +besieging lines, and make their escape to Athens. All were to take part +in the adventure, leaving the Peloponnesians in possession of an empty +town. But when the time came for carrying out this bold design, half of +the garrison drew back, thinking the risk too great. The other half, +numbering about two hundred and twenty, persisted in their purpose, and +forthwith fell to work on their preparations. They began by making +ladders for scaling the enemy's wall; and in order to ascertain the +proper length of the ladders, they counted the courses of bricks in a +part of the wall facing the town, which happened to have been left +unplastered. Many counted the courses together, and by repeating the +process over and over again, and comparing the result, they at last hit +upon the right number. When once this was known, they could easily +calculate the length of their ladders, for the bricks were all of the +same dimensions, and they knew the thickness of a single brick. + +The Peloponnesians had built a double line of wall round Plataea, the +two lines being separated by a distance of sixteen feet. The whole of +the space within this double wall was covered by a flat roof, so as to +present the appearance of a single thick wall, with battlements on +either side; and this covered space, which was divided into rooms by +partition-walls, served as barracks for the besiegers. Along the top +were high towers, with intervals of ten battlements between them, and +built flush with the wall on both sides, so as to leave no passage, +except through the middle of the tower. These served as guard-rooms, +where the soldiers on duty took shelter on wet and stormy nights. For +the distance between the towers was very small, and they could rush out +and man the walls at a moment's notice. + +The Plataeans omitted no precaution which might secure success for +their hazardous enterprise. Every man understood exactly the part which +he had to play, and knew that his own life, and the lives of his +comrades, depended on his courage and coolness. They had chosen their +time well, for it was now mid-winter. So they waited for a night of +storm and rain, when there was no moon, and sallying forth from the +town crossed the inner ditch, and came up to the inner wall, +unperceived by the enemy; for the noise of their footsteps was drowned +by the roaring of the wind, and they were careful to advance in open +order, so as not to be discovered by the clashing of their arms. The +whole troop was lightly equipped, and they walked with their right foot +unsandalled, to give them a firmer hold on the muddy ground. Choosing +one of the spaces between two towers, they adjusted their ladders, and +began to ascend the wall. The first to mount were twelve picked men, +armed with breastplates and daggers, who as soon as they reached the +top, rushed to the towers, six men to each, and having overpowered the +guard, stood ready to defend the passage. These were followed by +others, armed with javelins, whose shields were handed up to them from +below as they ascended, to enable them to climb the more easily. +Several of this party had got up in safety, when one of those who were +following dislodged a tile as he grasped the battlements. The sound of +the falling tile alarmed the guards in the towers, and soon the whole +besieging force was in a commotion. But being bewildered by the +darkness, and deafened by the tempest which was blowing, they knew not +which way to turn, and remained at their quarters, waiting for orders. +And at the same time the Plataeans left in the town made a feigned +attack on the Peloponnesian wall at the opposite side to divert the +attention of the enemy. In the general confusion thus created the +besiegers were at a loss what to do, and three hundred of their men, +who were kept together for prompt service on any pressing occasion, +took up their station before the outer wall, thinking that the +Athenians had come to relieve the town. Fire-signals were now kindled +by the Peloponnesians, to summon help from Thebes; but the Plataeans +were prepared for this also, and they kindled other beacons which had +been raised for the purpose on their wall, so as to obscure the meaning +of the enemy's signals, and delay the march of the Thebans, until their +own comrades had had time to escape. + +The way was thus left clear for the gallant two hundred. Those who led +the party had secured possession of the passages through the towers, +and stood ready to bar the way against all assailants. Others who +followed brought ladders, and planting them at the foot of the towers, +mounted to the top, and kept off the Peloponnesians, when they +attempted to force an entrance, with a shower of javelins. Over the +intervening space now swarmed the main body of the Plataeans; and each +man, as he got over, halted at the edge of the outer ditch, and kept up +a hot fire of javelins and arrows, to cover the retreat of his +comrades, and repel any attack from below. When all the rest had +crossed the wall, those who held the towers began to descend; and this +was the most perilous part of the adventure, especially for those who +came last. All, however, succeeded in joining their comrades by the +ditch, and just at this moment the picked troop of three hundred, who +carried torches, came upon them. But fortune still favoured the +Plataeans; crouching in the deep shadow thrown by the high banks of the +ditch, they plied the enemy, who with their blazing torches afforded an +easy mark, with darts and arrows. And thus, fighting and retreating at +the same time, they made their way gradually across the ditch, but not +without a severe struggle, for the water was swollen by the snow which +had fallen in the night, and covered with rotten ice. Their best friend +was the tempest, which raged with extraordinary violence throughout the +night. + +When their last man had crossed, the Plataeans went off at a run in the +direction of Thebes, being assured that no one would expect them to +take the road which led to their worst enemy. And the prudence of this +course soon appeared, for looking back they saw the Peloponnesians +hurrying with lighted torches along the road to Athens. Then after +marching towards Thebes for about a mile, they doubled back, and taking +to the mountains soon reached the friendly territory of Attica. They +received a kind welcome at Athens, where it was found that out of the +original two hundred and twenty, only eight were missing. Seven of +these had lost heart at the last moment, and returned to Plataea, where +they announced that all the rest of the party had been slain. One only, +an archer, was taken prisoner at the outer ditch. + +On hearing the report of those who had turned back, the Plataeans +applied for a truce to bury their dead; and when their herald came back +from his useless errand, they learned to their delight that this +gallant enterprise, so ably planned, and so boldly executed, had been +crowned with complete success. + + +II + +Well would it have been for the Plataeans who remained in the town if +they had stood by their first purpose, and shared the fortunes of their +brave comrades. Better far to have died, sword in hand, than to meet +the ignoble fate which was now reserved for them. It was in the +following summer, two years after the beginning of the siege, that the +crisis arrived. The Plataeans had come to the end of their provisions, +and were suffering severely from want of food. In this state of +weakness they were suddenly attacked by the besiegers, who might easily +have carried the town by storm. But the Spartan general wished, if +possible, to avoid this, as all places taken by assault would have to +be given back to their original owners on the conclusion of peace, +whereas those which had voluntarily surrendered might be retained. +Accordingly he sent a herald, and summoned the Plataeans to surrender, +promising that they should have a fair trial by Spartan judges; and +they, being actually on the point of starvation, accepted the terms +offered, and laid down their arms. They were kept in custody and +supplied with food until the judges, five in number, arrived from +Sparta. On the arrival of the judges no express charge was made against +them, but they were called up one by one, and asked this simple +question: "Have you done any service to the Spartans or their allies in +the course of the present war?" + +The Plataeans saw the snare which was set for them, and seeking to +evade it they asked permission to plead their cause at length. Leave +being given, the Plataean advocate rose to address the court, and made +a most moving and eloquent appeal, which well deserves to be reproduced +in its main outlines. + +"Men of Sparta," began the orator, "we surrendered our city on the +faith of your promise that the innocent should be spared, and only the +guilty condemned. But we fear that our confidence has been misplaced. +That our doom is already pronounced we have but too plain evidence, in +your sinister question, in your cold, condemning looks, in the gloomy +faces of our enemies, who have poisoned your ears against us. We have +but little hope of turning you from your purpose by anything that we +can say. Nevertheless we have resolved to speak, lest in the hour of +death we should be tormented by the thought that a word might have +saved us, and that word remained unspoken. + +"In the history of the last fifty years no city in Greece has a fairer +record than ours. Though not trained to the sea, we served in the fleet +at Artemisium; we fought under Pausanias in the great battle which +decided the fate of Greece, and took part beyond our strength in all +the trials and perils of our common country. On the gratitude of Sparta +we have a special claim, for in the day of her direst extremity, after +the earthquake, when the Helots were in arms against her, we sent a +third part of our citizens to her aid. Since then we have been found in +the ranks of your enemies; but this was your fault, not ours. Who drove +us into the arms of Athens, when we were hard pressed by the tyranny of +Thebes? We joined the Athenian alliance at your bidding; they defended +us against our enemies, and admitted us to the rights of Athenian +citizenship. We were bound, therefore, by every tie of honour and duty +to stand by them, whether their cause was just or unjust. + +"What, then, is the meaning of your question, whether we have done you +or your allies any service during this war? If you ask as foes, how can +you claim any service? And if you ask as friends, you have done us +bitter wrong, by attacking us unprovoked. + +"The Thebans seized our city in time of peace, and at a holy season, +and we were justified by the laws of nature and of nations in wreaking +vengeance upon them. It may seem to your interest to pay court to them +now; but think how different was our conduct from theirs when the +Persian was at our doors, threatening slavery to us all. We were among +the few who obeyed the call of honour, while Thebes and all the other +towns of Boeotia took sides with the Barbarian. + +"Hitherto Sparta has been called the glass of honour in Greece. What, +then, will men say, if Spartan judges are guilty of blotting Plataea +out of the map of Greece, and of the judicial murder of her citizens? +Strange, indeed, and terrible has been the fate of our city, both now +and in the past. Our fathers were brought to the brink of ruin by their +valour and devotion; we, their sons, have just passed through all the +horrors of a siege, and now we are forced to plead for our lives. +Outcasts from our fatherland, spurned and rejected of all, we are +thrown upon your mercy; and much we fear that your hearts are hardened +against us. + +"We adjure you, then, by the memory of those times, and of the part +which we took in the salvation of Greece, not to betray us to our worst +enemies, the Thebans. Do not win their gratitude by murder, but ours by +mercy. Forget the cold calculations of policy; think of the everlasting +infamy of such a deed. Your fathers are buried in our land, and we have +been constant in paying all honour and service to their tombs. Will ye +give up the land in which they rest to the men [Footnote: The Thebans, +who fought on the side of the Persians at Plataea.] who are guilty of +their blood? Will ye enslave those fields which saw the triumph of +Greek liberty, and dishonour the gods by whose favour the victory was +won? By your own renown, by the conscience of Greece, by the memory of +your sires, we adjure you, men of Lacedaemon, not to do this deed. + +"But it is time to make an end. If we have spoken in vain, and you are +resolved on our death, we have still one request. Send us back into our +city, and keep us there immured until we have perished of hunger. Any +fate is better than falling into the hands of the Thebans, the enemies +of Plataea, and of all Greece." + +The orator had indeed spoken in vain, or if his words had made any +impression on the minds of the judges, it was speedily obliterated by a +fierce and bitter tirade which was delivered by a Theban speaker in +reply. As soon as he had finished his harangue, the prisoners were +called up again in turn, and questioned as before. When each of them +had answered, in the only manner possible, he was led away and put to +death; and not one of them was spared. The number of those slain was +two hundred and twenty-five, and of these twenty-five were Athenians. +The city was then levelled to the ground, and the territory left at the +disposal of the Thebans. Thus was this brave little community +sacrificed to the rancour of Thebes, and the selfish policy of Sparta. + + + + +CAPTURE OF A HUNDRED AND TWENTY SPARTANS AT SPHACTERIA + +I + + +The result of six years of desultory fighting had fully justified the +forebodings of Archidamus, and the sanguine anticipations of Pericles. +In spite of the terrible ravages of the plague, Athens had easily held +her own against the whole power of the Peloponnesian league. As yet, +however, no decisive advantage had been gained on either side. But in +the seventh year of the war an event occurred which would have enabled +the Athenians, but for their own folly, to conclude an honourable peace. + +The ablest of the Athenian generals at this time was Demosthenes, +[Footnote: To be carefully distinguished from the great orator, born +about forty years after the date reached in this chapter (425 B.C.).] +who in the previous year had greatly distinguished himself by a +brilliant campaign in Aetolia. In the following summer he obtained +permission to take passage on board a fleet which was bound on a voyage +to Corcyra and Sicily. He sailed in a private capacity, but he was +authorized to use the ships against the coasts of Peloponnesus, if he +saw any opening which might be utilized in the interests of Athens. + +On a rocky promontory, at the northern end of the spacious bay of +Navarino, lies the little town of Pylos, generally believed to have +been the home of the Homeric Nestor. Since the conquest of Messenia by +the Spartans, the town had remained in ruins, and the country for some +distance round was a desert. The natural advantages of the adjacent +coast had already caught the keen eye of Demosthenes, and he had formed +the plan of raising a fortified outpost on the spot, to be held by a +picked troop of the banished Messenians, and thus planting a thorn in +the side of Sparta. + +Fortune favoured his design. For on rounding the western headland of +Peloponnesus, the fleet encountered a storm, and was compelled to seek +shelter at Pylos. Demosthenes now urged the admirals to employ their +enforced leisure in fortifying the place. But they repulsed him rudely, +and treated his suggestion with contempt. He next tried to interest the +inferior officers in his project, but meeting with no better success, +he began to fear that this grand opportunity would be thrown away. The +discussion, however, had reached the ears of the soldiers, and having +nothing else to do, they agreed among themselves to pass the time by +building a fort. Choosing a place of great natural strength, where the +rocky coast descends abruptly to the open sea, they went to work with a +will. As they had no tools for stone-cutting, they picked out the +stones, and fitted them together according to their shape; and for want +of hods they carried the mortar, wherever it was required, on their +backs, stooping forward and clasping their hands together behind them, +to prevent it from slipping off. They carried out their self-imposed +task with great energy, and after six days of vigorous labour the fort +was completed, for the natural defences of the site were so strong that +in most places there was no need of a wall. As the weather was now +favourable, the fleet proceeded on its voyage, leaving Demosthenes with +five ships to garrison the fort. + +The news of the occupation of Pylos soon reached the Spartans, but at +first they paid little heed, thinking that they could expel the +audacious intruders whenever they chose to exert themselves. Moreover, +they were just then engaged in keeping one of those religious festivals +of which the Spartan calendar was so full, and a good part of their +army was absent in Attica. Agis, however, the Spartan king, and those +under him who were commanding in Attica, took a wiser view of the +situation, and cutting short their operations they led their forces +with all speed back to Sparta. They were the more inclined to do this +as the season was yet early, the weather inclement, and, the corn being +still green, they wanted means to nourish their troops. Thus the +inventive genius of Demosthenes had already proved of signal service to +his country; for this was the shortest of all the Peloponnesian +invasions, lasting only fifteen days. + +On the return of their troops from Attica the Spartans sent a small +force to commence the attack on Pylos, and ordered the main body of +their army to follow. There was some discontent among those who had +already been serving abroad at this second levy, and the full muster of +the troops was consequently delayed. In the meantime a message was +despatched to a Peloponnesian fleet then sailing to Corcyra, which at +this time was in a state of revolution, with orders to return at once, +and assist in the campaign against Pylos. Demosthenes was now in +imminent danger, being threatened with an immediate assault by sea and +land, which he had no adequate means of repelling. Having sent off two +of his ships to recall the Athenian squadron from its voyage to +Corcyra, he prepared to defend himself, until the arrival of succour, +as best he could. + +The Peloponnesian fleet was the first to arrive, and the Spartans, who +were now present in full force with their allies, determined to make +the most of their time. They hoped, by a simultaneous onslaught of +their army and fleet, to carry the fort before the Athenian ships had +time to return. But in case they should fail in this, they intended to +cripple the movements of the relieving squadron, by blocking the +entrances to the bay. For the long, narrow island of Sphacteria forms a +natural break water, converting the harbour of Navarino into a +land-locked basin, with two narrow passages at the northern and +southern end. [Footnote: The description of Thucydides does not +correspond to the picture of the harbour given in our modern maps. But +in the course of twenty centuries great changes may well have +occurred.] These inlets the Spartans proposed to close, by anchoring +triremes close together, with their prows turned seawards, which they +could easily have done, for at the southern entrance there was only +room for eight or nine vessels to sail abreast, and at the northern +entrance only room for two. This precaution, however, was never carried +out; and the Spartans, as if blinded by fate, adopted another measure, +which led to fatal consequences for themselves. Wishing to keep command +of every spot of land in the neighbourhood of Pylos, they landed a body +of their own men, numbering four hundred and twenty, with the usual +proportion of Helots, on the island, and the same time posted troops at +every assailable point on the opposite coast. + +Thinking now that the little garrison at Pylos, surrounded on all sides +by enemies, would fall an easy prey, they sent orders to the fleet to +get under way, and prepared to attack the fort on the land side. +Meanwhile Demosthenes had not been idle: having drawn his three +remaining ships under the shelter of the fort, and protected them in +front by a stockade, he armed the crews with such weapons as he had, +including a number of wicker-shields, taken from a thirty-oared +Messenian galley which had recently come to his assistance with a force +of forty hoplites. Then, having posted the greater part of his troops +for the defence of his position against the Peloponnesian army, he +himself descended with a picked body of sixty hoplites, and took up his +station on the rocky shore. For on this side the defences were weakest, +as the Athenians, in building the fort, had never anticipated an attack +from the sea. + +Demosthenes had just time to address a few words of caution and +encouragement to his men, assuring them of victory, if they would only +stand fast, when the Peloponnesian fleet was seen bearing down upon +them; and at the same moment a loud shout from the fort announced that +the garrison was already engaged behind them. The assault was fiercest +at the point where Demosthenes and his men were stationed, and the +Peloponnesians made desperate efforts to effect a landing. But they +were embarrassed by the difficult and rocky coast, which only allowed a +few ships to approach at a time. As fast as one division was beaten +back, another came on, with the white foam spouting round the prows, +and the waters roaring and eddying to the strokes of the gigantic oars, +while the cliffs resounded with the shouts of their comrades in the +ships behind, cheering them on to the attack. + +Conspicuous among those who fought on the ships was seen the gallant +figure of Brasidas, who exerted himself, by voice and by example, to +infuse his own heroic spirit into the rest of the crews and their +officers. His ringing tones were heard above the tumult, urging on the +captains and steersmen, when they hung back in fear lest their ships +should be shattered on the rocks. "Spare not these timbers," he cried, +"but let every hull among them go to wreck, rather than suffer the +enemy to violate the soil of Lacedaemon. Where is your loyalty to +Sparta? Have you forgotten the debt which you owe to her? Have at them, +I say, and hurl this fort with its defenders into the sea." Saying this +he ordered the master of his own trireme to beach the vessel, and stood +ready on the gangway, that he might be the first to leap on shore. But +as he attempted to land he was hurled back by the Athenians, and fell +fainting, covered with wounds, on the deck. His shield slipped off his +arm, and dropped into the sea, and having been washed ashore, was +picked up by the Athenians, who used it to adorn the trophy which they +afterwards erected. + +After the fall of Brasidas the Peloponnesians still continued their +efforts to effect a landing, but they were baffled by the obstinate +defence of the Athenians, and the rugged and inhospitable coast. It was +a strange reversal of affairs which had been brought about by the +fortune of war. On one side were the Spartans, trained to military +service on land, but now compelled to serve on board a fleet, in order +to obtain a footing on their own territory, and on the other side the +Athenians, whose natural element was the sea, drawn up on land to repel +a naval attack. + +Next day the assault was repeated, but again without success. The +Spartans sent for a supply of timber, to construct siege engines, +intending to try and batter down the Athenian wall where it overlooked +the harbour, as at this point there was a better landing-place for the +ships. In this task, however, they were interrupted by the sudden +appearance of the Athenian fleet, now numbering fifty vessels, having +been reinforced by four Chian ships, and six from Naupactus. Finding +the harbour occupied by the Peloponnesians, and the whole coast lined +with troops, they retired for the night to the little island of Prote. +Next day they weighed anchor early, and dividing their fleet, sailed +into the harbour of Navarino by both entrances at once. Though taken by +surprise, the Peloponnesians manned their ships, and as fast as they +were ready put out to meet them; but before their array was complete +they were attacked by the Athenians, who disabled many of their +vessels, captured five, and drove the rest ashore. So complete was the +rout that the Athenians pursued the flying ships into the very interior +of the harbour, and rammed some of them after they had been brought to +land. Others they charged while the crews were still getting on board, +and began to tow off the disabled hulls. But in the heat of victory the +Athenians had pushed their advantage somewhat too far, and they paid +for their audacity by the loss of a considerable number of their men. +For the Lacedaemonians, in wild dismay at the defeat of their ships, by +which their comrades on the island would be cut off from all help, made +desperate exertions to save their fleet, wading into the water in their +heavy armour, and hauling back the vessels as they were being towed +off. In the confined space manoeuvring was impossible, and the +sea-fight had now become a furious hand to hand encounter, as between +two armies on land. After a prolonged struggle, in which both sides +suffered severely, the Spartans succeeded in saving their ships, except +those which had been taken at first, and the Athenians then retired to +their station. + +The result of this battle was to give the Athenians complete command of +the sea, for the Peloponnesian fleet was in no condition to renew the +engagement. From their camp on the mainland the Spartans could see the +Athenian triremes rowing round and round the island, and keeping +vigilant watch, to prevent those who were confined there from escaping. +News of the disaster was sent without delay to Sparta, and the +magistrates, recognising the gravity of the crisis, proceeded at once +to Pylos, wishing to inform themselves on the spot, and then decide +what was best to be done. Finding on their arrival that there was no +prospect of rescuing their men on the island, they applied to the +Athenian commanders for a truce, to enable them to send envoys to +Athens, and arrange some terms for the recovery of the imprisoned +Spartans. The Athenians consented, and a truce was made on the +following conditions: The Spartans were to surrender all their fleet, +including any ships of war on the coast of Laconia, to the Athenians, +and to refrain from any attack on the fort, until the return of the +envoys. The Athenians, on their part, agreed to allow provisions to be +sent to the Spartans on the island, all such provision being conveyed +thither under their own inspection, and none by stealth. They further +agreed to carry the envoys to Athens in one of their own triremes, and +to suspend all hostilities until the expiration of the truce. When the +envoys returned, the Peloponnesian ships were to be given back. + +It was a proud moment for Athens when the Spartan envoys appeared +before the assembly, bearing the humble petition from her great enemy. +The terms offered by the spokesman of the embassy in the name of Sparta +were simple and concise, peace and friendship with Sparta, in return +for the men shut up on the island. The rest of his speech was made up +of grave moral reflections, such as are generally paraded by those on +the losing side. Let the Athenians beware of abusing their advantage; +though they had the upper hand to-day, they might be brought to their +knees to-morrow. War was a game of hazard, in which the luck was always +changing. Now they had an opportunity of concluding an honourable +peace, and establishing a lasting claim to the gratitude of Sparta. And +if the two leading states of Greece were once united, they could +dictate what terms they pleased to the rest. + +The notorious selfishness of Spartan policy is glaringly manifested in +this speech. In their anxiety to recover their own citizens, the +Spartans completely ignored the interests of their allies, and held out +the right hand of fellowship to the people whom they had lately branded +as the oppressors and spoilers of Greece. The Athenians might well +distrust the professions of these perfidious statesmen, who repudiated +their sworn obligations with such cynical levity. The Spartans in +Sphacteria were already, they thought, prisoners of Athens, to be dealt +with as they pleased; and were they to resign this costly prize, in +return for a vague promise of friendship from Sparta? Their answer was +framed on the advice of Cleon: they could not, they said, enter into +any discussion, until the men on the island had surrendered themselves, +and been brought to Athens. Then, if the Spartans agreed to restore to +the Athenians Nisaea and Pegae, [Footnote: The harbour-towns of +Megara.] and some other places which they had held before the Thirty +Years' Truce, peace might be made, and the prisoners restored. The +Spartan envoys were somewhat startled by these demands, which involved +a gross breach of faith to their own allies; so they affected to ignore +the proposal, and suggested a private conference between themselves and +select Athenian commissioners. It is not impossible that the terms +offered, infamous as they were to Sparta, might have been accepted; but +the whole negotiation was frustrated by the violence of Cleon, who, on +hearing the suggestion of the envoys, overwhelmed them with abuse, +accusing them of double-dealing and bad faith. The envoys were +confounded by this specimen of Athenian manners, and seeing that they +were wasting their time to no purpose, they turned their backs on the +city of free speech. + +On their return to Pylos the truce expired, and the Spartans demanded +back their ships, but the Athenians refused to restore them, on the +ground of some alleged violation of the conditions laid down. Thereupon +hostilities were resumed with vigour on both sides. The Spartans made +repeated attacks on the fort, and watched for an opportunity of +bringing off their men from the island: and the Athenians kept a +vigilant guard to prevent their escape. During the day two triremes +sailed continually round Sphacteria in opposite directions, and at +night their whole fleet, now raised to the number of seventy by the +arrival of twenty fresh ships, was moored about the island, except on +the exposed side in windy weather. + +Before long the Athenians began to feel the difficulties of their +position. They were but scantily supplied with food, and had much +trouble in obtaining water. The only spring to which they had access, +and even that by no means abundant, was in the citadel of Pylos, and +most of them were reduced to scraping the shingle, and thus obtaining a +meagre supply of brackish water. On land their quarters were straitened +and uncomfortable, and they had no proper anchorage for their ships, so +that the crews had to go ashore in turns to get their meals. They were +greatly disappointed to find their task thus prolonged, for they had +supposed that a few days' siege would suffice to starve the imprisoned +Spartans into a surrender, as the island was barren and ill-furnished +with water. But day followed day, and still they waited in vain for any +sign of yielding. For the Spartan magistrates had offered large rewards +to anyone who succeeded in conveying wine, meal, or other portable +provisions, to the island, and many were tempted to run the risk, +especially among the Helots, who were offered their liberty in return +for this service. They put out from various points of the mainland, and +landed under cover of night on the seaward side of the island, choosing +their time when the wind was blowing strong from the sea, which made it +impossible for the Athenian triremes to keep their exposed anchorage. +The Spartan hoplites stood ready on the rocks to help them; and so long +as they could get ashore with their freight, they cared nothing what +happened to their boats, for if they were wrecked, the Spartans had +pledged themselves for the full value. Others, still bolder, swam, +across the harbour, dragging after them leather bags filled with a +mixture of poppy-seed or linseed and honey, [Footnote: Poppy-seed was +valued in ancient medicine as an antidote against hunger, and linseed +against thirst.] and attached to a cord. These were soon detected; but +the other source of supply remained open, and it seemed likely that the +siege would be protracted till winter, when it would have to be given +up. + +The Athenians at home were much concerned when they were informed of +this state of affairs, and they began to regret that they had not +accepted the terms offered by Sparta. They were suspicious and uneasy, +and Cleon, on whose advice they had acted, saw himself in danger of +falling a victim to their resentment. But his boundless self-confidence +served him well in this crisis. At first he affected to disbelieve the +report sent from Pylos, and proposed to send commissioners to inquire +into the true state of the case. His motion was carried, and he himself +was nominated as one of the commissioners. Cleon was now placed in an +awkward position: either he would have to confirm the statement of the +messengers from Pylos, and thus make himself ridiculous, or, if he +contradicted them, he would be convicted of falsehood. So he turned +round again, and advised the Athenians, if they believed the report, to +waste no more time, but to order an immediate attack on the island. "If +I were general," [Footnote: The chief civil and military magistrate at +Athens, corresponding to the Roman consul.] he said, with a meaning +glance at Nicias, who was then holding that office, "it would not be +long before these Spartans were brought in chains to Athens. The +Athenians want a _man_ to lead them." + +This Nicias, on whom the demagogue had so scornfully reflected, was a +great noble, and the chief political opponent of Cleon. When he heard +the boastful words of his rival, it struck Nicias that there was a fine +opportunity of bringing him to ruin, by thrusting upon him a command +for which he was totally unqualified. Encouraged by the shouts of the +multitude, who were crying to Cleon, "Why don't you go and do it?" he +rose from his place, and proposed that the tanner should be sent in +charge of an expedition to take the men at Sphacteria. At first Cleon +agreed to go, thinking that Nicias was jesting; but when he saw that +the proposal was made seriously, he began to draw back. "It is your +business, not mine," he said to Nicias. "I am not general--you are; why +should I do your work for you?" "Never mind the title," answered +Nicias; "I resign my office on this occasion to you." The dispute grew +hotter and hotter, much to the amusement of the Athenians, who fell +readily into the humour of the situation, and loudly applauded the +proposal of Nicias. The more Cleon objected, the more they shouted that +he should go. Finding that he must make good his words, Cleon at last +plucked up a spirit, and accepted the honour thus contemptuously forced +upon him. "I am not afraid of the Spartans," he declared valiantly. +"Give me the contingent of soldiers from Lemnos and Imbros, the +Thracian peltasts, [Footnote: Light-armed soldiers.] and four hundred +archers, and without taking a single Athenian from the city, within +three weeks I will either bring those Spartans as prisoners to Athens, +or kill them where they are." + +There was some laughter among the Athenians at Cleon's vain-glorious +promise; but the more sober-minded were not displeased at his +appointment, expecting that, if he failed, they would be rid of a +nuisance; while, if he succeeded, they would gain an immense advantage +over their enemies. Such, at least, is the comment of the historian; +but he makes no remark on the incredible levity of the Athenians, to +whom the gravest interests of state were matter for mirth and pastime; +and he has not a word of censure for Nicias and his "sober-minded" +partisans, who, in their eagerness to ruin a political opponent, showed +a criminal disregard for the welfare of Athens. + + +II + +When Cleon arrived at Pylos with his forces, he found Demosthenes +engaged in active preparations for an attack on the island. For his +troops were growing impatient, and clamouring to be led into action, +and a happy accident had recently occurred, which greatly increased the +prospect of success. Till quite lately Sphacteria had been covered with +a dense growth of underwood, and Demosthenes knew by his experience in +Aetolia that an attacking force would be at a great disadvantage in +marching against an enemy who fought under cover, and knew every inch +of the ground. But a party of Athenian soldiers, who had landed on the +island to cook their breakfast, accidentally set fire to the brushwood, +and a wind springing up, the flames were carried over the greater part +of the island, leaving it a blackened waste. Demosthenes now discovered +that the besieged Spartans were more numerous than he had supposed, +having hitherto believed that their number had been purposely +exaggerated, to give an excuse for sending more food; and the main +obstacle being now removed, he issued the welcome order to make ready +for an immediate assault. + +When he received his commission, Cleon had prudently stipulated that +Demosthenes should be associated with him in the command. The two +ill-assorted colleagues--the turbulent demagogue, and the veteran +general--now took counsel together, and after a last fruitless attempt +at negotiation, they set sail at night with a force of eight hundred +hoplites, and disembarking just before dawn on both sides of the island +at once, led their men at a run against the first guard-station of the +Spartans. They found the enemy posted in three divisions: the first, +consisting of thirty hoplites, formed an advanced guard; some distance +behind these, where the ground forms a shallow basin, containing the +only spring in the island, was stationed the main body, commanded by +Epitadas; and at the extreme north, opposite Pylos, there was a small +reserve force, left to guard a sort of natural citadel, which would +serve as a last retreat, if Epitadas and his men were overpowered. + +The thirty Spartans in the outpost were taken by surprise, and cut down +to a man; for though they had seen the Athenian ships putting out, they +had no suspicion of what was intended, supposing that they were merely +proceeding to their anchorage for the night. At daybreak the rest of +the fleet put in at the island, bringing the whole of the forces which +Demosthenes had at his disposal, except a few, who were left to +garrison the fort at Pylos. They were a motley host, armed for the most +part with slings, javelins, and bows, but admirably suited for the work +which was to be done. Swarming over the island by hundreds and by +thousands they took up their stations on every piece of rising ground, +threatening the enemy in front, in the rear, on the right flank, and on +the left. The Spartans, in their heavy armour, were helpless against +these agile foes, who eluded every attempt to come to close quarters, +and kept up a continual shower of arrows, javelins, and stones. Such +had been the orders of Demosthenes, which were now carried into effect. + +When the Spartans under Epitadas saw their advanced guard cut up, and +the Athenians marching against them, they drew up in order, and tried +to come within spear-thrust of the enemy; but they were unable to +effect their purpose, for the Athenian hoplites kept their ground, and +at the same moment they themselves were assailed on both flanks and in +the rear by a cloud of light infantry. It was a kind of warfare to +which the Spartans were totally unaccustomed: if they attempted to +advance, their nimble assailants drew back, and pursuit was impossible +on the rocky and broken ground. For a time the light-armed troops +approached them with caution, being somewhat cowed in spirit when +brought face to face with the renowned warriors of Sparta, hitherto +supposed to be invincible. But seeing how the Spartans were +embarrassed, they took courage, and came on in a roaring multitude, +surrounding them on all sides, and leaving them not a moment to take +breath. The air was darkened by a tempest of missiles; and a fine dust, +caused by the ashes of the late fire, rose in choking clouds from the +trampling of many feet. Exhausted by their violent exertions, stunned +by the uproar, and blinded by the dust, the Spartans began to give +ground, and closing their ranks fell back on the stronghold where their +reserve was stationed. They were hotly pursued, and some few were cut +off in the retreat, but the greater part succeeded in reaching the +fort, where they turned at bay, and prepared to defend themselves to +the last. Until a late hour in the day the Athenians made vain attempts +to dislodge them from their position, which was only assailable in +front. At last, when both sides were sorely distressed by the long +conflict under a burning sun, an officer who was in command of the +Messenian troops came to the generals, and offered, if they would place +a few light-armed soldiers at his disposal, to lead them up the +precipitous cliffs at the northern end of Sphacteria, and take the +Spartans in the rear. Permission being readily granted, he chose his +men, and taking care that his movements were not perceived by the +enemy, made his way with them along the perilous and slippery face of +the cliffs to the rear of the beleaguered garrison, scaled the steep +ascent, and suddenly appearing on the heights, struck terror into the +Spartans, and gave fresh courage to their assailants. + +The situation of the Spartans was now similar to that of their +ancestors when they made their last stand at Thermopylae. They were +attacked in front and rear, and hemmed in on both sides by the natural +difficulties of the place. In their weak and exhausted condition it +would have been an easy task to make an end of them. But the great +object of Cleon and Demosthenes was to take them alive. They therefore +suspended the attack, and sent a herald, and summoned them to lay down +their arms. When they heard the proclamation, most of them lowered +their shields, and waved their hands in the air, to show that they had +dropped their weapons. The Athenian generals then entered into a parley +with Styphon the third in command of the Spartans; for Epitadas, the +chief officer, was slain, and Hippagretus, the second, had been left +for dead on the field. Styphon requested permission to communicate with +the Spartan authorities on the mainland, and ask what he and his +comrades were to do; and the Athenian commanders sent one of their own +men to carry the message. Having heard his report, the Spartan +magistrates sent a herald to see how matters stood; and after more than +one messenger had passed to and fro between their camp and the island, +they sent their final instructions, conveyed in these words "The +Spartans bid you to decide for yourselves, but to do nothing +dishonourable." + +Fifty years before, these wounded and weary men would have needed no +instructions to tell them their duty. According to the ancient +tradition of Sparta they had but one course open to them--to die at +their posts. But the lapse of time had softened the stern fibre of the +Spartan character; and the broken remnant now brought to bay in +Sphacteria interpreted the ambiguous mandate in their own favour, and +surrendered themselves and their arms. + +The number of the prisoners was two hundred and ninety-two, of whom +about a hundred and twenty were Spartans of pure descent, several of +them belonging to the highest families in Sparta. They were distributed +among the captains of the fleet for transportation to Athens. Dating +from the first sea-fight, the siege had lasted altogether seventy-two +days; and during seven weeks of this period they had subsisted on the +casual supplies smuggled over by the blockade-runners from the +mainland. Great was the joy at Athens when that costly freight was +brought safely into the harbour of Peiraeus; and Cleon, whose bustling +energy had really helped to precipitate a crisis, was the hero of the +hour. He had promised to settle the business, one way or the other, +within twenty days, and this promise, which had been laughed at as a +piece of crazy vanity, was fulfilled to the letter. The whole merit of +the performance, however, belonged to Demosthenes, who had planned the +attack on Sphacteria with admirable sagacity, and led the operations +from first to last. + +The surrender of a picked troop of Spartan warriors caused a revolution +of feeling throughout Greece. Hitherto it had been assumed as a matter +of course that no Spartan soldier, in any circumstances, would yield to +an enemy; but now more than a hundred Spartans had preferred life to +honour. It was generally believed that the survivors were inferior in +valour to those who had fallen; and some time afterwards one of the +captives was asked this insulting question by one of the Athenian +allies: "Your _brave_ comrades were buried on the field, I suppose?" +The Spartan's answer was couched in a riddle: "It would be a mighty +clever spindle, [Footnote: Arrow.] which singled out the brave." His +meaning was that the stones and arrows had dealt out death among his +comrades without distinction. + + + + +CAMPAIGNS OF BRASIDAS IN THRACE + +I + + +One advantage which accrued to the Athenians from the possession of the +Spartan captives was the immunity from invasion. For if the Spartans +prepared to make any movement against Attica, they could bring out +their prisoners, and threaten to put them to death. And in other +directions the future looked brighter than it had done for many years. +They held Pylos, which was garrisoned by Messenian troops, and served +as an open door, through which they could carry havoc over the whole +western district of Laconia; and the occupation of Cythera, which was +effected in the following year, gave them increased facility for +harassing the commerce of Sparta, and making descents on her eastern +coast. + +Elated by these successes, the Athenians determined on a bolder flight, +and forgetting the lessons of Pericles, thought of recovering the +possessions which they had held on the mainland thirty years before. +With this intention they planned an attack, which was to be carried out +from three different points at once, on Boeotia. But the whole scheme +proved a failure, and led to a severe defeat at Delium; and about the +same time news arrived from Thrace which showed that the tide was +turning, and should have warned them, if they were wise, to set bounds +to their restless ambition. + +Brasidas had long since recovered from the wounds received at Pylos. +The deep humiliation of Sparta, now reduced to become a suppliant for +peace, filled him with shame and sorrow, and in the eighth year of the +war he formed the bold design of organizing a campaign against the +coast-towns of Thrace, which were among the most important of the +Athenian tributaries. Having obtained the necessary commission from +Sparta, he collected a force of seventeen hundred heavy-armed infantry, +and in the summer following the disaster at Sphacteria, turned his +steps northward, and arrived without mishap at the borders of Thessaly. +The Thessalians generally were then on friendly terms with Athens, and, +apart from this, the passage of so large a force through their +territory caused suspicion and alarm among the inhabitants. But +Brasidas was a man of rare gifts: endowed with more than a full share +of the typical Spartan virtues, he combined with these a graciousness +of manner, and a winning eloquence, which made him an equal of the most +accomplished Athenian. He had, moreover, friends among the powerful +nobles of Thessaly, who undertook to guide him in safety to the +Macedonian frontier. On reaching the river Enipeus, he found his +passage barred by a Thessalian force, who seemed resolved to dispute +his progress. His courteous demeanour, and fair words, disarmed their +hostility, and he was allowed to pass. Fearing, however, a general +rising of the natives against him, and urged to despatch by his guides, +he pushed on by forced marches, and entering the passes of Olympus, +descended into the southern plain of Macedonia, whose king Perdiccas, a +shifty and treacherous barbarian, though nominally in alliance with +Athens, favoured the enterprise of Brasidas. + +Perdiccas had undertaken to provide pay for half the Spartan force, in +return for help to be rendered against a rebel chieftain with whom he +was at war. But Brasidas, whose main object was to raise a revolt among +the Athenian allies, insisted on entering into negotiations with the +rebel, and having patched up a truce, conducted his troops to the +neighbourhood of Acanthus, a town on the eastern side of the Chalcidian +peninsula, where there was a party discontented with the Athenian rule. +In all the cities subject to Athens the general mass of the people were +found loyal towards her, or, at the worst, disinclined for any change; +and Acanthus was no exception. When Brasidas with his little army +appeared before the walls the people at first refused him admission. +But it was just before the vintage, and their grapes were hanging in +ripe clusters, exposed to the hand of the spoiler; and so, to save +their vineyards from ravage, they were at last induced to give him a +hearing. + +It was very important for Brasidas to secure the voluntary adherence of +the Acanthians, whose action would have a powerful effect in +determining the attitude of the other Chalcidians towards them. +Accordingly he exerted all his skill as an orator, which was +considerable, to allay their suspicions, and rouse their enthusiasm for +the cause which he represented. That cause, he said, was the liberation +of Greece from the tyranny of Athens. Let none of them suppose that he +had come in the interests of a faction, to enslave the many to the few, +or the few to the many. He had bound the authorities of Sparta by the +most solemn oaths to respect the constitution of any state which +enlisted under their banner. Freedom for Greeks!--that was the +watchword which should find a response in every patriotic heart. After +this fine burst of sentiment, Brasidas descended to a much lower level, +and plainly intimated that if the Acanthians would not join him from +these high motives, he would employ coercion, and proceed to ravage +their estates, This last argument was decisive, and in order to save +their valuable harvest from destruction, they agreed to admit Brasidas +and his army into the town. Shortly afterwards their example was +followed by Stagirus, one day to become famous as the birthplace of +Aristotle. + +It is melancholy to find a man of really pure and generous character +like Brasidas lending himself to be the mouthpiece of Spartan +hypocrisy. To him the sounding phrases and lofty professions which he +uttered may have meant something: but in their essence they were mere +hollow cant, intended to divert attention from the true issue, and drag +a peaceful and prosperous community into the private quarrels of +Sparta. So degraded was now the tone of politics in Greece, even among +her best and ablest men. + + +II + +On the banks of the Strymon, just where the river sweeps round in a +sharp curve, west and east, the Athenians had founded, six years before +the outbreak of the war, the colony of Amphipolis. It was a site which +had long been coveted by the leaders of Greek colonial enterprise, +being the key to the richest district in Thrace, with unrivalled +facilities for commerce, and close to the gold-mines of Mount Pangeus. +A previous attempt which was made by the Athenians to occupy the +position had ended in ruinous disaster; but nearly thirty years later a +second body of emigrants, led by Hagnon from Athens, met with much +better success; Amphipolis now grew and prospered, and at the time +which we have reached was the most important city in the Athenian +empire. + +The Amphipolitans had a bitter and jealous enemy in the neighbouring +town of Argilus, situated a few miles to the west, on the road to +Amphipolis; and ever since the appearance of Brasidas in Thrace the +Argilians had been plotting against the tranquillity of their hated +rival. Accordingly, when Brasidas, who had planned a surprise on +Amphipolis, appeared before their gates, they welcomed him eagerly, and +conducted him and his army to the bridge over the Strymon, which +crossed the river just outside the southern end of the city wall. The +defenders of the bridge, few in number, and taken unawares, were +instantly cut to pieces; for Brasidas came upon them before daybreak, +and the weather, which was wintry and inclement, favoured his design. + +The farms and country-houses of the Amphipolitans, which occupied an +extensive district on the eastern side of the city, now lay at the +mercy of Brasidas, and after choosing a position for his camp, he began +to overrun the country. For those who were responsible for the safety +of Amphipolis had taken no precautions, though they knew that this +daring and active enemy had been carrying on a campaign for many weeks +in the adjacent parts of Thrace. Consequently, a good number of the +citizens, who were attending to the business of their estates, fell +into his hands, and it is not improbable that, if he had made a sudden +assault on the city, he would have captured it on the same day. + +There was a disaffected party in Amphipolis, who had planned the +betrayal of the place, acting in concert with Argilus, through the +agency of certain Argilian citizens residing in the town. The traitors +now proposed that Brasidas and his army should be admitted, but they +were overruled by the general voice of the people, and it was agreed +that the Athenian Eucles, governor of Amphipolis, should send a message +for help to another Athenian officer, who was commissioned to watch the +interests of Athens in Thrace. That officer was Thucydides, the +historian, from whose work the materials for the present narrative are +taken. Thucydides was descended on his mother's side from the royal +family of Thrace, [Footnote: Such, at least, is the highly probable +conjecture of Classen.] and through this connexion he was the owner of +valuable working rights in the gold-mines of Mount Pangaeus, and a man +of great power and, influence in these districts. When the message +arrived from Amphipolis, he was engaged in some business at Thasos, and +postponing all other concerns he collected a small squadron of seven +ships and hastened to the rescue with all speed. But Brasidas, who had +received intelligence of his movements, was too quick for him. He had +valuable hostages in the persons of those Amphipolitans who had been +taken outside the walls. The population of Amphipolis consisted almost +entirely of men of mixed or foreign descent, who were anxious about +their properties, and in fear for their friends, while the few Athenian +residents were alarmed for their own safety, having little hope of +prompt succour. Taking advantage of this state of public feeling, the +politic Spartan issued a proclamation, pledging him to respect the +rights and property of all who chose to remain; while those who +preferred to withdraw were allowed five days to take away their goods. +This tempting offer produced the desired effect. It was in vain that +the Athenian governor interposed his authority, and strove to uphold +the imperial claims of Athens. The people threatened to rise in mutiny +against him, and when the partisans of Brasidas, now grown bold, openly +moved a resolution to accept his conditions, the proposal was carried, +and the Spartan general marched unopposed into the town. + +Late on the same day Thucydides sailed into the harbour of Eion, the +port of Amphipolis, and learning that Brasidas was already in +possession of the inland city, took all necessary precautions to +provide against an immediate attack. He was only just in time; for on +the very next day Brasidas carried his troops down the river on a +flotilla of boats, and tried to establish himself in a strong position, +commanding the mouth of the river, and at the same time sent a storming +party to make an assault on the land side. But the attempt was +frustrated, and Eion at least was saved to Athens. + +The fall of Amphipolis, which occurred shortly after the crushing +defeat at Delium, caused great consternation among the Athenians. Apart +from the wound to their pride, they were deprived by this loss of a +large portion of their revenue, and cut off from the principal source +of their timber supply. And there were still further grounds for alarm. +For Amphipolis was now an open door, through which the Spartans could +send troops into eastern Thrace, and carry the war to the entrance of +the Euxine. For a moment it seemed as if all their fears would be +realized. The gentle manners of Brasidas--his fairness, modesty, and +strict regard for the rights of all men--had won the hearts of the +Athenian allies in Thrace, and secret agents were constantly arriving +at his head-quarters on the Strymon, inviting him to come and help them +to recover their liberty. He had skilfully appealed to the most +deeply-rooted instinct of the Greek, the desire for unfettered action +in his own city, free from all interference from outside. This +instinct, long held in abeyance, first by the necessity for protection +from Persia, and when that danger was removed, by the habits acquired +under the mild rule of Athens, was now awakened into new life by the +influence of the great warrior and accomplished statesman, whose +watchword was "Liberty for Greeks!" The recent reverses of Athens had +excited a feeling of contempt among her subjects, and led them greatly +to under-estimate her real power; and Brasidas himself, by a not +over-scrupulous perversion of facts, had been careful to encourage this +belief. All these causes produced a burst of enthusiasm throughout +Thrace, and if the Spartans had supported Brasidas with vigour, a +general insurrection would have followed among the Athenian allies. But +the authorities of Sparta were jealous of their brilliant officer, and +their chief anxiety was to recover the prisoners taken at Sphacteria. + +In the same winter the indefatigable Spartan effected the capture of +Torone, a town situated on the second of the three headlands which +project, like the prongs of a fork, from the peninsula of Chalcidice. +As in the case of Amphipolis, Torone fell into his hands by treachery; +but he had now made good his title as the champion of Greek +independence, and early in the following spring the citizens of Scione, +on the first or westernmost headland, invited him to come over and take +command of their town. On receiving this welcome summons Brasidas lost +no time, and crossed over by night in a skiff, which was convoyed by a +trireme, so that if any hostile vessel appeared in sight, it might be +engaged by the trireme, and leave him free to escape. He reached Scione +in safety, and having convened a general assembly of the citizens, +addressed them in flattering terms, praising their high courage and +patriotic spirit. "You," he said, "have set a noble example to your +oppressed brethren: isolated as you are, and cut off from all succour +from the mainland, you have defied all perils, and thrown in your lot, +for better or for worse, with the friends of liberty. Your gallantry +and self-devotion has given you a just claim to the gratitude of Sparta +and of all Greece." The revolt of Scione was indeed a daring defiance +of the Athenian power, for since the capitulation of Potidaea, which +occurred seven years before, the inhabitants had been in the position +of islanders, exposed to the whole maritime power of Athens. For the +moment, however, the people were carried away by a transport of +enthusiasm, and little dreaming of the terrible vengeance which was to +overtake them two years later, they greeted Brasidas as a deliverer, +and vied with one another who should honour him most. He was publicly +presented with a crown of gold, as the liberator of Greece; and in +private houses he was wreathed with garlands, and surrounded with +worship, like a victorious athlete. + +But a few days before the defection of Scione all the ambitious schemes +of Brasidas had been checkmated by the action of his own countrymen at +home. For some time past negotiations had been in progress between +Athens and Sparta; and since the battle of Delium, and the rapid +successes of their great enemy in Thrace, the Athenians had been more +disposed to come to terms. In this altered mood they agreed to make a +truce for one year with Sparta, which would give time to arrange the +conditions of a lasting peace, and leave them at leisure to repair the +shattered fabric of their empire. Two commissioners, an Athenian and a +Spartan, were at once despatched to announce the conclusion of the +truce to Brasidas. They found him at Torone, preparing to set out a +second time for the western peninsula, and continue his intrigues +against the subjects of Athens. In the interview which followed a +dispute arose between Brasidas and the commissioners, as to whether +Scione should be admitted into the truce. Brasidas asserted that the +city had joined the Spartan alliance before the truce was signed; but +the Athenian commissioner loudly protested that the revolt occurred +after the conclusion of the truce,--and such, indeed, was the fact. +Brasidas, however, was bound in honour to defend the hapless community +which had been drawn by his fatal influence into so fearful a peril; +and in the existing confusion of the Greek calendar it was not easy to +establish a date with perfect exactitude. Accordingly Brasidas refused +to surrender Scione to the vengeance of Athens, and placed the town in +a state of defence. Not content with this, he extended the same +measures of protection to Mende, which revolted after the arrival of +the commissioners. This was an open violation of the truce, and the +Athenians, in great fury, immediately prepared to send a fleet against +these audacious rebels, and passed a savage decree, condemning the +whole adult male population of Scione to death. + + +III + +During the following summer Mende was recovered by Nicias for the +Athenians, Scione was closely invested, and Perdiccas, who had +quarrelled with Brasidas, once more became an ally of Athens, and gave +proof of his sincerity by preventing the passage of Spartan +reinforcements to Thrace. The Athenians were thus left free to turn +their attention to Amphipolis, and at the beginning of the tenth year +of the war, the truce having now expired, Cleon was sent with a fleet +of thirty ships to conduct the siege of this important place. That so +weighty a charge should have been entrusted to hands so incompetent +argues a degree of infatuation in the Athenians which is very hard to +understand. On his voyage Cleon succeeded in retaking Torone by a +sudden assault, and then proceeding northwards dropped anchor at Eion, +where he remained inactive, after despatching messengers to Perdiccas, +and to a friendly Thracian prince, to ask for reinforcements. + +Meanwhile Brasidas, who some time before had returned to Amphipolis, +was waiting to strike a blow at his unwarlike enemy. His own troops, +though about equal in numbers to the force under Cleon, were far +inferior in equipment and discipline; but he counted on some incautious +movement on the part of the Athenian general, which would throw the +picked infantry of Athens into disorder, and place them at a +disadvantage. So he left Clearidas, a young Spartan, whom he had +appointed governor of Amphipolis, in charge of the garrison, and taking +with him fifteen hundred men occupied a position on the right bank of +the river, where the ground rises abruptly to a considerable height, +affording a wide view over the city to the country beyond, as far as +Eion. From this point, which is called Cerdylium, he could watch the +proceedings of the enemy, and still have ample time to rejoin Clearidas +in Amphipolis, if, as he expected, Cleon should leave his defences and +advance upon the town. + +He had not long to wait. The Athenian soldiers stationed at Eion were +chafing at their inaction, and mutinous speeches were heard on all +sides. What a man was this Cleon, this cowardly braggart, under whom +they were to take the field against the most daring and skilful leader +in Greece! They had known what to expect from such a general, since the +day when they sailed for Thrace. These murmurs reached the ears of +Cleon, and he saw that something must be attempted, or his men would be +totally demoralized. So he gave the order to march, and led his troops +up the ridge of hills which slope down towards Amphipolis on the +eastern side, where the town was defended by a single line of wall, +reaching from the northern to the southern bend of the river. He was +far from supposing that anyone would come out to attack him; he only +wanted, he said, to take a good view of the place, and when his +reinforcements arrived, he would surround the city on all sides, and +carry it by assault. For his wonderful good fortune at Pylos had given +him unbounded confidence in his powers as a strategist, and he thought +that Amphipolis would prove a second Pylos, forgetting that here he had +a Brasidas to deal with, and no Demosthenes to do the work for him. +When he reached the top of the ascent, he called a halt, and took a +leisurely survey of the wide sweep of country spread below him,--to the +north, the broad, marshy waters of Lake Cercynitis, from which the +river issues just above the town,--eastwards, the towering summit of +Mount Pangaeus,--and on the other side, just beneath his feet, the +devoted city, which now seemed cowering, silent and deserted, as if +conscious of Cleon's eagle glance. The gates were closed, and not a man +was to be seen on the battlements. "What a pity," remarked Cleon, "that +we brought no siege-engines with us! We might have battered down the +wall, and marched in at once,--there is none to oppose us." + +So readily did this holiday general fall into the trap which Brasidas, +with a just estimate of his capacity, had set for him. As soon as he +saw that Cleon had started from Eion, the Spartan general left his post +in Cerdylium, and led his men back into Amphipolis. Here he made such a +disposition of his forces as to give the place that peaceful and +innocent appearance which deceived Cleon's unpractised eye. Then he +took up his station with a picked troop of a hundred and fifty hoplites +at the southern gate of Amphipolis, leaving Clearidas in charge of the +main body, and awaited a favourable moment to attack. + +But these preparations could not be made without exciting some +attention among the more experienced of the Athenian officers. They had +seen Brasidas entering the city, and observed him offering sacrifice, +as for battle, before the temple of Athene; and Cleon, who was +standing, lost in his contemplations, some distance in advance of his +forces, suddenly received the alarming intelligence that the enemy were +on the point of making a sally. "The whole garrison is in motion," said +the messenger, "and we have caught sight of the feet of many horses and +men under the gates: evidently they mean to attack us." Thus rudely +startled from his meditations, Cleon went to look for himself, and +seeing that the messenger had spoken the truth he gave the order for a +retreat in the direction of Eion. This movement should have begun from +the left wing, but there was some delay in executing the order, and +Cleon, who was in a great hurry to reach a place of safety, led the way +with his own division, which, being on the right, ought to have closed +the retreat. The consequence was that the whole Athenian army was +thrown into confusion, and Brasidas, who was watching from his station +at the gate, saw by the irregular motion of their spears and helmets +that all discipline was at an end. "Now is our time," he cried to his +men: "Open the gates! The day is ours." With these words he rushed out +with his troops, and fell upon the Athenian centre; and at the same +moment the main body under Clearidas poured out from the northern gate, +and attacked them in the rear. + +The effect of this sudden assault was to cut the Athenian army in half: +the left wing, which was nearest to Eion, fled without striking a blow, +but the right made a vigorous resistance, though abandoned by their +cowardly general, who was cut down by a Thracian spearman as he tried +to make good his escape. A far nobler name was also added to the +death-roll of that fatal day: Brasidas, fighting at the head of his +troop, received a mortal wound, and was carried, unobserved by the +Athenians, into the city. He lived long enough to hear that his men had +gained a decisive victory, and then passed away, the purest and the +most heroic spirit among all those who played their part in this +unhappy war. After his death he received divine honours at Amphipolis, +and was worshipped as the second founder of the city. + + + + +THE HOLLOW PEACE + +I + + +The negotiations for peace, begun in the previous year; had been +interrupted by the brilliant successes of Brasidas, and the factious +opposition of Cleon, and after their death the main obstacle to a +pacific understanding was removed. The high hopes conceived by the +Athenians after the capture of the Spartans at Pylos had been damped by +their disastrous defeat at Delium, and by the revolt of their allies in +Thrace; and, above all, they were anxious to recover Amphipolis. Still +more depressed was the temper of the Spartans. They had entered on the +war in a spirit of sanguine confidence, expecting to make an end of the +conflict by a single invasion of Attica; and now, after ten years of +fighting, their great rival remained almost untouched in the chief +sources of her power. Their coasts were exposed to continual ravage by +the Athenian fleets, and Pylos was still occupied by their bitter +enemies, the Messenians, attracting all the discontented elements in +Sparta, and keeping the Helots in a continual ferment. And finally a +hundred and twenty of their noblest citizens were immured in the +dungeons of Athens, and they were ready to make great sacrifices to +procure their release. + +Accordingly, in the winter after the battle of Amphipolis, negotiations +were resumed, and early in the following spring a treaty of peace was +concluded between Athens and Sparta, on the understanding that all +places taken by force of arms should be restored, and all prisoners set +at liberty. Such was the Peace of Nicias, named after its chief +promoter, the former rival of Cleon, and now the leading politician at +Athens. It was really a private agreement between Athens and Sparta, +for the most important of the Spartan allies, who thought that their +interests were neglected, refused to sign the treaty. Alarmed by this, +the Spartans immediately concluded a second treaty with Athens, binding +both sides to mutual aid and defence, in case their territories were +attacked. The prisoners taken at Sphacteria were now restored, but +owing to the bungling of Nicias, the Athenians failed to regain +Amphipolis. + + +II + +Six years elapsed after the conclusion of the Peace of Nicias, before +war was again openly declared; but it was a peace only in name, and was +broken by many acts of hostility on both sides. During this period the +principal states of Greece were involved in a network of political +intrigue, treaty following treaty, and alliance succeeding to alliance, +for the most part with no result. To this statement, there is, however, +one important exception. A year after the signing of the second treaty +between Athens and Sparta, a coalition was formed, including Athens, +Elis, and Mantinea, under the leadership of Argos; and in mentioning +this event we have to usher on to the stage one of the most +extraordinary characters in history. This was Alcibiades, a young +Athenian noble, endowed with every advantage of mind, person, and +fortune, whose fatal gifts, and lawless ambition, made him the evil +genius of his country. His high birth, his wealth, his wit, and his +wonderful beauty, attracted to him a host of flatterers, who fed his +vanity with soft adulation, and led him to believe that nothing was too +great for such powers as his. Like most of the brilliant young men of +his day, he attached himself for a time to the philosopher Socrates, +for whom he seems to have felt a warm admiration. But his connexion +with that great teacher and thinker, though it served to sharpen his +understanding, could not eradicate the effects of evil habit and +example. His wilful, selfish, and despotic temper soon broke loose from +that salutary restraint, and henceforth we find him pursuing a course +of action which brought ruin on his people, and on himself a traitor's +death and a dishonoured name. + +Much irritation had been caused among the Athenians by the shifting and +treacherous conduct of the Spartans, who had failed to redeem their +sworn pledges, and had excited great suspicion at Athens by repeated +intrigues with Argos, and with their own offended allies of the +Peloponnesian League. Alcibiades had a private grudge against the +Spartans, to whom he had made overtures of friendship and service at +the time when the treaty was under discussion, only to be set aside as +a profligate and frivolous youth, unfit to meddle with serious matters +of state. He now placed himself at the head of the party hostile to +Sparta, and it was not long before he had an opportunity of revenging +the insult to his pride. He used all his influence to promote an +alliance with Argos, the ancient enemy and rival of Sparta in +Peloponnesus; and when envoys arrived from Sparta to remonstrate +against this proceeding, and reassure the Athenians as to their +intentions, he contrived by a masterpiece of low cunning to cover them +with shame and contempt. When the envoys were introduced to the senate +they declared that they had come with full powers to settle all +differences, and Alcibiades feared that if they made the same statement +to the general assembly of the citizens, they might induce the +Athenians to renounce their alliance with Argos. So, after the senate +had risen, he took the envoys aside, and with an air of great candour +and friendliness warned them that they must conceal the extent of their +powers when they appeared before the popular assembly. "You do not +understand," he said, "how to deal with the mob of Athens; if you show +your hand, they will force you into extravagant concessions. Leave the +matter to me, and everything will turn out as you wish." + +The simple Spartans fell into the snare. They were not at all startled +by the proposal that they should eat their own words, for in dishonesty +they were not behind Alcibiades himself, though they were no match for +him in cunning. Being brought before the people, and asked whether they +had come with full powers, they answered bluntly "No!" Great was the +amazement at this flat contradiction of the avowal which they had made +before the senate, and Alcibiades, giving voice to the general +indignation, overwhelmed the astonished envoys with a torrent of +invective and abuse. The Spartans were dumb-foundered by his perfidy, +and looked helplessly at Nicias, the staunch friend and supporter of +Sparta, whom they had forsaken for this shameless young reprobate. +Nicias, who of course knew nothing of the trick, was utterly confounded +by the double-dealing of the envoys, and could do nothing to relieve +their embarrassment. The result was that the envoys were abruptly +dismissed, and after a fruitless mission of Nicias to Sparta, which +only served to lower his own reputation, the Athenians entered heart +and soul into the Argive alliance. + + +III + +We have seen how much the credit of Sparta had been injured in the eyes +of Greece by the capture of her chosen warriors at Pylos, and by her +subsequent behaviour during the negotiations which led to the peace of +Nicias. Spartan valour was seen to be not above reproach, and the +Peloponnesian allies had still better reason to complain of the +hollowness of Spartan faith. The high reverence which had long been +attached to the name of Sparta had given place to something like +contempt, and the Eleans, who had an old grudge against her, took +advantage of this feeling to exclude her citizens from taking public +part in the Olympic festival, which was celebrated with great pomp and +splendour in the second year of the peace. And the degradation of the +proud Dorian city seemed to be complete, when a Spartan named Lichas, +who had entered for the chariot-race under another name, was driven +with blows from the racecourse. So deep was the abasement to which the +great name of Sparta had now sunk. + +The Spartans saw that a vigorous effort must be made, if they would +recover their lost ascendancy; and two years later the opportunity +occurred for which they were waiting. On the northern side of the +Argolic peninsula lies the ancient city of Epidaurus, famous for its +rich vineyards, and its great temple of Asclepius, [Footnote: +Aesculapius.] the god of healing. For some time past, the Epidaurians, +who were in alliance with Sparta, had been involved in a dispute, +arising out of some obscure question of ritual, with Argos; and they +were now in sore straits, being hard pressed by the whole weight of the +Argive power, backed by the new confederacy. This was the pretext +needed by the Spartans, and mustering their whole forces they marched, +under the command of their king Agis, against Argos. + +The Argives had received notice of the advance of Agis, and they +immediately marched out to meet him, wishing to engage the Spartans +before they had united with their allies from Corinth, Boeotia, and +elsewhere, who were assembling in great force at Phlius. The two armies +confronted each other for a moment at Methydrium, in Arcadia; but Agis +succeeded in avoiding an engagement, and breaking up his camp under +cover of darkness pushed on to Phlius. Thereupon the Argives, who were +accompanied by their allies from Mantinea and Elis, returned in haste +to Argos, and then, marching northwards, took up their position at +Nemea, which commanded the ordinary route from Phlius to the Argive +territory. But they were again outmanoeuvred by the skilful +dispositions of Agis. Avoiding the road by Nemea, which led through a +narrow and dangerous pass, he led his Spartans over the mountains and +descended into the plain which surrounds the city of Argos. One +contingent of his allies had orders to proceed in the same direction by +another mountain-path, while the Boeotians, who numbered no less than +ten thousand infantry, and five hundred cavalry, were directed to take +the high road by Nemea; for Agis expected that by threatening the +cultivated lands around Argos he would draw the Argives from their +position, and bring them down in haste to the defence of their estates. + +The plan was completely successful. As soon as the Argives learnt that +Agis was ravaging their fields they set out with all speed towards +Argos, and finding Agis engaged in the work of pillage, they drew up +their forces, and offered battle. Their situation was in the highest +degree perilous. In front of them, cutting them off from the city of +Argos, was the flower of the Spartan army, reinforced by the troops of +Tegea and Arcadia; on their right flank the mountain slopes swarmed +with the infantry of Corinth and Phlius; and in the rear their retreat +was cut off by the thronging masses of Boeotians, who were now pouring +along the road from Nemea. They were fairly cut off, and seemed +delivered over to destruction; nevertheless, such was the presumptuous +confidence which possessed them, that they awaited eagerly the signal +for battle, crying out that they had caught the Spartans in a trap. + +Fortunately for them there were two men among their leaders who took a +wiser view of the position; one of these was Alciphron, an official who +represented the interests of Sparta at Argos, [Footnote: The Greek word +is _Proxenos_,--a sort of consul.] and the other was Thrasyllus, one of +the five generals. These two men entered into a parley with Agis, and +by promising to satisfy the demands of Sparta induced him to grant a +truce. Agis then drew off his forces, and returned by way of Nemea to +Sparta; and the allies, much against their will, were compelled to +follow his example. Loud were the murmurs among the confederates, and +even among the Spartan soldiers, against Agis, who had thrown away this +golden opportunity of humbling the pride of Argos, and brought +dishonour on one of the finest armies that had ever been led into the +field by a Grecian general. Strange to say, the Argives were not less +indignant against the two men who had saved them from overwhelming +disaster; and Thrasyllus, the general, narrowly escaped being stoned to +death. + + +IV + +The Argives thought themselves bound to abide by the conditions of the +truce, though made without their consent; but shortly after the retreat +of Agis, an Athenian force of a thousand hoplites and three hundred +cavalry arrived at Argos, and Alcibiades, who was present in the +character of ambassador, strongly urged the renewal of the campaign. +His proposal was warmly supported by the Mantineans and Eleans, and +they and the Athenians marched forthwith against Orchomenus in Arcadia, +which was in alliance with Sparta; and the Argives, who had wavered at +first, soon afterwards joined them. Orchomenus was gained over with +little trouble, and then the Eleans were eager to proceed against +Lepreum, a town in their alliance which had gone over to Sparta. But +the Argives, Athenians, and Mantineans, insisted on attacking Tegea, +where there was a party opposed to Sparta, by whose means they hoped to +bring this powerful city, the ancient rival of Mantinea, to their side. +Thereupon the Eleans abandoned the expedition, and went home in a rage, +but the rest of the allies took up their quarters at Mantinea, and +prepared to make an attack on Tegea. + +The Spartans were in high anger against Agis for his unsoldier-like +conduct in the recent campaign, and when they heard of the capitulation +of Orchomenus their resentment rose to such a pitch that it was +proposed to inflict on him a heavy fine, and raze his house to the +ground. At his earnest entreaty they consented to reserve the sentence, +and give him an opportunity of wiping out the stain on his honour; but +as a mark of diminished confidence they appointed ten commissioners, +without whose consent he was not allowed to lead an army out of the +city. + +They had just come to this decision when an urgent message arrived from +Tegea, bidding them to bring help with all speed, or the town would be +lost. The imminent peril startled the Spartans from their wonted +apathy, and they set out at once in full force to the relief of Tegea. +On reaching the borders of Arcadia they sent back the elder and younger +men, amounting to a sixth part of the army, to serve as a garrison in +Sparta; and at the same time couriers were despatched to summon their +allies in Arcadia and central Greece. The Arcadians arrived in time to +take part in the battle, but the Boeotians, Corinthians, and others, +though they hastened to obey the order, were delayed by a long and +difficult march, through the hostile territory of Argos. + +Passing by Tegea, Agis entered the district of Mantinea, and having +pitched his camp began to lay waste the country. Informed of his +approach, the Argives and their allies marched out to meet him, and +choosing a position on the slope of a hill, defended in front by rugged +and broken ground, they drew up in order of battle. The Spartans, +incited, doubtless, by the example of their king, who was eager to +redeem his reputation, rushed impetuously to the assault; and they were +already within a stone's-throw of the enemy when a Spartan veteran +cried out to Agis: "Heal not ill with ill!" His meaning was that in +Argos Agis had been too cold, and now he was too hot. Agis heard the +warning voice, and his own good sense must have shown him how rashly he +was acting; accordingly, at the very moment of encounter, he gave the +word to retreat, and fell back to the neighbourhood of Tegea. At this +place there was a copious head of water, which, when properly +regulated, served to irrigate the fields of Tegea and Mantinea. The +disposal of the water-supply was a constant source of dispute between +the two rival cities; and Agis now prepared to turn the whole volume of +the fountain towards Mantinea, expecting that the Mantineans, when they +saw their fields threatened with inundation, would come down into the +plain to hinder the mischief. + +The Argives and their allies were dumb-foundered by the sudden +disappearance of the Spartans; and when they had recovered from their +astonishment, they waited impatiently for the order to pursue the +runaways. As no such order was given, cries of "Treason!" arose in the +ranks, and the generals were openly accused of having sold themselves +to the enemy. The Spartans, it was asserted, had been allowed to +escape, when they were fairly caught under the walls of Argos; and now +the confederates had been betrayed a second time by their officers. +Amid the general clamour the Argive commanders stood for a moment +confounded and amazed; then recovering themselves they gave the word to +advance, and led their forces down into the plain. Here they passed the +night in the open field, and early next morning they stood to their +arms, and prepared for an immediate attack. + +Agis was not aware that the Argive generals had taken up a new +position, and thinking that the confederates were still stationed on +the hill, he gave up his scheme of diverting the water, and directed +his march towards the place where he had first encamped. As they +proceeded thus in marching order, and quite unprepared for any hostile +movement, the Spartans suddenly found themselves face to face with the +whole Argive army, drawn up in order of battle. For one instant it +seemed as if a panic were about to spread through the Spartan ranks; +then their wonderful discipline prevailed, and with all promptitude, +but without flurry or confusion, the necessary orders were passed from +the King to the commanders of divisions, from these again to the +colonels, from the colonels to the captains, and from the captains down +to the sergeants, [Footnote: I have thought it best to give the English +titles, which of course have only a general correspondence with the +Greek Polemarch, Lochagus, etc.] who in their turn had to see that the +required movement was executed by the men under their command: for such +was the regular gradation of authority and responsibility in the +Spartan army. Thanks to this perfect organization, in a very few +minutes every man was in his place and ready for battle. + +On the left wing of the Spartan army were posted the Sciritae, hardy +mountaineers from southern Arcadia; next to them stood the enfranchised +Helots, who had served under Brasidas in Thrace, and others of the same +race who had received the Spartan citizenship in reward for public +service; then came the main body of the Spartans themselves, and after +them the rest of the Arcadian allies; while the right wing was assigned +by immemorial privilege to the Tegeans, with whom were a few picked +Spartans. The cavalry, never a very strong part of the Spartan army, +were posted on either flank. + +On the other side the Mantineans held the place of honour on the right +wing, because the engagement was fought in their territory; next in +order were the Arcadian allies of Argos, and after them, more towards +the centre, stood a picked troop of a thousand Argives, trained and +equipped at the public expense; then followed the main body of the +Argive troops, with the rest of their allies, the Athenians occupying +the extreme left. As to the numbers engaged, nothing certain is known. + +Some time was lost by the Argive army in delivering the customary +harangues addressed by the generals of the several contingents to their +men, and this enabled the Spartans to steady their ranks before the +fighting began. They, on their side, men of war from their youth, had +no need of set speeches to remind them of their duty; but pithy words +of exhortation passed from man to man, and high and clear rose their +national war-songs, thrilling them with the memories of their heroic +past. Then the signal was given on both sides to charge, and the +Argives and their allies rushed impetuously to the onset, while the +Spartans advanced to meet them with even and deliberate pace, timed to +the music of numerous pipers, who were stationed at regular intervals +in their ranks. + +The regular equipment of the Greek infantry soldier consisted, besides +his helmet and body-armour, of shield and lance, and in advancing to +battle he had always a tendency to diverge towards the right, from a +natural wish to keep his shielded side towards the enemy. This +divergence from the forward direction was begun by the man posted on +the extreme right; his comrade on the left followed his example, and +the deflection was continued along the whole line. The consequence was +that when two armies came into action, the left wing on either side was +greatly outflanked by the opponents' right; and the battle of Mantinea +affords no exception to this rule, for not even Spartan discipline was +able to counteract the overpowering instinct of self-preservation. +Seeing that his left wing was on the point of being outflanked by the +Mantineans, Agis signalled to the Sciritae and Brasideans to draw off +in a lateral direction towards the left, in order to present an equal +line to the right wing of the enemy. The order was executed, and to +fill up the gap thus produced on the left of his own centre, Agis +ordered the Spartan officers commanding on his right wing to bring up +their men and occupy the vacant space. They, however, flatly refused to +obey the order, and consequently the Sciritae and Brasideans were +assailed in front and on both flanks by overwhelming numbers, and +driven back with great loss to their camp. + +So completely were the Spartans out-manoeuvred and worsted in tactics, +through the blunders of their general, and the cowardice of his +subordinates. But in this terrible crisis they showed what native +valour, aided by life-long discipline, can do. Leaving a victorious +enemy in their rear, they advanced without flinching against the +opposing centre, where the main body of the Argives were posted, with +the troops of Orneae and Cleonaea supporting them on the left. Then it +was seen that neither the courage of the Spartans, nor the terror of +their name, had diminished with the lapse of time; for when the +confederate troops found themselves face to face with the renowned +warrior of the Eurotas, they turned and fled, almost without striking a +blow, and trampling their comrades under foot, in their haste to avoid +the thrust of the Spartan lances. The Athenians on the left wing were +now in great danger; for the charge of the troops of Agis had cut them +off from the centre, and they were attacked on the other flank by the +Tegeans and Spartans. They were saved from immediate destruction by the +exertions of their own cavalry, and presently found themselves at +liberty to retire from the field; for Agis, having completed the rout +of the main body, called off his men, and went to the relief of his own +left. The Mantineans and the Argive Thousand made no effort to retrieve +the fortunes of the day, but gave way before the first onset of the +Spartans, and joined the flight of their comrades. The Mantineans +suffered severely in their retreat, but of the Argives only a few were +slain. + +Such was the battle of Mantinea, which completely restored the military +fame of the Spartans, and blotted out the reproach of cowardice and +sloth which for some years past had rested on their name. + + +VI + +One incident remains to be recorded, before we proceed to the crowning +catastrophe of our great historical drama. The Athenians, it should be +observed, were still nominally at peace with Sparta, and if they had +been wise they would have taken the opportunity of this respite from +hostilities to recover Amphipolis, and consolidate their empire in +Thrace. Instead of this, they looked around for fresh conquests, and +fixed their eyes on the little island of Melos, belonging to the Cyclad +group, which had been colonized in very early times from Sparta. + +The Melians had not joined the Confederacy of Delos, and they might +therefore be reproached for sharing the protection of Athens without +making any return. Beyond this the Athenians had no ground of complaint +against them, for they had taken no part in the Peloponnesian War, but +had remained quietly at home, occupied with their own affairs. But +Athens claimed the haughty title of mistress of the sea, and pretended +to regard the neutrality of one insignificant island as an open +defiance of her power. Ten years before an Athenian fleet had been sent +under Nicias to reduce the refractory Melians to subjection; but the +attempt was unsuccessful, and Nicias withdrew, after having ravaged the +outlying districts. Being now more at leisure, the Athenians resolved, +in the mere wantonness of power, that Melos should only be suffered to +exist as a dependency of Athens, and thirty triremes sailed from the +harbour of Peiraeus to carry out the arbitrary decree. + +On their arrival at Melos the Athenian admirals sent envoys into the +town, to summon the inhabitants to surrender. The envoys were invited +to a private conference with the chief men of the island; and between +the representatives of Athens and the Melian nobles there ensued an +extraordinary dialogue, which is given at great length by the +historian, and is commonly known as the Melian Debate. We cannot +suppose that the arguments here placed by Thucydides in the mouth of +the Athenian speaker were really uttered as set down by that writer. +Such a paradox of iniquity, such a shameless insult to the general +conscience of humanity, might have been employed by Plato, in exposing +the vicious teaching of the Sophists, or by Aristophanes in the full +riot of his satire: but the total abnegation of principle here implied +could never have been openly avowed by a responsible agent, speaking +for the most polished community in Greece. Even the worst criminals +seek to give some specious colour to their villainy; and the condemned +felon, who will face death without a tremor, shudders at the cry of +execration which greets his appearance at the scaffold. So hard it is, +even for the most depraved, to stifle the last embers of the moral +sense. We cannot suppose, then, that an educated Athenian of the fifth +century would publicly have claimed for his state the right of rapine +and murder. For this is the line of argument pursued by the +representative of Athens in the Melian Debate. The substance of what he +says may briefly be stated as follows "You are weak--we are strong; +Melos is a paltry island, Athens is queen of the Aegaean, and the +existence of an independent city in these waters is an insult to her +empire. Let us waste no time in discussions about abstract law and +right. For the mighty there is but one law--to get what they can, and +to keep it; and the weak have no rights, except by the sufferance of +the strong. This rule of conduct we know to be universal among men, and +we believe that the gods themselves are governed by it. [1] To sum up +the whole case in one word: you must yield or perish." + +[1] + Desire of power, on earth a vicious weed, + Yet sprung from high, is of celestial seed; + In God 'tis glory; and when men aspire, + 'Tis but a spark too much of heavenly fire.--DRYDEN. + +It was in vain that the unhappy Melians tried to argue the question +from a higher standpoint; in vain they warned the Athenians that they +themselves might one day stand before the bar of justice, and plead for +their existence. They were brought back relentlessly to the grim +alternative-submission, or extermination. At length this strange +controversy came to an end, and after one final hint, of fearful +significance, the Athenian envoys withdrew, leaving the Melians to +consider their answer. The brave islanders were not long in coming to +their decision: they would not, they said, consent to enslave a city +which had maintained its liberty for seven hundred years; they put +their trust in divine justice, and in their kinsmen the Spartans, and +were resolved to resist to the last. + +On receiving this answer the Athenian commanders at once laid siege to +Melos, and the doomed city was soon closely blockaded by sea and land. +The Melians made a gallant defence, and twice succeeded in breaking +through the lines of the besiegers, and conveying supplies into the +town. But presently reinforcements arrived from Athens, and the Melians +were confined within their walls. All hope of succour from Sparta had +vanished, food began to fail, and treason was at work among the +garrison. Thus driven to extremity, the Melians surrendered at +discretion. Then the Athenians showed that their threats had not been +idly uttered. All the men of military age in Melos were put to death, +the women and children were sold into slavery, and the land was +distributed among Athenian settlers. + +In the fifth year of the war, after the capitulation of Mytilene, a +thousand of the inhabitants had been butchered in cold blood; and this +sentence, which seems so cruel to us, was regarded by the Athenians as +an act of mercy. Six years later, the decree which had originally been +passed against Mytilene, was actually executed on Scione, which had +revolted at the instigation of Brasidas. In this act of savage +retribution, Athens still remained within the limits of Greek +international law, which placed the inhabitants of a revolted city at +the mercy of their conquerors. But the case of Melos was different, for +that island had never been included in the Athenian alliance, and the +Melians had done nothing to provoke an attack. Thus the three names, +Mytilene, Scione, and Melos, mark an ascending scale of barbarity, +culminating in a massacre which, even in the eyes of Greeks, was an +atrocious crime. Athens had now offended beyond forgiveness, giving +colour to the accusations of her worst enemies, and heaping up +vengeance for the days to come. + + + + +THE ATHENIANS IN SICILY + + I + + +The Peloponnesian War may be conveniently divided into four chief +periods. The first of these periods lasted for ten years, down to the +peace of Nicias. The second extends from the peace of Nicias to the +massacre of Melos. In the third, the scene of war was shifted from +Greece to Sicily, and it was there that the Athenian power really +received its death-blow. The fourth and final period begins after the +overthrow of the Athenians at Syracuse, and ends, nine years +afterwards, with their final defeat at Aegospotami, and the downfall of +the Athenian empire. + +It is the third of these periods which will occupy our attention for +the remainder of the present volume, and as the momentous events which +we have to relate occurred entirely in Sicily, it is necessary to say +something of the previous history of that great island. The connexion +of the Greeks with Sicily begins in the latter half of the eighth +century before Christ, when settlers from Chalcis in Euboea founded the +city of Naxos on the north-eastern coast, under the shadow of Aetna. +Naxos in its turn sent out colonists, who built the cities of Leontini +and Catana, the former on an inland site, commanding the great plain +which extends southwards from Aetna, the latter on the coast, in a line +with the centre of the same plain. These were Ionic colonies, and we +may close the list with the name of Messene [Footnote: Originally +called Zancle.] founded twenty years later on the Sicilian side of the +strait which bears its name. + +We have now to enumerate the principal Dorian cities. First among these +in time, and by far the first in importance, was Syracuse, founded from +Corinth a year after the settlement of Naxos. Between Syracuse and the +mother-city there was a close and intimate tie of friendship, which +remained unbroken throughout the course of Greek history. The original +city was built on the island of Ortygia, but a new town afterwards +arose on the low-lying coast of the mainland, and spread northwards +till it covered the eastern part of the neighbouring heights. Ortygia +was then converted into a peninsula by the construction of a causeway, +connecting the new city with the old. Under the despotism of Gelo, who +made himself master of the city in the early part of the fifth century, +[Footnote: 485 B.C.] Syracuse rose to great power and splendour, and +her territory extended over a great part of eastern Sicily. Gelo gained +immortal renown by defeating a mighty host of Carthaginians, who +invaded Sicily at the time when the confederate cities of old Greece +were fighting for their existence against Xerxes and his great armada. +After his death the power passed to his brother Hiero, whose victories +in the Olympian and Pythian Games are commemorated in the Odes of +Pindar. Hiero reigned for twelve years, and was succeeded by his +brother Thrasybulus; but a year later the despotism was overthrown, and +the government returned to a democracy. + +A bare mention must suffice for Gela, founded from Rhodes and Crete +nearly half a century after Syracuse, and the more famous Agrigentum, a +colony from Gela, and next to Syracuse the greatest city in Sicily. +These played no part in the struggle with Athens; but Selinus and +Camarina, the two remaining Dorian cities of southern Sicily, will +occupy an important place in the following narrative. + +Thus the whole coast districts on southern and eastern Sicily were held +by opulent and flourishing Greek cities. On the north was Himera, an +Ionic colony, and the scene of Gelo's great victory over Carthage; +while the western and north-western district was divided between the +Phoenicians and the Elymi, a people of unknown origin, whose chief +seats were at Eryx and Egesta. The inland parts were held, in the west, +by the Sicans, who are believed to have come from Spain, and in the +east by the Sicels, a people of Latin race, who gave their name to the +island. + + +II + +Since the fourth year of the Peloponnesian War, Athens had been +meddling in the affairs of Sicily, under pretence of aiding the Ionian +cities, who dreaded the encroaching ambition of Syracuse. That these +fears were not unfounded was proved when, a few years afterwards, the +Syracusans expelled the commons of Leontini, and took possession of +their territory. The Leontine exiles sought refuge at Athens, but their +appeal for help remained for a time unanswered, as the Athenians were +then fully occupied in Greece. But six years after the conclusion of +the Peace of Nicias, an appeal came to Athens from a remote corner of +Sicily, which stimulated the Leontine exiles to fresh efforts, and led +to most important results. + +Between the Greeks of Selinus and the Elymians of Egesta there was a +long-standing quarrel, and in a war which had recently broken out the +Egestaeans were reduced to severe straits by the combined forces of +Selinus and Syracuse. In their distress they turned to Athens for help, +and envoys were sent to plead their cause before the Athenian assembly. +In aiding Egesta, argued the envoys, Athens would be serving her own +interests; for if the Syracusans were not speedily checked in their +aggressions, they would soon make themselves masters of the whole of +Sicily, and in that case they could bring such an accession of strength +to the enemies of Athens in Greece as to make them irresistible. They +had good reason, therefore, to take sides against the enemies of +Egesta, and the more so as the Egestaeans promised to defray all the +expenses of the war. + +The Athenians generally were inclined to take up the quarrel of Egesta, +but as a measure of precaution it was decided to send agents of their +own to make an inspection on the spot, and see whether the Egestaeans +were as wealthy as they pretended. On their return to Athens these men +reported that Egesta was possessed of fabulous riches. At every house +where they had been entertained, the tables and the sideboards had been +one blaze of gold and silver plate. The fact was that the Egestaeans +had collected all the gold and silver vessels in the town, and others +borrowed from the neighbouring cities, and by passing them on from +house to house, wherever these important guests were invited, had +contrived to make a great display. As an earnest of all this wealth, +the Athenian commissioners brought back with them sixty talents of +silver. + +The smallness of this sum ought to have been sufficient to arouse the +suspicions of the Athenians; but they were willing to be deceived, and +they gave ready credence to reports of their commissioners. Voting in +full assembly, they passed a decree that sixty ships should be sent to +Sicily, under the command of Nicias, Alcibiades, and Lamachus. The +fleet was first to be employed in helping Egesta, and when that contest +had been brought to a successful issue the Leontines were to be +restored to their homes; finally, the generals were empowered to act as +might seem best in the interests of Athens. The real purpose of the +enterprise is indicated in the last clause. Vague plans of conquest +were floating before the minds of the Athenians, and at a time when +their whole energies should have been employed to repair the breaches +in their empire, they dreamed of founding a new dominion in the west. + +Five days later the assembly met again to vote supplies and discuss any +further details which remained to be settled. But Nicias determined to +take the opportunity of reopening the whole question, wishing, if +possible, to divert his countrymen from their purpose, and put an end +to the expedition altogether. It was folly, he argued, to take up the +cause of needy foreigners, and drain the resources of Athens for a +distant and hazardous enterprise, when their subjects in Thrace were +still in open revolt, and their enemies in Greece were on the watch to +take them at a disadvantage. If they trusted in the treaty with Sparta, +they would soon find how infirm was the ground of their confidence. +That treaty had been forced upon the Spartans by their misfortunes, and +they would be only too glad to repudiate it, which they could easily +do, as many of the conditions were still under dispute. Moreover, the +most powerful cities of the Peloponnesian League had refused to sign +the treaty, and were ready, at the first hint from Sparta, to renew the +war. Athens was beset with perils, which were enough to tax her +strength to the utmost: and yet they talked of sailing to Sicily, and +raising up a new host of enemies against her! Even if the expedition +succeeded, they could never keep their hold on that vast and populous +island, while, if it failed, they would be utterly ruined. As to the +supposed danger from the ambition of Syracuse, that was mere idle talk. +The schemes of conquest, with which the Egestaeans had tried to alarm +the Athenians, would keep the Syracusans busy at home, and prevent them +from meddling in the affairs of Greece. "Leave the Greeks of Sicily +alone," said Nicias with true prophetic insight; "and they will not +trouble you. Do not disturb the prestige which belongs to a distant and +unfamiliar power. If they once learn to know you, they may learn to +despise you." + +Then fixing his eyes on Alcibiades, who was sitting surrounded by his +own partisans, young profligates like himself, Nicias concluded thus: +"There is another danger against which I would warn you, men of +Athens--the danger of being led astray by the wild eloquence of +unscrupulous politicians, who seek to dazzle you with visions of new +empire, that they may rise to high command, and restore their own +shattered fortunes. Yes, Athens is to pour out her blood and treasure, +to provide young spendthrifts with the means of filling their +racing-stables! Against the mad counsels of these desperate men I +invoke the mature prudence of the elder members of this assembly, and +call upon them to show by a unanimous vote that neither flattery nor +taunts can induce them to sacrifice the true interests of Athens." + +It must have been a severe ordeal for the young Alcibiades to sit and +listen to this keen and bitter invective, which set in a glaring light +the worst features in his character--his selfish ambition, his +shameless life, his total want of principle, his vulgar ostentation. +The last quality, so alien from the best traditions of Athenian +character, had been conspicuously displayed only a few weeks before at +the Olympic festival, where he had entered seven four-horsed cars for +the chariot-race, and won the first, second, and fourth prizes. Every +word of Nicias went home, galling him in his sorest point--his +outrageous vanity; and hardly had the elder statesman concluded his +speech, when he sprang to his feet, and burst without preface into a +wild harangue, which is a remarkable piece of self-revelation, +disclosing with perfect candour the inner motives of the man on whom, +more than on any other, the future of Athens depended. He began by +defending his barbaric extravagance, recently displayed at Olympia, +which, as he pretended to believe, had covered his native city with +glory, and spread the fame of Athenian wealth and power from one end of +Greece to another. The lavish outlay, and haughty demeanour, which +would be justly blamed in a common man, were right and proper in him, +one of the elect spirits of the time, inspired with great aims, and +treading the summits of public life. He had already shown what he could +do in the highest regions of diplomacy, by raising a great coalition in +Peloponnesus, which had faced the whole might of Sparta in the field, +and struck terror into the enemies of Athens. + +After this impudent defence of his own pernicious policy, which had led +to the crushing defeat at Mantinea, and thus enabled the Spartans to +restore their damaged reputation, Alcibiades proceeded to deal with the +question of the day, and exerted all his sophistry to confirm the +Athenians in their design of invading Sicily. That island, he asserted, +was inhabited by a mixed population with no settled homes, and no +common patriotic sentiment; and among these motley elements they would +find plenty of adherents. The Siceliots [Footnote: Greeks of Sicily.] +were poorly armed, ill-furnished with heavy infantry, and in constant +danger from the hostile Sicels. The risk of attack from the +Peloponnesians would not be increased by sending part of the Athenian +fleet to Sicily: for Attica was in any case always exposed to invasion, +and a sufficient force of ships would be left at home to keep command +of the sea. + +"We have no excuse, then," said Alcibiades in conclusion, "for breaking +our word to the Egestaeans, and drawing back from this enterprise. Both +honour and policy are pointing the way to Sicily. An empire like ours +is an ever-expanding circle, which lives by growing, and cannot stand +still. It is only by getting more, and always more, that we can keep +what we have. And let not Nicias succeed in his attempt to set the old +against the young, neither let us believe, like him, that the stability +of a state consists in stagnation. It is only by a hearty co-operation +of all ages and classes that any state can prosper, and a community +which finds no outlet for its energies abroad is soon worn out by +discord and faction at home. Above all is this true of us Athenians, to +whom ceaseless toil and endeavour is the very element in which we live." + +The advice of Alcibiades, thus tendered in the garb of political +wisdom, was of fatal and ruinous tendency, and in direct opposition to +the oft-repeated warnings of Pericles. But his speech was exactly +suited to the temper of his audience, and most of those who followed +him spoke to the same effect, and when the Egestaeans and Leontines +renewed their entreaties it became evident that the original motion +would be confirmed by a large majority. Nicias, however, resolved to +make one more effort, and he came forward to speak again, hoping by a +new device to check the torrent of popular enthusiasm. Affecting to +regard the matter as settled, he entered into an estimate of the force +required for the proposed expedition, prefaced by an alarming picture +of the wealth and power of the Sicilian Greeks. To act with effect +against such an enemy, they must send, not only an overwhelming naval +force, but a numerous body of troops, both cavalry and infantry, and a +fleet laden with supplies for many months. They must proceed, in fact, +as if they were founding a great city on a hostile soil. On no other +condition, added Nicias, would he undertake the command. Nicias had +intended, by exaggerating the difficulties of the undertaking, to damp +the ardour of the Athenians; but to his utter dismay, these timid +counsels were greeted with a great shout of applause. It was supposed +that he had changed his opinion, and even the elder men began to think +that so prudent a leader, backed by such an armament, could not fail of +success. A great wave of excitement swept over the assembly, and the +few who still doubted were cowed into silence. When the tumult had +subsided, a certain Demostratus, [Footnote: The name is given by +Plutarch.] who had spoken strongly in favour of the expedition, +addressing Nicias in the name of the assembly, asked him to state +plainly what force he required. Thus driven into a corner, Nicias +answered, with great reluctance, that the number of triremes must be +not less than one hundred, with five thousand heavy-armed infantry, and +slingers and bow-men in proportion. This enormous estimate was carried +without demur, and by the same vote full powers were conferred on the +generals to fix the scale of the armament as they might think best for +the interests of Athens. + +Thus, by a strange freak of fortune, the Athenians, at the most +momentous crisis of their history, were urged along the road to ruin by +the most opposite qualities in their leaders, the cold caution of +Nicias, and the wild energy of Alcibiades. + + +III + +During the whole of the following spring [Footnote: B.C. 415.] +preparations for the invasion of Sicily were actively pushed on, and +the whole city was in a bustle and stir of excitement. Athens had +recently recovered from the ravages of the plague, and six years of +peace had recruited her resources, both in men and money. Since the +first outbreak of the war a new generation had grown up, and these +young and untried spirits joined, with all the fire of youth, in an +enterprise which promised them a boundless field of adventure. Others +were attracted by the baser motive of gain, or by mere curiosity, and +the love of travel. No thought of danger or hardship, no hint of +possible failure, clouded the brilliant prospect; it was a gay holiday +excursion, and at the same time a grand scheme of conquest, offering +fame to the ambitious, wealth to the needy, and pleasant recreation to +all. Thousands flocked eagerly to enter their names for the service, +and the only trouble of the recruiting officers was in choosing the +stoutest and the best. + +The great armament was on the eve of departure, and all hearts were +full of joyful anticipation, when an event occurred which suddenly +chilled this happy mood, and cast a shadow of evil augury on the whole +undertaking. The Athenians of that age, like their descendants nearly +five centuries later, [Footnote: See Acts xvii. 22.] were "more +god-fearing than other men." They worshipped a multitude of divinities, +and their city was thronged with the temples and statues of heroes and +gods. Conspicuous among the objects of popular adoration was the god +Hermes, who is exhibited by ancient poets and artists as a gracious and +lovely youth, the special patron of eloquence and wit, the guardian +spirit of travellers and merchants, and the giver of good luck. A +familiar feature in the streets and public places of Athens was the +bust of Hermes, surmounting a quadrangular stone pillar. Many hundreds +of these pillars, which were called Hermae, were scattered about over +the whole city, standing before the doors of houses and temples, at +cross-ways and places of public resort. Wherever he went, whatever he +did, the Athenian felt himself to be in the presence of this genial and +friendly power, who attended him, with more than human sympathy, in all +his ways. + +If such were the feelings of the Athenians towards their favourite +deity, what must have been their horror when they awoke one morning to +find that all the busts of Hermes, with one or two exceptions, were +shattered and mutilated beyond all recognition. The whole population +was thunderstruck, and wild rumours ran from mouth to mouth concerning +the perpetrators and the motive of this shocking outrage. It was +evident that many hands must have been employed on the work of +destruction, and those who had so foully insulted the most hallowed +affections of their fellow-citizens were believed to be capable of any +enormity. It was loudly asserted that a black conspiracy was hatching +against the liberties of the people, and that the worst days of the +tyranny were about to be revived. For in those days religion and +politics were associated with a closeness of intimacy unknown in modern +Europe, and sacrilege might well be regarded as a prelude to treason. +Active measures were at once taken to bring the offenders to justice, +and great rewards were offered to anyone, whether citizen, slave, or +resident foreigner, who gave information concerning this or any similar +crime. At first nothing was disclosed as to the mutilation of the +Hermae, but other recent acts of profanation were brought to light, and +among these was mentioned a derisive parody of the great Eleusinian +Mysteries, alleged to have been performed in the house of Alcibiades, +and elsewhere. The enemies of Alcibiades, who were both numerous and +powerful, eagerly seized this handle against him; but when the matter +was debated in the public assembly, it became evident that, if he were +brought to trial at once, his present popularity, as chief promoter of +the Sicilian expedition, would ensure his acquittal. Seeing, therefore, +that their attack had been premature, those who had led the outcry +against him now drew back, reserving themselves for a more favourable +occasion. Being known as the bitter opponents of Alcibiades, they could +not, without exciting grave suspicions, propose the adjournment of his +trial; but other speakers, prompted by them, urged on grounds of public +expediency that the charges against him should be held in suspense, so +as not to delay the departure of the fleet. Alcibiades saw plainly that +this manoeuvre was contrived to get him out of the way, to remove his +adherents from Athens, and leave his enemies free to pursue their +machinations during his absence. But it was in vain that he exposed the +malicious motives of the last speakers, and pleaded earnestly for an +immediate trial. The Athenians were still possessed by their daring +scheme of conquest, and they decreed that Alcibiades should keep his +command, and sail at once to Sicily. + + +IV + +At last the great day arrived, and in the first light of a mid-summer +dawn, a vast multitude was seen pouring along the broad highway which +led, between the Long Walls, from Athens to Peiraeus. The Upper City +was almost deserted by its inhabitants, for there was hardly one +Athenian who had not some cherished comrade, or some near relation, +enrolled for service in Sicily, and the crowd was swelled by thousands +of strangers, who came as spectators of that memorable scene. Little +now appeared of that sanguine and joyous temper which had prevailed +among the Athenians when they first voted for the expedition. Their +feelings had lately been fearfully harrowed by the mutilation of the +Hermae, and now that the moment of parting was at hand, all the perils +and uncertainties of their grand enterprise rose up vividly before +them. They were restored, however, to some degree of cheerfulness, when +they reached the harbour of Peiraeus, and saw the magnificent fleet +riding at anchor. Nearly all the vessels lying in the bay were +Athenian; for the main body of the allies, and the commissariat ships, +had been ordered to muster at Corcyra. The triremes furnished by Athens +numbered a hundred, of which sixty were fully equipped as war-galleys, +while forty were employed as transports. These numbers had been +equalled more than once before during the war; but in efficiency, in +splendour of appearance, and in the quality of the crews, this was by +far the finest fleet that ever sailed from Peiraeus. Only the bare +hulls of the ships were provided by the state, and each vessel was +assigned to some wealthy citizen, who defrayed all the expense of +fitting her for active service. Sometimes the cost of equipping a ship +was divided between two or more citizens, and at ordinary times this +form of taxation must have been felt by the rich as a heavy burden. But +such was the popularity of the Sicilian expedition that the wealthy +Athenians who were charged with this duty went far beyond what was +required of them, each striving to surpass the others by the superior +beauty and speed of his own ship. The crews were all composed of picked +men, attracted by the double rate of pay which was furnished from the +state exchequer; and in addition to this, the trierarchs [Footnote: +Citizens charged with the duty of equipping a trireme.] paid special +premiums to the petty officers and to the highest class of rowers. The +same spirit of emulation extended to the whole body of Athenians +enrolled in the army and fleet; every man felt that whatever he spent +on his own personal equipment was spent for the honour and glory of +Athens. And the effect produced on the public mind in Greece was, in +fact, prodigious: after all the ravages of the plague, and ten years of +exhausting warfare, Athens, it seemed, was stronger than ever, and in +the mere exuberance of energy was making this imposing display of +wealth and power. As to the ostensible object of the expedition--the +conquest of Sicily--few doubted that it must follow as a matter of +course. + +The last farewell had been spoken, the troops were all embarked, and +the rowers sat ready at their oars. The trumpet sounded, commanding +silence, and the voice of the herald was heard, repeating a solemn +prayer, which was taken up by the whole multitude on sea and on shore, +while the captains and soldiers poured libations of wine from goblets +of silver and gold. When this act of worship was ended, the crews +raised the paean, and at a given signal the whole fleet was set in +motion, and passed, in single file, out of the harbour. On reaching the +open water, they quitted this order, and engaged in a friendly contest +of speed as far as Aegina. Then the crews settled down to their work, +and the great armament swept on, high in heart and hope, to join the +allied contingents, and commissariat fleet, now assembled at Corcyra. + +As yet only general rumours of the intended invasion had reached +Syracuse, and few of the citizens were aware of the imminent peril in +which they stood. Among those who were better informed was Hermocrates, +a Syracusan of high rank, who for many years had been the guiding +spirit in Sicilian politics. Speaking at a public assembly, about the +time when the Athenian fleet sailed from Peiraeus, he urged the +necessity of taking prompt measures for placing the city in a thorough +state of defence. He had no fear, he said, of the ultimate triumph of +Syracuse in the approaching struggle: only let them be on their guard, +and not underrate the power of the enemy whom they would have to face. +The words of Hermocrates, who enjoyed a high reputation for valour, +patriotism, and sagacity, were not without their effect, and it was +resolved that the generals should at once set about organizing the +military resources of Syracuse, and providing all things necessary for +the public safety. Some steps in this direction they had already taken; +and tidings soon arrived at Syracuse which caused them to redouble +their exertions. + +For in the meantime the Athenians had reached Corcyra, where they held +a final review of all their forces. The total number of the triremes +was a hundred and thirty-four, and with these sailed a vast fleet of +merchant ships, and smaller craft, laden with stores of all kinds, and +carrying a whole army of bakers, masons, and carpenters, with the tools +of their crafts, and all the engines required for a siege. Besides +these, there was a great number of other vessels, small and great, +fitted out by private speculators for purposes of trade. The military +force was on a corresponding scale, comprising five thousand, one +hundred hoplites, of whom fifteen hundred were full Athenian citizens, +four hundred and eighty archers, seven hundred slingers from Rhodes, +and a hundred and twenty exiles from Megara, equipped as light-armed +troops. The force of cavalry was but small, being conveyed in a single +transport. + +The whole armament now weighed anchor from Corcyra and sailed in three +divisions, each commanded by one of the generals, to the opposite coast +of Italy. On arriving at Rhegium, an Ionic city on the Italian side of +the strait, they received permission to beach their ships, and form a +camp outside the walls; and here they waited for the return of three +fast-sailing triremes, which had been sent forward from Corcyrato carry +the news of their approach to Egesta, and claim the promised subsidy, +and at the same time to sound the temper of the Greek cities in Sicily. +Before long the ships came back with their report, and the Athenians +now learned to their great chagrin that all the fabled wealth of Egesta +had dwindled to the paltry sum of thirty talents. + +The three generals now held a council of war, to decide on a plan of +campaign. It was evident that no help was to be obtained from Egesta, +and the attitude of the Rhegini, who declined to enter their alliance, +boded ill for the success of the expedition. As their prospects were so +discouraging, Nicias proposed to confine their operations within the +narrowest limits, to patch up a peace between Selinus and Egesta, to +aid the Leontines, if it could be done without risk or expense, and +after making a display of the Athenian power, to sail home to Athens. +Alcibiades protested strongly against such a course, as disgraceful to +Athens, and unworthy of the splendid armament entrusted to their +command. Let them try first what could be effected by negotiation with +the Greek cities and native tribes of Sicily, and after gaining as many +allies as possible in the island, let them proceed to the attack of +Selinus and Syracuse. Lamachus, on the other hand, a plain, downright +soldier, was for sailing straight to Syracuse, and striking immediately +at the heart of Sicily. The city, he argued, would be found unprepared, +and if they acted at once, in the first terror of their presence, they +were certain of victory; but if they waited, their men would lose +heart, the efficiency of the fleet would be impaired, and the +Syracusans would gather strength and courage from the delay. + +How true was the forecast of Lamachus was proved by the event; but his +bold plan was distasteful alike to the timid temper of Nicias, and to +the tortuous, intriguing spirit of Alcibiades. Finding, therefore, that +he had no hope of convincing his colleagues, he voted for the middle +course, and accordingly the plan of Alcibiades, unquestionably the +worst of the three, was adopted. + +In pursuance of this fatal policy Alcibiades crossed over to Messene, +and tried to win over that city to the side of Athens. Meeting with no +success, he returned to Rhegium, and immediately afterwards he and one +of his colleagues sailed with a force of sixty triremes to Naxos. Here +the Athenians found a hearty welcome, but at Catana, which was then +under the influence of Syracuse, their overtures were rejected, so they +continued their voyage southwards, and made their camp for the night at +the mouth of the river Terias. Starting early next day, they proceeded +along the coast, and, crossing the bay of Thapsus, came in sight, for +the first time, of their great enemy, Syracuse. The main body of the +fleet remained in the offing, but ten triremes were sent forward to +reconnoitre the Great Harbour, and get a nearer view of the +fortifications. When the little squadron came within hearing of the +walls, a herald proclaimed in a loud voice that any of the Leontines +now present in Syracuse should leave the city without fear, and come +over to their faithful kinsmen and allies, the Athenians. After this +futile demonstration, better calculated; to excite laughter than +terror, the reconnoitring triremes withdrew, and the whole fleet sailed +back in the direction of Rhegium. On their return voyage the Athenians +succeeded, by a lucky accident, in gaining the adherence of Catana, +which henceforth became the head-quarters of the whole armament. Soon +after they had effected this important change of station the Salaminian +state trireme arrived with momentous news from Athens. We have seen +what a panic of superstitious fear had been caused among the Athenians +by the mutilation of the Hermae. Arrested for the moment by the +all-absorbing interest of the Sicilian expedition, the excitement broke +out with renewed violence after the departure of the fleet. The enemies +of Alcibiades saw that the time was now ripe for bringing up against +him the charge of violating the mysteries, and pressing for a judgment. +A formal indictment was laid before the senate, and it was decided that +he should come home and stand his trial. But it was necessary to +proceed with caution, for Alcibiades was popular with the troops +serving in Sicily; and it was possible that, if any violence were +attempted against his person, they might break out into mutiny. +Accordingly the captain of the Salaminian trireme was instructed to +treat him with all respect, and allow him to return to Athens in his +own vessel. On receiving the summons Alcibiades affected to obey, and +set sail from Catana, with the state trireme in attendance. The two +ships remained in company as far as Thurii, a Greek town of southern +Italy, but there the great criminal disappeared, and after searching +for him in vain the officers of the Salaminia were obliged to return to +Athens without him. When the news of his flight was brought to Athens, +he was arraigned in his absence, and condemned to death. But if his +enemies supposed that they had heard the last of Alcibiades, they soon +learnt how deeply they were mistaken. + + +V + +The conduct of the campaign in Sicily was thus left in the feeble hands +of Nicias; for though Lamachus nominally held an equal command, his +poverty and political insignificance prevented him from holding the +position to which his military talents entitled him. The few remaining +weeks of summer were frittered away in trivial operations on the +western coasts of the island, and then the Athenians withdrew into +winter quarters at Catana. The predictions of Lamachus now began to be +fulfilled: seeing that Nicias, with the vast force at his disposal, +attempted nothing against them, the Syracusans began to despise their +enemy, and thought of taking the offensive. Horsemen from Syracuse rode +repeatedly up to the Athenian outposts at Catana, and tauntingly +inquired if the Athenians had come to found a colony in Sicily. At last +even Nicias felt that some display of activity was necessary to save +himself from contempt. He had learnt from certain Syracusan exiles that +there was a convenient place for landing troops, on the low-lying shore +where the river Anapus flows into the Great Harbour. Here he determined +to make a sudden descent, and in order to avoid disembarking in the +face of an enemy, he contrived a stratagem to remove the whole +Syracusan force out of reach. A citizen of Catana, who was attached to +the Athenian interest, was sent with a message to the Syracusan +generals, which held out a tempting prospect of gaining an easy and +decisive advantage over the Athenian army. Professing to come from the +partisans of Syracuse still remaining in Catana, he promised on their +behalf that if the Syracusans made a sudden assault on the Athenian +camp, their friends in Catana would simultaneously fall upon the +Athenian troops, who were in the habit of deserting their quarters and +straggling about the town, and set fire to their ships. + +This plausible story found ready credence with the Syracusan generals, +and they named a day on which they promised to appear in full force +before the walls of Catana. When the time appointed drew near, they +marched out with the whole Syracusan army, leaving the city to be +garrisoned by their allies, and took up a position within easy reach of +Catana. Thereupon Nicias, who was fully informed of their movements, +embarked his troops by night, sailed down the coast past Syracuse, and +entering the Great Harbour, came to land near the outlying suburb of +Polichne, where stood the great temple of the Olympian Zeus. Here he +planted a breastwork of palisades to defend his ships, and drew up his +army on ground which offered many obstacles to the advance of the +Syracusan cavalry. Then, having broken down the bridge over the Anapus, +he waited for the enemy to appear. + +Meanwhile the Syracusan generals had marched upon Catana, and finding +that they had been duped, returned with all speed to the defence of +their own city. After a long and fatiguing march, they came in view of +the Athenian position, and drew up their forces for battle. But Nicias +declined the challenge, and the day being now far advanced, they fell +back and encamped for the night in the open field. + +Next morning Nicias, acting with unusual vigour, drew up his army in +two equal divisions, and leaving one half to defend the camp, and act +as a reserve, with the other he advanced rapidly upon the enemy. The +Syracusans, who had perhaps reckoned too much on the known indolence of +Nicias, were taken by surprise. Their discipline was lax, and many of +them had left their posts, and gone off into the town. Nevertheless, +they met the attack with firmness: those who were on the spot hastened +to assume their weapons, which they had laid aside, while the +stragglers came running back, and took their stand wherever they saw a +gap in the ranks. After some preliminary skirmishing between the +light-armed troops, the heavy masses of the hoplites came to close +quarters, and a fierce hand to hand struggle ensued. While the issue +was still uncertain, a violent thunderstorm broke over the contending +armies, and struck terror into the Syracusans, who regarded it as an +omen of defeat. But the seasoned soldiers of Nicias saw nothing unusual +in an autumn tempest, and perceiving the enemy to waver, they pressed +their attack, and broke through the opposing lines. The whole Syracusan +army now fell back upon Syracuse, but they retired without haste or +disorder, and their retreat was covered by a numerous and efficient +body of cavalry, so that their total loss amounted only to two hundred +and sixty. + +The victory thus remained with the Athenians; but the moral advantage +was entirely on the side of the Syracusans. With an army composed of +raw recruits, they had met the flower of the Athenian forces, trained +by years of warfare, and led by experienced generals, in fair fight, +and though attacked at a disadvantage, they had fought with spirit, and +retreated with coolness and deliberation. They had good reason to be +satisfied with the result of their first encounter with the invader, +and they might well share the high and confident hopes expressed by +their most eminent citizen, Hermocrates. Speaking at a general +assembly, immediately after the battle, the great patriot congratulated +his countrymen on the courage which they had displayed, and at the same +time pointed out the necessity of improving their discipline and +military organization. One important reform should be made at once; the +number of the generals, which had hitherto been fifteen, should be +greatly reduced, and those appointed to the supreme command should be +given absolute power, so that they might act with secrecy and despatch. +Further, let the whole adult male population be placed under arms, and +kept in constant drill all through the winter. If these measures were +vigorously carried out, they might successfully defy the Athenians to +do their worst. + +Acting on this advice, the Syracusans deposed the existing generals, +and chose Hermocrates, with three others, to fill their place. The +reform of the army was at once taken in hand, and ambassadors were sent +to Corinth and Sparta to ask for aid. Corinth, as the mother-city of +Syracuse, might well respond to the call, and it was hoped that the +Spartans would be induced to declare open war on Athens, so as to +compel the Athenians to withdraw their forces from Sicily, or at least +prevent them from sending reinforcements. + +Various defensive works were undertaken by the Syracusans during the +winter. The most important of these was a new wall, extending from the +northern sea to the Great Harbour, and taking in a wide space of +ground, outside the old line of wall, to the west of the city. By thus +increasing the area of Syracuse, they made it much more difficult for +Nicias to draw his line of blockade, when the siege began in the +following spring. They also constructed a fort, with a permanent +garrison, to guard the temple of Zeus in the suburb of Polichne, and +drove piles into the sea at all the landing-places of the Great Harbour. + +Soon after the battle Nicias shifted his winter quarters to Naxos, and +learning this the Syracusans marched in full force to Catana, laid +waste the territory, and burnt the deserted huts of the Athenians. The +insult was tamely endured, and shortly afterwards the ever-active +Hermocrates had an opportunity of thwarting the Athenian intrigues +among the Greek cities of Sicily. The scene of this diplomatic +encounter was Camarina, a Dorian city which had hitherto wavered +between its hatred of Syracuse and its fear of Athens. Early in the +winter Athenian envoys appeared at Camarina with overtures of alliance, +and Hermocrates was sent to represent the interests of Syracuse. +Speaking first in the debate, Hermocrates set himself to unmask the +designs of the Athenians, who, under the thin pretence of helping the +Ionic cities of Sicily, had come (he said) to make a conquest of the +whole island. The Ionians of Greece had long groaned under their yoke, +and the same fate was in store for the Ionians of Sicily, if they +allowed themselves to be beguiled by specious lies. The plea of +friendship and goodwill might pass with the degenerate Greeks of Asia +and the Aegaean, born to be cajoled and enslaved; but the Camariaeans +were of the stout Dorian race, the hereditary foes of tyranny, too wise +and too brave to lend themselves as tools to a bare-faced scheme of +aggression. If not, let them beware: Syracuse was fighting in a +righteous cause, and must prevail in the end; help was coming from +Peloponnesus, and if the Camariaeans stood aloof, the day would come +when they would regret their disloyalty. + +There can be no doubt that Hermocrates was right in his view of the +motive which brought the Athenians to Sicily, and the arguments of +Euphemus, the advocate for Athens, who strove to confute him, will not +bear examination. But the people of Camarina were in a difficult +position; their city had suffered many things in the past at the hands +of Syracuse, and they had reason to fear that her oppressions might be +renewed, if she emerged triumphant from the present struggle. On the +other hand, if the Athenians were victorious, they might forfeit their +independence altogether. In this dilemma they determined to play a +waiting game, and when the time came for action, to throw their weight +on the winning side. For the present they answered that they chose to +remain neutral. + +The debate at Camarina, though interesting and instructive from the +light which it throws on the passions and motives of the combatants, +had little influence on the final issue of the war. But about the same +time a scene was being enacted in another part of the Greek world, +which led to most momentous consequences. Early in the winter the +Syracusan envoys arrived at Corinth, and made an earnest appeal for +help. The Corinthians were warmly attached to their famous colony, +which had never wavered in its allegiance to the mother-city, and +moreover they were the implacable enemies of Athens. They therefore +took up the cause of Syracuse with enthusiasm, and they sent the envoys +on to Sparta, accompanied by delegates of their own, to urge the +immediate resumption of hostilities against Athens, and the sending of +prompt aid to Sicily. + +At Sparta they found an able and unscrupulous ally, the very last whom +they had expected to meet there. This was the outlaw Alcibiades, who, +after eluding the vigilance of the Athenian officers at Thurii, had +crossed over in a merchant ship to Cyllene, the port of Elis. While +staying there, he received an invitation from the Lacedaemonians to +proceed to Sparta, and made his way thither, having first stipulated +for a safe-conduct; for he dreaded the vengeance of the Spartans, to +whom he had done much mischief by raising the coalition which led to +the battle of Mantinea. So there he was, the guest of his old enemies, +burning with all an exile's hatred, and ready to strike some deadly +blow against the city which had cast him out. + +At first the Spartans gave but a cool and qualified response to the +application of the envoys from Corinth. They were prepared to lend +moral support to the Syracusans, by sending an embassy to encourage +them in their resistance, but of more substantial aid they said little +or nothing. Now was the time for Alcibiades to play his part. He knew, +far better than any of his hearers, all the vulnerable points of +Athens, and had no scruple in using his knowledge for her ruin. Having +obtained permission from the magistrates, he rose to address the +Spartan assembly; and his speech is given at full length by the +historian, who was himself an exile at the time, and may possibly have +been present [Footnote: The suggestion is made by Grote.] on this +important occasion. + +The Spartans might smile when they heard this accomplished traitor +professing friendship towards themselves, and zeal for their service; +they might be disgusted at the flippant sophistries by which he strove +to defend his unexampled villainy. But far different feelings must have +been awakened, when he went on to unfold the gigantic scheme of +conquest, to which, as he pretended, the invasion of Sicily was no more +than a prelude. According to this statement, the Athenians intended, +after subjugating the Greeks of Sicily, to turn their arms against the +Italian Greeks, and finally to attack Carthage. If all these designs +were successful, they would build a great number of new ships, taking +their materials from the forests of Italy, raise a vast military force, +both of Greeks and barbarians, and then return, backed by the whole +power of the West, and draw a ring of war round Peloponnesus. With such +resources they would be irresistible, and all Greece must inevitably +fall under their sway. + +"Such," continued Alcibiades, "is the secret history of the Sicilian +expedition, which you have heard from the mouth of him who knows it +best. Remember, then, that the issue before you concerns not Syracuse +only, but Sparta also: for if Syracuse falls--and fall she must, if +left without support--all Sicily will be under the heel of Athens; then +will come the turn of Italy, and after that you will soon have the +enemy at your own doors. Now learn what you must do, if you would avert +all the evils which I have foretold. You must send a fleet to Sicily at +once, with hoplites who can row the ships themselves, and serve in the +army as soon as they land, and with them a Spartan commander, to +organize the fighting men of Sicily, and compel those who are hanging +back to do their duty. Such a man will be a host in himself, and will +infuse new life and energy into the defence. Further, you must +establish a fortified camp at Decelea, a position which commands the +whole territory of Attica; for by so doing you will reduce Athens to a +state of siege, and compel the whole male population to serve on +garrison duty; you will deprive the Athenians of their revenues from +the silver-mines at Laurium, and you will put new heart into the cities +subject to Athens, and encourage them to withhold their tribute. Let +these measures be carried out with promptitude and vigour, and you will +soon reap your reward, in the humiliation of Athens, and the honour and +gratitude of all Greece." + +At these words of Alcibiades the sluggish Spartans took fire, and +recognizing the importance of his advice they determined to follow the +course which he had indicated. Gylippus, a Spartan of high rank, +received orders to proceed at once to Syracuse, and assume the control +of the war, and the Corinthians were directed to provide ships for the +conveyance of troops. But after this brief display of energy the +Spartans relapsed into their wonted torpor. Many months elapsed before +Gylippus was able to embark for Sicily, and meanwhile important events +had been occurring at the seat of war. We return, therefore, to the +head-quarters of Nicias, which had once more been removed from Naxos to +Catana. + + +VI + +For the next year and a half [Footnote: Spring 414--autumn 413 B.C.] +the scene of our narrative lies almost entirely in the immediate +neighbourhood of Syracuse, so that it now becomes necessary to describe +in some detail the site of that city, and the character of the adjacent +country. Mention has already been made of the island of Ortygia, the +site of the original colony, connected with the mainland of Sicily by a +bridge or causeway. At the southern extremity of Ortygia there is a +narrow strip of land, pointing like a finger towards the rocky +peninsula of Plemmyrium; and between these two points lies the entrance +to a spacious bay, already alluded to under the name of the Great +Harbour. At the western end of the bay there is a long stretch of low, +marshy ground, intersected by the little rivers Cyana and Anapus, and +infested with fever during the heats of summer. On a rising ground, +south of the Anapus, stood the suburb of Polichne, with its great +temple, sacred to the Olympian Zeus. A little to the north of Ortygia +the coast rises abruptly in a bold line of cliffs, facing eastwards, +and forming the base of a triangular plateau, which slopes upwards from +the sea, and gradually grows narrower until it ends in a point, called +the hill of Euryelus. This plateau, which bore the name of Epipolae, is +guarded on all its three sides by rocky precipices, only to be ascended +at two or three places. Its eastern end, called Acheadina, from the +wild pear-trees which once flourished there, was occupied by a new +city, now included with Ortygia in the same wall of defence. Here were +situated the famous stone-quarries, which afterwards acquired so tragic +an interest from the sufferings of the captive Athenians; and +southwards from this district the ground shelves gently to the shores +of the Little Harbour, a sheltered inlet at the northern end of Ortygia. + +At the opening of spring the operations against Syracuse began in good +earnest. The first object of Nicias was to obtain possession of the +heights of Epipolae, for since the construction of the new Syracusan +wall it had become impossible for him to draw his line of blockade from +the side of the Great Harbour. His preparations were already far +advanced, when the Syracusan generals resolved to anticipate him, by +occupying all the approaches to Epipolae. With this intention they +issued an order for a full muster of troops in a meadow by the Anapus, +and after a general review and inspection of arms they appointed a +picked body of six hundred hoplites to guard the heights of Epipolae, +and hold themselves ready for any other pressing service. But the +precaution was taken too late. On the night before the review Nicias +set sail with his whole army from Catana, and landed at a place called +Leon, not more than six or seven furlongs from the northern side of +Epipolae. The fleet then took up its station in the sheltered water +behind the peninsula of Thapsus, while the land forces, advancing at a +run, crossed the level ground, and then, breasting the ascent, gained +the summit of Euryelus. + +News of their approach presently reached the Syracusans, who were still +mustered by the Anapus, and breaking off the review, they marched in +haste towards Epipolae, hoping still to dislodge the Athenians from +their position. But in their rapid advance over a distance of nearly +three miles their ranks became disordered, and their attack was so +straggling and ineffectual that they were easily repulsed, and driven +back with considerable loss into the town. On the following day Nicias +led his troops down the slope, and offered battle before the walls of +Syracuse; but the challenge was declined, and the Syracusans remained +within their defences, leaving the Athenians in undisputed possession +of Epipolae. + +After this important success the Athenian generals prepared at once to +form the siege of Syracuse. They first constructed a fort at a place +called Labdalum, on the northern verge of Epipolae, and near its +western extremity, to serve as a safe depositary for their baggage and +money. Then, taking up a position near the centre of Epipolae, they +built a circular wall, covering a considerable space of ground, and +defended on the side towards the city by an outer breastwork, a +thousand feet long. This enclosure, which was called the Circle, was +intended as a shelter for the men employed on construction of the +blockading wall, which started from either side of the Circle, and was +to be carried north and south until it reached the sea. The work made +rapid progress, and greatly alarmed the Syracusans, who saw themselves +in danger of being cut off from all hope of succour on the land side. +Dismayed by this prospect, they resolved to make one more effort to +drive the Athenians from their position, and marching out in full +force, offered battle. Advancing in haste and disorder, they would +certainly have suffered a crushing defeat, but for the prudent caution +of their generals, who were so much impressed by the superior +discipline of the Athenians, that they gave the order to retire, and +led their troops back into the city, leaving only a detachment of horse +to skirmish with the besiegers. But the Athenians had now an efficient +force of cavalry, which had been raised by successive reinforcements to +the number of six hundred and fifty men; and these, backed by a small +force of infantry, soon drove the horsemen of Syracuse from the field. + +The Athenians then completed the building of their Circle, and began to +lay the materials for the northern line of wall. By the advice of +Hermocrates the Syracusans made no further attempt to attack them in +full force, but began to build a counterwall, running out from the city +in a direction south of the Athenian Circle, so as to cross the line to +be followed by the wall of blockade, and prevent it from reaching the +Great Harbour. The work proceeded without interruption, for the +Athenians were engaged in their building operations north of the +Circle, and did not choose to divide their forces. When it was +completed, this counterwork consisted of a solid stone wall, crowned +with wooden towers, and defended in front by a palisade. The blockade +of Syracuse was thus rendered impossible, as long as the defenders +could keep possession of their counterwall. But unfortunately the +guards left in charge of the new wail soon began to neglect their duty, +and erected tents in the shade, where they passed the hot hours of the +afternoon, while some even left their posts, and went off to refresh +themselves in the city. The Athenian generals did not fail to take +advantage of this negligence. Watching their opportunity, when most of +the Syracusan guards were reposing under the shelter of the tents, they +sent a chosen troop of some three hundred men to make a sudden assault +on the counterwall. Then, having divided the main body of the Athenian +army between them, they disposed their forces so as to prevent any +rescue from the town. One division was drawn up before the principal +gate in the new Syracusan wall, while the other proceeded to a +postern-gate, at the point where the counterwall started from the city. +The combined movement was completely successful; the three hundred +carried the stockade and cross-wall by storm, and compelled the +defenders to take refuge within the ramparts of Syracuse. The whole +Athenian army then marched up to the counterwall and stockade, which +they speedily demolished, carrying off the materials for their own use. + +Wishing to prevent any second attempt on the part of the Syracusans to +cut them off from the southern slope of Epipolae, the Athenian generals +now fortified that part of the cliff which looks towards the Great +Harbour. By occupying this point they obtained a new centre, commanding +the space between the Circle and the southern edge of the cliff, and +placing them in communication with the level valley of the Anapus, +across which they had to carry their line of blockade. For the present +building operations were suspended on the northern side of the Circle, +as they wished first of all to complete the investment of Syracuse +towards the south. + +Perceiving their intention, the Syracusans began a second counterwork, +consisting of a stockade and ditch, which started at the point of +junction between the old city-wall and the new, and ran across the low +swampy ground as far as the Anapus. Thus the Athenians were confronted +by a new obstacle, which had to be removed, before they could make any +further progress. Acting with energy and decision, they sent orders to +the fleet, which was still lying at Thapsus, to sail round into the +Great Harbour; and without waiting for its arrival, before daybreak +Lamachus led his troops down the cliff, and advanced against the +stockade. His men carried hurdles and planks, to secure their footing +in the most treacherous parts of the swamp, and, proceeding thus, in +the first light of dawn they came up to the stockade. They found the +Syracusans assembled in force to resist them, and an engagement ensued, +which speedily ended in favour of the Athenians. The right wing of the +Syracusan army fled back into the city, while the left wing retreated +towards the suburb of Polichne, hotly pursued by the picked troop +[Footnote: P. 203.] of Athenian hoplites, who wished to cut them off +before they reached the river. By this rash movement the Athenians came +near to forfeiting the advantage which they had gained, and brought +upon themselves an irreparable loss. For the Syracusan cavalry turned +on their pursuers, and drove them back in disorder upon the Athenian +right. The sudden reverse created something like a panic in that part +of the line, and Lamachus, who was in command of the left wing, +hastened to their relief, and threw himself, with a handful of men, +between the Syracusan cavalry and the fugitives. This gallant action +turned the tide of battle once more, and gave the Athenians on the +right wing time to rally; but Lamachus and his followers, pushing +forward too hotly, were attacked by the enemy in a place where their +retreat was cut off by a ditch, and slain to a man. + +Meanwhile the Syracusans who had fled into the city, observing the +temporary defeat of the Athenians, had taken courage again, and they +returned to the field, having first sent a detachment to attack the +Athenian Circle, where Nicias, who was disabled by sickness, had been +left in charge with a small garrison. Thinking to make an easy capture, +the party sent on this service ran up the slope of Epipolae, and +reached the breastwork of the Circle, which they took and demolished. +With the scanty force at his disposal, Nicias had little hope of +repelling the attack, so he had recourse to a desperate expedient. He +ordered the camp-servants to set fire to a great pile of timber, which +was lying, together with a number of siege engines, in front of the +wall. They did as he directed, and a great flame arose, which drove +back the assailants, and gave warning of his danger to the Athenians in +the plain below, where the whole Syracusan army was now in full +retreat. Almost at the same moment the Athenian fleet was seen sailing +into the Great Harbour, and a strong contingent from the victorious +army came swarming up the hill to the rescue. Thereupon the storming +party from Syracuse turned and fled back to the city, where they found +the streets thronged by their beaten and dispirited comrades. + +The result of this battle was to leave the Athenian in undisputed +possession of the whole country round Syracuse. Lamachus, indeed, had +fallen, and the loss of that daring and active spirit soon made itself +severely felt. But for the present the fortunes of Athens were in the +ascendant, and everything seemed to promise a speedy triumph. The +Syracusans were thoroughly cowed by their defeat, and looked passively +on, while a double wall of blockade crept steadily forwards from the +southern edge of Epipolae towards the Great Harbour, where the Athenian +fleet had now taken up its permanent station. The native Sicels, who +had hitherto held back through fear of Syracuse, now joined the +Athenians in great numbers. Even the distant Etruscans, the ancient +enemies of Syracuse, sent three war-galleys to take part in the sack of +the great Dorian city. + +Day by day the spirits of the Syracusans sank lower and lower. They now +began to feel the actual pressure of a siege. Months had passed since +their envoys had sailed for Greece, and there was still no sign of help +from Corinth or Sparta. They had lost all hope of saving themselves by +their own unaided efforts, and no course seemed left to them but to +make the best terms they could with Nicias. Negotiations were +accordingly opened with the Athenian general, but after much discussion +no definite result was attained. In this hour of weakness and distress, +the Syracusans became divided against themselves, and every man +suspected his neighbour of treason. Then they turned upon their +generals, who, after holding out such high promises, had brought them +to this pass, either by mismanagement, or by deliberate treachery. +Hermocrates and his colleagues were deposed from their command, and +three other generals succeeded to their place. + +In the eyes of all those who were watching the struggle, the fate of +Syracuse was sealed; she was destined to fall a prey to the devouring +ambition of Athens. But at this very moment a little cloud was +approaching from the east, which was fraught with disaster and ruin to +the besieging army. + + +VII + +Just at the time when the Syracusans were brought to the brink of +despair, Gylippus, after so many months' delay, was on his voyage to +Sicily. While lying at Leucas, a Corinthian settlement in the Ionian +sea, he received the alarming intelligence that Syracuse was already +completely blockaded, and the report was confirmed by every vessel that +came in from the west. Deceived by these false rumours, he gave up all +hope of saving Sicily, but hoping still to forestall the Athenians in +Italy, he put out from Leucas with four ships, and steered a straight +course for Tarentum. From this city, which was friendly to Sparta and +Syracuse, he started on his mission among the Italian Greeks, and +putting in at Locri he heard for the first time that the Athenian wall +was still unfinished on the northern side of Epipolae, leaving a wide +gap, through which a relieving force might enter the town. + +Two courses now lay open to Gylippus. He might sail southwards, and +make an attempt to run the blockade of Syracuse--or he might land on +the northern coast of Sicily, march across the island, and fight his +way into the city through the unwalled interval. In either case, the +enterprise seemed desperate enough. By a very moderate exertion on the +part of Nicias, employing only a fraction of the immense force at his +disposal, Gylippus might have been destroyed, before he had time to +become dangerous. But Nicias was lulled into a fatal confidence. He had +heard of the mission of Gylippus, but made no attempt to oppose his +voyage to Italy, regarding him as a mere free-booter, unworthy of +serious notice. At last, learning that Gylippus was at Locri, he was +induced to send out four triremes against him. They were instructed to +take station at Rhegium, and cut off the daring intruder as he passed +through the strait. But when they reached Rhegium, the wary Spartan was +already beyond their reach. He had decided to approach Syracuse by +land, and was now far advanced on his voyage to Himera, the only Greek +settlement on the north coast of Sicily. Himera, though an Ionic +colony, was attached to the Dorian interest, and her citizens gave a +hearty welcome to the Spartan deliverer. Before long, a little army of +about three thousand men was assembled at Himera, and ready to follow +the fortunes of Gylippus. Seven hundred of these were the sailors and +marines from his own vessels, armed as hoplites, and the Himeraeans +furnished a thousand infantry, light and heavy-armed, and a hundred +cavalry. Owing to the recent death of a powerful chieftain, who had +been a strong partisan of Athens, the northern Sicels had now changed +sides, and they sent a thousand men to serve under the Spartan leader. +Small contingents also arrived, in answer to the call of Gylippus, from +Gela and Selinus. With this little force, composed of such motley +elements, Gylippus started from Himera, and entered on his march for +the relief of Syracuse. The fate of Syracuse was already wavering in +the balance. As yet no news of approaching succour had reached the +beleaguered city, and the Syracusans had abandoned all hope. To save +themselves from a worse calamity, they resolved to surrender, and an +assembly was summoned to settle the terms of capitulation. But at this +very moment a message came to them by sea, which kindled their courage +afresh, and banished these counsels of despair. When Gylippus left +Leucas, a Corinthian fleet of some fifteen vessels was preparing to +sail from that port for Syracuse. One of the ships, commanded by a +certain Gongylus, was delayed in the harbour, and started after the +rest. But Gongylus, instead of steering the ordinary course, which +would have taken him first to Italy, made a bold dash, straight across +the sea, and just when the momentous decision was pending, his ship +came to anchor in the Little Harbour. Forthwith the joyful tidings +spread like wildfire through the city: Gylippus was coming, armed with +full authority from Sparta--Corinth had taken up their cause--Syracuse +was saved! All thought of surrender was instantly flung away, and news +arriving shortly afterwards that Gylippus was near at hand, the whole +Syracusan force marched out to meet him, and escorted him triumphantly +into the town. + +Thus, without a blow being struck, an immense access of strength had +been brought to the besieged, and the grand condition of successful +resistance, on which Alcibiades had laid such weight, was fulfilled. A +Spartan officer of consummate ability was now in Syracuse, and he had +made his way into the city, not alone, not by stealth, but at the head +of an army, and before the very eyes of the enemy. Weeks must have +elapsed between the departure of Gylippus from Leucas, and his arrival +at Syracuse; and during all this time, with one trifling exception, +Nicias made no effort to oppose his progress. Prudent men might well +have regarded the enterprise of Gylippus as a wild and desperate +adventure; and such it must have proved, but for the astounding +blindness and apathy of Nicias. + +At the time when Gylippus reached Syracuse the Athenian lines of +circumvallation were all but completed on the side of the Great +Harbour; but a wide interval was still left between the Circle and the +northern sea, and it was here that Gylippus had effected an entrance. +To keep this space open was a matter of supreme importance, and the +scene of action is now shifted again to the northern slope of Epipolae. +On the day after his arrival Gylippus succeeded in capturing the +Athenian fort at Labdalum, and the command of this position gave +increased facilities for the construction of a third counterwall, which +was forthwith taken in hand, and carried in the direction of Labdalum, +until it crossed the blockading line at its northern end. + +If the Syracusans succeeded in completing and holding this counterwork, +the blockade of Syracuse would be rendered impossible. Yet for some +time Nicias made no attempt to interrupt its progress. As if already +convinced of his inferiority in the field, he took steps to keep his +communications open by sea, and with this object he employed a part of +his forces in fortifying the headland of Plemmyrium, which commanded +the entrance to the Great Harbour. Here he built three forts which +served as an arsenal for the Athenian stores; and henceforth Plemmyrium +became the chief station for his fleet. This removal had a disastrous +effect on the Athenian crews; for the place being almost a desert, and +the springs distant and scanty, they were compelled to go far from +their quarters in search of forage and water, and while thus engaged +they were cut off in great numbers by the Syracusan horse, who had been +posted at Polichne for this purpose. A rapid demoralization of the +crews was the consequence, and desertions became more frequent every +day. + +Meanwhile the counterwall was advancing steadily up the hill, and every +day Gylippus drew up his army, to cover the operations of the workmen. +At last he determined to force on an engagement, and in the first +encounter the Syracusans, fighting in a confined space, which prevented +their cavalry from coming into action, suffered a defeat. In no wise +discouraged by this reverse, on the next day they took up a position in +the more open ground, and offered battle again. By this time the +Syracusan counterwork had almost passed the end of the Athenian wall, +and if it were carried a few yards further, the siege of Syracuse would +be brought to a standstill. Roused by the imminence of the crisis, +Nicias determined to make one more effort to regain his mastery in the +field, and led his troops to the attack. The main body of the hoplites +were soon hotly engaged on both sides, and in the midst of the action +Gylippus directed his cavalry and light-armed infantry to make a sudden +charge on the Athenian left. This movement was executed with so much +skill and resolution that the Athenians in that part of the line gave +way, and drew after them the rest of their comrades, who broke their +ranks, and fled for shelter behind the siege works. + +The Syracusans lost no time in turning their victory to account. On the +very same night their wall was extended some distance beyond the +blockading line, and until this new barrier was overthrown, the +investment of Syracuse had now become impossible. + +Whichever way he looked, Nicias saw himself menaced with failure and +defeat. He had sent twenty ships to intercept the Corinthian squadron +on its voyage from Leucas; but the little fleet of rescue succeeded in +avoiding the snare, and made its way into the port of Syracuse, thus +adding twelve fresh vessels to the defending force. Gylippus himself +was marching unhindered up and down the island, passing from city to +city, and raising reinforcements of ships and men; and a second embassy +had been despatched by the Syracusans, to carry the news of their +victory to Corinth and Sparta, and ask for further help. Another +ominous sign of coming events was the bustle and activity now visible +in the dockyards of Syracuse and the waters of the Little Harbour; for +the Syracusans had turned their attention seriously to their fleet, and +thought of nothing less than attacking the Athenians on their own +element. + +These symptoms of renewed confidence and energy were observed by Nicias +with growing disquiet. And if he turned his eyes to his own camp, he +saw little to relieve his anxiety. For the predictions of Lamachus had +been fulfilled to the letter. By his fatal policy of procrastination +Nicias had frittered away the resources of the most splendid armament +that ever set sail from Peiraeus. His soldiers were infected by the +despondency of their leader, and many of them were stricken by the +marsh-fever which haunts the unwholesome district of the Anapus. Above +all the condition of the fleet showed the lamentable effect of long +inaction and delay. All the supplies of the Athenians came to them by +sea, and in order to keep their communications open, it was necessary +to keep the whole of the fleet on constant duty. In consequence of +this, the hulls of the triremes had become sodden with water, which +made them leaky, and difficult to row. Moreover the crews, which were +largely composed of foreign seamen, had grown restive and mutinous +under the severe strain of hardships and privation, so different from +the easy and lucrative service in the hope of which they had enlisted. +Some took the first opportunity of deserting to the enemy, while others +ran away to remote parts of Sicily; and there was no means of filling +the places thus left vacant. + +Such was the burden of care and apprehension which lay heavy on the +feeble shoulders of the Athenian general. He was naturally a weak man, +haunted by superstitious terrors, irresolute, easily cast down; and +this infirmity of character was aggravated by a painful and incurable +disease. There was no longer any question of laying siege to Syracuse: +he himself was now besieged, and it was all he could do to maintain his +position within his defences, and keep the sea open for the conveyance +of supplies. In this desperate situation he determined to send a +written despatch to Athens. We are led to suppose that this was an +unusual proceeding, and that news from the seat of war was generally +sent by word of mouth. The document is given at full length, with all +its grievous confessions of incompetence and failure. After setting +forth the facts of the case as stated above, Nicias insists that one of +two things must be done: either the army now lying before Syracuse must +be recalled to Athens, or the Athenians must send out a second army, +equal in strength to the first, and a general to relieve him of his +command. + +At the conclusion of his despatch Nicias peevishly complains of the +exacting temper of the Athenians, and their readiness to blame anyone +but themselves if anything untoward occurred. Whatever may be the truth +of the general charge, it was most ill-timed and ungrateful in his own +case. Towards him, at least, the conduct of his fellow-citizens was +marked by an excess of generosity, amounting to actual infatuation. +Nothing is more remarkable than the unshaken confidence of the +Athenians in their feeble general, after hearing this terrible +indictment, drawn up by his own hand. They refused to accept his +resignation, and passed a decree that large reinforcements should be +sent to Sicily, with Demosthenes and Eurymedon as generals; and in the +meantime they appointed Menander and Euthydemus, two officers already +serving before Syracuse, to share with Nicias the burden of command. +Before the winter was ended Eurymedon started with ten ships for +Sicily, to announce that effectual help was coming; while Demosthenes +was charged with the duty of enlisting troops and organizing a fleet. + +Meanwhile new perils were gathering round the Athenians at home, which +should have warned them to abandon their wild plans of conquest, and +concentrate all their strength for their own defence. The Spartans had +long been restrained by a scruple of conscience from an open +declaration of war, wishing to avoid the guilt which is associated with +the first act of aggression. Eighteen years before they had refused all +offers of arbitration, and deliberately provoked an encounter with +Athens, in direct violation of the Thirty Years' Truce, which provided +for an amicable settlement of differences; and by so acting they had, +as they believed, incurred the anger of heaven, and brought on +themselves a long train of disasters. But now the position was +reversed: for in the previous year the Athenians had made descents on +the coasts of Laconia, and other districts of Peloponnesus; and they +had repeatedly turned a deaf ear to the friendly overtures of the +Spartans, who proposed to submit all disputed matters to a peaceful +tribunal. + +Thus relieved of their scruples, the Spartans prepared to renew the war +in good earnest, and early in the following spring [Footnote: B.C. +413.] they summoned their allies to the Isthmus, and marched under Agis +their king into Attica. After ravaging the plain, they encamped at +Decelea, fourteen miles north of Athens, and here they established a +fortified post, which was garrisoned by contingents of the +Peloponnesian army, serving in regular order. Once more Alcibiades had +cause to exult in the success of his malignant counsels, which had sent +Gylippus to Syracuse, and had now planted this root of bitter mischief +on the very soil of Attica. + +While the allies were thus engaged at Decelea, a considerable body of +troops had embarked at Taenarum and at Corinth, and sailed to take part +in the defence of Syracuse. In Greece, all the old enemies of Athens +were arming against her, and beyond the sea her prospects grew darker +and darker every day. Yet nothing, it seemed, could break the spell of +fatal delusion which rested on the doomed city. While Attica lay in the +grip of the enemy, a fleet of sixty-five triremes, carrying a great +military force, weighed anchor from Peiraeus, and steered its course, +under the command of Demosthenes, for Sicily. + + +VIII + +We must now return to Syracuse, where fortune was preparing a new blow +for the ill-fated Athenian army. Gylippus came back from his mission at +the beginning of spring, bringing with him the reinforcements which he +had gathered from various parts of Sicily. At once resuming the +offensive, he planned an attack on the forts recently erected by Nicias +at Plemmyrium, and in order to divide the attention of the Athenians, +he determined to make a simultaneous movement against them by sea and +land. He himself took command of the army, and setting out at night, +made his way round to the rear of the Athenian position at Plemmyrium. +Meanwhile the Syracusan fleet lay ready in two divisions, one of which, +consisting of thirty-five vessels, was moored in the docks, within the +Great Harbour, while the other, to the number of forty-five, had its +station in the Lesser Harbour. At the hour appointed by Gylippus, just +as day was breaking, both squadrons got under weigh, and bore down upon +Plemmyrium, from the opposite sides of Ortygia. Though taken by +surprise, the Athenians put out in haste with sixty triremes, and a +sea-fight ensued, in which the Syracusans for some time had the +advantage. By this time Gylippus was at hand with his army, and by a +sudden assault on the Athenian forts he made an easy capture of all +three; for the greater part of the garrison had flocked down to the +sea, to watch the progress of the action in the Great Harbour. +Fortunately for these men, who had so grossly neglected their duty, the +Athenian fleet had now gained a decisive victory, and they were thus +enabled to make their escape by water, and cross over to the camp of +Nicias, on the other side of the bay. + +By the capture of Plemmyrium a great treasure fell into the hands of +the Syracusans. The loss to the Athenians, in money, stores, and men, +was serious enough; but further consequences ensued, which were nothing +less than disastrous. The enemy now commanded both sides of the +entrance to the Great Harbour, and not a ship-load of provisions could +reach the Athenian camp without an encounter with the Syracusan +triremes. Well might despondency and dismay take possession of the +beleaguered army, cramped in their narrow quarters on the swampy flats +of the Anapus. + +All Sicily, with one or two exceptions, had now declared for Syracuse, +and reinforcements came pouring in from every side. Gylippus was +resolved, if possible, to destroy the armament of Nicias, before the +fresh succours from Athens had time to arrive; and, as before, the +attack was to be made simultaneously by sea and land. Since the loss of +Plemmyrium, the Athenian fleet had been penned up in the confined space +at the head of the Great Harbour. Outside of these narrow limits, the +whole coast was in the hands of the enemy, and any Athenian trireme +which ventured out into open water ran the risk of being driven on a +hostile shore. Unless they chose to incur this great peril, the +Athenians would have to fight in close order, with the long, tapering +prows of their vessels exposed to collision. + +The Syracusans skilfully availed themselves of the advantage thus +offered. The impact of prow with prow, which had hitherto been regarded +as a disgraceful evidence of bad seamanship, had now become the most +effective method of attack; and in order to execute this simple +manoeuvre without damage to their own ships, the Syracusans shortened +the prows of their triremes, and strengthened them with heavy beams of +timber, thus converting them into a broad and solid mass, which could +be driven with crushing force against the slender beaks of the Athenian +galleys. + +When all was ready, Gylippus led out his troops, and assailed the +Athenian wall which faced towards Syracuse, and at the same time the +garrison stationed at Polichne left their quarters, and made another +attack on the opposite side. The assault had already commenced, when +the Syracusan fleet, which numbered eighty triremes, was seen advancing +towards the inner shore of the bay, where the ships of Nicias lay +moored; and the Athenian seamen, who had not expected to be called into +action, hastened in some confusion to man their ships, seventy-five of +which were presently engaged with the enemy. After a day passed in +irregular and desultory fighting, the battle ended slightly in favour +of the Syracusans. During the next day the Syracusans remained +inactive, and Nicias employed the interval in repairing the ships which +had suffered damage, and providing for the defence of his fleet. The +Athenian naval station was protected by a row of piles, rammed into the +bottom of the sea, forming a semi-circular breastwork, with an opening +about two hundred feet wide, where the ships passed in and out. On +either side of this entrance Nicias caused a merchant vessel to be +moored, and each vessel was provided with an engine called a dolphin, a +heavy mass of lead, suspended from the yard-arm, which could be dropped +on the deck of any hostile trireme attempting to pass. + +Early on the following morning the Syracusans resumed hostilities both +by sea and land, and after several hours of desultory fighting, they +drew off their fleet, and sailed back to their station under the walls +of the city. The Athenians were well pleased by this sudden relief, and +concluding that their work was done for the day, they disembarked at +leisure, and began to prepare their midday meal. But before they had +time to snatch a mouthful, the whole Syracusan fleet was seen advancing +again from the opposite shore, and the hungry and weary Athenian crews +were summoned on board to repel a second attack. This crafty manoeuvre +was due to a suggestion of Ariston, the most skilful of the Corinthian +seamen, by whose advice provisions had been brought down to the beach, +so that the Syracusan crews were kept together, and ready to renew the +action, after a brief interval for repose and refreshment. + +For a little while the two fleets faced each other, without venturing +to attack; then the Athenians, who were feverish with hunger and +fatigue, could restrain themselves no longer, but with one consent they +dashed their oars into the water, and with shouts of mutual +encouragement charged down upon the enemy. The Syracusans kept a firm +front, and opposing their massive prows to the rash assault, inflicted +great damage on the Athenian triremes, many of which were completely +wrecked by the shock of the collision. On every side the Athenians were +hard beset; the light-armed troops posted on the decks of the Syracusan +vessels, plied them with a shower of javelins, while the waters swarmed +with a multitude of boats, manned by daring adventurers, who rowed +boldly up to the sides of the Athenian triremes, broke the oars, and +hurled darts through the port-holes at the rowers. After fighting for +some time at a great disadvantage, with exhausted crews, and in a +narrow space, where they had no room to manoeuvre, the Athenians were +compelled to fall back, and sought refuge behind their palisade. + +This important success raised the spirits of the Syracusans higher than +ever. They had gained a decisive victory over the greatest naval power +in Greece, sunk seven triremes, disabled many more, and slain or taken +prisoners a large number of men. Flushed with pride and hope, they +immediately began to prepare for a final attack, which was to end in +the complete destruction of their enemies both by sea and land. But +these high expectations received a sudden check; for on the day after +the battle, [Footnote: Or possibly two days.] the watchers on the walls +of Syracuse descried a great fleet on the northern horizon. Presently +the regular beat of ten thousand oars could be distinctly heard; it +grew louder and louder, and as the vanguard came into full view, the +alarmed Syracusans recognized the truth. There was no mistaking the +peculiar build and familiar ensigns of the renowned Athenian galleys. +This could be no other than the fleet of Demosthenes, arrived just in +time to save the shattered armament of Nicias, and once more turn the +tide of war against Syracuse. A great multitude rushed to the +battlements, and gazed with keen pangs of anxiety as the long line of +triremes, seventy-three in number, swept past the walls of Ortygia, +rounded the southern point, and crossing the Great Harbour, dropped +anchor at the naval station of Nicias. If anyone not concerned in the +struggle had been present, he might have admired the grand exhibition +of military pomp and power, the perfect trim and condition of the +triremes, the precision of the rowing, and the glittering ranks of the +hoplites, javelin-men, archers, and slingers, who thronged the decks. +But no such feeling could find room in the minds of the Syracusans. +After their long trials and sufferings, on the very eve of their +crowning triumph, a new host of enemies had sprung up against them, and +all their toils were beginning anew. + + +IX + +When Demosthenes arrived at Syracuse, the position of affairs was as +follows: the blockading wall of the Athenians still extended in an +unbroken line from the circular fort on Epipolae to the camp and naval +station of Nicias at the head of the Great Harbour; but the Athenians +were cut off from access to the northern slope of Epipolae by the +Syracusan counterwall, which had been carried up the whole length of +the plateau as far as the hill of Euryelus. Along the northern edge of +the cliff the Syracusans had established three fortified camps, where +the defenders of the counterwall had their quarters, and on the summit +of Euryelus a fort had been erected, which held the key to the whole +system of defence. + +Demosthenes saw at once that, before any progress could be made with +the siege of Syracuse, it was necessary to gain possession of the +counterwall, and confine the Syracusans within the limits of their +city. The sooner he made the attempt, the greater was his chance of +success; for every day wasted would give new confidence to the enemy, +and the condition in which he found the troops of Nicias was a visible +warning against the fatal consequences of delay. An attack made on the +cross-wall from its southern side ended in total failure; his +siege-engines were burnt, and the storming-parties repulsed at every +point. The only course which remained was to march round to the +north-western extremity of the plateau, carry the fort of Euryelus, and +assail the Syracusans within their own lines. After consulting with his +colleagues, Demosthenes determined to try the hazardous method of a +night-attack, hoping thus to take the garrison on Euryelus by surprise. +He himself, with Eurymedon and Menander, took the command, and the +whole Athenian army was engaged in the adventure, except those who +remained behind with Nicias to guard the camp. On a moonlight night in +August, at the hour of the first watch, the march began. Moving +cautiously up the valley of the Anapus, they turned the northern end of +the hill, and reached the path by which Lamachus had ascended in the +spring of the previous year. At first all seemed to promise success to +the Athenians unobserved by the enemy, Demosthenes ascended the hill, +stormed the fort, and, drove the garrison back on the three fortified +camps which flanked the Syracusan counterwall on its northern side. The +fugitives raised the alarm, and the call was promptly answered by a +picked troop of six hundred hoplites, who were stationed nearest to the +point of danger. These men made a gallant stand, but they were +overpowered by superior numbers, and thrust back on the main body of +the Syracusans, who were now advancing under Gylippus to the rescue. +They in their turn were forced to give ground before the impetuous +charge of Demosthenes, and a general panic seemed about to spread +through the whole Syracusan army. Already the Athenians had begun to +throw down the battlements of the counterwall, and if they were allowed +to proceed, Syracuse would once more be exposed to imminent danger. + +But now occurred one of those sudden turns of fortune which were so +common in Greek warfare. As the soldiers of the Athenian van rushed +forward too hotly, wishing to complete the rout of the enemy they fell +into disorder, and in this condition they were confronted by a stout +little troop of Boeotian hoplites, who had found their way to Syracuse +earlier in the summer. This unexpected resistance checked the furious +onset of the Athenians, and the Boeotians, pursuing their advantage, +charged in solid phalanx and put them to flight. Once more the tide of +battle had turned against Athens. Restored to confidence by the steady +valour of their allies, the Syracusans closed their ranks, and advanced +in dense masses up the hill. A scene of indescribable horror and +confusion ensued, so that no one was afterwards able to give a clear +account of what had happened. On the narrow neck of land which forms +the western end of Epipolae two great armies were rushing to the +encounter. On one side was the main body of the Athenians, still +ignorant of the defeat of their comrades, and hurrying forward to share +in the victory. On the other side was the whole host of Syracuse, +advancing with deafening shouts to meet them; and in the middle were +the men of Demosthenes, flying in headlong rout before the conquering +Boeotians. In the uncertain light, the fugitives were at first mistaken +for enemies, and many of them perished miserably by the spears of their +own countrymen. On came the Syracusans, bearing down all before them; +but the Athenians, as they strove to escape, were flung back upon the +enemy by fresh bodies of their own men, who were still thronging by +thousands up the northern path of Euryelus. All semblance of order was +now lost in the Athenian army, which was broken up into detached +parties, some flying, some advancing, and shouting their watchword to +all whom they met, so as to learn whether they had to do with friend or +foe. But the Syracusans soon learnt the watchword, which thus became a +means of betraying the Athenians to their own destruction. To add to +the confusion, the Dorian allies of Athens raised a paean, or war-song, +so similar to that of the Syracusans, that the Athenians fled at their +approach supposing them to be enemies. The grand army of Demosthenes, +which had set out with such high hopes, was now no better than a mob of +wild and desperate men, friend fighting against friend, and citizen +against citizen. At length the whole multitude turned and fled, each +man seeking to save himself as best he could. Some, hard pressed by the +enemy, flung themselves from the cliffs, and were dashed to pieces on +the rocks below; others succeeded in reaching the plain, and found +their way back to the camp of Nicias; while not a few lost their way, +and wandered about the country until the following day, when they were +hunted down and slain by the Syracusan horseman. + +Demosthenes had done all that a man could to recover the ground lost by +Nicias, and resume the aggressive against Syracuse. His well-laid +scheme had ended disastrously, and only one course remained, consistent +with public duty and common sense. To waste the blood and treasure of +Athens in Sicily any longer would be suicidal folly. The Athenians at +home were in a state of siege, and needed every man and every ship for +the defence of their own territory, and the maintenance of their empire +in Greece. Sickness and despondency had already wrought dire havoc +among the troops encamped before Syracuse. To remain was utter ruin, +both to themselves and their fellow-citizens. The sea was still open, +and the new armament, with what remained of the old, would be strong +enough to secure their retreat. Let them embark without delay, turn +their backs on the fatal shores of Sicily, and hoist sail for home. + +These arguments were urged by Demosthenes with unanswerable force at a +private meeting of the generals which was held immediately after the +defeat on Epipolae But unhappily for all those most nearly concerned in +the debate, the influence of Nicias was still supreme in the Athenian +camp; and to spur that gloomy trifler into decisive action was beyond +the power even of Demosthenes. Nicias knew that, if he gave the word to +retreat, in a few weeks he would have to stand before the bar of his +countrymen, and give an account of the great trust which he had +betrayed. It would be better, he thought, to perish under the walls of +Syracuse, than to brave that stern tribunal, and read his doom on those +angry, accusing faces. And apart from these selfish terrors, he was +still in communication with his partisans in Syracuse, who encouraged +him to wait for a favourable turn of affairs. Thus fettered to the spot +both by his hopes and his fears, he obstinately refused to move. + +While Demosthenes argued, and Nicias demurred, Gylippus had not been +idle. A day or two after the battle, he once more left Syracuse, and +traversed the whole length of the island, collecting troops on his way. +At Selinus he was joined by the Peloponnesian and Boeotian soldiers who +had sailed from Taenarum early in the spring, and had just reached that +port, after a long and adventurous voyage. With this welcome addition +to his forces, and thousands more who had answered his call from all +parts of Sicily, he returned to Syracuse, and prepared to put out all +his strength in a general assault on the army and fleet of Athens. + +The Athenians had not yet abandoned their lines on the southern side of +Epipolae, and from this position they watched the arrival of the new +army raised by Gylippus, as it defiled down the slope, and poured +through the gates of Syracuse to swell the ranks of their enemies. In +their own camp the state of things was growing worse every day, and +even Nicias now became convinced that to remain any longer would be +sheer madness. With the hearty concurrence of his colleagues, he gave +his vote for immediate departure, and the order was secretly passed +round the camp that every man should hold himself in readiness to go on +board, as soon as the signal was given. It was necessary to proceed +with caution, for if the enemy were informed of their purpose, they +would have to fight their way through the Syracusan fleet. The +preparations were accordingly made with as little noise as possible and +in a short time all was ready for the voyage. Night sank down on the +Athenian camp, but among all that vast multitude no one thought of +sleep, for the whole host was waiting in breathless eagerness for the +signal to embark. Over the eastern waters the full moon was shining, +making a long path of silver and pointing the way to home. But suddenly +a dark shadow touched the outer rim of that gleaming disk, and crept +stealthily on, until the whole face of the moon was veiled in darkness. +A whisper, a murmur, a shudder went round among those anxious watchers, +and before the shadow had passed away, ten thousand tongues were +eagerly discussing the meaning of that mysterious portent. Most were +agreed that it was a warning from heaven, forbidding their departure +until the angry powers had been appeased by sacrifice and prayer. In +the mind of Nicias, enslaved by the grossest superstition, there was no +room for doubt. He was surrounded by prophets, whose advice he sought +on every occasion, and guided by them he proclaimed that for thrice +nine days, the time required for a complete circuit of the moon, there +could be no talk of departing. + +But the Athenians were soon engaged in a sterner task than the vain +rites of propitiation and penitential observance. The news of their +intended retreat, and its untoward interruption, so raised the spirits +of the Syracusans, that they resolved to risk another sea-fight, and +after some days spent in training their crews, they sailed out with +seventy-six ships, and offered battle, and Gylippus at the same time +attacked the Athenian lines by land. The Athenians succeeded in +repulsing the assault on their walls, but in the encounter between the +fleets, though they out-numbered the enemy by ten ships, they suffered +a decisive defeat. Eurymedon was slain, and eighteen vessels fell into +the hands of the Syracusans, who put all the crews to the sword. + +The pride and ambition of the Syracusans now knew no bounds. Relieved +from all fear for the safety of their city they began to take a loftier +view of the struggle, and to grasp the full compass and grandeur of the +issues involved. It was no mere feud between two rival states, but a +great national conflict, which was to end in the downfall of a +wide-spread usurpation, and the deliverance of a hundred cities from +bondage. The whole naval and military forces of Athens lay crippled and +helpless within their grasp; they would shatter to pieces the +instrument of tyranny, and win an immortal name as the liberators of +all Greece. Their first care was to prevent the escape of the +Athenians, and for this purpose they began to close the mouth of the +Great Harbour by a line of triremes and vessels of burden, anchored +broadside across the channel. + + +X + +The Athenians were thus caught in a trap, and their only hope of saving +themselves was to force the barrier of the Great Harbour, and escape by +sea, or, failing that, to make their way by land to some friendly city. +As a last sad confession of defeat, they withdrew the garrison from +their walls on Epipolae, and reduced the dimensions of their camp, +confining it to a narrow space of the coast, where the fleet lay +moored. Every vessel which could be kept afloat was prepared for +action, and when the whole force was mustered, out of two great +armaments only a hundred and ten were found fit for service. A small +body of troops was left to guard the camp, and all the rest, except +such as were totally disabled by sickness, were distributed as +fighting-men among the ships. For the countrymen of Phormio had now +reverted to the primitive conditions of naval warfare, in which the +trireme was a mere vehicle for carrying troops, and not, as in the days +of that great captain, the chief weapon of offence. Every foot of +standing-room on the decks was occupied by a crowd of hoplites, +javelin-men, archers, and slingers, and on their prowess the issue of +the battle depended. To lay their vessels aboard the enemy with as +little delay as possible, and leave the rest to the soldiers, was now +the chief object of the Athenian captains; and the better to effect. +this, men were stationed on the prows, armed with grappling-irons, to +hold the attacking trireme fast, and prevent her from backing away +after the first shock of collision. + +With hearts full of sad foreboding, the great multitude mustered on the +beach, and waited for the word to embark. On a rising ground, fronting +the camp, the generals; stood grouped in earnest consultation; then +every voice was hushed, as Nicias came forward, and beckoned with his +hand, commanding silence. The form of the general was bowed with years, +and his face lined with pain and sickness, but in his eye there was an +unwonted fire, and his tones rang clear and full, as he reminded his +hearers of the great cause for which they were to fight, and the mighty +interests which hung in the balance that day. "Men of Athens," he said, +"and you, our faithful allies, your lives, your liberty, and the future +of all who are dear to you, are in your own hands. If you would ever +see home again, you must resolve to conquer fortune, even against her +will, like seasoned veterans, inured to the perils and vicissitudes of +war. Hitherto we have generally got the better of the enemy on land and +we are now going to fight a land battle on the sea. As soon as you come +within reach of a Syracusan vessel, fling your grappling-irons, and +hold her fast, until not a man is left alive to defend her deck. This +will be the task of the soldiers, whom I need not tell to do their +duty. And you, seamen of the Athenian fleet, be not dismayed because we +have forsaken our former tactics, but trust to the strong arms of the +fighting men. Remember, those of you who are not of Attic descent, how +long you have enjoyed the high privileges of Athenian citizens, and the +honour reflected on you by your connection with Athens. + +"My last word shall be spoken to you, fellow-citizens, Athenians born +and bred. You know what you have to expect from the Syracusans, if this +last struggle should end in defeat. But consider further what will be +the fate of your friends at home. Their docks are empty, their walls +are stripped of defenders, and if you fail them, Syracuse will unite +with their old enemies, and bear them down. Here, where we stand, are +the army, the fleet, the city, and the great name of Athens; go, then, +and fight as you never fought before, for never yet had soldier such a +prize to win, and such a cause to defend." + +When Nicias had concluded his stirring appeal, the embarkation of the +troops began. As the fatal moment drew nearer and nearer, the anxiety +and distress of the Athenian general became unbearable. Feeling that he +had not said enough, he hurried to and fro, addressing each captain +with an agony of supplication, and imploring him by every sacred +name,--his wife, his children, his country, and his country's gods,--to +play a man's part, forgetting all thoughts of self. Having exhausted +every topic of entreaty, and seen the last man on board, he turned +away, still unsatisfied, and addressed himself to the task of drawing +up the troops left under his command for the defence of the camp. These +were disposed along the shore in as long a line as possible, that they +might encourage those fighting on the sea by their presence, and lend +prompt help in case of need. Behind them, every point of outlook was +held by a throng of anxious spectators,--the sick, the maimed, and the +wounded,--every man who had strength to crawl from his bed, and watch +that last desperate struggle for liberty and home. + +And now the Athenian admirals, Demosthenes, Menander, and Euthydemus, +raised the signal, and the great fight began. The foremost ships +succeeded in reaching the mouth of the Great Harbour, and began to +break through the barrier, when the whole Syracusan fleet closed in +upon them on all sides, and forced them back Then the battle became +general, and soon the two fleets were scattered over the whole surface +of the bay in little groups, and each group engaged in a wild and +furious melee. There was no attempt to manoeuvre, but ship encountered +ship; as accident brought them together, and advanced to the attack, +under a shower of javelins and arrows. Then followed the dull crash of +collision, and the fierce rush of the fighting-men, as they endeavoured +to board. Here and there could be seen knots of three or four triremes, +locked together with shattered hulls and broken oars, while the +soldiers on the decks strove for the mastery. Nearly two hundred +triremes, and some forty thousand men, were engaged in that tumultuous +fight; and the thunder of the oars, the crash of colliding triremes, +and the yells of the assailants, raised an uproar so tremendous that it +was impossible to hear the voice of command. All order and method was +lost, yet still they fought on, the Syracusans with a savage thirst for +vengeance, the Athenians with the fury of despair; and for a long time +the issue remained doubtful. + +All this scene of havoc and carnage was witnessed by the whole +population of Syracuse, who thronged the walls, or stood in arms along +the shore, and followed every incident with breathless interest. But +above all among the Athenians left behind in the camp excitement was +strained to the point of anguish. Here the view was more restricted, +and each group of spectators had its attention fixed on some one of the +many encounters which were raging in different parts of the bay. Some +who saw their friends conquering, shouted with joy and triumph; some +shrieked in terror, as an Athenian ship went down; and others, when the +combat long wavered, rocked their bodies to and fro in an agony of +suspense. Thus at the same moment every shifting turn of battle, +victory and defeat, panic and rally, flight and pursuit, was mirrored +on those pale faces, and echoed in a thousand mingled cries. + +But at length these discordant voices were united in one general note +of horror, as the whole Athenian fleet, or all that was left of it, was +seen making in headlong rout for the upper end of the bay, with the +victorious Syracusans pressing hard behind. Then most of those who were +watching from the shore were seized with uncontrollable terror, and +sought to hide themselves in holes and corners of the camp; while a +few, who were more stout-hearted, waded into the water, to save the +ships, or rushed to defend the walls on the land side. But for the +present the Syracusans were contented with their victory, and after +chasing the fugitive triremes as far as their defences, they wheeled +and rowed back across the Great Harbour, through floating corpses, and +the wrecks of more than seventy vessels. On their arrival at Syracuse +they were hailed with such a burst of enthusiasm as had rarely been +witnessed in any Greek city. The victory, indeed, had been dearly +bought, but it was well worth the cost, and the power of Athens had +sustained a blow from which it could never recover. But among all the +thronging hosts of Syracuse, who now gave themselves up to revel and +rejoicing, there was one man at least who knew that even now the danger +was not yet past. Forty thousand Athenian soldiers were still encamped +within sight of the walls, and if they were allowed to escape, they +might establish themselves in some friendly city, and begin the war +again. All this was strongly felt by Hermocrates, and he lost no time +in imparting his cares and anxieties to the responsible leaders. The +Athenians, he urged, would be almost certain to decamp during the +night: let a strong force be sent out at once from Syracuse, to occupy +all the roads, and cut off their retreat. The advice was good, but in +the present temper of the army it was felt to be impracticable. The +whole city had become a scene of riot and wassail, and if the order +were given to march, it was but too evident that not a man would obey. +Baffled in this direction, the keen-witted Syracusan hit upon another +plan, which he at once proceeded to carry into effect. + +Hermocrates was not mistaken in his conjecture. The beaten and +dispirited Athenians had now but one thought,--to break up their camp +with all despatch, and make their escape by land. They had still sixty +triremes left, and Demosthenes proposed to make one more attempt to +force the entrance of the Great Harbour; but when his suggestion was +made known to the crews, they broke into open mutiny, and flatly +refused to go on board. The generals were therefore compelled to adopt +the only alternative, and it was resolved to set out on that very +night. But Fortune had not yet exhausted her malice against the hapless +Athenians. The order to strike camp had been issued, and the soldiers +were busy preparing for the march, when a party of horsemen rode up to +the Athenian outposts, and hailing the sentinels, said that they had a +message to Nicias from his friends in Syracuse. "Tell him," said the +spokesman of the party, "That he must not attempt to stir to-night, for +all the roads are held by strong detachments of the Syracusans. Let him +wait until he has organised his forces, for a hasty and disordered +flight is sure to end in disaster." + +The message, of course, came from Hermocrates, who had contrived this +trick to delay the departure of the Athenians, until time had been +gained to occupy the passes on their route. That Nicias should have +fallen into the snare is not surprising, but it is less easy to explain +how Demosthenes and the other generals came to be deceived by so +transparent a fraud. Yet such was in fact the case; the insidious hint +was accepted as a piece of friendly advice, and the march was +postponed. For a whole day and night the Athenians still lingered on +the spot, and thus gave ample time for their enemies to draw the net +round them, and block every avenue to safety. + +On the third day after the battle, the order was given to march. As the +great army formed into column, the full horror of their situation came +home to every heart. This, then, was the end of those grand dreams of +conquest with which they had sailed to Sicily two years before! On the +heights of Epipolae their walls and their fort was still standing, a +monument of failure and defeat. Each familiar landmark reminded them of +some fallen comrade, or some disastrous incident in the siege. If they +glanced towards the Great Harbour, they could see the victorious +Syracusans towing off the shattered hull of an Athenian trireme, the +last sad remnant of two great armaments. If they turned their thoughts +towards Athens and home, they found no comfort there; for their beloved +city was beset with enemies, and in themselves, beaten and broken as +they were, lay her chief hope of salvation. The past was all black with +calamity, and the future loomed terrible before them, threatening +captivity and death; and the present, in that last hour of parting, was +full of such sights and sounds of woe as might have stirred pity even +in the breasts of their enemies. Around them, the camp was strewn with +the unburied corpses of brothers, comrades and sons, and thousands more +were tossing on the waves, or flung up on the shores of the bay. And +while the neglect of that sacred duty pressed heavily on their +conscience, still more harrowing were the cries of the sick and +wounded, who clung round their knees, imploring to be taken with them, +and when the army began to move followed with tottering steps, until +they sank down exhausted, calling down the curse of heaven on the +retreating host. Such was the anguish of that moment, that it seemed as +if the whole population of some great city had been driven into exile, +and was seeking a new home in a distant soil. + +In this dire extremity, when the strongest spirits were crushed with +misery, one voice was heard, which still spoke of hope. It was the +voice of Nicias, who, when all others faltered, rose to a pitch of +heroism which he had never shown before. Bowed as he was with care, and +wasted by disease, he braced himself with more than human energy, and +moved with light step from rank to rank, exhorting that stricken +multitude in words of power. "Comrades," he said, "even now there is no +need to despair. Others have been saved before now from calamities yet +deeper than ours. You see in what state I am, cast down from the summit +of human prosperity, and condemned, in my age and weakness, to share +the hardships of the humblest soldier among you,--I, who was ever +constant in the service of the gods, and punctual in the performance of +every social duty. Yet have I not lost faith in the righteousness of +heaven, nor should you give up all for lost, if by any act of yours you +have fallen under the scourge of divine vengeance. There is mercy, as +well as justice, among the gods, and we, in sinking thus low, have +become the proper objects of their compassion. Think too what firm +ground of confidence we have, in the shields and spears of so many +thousand warriors. There is no power in Sicily which can resist us, +either to prevent our coming or to shorten our stay. A few days march +will bring us to the country of the friendly Sicels, who have already +received notice of our approach. Once there, we can defy all attack, +and look forward to the time when we shall see our homes again, and +raise up the fallen power of Athens." + +These and similar exhortations were repeated by Nicias again and again, +as the army moved slowly forwards up the valley of the Anapus, keeping +a westerly direction, towards the interior of the island. The troops +were formed in a hollow oblong, with the baggage animals and +camp-followers in the middle, and advanced in two divisions, Nicias +leading the van, and Demosthenes bringing up the rear. The vigilance +and activity of Nicias never relaxed for a moment. Careless of his many +infirmities and exalted rank, he passed incessantly up and down the +column, chiding the stragglers, and attending to the even trim of his +lines. On reaching the ford of the Anapus, they put to flight a +detachment of the enemy which was stationed there to oppose their +passage, and crossing the river, continued their march. But now the +real difficulties of the retreat began to appear. The Syracusans had no +intention of hazarding a pitched battle, but their horsemen and light +infantry hung upon the flanks of the Athenian army, making sudden +charges, and keeping up a constant discharge of javelins. + +At nightfall the Athenians encamped under the shelter of a hill, some +five miles from their starting-point, and setting out at daybreak on +the following day, they pushed on with pain and difficulty, harassed at +every step by the galling attacks of the Syracusan troops. [Footnote: +Thucydides, with characteristic brevity, leaves this to be inferred +from the slowness of their progress.] A march of two miles and a half +brought them to a village, situated on a level plain, and here they +halted, wishing to supply themselves with food, and replenish their +water-vessels; for the country which they had now to traverse was a +desert, many miles in extent. Directly in their line of route there is +a narrow pass, when the road, on entering the hill country, drops sheer +down on either side into a deep ravine, and if they could once cross +this dangerous point they would be within reach of their allies, the +Sicels. But it was too late to proceed further that day, and while they +lay encamped in the village, the Syracusans hurried on in advance, and +blocked the pass by building a wall across the road. When the Athenians +resumed their march next morning, they were fiercely assailed by the +enemy's light horse and foot, who disputed every inch of ground, and at +last compelled them to fall back on the village where they had encamped +the night before. Provisions were now growing scanty, and every attempt +to leave their lines in search of plunder and forage was baffled by the +Syracusan horse. + +On the fourth day they broke up their camp early, and by incessant +fighting succeeded in forcing their way as far as the pass. But all +further advance was prevented by the wall, and the dense masses of +infantry posted behind it. In vain the Athenians flung themselves again +and again upon the barrier. The troops stationed on the cliffs above +assailed them with a shower of missiles, and the solid phalanx of +hoplites repulsed every assault. Convinced at last that they were +wasting their strength to no purpose, they desisted, and retiring from +the wall halted at some distance for a brief interval of repose. During +this pause a storm of rain and thunder broke over their heads; and to +the weary and disheartened Athenians it seemed that the very elements +were in league with the enemy against them. But they had little time to +indulge in these melancholy reflections; for while they were resting, +Gylippus stole round to their rear, and prepared to cut off their +retreat by building a second wall across the pass. The news of this +imminent peril roused the Athenians from their stupor, and they marched +back with all speed along the road by which they had come. A picked +body of troops, sent on in advance, scattered the soldiers of Gylippus, +and the whole army then emerged from that death-trap, and encamped for +the night in the open plain. + +The next day was spent in a last desperate effort to reach the hill +country. But being now on level ground, they were exposed on all sides +to the attacks of the Syracusan horse, who charged them incessantly, +and slew their men by hundreds, with hardly any loss to themselves. The +hopeless struggle continued until evening, and when the enemy drew off, +they left the Athenians not a mile from the place where they had passed +the previous night. + +The original plan of the Athenian generals had been to penetrate the +highlands of Sicily to the west of Syracuse, and then strike across +country, until they reached the southern coast, in the direction of +Gela or Camarina. [Footnote: I have followed Holm, as cited in +Classen's Appendix (Third Edition, 1908).] But after two days' fighting +they had utterly failed to force an entrance into the mountains. Many +of their soldiers were wounded, the whole army was weakened by famine, +and a third attempt, made in such conditions, must inevitably end in +utter disaster. They resolved therefore to change their route, and +march southwards along the level coast country, until they could reach +the interior by following one of the numerous glens which pierce the +hills on this side of Sicily. Having come to this decision, they caused +a great number of fires to be lighted, and then gave the order for an +immediate start, hoping by this means to steal a march on the enemy. +This sudden flight through the darkness, in a hostile country, with +unknown terrors around them, caused something like a panic in the +Athenian army. + +Nicias, however, who was still leading the van, contrived to keep his +men together, and made good progress; but the division under +Demosthenes fell into great disorder, and was left far behind. By +daybreak, both divisions [Footnote: See note, p. 242.] were within +sight of the sea, and entering the road which runs north and south +between Syracuse and Helorus, they continued their march towards the +river Cacyparis. Here they intended to turn off into the interior, with +the assistance of the Sicels, whom they expected to meet at the river. +But when they reached the ford of the Cacyparis, they found, instead of +the Sicels, a contingent of Syracusan troops, who were raising a wall +and palisade to block the passage. This obstruction was overcome +without much difficulty, and the whole Athenian army crossed the river +in safety. But the presence of the enemy on this side of Syracuse was +sufficient to deter them from taking the inland route by the valley of +the Cacyparis, and following the advice of their guides, they kept the +main road, and pressed on towards the south. + +We must now return for a moment to the Syracusans under Gylippus, who +remained in their camp all night, not far from the pass which they had +so successfully defended. When they found in the morning that the +Athenians had departed, they were loud in their anger against Gylippus, +thinking that he had purposely suffered them to escape. The tracks of +so many thousands left no room for doubt as to the direction which the +fugitives had taken, and full of rage at the supposed treachery of +their leader, the Syracusans set out at once in hot pursuit. About +noon, on the sixth day of the retreat, they overtook the division of +Demosthenes, which had again lagged behind, and was marching slowly and +in disorder separated from the other half of the army by a distance of +six miles. Deprived of all hope of succour from his colleague, and +hemmed in on all sides by implacable enemies, Demosthenes called a +halt, and prepared to make his last stand. But his men, who from the +first had held the post of honour and danger, were fearfully reduced in +numbers, faint with famine, and exhausted by their long march. Driven +to and fro by the incessant charges of the Syracusan cavalry, they +could make no effective resistance, and at last they huddled pell-mell +into a walled enclosure, planted with olive-trees, and skirted on +either side by a road. They were now at the mercy of the Syracusans. +who surrounded the enclosure, and plied them with javelins, stones, and +arrows. After this butchery had continued for many hours, and the +survivors were brought to extremity by wounds, hunger, and thirst, +Gylippus sent a herald, who was the bearer of a remarkable message. +"Let those of you," he said, "who are natives of the islands subject to +Athens, come over to us, and you shall be free men." The offer was +addressed to the Greeks from the maritime cities of the Aegaean, who +might be supposed to be serving under compulsion, and it speaks volumes +for the loyalty and attachment of these men to Athens that most of them +refused to accept their freedom from the hands of her enemies. At +length, however, the whole army of Demosthenes, which had now dwindled +to six thousand men, was induced to surrender, on condition that none +of them should suffer death by violence, by bonds, or by starvation. At +the command of their captors they gave up the money which they had with +them, and the amount collected was so considerable that it filled the +hollows of four shields. When the capitulation was concluded, +Demosthenes, who had refused to make any terms for himself, drew his +sword, and attempted to take his own life; [Footnote: This interesting +fact is recorded by Plutarch and Pausanias, who copied it from the +contemporary Syracusan historian, Philistus.] but he was prevented from +effecting his purpose, and compelled to take his place in the mournful +procession which was now conducted by a strong guard along the road to +Syracuse. + +Meanwhile the vanguard under Nicias, in total ignorance of the fate +which had befallen their comrades, marched steadily forwards, and +crossing the river Erineus, encamped for the night on a neighbouring +hill. Here they were found next morning by Gylippus and the Syracusans, +who informed them that Demosthenes and his men had surrendered, and +called upon them to do the same. Doubting their good faith, Nicias +obtained a truce, while he sent a horseman to ascertain the facts; and +even when he had learnt the truth from his messenger, he still tried to +parley, offering, in the name of the Athenian state, to defray the +whole cost of the war, and to give hostages for payment, at the rate of +an Athenian citizen for each talent, on condition that he and his men +were allowed to go. But the Syracusans were in no mood to listen to +such proposals, even if Nicias had spoken with full authority from +Athens. Bare life they would grant, but no more, and as the Athenians +refused to yield on these terms, they closed in upon them, and the +cruel, hopeless struggle began again, and continued until evening. The +wretched Athenians lay down supperless to snatch a few hours of rest, +intending, when all was quiet, to steal away under cover of darkness. +But when they rose at dead of night, and prepared to march, a shout +from the Syracusan camp warned them that the enemy were on the alert, +and they were compelled to return to their comfortless bivouac. Three +hundred, however, persisted in their intention, and forcing their way +through the Syracusan lines, gained for themselves a brief respite from +capture. + +A whole week had now elapsed since the ill-fated army left its quarters +on the shores of the Great Harbour, and a few thousand starving and +weary men were all that remained of that great host. At dawn on the +eighth day Nicias gave the word to march, and they pressed on eagerly +towards the Assinarus, a stream of some size, with high and precipitous +banks, not more than two miles distant from their last halting-place. +They had still some faint hope of making good their escape, if they +could but cross the river. So they fought their way onwards, through +the swarming ranks of the Syracusans, who closed them in on all sides, +and thrust them together into one solid mass. There was life, there was +freedom a little way beyond,--or, if that hope proved futile, at any +rate there was water; and every fibre in their bodies ached and burned +with intolerable thirst. They reached the river; both banks were +already lined by the Syracusan horse, who had ridden on before, and +stood guarding the ford: but there was no stopping the wild rush of +that maddened, desperate multitude. Down the steep bank they plunged, +trampling on one another, and flung themselves open-mouthed upon the +stream, with one thought, one wish, overpowering every other +impulse,--to drink, and then to die. Some fell upon the spears of their +comrades, and perished, others slipped on the floating baggage, lost +their foothold, and were swept away by the flood. Yet still they poured +on, by hundreds and by thousands, drawn by the same longing, and thrust +downwards by the weight of those behind, until the whole riverbed was +filled with a huddled, surging mob of furious men, who drank, and still +drank, or fought with one another to reach the water. All this time an +iron storm of missiles rained down upon them from the thronging hosts +of their enemies on the banks above, while some, in the midst of their +draught, were pierced by the spears of the Peloponnesians, who followed +them into the river, and slew them at close quarters. The water grew +red with blood, and foul from the trampling of so many feet, but the +thirsty multitude still came crowding in, and drank with avidity of the +polluted stream. + +For a long time the slaughter raged unchecked, and the river-bed was +choked with heaps of slain. A few, who escaped from the river, were +pursued and cut down by the Syracusan horse. Nicias had held out until +the last moment; but when he perceived that all was lost, his men being +powerless either to fight or fly, he made his way to Gylippus, and +implored him to stop the useless carnage. "I surrender myself," he +said, "to you and the Spartans. Do with me as you please, but put an +end to this butchery of defenceless men." Gylippus gave the necessary +order, and the word was passed round to kill no more, but take captive +those who survived. The order was obeyed, though slowly and with +reluctance, and the work of capture began. But few of those taken in +the river ever found their way into the public gaol, where Demosthenes +was now lying, with the six thousand who had surrendered on the day +before. For, as there had been no regular capitulation, large numbers +of the prisoners were secretly conveyed away by the Syracusans, who +afterwards sold them into slavery for their own profit. As for the +three hundred who had broken out of camp on the previous night, they +were presently brought in by a party of cavalry despatched in pursuit. + +When the first transports of joy and triumph were over, an assembly was +called to decide on the fate of the two Athenian generals, and of those +state prisoners, some seven thousand in number, who were the sole +visible remnant of two great armies. Then arose a strange conflict of +motives. The first who put forward his claims was Gylippus, to whose +genius and energy the victorious issue of the struggle was mainly due. +As a reward for his services, he asked that Nicias and Demosthenes +should be left to his disposal, for he wished to have the honour of +carrying home with him these famous captains, one the greatest friend, +the other the greatest enemy of Sparta. But the general voice of the +assembly was strongly against him. Nothing but the blood of the two +principal offenders could satisfy the vengeance of the Syracusans, and +those who had intrigued with Nicias were anxious to put him out of the +way, in fear lest he should betray them. Moreover the Corinthian allies +of Syracuse, who for some reason had a special grudge against Nicias, +demanded his immediate execution. In vain Hermocrates pleaded the cause +of mercy, [Footnote: Plutarch, _Nicias_, c. 28.] and urged his +fellow-citizens to make a generous use of their victory. Sentence of +death was passed, and these two eminent Athenians, so different in +character and achievement, were united in their end. + +Far worse was the doom pronounced on the six thousand men of +Demosthenes, and the thousand more who were brought to Syracuse after +the massacre at the Assinarus. They were condemned to confinement in +the stone quarries, deep pits surrounded by high walls of cliff, under +the south-eastern edge of Epipolae. Penned together in these roofless +dungeons, they were exposed to the fierce heat of the sun by day, and +to the bitter cold of the autumn nights, and having scarcely room to +move, they were unable to preserve common decency, or common +cleanliness. Many died of their wounds, or of the diseases engendered +by exposure, and their bodies were left unburied, a sight of horror and +a source of infection to the survivors. To these frightful miseries +were added a perpetual burning thirst, and the lingering torture of +slow starvation, for each man received as his daily allowance a poor +half pint of water, and a mere pittance of food, just enough to avoid +breaking the letter of the conditions which Demosthenes had made for +his troops. In this state they were left without relief for ten long +weeks; then all except the Athenians themselves, and their allies from +the Greek cities of Sicily and Italy, were taken out and sold as slaves. + + + + +EPILOGUE + +Such was the end of the Sicilian Expedition, which ultimately decided +the issue of the Peloponnesian War. Forsaking the wise counsels of +their greatest statesman, and carried away by the mad sophistry of +Alcibiades, the Athenians had committed themselves, heart and soul, to +a wild game of hazard, in which they had little to win, and everything +to lose. By this act of desperate folly they brought on themselves an +overwhelming disaster, from which it was impossible for them wholly to +recover. With wonderful vitality they rallied from the blow, and +struggled on for nine years more, against the whole power of +Peloponnesus, and their own revolted allies, backed by the influence +and the gold of Persia. They gained great victories, and under prudent +leaders they might still have been saved from the worst consequences of +their defeat in Sicily. But at every favourable crisis they wantonly +flung away the advantage they had gained, and abandoned themselves to +blind guides, who led them further and further on the road to ruin. + +The history of Thucydides ends abruptly in the twenty-first year of the +war, and for an account of the closing scenes we have to go to the +pages of Xenophon. It will be convenient, therefore, to bring our +narrative to a close at the point which we have reached, for any +attempt even to sketch the events of this confused and troubled period +would carry us far beyond the limits of the present volume. And so for +the present we take leave of the Athenians, in the hour of their +decline. Their light is burning dim, and yet darker days are awaiting +them in the future. But they are still great and illustrious, as the +chief guardians of those spiritual treasures which are our choicest +heritage from the past. + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Stories from Thucydides, by H. L. Havell + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORIES FROM THUCYDIDES *** + +***** This file should be named 9074.txt or 9074.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/9/0/7/9074/ + +Produced by Charles Franks, Delphine Lettau and Project +Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders. 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Havell + +Release Date: October, 2005 [EBook #9074] +[This file was first posted on September 3, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: US-ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, STORIES FROM THUCYDIDES *** + + + + +E-text prepared by Charles Franks, Delphine Lettau and Project Gutenberg +Distributed Proofreaders
+ + + + + + + +STORIES FROM THUCYDIDES + +RETOLD BY H. L. HAVELL B. A. + +FORMERLY SCHOLAR OF UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OXFORD + + + + + + + + _O my poor Kingdom, sick with civil blows!_ + SHAKESPEARE, _Henry IV_. + + + + +CONTENTS + +PROLOGUE +CORINTH AND CORCYRA +THE SURPRISE OF PLATAEA +THE PLAGUE AT ATHENS +INVESTMENT OF PLATAEA +NAVAL VICTORIES OF PHORMIO +THE REVOLT OF LESBOS +ESCAPE OF TWO HUNDRED PLATAEANS. FALL OF PLATAEA +CAPTURE OF A HUNDRED AND TWENTY SPARTANS AT SPHACTERIA +CAMPAIGNS OF BRASIDAS IN THRACE +THE HOLLOW PEACE +THE ATHENIANS IN SICILY +EPILOGUE + + + + +PROLOGUE + +In a former volume we have traced the course of events which ended in +the complete overthrow of Xerxes and his great army. Our present task +is to describe the chief incidents in the cruel and devastating war, +commonly known as the Peloponnesian War, which lasted for twenty-seven +years, and finally broke up the Athenian Empire. The cause of that war +was the envy and hatred excited in the other states of Greece by the +power and greatness of Athens; and in order to make our story +intelligible we must indicate briefly the steps by which she rose to +that dangerous eminence, and drew upon herself the armed hostility of +half the Greek world. + +We take up our narrative at the point of time when the Athenians +returned to their ruined homes after the defeat of the Persians at +Plataea. Of their ancient city nothing remained but a few houses which +had served as lodgings for the Persian grandees, and some scattered +fragments of the surrounding wall. Their first task was to restore the +outer line of defence, and by the advice of Themistocles the new wall +took in a much wider circuit than the old rampart which had been +destroyed by the Persians. The whole population toiled night and day +to raise the bulwark which was to guard their temples and their homes, +using as materials the walls of the houses which had been sacked and +burnt by the Persians, with whatever remained of public buildings, +sacred or profane, and sparing not even the monumental pillars of +graves in the urgency of their need. + +But jealous eyes were watching them, and busy tongues were wagging +against that gallant race of Attica which had been foremost in the +common cause against the barbarian invader. "These Athenians are +dangerous neighbours," was the cry. "Let us stop them from building +their wall, or Athens will become a standing menace to ourselves." +Before long these murmurs reached the ears of the Spartans, and they +sent envoys to dissuade the Athenians from fortifying their city. +Their real purpose was disguised under the mask of anxiety for the +general safety of Greece. "It is not expedient," they urged, "that the +Persians, when next they come against us, should find fenced cities +which they may make their strongholds, as they have lately done in +Athens and in Thebes. Cease, therefore, from building this wall, and +help us to destroy all such defences, outside of Peloponnesus. If we +are attacked again, we will unite our forces within the isthmus, and +meet the invader from there." + +But Themistocles was not the man to be hoodwinked by the simple +cunning of the Spartans. By his advice the Athenians dismissed the +envoys, promising to send an embassy to discuss the matter at Sparta. +As soon as they were gone, Themistocles caused himself to be appointed +as head of the embassy, and set out at once for Sparta, instructing +the Athenians to keep his colleagues back until the wall had been +raised to a sufficient height for purposes of defence. Arrived at +Sparta, he kept himself close in his lodging, and declined all +conference with the authorities, alleging that he could do nothing +without his colleagues. + +Meanwhile the Athenians were making incredible efforts to carry on the +work which was essential to their liberty and prosperity. Men, women, +and children toiled without intermission, and the wall was rapidly +approaching a defensible height. The clamour of their enemies grew +louder and louder, and angry messages reached the Spartans everyday, +reproaching them with their supineness and procrastination. Being +asked the meaning of these reports, Themistocles professed total +ignorance, and bade the Spartans send men to Athens to see for +themselves. The Spartans did so, and when the men arrived at Athens +the Athenians, who had been privately warned by Themistocles, kept +them in custody, as hostages for their own representatives at Sparta. +Themistocles had meanwhile been joined by his partners in the embassy, +and learning from them that the wall was now of sufficient height, he +spoke out plainly, and let the Spartans understand what his true +purpose was. "Athens," he said, "is once more a fortified city, and we +are able to discuss questions of public or private interest on a +footing of equality. When we forsook all, and took to our ships to +fight for the common weal, it was done without prompting of yours; and +that peril being past, we shall take such measures as concern our +safety, without leave asked of you. And in serving ourselves, we are +serving you also; for if Athens is not free, how can she give an +unbiased vote in questions which concern the general welfare of +Greece?" + +It was impossible for the Spartans to express open resentment at a +plea so moderate and so reasonable. But they were secretly annoyed to +find that their malice had been detected and exposed; and by this +incident was sown the first seed of ill-will which was afterwards to +bear such bitter fruit for Athens and for Greece. For the present, +however, the affair was ended, and the first step secured for the +Athenians in their career of glory and power. + +Themistocles was the first who clearly saw that the future of Athens +lay on the sea. But if Athens was to hold and extend her position as +the first naval power in Greece, it was above all things necessary +that she should have a strong and fortified station for her fleets, +her arsenals, and her dockyards. Nature had provided her with what she +needed, in the peninsula of Peiraeus, which juts out into the Saronic +Gulf, about five miles south-west of the inland town. As soon as the +city-wall was completed, fortifications of immense strength were +carried round the whole of Peiraeus; and within this vast rampart rose +a second city, equal in size to the old one, with streets laid out in +straight lines, and filled with the stir and bustle of a maritime +population. Three land-locked harbours gave ample room for the fleets +of Athens to lie in shelter and safety; and this great sea-port town +was afterwards united to the original city by two long walls, which +met the sea, one at the north-western corner of Peiraeus, and the +other at the south-eastern point of the Bay of Phalerum. Between +these, at a later period, a third wall was built, running parallel to +the northern wall at a distance of about two hundred feet, and known +as the Southern or Middle Wall. + +Many years elapsed before these important works were completed; and in +the meantime great events had been happening in other parts of the +Greek world, tending more and more to realise the dream of +Themistocles, and make his beloved city the undisputed mistress of the +sea. After the defeat of the Persian armies and fleets at Salamis, +Plataea, and Mycale, much hard work remained to be done, in reducing +the outlying cities on the coasts of Thrace and in the eastern corners +of the Aegaean, which held out for the Great King. The Spartans were +still nominal leaders of the allied Greek navy; but after a year of +service they resigned this position, which they owed to their +acknowledged supremacy in land warfare, to the Athenians. They were +induced to take this step, partly by their own aversion to foreign +enterprises, and partly by the misconduct of their general Pausanias, +who had disgusted the allies serving under him in the fleet by his +intolerable arrogance and tyranny. The field was thus left open to the +Athenians, who willingly assumed the command offered them by the +maritime cities of Greece, with the object of prosecuting the war +vigorously against Persia. Each city was assessed to furnish a fixed +contribution of ships or money, and the sacred island of Delos was +appointed as the common treasury and meeting-place of the league. Thus +was formed the famous Delian Confederacy, with the avowed purpose of +making reprisals on the Great King's territory for the havoc which he +had wrought in Greece. For a time all went smoothly, and the various +members of the league fought under Athens as her independent allies. +But by degrees the Greeks from the islands and coast-lands of Asia +began to weary of their arduous duties, and murmured against the +Athenians, who proved hard task-masters, and compelled them by force +to perform their part in the bargain. One by one the cities revolted +from the leadership of Athens, were attacked by her navies, and +reduced to the position of subjects and tributaries. Others +voluntarily withdrew from all active co-operation in the war, agreeing +to pay a fixed annual sum as a substitute for service in the fleet. +And before the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War the two powerful +islands of Lesbos and Chios were the only members of the original +league who still retained their independence. + +Such were the circumstances which led to the foundation of the +Athenian Empire, which grew up, by the force of necessity, out of the +decay of a confederacy born of a common need, and organised for the +special benefit of the Asiatic Greeks. For the names of the Greek +cities on the coasts of Asia Minor still figured in the Persian +tribute-lists; and the moment that the grasp of Athens relaxed on the +confines of the King's dominions, after the ruinous defeat in Sicily, +Persian tax-gatherers came knocking at the gates of Ephesus and +Miletus, demanding the arrears of tribute. So urgent was the need +supplied by the energy of Athens, and so blind were these Greeks of +Asia Minor to their own interests. + +The visible sign of this momentous change, by which the Delian +Confederacy became merged in the Athenian Empire, was the removal of +the treasury from Delos to Athens. The Athenians now undertook the +whole administration of the common fund, using the surplus for the +adornment of Athens by magnificent public buildings. This +appropriation seems reasonable enough, when we consider that the whole +burden of defending the eastern Greeks against Persia, and keeping the +barbarian out of Greek waters, now lay upon Athens. This great public +duty, which had been thrown upon her by the indifference of Sparta, +and the unmanly sloth of her own allies, was faithfully performed; and +she might well ask why she should be called upon to lavish the blood +of her own citizens for nothing. That Athens should be great, +splendid, and powerful, was not only a reward due to her public spirit +and devotion to the common cause, but also a guarantee for the general +dignity and liberty of Greeks. And we, who have still before us the +remnants of her temples and statues, and learn from them what man can +accomplish under the inspiration of great ideals, need not scan too +closely her claim to appropriate the funds which she employed for so +noble a purpose. For this was the great age of Grecian art, the age of +Phidias, Polycletus, Myron, and Polygnotus. The greatest of these was +Phidias; and in the Parthenon, or Temple of the Virgin Goddess, +[Footnote: Athene, the patron goddess of Athens.] built under his +direction on the Acropolis at Athens, he has left the most enduring +monument of his fame. He also designed the Propylaea, a magnificent +columned vestibule, fronting the broad flight of steps which led up to +the western entrance of the Acropolis. But the most renowned of his +works was the gigantic statue of the Olympian Zeus, wrought in gold +and ivory, which was the chief glory of the temple at Olympia. Of this +sublime creation, the highest expression of divinity achieved by the +ancients, only the fame survives. These triumphs of art were not +brought to completion until nearly the close of the period of forty- +eight years which separates the Persian from the Peloponnesian War; +and it is now necessary to glance backward, and touch briefly on the +principal events which occurred after the formation of the Delian +Confederacy. The war was carried on with energy against Persia, and +hostilities continued at intervals for thirty years after the battle +of Plataea. [Footnote: B.C. 479-449.] + +The chief leader in these enterprises was the heroic Cimon, leader of +the conservative party at Athens, and the great rival of Pericles; and +his most brilliant exploit was a crushing defeat inflicted on the +Persian army and fleet at the mouth of the river Eurymedon in +Pamphylia. But the victorious career of the Athenians received a +severe check twelve years later in Egypt, where a large force of ships +and men was totally destroyed by the Persian general Megabyzus. The +war dragged on for five years longer, and peace was then concluded on +terms highly advantageous to the Greeks. Shortly before this, Cimon, +who had been the chief promoter of the war, died at Cyprus. + +The same years which brought to a successful issue the long struggle +with Persia witnessed a renewal of those internal conflicts by which +the energies of Greece were finally exhausted, leaving her an easy +prey to the arms of Macedon. The guilt of renewing these suicidal +quarrels lies with the Spartans, who had long been nursing their +grudge against Athens, and were waiting for the opportunity to inflict +on her a fatal blow. Fifteen years [Footnote: B.C. 464. ] after the +battle of Plataea they seized the occasion when the Athenians were +engaged with a large part of their forces in carrying on operations +against the revolted island of Thasos to prepare an invasion of +Attica. But at the very moment when they were meditating this act of +perfidy a double disaster fell upon them at home, demanding all their +exertions to save them from ruin. Sparta was levelled to the ground by +a terrible earthquake, in which twenty thousand of her citizens +perished; and in the midst of the panic caused by this awful calamity +the Helots rose in arms against their oppressors, and forming an +alliance with the Messenian subjects of Sparta, entrenched themselves +in a strong position on Mount Ithome. Here they maintained themselves +for two years, defying all the efforts of the Spartans to drive them +from their stronghold. In spite of their recent treachery, the +Spartans were not ashamed to apply to Athens for help: and chiefly +through the influence of Cimon, whose laurels from the Eurymedon were +still fresh, four thousand Athenian hoplites [Footnote: Heavy-armed +foot-soldiers.] were sent under his command to aid in dislodging the +Helots. The Athenians were famous for their skill in attacking +fortified places; but on this occasion they were unsuccessful, and the +Spartans, whose evil conscience made them prone to suspicion, at once +began to doubt the honesty of their intentions, and dismissed them +with scant ceremony. This unfriendly act helped to embitter the +relations between the two leading cities of Greece; and two years +later, when the Messenians were expelled from Ithome, and driven into +exile, the Athenians settled them with their families at Naupactus, an +important strategic position on the north of the Corinthian Gulf, +which has recently fallen into the hands of Athens. + +Deeply offended by the affront received at Ithome, the Athenians now +formed an alliance with Argos, the ancient rival and bitter enemy of +Sparta. Thessaly, connected with Athens by old ties of friendship, +joined the league; and Megara, now suffering from the oppressions of +Corinth, made a fourth. + +Within sight of the shores of Attica lies the island of Aegina, famous +in legend as the home of Aeacus, grandfather of Achilles, and +distinguished for its school of sculpture, and for its mighty breed of +athletes, whose feats are celebrated in the laureate strains of +Pindar. The Aeginetans had obtained the first prize for valour +displayed in the battle of Salamis, and for many years they had +pressed the Athenians hard in the race for maritime supremacy. They +were now attacked by an overwhelming Athenian force, and after a +stubborn resistance were totally defeated, and compelled to enroll +themselves among the subjects of Athens. A still harder fate was +reserved for the hapless Dorian islanders in the next generation. + +In the following nine years [Footnote: B.C. 456-447.] the power of +Athens reached its greatest height, and for a moment it seemed as if +she were destined to extend her empire over the whole mainland of +Greece. By the victory of Oenophyta, gained over the Boeotians just +before the reduction of Aegina, Athens became mistress of all the +central provinces of the Greek peninsula, from the pass of Thermopylae +to the gulf of Corinth. The alliance of Megara, lately united by long +walls to its harbour of Nisaea, secured her from invasion on the side +of Peloponnesus. The great island of Euboea, with its rich pastures +and fruitful corn lands, had, since the Persian War, become an +Athenian estate, and was jealously guarded as one of her most valuable +possessions; and on the sea, from the eastern corner of the Euxine to +the strait of Gibraltar, there was none to dispute her sway. + +But this rapid ascent was followed by no less speedy a fall, and one +act of indiscretion stripped the Athenians of all the advantages which +they had acquired on the mainland of Greece. In every city of Greece +there were always two parties, the wealthy and noble, called +oligarchs, and the demos, or commons; and according as Spartan or +Athenian influence was in the ascendant the balance of power in each +city wavered between the nobles and the people, the Athenians +favouring the Many, the Spartans the Few. Accordingly there was always +a party living in exile, and waiting for a turn of affairs which might +enable them to return to their city, and wrest the power from that +faction which had been the last to triumph. In the cities of Boeotia +the leaders of the oligarchs had been driven into banishment after the +battle of Oenophyta, and democracies were established under the +control of Athens. After nine years of banishment these exiles +returned, and the result was an oligarchical reaction in the chief +cities of Boeotia. A hastily equipped and ill-organised force was sent +out from Athens to put down the authors of the revolution, and in the +battle which followed, at Coronea, [Footnote: B.C. 447.] the Athenians +sustained a severe defeat, and a large number of their citizens were +taken prisoners by the Boeotians. To recover these prisoners the +Athenians consented to evacuate Boeotia, and by this surrender they +lost their hold on central Greece, as far as Thermopylae. + +This heavy blow was followed two years later by the revolt of Megara +and Euboea; and in the midst of the alarm thus occasioned, the +Athenians heard that a powerful Spartan army was threatening their +borders. It was a terrible moment for Athens; but she was saved by the +prudence and energy of Pericles, whose influence in her councils was +now supreme. By some means or other--as the Spartans asserted, by a +heavy bribe--he induced the Spartan king Pleistoanax to draw off his +forces; and then crossing over into Euboea, he quickly reduced the +whole island to submission, and took severe measures to prevent any +outbreak in the future. + +The exertions of the Athenians during the last thirty years had been +prodigious, and their efforts to found an empire in continental Greece +had ended in total failure. Discouraged by their reverses, they +concluded a thirty years' truce with the Spartans and their allies, +resigning the last remnant of their recent conquests, and leaving +Megara in her old position as a member of the Peloponnesian league +under Sparta. The loss of Megara was severely felt, and her conduct in +the late troubles was neither forgotten nor forgiven. The Megarians +had by their own free choice been admitted into the Athenian alliance, +and in an hour of great peril to Athens, without shadow of pretext +they had risen in arms against her. It was not long before they had to +pay a heavy penalty for their treachery and inconstancy. + +The last event which we have to record, before entering into the main +current of our narrative, is the secession of Samos, the most +important member of the maritime allies of Athens. This wealthy and +powerful island had hitherto, with Chios and Lesbos, enjoyed the +distinction of serving under Athens as an independent ally. The +Athenians, with a view to their own interests, had recently set up a +democracy in Samos, which had hitherto been governed by an oligarchy. +Incensed by this interference, the Samian nobles, who had been driven +into exile, hired a mercenary force, and making a sudden attack from +the mainland, overthrew the democracy and raised the standard of +revolt. The crisis called for prompt and vigorous action on the part +of Athens; for if Samos had been successful in defying her authority, +the other members of the league would speedily have followed the +example, and the whole fabric of her empire might have been shattered +to pieces. Pericles was again equal to the emergency, and by employing +the whole naval power of Athens he was able, after a siege of nine +months, to reduce the refractory islanders to submission. The Samians +were compelled to surrender their fleet, to pull down their walls, to +pay a heavy war indemnity, and to give hostages as a security for +their good conduct in the future. And henceforward they became +subjects and tributaries of Athens. + +We have now completed our review of the chief events which occurred +between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars. It was a period of rapid +development for Athens, of ceaseless activity at home and abroad, of +immense progress in all the arts of war and peace. The imperial city +had now risen to her full stature, and stood forth, supreme in +intellect and in action, the wonder and envy of mankind. Her mighty +walls bade defiance to her enemies at home, and she held in her hand +the islands and coast-districts of the Aegaean, where the last murmur +of resistance had been quelled. Her recent reverses on the mainland of +Greece had left the real sources of her power untouched; and taught +her, if she would but take the lesson to heart, the proper limits of +her empire. And she had risen to this height, not by the prevailing +force of any single mind, but by the united efforts of all her +citizens, working together for a whole generation, shunning no +sacrifice, and shrinking from no exertion, in their devotion to the +common mother of them all. Every Athenian, from the wealthiest noble +to the poorest rower in the fleet, felt that he had a stake in the +country, which to a Greek meant the city, where he was born. He gave +his vote in the Parliament [Footnote: Called the Ecclesia.] of Athens, +and served on the juries chosen by lot from the whole body of the +citizens, before whose judgment-seat, unassailable by bribery or +intimidation, the mightiest offenders trembled. He was a statesman, a +judge, a lawgiver, and a warrior, and he might even hope to climb to +the highest place in the State, and rule, like Pericles, as a prince +of democracy. Around him rose the temples and statues of the gods, +fresh from the chisel of the artist, the visible symbols of Athenian +greatness, and of the grand ideals which he served. The masterpieces +of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides opened to him the boundless +realms of the imagination, taught him grave lessons of moral wisdom, +and connected the strenuous present with the heroic past; and the Old +Comedy, the most complete embodiment of the very genius of democracy, +afforded a feast of wit and fancy for his lighter hours. If he had a +taste for higher speculation, he might hear Anaxagoras discoursing on +the mysteries of the spiritual world, or Zeno applying his sharp tests +for the conviction of human error. And when the assembly was summoned +to discuss matters of high imperial policy, he felt all the greatness +and majesty of the Athenian state, as he hung entranced on the lips of +Pericles. + +Such was Athens in her prime, and such were the men who raised her to +the lofty eminence which she held among the cities of Greece. But the +years which had lifted her to that unparalleled height had raised up a +host of enemies against her, and it behoved her to temper ambition +with prudence if she would maintain the proud position which the held. +The scattered units which composed the Athenian empire were held +together by no tie of loyalty or affection to their common mistress, +but solely by the dread of her overwhelming naval power. Even in the +noblest spirits of ancient Greece, the feeling of patriotism, as we +understand it, was feeble and uncertain; when we speak of our +_country_, the Greek spoke of his _city_, and his love, his +hopes, his highest aspirations, were bounded by the narrow circuit of +the walls which contained the tombs of his ancestors and the temples +of his gods. This feeling, the most deeply-rooted instinct of Greek +political life, had been grievously offended by Athens, when she +compelled the islanders of the Aegaean, and the Greek cities of Asia, +to serve in her navies, and pay tribute to her exchequer. + +Turning now to the mainland of Greece we find, in most of the leading +states, a sentiment of mingled fear and hatred against Athens, which +had been steadily increasing in volume in the course of the last +thirty years. The haughty Thebans had not forgotten their defeat at +Oenophyta, and their nine years of servitude to Athens. Aegina was +groaning under her yoke, and threatened with total political +extinction. Megara complained that her commerce was ruined by a decree +which excluded her merchants from the ports in the Athenian Empire. In +the heart of Peloponnesus the Spartans were hatching mischief against +their hated rival, who had robbed them of half their dignity as the +acknowledged leaders of the Greeks. Corinth, whose commerce was +chiefly in the western sea, outside the sphere of Athenian influence, +was disposed to be friendly, and had done the Athenians good service +during the revolt of Samos.[Footnote: See below, p. 31.] But five +years later [Footnote: B.C. 435.] an event occurred which changed this +feeling into bitter hatred against Athens, and drove the Corinthians +into the ranks of her most inveterate foes. And it is at this point +that we take up the main thread of our story. + + + + +STORIES FROM THUCYDIDES + +CORINTH AND CORCYRA + +I + +It was in a remote corner of the Greek world that the trouble began +which was destined to breed such mischief and havoc for the whole of +Greece. At the beginning of the seventh century before our era the +island of Corcyra had been colonised by the Corinthians. The colony +grew and flourished, and in its turn founded other settlements on the +opposite coasts of Epirus and Illyria. Among these was Epidamnus, +called by the Romans Dyrrachium, and in Roman times the ordinary +landing-place for travellers from Italy to Greece. After many years of +prosperity the resources of Epidamnus were much crippled by internal +faction, and by wars with the neighbouring barbarians. Four years +before the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War, the nobles of Epidamnus, +who had been expelled in the last revolution, made an alliance with +the native tribes of Illyria, and by constant plundering raids reduced +the Epidamnians to such straits that they were compelled to apply to +Corcyra for help. But the Corcyraeans, whose sympathies were on the +side of the banished nobles, refused to interfere. + +Epidamnus, as we have seen, was a colony founded by a colony, and +according to Greek custom the original settlers had been led by a +citizen of Corinth, the mother-city of Corcyra. Seeing, therefore, +that they had nothing to hope from the Corcyraeans, the distressed +people of Epidamnus began to turn their thoughts towards their ancient +metropolis, and considered whether they should appeal to her to save +them from ruin. But as this was a step of doubtful propriety, they +first consulted the oracle of Delphi, the great authority on questions +of international law. Receiving a favourable answer, they sent envoys +to Corinth, and offered to surrender their city to the Corinthians, in +return for their countenance and protection. + +The Corcyraeans had long been in evil odour at Corinth, for they had +grown insolent in prosperity, and neglected all the observances which +were due from a colony to the mother-city. They were, in fact, +superior to the Corinthians in wealth and power, and their fleet, +numbering a hundred and twenty triremes, was second only to that of +Athens. Corcyra was famous in legend as the seat of the Phaeacians, a +heroic sailor race, whose deeds are sung by Homer in the +_Odyssey_; and the Corcyraeans regarded themselves as the lawful +inheritors of their fame. For all these reasons they despised the +Corinthians, and made no secret of their contempt. Remembering the +many occasions on which they had been publicly insulted by Corcyra, +the Corinthians lent a favourable ear to the petition of Epidamnus, +and determined to appropriate the colony to themselves. Accordingly +they invited all who chose to go and settle at Epidamnus, and sent the +new colonists under a military escort, with instructions to proceed by +land to Apollonia, for fear lest they should be obstructed by the +Corcyraean fleet, if they went by sea. + +Great was the indignation at Corcyra when the news arrived that her +colony had been surrendered to Corinth, and a force of forty ships was +sent off in haste, bearing a peremptory demand to the Epidamnians that +they should receive back their exiles and send away the new colonists. +As the citizens refused to obey their mandate, they prepared to lay +siege to the town, which is situated on an isthmus. + +When the Corinthians heard of the danger of Epidamnus, they began to +make preparations on a much larger scale, collecting a host of new +colonists, and a fleet of seventy-five ships to convoy them on their +passage to Epidamnus. Apprised of these proceedings, the Corcyraeans +sent envoys to Corinth, with a civil remonstrance against the +arbitrary interference with their own colony. They were willing, they +said, to submit the matter to arbitration, and in the meantime to +suspend all hostilities against the revolted city. But the Corinthians +paid no attention to their overtures, and all being now ready, the +great multitude, drawn from all parts of Greece, set sail for +Epidamnus. When they reached Actium, at the mouth of the Ambracian +Gulf, they were met by a herald, sent out from Corcyra in a skiff, to +forbid their approach. This was a mere manoeuvre, to throw the guilt +of commencing hostilities on the Corinthians; and meanwhile the +Corcyraeans manned their ships, to the number of eighty, and put out +to meet the enemy's fleet. In the sea-fight which followed the +Corcyraeans gained a complete victory, and on the same day Epidamnus +was compelled to capitulate to the besieging force. + +By this victory the Corcyraeans gained complete command of the western +or Ionian sea, and for the rest of the summer they sailed from place +to place, plundering the allies of Corinth. The Corinthians, however, +were not at all disposed to acquiesce in their defeat, and during the +whole of the following year they were busy organising a fresh +expedition on a vast scale, being resolved at all costs to put down +the insolence of Corcyra. These preparations caused no small anxiety +to the Corcyraeans. Hitherto they had stood apart, and refused to take +any share in the complicated game of Greek politics. The course of +affairs during the last forty years had tended more and more to divide +the Greek world into two opposite camps, arrayed under the banners of +Athens and Sparta. As Dorians, the Corcyraeans would naturally have +enrolled themselves among the allies of Sparta,--as islanders and +seamen, they might have leaned to the side of Athens: but confident in +their remote situation, and in the power of their fleet, they had +chosen to remain neutral. But finding themselves threatened with +destruction, they now resolved to abandon their policy of selfish +isolation, and sue for admission into the Athenian alliance. +Ambassadors were sent to Athens to urge their plea; and the +Corinthians, hearing of their intention, sent representatives of their +own to oppose the application. + +The Athenians were fully alive to the gravity of the question which +they were called upon to decide, and after listening to the arguments +of the Corcyraean and Corinthian orators, they adjourned the debate +until the next day. To Corinth they were bound by old ties of +obligation; for on three distinct occasions the Corinthians had done +them signal service. More than seventy years before the date which we +have reached, the Spartans summoned their allies to consider whether +it was expedient to compel the Athenians to receive back the banished +tyrant Hippias; and it was chiefly by the eloquence of the Corinthian +speaker Sosicles, who drew a vivid picture of the miseries of +despotical government, that they were shamed out of their purpose. A +few years later, when the Athenians were at war with Aegina, they were +aided by twenty Corinthian ships. And quite recently, in the great +peril which menaced Athens at the revolt of Samos, Corinth had once +more shown herself a friend. At a congress of the Peloponnesian +allies, summoned to consider an appeal from the Samians for help, the +Corinthians had spoken strongly against interference with the revolted +allies of another city. Corinth was a place of old renown, the queen +of the Isthmus, a centre of civilisation; whereas Corcyra was a remote +island, and her people, though Greeks by descent, were in manners and +character more than half barbarians. + +But there were two arguments put forward by the Corcyraean orator, +which outweighed all other considerations of policy or friendship. The +first was addressed to the fears of the Athenians, the second to their +ambition. War, he argued, was inevitable, and it was of the utmost +importance for Athens to secure the alliance of the Corcyraean fleet, +and prevent it from being added to the naval forces of her enemies. +And his concluding words struck a note which found a response among +the more daring spirits among his hearers, whose thoughts, as it would +seem, were already turning to the western colonies of Greece, as a new +field of enterprise and conquest. "It will not do," he said, "to be +too nice. While you are hesitating, and weighing nice points of +international right, you will be outdistanced in the race for power, +if you tamely give up a great naval station which holds the key to +Italy and Sicily." + +Such reasoning, hollow and false as it was, turned the scale in favour +of Corcyra, and a defensive alliance was concluded, pledging the +Athenians and Corcyraeans to aid each other against any attack on the +territory or allies of either state. For the Athenians wished to avoid +breaking the Thirty Years' Truce, and therefore refrained from +entering into any agreement which might oblige them to acts of open +aggression against Corinth. + +There can be little doubt that Pericles, who was mainly responsible +for this decision, committed a fatal error in advising the Athenians +to take up the cause of Corcyra. By this act Athens incurred the +implacable hostility of Corinth, and revived the old grudge which that +city had conceived against her when Megara joined the Athenian +alliance. In the constantly shifting currents of Greek politics, +Athens might well, under wise guidance, have steered her way safely +through the perils which surrounded her. The Corinthians had half +forgotten their grievance, as is proved by their conduct at the revolt +of Samos; and the tone of their representative at the Corcyraean +debate is decidedly friendly. The Spartans were sluggish and +procrastinating by nature, and required some powerful impulse to +induce them to act with vigour; and this impulse was now supplied by +Corinth. By accepting, therefore, the alliance of Corcyra, Athens +barred the way to all compromise, and gathered into one head all the +scattered causes of jealousy and hatred which had been accumulating +against her in the last fifty years. + +Early in the following year the Corinthian fleet, numbering a hundred +and fifty sail, put to sea from Corinth, to renew the war with +Corcyra, and a battle was fought off the coast of Epirus. The +engagement was long and fierce, and the event was finally decided by a +small squadron of Athenian ships, which had been sent with +instructions to hinder any attempt of the enemy to land on the island +Seeing that the Corcyraeans were being forced back upon their own +coast, the Athenian captains, who had hitherto looked on, and taken no +part in the battle, now assumed the offensive, and lent such effectual +aid that the Corinthians were held in check until the sudden +appearance of twenty additional ships from Athens, which had been sent +off immediately after the others, put an end to the action. This +timely interference saved Corcyra from ruin; for next day the +Corinthians, after a formal remonstrance, set sail for home, taking +with them two hundred and fifty prisoners, belonging to the noblest +families in Corcyra, whom they kept in safe custody, but treated with +great consideration, hoping by means of them at some future time to +recover their influence in the island. + + +II + +It was not long before the effects of this impolitic breach with +Corinth were sensibly felt by Athens. In the course of the following +summer, Potidaea, a Corinthian colony, situated on the borders of +Macedon, and included in the Athenian alliance, openly raised the +standard of revolt, encouraged by promises from Sparta, and by the +presence of a strong body of hoplites, sent for its support from +Corinth. Potidaea was presently closely invested by an Athenian army +and fleet, and the Corinthians pretended to make this a fresh ground +of complaint, though they had themselves incited the city to throw off +its allegiance to Athens. + +Feeling that matters were now approaching a crisis, the Spartans +summoned a congress of their allies, and invited all who had any +grievance against Athens to state their case. Then some spoke of the +wrongs of Aegina, formerly not the least among Greek cities, but now +so crushed under the yoke of Athens that she had not dared to raise +her voice openly against the tyrant-city. The Megarians complained of +the restrictions on their commerce, which threatened them with an +empty exchequer and a starving population; and others followed in the +same strain. When all the rest had spoken, the Corinthian orator, who +had reserved his eloquence till the end, came forward and delivered a +vehement harangue, containing hardly any specific charge against +Athens, but well calculated to inflame the passions and provoke the +pride of the Spartans. Though the acknowledged leader of Greece, and +champion of her liberties, Sparta, he said, had always been the last +to see the dangers which menaced the common country, and the last to +take measures for her defence. Spartan apathy and indolence had +brought the Greeks to the brink of ruin in the Persian War; and when +that danger was passed, the same fatal indifference had enabled Athens +to advance step by step on the path of aggrandisement; until now she +had grown so strong that the united force of the whole Peloponnesian +league would be required to put her down. Why had not the Spartans +listened to the warnings which they had heard, when the Athenians were +rebuilding their walls? Then they might have stopped the evil at its +source, and saved a multitude of cities from slavery and oppression. +"Consider," cried the orator, warming to his subject, "what manner of +men these Athenians are, and how vast is the difference between them +and you. While you are shut up in this inland valley, treading the +dull round of mechanical routine, they are continually pushing forward +the boundaries of their empire, toiling night and day to make their +city great, never satisfied with what they have, always thirsting for +more. Cautious, timid, and conservative as you are, hardly to be +roused from your sloth by the most imminent perils, how can you hope +to curb the flight of Athenian ambition, which knows no limit, and is +checked by no reverse? + +"Men of Sparta, I speak as a friend, and you will not take my candour +amiss. New times require new manners, and if you would maintain your +great position you must move with the march of events, and abandon +your old-fashioned ways. Do not mistake stagnation for stability, but +learn a lesson even from these hated Athenians, who have risen to +their present pitch of greatness by adapting themselves to every new +need as it arose. + +"You know what you have to do, if you would wipe out the reproach +which rests upon you, and keep the respect of your faithful allies. +Send an army into Attica, and compel the Athenians to withdraw their +forces from Potidaea. And let it be done speedily, for while we are +talking our kinsmen are perishing." + +It happened that an Athenian embassy was present in Sparta, having +been sent there on some other business, and not for the purpose of +representing Athens at the debate. But when they heard of the outcry +which had been raised against their city, the envoys asked permission +for one of their number to address the Spartan assembly, wishing to +explain the true character and origin of the Athenian Empire, and to +warn the Spartans against plunging the whole country into the horrors +of civil war. Leave being granted, the Athenian orator entered on his +subject by sketching the course of events for the last sixty years. +Athens, he said, had twice saved Greece, first at Marathon, and +afterwards at Salamis. On the first of these occasions she had stood +almost alone against an overwhelming force of Persians; and ten years +later, though betrayed by her allies, she had borne the brunt against +the navy of Xerxes. Who, then, was worthier than she to hold empire +over Greeks? That empire had been forced upon her by the inertness of +Sparta, and by the cowardice and sloth of her own allies in the Delian +league. The power thus gained had been used with moderation, in marked +contrast to the previous tyranny of Persia exercised over the same +cities, and the arrogance of Spartan officers when engaged on foreign +service. But a light yoke, it would seem, was harder to bear than a +heavy one; if Athens had openly oppressed her subjects, she would +never have heard a murmur. + +Having thus tried to combat the prejudice against Athens, the orator +addressed himself directly to the Spartans, and said: "Consider the +awful responsibility which you will incur, if you suffer yourselves to +be carried away by the invectives of your allies, and drive us against +our will to tempt with you the dark uncertainties and perilous issues +of war. There is still time for an amicable settlement of our +differences: Athens is prepared to make all reasonable concessions, +and to submit to arbitration, as the terms of the treaty direct. And +if you decline to accept this offer, the guilt of the aggressor will +lie with you." + +It is remarkable that the speaker, in tracing the later course of +Athenian policy, lays no claim to those high motives of patriotism +which had inspired his people with sublime self-devotion two +generations back. He boldly asserts the principle that it is lawful +for the stronger to rule the weaker, and claims merit for Athens in +abstaining from excessive abuse of her power. The Athenians, we may +believe, had been tainted by the baseness of their confederates. In +the early days of the Delian league they had not attempted to educate +the Greeks whom they led up to the standard of their own splendid +zeal,--or, if the attempt had been made, it was unsuccessful. They had +taken upon themselves the whole burden of a great public duty, and +standing alone, without moral support from their countrymen, they had +gradually fallen away from the pure and lofty virtues of their +ancestors. This decay of public morality proceeds with rapid strides +in the years which follow, and we shall presently hear the doctrine +that might is right proclaimed with cynical frankness by the lips of +an Athenian. + +Having heard the complaints of their allies against Athens, and the +reply of the Athenian orator, the Spartans ordered all but those of +their own race to withdraw, and continued the debate with closed +doors. A great majority of the speakers were in favour of declaring +immediate war on Athens. But there was one important exception: the +aged Archidamus, who for the last fourteen years had been reigning as +sole king at Sparta, spoke strongly against the imprudence of assuming +the aggressive, before they had made adequate preparations to cope +with the offending city. It was an opinion generally held by the war- +party that the Athenians would be ready to make any concessions, in +order to save the land of Attica from ravage. This, said Archidamus, +was a great error; and the event proved that he was right. The +Athenians, with their great colonial empire, and complete command of +the sea, were quite independent of the products of their own estates +in Attica. And many years must elapse before the states of +Peloponnesus could train a fleet, and attack them on the sea, where +alone they were assailable. It was folly to suppose that such a +contest could be decided by a single summer campaign, as was commonly +believed by the enemies of Athens. "I fear rather," said the king, +with prophetic foresight, "that we shall leave this war as an +inheritance to our children; such is the power, and such the pride, of +the state with which we have to contend." On the other hand, the +Spartans, as champions of the liberties of Greece, must not allow the +common oppressors of their countrymen to continue their career of +tyranny unchecked. Let them first, however, try what could be effected +by negotiation, and in the meantime prepare for war, by building +ships, and above all by collecting money, without which all their +valour would be useless. Then, if Athens still refused to listen to +reason, they might declare war with better hope of success. + +The speech of Archidamus shows a true insight into the nature of the +crisis which the Spartans were called upon to face, and his views were +amply justified by subsequent events. His wise words were no doubt +applauded by the older and more sober-minded among his hearers. But +there was another and a much more numerous party at that time in +Sparta, filled with bitter envy and hatred against Athens. Their +passions had been inflamed by the invectives of the Corinthian orator, +and without counting the cost they were resolved to try the issues of +immediate battle. Their blind rancour found expression in the curt and +pithy harangue of Sthenelaidas, one of the five Ephors, a college of +magistrates which in recent years had greatly encroached on the +authority of the kings. Sthenelaidas spoke with true laconic brevity. +"I don't understand," he said, "all the fine talk of these Athenians. +They have told us a great deal about their own merits, but have not +said a word in answer to the charges brought against them. Even if we +accept their own account of themselves, their good conduct in the past +only lends a darker colour to their present crimes. We have one plain +duty to perform, and that is to save our faithful allies from ill- +treatment. The time for words is past--leave them to the transgressor. +Our part is to act, at once, and with all our might, and put down the +overwhelming insolence of Athens." + +Then, in his capacity as Ephor, Sthenelaidas, without staying for +further argument, forthwith put the question to the Spartan assembly. +According to their ordinary procedure, the Spartans gave their votes +by cries of "Ay" and "No." But on this occasion Sthenelaidas pretended +to be unable to distinguish whether the "Ays" or "Nos" had it, and +wishing to encourage the war-party by showing how much they were in +the majority, he ordered the house to divide on the question whether +the treaty was broken, and whether the Athenians were in the wrong or +not. The division was made, and a great majority were in favour of the +motion, recording their votes against Athens. The allies were then +called in, and informed to the result of the private debate, and a day +was named for a general synod of the whole Peloponnesian league, to +reconsider the situation and decide whether war was to be declared. + +In the interval, before the final assembly of the allies, the Spartans +sent to ask the oracle at Delphi whether it was expedient for them to +make war; and the answer, according to common report, was that if they +fought with all their might they would conquer, and that the god +[Footnote: Apollo.] would be on their side. The Corinthians were at +the same time carrying on an active canvass against Athens, sending +their agents from city to city to blow up the flames of war. + +In the autumn of the same year the allies met in full synod at Sparta, +and once more the Corinthian speaker led the cry against Athens, and +called for a unanimous war-vote, flattering his hearers with hopes of +a speedy victory. The Spartans, he said, had at last set a good +example to their allies, and shown themselves convinced that imperial +cities had imperial obligations, by pronouncing in favour of war. +Every member of the league must join heartily in the struggle, whether +he belonged to an inland or to a maritime city; for if the seaports +were closed by the Athenian fleets, the inland towns would be +prevented from exporting their products, and importing what they +wanted from abroad. War, then, was in the interest of the whole body +of allies. And on the moral side their position was equally sound, for +they were only acting on desperate provocation, and the common god of +Greece had promised success to their arms. But to deserve that +success, all must co-operate heartily, contributing freely from their +private purses to raise a fleet which would make them a match for +Athens on her own element. And they must watch the course of events +with a vigilant eye, and be ready to seize any opportunity which might +arise to aim a decisive blow at their common enemy. Let them be warned +by the experience of the Ionians, and put out all their strength to +save themselves from being swallowed up by the devouring ambition of +Athens. Justice, heaven's favour, the good-will of all Greece, were on +their side. + +Others spoke to the same effect, and then the representatives of each +city were called up in turn to give their vote; and by far the greater +number voted for war. But many months elapsed before any overt act of +hostility occurred, and the time was occupied in preparations for an +invasion of Attica, and in a series of demands sent by Sparta to try +the temper of the Athenians, and put them in the wrong, if they +refused to comply. The first of these messages was conveyed in +mysterious terms, bidding the Athenians "to drive out the curse of the +goddess." The meaning of this was as follows: nearly two hundred years +before a certain Cylon tried to make himself tyrant of Athens: the +attempt was frustrated, and some of his adherents, who had taken +refuge in the sacred precinct of Athene, were put to death by the +magistrates, after they had surrendered under a solemn promise that +their lives should be spared. The illustrious family of the +Alcmaeonidae was especially concerned in this act of murder and +sacrilege, and the Spartans, in reviving the memory of an ancient +crime, were aiming a blow at Pericles, who was descended on his +mother's side from the Alcmaeonidae. For the Athenians were highly +sensitive in all matters of religion, and it was possible that they +might even banish Pericles, if their consciences were suddenly +alarmed. And though this was not likely, the Spartans hoped at any +rate to lessen his influence, which was adverse to themselves, and +fasten on him the odium of being, in some sense, the cause of the war. +But their manoeuvre was unsuccessful, and the Athenians retorted by +bidding the Spartans drive out the curse of Taenarus, in allusion to +the murder of certain Helots who had taken sanctuary in the temple of +Poseidon at Taenarus. And they further charged the Spartans to rid +themselves of the curse of Athene of the Brazen House. This was a holy +place in Sparta, where Pausanias, when convicted of treasonable +correspondence with Persia, had sought refuge from the vengeance of +the Spartans. He was kept a close prisoner in the temple by the +Ephors, who set a watch on him, to prevent him from being supplied +with food, and when he was reduced to the last extremity, brought him +out to die. But though his death occurred outside the temple, this did +not save them from the sin of sacrilege, and a public reprimand by the +Delphic God. + +The game of diplomatic fencing went on for some time, and envoys were +continually passing to and fro between Athens and Sparta. The +Athenians were required to raise the siege of Potidaea--to allow the +Aeginetans to govern themselves--to rescind the decree against Megara; +and when all these demands were met by a firm refusal, the Spartans +sent two ambassadors, bearing their ultimatum, which was worded as +follows: "The Lacedaemonians wish that there should be peace, and war +may be averted if ye will let the Greeks go free." Knowing that the +decisive moment had now arrived, the Athenians met together in full +assembly, to decide on their final answer. There were many speakers on +either side, some arguing for peace, others for war: and then was +heard that majestic voice, which, for more than thirty years, had +guided the counsels of Athens--the voice of the Olympian Pericles. He +had chosen his line of policy a year before, in the fatal affair of +Corcyra, and it was now too late to draw back: peace with honour was +no longer possible for Athens. The furious zeal of Corinth had united +her enemies against her, and they were bent on her ruin. The demands +put forward by Sparta were a mere pretext, and if the Athenians had +yielded the smallest point, new concessions would have been required +of them, until they were stripped of all that had been won by the +strenuous toil and devotion of two generations. "We must listen," said +Pericles, in the course of a long speech, "to no proposal from Sparta +which is not made as from an equal to an equal. Dictation is not +arbitration. If we are to fight at all, the occasion matters little, +be it small or great. What right has Sparta to require of us that we +should rescind the decree against Megara, when her own laws jealously +exclude all strangers from entering her streets? Or why should we +relax our hold upon our allies, or break off the relations with them +which were sanctioned by the Thirty Years' Truce? No, all this is a +mere pretence, and if we are deceived by it, we shall be led on step +by step to deeper and still deeper humiliation. It may seem a hard +thing to give up the fair land of Attica to pillage and devastation. +But think how far greater was the sacrifice made by our grandsires, +who refused the fairest offers from Persia, and gave up all they had, +rather than betray the common cause. Athens and Attica were then all +the country they had, and these lost they had nothing left but their +ships, their strong arms, and their stout hearts. In our case, on the +other hand, all the essential elements of our power--our city, our +fleet, our colonial empire--remain untouched. Shall we, then, sell our +honour to save a few vineyards and olive-grounds from temporary +damage? That would be a short-sighted policy indeed, and in the end +would involve not only dishonour, but the loss of our whole empire. +Let us act, then, in the spirit of our fathers, and send away the +Spartan ambassadors with the only answer which is consistent with our +dignity and our interest." + +The reply to the Spartan ultimatum was framed as Pericles had +directed, and from this moment all negotiations ceased. And here we +close our account of the events which led to the Peloponnesian War. + + + + +THE SURPRISE OF PLATAEA + +I + +On the northern slope of Cithaeron, the mountain range which divides +Attica from Boeotia, lies the little town of Plataea. By race and by +geographical position the Plataeans were naturally included in the +Boeotian confederacy, under the leadership of Thebes. But nearly a +century before the time of which we are now speaking they had deserted +the Thebans, whose rule was harsh and overbearing, and enrolled +themselves among the allies of Athens. On the eve of the battle of +Marathon, they had joined the Athenians with their whole force, a +thousand strong, and shared the peril and the honour of that glorious +day. Ten years later their city was laid in ruins by the army of +Xerxes, at the instigation of the Thebans; and in the following year +the great battle which ended the long struggle between Greece and +Persia was fought within sight of their shattered walls. In gratitude +for this great victory, the confederate Greeks under Pausanias +declared that the Plataean territory should be hallowed ground, and +swore a solemn oath to maintain the independence of the city. But the +Thebans had never forgotten or forgiven the secession of Plataea from +the confederacy of which they were the leaders; and seizing the +opportunity while the Athenians were occupied with measures for their +own safety, they made a treacherous attempt to gain possession of the +town. + +On a dark and moonless night in the early spring three hundred armed +Thebans appeared before the gates of Plataea, which were opened to +them by a party of the citizens who favoured their design. Marching in +a body to the market-place, they made proclamation by a herald, +inviting all who chose to return to their allegiance, and take sides +with their lawful leaders, the Thebans. For they wished, if possible, +to gain over the place without bloodshed, and before the war had +actually broken out; otherwise, they might have to give it up again on +the conclusion of peace. + +The Plataeans, being wakened out of their first sleep, and thinking +that the Thebans were in much greater force than was really the case, +at first attempted no resistance, but were disposed to accept the +terms offered them. But perceiving by degrees that their enemies were +far weaker in numbers than themselves, they changed their minds, and +resolved to attack them. For the party which had betrayed the town was +but small, and the general body of the citizens detested the thought +of falling once more under the supremacy of Thebes. Their measures +were taken with great secrecy and despatch: to avoid exciting the +suspicions of the Thebans, they broke down the dividing walls of their +houses, and passed to and fro unobserved, until they had completed +their preparations. To embarrass the movements of the Thebans, they +barricaded the streets with waggons, and then, just before daybreak, +they poured out of their houses, and fell upon the enemy, who were +still stationed in the market-place. Though taken by surprise, the +Thebans defended themselves stoutly, and standing shoulder to shoulder +repulsed the assault of the Plataeans two or three times. But they +were greatly inferior in numbers, wearied by their long vigil, and +soaked with the heavy rain which had fallen in the night; the +Plataeans returned again and again to the attack, assailing them with +furious cries; and the women and slaves who crowded the roofs added to +their discomfiture, pelting them with tiles and stones, and stunning +their ears with a frightful uproar of yells and shrieks; so that at +last their hearts failed them, and breaking their ranks they fled +wildly through the streets. Some succeeded in reaching the gate by +which they had entered, but only to find that their escape was cut off +in this direction; for one of the Plataeans had closed the gate, using +the spike of his javelin to secure the bolt. Others lost their way in +the narrow and muddy streets, and wandered up and down until they were +slain by the Plataeans. A few contrived to escape by an unguarded +postern-gate, having cut through the bolt with an axe given them by a +woman. Others, in despair, flung themselves from the walls, and for +the most part perished. But a good number, who had kept together, were +caught in a trap; for coming to a large building which abutted on the +wall, and finding the doors open, they thought that they had reached +the town-gate, and rushed headlong in. The pursuers, who were close at +their heels, made fast the doors, and then the question arose what +they should do with their captives. Some proposed to set fire to the +building, and to burn it down, with the Thebans in it; but at last +those who were thus taken, and the few who were still straggling in +the town, were allowed to surrender at discretion. + +Meanwhile a strong reinforcement of Thebans, who had started after the +three hundred, were on the way to Plataea; but being delayed by the +state of the roads, and the swollen condition of the Asopus, which +they had to cross, they arrived too late. Being informed of what had +happened, they prepared to plunder the property of the Plataeans +outside the walls, and seize any of the citizens who crossed their +path, to serve as hostages for their own men in the town. The +Plataeans, perceiving their intention, sent a herald to remonstrate, +threatening that unless they desisted, all the Theban prisoners should +at once be put to death. And they promised further, under an oath, +that if the Thebans would withdraw their forces, the captives should +be restored--at least this was the account which was afterwards +current at Thebes, though the Plataeans denied that they had made any +such promise unconditionally, and declared that they had sworn no +oath. It seems probable that the Thebans had received some such +explicit assurance as they asserted; for, on receiving the answer from +Plataea, they marched away without doing any harm. No sooner were they +gone than the Plataeans made all haste to get their property within +the walls, and then put all their prisoners to death. The day was not +far distant when they were bitterly to rue this act of passion, which +was not only cruel, but grossly impolitic; for the Thebans thus slain +in cold blood, a hundred and eighty in number, would have been +invaluable as hostages, whereas the Plataeans had now cut themselves +off from all hope of reconciliation with Thebes, and virtually sealed +their own fate. + +Two messengers had been despatched from Plataea to Athens, one after +the first entrance of the Thebans, and the second after their defeat +and capture; and the Athenians, on receiving the second message, sent +off a herald bidding the Plataeans to wait for further instructions, +before taking any steps against the prisoners. When the herald +arrived, he found the men already slain, and the Athenians then +proceeded to place the town in a state of defence, removing the women +and children and all those who were unfit for military service, to +Athens, and leaving a small body of their own citizens to direct +operations. + + +II + +The surprise of Plataea was the first open violation of the Thirty +Years' Truce, and from this time forward all Greece was involved for +many years in civil war. Public opinion was strongly on the side of +the Spartans, who stood forward as champions of the liberties of +Greece; but there was great enthusiasm on both sides, and the popular +imagination was much excited by the approaching struggle between the +two imperial cities. Both in Sparta and in Athens there was a younger +generation, who had grown up during a long period of peace, and now +entered gaily into the contest with all the light-hearted ignorance of +youth. Old prophecies current among the people, foretelling a great +war of Greeks against Greeks, passed from mouth to mouth, and the +professional soothsayers, whose business it was to collect and expound +such sayings, found eager hearers. The gods themselves could not be +indifferent on the eve of such mighty events, so deeply affecting the +destiny of the nation which worshipped them in a thousand temples; and +an earthquake, which had recently occurred at Delos, the sacred island +of Apollo, where such a visitation had never been known before, was +interpreted as a portent of great things to come. + +While the Peloponnesians were mustering their forces at the Isthmus, +the rural population of Attica were breaking up their homes, and +flocking by thousands into the city. A constant stream of waggons +passed along the roads, loaded with furniture, household utensils, and +even the woodwork of the farm-buildings; and many a little group of +women, children, and servants set out on that sorrowful journey, +leaving their fields, their gardens, and their vineyards, to be +trampled down and laid waste by the ruthless invader. Athens, indeed, +was the common mother of them all, their glory, their strength, and +their pride; for since the days of Theseus the scattered rural +communities of Attica had been united under the Aegis of Athene, and +acknowledged Athens as the head and centre of their civic life. But a +large proportion of the Athenian citizens still continued to reside in +the country, and all their dearest associations were connected with +the little spot of earth where they and their fathers were born. Here +were the graves of their ancestors, and the temples of the heroes who +were the guardian spirits of each little aggregate of families. It was +therefore with bitter and resentful feelings that they left these +happy scenes behind them, and turned their steps towards the gates of +the city, through which many of them were never to pass again. For all +of them it was a grievous change from the free and careless life of +the country-side to the confined space, polluted air, and jostling +multitudes of the town, now crowded to overflowing. Some few found +shelter in the houses of friends or relations; but by far the greater +number were obliged to encamp in the open spaces of the city, in the +precincts of temples, or in the narrow room between the Long Walls. +Even a place beneath the Acropolis, called the Pelasgic Field, was now +covered with the huts of the immigrants, though an ancient oracle had +forbidden its occupation under a curse. From day to day new crowds +kept flocking in, and the later comers were obliged to take up their +dwelling in Peiraeus, which was soon almost as much overcrowded as the +upper city. + +And now the younger generation of Athenians, who had entered so +cheerfully into the conflict, were to have their first taste of the +grim realities of war. The Peloponnesian army advanced leisurely, and +proceeded at first to Oenoe, an outlying fort near the borders of +Boeotia; for Archidamus, who held the chief command, still hoped that +the Athenians, when they saw the enemy on the confines of Attica, +would make some concessions, to save their farms from destruction. For +this reason he had long delayed his march from the Isthmus, and now +wasted more time in fruitless operations at Oenoe, until the allies +began to murmur against him, and suspected him of receiving bribes +from the Athenians to spare their lands. At last, being unable to put +off the fatal moment any longer, he turned southwards, and after +ravaging the plain of Eleusis, advanced to Acharnae, one of the most +fertile and prosperous districts of Attica, about seven miles north of +Athens. Here the Peloponnesians encamped, and applied themselves +systematically to the work of pillage and havoc. + +Great was the rage of the Acharnians, a hardy race of farmers and +charcoal-burners, when they saw the smoke rising from their ruined +homesteads; and their feelings were shared by the general body of the +citizens, who had watched the advance of Archidamus from Eleusis, and +had now no hope of saving their estates. Little knots of angry +disputants were seen in the streets and public places, for the most +part clamouring against Pericles, and demanding to be led against the +invader, while some few argued for the more prudent course. But +Pericles, who knew the fickle temper of the multitude, turned a deaf +ear to all this uproar, and steadily refused to summon an assembly, +lest some hasty resolution should be passed, which would lead to +useless loss of life. In order, however, to relieve the public +excitement, he sent out a body of horsemen to skirmish with the enemy, +and despatched a fleet of a hundred triremes to ravage the coasts of +Peloponnesus. + +When the first invasion of Attica was over, two cities, which had been +foremost in stirring up war against Athens, were made to feel the full +weight of her resentment. The unhappy Aeginetans were expelled from +their island, and the land of Aegina was distributed among Athenian +citizens. And later in the same summer the Athenians marched in full +force into the territory of Megara, which was laid waste from end to +end. This proceeding, which afforded a pleasant summer excursion to +the Athenians, was repeated annually for the next seven years. The +banished Aeginetans found an asylum at Thyrea, a coast district of +eastern Peloponnesus, which was assigned to them by Sparta. And so the +first year of the war came to an end; for, except on extraordinary +occasions, no military operations were undertaken during the winter. + + + + +THE PLAGUE AT ATHENS + +I + +At the beginning of the next summer the Peloponnesians again entered +Attica, and resumed their work of devastation, destroying the young +crops, and wrecking whatever had been spared in the previous year. +Before they had been many days in Attica, a new and far more terrible +visitation came upon the Athenians, threatening them with total +extinction as a people. We have seen how the whole upper city, with +the space between the Long Walls, and the harbour-town of Peiraeus, +was packed with a vast multitude of human beings, penned together, +like sheep in a fold. Into these huddled masses now crept a subtle and +unseen foe, striking down his victims by hundreds and by thousands. +That foe was the Plague, which beginning in Southern Africa, and +descending thence to Egypt, reached the southern shores of the +Mediterranean, and passed on to Peiraeus, having been carried thither +by seamen who trafficked between northern Africa and Greece. From +Peiraeus it spread upwards with rapid strides, and before long the +whole space within the walls presented the appearance of a vast lazar- +house. + +From the description of the symptoms we may conclude that this +epidemic was similar to that dreadful scourge of mankind which has +been almost conquered by modern science, the small-pox. The patient +who had taken the infection was first attacked in the head, with +inflammation of the eyes, and violent headache. By degrees the poison +worked its way into the whole system, affecting every organ in the +body, and appearing on the surface in the shape of small ulcers and +boils. One of the most distressing features of the disease was a +raging thirst, which could not be appeased by the most copious +draughts of water; and the internal heat, which produced this effect, +caused also a frightful irritability of the skin, so that the sufferer +could not bear the touch of the lightest and most airy fabrics, but +lay naked on his bed, in all the deformity of his dire affliction. Of +those who recovered, many bore the marks of the sickness to their +graves, by the loss of a hand, a foot, or an eye; while others were +affected in their minds, remaining in blank oblivion, without power to +recognise themselves or their friends. The healing art had made great +progress in Greece in the course of the last generation; and in this, +as in all else, the Greeks remained the sole teachers of Europe for +ages after. But against such a malady as this, the most skilful +physicians could do nothing, and those who attempted to exercise their +skill caught the plague themselves, and for the most part perished. +Still less, as we may well suppose, was the benefit derived from +amulets, incantations, inquiries of oracles, or supplications at +temples; and at last, finding no help in god or man, the Athenians +gave up the struggle, and resigned themselves to despair. + +It is recorded as a curious fact, showing the strange and outlandish +character of the pestilence, that the birds and animals which feed on +human flesh generally shunned the bodies of those who died of the +plague, though they might have eaten their fill, for hundreds were +left unburied. The very vultures fled from the infected city, and +hardly one was seen as long as the pestilence continued. + +The fearful rapidity with which the infection spread caused a panic +throughout the city, and even the boldest were not proof against the +general terror. If any man felt himself sickening of the plague, he at +once gave up all hope, and made no effort to fight against the +disease. Few were found brave enough to undertake the duty of nursing +the sick, and those who did generally paid for their devotion with +their lives. In most cases the patient was left to languish alone, and +perished by neglect, while his nearest and dearest avoided his +presence, and had grown so callous that they had not a sigh or a tear +left for the death of husband, or child, or friend. The few who +recovered, now free from risk of mortal infection, did what they could +to help their suffering fellow-citizens. + +The mischief was aggravated by the overcrowded state of the city, +especially among those who had come in from the country, and were +living in stifling huts through the intense heat of a southern summer. +Here the harvest of death fell thickest, and the corpses lay heaped +together, while dying wretches crawled about the public streets, and +encumbered the fountain-sides, to which they had dragged themselves in +their longing for drink. All sense of public decency, all regard for +laws, human or divine, was lost. The temples in which they had made +their dwellings were choked with dead, and the sacred duty of burial, +to which the conscience of antiquity attached so high an importance, +was performed in wild haste and disorder. Sometimes those who were +carrying out a corpse found a vacant pile prepared by the relatives of +another victim, flung their dead upon it, set fire to the pile, and +departed; and sometimes, when a body was already burning, others who +were seeking to dispose of a corpse forced their way to the fire, and +threw their burden upon it. + +In the general relaxation of public morality all the dark passions of +human nature, which at ordinary times lurk in secret places, came +forth to the light of day, and raged without restraint. Some, who had +grown rich in a day by the death of wealthy relatives, resolved to +enjoy their possessions, and indulge every appetite, before they were +overtaken by the same fate. Others, who had hitherto led good lives, +seeing the base and the noble swept away indifferently by the same +ruthless power, began to doubt the justice of heaven itself, and +rushed into debauch, convinced that conscience and honour were but +empty names. For human laws they cared still less, for in the +universal panic there was none to enforce them, and before the voice +of public authority could be heard again, both judge and transgressor, +as they believed, would be involved in a common doom. All shame and +fear were accordingly thrown aside, and those whom the plague had not +yet touched seemed possessed by one sole desire--to drown thought and +care in an orgy of fierce excess, and then to die. + + +II + +The second invasion of the Peloponnesians was prolonged for forty +days, and the whole Attic territory was laid waste. Pericles again +refused to venture a pitched battle against them, knowing well that +the Athenian army was no match for them in the open field. But a +powerful fleet was sent to cruise round Peloponnesus, which inflicted +much damage on the coast districts. It was a welcome relief to the +Athenians selected for this service to escape for a time from the +plague-stricken city; but unhappily they carried the infection with +them, and the crews were decimated by the same disease. Nor did the +evil stop here: for the same armament being afterwards despatched to +Potidaea, to reinforce the blockading army and fleet, caused a +virulent outbreak of the plague among the forces stationed there, +which up till then had been healthy. After some fruitless operations +against the town this second armament was withdrawn, and returned to +Athens with the loss of more than a thousand men. + +After all these disasters the reaction against Pericles, which had +begun with the first invasion of Attica, reached a climax, and on all +sides he was loudly decried by the Athenians, as the author of all +their miseries. Envoys were sent with overtures of peace to Sparta, +and when these returned with no favourable answer, the storm of +popular fury grew more violent than ever. Pericles, who knew the +temper of his people, and had foreseen that some such outbreak would +occur, remained calm and unmoved. But wishing to allay the general +excitement, and bring back the citizens to a more reasonable view of +their prospects, he summoned an assembly, and addressed the multitude +in terms of grave and dignified rebuke. He reminded them that they +themselves had voted for war, and remonstrated against the unfairness +of making him responsible for their own decision. If war could have +been avoided without imperilling the very existence of their city, +then that decision was wrong; but if, as was the fact, peace could +only have been preserved by ruinous concessions, then his advice had +been good, and they had been right in following it. The welfare of the +individual citizen depended on the welfare of the community to which +he belonged; as long as that was secured, private losses could always +be made good, but public disaster meant private ruin. On this +principle they had acted two years before, when they determined to +reject the demands of Sparta. Why, then, were they now indulging in +weak regrets, and turning against him whom they had appointed as their +chosen guide and adviser? Was there anything in his character, any +fact in his whole life, which justified them in suspecting him of +unworthy motives? Was he the man to lead them astray, in order to save +some selfish end--he, the great Pericles, whose loyalty, eloquence, +clear-sightedness, and incorruptibility, had been proved in a public +career of more than thirty years? If any other course had been open to +them, he would have been to blame in counselling war; but the +alternative was between that and degradation. The immediate pressure +of private calamity was blinding them to the magnitude of the +interests at stake--Athens, with all her fond traditions, and all the +lustre of her name. That they were sure of victory he had already +declared to them on many infallible grounds. But seeing them so sunk +in despair, he would speak in a tone of loud assurance, and boldly +assert a fact which they seemed to have overlooked. They were lords of +the sea, absolute masters, that was to say, of half the world! Let +them keep a firm grasp on this empire, and they would soon recover +those pretty ornaments of empire--their gardens and their vineyards-- +which they held so dear: but, that once relinquished, they would lose +all. Surely this knowledge should inspire them with a lofty contempt +of their foes, a contempt grounded, not on ignorance or shallow +enthusiasm, but on rational calculation. They could not now descend +from the eminence on which they stood. Athens, who had blazed so long +in unrivalled splendour before the eyes of the world, dared not suffer +her lustre to be abated: for her, obscurity meant extinction. Let them +keep this in mind, and not listen to counsels of seeming prudence and +moderation, which were suicidal in a ruling state. All their +calamities, except the plague, were the foreseen results of their own +decision. Now was the time to display their known courage and +patience. Let them think of the glory of Athens, and her imperial +fame. + +This memorable speech, the last recorded utterance of Pericles, had +the desired effect. It was resolved to continue the war, and no +further embassies were sent to Sparta. But resentment still smouldered +in the hearts of the Athenians against their great statesman. How +fearful was the contrast between the high hopes with which they had +embarked in this struggle, and the scenes of horror and desolation +which lay around them! From the walls they could see their trampled +fields, their ravaged plantations, and the blackened ruins of their +homes. Within, the pestilence still raged undiminished, and the city +was filled with sounds and sights of woe. Under the pressure of these +calamities the ascendency of Pericles went through a brief period of +eclipse, and he was condemned to pay a fine. Soon, however, he +recovered all his influence, and remained at the head of affairs until +his death, which occurred in the autumn of the following year. + +Pericles is the representative figure in the golden age of Athenian +greatness, the most perfect example of that equable and harmonious +development in every faculty of body and mind which was the aim of +Greek civic life at its best. As an orator, he was probably never +equalled, and the effect of his eloquence has found immortal +expression in the lines of his contemporary Eupolis. Persuasion, we +are told, sat enthroned on his lips; like a strong athlete, he +overtook and outran all other orators; his words struck home like the +lightning, while he held his audience enchained, as by a powerful +spell; and among all the masters of eloquence, he was the only one who +left his sting behind him. As a statesman, it was his object to admit +every freeborn Athenian to a share of public duties and privileges; +and for this purpose he introduced the system of payment, which +enabled the poorer citizens to perform their part in the service of +the state. His military talents, though never employed for conquest or +aggression, were of no mean order; and on two occasions of supreme +peril to Athens, the revolt of Euboea, and the revolt of Samos, it was +his energy and promptitude which saved his city from ruin. + +But it is as the head of the great intellectual movement which +culminated in this epoch, as the friend of poets, philosophers, and +artists, that Pericles has won his most enduring fame. By his liberal +and enlightened policy the surplus of the Athenian revenues was +devoted to the creation of those wonders of architecture and +sculpture, whose fragments still serve as unapproachable models to the +mind of modern Europe. And under his rule Athens became the school of +Greece, the great centre for every form of intellectual activity, a +position which she maintained until the later period of the Roman +Empire. + +If, however, we would understand the character of Pericles, and the +spirit of the age which he represents, we must never forget that this +aspect of Athenian greatness, to us by far the most important, was not +the aspect which awoke the highest enthusiasm in him and his +contemporaries. Those things which have made the name of Athens +immortal, her art and her literature, were matters of but secondary +importance to the Athenian of that age. He worshipped his city as a +beloved mistress, and, like a lover, he delighted to adorn her with +outward dignity and splendour. But to lavish all his thought and care +on these external embellishments would have been, in his estimation, a +senseless waste of his highest faculties, as if a lover should make +the robes and jewels of his mistress the objects of his highest +adoration. To make Athens the mightiest state in Greece, to build up +the fabric of her material greatness--these were the objects for which +he was ready to devote the best energies of heart and brain, and if +need were, to lay down his life. He might be skilled in every elegant +accomplishment, an acute reasoner, an orator, a musician, a poet; and +to some extent he was all of these. But before all else he was in the +highest sense a practical man, finding in strenuous action his chief +glory and pride. And such a man was the last to melt into ecstasies +over the high notes of a singer, or dream away his life in the +fairyland of poetry. + +We have dwelt at some length on the work and character of Pericles, as +his death marks a turning point in Athenian history. From that day +onward the policy of Athens takes a downward direction, denoting a +corresponding decline in Athenian character and aspiration. Pericles +had been able, by his commanding talents and proved integrity, to +exercise a salutary check on the restless energies and soaring +ambition of his countrymen. He had been a true father and ruler of his +people, in evil times and in good, curbing them in the insolence of +prosperity, comforting and exalting them in the dark hour of disaster. +But the government now passed into the hands of weaker men, who, since +they were incapable of leading the people, were compelled to follow +it, and to maintain their position by pandering to the worst vices of +the Athenian character. Rash where they should have been cautious, +yielding where they should have been resolute, they squandered the +immense resources of Athens, and led her on, step by step, to +humiliation and defeat. The course of our narrative will show how +easily the Athenians might have emerged triumphant from the struggle +with their enemies, if they had followed the line of conduct marked +out by Pericles. They might, indeed, have avoided the occasion of +offence which led immediately to the war, and thus have escaped the +necessity of fighting altogether; and this, as we have seen, was the +one fatal mistake made by Pericles. But, once launched in the +conflict, they were sure of an easy victory, if they had only shown a +very moderate degree of prudence and self-restraint. And we need not +blame the great statesmen too harshly for not foreseeing the wild +excesses of folly and extravagance which we shall have to record in +the following pages. + + + + +INVESTMENT OF PLATAEA + +In the third year of the war the usual invasion of Attica was omitted, +and the Peloponnesian army under Archidamus marched against Plataea. +Having pitched their camp before the walls they prepared to lay waste +the territory; but before the work of havoc began, the Plataeans sent +envoys to remonstrate. "Unrighteous are your deeds," said the +spokesman of the embassy, "ye men of Sparta, and unworthy of the men +whose sons ye are. After the victory of Plataea, which ended the +struggle against Persia, Pausanias, the chief captain of the +confederate Greeks, offered sacrifice and thanksgiving at Plataea to +Zeus the Liberator, and swore a solemn oath, both he, and all the +Greeks whom he led, to maintain the independence of our city against +all who should assail it. This they did as a recompense for our valour +and devotion in our country's service. But ye, in direct violation of +that oath, have made common cause with our worst enemies, the Thebans, +and have come hither to enslave us. In the name of the gods who +witnessed that covenant, in the name of every power worshipped alike +at Plataea and at Sparta, we adjure you not to commit this sacrilege, +but to leave us in peaceful possession of the privileges vouchsafed to +us on that memorable day." + +Such were the words of the Plataeans, to which Archidamus replied as +follows: "Ye say well, men of Plataea, if ye act in the spirit of the +compact to which ye have appealed. The oath which Pausanias swore was +taken in defence of the common liberties of Greece. Against those +liberties a new enemy has arisen, Athens, who holds half our nation in +bondage, and threatens to lay her yoke upon us all. To put down that +tyranny has this great coalition been called together, and if ye are +true men, ye will enlist in the same cause, and take up arms for the +relief of your distressed countrymen. Or at least, if ye cannot do +this, then stand apart from this conflict, helping neither one side +nor the other; and with this we shall be satisfied." + +Having heard the answer of Archidamus, the Plataean envoys went back, +and reported his words to their fellow-townsmen. But the Plataeans +replied that, without the consent of the Athenians, they dare not +accept his proposal, as their wives and children had been removed to +Athens. Moreover, they feared that if they remained neutral the +Thebans would seize the opportunity to make another attempt on their +town. "Well, then," answered Archidamus, "we make you this second +offer: Hand over your town and your dwellings to us, the Spartans; +keep a strict account of all your trees, [Footnote: Vines and olive- +trees] and of all else that can be numbered, and retire yourselves to +some safe retreat, as long as the war continues. When it is over, we +will restore all your property, and meanwhile keep the land in +cultivation, and pay you a fixed rent, such as may suffice you." + +The offer was fair, and even generous; but the Plataeans were +powerless to act, without the consent of the Athenians, who held their +families as hostages. Accordingly they asked for a truce, to enable +them to lay the proposal before the authorities at Athens, and this +being granted, they sent envoys to Athens, who speedily returned with +this answer: "We have never left you at the mercy of your enemies in +the past, since ye became our allies, nor will we do so now, but will +help you to the best of our power; and we charge you by the oath which +your fathers swore not to depart from your allegiance to Athens." + +It was a cruel alternative which was offered to the hapless Plataeans: +either they must leave their wives and children to the vengeance of +Athens, or face the whole power of the confederates, led by Sparta. +True to their character, they chose the nobler part, and determined to +stand by the Athenian alliance. Henceforth no one was allowed to leave +the town, and their final answer was delivered from the walls. They +were unable, they said, to accept the terms offered by Archidamus. + +On hearing their decision, the Spartan king made a last solemn appeal +to the powers who presided over the territory of Plataea, a hallowed +precinct, now about to be given up to plunder and ravage: "Ye gods and +heroes, who keep the land of Plataea, bear witness that we had just +cause from the first for marching hither, since the Plataeans had +forsaken the alliance, and that if we do aught against them, we shall +still be justified. For we have made them the fairest offers, but they +would not be persuaded. Therefore let those with whom the guilt lies +be punished, and prosper ye the cause of righteous vengeance." + +The siege of Plataea now began in earnest. First the town was +surrounded with a palisade, to prevent anyone from escaping, the +materials being taken from the plantations in the neighbourhood of the +town. Then they raised a mound against the wall, expecting that with +so large a force as theirs they would easily carry the place by storm. +Timber was brought from Cithaeron, and with this they set up two stout +buttresses of cross-beams, at right angles to the town-wall, to serve +as a support on either side of the mound. Within this framework they +piled up fascines, stones, earth, and whatever else was at hand. The +whole army was employed in this task, which was continued for seventy +days and nights without intermission, the men working in regular +spells. + +Meanwhile the Plataeans had not been idle. First they built a wall of +bricks and timber opposite to the point where the mound was rising, +and resting on the ramparts, in order to raise the height of their +defences. The new wall was covered with hides, raw and dressed, to +protect the timber and the workmen from being injured by burning +arrows. And while this structure was in progress, they made a breach +in the old wall, and carted away the earth from the bottom of the +mound. To prevent this, the Peloponnesians filled up the space thus +caused with heavy masses of clay, rammed tightly into baskets of +osier, which made a solid structure, much harder to remove than the +loose earth. Then the Plataeans had recourse to another device: +marking carefully the position of the mound, they ran a mine from the +city under it, and as fast as the earth fell in, they carried it away. +This continued for a long time, for the Peloponnesians, who saw their +mound rising no higher, for all their labour, but rather growing less, +did not guess the cause, but went on heaping up materials, which were +swallowed up as fast as they were brought. + +Still the Plataeans feared that in spite of these counterworks they +would at length be overpowered by numbers, unless they contrived some +better means of defence. So they left off building the wall of bricks +and timber, and beginning at either end of it, they built a crescent- +shaped wall, curving inwards towards the city. Thus the +Peloponnesians, if they succeeded in carrying the first wall, would +find themselves confronted by a second line of defence, and would have +all their work to do over again, besides being exposed to a cross- +fire. + +While the Plataeans were thus vigorously defending themselves, and +before the mound was completed, the Peloponnesians brought siege- +engines to bear on the wall, one of which greatly alarmed the besieged +garrison, by severely shaking their wall of timber and bricks. But +this new mode of attack was frustrated, like the rest, by the +ingenuity of the Plataeans, who dropped nooses over the ends of the +battering-rams, and drew them up just before the moment of impact. +Moreover they suspended heavy beams of wood at intervals along the +wall, each beam hanging by long chains from two cranes which rested on +the wall and projected outwards from it; and whenever a ram was being +brought up, they drew up the beam at right angles to it, and then, +letting go the chains, dropped the ponderous timber, which came +crashing down on the ram, and broke off its head. + +Thus baffled at every point, the Peloponnesians began to despair of +taking the town by assault, and thought that they would be compelled +to form a blockade. But before being driven to this costly and tedious +operation, they determined to try and set fire to the place, which +seemed possible, as it was but small in extent. So they waited till +the wind was in the right direction, and then brought vast quantities +of faggots, and threw them into the space between the mound and the +wall; and this being soon filled up, they piled up more faggots as far +as they could reach within the city itself, and then throwing in +lighted torches, with brimstone and pitch, they set fire to the whole +mass. Then arose a great sheet of flame, such as had never been raised +by human hands, though not, of course, to be compared to the vast +forest-fires, produced by natural means; yet it was sufficient to +cause a panic among the Plataeans, and bring their town to the verge +of destruction. The heat was so intense that a whole quarter of the +place was cleared of its defenders, and if a wind had arisen to drive +the flame inwards, nothing could have saved the whole town from +destruction. [Footnote: Thucydides seems to imply that there was a +wind, though a slight one.] But fortunately the breeze was but slight, +and it is said also that a heavy fall of rain came on, and quenched +the conflagration. + +Having failed in their last attempt, the Peloponnesians sent away part +of their army, and employed those who remained in building a +blockading wall round Plataea. The work was completed towards the end +of September, and they then disbanded their army, leaving a force +sufficient to guard half the wall; for the Thebans, relentless in +their zeal against Plataea, took charge of the other half. The number +of the besieged was four hundred and eighty, of whom eighty were +Athenians, and a hundred and ten women to make bread for the garrison. + + + + +NAVAL VICTORIES OF PHORMIO + +I + +During the last half-century the art of naval warfare had made great +progress in Greece. The Greek war-galley, or trireme, a vessel +propelled by three banks of oars, had always been furnished with a +sharp-pointed prow, for the purpose of ramming an opponent's ship; but +many years elapsed before the Greeks attained genuine skill in the use +of this formidable weapon. According to the ordinary method of +fighting, after the first shock of collision the affair was decided by +the hoplites, or heavy-armed infantry, stationed on the decks of the +two contending ships; and in this manner was fought the engagement +between the Corcyraean and Corinthian. fleets which occurred in the +year before the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War. There the ship was +simply a vehicle, which served to bring the antagonists together, and +the rest was left to the prowess of the hoplites. + +The Athenians were the first to abandon this crude and clumsy style of +fighting, and in the course of two generations their seamen had become +renowned throughout Greece for the unrivalled skill which they showed +in working and manoeuvring the trireme. A few hoplites were still +carried, to serve in cases of emergency; but by far the most important +part in the encounter was played by the trireme itself, with its long, +tapering, sharp-pointed prow. To use this deadly but delicate +instrument with effect required great coolness, dexterity, and +judgment, on the part of the steersman, and a crew under perfect +command. The tactics usually employed were as follows: watching his +opportunity, the captain gave the order "full speed ahead!" and +darting rapidly through the enemy's line, wheeled suddenly round, and +drove the beak of his galley with terrible force against the stern or +side of the vessel selected for attack. One blow from the long lance- +like point, propelled by the whole weight and impetus of the trireme, +was sufficient to sink or disable an enemy's ship, and the attacking +galley was then backed away from the wreck, and directed against +another victim. + +The incessant practice of nearly half a century had enabled the +Athenians to attain consummate mastery in this new method of naval +warfare; and they were now to give signal proof of their immense +superiority over the other maritime powers of Greece. + +In the same summer which witnessed the investment of Plataea, the +Spartans planned an expedition against Acarnania, the westernmost +province of Greece, which they wished to detach from the Athenian +alliance. A Spartan officer, named Cnemus, was sent off in advance, +with a thousand hoplites, to raise the wild mountain tribes, and led +an attack against Stratus, the capital of Acarnania; and in the +meantime orders were sent round to equip a numerous fleet, which was +to support the operations of Stratus by harassing the coast districts. + +The attack on Stratus failed altogether, chiefly in consequence of the +impetuosity of the rude mountaineers serving under Cnemus, who +advanced unsupported against the town, and meeting with a severe +repulse embarrassed the movements of their Greek allies. About the +same time the Peloponnesian fleet, consisting of forty-seven ships, +was sailing down the Corinthian Gulf to co-operate with Cnemus. It was +known that Phormio, the Athenian admiral, was stationed at Naupactus +with a squadron of twenty vessels; but the Peloponnesian captains +never dreamed that he would venture to attack them with so small a +force, and they pursued their voyage along the southern shore of the +gulf, without making any preparations for a battle. Phormio, however, +had other intentions: keeping close to the opposite shore, he followed +their movements, and allowed them to pass through the narrow strait +which divides the inner from the outer gulf, wishing to avoid an +engagement until they reached the open water. The Peloponnesians +dropped anchor for the night at Patrae in Achaia, and Phormio took up +his station at Chalcis, a harbour-town of Aetolia, at the mouth of the +Evenus. Being now convinced that Phormio meditated an encounter, for +which they had little inclination, the Peloponnesian admirals made an +attempt [Footnote: I have adopted the reading of Bloomfield, approved +by Classen (4th Edition).] to steal across under cover of darkness. +But this manoeuvre was detected, and they found their way barred by +the Athenian squadron in the middle of the channel. Being thus driven +to bay the Peloponnesians drew up their ships in a circle, with their +prows turned outwards, like a flock of sheep assailed by a dog. Within +the circle were placed the smaller vessels accompanying the fleet, and +five of the swiftest galleys, which were intended to lend assistance +against any attack of the enemy. + +To keep a large flotilla in such a position, even in a calm sea, where +no hostile movement was made against them, would have been a task to +try the skill of the most accomplished mariners. But the Peloponnesian +crews were untrained, the decks of their ships were crowded with +soldiers, and they were hampered by the crowd of smaller craft. Worst +of all, they were threatened in every direction by the agile Athenian +galleys, which, moving in single file, swept round and round them, +approaching closer and closer at every circuit, so that they were +penned together in an ever-narrowing space, and in danger of fouling +one another. To complete their confusion, the morning breeze began to +blow from the gulf; and Phormio, who had been waiting for this, now +gave the signal for attack. The Peloponnesians hardly attempted any +defence; for the unskilful crews of the galleys could not manage their +oars in the rising sea, and the steersmen had consequently no control +of their vessels. All their efforts were employed in keeping clear of +one another, warding off a collision with long poles, amid a hubbub of +curses and abuse. Into this huddled, swaying mass of war-galleys and +merchant-craft mingled together now dashed the Athenian triremes, +wrecking every vessel which they met. A wild panic ensued among the +Peloponnesian crews, and as fast as they could extricate themselves +they rowed off and sought shelter in the harbour of Patrae. From here +they afterwards sailed to Cyllene, the dockyard of Elis, where they +were joined by Cnemus with the troops from Acarnania. Twelve ships +fell into the hands of the Athenians, and taking these with them they +sailed first to Rhium, a level headland on the Locrian Coast, on which +stood a temple of Poseidon. Having left one of the captured ships as a +thank-offering to the god of the sea, they made their way back to the +original station at Naupactus. + + +II + +The authorities at Sparta were highly indignant at the failure of +their expedition in Acarnania, and the defeat of the Peloponnesian +fleet by so inferior a force. For this was their first experience of a +sea-fight since the outbreak of the war, and they made no allowance +for the want of skill in their own crews, attributing the disaster to +mere cowardice. They did not reflect how vast was the difference +between raw sailors, lately transferred from the plough to the oar, +and the veteran seamen of Athens, trained under a system which had +been slowly perfected in the course of half a century. So they sent +three commissioners to Cnemus, with peremptory orders to prepare for +another sea-fight, and not allow himself to be shut up in harbour by +the feeble squadron of Phormio. One of these commissioners was +Brasidas, a brilliant young officer, who had gained distinction two +years before by saving the harbour-town of Methone, on the coast of +Messenia, from being captured by the Athenians. We shall hear much +more of him in the sequel. + +On the arrival of Brasidas and his colleagues, the ships lying at +Cyllene were made ready for immediate service, and orders were sent +round to the allied cities for other ships. Phormio also sent an +urgent despatch to Athens announcing his victory, and asking for +reinforcements; and the Athenians sent twenty triremes to his aid. +These vessels, however, arrived too late, for the admiral, acting on +instructions from Athens, sailed first to Crete, where he was delayed +a long time by contrary winds. Phormio, with his twenty triremes, was +therefore compelled to engage the whole Peloponnesian fleet, numbering +seventy-seven ships, which had now sailed round from Cyllene, and +taken up its station just within the strait, close to the Achaean town +of Panormus. A strong force of Peloponnesian soldiers was encamped on +the shore, to co-operate with the fleet. Phormio anchored his ships +just outside the strait, being resolved, if it were in any way +possible, not to fight the Peloponnesians in the narrow waters. As the +Peloponnesians, on their side, were equally determined not to be lured +out into the open sea, the two fleets remained confronting each other +for a whole week, without attempting any aggressive movement. At last +the Peloponnesian leaders decided to give battle with Phormio at once, +fearing that if they delayed any longer he would be reinforced from +Athens. + +It was the universal custom of Greek commanders to wind up the courage +of their men on the eve of a battle by a short and pithy address, +calculated to inspire them with confidence, by giving them a +reasonable hope of victory. Such a practice, strange as it may seem to +us, was natural among a people whose armies and fleets were recruited +from the general body of the citizens, accustomed to free speech in +their public assemblies. They were not men of war by profession, +trained in habits of blind obedience, but sensitive Greeks, who +carried into the camp the noble freedom of civic life, and were not +prepared to shed their blood without sufficient cause, and a fair +prospect of success. + +Seldom was there greater need of this sort of military eloquence than +on the present occasion. On both sides there was much discouragement, +and a general reluctance to begin the fight. The Peloponnesians were +cowed by their recent defeat, and dreaded the naval skill of the +Athenians, which seemed to them almost supernatural; and Phormio's men +shrank from an encounter with such enormous odds. Accordingly the +Peloponnesian captains on one side, and Phormio on the other, did what +they could to argue their crews into a more hopeful frame of mind. The +Peloponnesian seamen who had taken part in the first battle were +reminded that they had been caught unprepared, and assured that this +time every precaution would be taken to prevent a second reverse. They +were flattered by the confident assertion that the superior skill of +the Athenians was far outweighed by their own superior courage. +"Look," said one of the admirals, speaking to his own division, "at +this powerful armament, outnumbering the enemy by four to one--look at +the army drawn up on the shore, ready to lend aid to any who are hard +pressed--and you will see that with such advantages defeat is +impossible. Do your duty like men, and expect to be rewarded or +punished according to your deserts." Similar addresses, combining +encouragement with threats, were heard in the other parts of the +fleet. + +Among the Athenian sailors there had been much jesting about the land- +lubbers of Peloponnesus, and in the first flush of their victory they +had been ready to face any odds on the sea. But now, seeing themselves +confronted by such overwhelming numbers, they had lost heart for the +moment, and were seen standing about in little groups, shaking their +heads and whispering fearfully together. It was an anxious moment for +Phormio; he knew the immense importance of maintaining, at any cost, +the naval reputation of Athens, and if his men went into battle in +their present temper, they were certain to suffer a crushing defeat. +Determining, therefore, if possible, to allay the panic which was fast +spreading throughout the fleet, he summoned the crews into his +presence, and harangued them as follows:-- + +"Comrades, I have called you hither to assure you that you have no +cause for alarm. The numbers of the enemy, which seem to you so +formidable, should, if properly considered, be a ground of confidence; +for this unwieldy armament is a sign that they are thoroughly +terrified, and seek safety in a huge crowd of ships. The firmness and +discipline which they have acquired by long experience of land warfare +will avail them little on the sea For courage is largely a matter of +habit, and the bravest landsman is a mere coward when he is taken away +from his own element, and set down on the heaving deck of a war-galley +where he can hardly keep his feet. The disorganized multitude with +which we shall have to deal is a mere mob, held together by the +authority of Sparta, demoralized by their late defeat, and forced to +fight against their will. Face them boldly, and our very audacity in +assailing such numbers will sink them still deeper into helpless +terror, for they will think that we must be invincible, or we should +never run such risks. It shall be my business to bring on the +engagement in blue water, where we shall have them at our mercy. Now +every man to his station; be prompt, and be silent, and attend to the +word of command. Remember your old spirit, and reflect that the honour +of Athens is in your hands to-day." + +The great object of the Peloponnesian leaders was to compel Phormio to +give battle in the confined space of the strait. With this intention +they determined to make a sudden movement towards the northern coast +of the gulf, threatening an attack on Naupactus. At daybreak they drew +up their ships in four lines, with the coast of Peloponnesus behind +them, and with twenty fast-sailing triremes stationed on the right +wing, to cut off Phormio's fleet, if, as they anticipated, he advanced +to the defence of Naupactus. Wheeling then to the right, the ships +sailed some distance, four abreast, towards the inner gulf; and when +they came opposite to Naupactus, they changed their course, and moved +in column, with the right wing leading towards the northern shore. + +The manoeuvre, so far as concerned its immediate purpose, was +completely successful. Phormio, much against his will, was obliged to +leave his station outside the strait, and go to the aid of Naupactus, +which had been left undefended. Great was the delight of the +Peloponnesian captains when they saw the little Athenian squadron +creeping close, in single file, along the northern side of the gulf, +for they thought that not one of the twenty would escape them. At a +given signal, the whole fleet formed into line, resuming its original +order, four deep, and bore down upon the Athenians. Eleven of +Phormio's triremes succeeded in clearing the strait, and getting into +the open waters in the direction of Naupactus; but the remaining nine +were overtaken and driven aground, and their crews, except those who +escaped by swimming, were put to the sword. Some of these vessels were +towed off as prizes by the Peloponnesians, and one they captured with +all her crew. The rest were saved by the valour of the Messenian +soldiers, who had followed the movements of Phormio's vessels along +the shore, and now did good service by boarding the stranded triremes, +and hauling them to land, after a sharp tussle with the enemy. + +Meanwhile the eleven ships which had eluded the attack were hotly +pursued by the twenty fast-sailing vessels on the Peloponnesian right +wing. All but one got through in safety, and took refuge in the +harbour of Naupactus, and drawing up in line, with their prows +outwards, prepared to defend themselves if the enemy advanced further +against them. But the rearmost vessel was hard pressed by a Leucadian +ship, and the rest of the pursuers followed at a considerable +distance, singing the paean [Footnote: A song of victory.] as they +rowed, and expecting an easy victory. Now, however, occurred one of +those sudden turns of fortune so frequent in the course of a sea- +fight. The Athenian trireme which had been left far behind in the +chase, made a sudden sweep round a merchant-vessel anchored at the +mouth of the harbour, struck her pursuer amidships, and sank her. + +This splendid feat of seamanship filled the Peloponnesians, who were +advancing in disorder, with amazement and terror. On every trireme the +cry of "Hold her!" [Footnote: This was done by thrusting the oars, with +the blades held flat, deep into the water] was heard, and some of the +vessels, losing way suddenly, ran aground on the shallows. The others +hung back, waiting until the main body of the fleet should come to +their support. Seeing them drifting thus, stupefied and helpless, the +Athenians took heart again, and raising a shout rowed swiftly from +their station within the harbour, and charged down upon them. The +Peloponnesians, after a feeble attempt at resistance, took to flight, +heading for their original station on the opposite coast. Six of their +vessels were captured, and the Athenians, not content with this, fell +upon the main body of the fleet, and recovered their own ships which +had been taken in the strait. The victorious crews of Phormio then +returned to Naupactus, and set up a trophy at the place where they had +been moored when this splendid rally was made, opposite to the temple +of Apollo. The Peloponnesians also raised a trophy, to commemorate +their first success, and then, fearing the arrival of the fresh ships +from Athens, they sailed off to Lechaeum, the northern harbour of +Corinth. + + +III + +In strange contrast with the disgraceful exhibition of cowardice and +incompetence which we have just witnessed, we have now to record a +daring attempt, undertaken shortly afterwards, to strike at the very +heart of the Athenian power. While the beaten crews of the +Peloponnesian fleet were waiting to be paid off at Lechaeum, they +suddenly received orders to take their oars and rowing-cushions, and +proceed to Nisaea, the port of Megara. The plan was to embark them on +forty vessels, which were lying in the dockyards, and make a night- +attack on Peiraeus. The suggestion came from the Megarians, but in +carrying it out the Peloponnesians were probably influenced by the +bold and enterprising spirit of Brasidas. And in fact, the meditated +descent on Peiraeus was neither so wild nor so rash as it may at first +sight appear. For the Athenians, never dreaming that they might be +taken by surprise, had not taken the precaution to close the entrance +of their harbour, or to station guard-ships for its defence. + +Without delay, the officers in charge of the expedition mustered their +crews at Nisaea, and embarking by night, got their ships under way. +But at the last moment their hearts failed them, and instead of +sailing to Peiraeus, they landed on the island of Salamis, and after +attacking a sea-side fort, and capturing three triremes which were +riding at anchor near it, they spread themselves out, and began +ravaging and plundering the country. + +Meanwhile fire-signals had been raised, conveying the alarm to +Peiraeus and Athens. A wild panic ensued, and a rumour ran through the +upper city that the enemy had sailed into Peiraeus, while in the +harbour-town it was generally supposed that Salamis was lost, and +Peiraeus on the point of being invaded. The Peloponnesians employed in +this adventure afterwards pretended that they had been hindered by +contrary winds from carrying out their original design. But this was a +mere excuse, and if they had chosen they might have sailed unopposed +to Peiraeus, and inflicted terrible injury on Athens. But it was now +too late, for the Athenians, as soon as the news was brought, had +marched down with their whole military force to Peiraeus, and occupied +every assailable point in the harbour, while at the same time every +ship in the docks was launched and manned, and sent off in headlong +haste to Salamis. + +By this time it was broad daylight, and the Peloponnesians, being +warned that a rescue was on the way from Peiraeus, made off with their +booty, and getting, on board their ships, sailed back to Nisaea. They +had the more reason for hastening their departure, as the Megarian +ships which had carried them to Salamis, having lain a long while in +dry-dock, were leaky and unseaworthy; for the harbour of Megara had +for some time past been kept in close blockade by the Athenians. + +This memorable incident, following close on the brilliant victories of +Phormio, taught the Athenians to take better precautions for the +future. Hitherto they would have scoffed at the suggestion that their +own arsenals and dockyards were exposed to attack. But now they +provided for the safety of Peiraeus by closing the harbours and +keeping a vigilant watch. And that terrible night left an impression +on their minds which was not soon forgotten. + + + + +THE REVOLT OF LESBOS + +I + +We have already traced the steps by which the various cities +composing the Confederacy of Delos gradually became subjects and +tributaries of Athens. After this great change was effected, the only +members of the original league who retained their independence were +the wealthy and powerful communities of Chios and Lesbos. These two +islands were allowed to retain undisturbed control of their own +affairs, with the sole obligation of sending a fixed quota of ships to +serve in the Athenian Navy. It does not appear that the performance of +this duty was felt as a grievance, and no act of oppression had been +committed by Athens, such as might have provoked her allies in Lesbos +or Chios to turn against her. In both islands the general body of the +citizens were on the whole friendly to the Athenians, who afforded +them an effectual means of protection against the tyranny of the +nobles, by summoning high-born offenders to be tried before the +Athenian tribunals. [Footnote: The evidence for this statement will be +found in Thucydides, viii. 48.] It was therefore not among the people +at large, but among the privileged few, that any movement of revolt +against Athens was to be expected. + +Some years before the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War the Lesbian +malcontents had solicited the Spartans to help them in throwing off +the yoke of Athens. This application, which was probably made at the +time of the revolt of Samos, found no favour with Sparta, and nothing +further was attempted on that occasion. But in the fourth year of the +war alarming rumours were brought to Athens from Tenedos, a small +island included in the Athenian alliance, whose inhabitants were +jealous of the threatened ascendancy of Lesbos in the eastern +districts of the Aegaean. There was a design, it was said, among the +leading citizens of Mytilene, the principal city of Lesbos, to unite +the inhabitants of the island by force under their rule, and renounce +their allegiance to Athens. Help was expected from Sparta, and the +Boeotians, who were of the same race as the Lesbians, were also in the +plot. This statement was confirmed by envoys from Methymna, the second +city of Lesbos, which stood apart from the conspiracy, and by certain +citizens of Mytilene, who had turned informers from motives of private +revenge. + +Among the Athenians at this time there was a general feeling of +despondency and exhaustion. The full hardship of the war pressed +heavily upon them, and their population was thinned by the ravages of +the plague. In such a mood the thought of undertaking a campaign +against a great island like Lesbos, then at the height of her power, +filled them with dismay. Was it possible that a favoured and +privileged ally had taken up arms against them in the hour of their +distress? It was a slander, they could not, they would not believe it. +At any rate, before proceeding to extremities, they would try the +effect of a friendly remonstrance. So they sent envoys with a pacific +message to the Mytilenaeans, hoping by fair words to deter them from +their purpose. In this, however, they were disappointed, and being at +last convinced that the Lesbians were on the brink of revolt, they +sent off forty triremes without delay, in order, if possible, to catch +them unawares. For they had been informed that the Mytilenaeans were +about to celebrate the festival of Apollo, in which the whole +population took part, outside the city walls; and if the triremes +arrived in time, there would be a fine opportunity for a surprise. At +the same time they took possession of ten Mytilenaean triremes, which +had been sent to serve in the Athenian fleet, and imprisoned the +crews. + +But now was seen one of the weaknesses inherent in the nature of the +Athenian constitution. These measures could not be taken without +public debate in the popular assembly, and such a method of procedure +rendered secrecy impossible. The Mytilenaeans received timely warning +of their danger, and keeping close within their walls, repaired the +weak places in their defences, and set a careful watch. Shortly +afterwards the Athenian fleet hove in sight. As the Mytilenaeans +refused to obey the summons delivered to them in the name of the +imperial people,--that they should raze their walls, and surrender +their ships,--hostilities commenced. But on neither side was much +vigour displayed, for the Athenian officers thought themselves too +weak to undertake any decisive operations with their present force, +and the Mytilenaeans desired to obtain a respite, to enable them to +obtain aid from Sparta. Accordingly they asked for an armistice, +pretending that they wished to plead their cause by their own +representatives before the Athenian assembly; and their request being +granted, they sent envoys to Athens, who made a show of carrying on +negotiations. And in the meantime a trireme was despatched in all +haste to carry their petition to Sparta. + +On the return of the Mytilenaean envoys from Athens, where of course +they had accomplished nothing, the siege of Mytilene began in earnest. +The city was situated on a promontory facing the Asiatic coast on the +south-eastern side of the island, and had two harbours, on its +northern and southern side. Both of these harbours were now held in +close blockade by the Athenians, who established two camps, one on +either side of the town, and patrolled the harbour-mouths with their +ships. But on the land side the investment was not yet completed, so +that supplies could still be brought into the town from the island. +Reinforcements, however, came pouring into the Athenian quarters in +answer to a summons sent to the cities of the Athenian alliance, who +were the more willing to lend help, as the Lesbians made no vigorous +effort in their own defence. + +While the prospects of Athens were thus brightening, the Mytilenaean +envoys, after a stormy voyage, arrived at Sparta, and laid their +petition before the authorities. It happened that the Olympic festival +was close at hand, where representatives would be present from all the +cities of the Peloponnesian league; so the envoys received orders to +go to Olympia, and state their case in the presence of the Spartan +allies. They went, therefore, to Olympia, and when the festival was +over, the Mytilenaean orator addressed the confederates as follows:-- + +"Before we urge our claim for assistance we wish to combat a prejudice +which we know to be general in Greece against those who desert their +allies in time of war. For we wish not only to obtain your countenance +and support, but also to preserve your respect. To abandon an ally +without just cause in a time of peril is justly regarded as an act of +treason. But then the alliance must be a fair and equal relation +voluntarily assumed on both sides, based on mutual esteem and parity +of power. Can anyone assert that our connexion with Athens answers to +this description? Have we not seen how the confederacy of maritime +cities formed against Persia was gradually converted into an Athenian +empire? And though we and the Chians enjoyed nominal independence, we +had good reason to fear that this was only a temporary concession, +which would be withdrawn as soon as the Athenians felt themselves +strong enough to attack us. We were allowed to retain our liberty, +partly because they feared our navy, and partly because they wished to +make us accomplices in their own aggressions, and lend an appearance +of equity to the acts of violence in which we were compelled to take +part. Having swallowed up the smaller states, they were ready to +pounce upon us, and were only prevented by the outbreak of the present +war. Who, then, can blame us, if we seized the opportunity when they +were weakened to repudiate this false alliance, and anticipate the +blow which they were preparing for us? Athens, we repeat, has no just +title to our allegiance; the bond which held us together was fear on +our side and interest on theirs. We are natural enemies; and when your +foe is disabled, then is the time to strike. + +"Having thus cleared ourselves from the imputation of disloyalty, we +will now make plain to you the advantages which you will gain by +espousing our cause. If you wish to inflict irreparable injury on +Athens, you must promote every hostile movement against her in those +regions which contain the sources of her power, that is to say, the +islands and coast-lands of the Aegaean. For if our revolt is +successful, others will follow our example, and the Athenians will be +stripped of their revenues, the mainstay of their empire. You can lend +us aid most effectually by summoning your allies for a second +[Footnote: Attica had already been invaded earlier in the summer.] +invasion of Attica, and thus preventing the Athenians from sending +reinforcements to Lesbos. You have a rare opportunity, for their city +is wasted by the plague, and their navies are dispersed on foreign +service. Remember, then, your proud position as champions of Greek +liberty, and put away the reproach which you have sometimes incurred +by leaving the revolted subjects of Athens to fight their battles +alone. [Footnote: As in the case of Samos.] For the cause of Lesbos is +the cause of all Greece." + +It will be observed that the greater part of this remarkable speech +consists of an elaborate endeavour on the part of the Mytilenaeans to +justify themselves. The arguments employed were entirely sophistical, +for the Lesbians had no real grievance--and the statement that they +were in danger of losing their independence was a pure invention. But +they spoke to a partial audience, and the Spartans had already +prejudged the case in their favour. It was therefore decided to +receive them into the Peloponnesian alliance, and orders were issued +to the allies to assemble at the Isthmus with two-thirds of their +forces for an immediate invasion of Attica. The Spartans, acting with +unusual vigour, were the first to appear at the Isthmus, where they +made preparations for hauling ships overland from the northern harbour +of Corinth, intending to attack Athens by sea and land. But the rest +of the confederates came in but slowly, as they were engaged in +getting in their harvest, and had little inclination for a second +campaign. + +The Spartans soon found out that they were mistaken in supposing the +energies of Athens to be exhausted. Without moving their fleet from +Lesbos, the Athenians manned a hundred triremes, raising the crews +from the whole body of the citizens, with the exception of the knights +and the wealthiest class of the Solonian census, and pressing even +resident foreigners into the service; and with this imposing force +they made an armed demonstration before the eyes of their enemies at +the Isthmus, and then, coasting along Peloponnesus, made descents +wherever they pleased. This spirited conduct produced the desired +effect. For the Spartans, who were still waiting for their allies at +the Isthmus, saw themselves baffled in all their calculations, and +concluded that they had been misinformed by the Lesbians as to the +state of affairs at Athens; and hearing that their own coast-lands +were being ravaged by the Athenian fleet, they hastily decamped, and +the plan of a second invasion came to nothing. + +The summer was now drawing to a close, and as yet no progress had been +made with the siege of Mytilene. The town was still blockaded by sea, +but the Mytilenaeans had free egress on the land-side, and marched up +and down the island, confirming the other towns which had joined in +the revolt, and threatening Methymna, which still remained loyal to +the Athenian alliance. When the Athenians were informed of this state +of things, they sent a thousand hoplites under Paches to reinforce the +besieging army; and on their arrival the investment of Mytilene was +completed by a wall drawn from sea to sea, and cutting off the town +from the rest of the island. The Mytilenaeans now began to despair, +for their supplies were failing, and there seemed no hope of relief. +But during the winter a ray of hope reached them from outside, and +encouraged them to persevere in their resistance. There was a weak +point in the Athenian wall, where it closed a ravine; and through this +interval a Spartan named Salaethus, who had sailed to Lesbos in a +trireme, and crossed the island on foot, succeeded in making his way +into the town. Salaethus announced himself as an agent sent from +Sparta, to inform the distressed garrison that, as soon as the season +permitted, forty triremes would be sent to their assistance, and that +Attica would be invaded at the same time, to keep the enemy occupied +at home. At this welcome news the hopes of the Mytilenaeans revived, +and all thoughts of surrender were laid aside. + + +II + +As soon as spring arrived, the Spartans, true to their promise, sent +off forty triremes, commanded by Alcidas, to raise the siege of +Mytilene, and marched in full force into Attica, thinking thus to +divert the attention of the Athenians, and prevent them from +interfering with the voyage of Alcidas. They remained a long time in +Attica, waiting for news from their fleet, and employing the time in a +systematic ravage of the whole territory. But time passed, and no +message arrived from Alcidas, who seemed to have disappeared with all +his ships; so that at last, as their expectations were disappointed, +and their supplies exhausted, they broke up their army and returned +home. + +The position of Mytilene was now growing desperate. Nothing more was +heard of the relieving squadron, and the scanty store of provisions +was rapidly failing; for, owing to the betrayal of their design, the +Mytilenaeans had been hurried into revolt before their preparations +were completed, and had had no time to lay up a sufficient stock of +food. Salaethus, therefore, determined to make a sudden sally, and +break out of the town; and the better to effect this purpose, he +furnished the common people, who had hitherto served as light-armed +soldiers, with the full equipment of heavy infantry. But this +proceeding brought on a catastrophe, for the commons no sooner found +themselves in possession of better weapons than they turned upon their +masters, and accused them of secreting supplies of corn for their own +use. "Bring out your corn," they cried, "and divide it equally, or we +will go out and make terms with the Athenians for ourselves." Alarmed +at this threat, which if carried out would leave them exposed as the +sole objects of Athenian vengeance, the nobles sent a message to +Paches, on behalf of the whole city, offering to surrender, on +condition that their case should be tried by the tribunals at Athens, +and stipulating that, while the decision was pending, no violence +should be offered to any of the inhabitants. The proposal was +accepted, and Paches marched his forces into the town. In spite of the +convention, the leaders of the revolt took sanctuary in the temples, +being in dread of summary execution. Paches reassured them, and sent +them in safe custody to Tenedos. + +We must now turn back a little, and follow the movements of Alcidas. +The Spartan admiral, it would seem, had small stomach for the bold +adventure on which he was bound--no less than to rob the Athenians of +one of their most important possessions, and defy the redoubtable +captains of Athens on their own element. After loitering for some time +off the coast of Peloponnesus, he sailed on slowly as far as Delos, +and then, touching at Icarus, he heard that Mytilene was already +taken. Wishing, however, to inform himself with certainty, he pushed +on as far as Erythrae, on the mainland of Asia, which he reached seven +days after the fall of Mytilene. Being now assured that the report was +true, he called a council of war to decide what was to be done. Then a +certain Greek of Elis, named Teutiaplus, made a bold suggestion: "Let +us," he said, "sail straight to Mytilene, and make an attempt to +recapture the town by surprise. Most likely the Athenians, flushed +with success, will be taken unawares, and we shall find the harbour +open, and the land forces dispersed, and if we make a sudden onfall, +under cover of darkness, we shall probably succeed." + +The prudent Alcidas found this proposal little to his taste; nor was +he better pleased by another plan, put forward by the Lesbian envoys +who were returning on board the Peloponnesian fleet, and seconded by a +party of exiles from the cities of Ionia. These men tried to persuade +Alcidas to establish himself in some city of Asia Minor, and raise a +revolt among the allies of Athens in these parts. He had, they said, +every prospect of success, for his arrival was welcomed on all sides. +Let him seize the opportunity of attacking the Athenians in their most +mortal part, first by withdrawing the tribute of Ionia, and secondly +by putting them to the expense of a blockade. + +This daring scheme might have led to something important, if the fleet +had been commanded by Brasidas. But Alcidas was a man of very +different temper, and having arrived too late to save Mytilene, he had +now but one thought,--to return to Peloponnesus as fast as he could, +and get out of the reach of the terrible Athenian triremes. So he set +his fleet in motion, and sailing along the coast in a southerly +direction put in at Ephesus. On the voyage he showed himself to be as +cruel as he was cowardly, by capturing and putting to death the crews +of the vessels which came in his way. These were not a few, for the +ships which crossed his path approached fearlessly, under the +impression that his fleet was from Athens; for no one dreamed that a +Peloponnesian squadron would dare to enter these waters. For this +senseless barbarity he was severely rebuked by a deputation of Samian +exiles, now living on the mainland, who met him at Ephesus. His was a +strange method, they remarked with bitter irony, of helping the +Ionians to recover their liberty--to butcher defenceless men, who had +done him no harm, but looked to him for rescue from their bondage to +Athens! If he continued to behave thus, he would make the name of +Sparta detested throughout Ionia. Dull as he was, Alcidas could not +but feel the justice of this reprimand, and he let the rest of his +prisoners go. + +The presence of a Peloponnesian fleet had caused great alarm among +the inhabitants of Ionia, and urgent messages came in daily to Paches +at Mytilene, summoning him to their aid. For even though Alcidas +had declined to take up a permanent station on the coast, as the +exiles had suggested, it was apprehended that he would pillage the +sea-side towns, which were unfortified, on his homeward voyage. At +last two state triremes, the _Paralus_ and _Salaminia,_ which had +been sent on public business from Athens, came into Mytilene with the +news that they had sighted the fleet of Alcidas lying at anchor off +Clarus. [Footnote: A little town, north-west of Ephesus.] Thereupon +Paches put to sea at once, and gave chase. But Alcidas had got wind of +his danger, and was already on the high seas, making all speed for +Peloponnesus. Paches pursued him as far as Patmos, and then turned +back. He would gladly have caught the Peloponnesians in blue water, +where he could have sent all their ships to the bottom; but as it was +he thought himself fortunate to have escaped the necessity of forming +a blockade, as he must have done if he had come up with them near +land, and driven them ashore. As for Alcidas, he fled in wild haste, +keeping the open sea, being resolved not to touch land, if he could +help it, until he reached the shelter of a Peloponnesian harbour. + + +III + +On his return to Lesbos, Paches despatched to Athens the prisoners who +had been sent to Tenedos, among whom was the Spartan Salaethus. When +they arrived the Athenians immediately put Salaethus to death, and +then met in full assembly to decide on the fate of the rest. They had +just been delivered from a fearful danger, and in the natural reaction +of vindictive rage which had now set in they came to the horrible +resolution of putting all the adult male population of Mytilene to the +sword, and selling the women and children as slaves. The Mytilenaeans, +they argued, were without excuse: they were not subjects of Athens, +who might wish to escape from their burdens, but free and privileged +allies. They had treacherously plotted against Athens, when she was +sunk deep in calamity, and brought a Peloponnesian fleet within the +sacred circle of her empire. For a long time past they had evidently +been hatching a vile conspiracy against the very existence of Athens. +Having once come to this decision, the Athenians lost no time, but +sent off a trireme on the same day, with orders to Paches to carry the +decree into effect. + +But after a night of cool reflection they began to repent of their +haste. It was a cruel and monstrous thing, they now thought, to +butcher the population of a whole city, innocent and guilty alike. The +Mytilenaean envoys, who had been sent to Athens on the surrender of +the city, perceived that there was a change in the public temper, and +acting in concert with influential Athenians who were in their +interest, they induced the magistrates to summon a second assembly, +and re-open the debate. + +It is on this occasion that we first catch sight [Footnote: That is, +in the narrative of Thucydides.] of the notorious demagogue Cleon, who +for the next six years will be the most prominent figure in Athenian +public life. This man belongs to a class of politicians who had begun +to exercise great influence on the affairs of Athens after the death +of Pericles. That great statesman had really led the people, checking +their excesses, setting bounds to their ambition, and guiding all the +moods of the stormy democracy. But the demagogues were lowborn +upstarts, who, while seeming to lead the people, really followed it, +and kept their position by pandering to the worst passions of the +multitude. It must, however, be mentioned that the two contemporary +writers from whom we draw our materials for the portrait of Cleon, the +historian Thucydides and the comic poet Aristophanes, were both +violently prejudiced against him. Aristophanes hated him as the +representative of the new democracy, which was an object of abhorrence +to the great comic genius; and Thucydides, a born aristocrat, of +strong oligarchical sympathies, looked with cold scorn and aversion on +the coarse mechanic, [Footnote: Cleon was a tanner by trade.] who +presumed to usurp the place, and ape the style, of a true leader like +Pericles. + +In the previous debate Cleon had been the chief promoter of the +murderous sentence passed against Mytilene; and when the question was +brought forward again, he made a vehement harangue, the substance of +which has been preserved by Thucydides. In this speech he appears as a +practised rhetorical bravo, whose one object is to vilify his +opponents, and throw contempt on their arguments, by an unscrupulous +use of the weapons of ridicule, calumny, and invective. He reproaches +the magistrates for convening a second assembly, in a matter which had +already been decided; and this was, in fact, strictly speaking, a +breach of the constitution. He laughs at the Athenians as weak +sentimentalists, always inclined to mercy, even when mercy was +suicidal. Of the subject communities he speaks as if they were mere +slaves and chattels, outside the pale of humanity, to be kept down +with the scourge and the sword. "Let the law prevail," cries this +second Draco. "The law is sacred, and must not be moved. You are so +clever that you will not live, by fixed rule and order, and you deride +the approved principles of political wisdom. Every one of you wants to +be a lawgiver, a statesman, and a reformer, and to manage the public +affairs in his own way. We, who understand your true interests, are +bound to resist this mood of lawless extravagance, and keep you in the +right path, whether you will or no." + +Then preserving the same tone, as of one who is exposing an outrageous +paradox, Cleon proceeds to deal with the actual subject of debate. To +massacre a whole population, was, in his view, a commonplace and +ordinary proceeding; and, in the present instance, the only course +consistent with prudence and common sense. Those who maintained the +contrary were either flighty enthusiasts, whose opinion was not worth +considering, or venal orators, who had sold their country for a bribe. +"Will you suffer yourselves," asked the indignant moralist, "to be +blinded by these corrupt advocates, who amuse you with their +eloquence, and then pocket the price? But it is your own fault: you +have no sense of public responsibility--you are like clever children, +playing at a game of politics. While you sit here, listening to your +favourite speakers, and sharpening your wits against theirs, your +empire is going to ruin. Plain fact is too simple a diet for your +pampered appetites; you must have it hashed and served up with a fine +flavouring of fancy and wit. In short, you have lost all hold upon +reality, you live in an intellectual Utopia, and treat grave matters +of public interest as though they were mere themes in a school of +declamation." + +In drawing this remarkable picture of Athenian character, which, +though strangely out of place, really contained a large element of +truth, Cleon overreached himself, and was caught in his own snare. It +was he, and not his opponents, who was diverting attention from facts, +and involving a plain issue in a cloud of wordy rhetoric. He has no +arguments, worthy of the name, but tries to carry his case by playing +on the passions of the people, and blowing up the flames of their +anger, which was beginning to cool. But though the more discerning +among his audience must have seen through his sophistries, to a large +proportion of his hearers his speech no doubt seemed a masterpiece of +eloquence. The Athenians, who, like all people of lively talent, were +fond of laughing at themselves, would be especially amused by his +humorous description of their own besetting weakness, their restless +vanity, and inordinate love of change. + +The chief advocate for mitigating the sentence against Mytilene was a +certain Diodotus, who had taken a leading part in the previous debate, +and now stood up again to oppose the blood-thirsty counsels of Cleon. +The speech of Diodotus is calm, sober, and business-like. After a +dignified remonstrance against the vile insinuations of Cleon, by whom +all who differed from him were decried as fools or knaves, Diodotus +proceeded to argue the question from the point of view of expediency. +He was not there, he said, to plead the cause of the Mytilenaeans, or +to discuss abstract questions of law and justice. What they had to +consider was what course would be most conducive to the interests of +Athens. According to Cleon, those interests would be best served by a +wholesale massacre of the inhabitants of Mytilene, which would strike +terror into the other subjects of Athens, and prevent them from +yielding to the same temptation. But, reasoned Diodotus, experience +had shown that intending criminals were not deterred from wrongdoing +by the increased severity of penal statutes. For a long time lawgivers +had framed their codes in this belief, thinking to drive mankind into +the path of rectitude by appealing to their terrors. Yet crime had not +diminished, but rather increased. And what was true of individuals, +was still more true of cities, where each man hoped to be concealed +among the crowd of transgressors. Criminals, whether they acted +singly, or in large numbers, were only rendered desperate, if all +degrees of crime were confounded in one common penalty of death. + +Such were the enlightened principles of jurisprudence set forth by an +Athenian of the fifth century before Christ--principles which were +first recognised in modern Europe within the memory of men still +living. Then, bringing his theories to a practical test, he pointed +out the gross impolicy of driving a revolted city to desperation, by +excluding all rebels from the hope of pardon. This, he said, would be +the effect on the subjects of Athens, if they passed the same sentence +on the Mytilenaeans, without distinction between the innocent and the +guilty. At present the commons in every city were loyal to Athens; and +though they might be beguiled or coerced into rebellion, they would, +if assured of fair treatment, take the first opportunity of returning +to their allegiance, as the commoners of Mytilene had done. "Do not, +therefore," concluded Diodotus, "destroy this, the strongest guarantee +of your security, but punish the ringleaders of the revolt, after due +deliberation, and leave the rest in peace." + +The arguments of Diodotus were unanswerable, and it might have been +supposed that the Athenians, in their relenting mood, would have +carried the amendment by a large majority. But this was not the case. +The debate was keenly contested, and when the president called for a +show of hands, the more merciful decree was only passed by a few +votes. There was no time to be lost, for the first trireme was already +a day and a night on her voyage, and the fate of Mytilene hung by a +hair. A second trireme was launched with all speed, and the +Mytilenaeans present in Athens promised large rewards to the crew if +they arrived in time. With such inducements the rowers toiled day and +night, taking their meals, which consisted of barley-meal kneaded with +wine and oil, at the oar, and sleeping and rowing by turns. Happily +there was no contrary wind to retard their progress, and the crew of +the first vessel, bearing that savage mandate, made no efforts to +shorten their passage. As it was, they were not an hour too soon: for +when they arrived, Paches had already received the decree, and was +preparing to carry it out. Thus Mytilene escaped destruction by a +hair's-breadth, and Athens was saved from committing a great crime. +But even the modified sentence, which was passed directly afterwards +on the motion of Cleon, condemning more than a thousand Mytilenaean +citizens to death, was sufficiently ferocious, and was remembered +against the tyrant city in the days of her humiliation. + + + + +ESCAPE OF TWO HUNDRED PLATAEANS FALL OF PLATAEA + +I + +The siege of Plataea had now lasted for more than a year, and the +brave garrison began to be in sore straits, for their supplies were +giving out, and they had no hope of rescue from outside. In this +desperate situation they resolved to make an attempt to break through +the besieging lines, and make their escape to Athens. All were to take +part in the adventure, leaving the Peloponnesians in possession of an +empty town. But when the time came for carrying out this bold design, +half of the garrison drew back, thinking the risk too great. The other +half, numbering about two hundred and twenty, persisted in their +purpose, and forthwith fell to work on their preparations. They began +by making ladders for scaling the enemy's wall; and in order to +ascertain the proper length of the ladders, they counted the courses +of bricks in a part of the wall facing the town, which happened to +have been left unplastered. Many counted the courses together, and by +repeating the process over and over again, and comparing the result, +they at last hit upon the right number. When once this was known, they +could easily calculate the length of their ladders, for the bricks +were all of the same dimensions, and they knew the thickness of a +single brick. + +The Peloponnesians had built a double line of wall round Plataea, the +two lines being separated by a distance of sixteen feet. The whole of +the space within this double wall was covered by a flat roof, so as to +present the appearance of a single thick wall, with battlements on +either side; and this covered space, which was divided into rooms by +partition-walls, served as barracks for the besiegers. Along the top +were high towers, with intervals of ten battlements between them, and +built flush with the wall on both sides, so as to leave no passage, +except through the middle of the tower. These served as guard-rooms, +where the soldiers on duty took shelter on wet and stormy nights. For +the distance between the towers was very small, and they could rush +out and man the walls at a moment's notice. + +The Plataeans omitted no precaution which might secure success for +their hazardous enterprise. Every man understood exactly the part +which he had to play, and knew that his own life, and the lives of his +comrades, depended on his courage and coolness. They had chosen their +time well, for it was now mid-winter. So they waited for a night of +storm and rain, when there was no moon, and sallying forth from the +town crossed the inner ditch, and came up to the inner wall, +unperceived by the enemy; for the noise of their footsteps was drowned +by the roaring of the wind, and they were careful to advance in open +order, so as not to be discovered by the clashing of their arms. The +whole troop was lightly equipped, and they walked with their right +foot unsandalled, to give them a firmer hold on the muddy ground. +Choosing one of the spaces between two towers, they adjusted their +ladders, and began to ascend the wall. The first to mount were twelve +picked men, armed with breastplates and daggers, who as soon as they +reached the top, rushed to the towers, six men to each, and having +overpowered the guard, stood ready to defend the passage. These were +followed by others, armed with javelins, whose shields were handed up +to them from below as they ascended, to enable them to climb the more +easily. Several of this party had got up in safety, when one of those +who were following dislodged a tile as he grasped the battlements. The +sound of the falling tile alarmed the guards in the towers, and soon +the whole besieging force was in a commotion. But being bewildered by +the darkness, and deafened by the tempest which was blowing, they knew +not which way to turn, and remained at their quarters, waiting for +orders. And at the same time the Plataeans left in the town made a +feigned attack on the Peloponnesian wall at the opposite side to +divert the attention of the enemy. In the general confusion thus +created the besiegers were at a loss what to do, and three hundred of +their men, who were kept together for prompt service on any pressing +occasion, took up their station before the outer wall, thinking that +the Athenians had come to relieve the town. Fire-signals were now +kindled by the Peloponnesians, to summon help from Thebes; but the +Plataeans were prepared for this also, and they kindled other beacons +which had been raised for the purpose on their wall, so as to obscure +the meaning of the enemy's signals, and delay the march of the +Thebans, until their own comrades had had time to escape. + +The way was thus left clear for the gallant two hundred. Those who led +the party had secured possession of the passages through the towers, +and stood ready to bar the way against all assailants. Others who +followed brought ladders, and planting them at the foot of the towers, +mounted to the top, and kept off the Peloponnesians, when they +attempted to force an entrance, with a shower of javelins. Over the +intervening space now swarmed the main body of the Plataeans; and each +man, as he got over, halted at the edge of the outer ditch, and kept +up a hot fire of javelins and arrows, to cover the retreat of his +comrades, and repel any attack from below. When all the rest had +crossed the wall, those who held the towers began to descend; and this +was the most perilous part of the adventure, especially for those who +came last. All, however, succeeded in joining their comrades by the +ditch, and just at this moment the picked troop of three hundred, who +carried torches, came upon them. But fortune still favoured the +Plataeans; crouching in the deep shadow thrown by the high banks of +the ditch, they plied the enemy, who with their blazing torches +afforded an easy mark, with darts and arrows. And thus, fighting and +retreating at the same time, they made their way gradually across the +ditch, but not without a severe struggle, for the water was swollen by +the snow which had fallen in the night, and covered with rotten ice. +Their best friend was the tempest, which raged with extraordinary +violence throughout the night. + +When their last man had crossed, the Plataeans went off at a run in +the direction of Thebes, being assured that no one would expect them +to take the road which led to their worst enemy. And the prudence of +this course soon appeared, for looking back they saw the +Peloponnesians hurrying with lighted torches along the road to Athens. +Then after marching towards Thebes for about a mile, they doubled +back, and taking to the mountains soon reached the friendly territory +of Attica. They received a kind welcome at Athens, where it was found +that out of the original two hundred and twenty, only eight were +missing. Seven of these had lost heart at the last moment, and +returned to Plataea, where they announced that all the rest of the +party had been slain. One only, an archer, was taken prisoner at the +outer ditch. + +On hearing the report of those who had turned back, the Plataeans +applied for a truce to bury their dead; and when their herald came +back from his useless errand, they learned to their delight that this +gallant enterprise, so ably planned, and so boldly executed, had been +crowned with complete success. + + +II + +Well would it have been for the Plataeans who remained in the town if +they had stood by their first purpose, and shared the fortunes of +their brave comrades. Better far to have died, sword in hand, than to +meet the ignoble fate which was now reserved for them. It was in the +following summer, two years after the beginning of the siege, that the +crisis arrived. The Plataeans had come to the end of their provisions, +and were suffering severely from want of food. In this state of +weakness they were suddenly attacked by the besiegers, who might +easily have carried the town by storm. But the Spartan general wished, +if possible, to avoid this, as all places taken by assault would have +to be given back to their original owners on the conclusion of peace, +whereas those which had voluntarily surrendered might be retained. +Accordingly he sent a herald, and summoned the Plataeans to surrender, +promising that they should have a fair trial by Spartan judges; and +they, being actually on the point of starvation, accepted the terms +offered, and laid down their arms. They were kept in custody and +supplied with food until the judges, five in number, arrived from +Sparta. On the arrival of the judges no express charge was made +against them, but they were called up one by one, and asked this +simple question: "Have you done any service to the Spartans or their +allies in the course of the present war?" + +The Plataeans saw the snare which was set for them, and seeking to +evade it they asked permission to plead their cause at length. Leave +being given, the Plataean advocate rose to address the court, and made +a most moving and eloquent appeal, which well deserves to be +reproduced in its main outlines. + +"Men of Sparta," began the orator, "we surrendered our city on the +faith of your promise that the innocent should be spared, and only the +guilty condemned. But we fear that our confidence has been misplaced. +That our doom is already pronounced we have but too plain evidence, in +your sinister question, in your cold, condemning looks, in the gloomy +faces of our enemies, who have poisoned your ears against us. We have +but little hope of turning you from your purpose by anything that we +can say. Nevertheless we have resolved to speak, lest in the hour of +death we should be tormented by the thought that a word might have +saved us, and that word remained unspoken. + +"In the history of the last fifty years no city in Greece has a fairer +record than ours. Though not trained to the sea, we served in the +fleet at Artemisium; we fought under Pausanias in the great battle +which decided the fate of Greece, and took part beyond our strength in +all the trials and perils of our common country. On the gratitude of +Sparta we have a special claim, for in the day of her direst +extremity, after the earthquake, when the Helots were in arms against +her, we sent a third part of our citizens to her aid. Since then we +have been found in the ranks of your enemies; but this was your fault, +not ours. Who drove us into the arms of Athens, when we were hard +pressed by the tyranny of Thebes? We joined the Athenian alliance at +your bidding; they defended us against our enemies, and admitted us to +the rights of Athenian citizenship. We were bound, therefore, by every +tie of honour and duty to stand by them, whether their cause was just +or unjust. + +"What, then, is the meaning of your question, whether we have done you +or your allies any service during this war? If you ask as foes, how +can you claim any service? And if you ask as friends, you have done us +bitter wrong, by attacking us unprovoked. + +"The Thebans seized our city in time of peace, and at a holy season, +and we were justified by the laws of nature and of nations in wreaking +vengeance upon them. It may seem to your interest to pay court to them +now; but think how different was our conduct from theirs when the +Persian was at our doors, threatening slavery to us all. We were among +the few who obeyed the call of honour, while Thebes and all the other +towns of Boeotia took sides with the Barbarian. + +"Hitherto Sparta has been called the glass of honour in Greece. What, +then, will men say, if Spartan judges are guilty of blotting Plataea +out of the map of Greece, and of the judicial murder of her citizens? +Strange, indeed, and terrible has been the fate of our city, both now +and in the past. Our fathers were brought to the brink of ruin by +their valour and devotion; we, their sons, have just passed through +all the horrors of a siege, and now we are forced to plead for our +lives. Outcasts from our fatherland, spurned and rejected of all, we +are thrown upon your mercy; and much we fear that your hearts are +hardened against us. + +"We adjure you, then, by the memory of those times, and of the part +which we took in the salvation of Greece, not to betray us to our +worst enemies, the Thebans. Do not win their gratitude by murder, but +ours by mercy. Forget the cold calculations of policy; think of the +everlasting infamy of such a deed. Your fathers are buried in our +land, and we have been constant in paying all honour and service to +their tombs. Will ye give up the land in which they rest to the men +[Footnote: The Thebans, who fought on the side of the Persians at +Plataea.] who are guilty of their blood? Will ye enslave those fields +which saw the triumph of Greek liberty, and dishonour the gods by +whose favour the victory was won? By your own renown, by the +conscience of Greece, by the memory of your sires, we adjure you, men +of Lacedaemon, not to do this deed. + +"But it is time to make an end. If we have spoken in vain, and you are +resolved on our death, we have still one request. Send us back into +our city, and keep us there immured until we have perished of hunger. +Any fate is better than falling into the hands of the Thebans, the +enemies of Plataea, and of all Greece." + +The orator had indeed spoken in vain, or if his words had made any +impression on the minds of the judges, it was speedily obliterated by +a fierce and bitter tirade which was delivered by a Theban speaker in +reply. As soon as he had finished his harangue, the prisoners were +called up again in turn, and questioned as before. When each of them +had answered, in the only manner possible, he was led away and put to +death; and not one of them was spared. The number of those slain was +two hundred and twenty-five, and of these twenty-five were Athenians. +The city was then levelled to the ground, and the territory left at +the disposal of the Thebans. Thus was this brave little community +sacrificed to the rancour of Thebes, and the selfish policy of Sparta. + + + + +CAPTURE OF A HUNDRED AND TWENTY SPARTANS AT SPHACTERIA + +I + +The result of six years of desultory fighting had fully justified the +forebodings of Archidamus, and the sanguine anticipations of Pericles. +In spite of the terrible ravages of the plague, Athens had easily held +her own against the whole power of the Peloponnesian league. As yet, +however, no decisive advantage had been gained on either side. But in +the seventh year of the war an event occurred which would have enabled +the Athenians, but for their own folly, to conclude an honourable +peace. + +The ablest of the Athenian generals at this time was Demosthenes, +[Footnote: To be carefully distinguished from the great orator, born +about forty years after the date reached in this chapter (425 B.C.).] +who in the previous year had greatly distinguished himself by a +brilliant campaign in Aetolia. In the following summer he obtained +permission to take passage on board a fleet which was bound on a +voyage to Corcyra and Sicily. He sailed in a private capacity, but he +was authorized to use the ships against the coasts of Peloponnesus, if +he saw any opening which might be utilized in the interests of Athens. + +On a rocky promontory, at the northern end of the spacious bay of +Navarino, lies the little town of Pylos, generally believed to have +been the home of the Homeric Nestor. Since the conquest of Messenia by +the Spartans, the town had remained in ruins, and the country for some +distance round was a desert. The natural advantages of the adjacent +coast had already caught the keen eye of Demosthenes, and he had +formed the plan of raising a fortified outpost on the spot, to be held +by a picked troop of the banished Messenians, and thus planting a +thorn in the side of Sparta. + +Fortune favoured his design. For on rounding the western headland of +Peloponnesus, the fleet encountered a storm, and was compelled to seek +shelter at Pylos. Demosthenes now urged the admirals to employ their +enforced leisure in fortifying the place. But they repulsed him +rudely, and treated his suggestion with contempt. He next tried to +interest the inferior officers in his project, but meeting with no +better success, he began to fear that this grand opportunity would be +thrown away. The discussion, however, had reached the ears of the +soldiers, and having nothing else to do, they agreed among themselves +to pass the time by building a fort. Choosing a place of great natural +strength, where the rocky coast descends abruptly to the open sea, +they went to work with a will. As they had no tools for stone-cutting, +they picked out the stones, and fitted them together according to +their shape; and for want of hods they carried the mortar, wherever it +was required, on their backs, stooping forward and clasping their +hands together behind them, to prevent it from slipping off. They +carried out their self-imposed task with great energy, and after six +days of vigorous labour the fort was completed, for the natural +defences of the site were so strong that in most places there was no +need of a wall. As the weather was now favourable, the fleet proceeded +on its voyage, leaving Demosthenes with five ships to garrison the +fort. + +The news of the occupation of Pylos soon reached the Spartans, but at +first they paid little heed, thinking that they could expel the +audacious intruders whenever they chose to exert themselves. Moreover, +they were just then engaged in keeping one of those religious +festivals of which the Spartan calendar was so full, and a good part +of their army was absent in Attica. Agis, however, the Spartan king, +and those under him who were commanding in Attica, took a wiser view +of the situation, and cutting short their operations they led their +forces with all speed back to Sparta. They were the more inclined to +do this as the season was yet early, the weather inclement, and, the +corn being still green, they wanted means to nourish their troops. +Thus the inventive genius of Demosthenes had already proved of signal +service to his country; for this was the shortest of all the +Peloponnesian invasions, lasting only fifteen days. + +On the return of their troops from Attica the Spartans sent a small +force to commence the attack on Pylos, and ordered the main body of +their army to follow. There was some discontent among those who had +already been serving abroad at this second levy, and the full muster +of the troops was consequently delayed. In the meantime a message was +despatched to a Peloponnesian fleet then sailing to Corcyra, which at +this time was in a state of revolution, with orders to return at once, +and assist in the campaign against Pylos. Demosthenes was now in +imminent danger, being threatened with an immediate assault by sea and +land, which he had no adequate means of repelling. Having sent off two +of his ships to recall the Athenian squadron from its voyage to +Corcyra, he prepared to defend himself, until the arrival of succour, +as best he could. + +The Peloponnesian fleet was the first to arrive, and the Spartans, who +were now present in full force with their allies, determined to make +the most of their time. They hoped, by a simultaneous onslaught of +their army and fleet, to carry the fort before the Athenian ships had +time to return. But in case they should fail in this, they intended to +cripple the movements of the relieving squadron, by blocking the +entrances to the bay. For the long, narrow island of Sphacteria forms +a natural break water, converting the harbour of Navarino into a land- +locked basin, with two narrow passages at the northern and southern +end. [Footnote: The description of Thucydides does not correspond to +the picture of the harbour given in our modern maps. But in the course +of twenty centuries great changes may well have occurred.] These +inlets the Spartans proposed to close, by anchoring triremes close +together, with their prows turned seawards, which they could easily +have done, for at the southern entrance there was only room for eight +or nine vessels to sail abreast, and at the northern entrance only +room for two. This precaution, however, was never carried out; and the +Spartans, as if blinded by fate, adopted another measure, which led to +fatal consequences for themselves. Wishing to keep command of every +spot of land in the neighbourhood of Pylos, they landed a body of +their own men, numbering four hundred and twenty, with the usual +proportion of Helots, on the island, and the same time posted troops +at every assailable point on the opposite coast. + +Thinking now that the little garrison at Pylos, surrounded on all +sides by enemies, would fall an easy prey, they sent orders to the +fleet to get under way, and prepared to attack the fort on the land +side. Meanwhile Demosthenes had not been idle: having drawn his three +remaining ships under the shelter of the fort, and protected them in +front by a stockade, he armed the crews with such weapons as he had, +including a number of wicker-shields, taken from a thirty-oared +Messenian galley which had recently come to his assistance with a +force of forty hoplites. Then, having posted the greater part of his +troops for the defence of his position against the Peloponnesian army, +he himself descended with a picked body of sixty hoplites, and took up +his station on the rocky shore. For on this side the defences were +weakest, as the Athenians, in building the fort, had never anticipated +an attack from the sea. + +Demosthenes had just time to address a few words of caution and +encouragement to his men, assuring them of victory, if they would only +stand fast, when the Peloponnesian fleet was seen bearing down upon +them; and at the same moment a loud shout from the fort announced that +the garrison was already engaged behind them. The assault was fiercest +at the point where Demosthenes and his men were stationed, and the +Peloponnesians made desperate efforts to effect a landing. But they +were embarrassed by the difficult and rocky coast, which only allowed +a few ships to approach at a time. As fast as one division was beaten +back, another came on, with the white foam spouting round the prows, +and the waters roaring and eddying to the strokes of the gigantic +oars, while the cliffs resounded with the shouts of their comrades in +the ships behind, cheering them on to the attack. + +Conspicuous among those who fought on the ships was seen the gallant +figure of Brasidas, who exerted himself, by voice and by example, to +infuse his own heroic spirit into the rest of the crews and their +officers. His ringing tones were heard above the tumult, urging on the +captains and steersmen, when they hung back in fear lest their ships +should be shattered on the rocks. "Spare not these timbers," he cried, +"but let every hull among them go to wreck, rather than suffer the +enemy to violate the soil of Lacedaemon. Where is your loyalty to +Sparta? Have you forgotten the debt which you owe to her? Have at +them, I say, and hurl this fort with its defenders into the sea." +Saying this he ordered the master of his own trireme to beach the +vessel, and stood ready on the gangway, that he might be the first to +leap on shore. But as he attempted to land he was hurled back by the +Athenians, and fell fainting, covered with wounds, on the deck. His +shield slipped off his arm, and dropped into the sea, and having been +washed ashore, was picked up by the Athenians, who used it to adorn +the trophy which they afterwards erected. + +After the fall of Brasidas the Peloponnesians still continued their +efforts to effect a landing, but they were baffled by the obstinate +defence of the Athenians, and the rugged and inhospitable coast. It +was a strange reversal of affairs which had been brought about by the +fortune of war. On one side were the Spartans, trained to military +service on land, but now compelled to serve on board a fleet, in order +to obtain a footing on their own territory, and on the other side the +Athenians, whose natural element was the sea, drawn up on land to +repel a naval attack. + +Next day the assault was repeated, but again without success. The +Spartans sent for a supply of timber, to construct siege engines, +intending to try and batter down the Athenian wall where it overlooked +the harbour, as at this point there was a better landing-place for the +ships. In this task, however, they were interrupted by the sudden +appearance of the Athenian fleet, now numbering fifty vessels, having +been reinforced by four Chian ships, and six from Naupactus. Finding +the harbour occupied by the Peloponnesians, and the whole coast lined +with troops, they retired for the night to the little island of Prote. +Next day they weighed anchor early, and dividing their fleet, sailed +into the harbour of Navarino by both entrances at once. Though taken +by surprise, the Peloponnesians manned their ships, and as fast as +they were ready put out to meet them; but before their array was +complete they were attacked by the Athenians, who disabled many of +their vessels, captured five, and drove the rest ashore. So complete +was the rout that the Athenians pursued the flying ships into the very +interior of the harbour, and rammed some of them after they had been +brought to land. Others they charged while the crews were still +getting on board, and began to tow off the disabled hulls. But in the +heat of victory the Athenians had pushed their advantage somewhat too +far, and they paid for their audacity by the loss of a considerable +number of their men. For the Lacedaemonians, in wild dismay at the +defeat of their ships, by which their comrades on the island would be +cut off from all help, made desperate exertions to save their fleet, +wading into the water in their heavy armour, and hauling back the +vessels as they were being towed off. In the confined space +manoeuvring was impossible, and the sea-fight had now become a furious +hand to hand encounter, as between two armies on land. After a +prolonged struggle, in which both sides suffered severely, the +Spartans succeeded in saving their ships, except those which had been +taken at first, and the Athenians then retired to their station. + +The result of this battle was to give the Athenians complete command +of the sea, for the Peloponnesian fleet was in no condition to renew +the engagement. From their camp on the mainland the Spartans could see +the Athenian triremes rowing round and round the island, and keeping +vigilant watch, to prevent those who were confined there from +escaping. News of the disaster was sent without delay to Sparta, and +the magistrates, recognising the gravity of the crisis, proceeded at +once to Pylos, wishing to inform themselves on the spot, and then +decide what was best to be done. Finding on their arrival that there +was no prospect of rescuing their men on the island, they applied to +the Athenian commanders for a truce, to enable them to send envoys to +Athens, and arrange some terms for the recovery of the imprisoned +Spartans. The Athenians consented, and a truce was made on the +following conditions: The Spartans were to surrender all their fleet, +including any ships of war on the coast of Laconia, to the Athenians, +and to refrain from any attack on the fort, until the return of the +envoys. The Athenians, on their part, agreed to allow provisions to be +sent to the Spartans on the island, all such provision being conveyed +thither under their own inspection, and none by stealth. They further +agreed to carry the envoys to Athens in one of their own triremes, and +to suspend all hostilities until the expiration of the truce. When the +envoys returned, the Peloponnesian ships were to be given back. + +It was a proud moment for Athens when the Spartan envoys appeared +before the assembly, bearing the humble petition from her great enemy. +The terms offered by the spokesman of the embassy in the name of +Sparta were simple and concise, peace and friendship with Sparta, in +return for the men shut up on the island. The rest of his speech was +made up of grave moral reflections, such as are generally paraded by +those on the losing side. Let the Athenians beware of abusing their +advantage; though they had the upper hand to-day, they might be +brought to their knees to-morrow. War was a game of hazard, in which +the luck was always changing. Now they had an opportunity of +concluding an honourable peace, and establishing a lasting claim to +the gratitude of Sparta. And if the two leading states of Greece were +once united, they could dictate what terms they pleased to the rest. + +The notorious selfishness of Spartan policy is glaringly manifested in +this speech. In their anxiety to recover their own citizens, the +Spartans completely ignored the interests of their allies, and held +out the right hand of fellowship to the people whom they had lately +branded as the oppressors and spoilers of Greece. The Athenians might +well distrust the professions of these perfidious statesmen, who +repudiated their sworn obligations with such cynical levity. The +Spartans in Sphacteria were already, they thought, prisoners of +Athens, to be dealt with as they pleased; and were they to resign this +costly prize, in return for a vague promise of friendship from Sparta? +Their answer was framed on the advice of Cleon: they could not, they +said, enter into any discussion, until the men on the island had +surrendered themselves, and been brought to Athens. Then, if the +Spartans agreed to restore to the Athenians Nisaea and Pegae, +[Footnote: The harbour-towns of Megara.] and some other places which +they had held before the Thirty Years' Truce, peace might be made, and +the prisoners restored. The Spartan envoys were somewhat startled by +these demands, which involved a gross breach of faith to their own +allies; so they affected to ignore the proposal, and suggested a +private conference between themselves and select Athenian +commissioners. It is not impossible that the terms offered, infamous +as they were to Sparta, might have been accepted; but the whole +negotiation was frustrated by the violence of Cleon, who, on hearing +the suggestion of the envoys, overwhelmed them with abuse, accusing +them of double-dealing and bad faith. The envoys were confounded by +this specimen of Athenian manners, and seeing that they were wasting +their time to no purpose, they turned their backs on the city of free +speech. + +On their return to Pylos the truce expired, and the Spartans demanded +back their ships, but the Athenians refused to restore them, on the +ground of some alleged violation of the conditions laid down. +Thereupon hostilities were resumed with vigour on both sides. The +Spartans made repeated attacks on the fort, and watched for an +opportunity of bringing off their men from the island: and the +Athenians kept a vigilant guard to prevent their escape. During the +day two triremes sailed continually round Sphacteria in opposite +directions, and at night their whole fleet, now raised to the number +of seventy by the arrival of twenty fresh ships, was moored about the +island, except on the exposed side in windy weather. + +Before long the Athenians began to feel the difficulties of their +position. They were but scantily supplied with food, and had much +trouble in obtaining water. The only spring to which they had access, +and even that by no means abundant, was in the citadel of Pylos, and +most of them were reduced to scraping the shingle, and thus obtaining +a meagre supply of brackish water. On land their quarters were +straitened and uncomfortable, and they had no proper anchorage for +their ships, so that the crews had to go ashore in turns to get their +meals. They were greatly disappointed to find their task thus +prolonged, for they had supposed that a few days' siege would suffice +to starve the imprisoned Spartans into a surrender, as the island was +barren and ill-furnished with water. But day followed day, and still +they waited in vain for any sign of yielding. For the Spartan +magistrates had offered large rewards to anyone who succeeded in +conveying wine, meal, or other portable provisions, to the island, and +many were tempted to run the risk, especially among the Helots, who +were offered their liberty in return for this service. They put out +from various points of the mainland, and landed under cover of night +on the seaward side of the island, choosing their time when the wind +was blowing strong from the sea, which made it impossible for the +Athenian triremes to keep their exposed anchorage. The Spartan +hoplites stood ready on the rocks to help them; and so long as they +could get ashore with their freight, they cared nothing what happened +to their boats, for if they were wrecked, the Spartans had pledged +themselves for the full value. Others, still bolder, swam, across the +harbour, dragging after them leather bags filled with a mixture of +poppy-seed or linseed and honey, [Footnote: Poppy-seed was valued in +ancient medicine as an antidote against hunger, and linseed against +thirst.] and attached to a cord. These were soon detected; but the +other source of supply remained open, and it seemed likely that the +siege would be protracted till winter, when it would have to be given +up. + +The Athenians at home were much concerned when they were informed of +this state of affairs, and they began to regret that they had not +accepted the terms offered by Sparta. They were suspicious and uneasy, +and Cleon, on whose advice they had acted, saw himself in danger of +falling a victim to their resentment. But his boundless self- +confidence served him well in this crisis. At first he affected to +disbelieve the report sent from Pylos, and proposed to send +commissioners to inquire into the true state of the case. His motion +was carried, and he himself was nominated as one of the commissioners. +Cleon was now placed in an awkward position: either he would have to +confirm the statement of the messengers from Pylos, and thus make +himself ridiculous, or, if he contradicted them, he would be convicted +of falsehood. So he turned round again, and advised the Athenians, if +they believed the report, to waste no more time, but to order an +immediate attack on the island. "If I were general," [Footnote: The +chief civil and military magistrate at Athens, corresponding to the +Roman consul.] he said, with a meaning glance at Nicias, who was then +holding that office, "it would not be long before these Spartans were +brought in chains to Athens. The Athenians want a _man_ to lead +them." + +This Nicias, on whom the demagogue had so scornfully reflected, was a +great noble, and the chief political opponent of Cleon. When he heard +the boastful words of his rival, it struck Nicias that there was a +fine opportunity of bringing him to ruin, by thrusting upon him a +command for which he was totally unqualified. Encouraged by the shouts +of the multitude, who were crying to Cleon, "Why don't you go and do +it?" he rose from his place, and proposed that the tanner should be +sent in charge of an expedition to take the men at Sphacteria. At +first Cleon agreed to go, thinking that Nicias was jesting; but when +he saw that the proposal was made seriously, he began to draw back. +"It is your business, not mine," he said to Nicias. "I am not general +--you are; why should I do your work for you?" "Never mind the title," +answered Nicias; "I resign my office on this occasion to you." The +dispute grew hotter and hotter, much to the amusement of the +Athenians, who fell readily into the humour of the situation, and +loudly applauded the proposal of Nicias. The more Cleon objected, the +more they shouted that he should go. Finding that he must make good +his words, Cleon at last plucked up a spirit, and accepted the honour +thus contemptuously forced upon him. "I am not afraid of the +Spartans," he declared valiantly. "Give me the contingent of soldiers +from Lemnos and Imbros, the Thracian peltasts, [Footnote: Light-armed +soldiers.] and four hundred archers, and without taking a single +Athenian from the city, within three weeks I will either bring those +Spartans as prisoners to Athens, or kill them where they are." + +There was some laughter among the Athenians at Cleon's vain-glorious +promise; but the more sober-minded were not displeased at his +appointment, expecting that, if he failed, they would be rid of a +nuisance; while, if he succeeded, they would gain an immense advantage +over their enemies. Such, at least, is the comment of the historian; +but he makes no remark on the incredible levity of the Athenians, to +whom the gravest interests of state were matter for mirth and pastime; +and he has not a word of censure for Nicias and his "sober-minded" +partisans, who, in their eagerness to ruin a political opponent, +showed a criminal disregard for the welfare of Athens. + + +II + +When Cleon arrived at Pylos with his forces, he found Demosthenes +engaged in active preparations for an attack on the island. For his +troops were growing impatient, and clamouring to be led into action, +and a happy accident had recently occurred, which greatly increased +the prospect of success. Till quite lately Sphacteria had been covered +with a dense growth of underwood, and Demosthenes knew by his +experience in Aetolia that an attacking force would be at a great +disadvantage in marching against an enemy who fought under cover, and +knew every inch of the ground. But a party of Athenian soldiers, who +had landed on the island to cook their breakfast, accidentally set +fire to the brushwood, and a wind springing up, the flames were +carried over the greater part of the island, leaving it a blackened +waste. Demosthenes now discovered that the besieged Spartans were more +numerous than he had supposed, having hitherto believed that their +number had been purposely exaggerated, to give an excuse for sending +more food; and the main obstacle being now removed, he issued the +welcome order to make ready for an immediate assault. + +When he received his commission, Cleon had prudently stipulated that +Demosthenes should be associated with him in the command. The two ill- +assorted colleagues--the turbulent demagogue, and the veteran general +--now took counsel together, and after a last fruitless attempt at +negotiation, they set sail at night with a force of eight hundred +hoplites, and disembarking just before dawn on both sides of the +island at once, led their men at a run against the first guard-station +of the Spartans. They found the enemy posted in three divisions: the +first, consisting of thirty hoplites, formed an advanced guard; some +distance behind these, where the ground forms a shallow basin, +containing the only spring in the island, was stationed the main body, +commanded by Epitadas; and at the extreme north, opposite Pylos, there +was a small reserve force, left to guard a sort of natural citadel, +which would serve as a last retreat, if Epitadas and his men were +overpowered. + +The thirty Spartans in the outpost were taken by surprise, and cut +down to a man; for though they had seen the Athenian ships putting +out, they had no suspicion of what was intended, supposing that they +were merely proceeding to their anchorage for the night. At daybreak +the rest of the fleet put in at the island, bringing the whole of the +forces which Demosthenes had at his disposal, except a few, who were +left to garrison the fort at Pylos. They were a motley host, armed for +the most part with slings, javelins, and bows, but admirably suited +for the work which was to be done. Swarming over the island by +hundreds and by thousands they took up their stations on every piece +of rising ground, threatening the enemy in front, in the rear, on the +right flank, and on the left. The Spartans, in their heavy armour, +were helpless against these agile foes, who eluded every attempt to +come to close quarters, and kept up a continual shower of arrows, +javelins, and stones. Such had been the orders of Demosthenes, which +were now carried into effect. + +When the Spartans under Epitadas saw their advanced guard cut up, and +the Athenians marching against them, they drew up in order, and tried +to come within spear-thrust of the enemy; but they were unable to +effect their purpose, for the Athenian hoplites kept their ground, and +at the same moment they themselves were assailed on both flanks and in +the rear by a cloud of light infantry. It was a kind of warfare to +which the Spartans were totally unaccustomed: if they attempted to +advance, their nimble assailants drew back, and pursuit was impossible +on the rocky and broken ground. For a time the light-armed troops +approached them with caution, being somewhat cowed in spirit when +brought face to face with the renowned warriors of Sparta, hitherto +supposed to be invincible. But seeing how the Spartans were +embarrassed, they took courage, and came on in a roaring multitude, +surrounding them on all sides, and leaving them not a moment to take +breath. The air was darkened by a tempest of missiles; and a fine +dust, caused by the ashes of the late fire, rose in choking clouds +from the trampling of many feet. Exhausted by their violent exertions, +stunned by the uproar, and blinded by the dust, the Spartans began to +give ground, and closing their ranks fell back on the stronghold where +their reserve was stationed. They were hotly pursued, and some few +were cut off in the retreat, but the greater part succeeded in +reaching the fort, where they turned at bay, and prepared to defend +themselves to the last. Until a late hour in the day the Athenians +made vain attempts to dislodge them from their position, which was +only assailable in front. At last, when both sides were sorely +distressed by the long conflict under a burning sun, an officer who +was in command of the Messenian troops came to the generals, and +offered, if they would place a few light-armed soldiers at his +disposal, to lead them up the precipitous cliffs at the northern end +of Sphacteria, and take the Spartans in the rear. Permission being +readily granted, he chose his men, and taking care that his movements +were not perceived by the enemy, made his way with them along the +perilous and slippery face of the cliffs to the rear of the +beleaguered garrison, scaled the steep ascent, and suddenly appearing +on the heights, struck terror into the Spartans, and gave fresh +courage to their assailants. + +The situation of the Spartans was now similar to that of their +ancestors when they made their last stand at Thermopylae. They were +attacked in front and rear, and hemmed in on both sides by the natural +difficulties of the place. In their weak and exhausted condition it +would have been an easy task to make an end of them. But the great +object of Cleon and Demosthenes was to take them alive. They therefore +suspended the attack, and sent a herald, and summoned them to lay down +their arms. When they heard the proclamation, most of them lowered +their shields, and waved their hands in the air, to show that they had +dropped their weapons. The Athenian generals then entered into a +parley with Styphon the third in command of the Spartans; for +Epitadas, the chief officer, was slain, and Hippagretus, the second, +had been left for dead on the field. Styphon requested permission to +communicate with the Spartan authorities on the mainland, and ask what +he and his comrades were to do; and the Athenian commanders sent one +of their own men to carry the message. Having heard his report, the +Spartan magistrates sent a herald to see how matters stood; and after +more than one messenger had passed to and fro between their camp and +the island, they sent their final instructions, conveyed in these +words "The Spartans bid you to decide for yourselves, but to do +nothing dishonourable." + +Fifty years before, these wounded and weary men would have needed no +instructions to tell them their duty. According to the ancient +tradition of Sparta they had but one course open to them--to die at +their posts. But the lapse of time had softened the stern fibre of the +Spartan character; and the broken remnant now brought to bay in +Sphacteria interpreted the ambiguous mandate in their own favour, and +surrendered themselves and their arms. + +The number of the prisoners was two hundred and ninety-two, of whom +about a hundred and twenty were Spartans of pure descent, several of +them belonging to the highest families in Sparta. They were +distributed among the captains of the fleet for transportation to +Athens. Dating from the first sea-fight, the siege had lasted +altogether seventy-two days; and during seven weeks of this period +they had subsisted on the casual supplies smuggled over by the +blockade-runners from the mainland. Great was the joy at Athens when +that costly freight was brought safely into the harbour of Peiraeus; +and Cleon, whose bustling energy had really helped to precipitate a +crisis, was the hero of the hour. He had promised to settle the +business, one way or the other, within twenty days, and this promise, +which had been laughed at as a piece of crazy vanity, was fulfilled to +the letter. The whole merit of the performance, however, belonged to +Demosthenes, who had planned the attack on Sphacteria with admirable +sagacity, and led the operations from first to last. + +The surrender of a picked troop of Spartan warriors caused a +revolution of feeling throughout Greece. Hitherto it had been assumed +as a matter of course that no Spartan soldier, in any circumstances, +would yield to an enemy; but now more than a hundred Spartans had +preferred life to honour. It was generally believed that the survivors +were inferior in valour to those who had fallen; and some time +afterwards one of the captives was asked this insulting question by +one of the Athenian allies: "Your _brave_ comrades were buried on +the field, I suppose?" The Spartan's answer was couched in a riddle: +"It would be a mighty clever spindle, [Footnote: Arrow.] which singled +out the brave." His meaning was that the stones and arrows had dealt +out death among his comrades without distinction. + + + + +CAMPAIGNS OF BRASIDAS IN THRACE + +I + +One advantage which accrued to the Athenians from the possession of +the Spartan captives was the immunity from invasion. For if the +Spartans prepared to make any movement against Attica, they could +bring out their prisoners, and threaten to put them to death. And in +other directions the future looked brighter than it had done for many +years. They held Pylos, which was garrisoned by Messenian troops, and +served as an open door, through which they could carry havoc over the +whole western district of Laconia; and the occupation of Cythera, +which was effected in the following year, gave them increased facility +for harassing the commerce of Sparta, and making descents on her +eastern coast. + +Elated by these successes, the Athenians determined on a bolder +flight, and forgetting the lessons of Pericles, thought of recovering +the possessions which they had held on the mainland thirty years +before. With this intention they planned an attack, which was to be +carried out from three different points at once, on Boeotia. But the +whole scheme proved a failure, and led to a severe defeat at Delium; +and about the same time news arrived from Thrace which showed that the +tide was turning, and should have warned them, if they were wise, to +set bounds to their restless ambition. + +Brasidas had long since recovered from the wounds received at Pylos. +The deep humiliation of Sparta, now reduced to become a suppliant for +peace, filled him with shame and sorrow, and in the eighth year of the +war he formed the bold design of organizing a campaign against the +coast-towns of Thrace, which were among the most important of the +Athenian tributaries. Having obtained the necessary commission from +Sparta, he collected a force of seventeen hundred heavy-armed +infantry, and in the summer following the disaster at Sphacteria, +turned his steps northward, and arrived without mishap at the borders +of Thessaly. The Thessalians generally were then on friendly terms +with Athens, and, apart from this, the passage of so large a force +through their territory caused suspicion and alarm among the +inhabitants. But Brasidas was a man of rare gifts: endowed with more +than a full share of the typical Spartan virtues, he combined with +these a graciousness of manner, and a winning eloquence, which made +him an equal of the most accomplished Athenian. He had, moreover, +friends among the powerful nobles of Thessaly, who undertook to guide +him in safety to the Macedonian frontier. On reaching the river +Enipeus, he found his passage barred by a Thessalian force, who seemed +resolved to dispute his progress. His courteous demeanour, and fair +words, disarmed their hostility, and he was allowed to pass. Fearing, +however, a general rising of the natives against him, and urged to +despatch by his guides, he pushed on by forced marches, and entering +the passes of Olympus, descended into the southern plain of Macedonia, +whose king Perdiccas, a shifty and treacherous barbarian, though +nominally in alliance with Athens, favoured the enterprise of +Brasidas. + +Perdiccas had undertaken to provide pay for half the Spartan force, in +return for help to be rendered against a rebel chieftain with whom he +was at war. But Brasidas, whose main object was to raise a revolt +among the Athenian allies, insisted on entering into negotiations with +the rebel, and having patched up a truce, conducted his troops to the +neighbourhood of Acanthus, a town on the eastern side of the +Chalcidian peninsula, where there was a party discontented with the +Athenian rule. In all the cities subject to Athens the general mass of +the people were found loyal towards her, or, at the worst, disinclined +for any change; and Acanthus was no exception. When Brasidas with his +little army appeared before the walls the people at first refused him +admission. But it was just before the vintage, and their grapes were +hanging in ripe clusters, exposed to the hand of the spoiler; and so, +to save their vineyards from ravage, they were at last induced to give +him a hearing. + +It was very important for Brasidas to secure the voluntary adherence +of the Acanthians, whose action would have a powerful effect in +determining the attitude of the other Chalcidians towards them. +Accordingly he exerted all his skill as an orator, which was +considerable, to allay their suspicions, and rouse their enthusiasm +for the cause which he represented. That cause, he said, was the +liberation of Greece from the tyranny of Athens. Let none of them +suppose that he had come in the interests of a faction, to enslave the +many to the few, or the few to the many. He had bound the authorities +of Sparta by the most solemn oaths to respect the constitution of any +state which enlisted under their banner. Freedom for Greeks!--that was +the watchword which should find a response in every patriotic heart. +After this fine burst of sentiment, Brasidas descended to a much lower +level, and plainly intimated that if the Acanthians would not join him +from these high motives, he would employ coercion, and proceed to +ravage their estates, This last argument was decisive, and in order to +save their valuable harvest from destruction, they agreed to admit +Brasidas and his army into the town. Shortly afterwards their example +was followed by Stagirus, one day to become famous as the birthplace +of Aristotle. + +It is melancholy to find a man of really pure and generous character +like Brasidas lending himself to be the mouthpiece of Spartan +hypocrisy. To him the sounding phrases and lofty professions which he +uttered may have meant something: but in their essence they were mere +hollow cant, intended to divert attention from the true issue, and +drag a peaceful and prosperous community into the private quarrels of +Sparta. So degraded was now the tone of politics in Greece, even among +her best and ablest men. + + +II + +On the banks of the Strymon, just where the river sweeps round in a +sharp curve, west and east, the Athenians had founded, six years +before the outbreak of the war, the colony of Amphipolis. It was a +site which had long been coveted by the leaders of Greek colonial +enterprise, being the key to the richest district in Thrace, with +unrivalled facilities for commerce, and close to the gold-mines of +Mount Pangeus. A previous attempt which was made by the Athenians to +occupy the position had ended in ruinous disaster; but nearly thirty +years later a second body of emigrants, led by Hagnon from Athens, met +with much better success; Amphipolis now grew and prospered, and at +the time which we have reached was the most important city in the +Athenian empire. + +The Amphipolitans had a bitter and jealous enemy in the neighbouring +town of Argilus, situated a few miles to the west, on the road to +Amphipolis; and ever since the appearance of Brasidas in Thrace the +Argilians had been plotting against the tranquillity of their hated +rival. Accordingly, when Brasidas, who had planned a surprise on +Amphipolis, appeared before their gates, they welcomed him eagerly, +and conducted him and his army to the bridge over the Strymon, which +crossed the river just outside the southern end of the city wall. The +defenders of the bridge, few in number, and taken unawares, were +instantly cut to pieces; for Brasidas came upon them before daybreak, +and the weather, which was wintry and inclement, favoured his design. + +The farms and country-houses of the Amphipolitans, which occupied an +extensive district on the eastern side of the city, now lay at the +mercy of Brasidas, and after choosing a position for his camp, he +began to overrun the country. For those who were responsible for the +safety of Amphipolis had taken no precautions, though they knew that +this daring and active enemy had been carrying on a campaign for many +weeks in the adjacent parts of Thrace. Consequently, a good number of +the citizens, who were attending to the business of their estates, +fell into his hands, and it is not improbable that, if he had made a +sudden assault on the city, he would have captured it on the same day. + +There was a disaffected party in Amphipolis, who had planned the +betrayal of the place, acting in concert with Argilus, through the +agency of certain Argilian citizens residing in the town. The traitors +now proposed that Brasidas and his army should be admitted, but they +were overruled by the general voice of the people, and it was agreed +that the Athenian Eucles, governor of Amphipolis, should send a +message for help to another Athenian officer, who was commissioned to +watch the interests of Athens in Thrace. That officer was Thucydides, +the historian, from whose work the materials for the present narrative +are taken. Thucydides was descended on his mother's side from the +royal family of Thrace, [Footnote: Such, at least, is the highly +probable conjecture of Classen.] and through this connexion he was the +owner of valuable working rights in the gold-mines of Mount Pangaeus, +and a man of great power and, influence in these districts. When the +message arrived from Amphipolis, he was engaged in some business at +Thasos, and postponing all other concerns he collected a small +squadron of seven ships and hastened to the rescue with all speed. +But Brasidas, who had received intelligence of his movements, was too +quick for him. He had valuable hostages in the persons of those +Amphipolitans who had been taken outside the walls. The population of +Amphipolis consisted almost entirely of men of mixed or foreign +descent, who were anxious about their properties, and in fear for +their friends, while the few Athenian residents were alarmed for their +own safety, having little hope of prompt succour. Taking advantage of +this state of public feeling, the politic Spartan issued a +proclamation, pledging him to respect the rights and property of all +who chose to remain; while those who preferred to withdraw were +allowed five days to take away their goods. This tempting offer +produced the desired effect. It was in vain that the Athenian governor +interposed his authority, and strove to uphold the imperial claims of +Athens. The people threatened to rise in mutiny against him, and when +the partisans of Brasidas, now grown bold, openly moved a resolution +to accept his conditions, the proposal was carried, and the Spartan +general marched unopposed into the town. + +Late on the same day Thucydides sailed into the harbour of Eion, the +port of Amphipolis, and learning that Brasidas was already in +possession of the inland city, took all necessary precautions to +provide against an immediate attack. He was only just in time; for on +the very next day Brasidas carried his troops down the river on a +flotilla of boats, and tried to establish himself in a strong +position, commanding the mouth of the river, and at the same time sent +a storming party to make an assault on the land side. But the attempt +was frustrated, and Eion at least was saved to Athens. + +The fall of Amphipolis, which occurred shortly after the crushing +defeat at Delium, caused great consternation among the Athenians. +Apart from the wound to their pride, they were deprived by this loss +of a large portion of their revenue, and cut off from the principal +source of their timber supply. And there were still further grounds +for alarm. For Amphipolis was now an open door, through which the +Spartans could send troops into eastern Thrace, and carry the war to +the entrance of the Euxine. For a moment it seemed as if all their +fears would be realized. The gentle manners of Brasidas--his fairness, +modesty, and strict regard for the rights of all men--had won the +hearts of the Athenian allies in Thrace, and secret agents were +constantly arriving at his head-quarters on the Strymon, inviting him +to come and help them to recover their liberty. He had skilfully +appealed to the most deeply-rooted instinct of the Greek, the desire +for unfettered action in his own city, free from all interference from +outside. This instinct, long held in abeyance, first by the necessity +for protection from Persia, and when that danger was removed, by the +habits acquired under the mild rule of Athens, was now awakened into +new life by the influence of the great warrior and accomplished +statesman, whose watchword was "Liberty for Greeks!" The recent +reverses of Athens had excited a feeling of contempt among her +subjects, and led them greatly to under-estimate her real power; and +Brasidas himself, by a not over-scrupulous perversion of facts, had +been careful to encourage this belief. All these causes produced a +burst of enthusiasm throughout Thrace, and if the Spartans had +supported Brasidas with vigour, a general insurrection would have +followed among the Athenian allies. But the authorities of Sparta were +jealous of their brilliant officer, and their chief anxiety was to +recover the prisoners taken at Sphacteria. + +In the same winter the indefatigable Spartan effected the capture of +Torone, a town situated on the second of the three headlands which +project, like the prongs of a fork, from the peninsula of Chalcidice. +As in the case of Amphipolis, Torone fell into his hands by treachery; +but he had now made good his title as the champion of Greek +independence, and early in the following spring the citizens of +Scione, on the first or westernmost headland, invited him to come over +and take command of their town. On receiving this welcome summons +Brasidas lost no time, and crossed over by night in a skiff, which was +convoyed by a trireme, so that if any hostile vessel appeared in +sight, it might be engaged by the trireme, and leave him free to +escape. He reached Scione in safety, and having convened a general +assembly of the citizens, addressed them in flattering terms, praising +their high courage and patriotic spirit. "You," he said, "have set a +noble example to your oppressed brethren: isolated as you are, and cut +off from all succour from the mainland, you have defied all perils, +and thrown in your lot, for better or for worse, with the friends of +liberty. Your gallantry and self-devotion has given you a just claim +to the gratitude of Sparta and of all Greece." The revolt of Scione +was indeed a daring defiance of the Athenian power, for since the +capitulation of Potidaea, which occurred seven years before, the +inhabitants had been in the position of islanders, exposed to the +whole maritime power of Athens. For the moment, however, the people +were carried away by a transport of enthusiasm, and little dreaming of +the terrible vengeance which was to overtake them two years later, +they greeted Brasidas as a deliverer, and vied with one another who +should honour him most. He was publicly presented with a crown of +gold, as the liberator of Greece; and in private houses he was +wreathed with garlands, and surrounded with worship, like a victorious +athlete. + +But a few days before the defection of Scione all the ambitious +schemes of Brasidas had been checkmated by the action of his own +countrymen at home. For some time past negotiations had been in +progress between Athens and Sparta; and since the battle of Delium, +and the rapid successes of their great enemy in Thrace, the Athenians +had been more disposed to come to terms. In this altered mood they +agreed to make a truce for one year with Sparta, which would give time +to arrange the conditions of a lasting peace, and leave them at +leisure to repair the shattered fabric of their empire. Two +commissioners, an Athenian and a Spartan, were at once despatched to +announce the conclusion of the truce to Brasidas. They found him at +Torone, preparing to set out a second time for the western peninsula, +and continue his intrigues against the subjects of Athens. In the +interview which followed a dispute arose between Brasidas and the +commissioners, as to whether Scione should be admitted into the truce. +Brasidas asserted that the city had joined the Spartan alliance before +the truce was signed; but the Athenian commissioner loudly protested +that the revolt occurred after the conclusion of the truce,--and such, +indeed, was the fact. Brasidas, however, was bound in honour to defend +the hapless community which had been drawn by his fatal influence into +so fearful a peril; and in the existing confusion of the Greek +calendar it was not easy to establish a date with perfect exactitude. +Accordingly Brasidas refused to surrender Scione to the vengeance of +Athens, and placed the town in a state of defence. Not content with +this, he extended the same measures of protection to Mende, which +revolted after the arrival of the commissioners. This was an open +violation of the truce, and the Athenians, in great fury, immediately +prepared to send a fleet against these audacious rebels, and passed a +savage decree, condemning the whole adult male population of Scione to +death. + + +III + +During the following summer Mende was recovered by Nicias for the +Athenians, Scione was closely invested, and Perdiccas, who had +quarrelled with Brasidas, once more became an ally of Athens, and gave +proof of his sincerity by preventing the passage of Spartan +reinforcements to Thrace. The Athenians were thus left free to turn +their attention to Amphipolis, and at the beginning of the tenth year +of the war, the truce having now expired, Cleon was sent with a fleet +of thirty ships to conduct the siege of this important place. That so +weighty a charge should have been entrusted to hands so incompetent +argues a degree of infatuation in the Athenians which is very hard to +understand. On his voyage Cleon succeeded in retaking Torone by a +sudden assault, and then proceeding northwards dropped anchor at Eion, +where he remained inactive, after despatching messengers to Perdiccas, +and to a friendly Thracian prince, to ask for reinforcements. + +Meanwhile Brasidas, who some time before had returned to Amphipolis, +was waiting to strike a blow at his unwarlike enemy. His own troops, +though about equal in numbers to the force under Cleon, were far +inferior in equipment and discipline; but he counted on some +incautious movement on the part of the Athenian general, which would +throw the picked infantry of Athens into disorder, and place them at a +disadvantage. So he left Clearidas, a young Spartan, whom he had +appointed governor of Amphipolis, in charge of the garrison, and +taking with him fifteen hundred men occupied a position on the right +bank of the river, where the ground rises abruptly to a considerable +height, affording a wide view over the city to the country beyond, as +far as Eion. From this point, which is called Cerdylium, he could +watch the proceedings of the enemy, and still have ample time to +rejoin Clearidas in Amphipolis, if, as he expected, Cleon should leave +his defences and advance upon the town. + +He had not long to wait. The Athenian soldiers stationed at Eion were +chafing at their inaction, and mutinous speeches were heard on all +sides. What a man was this Cleon, this cowardly braggart, under whom +they were to take the field against the most daring and skilful leader +in Greece! They had known what to expect from such a general, since +the day when they sailed for Thrace. These murmurs reached the ears of +Cleon, and he saw that something must be attempted, or his men would +be totally demoralized. So he gave the order to march, and led his +troops up the ridge of hills which slope down towards Amphipolis on +the eastern side, where the town was defended by a single line of +wall, reaching from the northern to the southern bend of the river. He +was far from supposing that anyone would come out to attack him; he +only wanted, he said, to take a good view of the place, and when his +reinforcements arrived, he would surround the city on all sides, and +carry it by assault. For his wonderful good fortune at Pylos had given +him unbounded confidence in his powers as a strategist, and he thought +that Amphipolis would prove a second Pylos, forgetting that here he +had a Brasidas to deal with, and no Demosthenes to do the work for +him. When he reached the top of the ascent, he called a halt, and took +a leisurely survey of the wide sweep of country spread below him,--to +the north, the broad, marshy waters of Lake Cercynitis, from which the +river issues just above the town,--eastwards, the towering summit of +Mount Pangaeus,--and on the other side, just beneath his feet, the +devoted city, which now seemed cowering, silent and deserted, as if +conscious of Cleon's eagle glance. The gates were closed, and not a +man was to be seen on the battlements. "What a pity," remarked Cleon, +"that we brought no siege-engines with us! We might have battered down +the wall, and marched in at once,--there is none to oppose us." + +So readily did this holiday general fall into the trap which Brasidas, +with a just estimate of his capacity, had set for him. As soon as he +saw that Cleon had started from Eion, the Spartan general left his +post in Cerdylium, and led his men back into Amphipolis. Here he made +such a disposition of his forces as to give the place that peaceful +and innocent appearance which deceived Cleon's unpractised eye. Then +he took up his station with a picked troop of a hundred and fifty +hoplites at the southern gate of Amphipolis, leaving Clearidas in +charge of the main body, and awaited a favourable moment to attack. + +But these preparations could not be made without exciting some +attention among the more experienced of the Athenian officers. They +had seen Brasidas entering the city, and observed him offering +sacrifice, as for battle, before the temple of Athene; and Cleon, who +was standing, lost in his contemplations, some distance in advance of +his forces, suddenly received the alarming intelligence that the enemy +were on the point of making a sally. "The whole garrison is in +motion," said the messenger, "and we have caught sight of the feet of +many horses and men under the gates: evidently they mean to attack +us." Thus rudely startled from his meditations, Cleon went to look for +himself, and seeing that the messenger had spoken the truth he gave +the order for a retreat in the direction of Eion. This movement should +have begun from the left wing, but there was some delay in executing +the order, and Cleon, who was in a great hurry to reach a place of +safety, led the way with his own division, which, being on the right, +ought to have closed the retreat. The consequence was that the whole +Athenian army was thrown into confusion, and Brasidas, who was +watching from his station at the gate, saw by the irregular motion of +their spears and helmets that all discipline was at an end. "Now is +our time," he cried to his men: "Open the gates! The day is ours." +With these words he rushed out with his troops, and fell upon the +Athenian centre; and at the same moment the main body under Clearidas +poured out from the northern gate, and attacked them in the rear. + +The effect of this sudden assault was to cut the Athenian army in +half: the left wing, which was nearest to Eion, fled without striking +a blow, but the right made a vigorous resistance, though abandoned by +their cowardly general, who was cut down by a Thracian spearman as he +tried to make good his escape. A far nobler name was also added to the +death-roll of that fatal day: Brasidas, fighting at the head of his +troop, received a mortal wound, and was carried, unobserved by the +Athenians, into the city. He lived long enough to hear that his men +had gained a decisive victory, and then passed away, the purest and +the most heroic spirit among all those who played their part in this +unhappy war. After his death he received divine honours at Amphipolis, +and was worshipped as the second founder of the city. + + + + +THE HOLLOW PEACE + +I + +The negotiations for peace, begun in the previous year; had been +interrupted by the brilliant successes of Brasidas, and the factious +opposition of Cleon, and after their death the main obstacle to a +pacific understanding was removed. The high hopes conceived by the +Athenians after the capture of the Spartans at Pylos had been damped +by their disastrous defeat at Delium, and by the revolt of their +allies in Thrace; and, above all, they were anxious to recover +Amphipolis. Still more depressed was the temper of the Spartans. They +had entered on the war in a spirit of sanguine confidence, expecting +to make an end of the conflict by a single invasion of Attica; and +now, after ten years of fighting, their great rival remained almost +untouched in the chief sources of her power. Their coasts were exposed +to continual ravage by the Athenian fleets, and Pylos was still +occupied by their bitter enemies, the Messenians, attracting all the +discontented elements in Sparta, and keeping the Helots in a continual +ferment. And finally a hundred and twenty of their noblest citizens +were immured in the dungeons of Athens, and they were ready to make +great sacrifices to procure their release. + +Accordingly, in the winter after the battle of Amphipolis, +negotiations were resumed, and early in the following spring a treaty +of peace was concluded between Athens and Sparta, on the understanding +that all places taken by force of arms should be restored, and all +prisoners set at liberty. Such was the Peace of Nicias, named after +its chief promoter, the former rival of Cleon, and now the leading +politician at Athens. It was really a private agreement between Athens +and Sparta, for the most important of the Spartan allies, who thought +that their interests were neglected, refused to sign the treaty. +Alarmed by this, the Spartans immediately concluded a second treaty +with Athens, binding both sides to mutual aid and defence, in case +their territories were attacked. The prisoners taken at Sphacteria +were now restored, but owing to the bungling of Nicias, the Athenians +failed to regain Amphipolis. + + +II + +Six years elapsed after the conclusion of the Peace of Nicias, before +war was again openly declared; but it was a peace only in name, and +was broken by many acts of hostility on both sides. During this period +the principal states of Greece were involved in a network of political +intrigue, treaty following treaty, and alliance succeeding to +alliance, for the most part with no result. To this statement, there +is, however, one important exception. A year after the signing of the +second treaty between Athens and Sparta, a coalition was formed, +including Athens, Elis, and Mantinea, under the leadership of Argos; +and in mentioning this event we have to usher on to the stage one of +the most extraordinary characters in history. This was Alcibiades, a +young Athenian noble, endowed with every advantage of mind, person, +and fortune, whose fatal gifts, and lawless ambition, made him the +evil genius of his country. His high birth, his wealth, his wit, and +his wonderful beauty, attracted to him a host of flatterers, who fed +his vanity with soft adulation, and led him to believe that nothing +was too great for such powers as his. Like most of the brilliant young +men of his day, he attached himself for a time to the philosopher +Socrates, for whom he seems to have felt a warm admiration. But his +connexion with that great teacher and thinker, though it served to +sharpen his understanding, could not eradicate the effects of evil +habit and example. His wilful, selfish, and despotic temper soon broke +loose from that salutary restraint, and henceforth we find him +pursuing a course of action which brought ruin on his people, and on +himself a traitor's death and a dishonoured name. + +Much irritation had been caused among the Athenians by the shifting +and treacherous conduct of the Spartans, who had failed to redeem +their sworn pledges, and had excited great suspicion at Athens by +repeated intrigues with Argos, and with their own offended allies of +the Peloponnesian League. Alcibiades had a private grudge against the +Spartans, to whom he had made overtures of friendship and service at +the time when the treaty was under discussion, only to be set aside as +a profligate and frivolous youth, unfit to meddle with serious matters +of state. He now placed himself at the head of the party hostile to +Sparta, and it was not long before he had an opportunity of revenging +the insult to his pride. He used all his influence to promote an +alliance with Argos, the ancient enemy and rival of Sparta in +Peloponnesus; and when envoys arrived from Sparta to remonstrate +against this proceeding, and reassure the Athenians as to their +intentions, he contrived by a masterpiece of low cunning to cover them +with shame and contempt. When the envoys were introduced to the senate +they declared that they had come with full powers to settle all +differences, and Alcibiades feared that if they made the same +statement to the general assembly of the citizens, they might induce +the Athenians to renounce their alliance with Argos. So, after the +senate had risen, he took the envoys aside, and with an air of great +candour and friendliness warned them that they must conceal the extent +of their powers when they appeared before the popular assembly. "You +do not understand," he said, "how to deal with the mob of Athens; if +you show your hand, they will force you into extravagant concessions. +Leave the matter to me, and everything will turn out as you wish." + +The simple Spartans fell into the snare. They were not at all startled +by the proposal that they should eat their own words, for in +dishonesty they were not behind Alcibiades himself, though they were +no match for him in cunning. Being brought before the people, and +asked whether they had come with full powers, they answered bluntly +"No!" Great was the amazement at this flat contradiction of the avowal +which they had made before the senate, and Alcibiades, giving voice to +the general indignation, overwhelmed the astonished envoys with a +torrent of invective and abuse. The Spartans were dumb-foundered by +his perfidy, and looked helplessly at Nicias, the staunch friend and +supporter of Sparta, whom they had forsaken for this shameless young +reprobate. Nicias, who of course knew nothing of the trick, was +utterly confounded by the double-dealing of the envoys, and could do +nothing to relieve their embarrassment. The result was that the envoys +were abruptly dismissed, and after a fruitless mission of Nicias to +Sparta, which only served to lower his own reputation, the Athenians +entered heart and soul into the Argive alliance. + + +III + +We have seen how much the credit of Sparta had been injured in the +eyes of Greece by the capture of her chosen warriors at Pylos, and by +her subsequent behaviour during the negotiations which led to the +peace of Nicias. Spartan valour was seen to be not above reproach, and +the Peloponnesian allies had still better reason to complain of the +hollowness of Spartan faith. The high reverence which had long been +attached to the name of Sparta had given place to something like +contempt, and the Eleans, who had an old grudge against her, took +advantage of this feeling to exclude her citizens from taking public +part in the Olympic festival, which was celebrated with great pomp and +splendour in the second year of the peace. And the degradation of the +proud Dorian city seemed to be complete, when a Spartan named Lichas, +who had entered for the chariot-race under another name, was driven +with blows from the racecourse. So deep was the abasement to which the +great name of Sparta had now sunk. + +The Spartans saw that a vigorous effort must be made, if they would +recover their lost ascendancy; and two years later the opportunity +occurred for which they were waiting. On the northern side of the +Argolic peninsula lies the ancient city of Epidaurus, famous for its +rich vineyards, and its great temple of Asclepius, [Footnote: +Aesculapius.] the god of healing. For some time past, the Epidaurians, +who were in alliance with Sparta, had been involved in a dispute, +arising out of some obscure question of ritual, with Argos; and they +were now in sore straits, being hard pressed by the whole weight of +the Argive power, backed by the new confederacy. This was the pretext +needed by the Spartans, and mustering their whole forces they marched, +under the command of their king Agis, against Argos. + +The Argives had received notice of the advance of Agis, and they +immediately marched out to meet him, wishing to engage the Spartans +before they had united with their allies from Corinth, Boeotia, and +elsewhere, who were assembling in great force at Phlius. The two +armies confronted each other for a moment at Methydrium, in Arcadia; +but Agis succeeded in avoiding an engagement, and breaking up his camp +under cover of darkness pushed on to Phlius. Thereupon the Argives, +who were accompanied by their allies from Mantinea and Elis, returned +in haste to Argos, and then, marching northwards, took up their +position at Nemea, which commanded the ordinary route from Phlius to +the Argive territory. But they were again outmanoeuvred by the skilful +dispositions of Agis. Avoiding the road by Nemea, which led through a +narrow and dangerous pass, he led his Spartans over the mountains and +descended into the plain which surrounds the city of Argos. One +contingent of his allies had orders to proceed in the same direction +by another mountain-path, while the Boeotians, who numbered no less +than ten thousand infantry, and five hundred cavalry, were directed to +take the high road by Nemea; for Agis expected that by threatening the +cultivated lands around Argos he would draw the Argives from their +position, and bring them down in haste to the defence of their +estates. + +The plan was completely successful. As soon as the Argives learnt that +Agis was ravaging their fields they set out with all speed towards +Argos, and finding Agis engaged in the work of pillage, they drew up +their forces, and offered battle. Their situation was in the highest +degree perilous. In front of them, cutting them off from the city of +Argos, was the flower of the Spartan army, reinforced by the troops of +Tegea and Arcadia; on their right flank the mountain slopes swarmed +with the infantry of Corinth and Phlius; and in the rear their retreat +was cut off by the thronging masses of Boeotians, who were now pouring +along the road from Nemea. They were fairly cut off, and seemed +delivered over to destruction; nevertheless, such was the presumptuous +confidence which possessed them, that they awaited eagerly the signal +for battle, crying out that they had caught the Spartans in a trap. + +Fortunately for them there were two men among their leaders who took a +wiser view of the position; one of these was Alciphron, an official +who represented the interests of Sparta at Argos, [Footnote: The Greek +word is _Proxenos_,--a sort of consul.] and the other was +Thrasyllus, one of the five generals. These two men entered into a +parley with Agis, and by promising to satisfy the demands of Sparta +induced him to grant a truce. Agis then drew off his forces, and +returned by way of Nemea to Sparta; and the allies, much against their +will, were compelled to follow his example. Loud were the murmurs +among the confederates, and even among the Spartan soldiers, against +Agis, who had thrown away this golden opportunity of humbling the +pride of Argos, and brought dishonour on one of the finest armies that +had ever been led into the field by a Grecian general. Strange to say, +the Argives were not less indignant against the two men who had saved +them from overwhelming disaster; and Thrasyllus, the general, narrowly +escaped being stoned to death. + + +IV + +The Argives thought themselves bound to abide by the conditions of the +truce, though made without their consent; but shortly after the +retreat of Agis, an Athenian force of a thousand hoplites and three +hundred cavalry arrived at Argos, and Alcibiades, who was present in +the character of ambassador, strongly urged the renewal of the +campaign. His proposal was warmly supported by the Mantineans and +Eleans, and they and the Athenians marched forthwith against +Orchomenus in Arcadia, which was in alliance with Sparta; and the +Argives, who had wavered at first, soon afterwards joined them. +Orchomenus was gained over with little trouble, and then the Eleans +were eager to proceed against Lepreum, a town in their alliance which +had gone over to Sparta. But the Argives, Athenians, and Mantineans, +insisted on attacking Tegea, where there was a party opposed to +Sparta, by whose means they hoped to bring this powerful city, the +ancient rival of Mantinea, to their side. Thereupon the Eleans +abandoned the expedition, and went home in a rage, but the rest of the +allies took up their quarters at Mantinea, and prepared to make an +attack on Tegea. + +The Spartans were in high anger against Agis for his unsoldier-like +conduct in the recent campaign, and when they heard of the +capitulation of Orchomenus their resentment rose to such a pitch that +it was proposed to inflict on him a heavy fine, and raze his house to +the ground. At his earnest entreaty they consented to reserve the +sentence, and give him an opportunity of wiping out the stain on his +honour; but as a mark of diminished confidence they appointed ten +commissioners, without whose consent he was not allowed to lead an +army out of the city. + +They had just come to this decision when an urgent message arrived +from Tegea, bidding them to bring help with all speed, or the town +would be lost. The imminent peril startled the Spartans from their +wonted apathy, and they set out at once in full force to the relief of +Tegea. On reaching the borders of Arcadia they sent back the elder and +younger men, amounting to a sixth part of the army, to serve as a +garrison in Sparta; and at the same time couriers were despatched to +summon their allies in Arcadia and central Greece. The Arcadians +arrived in time to take part in the battle, but the Boeotians, +Corinthians, and others, though they hastened to obey the order, were +delayed by a long and difficult march, through the hostile territory +of Argos. + +Passing by Tegea, Agis entered the district of Mantinea, and having +pitched his camp began to lay waste the country. Informed of his +approach, the Argives and their allies marched out to meet him, and +choosing a position on the slope of a hill, defended in front by +rugged and broken ground, they drew up in order of battle. The +Spartans, incited, doubtless, by the example of their king, who was +eager to redeem his reputation, rushed impetuously to the assault; and +they were already within a stone's-throw of the enemy when a Spartan +veteran cried out to Agis: "Heal not ill with ill!" His meaning was +that in Argos Agis had been too cold, and now he was too hot. Agis +heard the warning voice, and his own good sense must have shown him +how rashly he was acting; accordingly, at the very moment of +encounter, he gave the word to retreat, and fell back to the +neighbourhood of Tegea. At this place there was a copious head of +water, which, when properly regulated, served to irrigate the fields +of Tegea and Mantinea. The disposal of the water-supply was a constant +source of dispute between the two rival cities; and Agis now prepared +to turn the whole volume of the fountain towards Mantinea, expecting +that the Mantineans, when they saw their fields threatened with +inundation, would come down into the plain to hinder the mischief. + +The Argives and their allies were dumb-foundered by the sudden +disappearance of the Spartans; and when they had recovered from their +astonishment, they waited impatiently for the order to pursue the +runaways. As no such order was given, cries of "Treason!" arose in the +ranks, and the generals were openly accused of having sold themselves +to the enemy. The Spartans, it was asserted, had been allowed to +escape, when they were fairly caught under the walls of Argos; and now +the confederates had been betrayed a second time by their officers. +Amid the general clamour the Argive commanders stood for a moment +confounded and amazed; then recovering themselves they gave the word +to advance, and led their forces down into the plain. Here they passed +the night in the open field, and early next morning they stood to +their arms, and prepared for an immediate attack. + +Agis was not aware that the Argive generals had taken up a new +position, and thinking that the confederates were still stationed on +the hill, he gave up his scheme of diverting the water, and directed +his march towards the place where he had first encamped. As they +proceeded thus in marching order, and quite unprepared for any hostile +movement, the Spartans suddenly found themselves face to face with the +whole Argive army, drawn up in order of battle. For one instant it +seemed as if a panic were about to spread through the Spartan ranks; +then their wonderful discipline prevailed, and with all promptitude, +but without flurry or confusion, the necessary orders were passed from +the King to the commanders of divisions, from these again to the +colonels, from the colonels to the captains, and from the captains +down to the sergeants, [Footnote: I have thought it best to give the +English titles, which of course have only a general correspondence +with the Greek Polemarch, Lochagus, etc.] who in their turn had to see +that the required movement was executed by the men under their +command: for such was the regular gradation of authority and +responsibility in the Spartan army. Thanks to this perfect +organization, in a very few minutes every man was in his place and +ready for battle. + +On the left wing of the Spartan army were posted the Sciritae, hardy +mountaineers from southern Arcadia; next to them stood the +enfranchised Helots, who had served under Brasidas in Thrace, and +others of the same race who had received the Spartan citizenship in +reward for public service; then came the main body of the Spartans +themselves, and after them the rest of the Arcadian allies; while the +right wing was assigned by immemorial privilege to the Tegeans, with +whom were a few picked Spartans. The cavalry, never a very strong part +of the Spartan army, were posted on either flank. + +On the other side the Mantineans held the place of honour on the right +wing, because the engagement was fought in their territory; next in +order were the Arcadian allies of Argos, and after them, more towards +the centre, stood a picked troop of a thousand Argives, trained and +equipped at the public expense; then followed the main body of the +Argive troops, with the rest of their allies, the Athenians occupying +the extreme left. As to the numbers engaged, nothing certain is known. + +Some time was lost by the Argive army in delivering the customary +harangues addressed by the generals of the several contingents to +their men, and this enabled the Spartans to steady their ranks before +the fighting began. They, on their side, men of war from their youth, +had no need of set speeches to remind them of their duty; but pithy +words of exhortation passed from man to man, and high and clear rose +their national war-songs, thrilling them with the memories of their +heroic past. Then the signal was given on both sides to charge, and +the Argives and their allies rushed impetuously to the onset, while +the Spartans advanced to meet them with even and deliberate pace, +timed to the music of numerous pipers, who were stationed at regular +intervals in their ranks. + +The regular equipment of the Greek infantry soldier consisted, besides +his helmet and body-armour, of shield and lance, and in advancing to +battle he had always a tendency to diverge towards the right, from a +natural wish to keep his shielded side towards the enemy. This +divergence from the forward direction was begun by the man posted on +the extreme right; his comrade on the left followed his example, and +the deflection was continued along the whole line. The consequence was +that when two armies came into action, the left wing on either side +was greatly outflanked by the opponents' right; and the battle of +Mantinea affords no exception to this rule, for not even Spartan +discipline was able to counteract the overpowering instinct of self- +preservation. Seeing that his left wing was on the point of being +outflanked by the Mantineans, Agis signalled to the Sciritae and +Brasideans to draw off in a lateral direction towards the left, in +order to present an equal line to the right wing of the enemy. The +order was executed, and to fill up the gap thus produced on the left +of his own centre, Agis ordered the Spartan officers commanding on his +right wing to bring up their men and occupy the vacant space. They, +however, flatly refused to obey the order, and consequently the +Sciritae and Brasideans were assailed in front and on both flanks by +overwhelming numbers, and driven back with great loss to their camp. + +So completely were the Spartans out-manoeuvred and worsted in tactics, +through the blunders of their general, and the cowardice of his +subordinates. But in this terrible crisis they showed what native +valour, aided by life-long discipline, can do. Leaving a victorious +enemy in their rear, they advanced without flinching against the +opposing centre, where the main body of the Argives were posted, with +the troops of Orneae and Cleonaea supporting them on the left. Then it +was seen that neither the courage of the Spartans, nor the terror of +their name, had diminished with the lapse of time; for when the +confederate troops found themselves face to face with the renowned +warrior of the Eurotas, they turned and fled, almost without striking +a blow, and trampling their comrades under foot, in their haste to +avoid the thrust of the Spartan lances. The Athenians on the left wing +were now in great danger; for the charge of the troops of Agis had cut +them off from the centre, and they were attacked on the other flank by +the Tegeans and Spartans. They were saved from immediate destruction +by the exertions of their own cavalry, and presently found themselves +at liberty to retire from the field; for Agis, having completed the +rout of the main body, called off his men, and went to the relief of +his own left. The Mantineans and the Argive Thousand made no effort to +retrieve the fortunes of the day, but gave way before the first onset +of the Spartans, and joined the flight of their comrades. The +Mantineans suffered severely in their retreat, but of the Argives only +a few were slain. + +Such was the battle of Mantinea, which completely restored the +military fame of the Spartans, and blotted out the reproach of +cowardice and sloth which for some years past had rested on their +name. + + +VI + +One incident remains to be recorded, before we proceed to the crowning +catastrophe of our great historical drama. The Athenians, it should be +observed, were still nominally at peace with Sparta, and if they had +been wise they would have taken the opportunity of this respite from +hostilities to recover Amphipolis, and consolidate their empire in +Thrace. Instead of this, they looked around for fresh conquests, and +fixed their eyes on the little island of Melos, belonging to the +Cyclad group, which had been colonized in very early times from +Sparta. + +The Melians had not joined the Confederacy of Delos, and they might +therefore be reproached for sharing the protection of Athens without +making any return. Beyond this the Athenians had no ground of +complaint against them, for they had taken no part in the +Peloponnesian War, but had remained quietly at home, occupied with +their own affairs. But Athens claimed the haughty title of mistress of +the sea, and pretended to regard the neutrality of one insignificant +island as an open defiance of her power. Ten years before an Athenian +fleet had been sent under Nicias to reduce the refractory Melians to +subjection; but the attempt was unsuccessful, and Nicias withdrew, +after having ravaged the outlying districts. Being now more at +leisure, the Athenians resolved, in the mere wantonness of power, that +Melos should only be suffered to exist as a dependency of Athens, and +thirty triremes sailed from the harbour of Peiraeus to carry out the +arbitrary decree. + +On their arrival at Melos the Athenian admirals sent envoys into the +town, to summon the inhabitants to surrender. The envoys were invited +to a private conference with the chief men of the island; and between +the representatives of Athens and the Melian nobles there ensued an +extraordinary dialogue, which is given at great length by the +historian, and is commonly known as the Melian Debate. We cannot +suppose that the arguments here placed by Thucydides in the mouth of +the Athenian speaker were really uttered as set down by that writer. +Such a paradox of iniquity, such a shameless insult to the general +conscience of humanity, might have been employed by Plato, in exposing +the vicious teaching of the Sophists, or by Aristophanes in the full +riot of his satire: but the total abnegation of principle here implied +could never have been openly avowed by a responsible agent, speaking +for the most polished community in Greece. Even the worst criminals +seek to give some specious colour to their villainy; and the condemned +felon, who will face death without a tremor, shudders at the cry of +execration which greets his appearance at the scaffold. So hard it is, +even for the most depraved, to stifle the last embers of the moral +sense. We cannot suppose, then, that an educated Athenian of the fifth +century would publicly have claimed for his state the right of rapine +and murder. For this is the line of argument pursued by the +representative of Athens in the Melian Debate. The substance of what +he says may briefly be stated as follows "You are weak--we are strong; +Melos is a paltry island, Athens is queen of the Aegaean, and the +existence of an independent city in these waters is an insult to her +empire. Let us waste no time in discussions about abstract law and +right. For the mighty there is but one law--to get what they can, and +to keep it; and the weak have no rights, except by the sufferance of +the strong. This rule of conduct we know to be universal among men, +and we believe that the gods themselves are governed by it. [1] +To sum up the whole case in one word: you must yield or perish." + +[1] + Desire of power, on earth a vicious weed, + Yet sprung from high, is of celestial seed; + In God 'tis glory; and when men aspire, + 'Tis but a spark too much of heavenly fire.--DRYDEN. + +It was in vain that the unhappy Melians tried to argue the question +from a higher standpoint; in vain they warned the Athenians that they +themselves might one day stand before the bar of justice, and plead +for their existence. They were brought back relentlessly to the grim +alternative-submission, or extermination. At length this strange +controversy came to an end, and after one final hint, of fearful +significance, the Athenian envoys withdrew, leaving the Melians to +consider their answer. The brave islanders were not long in coming +to their decision: they would not, they said, consent to enslave a city +which had maintained its liberty for seven hundred years; they put +their trust in divine justice, and in their kinsmen the Spartans, and +were resolved to resist to the last. + +On receiving this answer the Athenian commanders at once laid siege to +Melos, and the doomed city was soon closely blockaded by sea and land. +The Melians made a gallant defence, and twice succeeded in breaking +through the lines of the besiegers, and conveying supplies into the +town. But presently reinforcements arrived from Athens, and the +Melians were confined within their walls. All hope of succour from +Sparta had vanished, food began to fail, and treason was at work among +the garrison. Thus driven to extremity, the Melians surrendered at +discretion. Then the Athenians showed that their threats had not been +idly uttered. All the men of military age in Melos were put to death, +the women and children were sold into slavery, and the land was +distributed among Athenian settlers. + +In the fifth year of the war, after the capitulation of Mytilene, a +thousand of the inhabitants had been butchered in cold blood; and this +sentence, which seems so cruel to us, was regarded by the Athenians as +an act of mercy. Six years later, the decree which had originally been +passed against Mytilene, was actually executed on Scione, which had +revolted at the instigation of Brasidas. In this act of savage +retribution, Athens still remained within the limits of Greek +international law, which placed the inhabitants of a revolted city at +the mercy of their conquerors. But the case of Melos was different, +for that island had never been included in the Athenian alliance, and +the Melians had done nothing to provoke an attack. Thus the three +names, Mytilene, Scione, and Melos, mark an ascending scale of +barbarity, culminating in a massacre which, even in the eyes of +Greeks, was an atrocious crime. Athens had now offended beyond +forgiveness, giving colour to the accusations of her worst enemies, +and heaping up vengeance for the days to come. + + + + +THE ATHENIANS IN SICILY + +I + +The Peloponnesian War may be conveniently divided into four chief +periods. The first of these periods lasted for ten years, down to the +peace of Nicias. The second extends from the peace of Nicias to the +massacre of Melos. In the third, the scene of war was shifted from +Greece to Sicily, and it was there that the Athenian power really +received its death-blow. The fourth and final period begins after the +overthrow of the Athenians at Syracuse, and ends, nine years +afterwards, with their final defeat at Aegospotami, and the downfall +of the Athenian empire. + +It is the third of these periods which will occupy our attention for +the remainder of the present volume, and as the momentous events which +we have to relate occurred entirely in Sicily, it is necessary to say +something of the previous history of that great island. The connexion +of the Greeks with Sicily begins in the latter half of the eighth +century before Christ, when settlers from Chalcis in Euboea founded +the city of Naxos on the north-eastern coast, under the shadow of +Aetna. Naxos in its turn sent out colonists, who built the cities of +Leontini and Catana, the former on an inland site, commanding the +great plain which extends southwards from Aetna, the latter on the +coast, in a line with the centre of the same plain. These were Ionic +colonies, and we may close the list with the name of Messene +[Footnote: Originally called Zancle.] founded twenty years later on +the Sicilian side of the strait which bears its name. + +We have now to enumerate the principal Dorian cities. First among +these in time, and by far the first in importance, was Syracuse, +founded from Corinth a year after the settlement of Naxos. Between +Syracuse and the mother-city there was a close and intimate tie of +friendship, which remained unbroken throughout the course of Greek +history. The original city was built on the island of Ortygia, but a +new town afterwards arose on the low-lying coast of the mainland, and +spread northwards till it covered the eastern part of the neighbouring +heights. Ortygia was then converted into a peninsula by the +construction of a causeway, connecting the new city with the old. +Under the despotism of Gelo, who made himself master of the city in +the early part of the fifth century, [Footnote: 485 B.C.] Syracuse +rose to great power and splendour, and her territory extended over a +great part of eastern Sicily. Gelo gained immortal renown by defeating +a mighty host of Carthaginians, who invaded Sicily at the time when +the confederate cities of old Greece were fighting for their existence +against Xerxes and his great armada. After his death the power passed +to his brother Hiero, whose victories in the Olympian and Pythian +Games are commemorated in the Odes of Pindar. Hiero reigned for twelve +years, and was succeeded by his brother Thrasybulus; but a year later +the despotism was overthrown, and the government returned to a +democracy. + +A bare mention must suffice for Gela, founded from Rhodes and Crete +nearly half a century after Syracuse, and the more famous Agrigentum, +a colony from Gela, and next to Syracuse the greatest city in Sicily. +These played no part in the struggle with Athens; but Selinus and +Camarina, the two remaining Dorian cities of southern Sicily, will +occupy an important place in the following narrative. + +Thus the whole coast districts on southern and eastern Sicily were +held by opulent and flourishing Greek cities. On the north was Himera, +an Ionic colony, and the scene of Gelo's great victory over Carthage; +while the western and north-western district was divided between the +Phoenicians and the Elymi, a people of unknown origin, whose chief +seats were at Eryx and Egesta. The inland parts were held, in the +west, by the Sicans, who are believed to have come from Spain, and in +the east by the Sicels, a people of Latin race, who gave their name to +the island. + + +II + +Since the fourth year of the Peloponnesian War, Athens had been +meddling in the affairs of Sicily, under pretence of aiding the Ionian +cities, who dreaded the encroaching ambition of Syracuse. That these +fears were not unfounded was proved when, a few years afterwards, the +Syracusans expelled the commons of Leontini, and took possession of +their territory. The Leontine exiles sought refuge at Athens, but +their appeal for help remained for a time unanswered, as the Athenians +were then fully occupied in Greece. But six years after the conclusion +of the Peace of Nicias, an appeal came to Athens from a remote corner +of Sicily, which stimulated the Leontine exiles to fresh efforts, and +led to most important results. + +Between the Greeks of Selinus and the Elymians of Egesta there was a +long-standing quarrel, and in a war which had recently broken out the +Egestaeans were reduced to severe straits by the combined forces of +Selinus and Syracuse. In their distress they turned to Athens for +help, and envoys were sent to plead their cause before the Athenian +assembly. In aiding Egesta, argued the envoys, Athens would be serving +her own interests; for if the Syracusans were not speedily checked in +their aggressions, they would soon make themselves masters of the +whole of Sicily, and in that case they could bring such an accession +of strength to the enemies of Athens in Greece as to make them +irresistible. They had good reason, therefore, to take sides against +the enemies of Egesta, and the more so as the Egestaeans promised to +defray all the expenses of the war. + +The Athenians generally were inclined to take up the quarrel of +Egesta, but as a measure of precaution it was decided to send agents +of their own to make an inspection on the spot, and see whether the +Egestaeans were as wealthy as they pretended. On their return to +Athens these men reported that Egesta was possessed of fabulous +riches. At every house where they had been entertained, the tables and +the sideboards had been one blaze of gold and silver plate. The fact +was that the Egestaeans had collected all the gold and silver vessels +in the town, and others borrowed from the neighbouring cities, and by +passing them on from house to house, wherever these important guests +were invited, had contrived to make a great display. As an earnest of +all this wealth, the Athenian commissioners brought back with them +sixty talents of silver. + +The smallness of this sum ought to have been sufficient to arouse the +suspicions of the Athenians; but they were willing to be deceived, and +they gave ready credence to reports of their commissioners. Voting in +full assembly, they passed a decree that sixty ships should be sent to +Sicily, under the command of Nicias, Alcibiades, and Lamachus. The +fleet was first to be employed in helping Egesta, and when that +contest had been brought to a successful issue the Leontines were to +be restored to their homes; finally, the generals were empowered to +act as might seem best in the interests of Athens. The real purpose of +the enterprise is indicated in the last clause. Vague plans of +conquest were floating before the minds of the Athenians, and at a +time when their whole energies should have been employed to repair the +breaches in their empire, they dreamed of founding a new dominion in +the west. + +Five days later the assembly met again to vote supplies and discuss +any further details which remained to be settled. But Nicias +determined to take the opportunity of reopening the whole question, +wishing, if possible, to divert his countrymen from their purpose, and +put an end to the expedition altogether. It was folly, he argued, to +take up the cause of needy foreigners, and drain the resources of +Athens for a distant and hazardous enterprise, when their subjects in +Thrace were still in open revolt, and their enemies in Greece were on +the watch to take them at a disadvantage. If they trusted in the +treaty with Sparta, they would soon find how infirm was the ground of +their confidence. That treaty had been forced upon the Spartans by +their misfortunes, and they would be only too glad to repudiate it, +which they could easily do, as many of the conditions were still under +dispute. Moreover, the most powerful cities of the Peloponnesian +League had refused to sign the treaty, and were ready, at the first +hint from Sparta, to renew the war. Athens was beset with perils, +which were enough to tax her strength to the utmost: and yet they +talked of sailing to Sicily, and raising up a new host of enemies +against her! Even if the expedition succeeded, they could never keep +their hold on that vast and populous island, while, if it failed, they +would be utterly ruined. As to the supposed danger from the ambition +of Syracuse, that was mere idle talk. The schemes of conquest, with +which the Egestaeans had tried to alarm the Athenians, would keep the +Syracusans busy at home, and prevent them from meddling in the affairs +of Greece. "Leave the Greeks of Sicily alone," said Nicias with true +prophetic insight; "and they will not trouble you. Do not disturb the +prestige which belongs to a distant and unfamiliar power. If they once +learn to know you, they may learn to despise you." + +Then fixing his eyes on Alcibiades, who was sitting surrounded by his +own partisans, young profligates like himself, Nicias concluded thus: +"There is another danger against which I would warn you, men of +Athens--the danger of being led astray by the wild eloquence of +unscrupulous politicians, who seek to dazzle you with visions of new +empire, that they may rise to high command, and restore their own +shattered fortunes. Yes, Athens is to pour out her blood and treasure, +to provide young spendthrifts with the means of filling their racing- +stables! Against the mad counsels of these desperate men I invoke the +mature prudence of the elder members of this assembly, and call upon +them to show by a unanimous vote that neither flattery nor taunts can +induce them to sacrifice the true interests of Athens." + +It must have been a severe ordeal for the young Alcibiades to sit and +listen to this keen and bitter invective, which set in a glaring light +the worst features in his character--his selfish ambition, his +shameless life, his total want of principle, his vulgar ostentation. +The last quality, so alien from the best traditions of Athenian +character, had been conspicuously displayed only a few weeks before at +the Olympic festival, where he had entered seven four-horsed cars for +the chariot-race, and won the first, second, and fourth prizes. Every +word of Nicias went home, galling him in his sorest point--his +outrageous vanity; and hardly had the elder statesman concluded his +speech, when he sprang to his feet, and burst without preface into a +wild harangue, which is a remarkable piece of self-revelation, +disclosing with perfect candour the inner motives of the man on whom, +more than on any other, the future of Athens depended. He began by +defending his barbaric extravagance, recently displayed at Olympia, +which, as he pretended to believe, had covered his native city with +glory, and spread the fame of Athenian wealth and power from one end +of Greece to another. The lavish outlay, and haughty demeanour, which +would be justly blamed in a common man, were right and proper in him, +one of the elect spirits of the time, inspired with great aims, and +treading the summits of public life. He had already shown what he +could do in the highest regions of diplomacy, by raising a great +coalition in Peloponnesus, which had faced the whole might of Sparta +in the field, and struck terror into the enemies of Athens. + +After this impudent defence of his own pernicious policy, which had +led to the crushing defeat at Mantinea, and thus enabled the Spartans +to restore their damaged reputation, Alcibiades proceeded to deal with +the question of the day, and exerted all his sophistry to confirm the +Athenians in their design of invading Sicily. That island, he +asserted, was inhabited by a mixed population with no settled homes, +and no common patriotic sentiment; and among these motley elements +they would find plenty of adherents. The Siceliots [Footnote: Greeks +of Sicily.] were poorly armed, ill-furnished with heavy infantry, and +in constant danger from the hostile Sicels. The risk of attack from +the Peloponnesians would not be increased by sending part of the +Athenian fleet to Sicily: for Attica was in any case always exposed to +invasion, and a sufficient force of ships would be left at home to +keep command of the sea. + +"We have no excuse, then," said Alcibiades in conclusion, "for +breaking our word to the Egestaeans, and drawing back from this +enterprise. Both honour and policy are pointing the way to Sicily. An +empire like ours is an ever-expanding circle, which lives by growing, +and cannot stand still. It is only by getting more, and always more, +that we can keep what we have. And let not Nicias succeed in his +attempt to set the old against the young, neither let us believe, like +him, that the stability of a state consists in stagnation. It is only +by a hearty co-operation of all ages and classes that any state can +prosper, and a community which finds no outlet for its energies abroad +is soon worn out by discord and faction at home. Above all is this +true of us Athenians, to whom ceaseless toil and endeavour is the very +element in which we live." + +The advice of Alcibiades, thus tendered in the garb of political +wisdom, was of fatal and ruinous tendency, and in direct opposition to +the oft-repeated warnings of Pericles. But his speech was exactly +suited to the temper of his audience, and most of those who followed +him spoke to the same effect, and when the Egestaeans and Leontines +renewed their entreaties it became evident that the original motion +would be confirmed by a large majority. Nicias, however, resolved to +make one more effort, and he came forward to speak again, hoping by a +new device to check the torrent of popular enthusiasm. Affecting to +regard the matter as settled, he entered into an estimate of the force +required for the proposed expedition, prefaced by an alarming picture +of the wealth and power of the Sicilian Greeks. To act with effect +against such an enemy, they must send, not only an overwhelming naval +force, but a numerous body of troops, both cavalry and infantry, and a +fleet laden with supplies for many months. They must proceed, in fact, +as if they were founding a great city on a hostile soil. On no other +condition, added Nicias, would he undertake the command. Nicias had +intended, by exaggerating the difficulties of the undertaking, to damp +the ardour of the Athenians; but to his utter dismay, these timid +counsels were greeted with a great shout of applause. It was supposed +that he had changed his opinion, and even the elder men began to think +that so prudent a leader, backed by such an armament, could not fail +of success. A great wave of excitement swept over the assembly, and +the few who still doubted were cowed into silence. When the tumult had +subsided, a certain Demostratus, [Footnote: The name is given by +Plutarch.] who had spoken strongly in favour of the expedition, +addressing Nicias in the name of the assembly, asked him to state +plainly what force he required. Thus driven into a corner, Nicias +answered, with great reluctance, that the number of triremes must be +not less than one hundred, with five thousand heavy-armed infantry, +and slingers and bow-men in proportion. This enormous estimate was +carried without demur, and by the same vote full powers were conferred +on the generals to fix the scale of the armament as they might think +best for the interests of Athens. + +Thus, by a strange freak of fortune, the Athenians, at the most +momentous crisis of their history, were urged along the road to ruin +by the most opposite qualities in their leaders, the cold caution of +Nicias, and the wild energy of Alcibiades. + + +III + +During the whole of the following spring [Footnote: B.C. 415.] +preparations for the invasion of Sicily were actively pushed on, and +the whole city was in a bustle and stir of excitement. Athens had +recently recovered from the ravages of the plague, and six years of +peace had recruited her resources, both in men and money. Since the +first outbreak of the war a new generation had grown up, and these +young and untried spirits joined, with all the fire of youth, in an +enterprise which promised them a boundless field of adventure. Others +were attracted by the baser motive of gain, or by mere curiosity, and +the love of travel. No thought of danger or hardship, no hint of +possible failure, clouded the brilliant prospect; it was a gay holiday +excursion, and at the same time a grand scheme of conquest, offering +fame to the ambitious, wealth to the needy, and pleasant recreation to +all. Thousands flocked eagerly to enter their names for the service, +and the only trouble of the recruiting officers was in choosing the +stoutest and the best. + +The great armament was on the eve of departure, and all hearts were +full of joyful anticipation, when an event occurred which suddenly +chilled this happy mood, and cast a shadow of evil augury on the whole +undertaking. The Athenians of that age, like their descendants nearly +five centuries later, [Footnote: See Acts xvii. 22.] were "more god- +fearing than other men." They worshipped a multitude of divinities, +and their city was thronged with the temples and statues of heroes and +gods. Conspicuous among the objects of popular adoration was the god +Hermes, who is exhibited by ancient poets and artists as a gracious +and lovely youth, the special patron of eloquence and wit, the +guardian spirit of travellers and merchants, and the giver of good +luck. A familiar feature in the streets and public places of Athens +was the bust of Hermes, surmounting a quadrangular stone pillar. Many +hundreds of these pillars, which were called Hermae, were scattered +about over the whole city, standing before the doors of houses and +temples, at cross-ways and places of public resort. Wherever he went, +whatever he did, the Athenian felt himself to be in the presence of +this genial and friendly power, who attended him, with more than human +sympathy, in all his ways. + +If such were the feelings of the Athenians towards their favourite +deity, what must have been their horror when they awoke one morning to +find that all the busts of Hermes, with one or two exceptions, were +shattered and mutilated beyond all recognition. The whole population +was thunderstruck, and wild rumours ran from mouth to mouth concerning +the perpetrators and the motive of this shocking outrage. It was +evident that many hands must have been employed on the work of +destruction, and those who had so foully insulted the most hallowed +affections of their fellow-citizens were believed to be capable of any +enormity. It was loudly asserted that a black conspiracy was hatching +against the liberties of the people, and that the worst days of the +tyranny were about to be revived. For in those days religion and +politics were associated with a closeness of intimacy unknown in +modern Europe, and sacrilege might well be regarded as a prelude to +treason. Active measures were at once taken to bring the offenders to +justice, and great rewards were offered to anyone, whether citizen, +slave, or resident foreigner, who gave information concerning this or +any similar crime. At first nothing was disclosed as to the mutilation +of the Hermae, but other recent acts of profanation were brought to +light, and among these was mentioned a derisive parody of the great +Eleusinian Mysteries, alleged to have been performed in the house of +Alcibiades, and elsewhere. The enemies of Alcibiades, who were both +numerous and powerful, eagerly seized this handle against him; but +when the matter was debated in the public assembly, it became evident +that, if he were brought to trial at once, his present popularity, as +chief promoter of the Sicilian expedition, would ensure his acquittal. +Seeing, therefore, that their attack had been premature, those who had +led the outcry against him now drew back, reserving themselves for a +more favourable occasion. Being known as the bitter opponents of +Alcibiades, they could not, without exciting grave suspicions, propose +the adjournment of his trial; but other speakers, prompted by them, +urged on grounds of public expediency that the charges against him +should be held in suspense, so as not to delay the departure of the +fleet. Alcibiades saw plainly that this manoeuvre was contrived to get +him out of the way, to remove his adherents from Athens, and leave his +enemies free to pursue their machinations during his absence. But it +was in vain that he exposed the malicious motives of the last +speakers, and pleaded earnestly for an immediate trial. The Athenians +were still possessed by their daring scheme of conquest, and they +decreed that Alcibiades should keep his command, and sail at once to +Sicily. + + +IV + +At last the great day arrived, and in the first light of a mid-summer +dawn, a vast multitude was seen pouring along the broad highway which +led, between the Long Walls, from Athens to Peiraeus. The Upper City +was almost deserted by its inhabitants, for there was hardly one +Athenian who had not some cherished comrade, or some near relation, +enrolled for service in Sicily, and the crowd was swelled by thousands +of strangers, who came as spectators of that memorable scene. Little +now appeared of that sanguine and joyous temper which had prevailed +among the Athenians when they first voted for the expedition. Their +feelings had lately been fearfully harrowed by the mutilation of the +Hermae, and now that the moment of parting was at hand, all the perils +and uncertainties of their grand enterprise rose up vividly before +them. They were restored, however, to some degree of cheerfulness, +when they reached the harbour of Peiraeus, and saw the magnificent +fleet riding at anchor. Nearly all the vessels lying in the bay were +Athenian; for the main body of the allies, and the commissariat ships, +had been ordered to muster at Corcyra. The triremes furnished by +Athens numbered a hundred, of which sixty were fully equipped as war- +galleys, while forty were employed as transports. These numbers had +been equalled more than once before during the war; but in efficiency, +in splendour of appearance, and in the quality of the crews, this was +by far the finest fleet that ever sailed from Peiraeus. Only the bare +hulls of the ships were provided by the state, and each vessel was +assigned to some wealthy citizen, who defrayed all the expense of +fitting her for active service. Sometimes the cost of equipping a ship +was divided between two or more citizens, and at ordinary times this +form of taxation must have been felt by the rich as a heavy burden. +But such was the popularity of the Sicilian expedition that the +wealthy Athenians who were charged with this duty went far beyond what +was required of them, each striving to surpass the others by the +superior beauty and speed of his own ship. The crews were all composed +of picked men, attracted by the double rate of pay which was furnished +from the state exchequer; and in addition to this, the trierarchs +[Footnote: Citizens charged with the duty of equipping a trireme.] +paid special premiums to the petty officers and to the highest class +of rowers. The same spirit of emulation extended to the whole body of +Athenians enrolled in the army and fleet; every man felt that whatever +he spent on his own personal equipment was spent for the honour and +glory of Athens. And the effect produced on the public mind in Greece +was, in fact, prodigious: after all the ravages of the plague, and ten +years of exhausting warfare, Athens, it seemed, was stronger than +ever, and in the mere exuberance of energy was making this imposing +display of wealth and power. As to the ostensible object of the +expedition--the conquest of Sicily--few doubted that it must follow as +a matter of course. + +The last farewell had been spoken, the troops were all embarked, and +the rowers sat ready at their oars. The trumpet sounded, commanding +silence, and the voice of the herald was heard, repeating a solemn +prayer, which was taken up by the whole multitude on sea and on shore, +while the captains and soldiers poured libations of wine from goblets +of silver and gold. When this act of worship was ended, the crews +raised the paean, and at a given signal the whole fleet was set in +motion, and passed, in single file, out of the harbour. On reaching +the open water, they quitted this order, and engaged in a friendly +contest of speed as far as Aegina. Then the crews settled down to +their work, and the great armament swept on, high in heart and hope, +to join the allied contingents, and commissariat fleet, now assembled +at Corcyra. + +As yet only general rumours of the intended invasion had reached +Syracuse, and few of the citizens were aware of the imminent peril in +which they stood. Among those who were better informed was +Hermocrates, a Syracusan of high rank, who for many years had been the +guiding spirit in Sicilian politics. Speaking at a public assembly, +about the time when the Athenian fleet sailed from Peiraeus, he urged +the necessity of taking prompt measures for placing the city in a +thorough state of defence. He had no fear, he said, of the ultimate +triumph of Syracuse in the approaching struggle: only let them be on +their guard, and not underrate the power of the enemy whom they would +have to face. The words of Hermocrates, who enjoyed a high reputation +for valour, patriotism, and sagacity, were not without their effect, +and it was resolved that the generals should at once set about +organizing the military resources of Syracuse, and providing all +things necessary for the public safety. Some steps in this direction +they had already taken; and tidings soon arrived at Syracuse which +caused them to redouble their exertions. + +For in the meantime the Athenians had reached Corcyra, where they held +a final review of all their forces. The total number of the triremes +was a hundred and thirty-four, and with these sailed a vast fleet of +merchant ships, and smaller craft, laden with stores of all kinds, and +carrying a whole army of bakers, masons, and carpenters, with the +tools of their crafts, and all the engines required for a siege. +Besides these, there was a great number of other vessels, small and +great, fitted out by private speculators for purposes of trade. The +military force was on a corresponding scale, comprising five thousand, +one hundred hoplites, of whom fifteen hundred were full Athenian +citizens, four hundred and eighty archers, seven hundred slingers from +Rhodes, and a hundred and twenty exiles from Megara, equipped as +light-armed troops. The force of cavalry was but small, being conveyed +in a single transport. + +The whole armament now weighed anchor from Corcyra and sailed in three +divisions, each commanded by one of the generals, to the opposite +coast of Italy. On arriving at Rhegium, an Ionic city on the Italian +side of the strait, they received permission to beach their ships, and +form a camp outside the walls; and here they waited for the return of +three fast-sailing triremes, which had been sent forward from +Corcyrato carry the news of their approach to Egesta, and claim the +promised subsidy, and at the same time to sound the temper of the +Greek cities in Sicily. Before long the ships came back with their +report, and the Athenians now learned to their great chagrin that all +the fabled wealth of Egesta had dwindled to the paltry sum of thirty +talents. + +The three generals now held a council of war, to decide on a plan of +campaign. It was evident that no help was to be obtained from Egesta, +and the attitude of the Rhegini, who declined to enter their alliance, +boded ill for the success of the expedition. As their prospects were +so discouraging, Nicias proposed to confine their operations within +the narrowest limits, to patch up a peace between Selinus and Egesta, +to aid the Leontines, if it could be done without risk or expense, and +after making a display of the Athenian power, to sail home to Athens. +Alcibiades protested strongly against such a course, as disgraceful to +Athens, and unworthy of the splendid armament entrusted to their +command. Let them try first what could be effected by negotiation with +the Greek cities and native tribes of Sicily, and after gaining as +many allies as possible in the island, let them proceed to the attack +of Selinus and Syracuse. Lamachus, on the other hand, a plain, +downright soldier, was for sailing straight to Syracuse, and striking +immediately at the heart of Sicily. The city, he argued, would be +found unprepared, and if they acted at once, in the first terror of +their presence, they were certain of victory; but if they waited, +their men would lose heart, the efficiency of the fleet would be +impaired, and the Syracusans would gather strength and courage from +the delay. + +How true was the forecast of Lamachus was proved by the event; but his +bold plan was distasteful alike to the timid temper of Nicias, and to +the tortuous, intriguing spirit of Alcibiades. Finding, therefore, +that he had no hope of convincing his colleagues, he voted for the +middle course, and accordingly the plan of Alcibiades, unquestionably +the worst of the three, was adopted. + +In pursuance of this fatal policy Alcibiades crossed over to Messene, +and tried to win over that city to the side of Athens. Meeting with no +success, he returned to Rhegium, and immediately afterwards he and one +of his colleagues sailed with a force of sixty triremes to Naxos. Here +the Athenians found a hearty welcome, but at Catana, which was then +under the influence of Syracuse, their overtures were rejected, so +they continued their voyage southwards, and made their camp for the +night at the mouth of the river Terias. Starting early next day, they +proceeded along the coast, and, crossing the bay of Thapsus, came in +sight, for the first time, of their great enemy, Syracuse. The main +body of the fleet remained in the offing, but ten triremes were sent +forward to reconnoitre the Great Harbour, and get a nearer view of the +fortifications. When the little squadron came within hearing of the +walls, a herald proclaimed in a loud voice that any of the Leontines +now present in Syracuse should leave the city without fear, and come +over to their faithful kinsmen and allies, the Athenians. After this +futile demonstration, better calculated; to excite laughter than +terror, the reconnoitring triremes withdrew, and the whole fleet +sailed back in the direction of Rhegium. On their return voyage the +Athenians succeeded, by a lucky accident, in gaining the adherence of +Catana, which henceforth became the head-quarters of the whole +armament. Soon after they had effected this important change of +station the Salaminian state trireme arrived with momentous news from +Athens. We have seen what a panic of superstitious fear had been +caused among the Athenians by the mutilation of the Hermae. Arrested +for the moment by the all-absorbing interest of the Sicilian +expedition, the excitement broke out with renewed violence after the +departure of the fleet. The enemies of Alcibiades saw that the time +was now ripe for bringing up against him the charge of violating the +mysteries, and pressing for a judgment. A formal indictment was laid +before the senate, and it was decided that he should come home and +stand his trial. But it was necessary to proceed with caution, for +Alcibiades was popular with the troops serving in Sicily; and it was +possible that, if any violence were attempted against his person, they +might break out into mutiny. Accordingly the captain of the Salaminian +trireme was instructed to treat him with all respect, and allow him to +return to Athens in his own vessel. On receiving the summons +Alcibiades affected to obey, and set sail from Catana, with the state +trireme in attendance. The two ships remained in company as far as +Thurii, a Greek town of southern Italy, but there the great criminal +disappeared, and after searching for him in vain the officers of the +Salaminia were obliged to return to Athens without him. When the news +of his flight was brought to Athens, he was arraigned in his absence, +and condemned to death. But if his enemies supposed that they had +heard the last of Alcibiades, they soon learnt how deeply they were +mistaken. + + +V + +The conduct of the campaign in Sicily was thus left in the feeble +hands of Nicias; for though Lamachus nominally held an equal command, +his poverty and political insignificance prevented him from holding +the position to which his military talents entitled him. The few +remaining weeks of summer were frittered away in trivial operations on +the western coasts of the island, and then the Athenians withdrew into +winter quarters at Catana. The predictions of Lamachus now began to be +fulfilled: seeing that Nicias, with the vast force at his disposal, +attempted nothing against them, the Syracusans began to despise their +enemy, and thought of taking the offensive. Horsemen from Syracuse +rode repeatedly up to the Athenian outposts at Catana, and tauntingly +inquired if the Athenians had come to found a colony in Sicily. At +last even Nicias felt that some display of activity was necessary to +save himself from contempt. He had learnt from certain Syracusan +exiles that there was a convenient place for landing troops, on the +low-lying shore where the river Anapus flows into the Great Harbour. +Here he determined to make a sudden descent, and in order to avoid +disembarking in the face of an enemy, he contrived a stratagem to +remove the whole Syracusan force out of reach. A citizen of Catana, +who was attached to the Athenian interest, was sent with a message to +the Syracusan generals, which held out a tempting prospect of gaining +an easy and decisive advantage over the Athenian army. Professing to +come from the partisans of Syracuse still remaining in Catana, he +promised on their behalf that if the Syracusans made a sudden assault +on the Athenian camp, their friends in Catana would simultaneously +fall upon the Athenian troops, who were in the habit of deserting +their quarters and straggling about the town, and set fire to their +ships. + +This plausible story found ready credence with the Syracusan generals, +and they named a day on which they promised to appear in full force +before the walls of Catana. When the time appointed drew near, they +marched out with the whole Syracusan army, leaving the city to be +garrisoned by their allies, and took up a position within easy reach +of Catana. Thereupon Nicias, who was fully informed of their +movements, embarked his troops by night, sailed down the coast past +Syracuse, and entering the Great Harbour, came to land near the +outlying suburb of Polichne, where stood the great temple of the +Olympian Zeus. Here he planted a breastwork of palisades to defend his +ships, and drew up his army on ground which offered many obstacles to +the advance of the Syracusan cavalry. Then, having broken down the +bridge over the Anapus, he waited for the enemy to appear. + +Meanwhile the Syracusan generals had marched upon Catana, and finding +that they had been duped, returned with all speed to the defence of +their own city. After a long and fatiguing march, they came in view of +the Athenian position, and drew up their forces for battle. But Nicias +declined the challenge, and the day being now far advanced, they fell +back and encamped for the night in the open field. + +Next morning Nicias, acting with unusual vigour, drew up his army in +two equal divisions, and leaving one half to defend the camp, and act +as a reserve, with the other he advanced rapidly upon the enemy. The +Syracusans, who had perhaps reckoned too much on the known indolence +of Nicias, were taken by surprise. Their discipline was lax, and many +of them had left their posts, and gone off into the town. +Nevertheless, they met the attack with firmness: those who were on the +spot hastened to assume their weapons, which they had laid aside, +while the stragglers came running back, and took their stand wherever +they saw a gap in the ranks. After some preliminary skirmishing +between the light-armed troops, the heavy masses of the hoplites came +to close quarters, and a fierce hand to hand struggle ensued. While +the issue was still uncertain, a violent thunderstorm broke over the +contending armies, and struck terror into the Syracusans, who regarded +it as an omen of defeat. But the seasoned soldiers of Nicias saw +nothing unusual in an autumn tempest, and perceiving the enemy to +waver, they pressed their attack, and broke through the opposing +lines. The whole Syracusan army now fell back upon Syracuse, but they +retired without haste or disorder, and their retreat was covered by a +numerous and efficient body of cavalry, so that their total loss +amounted only to two hundred and sixty. + +The victory thus remained with the Athenians; but the moral advantage +was entirely on the side of the Syracusans. With an army composed of +raw recruits, they had met the flower of the Athenian forces, trained +by years of warfare, and led by experienced generals, in fair fight, +and though attacked at a disadvantage, they had fought with spirit, +and retreated with coolness and deliberation. They had good reason to +be satisfied with the result of their first encounter with the +invader, and they might well share the high and confident hopes +expressed by their most eminent citizen, Hermocrates. Speaking at a +general assembly, immediately after the battle, the great patriot +congratulated his countrymen on the courage which they had displayed, +and at the same time pointed out the necessity of improving their +discipline and military organization. One important reform should be +made at once; the number of the generals, which had hitherto been +fifteen, should be greatly reduced, and those appointed to the supreme +command should be given absolute power, so that they might act with +secrecy and despatch. Further, let the whole adult male population be +placed under arms, and kept in constant drill all through the winter. +If these measures were vigorously carried out, they might successfully +defy the Athenians to do their worst. + +Acting on this advice, the Syracusans deposed the existing generals, +and chose Hermocrates, with three others, to fill their place. The +reform of the army was at once taken in hand, and ambassadors were +sent to Corinth and Sparta to ask for aid. Corinth, as the mother-city +of Syracuse, might well respond to the call, and it was hoped that the +Spartans would be induced to declare open war on Athens, so as to +compel the Athenians to withdraw their forces from Sicily, or at least +prevent them from sending reinforcements. + +Various defensive works were undertaken by the Syracusans during the +winter. The most important of these was a new wall, extending from the +northern sea to the Great Harbour, and taking in a wide space of +ground, outside the old line of wall, to the west of the city. By thus +increasing the area of Syracuse, they made it much more difficult for +Nicias to draw his line of blockade, when the siege began in the +following spring. They also constructed a fort, with a permanent +garrison, to guard the temple of Zeus in the suburb of Polichne, and +drove piles into the sea at all the landing-places of the Great +Harbour. + +Soon after the battle Nicias shifted his winter quarters to Naxos, and +learning this the Syracusans marched in full force to Catana, laid +waste the territory, and burnt the deserted huts of the Athenians. The +insult was tamely endured, and shortly afterwards the ever-active +Hermocrates had an opportunity of thwarting the Athenian intrigues +among the Greek cities of Sicily. The scene of this diplomatic +encounter was Camarina, a Dorian city which had hitherto wavered +between its hatred of Syracuse and its fear of Athens. Early in the +winter Athenian envoys appeared at Camarina with overtures of +alliance, and Hermocrates was sent to represent the interests of +Syracuse. Speaking first in the debate, Hermocrates set himself to +unmask the designs of the Athenians, who, under the thin pretence of +helping the Ionic cities of Sicily, had come (he said) to make a +conquest of the whole island. The Ionians of Greece had long groaned +under their yoke, and the same fate was in store for the Ionians of +Sicily, if they allowed themselves to be beguiled by specious lies. +The plea of friendship and goodwill might pass with the degenerate +Greeks of Asia and the Aegaean, born to be cajoled and enslaved; but +the Camariaeans were of the stout Dorian race, the hereditary foes of +tyranny, too wise and too brave to lend themselves as tools to a bare- +faced scheme of aggression. If not, let them beware: Syracuse was +fighting in a righteous cause, and must prevail in the end; help was +coming from Peloponnesus, and if the Camariaeans stood aloof, the day +would come when they would regret their disloyalty. + +There can be no doubt that Hermocrates was right in his view of the +motive which brought the Athenians to Sicily, and the arguments of +Euphemus, the advocate for Athens, who strove to confute him, will not +bear examination. But the people of Camarina were in a difficult +position; their city had suffered many things in the past at the hands +of Syracuse, and they had reason to fear that her oppressions might be +renewed, if she emerged triumphant from the present struggle. On the +other hand, if the Athenians were victorious, they might forfeit their +independence altogether. In this dilemma they determined to play a +waiting game, and when the time came for action, to throw their weight +on the winning side. For the present they answered that they chose to +remain neutral. + +The debate at Camarina, though interesting and instructive from the +light which it throws on the passions and motives of the combatants, +had little influence on the final issue of the war. But about the same +time a scene was being enacted in another part of the Greek world, +which led to most momentous consequences. Early in the winter the +Syracusan envoys arrived at Corinth, and made an earnest appeal for +help. The Corinthians were warmly attached to their famous colony, +which had never wavered in its allegiance to the mother-city, and +moreover they were the implacable enemies of Athens. They therefore +took up the cause of Syracuse with enthusiasm, and they sent the +envoys on to Sparta, accompanied by delegates of their own, to urge +the immediate resumption of hostilities against Athens, and the +sending of prompt aid to Sicily. + +At Sparta they found an able and unscrupulous ally, the very last whom +they had expected to meet there. This was the outlaw Alcibiades, who, +after eluding the vigilance of the Athenian officers at Thurii, had +crossed over in a merchant ship to Cyllene, the port of Elis. While +staying there, he received an invitation from the Lacedaemonians to +proceed to Sparta, and made his way thither, having first stipulated +for a safe-conduct; for he dreaded the vengeance of the Spartans, to +whom he had done much mischief by raising the coalition which led to +the battle of Mantinea. So there he was, the guest of his old enemies, +burning with all an exile's hatred, and ready to strike some deadly +blow against the city which had cast him out. + +At first the Spartans gave but a cool and qualified response to the +application of the envoys from Corinth. They were prepared to lend +moral support to the Syracusans, by sending an embassy to encourage +them in their resistance, but of more substantial aid they said little +or nothing. Now was the time for Alcibiades to play his part. He knew, +far better than any of his hearers, all the vulnerable points of +Athens, and had no scruple in using his knowledge for her ruin. Having +obtained permission from the magistrates, he rose to address the +Spartan assembly; and his speech is given at full length by the +historian, who was himself an exile at the time, and may possibly have +been present [Footnote: The suggestion is made by Grote.] on this +important occasion. + +The Spartans might smile when they heard this accomplished traitor +professing friendship towards themselves, and zeal for their service; +they might be disgusted at the flippant sophistries by which he strove +to defend his unexampled villainy. But far different feelings must +have been awakened, when he went on to unfold the gigantic scheme of +conquest, to which, as he pretended, the invasion of Sicily was no +more than a prelude. According to this statement, the Athenians +intended, after subjugating the Greeks of Sicily, to turn their arms +against the Italian Greeks, and finally to attack Carthage. If all +these designs were successful, they would build a great number of new +ships, taking their materials from the forests of Italy, raise a vast +military force, both of Greeks and barbarians, and then return, backed +by the whole power of the West, and draw a ring of war round +Peloponnesus. With such resources they would be irresistible, and all +Greece must inevitably fall under their sway. + +"Such," continued Alcibiades, "is the secret history of the Sicilian +expedition, which you have heard from the mouth of him who knows it +best. Remember, then, that the issue before you concerns not Syracuse +only, but Sparta also: for if Syracuse falls--and fall she must, if +left without support--all Sicily will be under the heel of Athens; +then will come the turn of Italy, and after that you will soon have +the enemy at your own doors. Now learn what you must do, if you would +avert all the evils which I have foretold. You must send a fleet to +Sicily at once, with hoplites who can row the ships themselves, and +serve in the army as soon as they land, and with them a Spartan +commander, to organize the fighting men of Sicily, and compel those +who are hanging back to do their duty. Such a man will be a host in +himself, and will infuse new life and energy into the defence. +Further, you must establish a fortified camp at Decelea, a position +which commands the whole territory of Attica; for by so doing you will +reduce Athens to a state of siege, and compel the whole male +population to serve on garrison duty; you will deprive the Athenians +of their revenues from the silver-mines at Laurium, and you will put +new heart into the cities subject to Athens, and encourage them to +withhold their tribute. Let these measures be carried out with +promptitude and vigour, and you will soon reap your reward, in the +humiliation of Athens, and the honour and gratitude of all Greece." + +At these words of Alcibiades the sluggish Spartans took fire, and +recognizing the importance of his advice they determined to follow the +course which he had indicated. Gylippus, a Spartan of high rank, +received orders to proceed at once to Syracuse, and assume the control +of the war, and the Corinthians were directed to provide ships for the +conveyance of troops. But after this brief display of energy the +Spartans relapsed into their wonted torpor. Many months elapsed before +Gylippus was able to embark for Sicily, and meanwhile important events +had been occurring at the seat of war. We return, therefore, to the +head-quarters of Nicias, which had once more been removed from Naxos +to Catana. + + +VI + +For the next year and a half [Footnote: Spring 414--autumn 413 B.C.] +the scene of our narrative lies almost entirely in the immediate +neighbourhood of Syracuse, so that it now becomes necessary to +describe in some detail the site of that city, and the character of +the adjacent country. Mention has already been made of the island of +Ortygia, the site of the original colony, connected with the mainland +of Sicily by a bridge or causeway. At the southern extremity of +Ortygia there is a narrow strip of land, pointing like a finger +towards the rocky peninsula of Plemmyrium; and between these two +points lies the entrance to a spacious bay, already alluded to under +the name of the Great Harbour. At the western end of the bay there is +a long stretch of low, marshy ground, intersected by the little rivers +Cyana and Anapus, and infested with fever during the heats of summer. +On a rising ground, south of the Anapus, stood the suburb of Polichne, +with its great temple, sacred to the Olympian Zeus. A little to the +north of Ortygia the coast rises abruptly in a bold line of cliffs, +facing eastwards, and forming the base of a triangular plateau, which +slopes upwards from the sea, and gradually grows narrower until it +ends in a point, called the hill of Euryelus. This plateau, which bore +the name of Epipolae, is guarded on all its three sides by rocky +precipices, only to be ascended at two or three places. Its eastern +end, called Acheadina, from the wild pear-trees which once flourished +there, was occupied by a new city, now included with Ortygia in the +same wall of defence. Here were situated the famous stone-quarries, +which afterwards acquired so tragic an interest from the sufferings of +the captive Athenians; and southwards from this district the ground +shelves gently to the shores of the Little Harbour, a sheltered inlet +at the northern end of Ortygia. + +At the opening of spring the operations against Syracuse began in good +earnest. The first object of Nicias was to obtain possession of the +heights of Epipolae, for since the construction of the new Syracusan +wall it had become impossible for him to draw his line of blockade +from the side of the Great Harbour. His preparations were already far +advanced, when the Syracusan generals resolved to anticipate him, by +occupying all the approaches to Epipolae. With this intention they +issued an order for a full muster of troops in a meadow by the Anapus, +and after a general review and inspection of arms they appointed a +picked body of six hundred hoplites to guard the heights of Epipolae, +and hold themselves ready for any other pressing service. But the +precaution was taken too late. On the night before the review Nicias +set sail with his whole army from Catana, and landed at a place called +Leon, not more than six or seven furlongs from the northern side of +Epipolae. The fleet then took up its station in the sheltered water +behind the peninsula of Thapsus, while the land forces, advancing at a +run, crossed the level ground, and then, breasting the ascent, gained +the summit of Euryelus. + +News of their approach presently reached the Syracusans, who were +still mustered by the Anapus, and breaking off the review, they +marched in haste towards Epipolae, hoping still to dislodge the +Athenians from their position. But in their rapid advance over a +distance of nearly three miles their ranks became disordered, and +their attack was so straggling and ineffectual that they were easily +repulsed, and driven back with considerable loss into the town. On the +following day Nicias led his troops down the slope, and offered battle +before the walls of Syracuse; but the challenge was declined, and the +Syracusans remained within their defences, leaving the Athenians in. +undisputed possession of Epipolae. + +After this important success the Athenian generals prepared at once to +form the siege of Syracuse. They first constructed a fort at a place +called Labdalum, on the northern verge of Epipolae, and near its +western extremity, to serve as a safe depositary for their baggage and +money. Then, taking up a position near the centre of Epipolae, they +built a circular wall, covering a considerable space of ground, and +defended on the side towards the city by an outer breastwork, a +thousand feet long. This enclosure, which was called the Circle, was +intended as a shelter for the men employed on construction of the +blockading wall, which started from either side of the Circle, and was +to be carried north and south until it reached the sea. The work made +rapid progress, and greatly alarmed the Syracusans, who saw themselves +in danger of being cut off from all hope of succour on the land side. +Dismayed by this prospect, they resolved to make one more effort to +drive the Athenians from their position, and marching out in full +force, offered battle. Advancing in haste and disorder, they would +certainly have suffered a crushing defeat, but for the prudent caution +of their generals, who were so much impressed by the superior +discipline of the Athenians, that they gave the order to retire, and +led their troops back into the city, leaving only a detachment of +horse to skirmish with the besiegers. But the Athenians had now an +efficient force of cavalry, which had been raised by successive +reinforcements to the number of six hundred and fifty men; and these, +backed by a small force of infantry, soon drove the horsemen of +Syracuse from the field. + +The Athenians then completed the building of their Circle, and began +to lay the materials for the northern line of wall. By the advice of +Hermocrates the Syracusans made no further attempt to attack them in +full force, but began to build a counterwall, running out from the +city in a direction south of the Athenian Circle, so as to cross the +line to be followed by the wall of blockade, and prevent it from +reaching the Great Harbour. The work proceeded without interruption, +for the Athenians were engaged in their building operations north of +the Circle, and did not choose to divide their forces. When it was +completed, this counterwork consisted of a solid stone wall, crowned +with wooden towers, and defended in front by a palisade. The blockade +of Syracuse was thus rendered impossible, as long as the defenders +could keep possession of their counterwall. But unfortunately the +guards left in charge of the new wail soon began to neglect their +duty, and erected tents in the shade, where they passed the hot hours +of the afternoon, while some even left their posts, and went off to +refresh themselves in the city. The Athenian generals did not fail to +take advantage of this negligence. Watching their opportunity, when +most of the Syracusan guards were reposing under the shelter of the +tents, they sent a chosen troop of some three hundred men to make a +sudden assault on the counterwall. Then, having divided the main body +of the Athenian army between them, they disposed their forces so as to +prevent any rescue from the town. One division was drawn up before the +principal gate in the new Syracusan wall, while the other proceeded to +a postern-gate, at the point where the counterwall started from the +city. The combined movement was completely successful; the three +hundred carried the stockade and cross-wall by storm, and compelled +the defenders to take refuge within the ramparts of Syracuse. The +whole Athenian army then marched up to the counterwall and stockade, +which they speedily demolished, carrying off the materials for their +own use. + +Wishing to prevent any second attempt on the part of the Syracusans to +cut them off from the southern slope of Epipolae, the Athenian +generals now fortified that part of the cliff which looks towards the +Great Harbour. By occupying this point they obtained a new centre, +commanding the space between the Circle and the southern edge of the +cliff, and placing them in communication with the level valley of the +Anapus, across which they had to carry their line of blockade. For the +present building operations were suspended on the northern side of the +Circle, as they wished first of all to complete the investment of +Syracuse towards the south. + +Perceiving their intention, the Syracusans began a second counterwork, +consisting of a stockade and ditch, which started at the point of +junction between the old city-wall and the new, and ran across the low +swampy ground as far as the Anapus. Thus the Athenians were confronted +by a new obstacle, which had to be removed, before they could make any +further progress. Acting with energy and decision, they sent orders to +the fleet, which was still lying at Thapsus, to sail round into the +Great Harbour; and without waiting for its arrival, before daybreak +Lamachus led his troops down the cliff, and advanced against the +stockade. His men carried hurdles and planks, to secure their footing +in the most treacherous parts of the swamp, and, proceeding thus, in +the first light of dawn they came up to the stockade. They found the +Syracusans assembled in force to resist them, and an engagement +ensued, which speedily ended in favour of the Athenians. The right +wing of the Syracusan army fled back into the city, while the left +wing retreated towards the suburb of Polichne, hotly pursued by the +picked troop [Footnote: P. 203.] of Athenian hoplites, who wished to +cut them off before they reached the river. By this rash movement the +Athenians came near to forfeiting the advantage which they had gained, +and brought upon themselves an irreparable loss. For the Syracusan +cavalry turned on their pursuers, and drove them back in disorder upon +the Athenian right. The sudden reverse created something like a panic +in that part of the line, and Lamachus, who was in command of the left +wing, hastened to their relief, and threw himself, with a handful of +men, between the Syracusan cavalry and the fugitives. This gallant +action turned the tide of battle once more, and gave the Athenians on +the right wing time to rally; but Lamachus and his followers, pushing +forward too hotly, were attacked by the enemy in a place where their +retreat was cut off by a ditch, and slain to a man. + +Meanwhile the Syracusans who had fled into the city, observing the +temporary defeat of the Athenians, had taken courage again, and they +returned to the field, having first sent a detachment to attack the +Athenian Circle, where Nicias, who was disabled by sickness, had been +left in charge with a small garrison. Thinking to make an easy +capture, the party sent on this service ran up the slope of Epipolae, +and reached the breastwork of the Circle, which they took and +demolished. With the scanty force at his disposal, Nicias had little +hope of repelling the attack, so he had recourse to a desperate +expedient. He ordered the camp-servants to set fire to a great pile of +timber, which was lying, together with a number of siege engines, in +front of the wall. They did as he directed, and a great flame arose, +which drove back the assailants, and gave warning of his danger to the +Athenians in the plain below, where the whole Syracusan army was now +in full retreat. Almost at the same moment the Athenian fleet was seen +sailing into the Great Harbour, and a strong contingent from the +victorious army came swarming up the hill to the rescue. Thereupon the +storming party from Syracuse turned and fled back to the city, where +they found the streets thronged by their beaten and dispirited +comrades. + +The result of this battle was to leave the Athenian in undisputed +possession of the whole country round Syracuse. Lamachus, indeed, had +fallen, and the loss of that daring and active spirit soon made itself +severely felt. But for the present the fortunes of Athens were in the +ascendant, and everything seemed to promise a speedy triumph. The +Syracusans were thoroughly cowed by their defeat, and looked passively +on, while a double wall of blockade crept steadily forwards from the +southern edge of Epipolae towards the Great Harbour, where the +Athenian fleet had now taken up its permanent station. The native +Sicels, who had hitherto held back through fear of Syracuse, now +joined the Athenians in great numbers. Even the distant Etruscans, the +ancient enemies of Syracuse, sent three war-galleys to take part in +the sack of the great Dorian city. + +Day by day the spirits of the Syracusans sank lower and lower. They +now began to feel the actual pressure of a siege. Months had passed +since their envoys had sailed for Greece, and there was still no sign +of help from Corinth or Sparta. They had lost all hope of saving +themselves by their own unaided efforts, and no course seemed left to +them but to make the best terms they could with Nicias. Negotiations +were accordingly opened with the Athenian general, but after much +discussion no definite result was attained. In this hour of weakness +and distress, the Syracusans became divided against themselves, and +every man suspected his neighbour of treason. Then they turned upon +their generals, who, after holding out such high promises, had brought +them to this pass, either by mismanagement, or by deliberate +treachery. Hermocrates and his colleagues were deposed from their +command, and three other generals succeeded to their place. + +In the eyes of all those who were watching the struggle, the fate of +Syracuse was sealed; she was destined to fall a prey to the devouring +ambition of Athens. But at this very moment a little cloud was +approaching from the east, which was fraught with disaster and ruin to +the besieging army. + + +VII + +Just at the time when the Syracusans were brought to the brink of +despair, Gylippus, after so many months' delay, was on his voyage to +Sicily. While lying at Leucas, a Corinthian settlement in the Ionian +sea, he received the alarming intelligence that Syracuse was already +completely blockaded, and the report was confirmed by every vessel +that came in from the west. Deceived by these false rumours, he gave +up all hope of saving Sicily, but hoping still to forestall the +Athenians in Italy, he put out from Leucas with four ships, and +steered a straight course for Tarentum. From this city, which was +friendly to Sparta and Syracuse, he started on his mission among the +Italian Greeks, and putting in at Locri he heard for the first time +that the Athenian wall was still unfinished on the northern side of +Epipolae, leaving a wide gap, through which a relieving force might +enter the town. + +Two courses now lay open to Gylippus. He might sail southwards, and +make an attempt to run the blockade of Syracuse--or he might land on +the northern coast of Sicily, march across the island, and fight his +way into the city through the unwalled interval. In either case, the +enterprise seemed desperate enough. By a very moderate exertion on the +part of Nicias, employing only a fraction of the immense force at his +disposal, Gylippus might have been destroyed, before he had time to +become dangerous. But Nicias was lulled into a fatal confidence. He +had heard of the mission of Gylippus, but made no attempt to oppose +his voyage to Italy, regarding him as a mere free-booter, unworthy of +serious notice. At last, learning that Gylippus was at Locri, he was +induced to send out four triremes against him. They were instructed to +take station at Rhegium, and cut off the daring intruder as he passed +through the strait. But when they reached Rhegium, the wary Spartan +was already beyond their reach. He had decided to approach Syracuse by +land, and was now far advanced on his voyage to Himera, the only Greek +settlement on the north coast of Sicily. Himera, though an Ionic +colony, was attached to the Dorian interest, and her citizens gave a +hearty welcome to the Spartan deliverer. Before long, a little army of +about three thousand men was assembled at Himera, and ready to follow +the fortunes of Gylippus. Seven hundred of these were the sailors and +marines from his own vessels, armed as hoplites, and the Himeraeans +furnished a thousand infantry, light and heavy-armed, and a hundred +cavalry. Owing to the recent death of a powerful chieftain, who had +been a strong partisan of Athens, the northern Sicels had now changed +sides, and they sent a thousand men to serve under the Spartan leader. +Small contingents also arrived, in answer to the call of Gylippus, +from Gela and Selinus. With this little force, composed of such motley +elements, Gylippus started from Himera, and entered on his march for +the relief of Syracuse. The fate of Syracuse was already wavering in +the balance. As yet no news of approaching succour had reached the +beleaguered city, and the Syracusans had abandoned all hope. To save +themselves from a worse calamity, they resolved to surrender, and an +assembly was summoned to settle the terms of capitulation. But at this +very moment a message came to them by sea, which kindled their courage +afresh, and banished these counsels of despair. When Gylippus left +Leucas, a Corinthian fleet of some fifteen vessels was preparing to +sail from that port for Syracuse. One of the ships, commanded by a +certain Gongylus, was delayed in the harbour, and started after the +rest. But Gongylus, instead of steering the ordinary course, which +would have taken him first to Italy, made a bold dash, straight across +the sea, and just when the momentous decision was pending, his ship +came to anchor in the Little Harbour. Forthwith the joyful tidings +spread like wildfire through the city: Gylippus was coming, armed with +full authority from Sparta--Corinth had taken up their cause--Syracuse +was saved! All thought of surrender was instantly flung away, and news +arriving shortly afterwards that Gylippus was near at hand, the whole +Syracusan force marched out to meet him, and escorted him triumphantly +into the town. + +Thus, without a blow being struck, an immense access of strength had +been brought to the besieged, and the grand condition of successful +resistance, on which Alcibiades had laid such weight, was fulfilled. A +Spartan officer of consummate ability was now in Syracuse, and he had +made his way into the city, not alone, not by stealth, but at the head +of an army, and before the very eyes of the enemy. Weeks must have +elapsed between the departure of Gylippus from Leucas, and his arrival +at Syracuse; and during all this time, with one trifling exception, +Nicias made no effort to oppose his progress. Prudent men might well +have regarded the enterprise of Gylippus as a wild and desperate +adventure; and such it must have proved, but for the astounding +blindness and apathy of Nicias. + +At the time when Gylippus reached Syracuse the Athenian lines of +circumvallation were all but completed on the side of the Great +Harbour; but a wide interval was still left between the Circle and the +northern sea, and it was here that Gylippus had effected an entrance. +To keep this space open was a matter of supreme importance, and the +scene of action is now shifted again to the northern slope of +Epipolae. On the day after his arrival Gylippus succeeded in capturing +the Athenian fort at Labdalum, and the command of this position gave +increased facilities for the construction of a third counterwall, +which was forthwith taken in hand, and carried in the direction of +Labdalum, until it crossed the blockading line at its northern end. + +If the Syracusans succeeded in completing and holding this +counterwork, the blockade of Syracuse would be rendered impossible. +Yet for some time Nicias made no attempt to interrupt its progress. As +if already convinced of his inferiority in the field, he took steps to +keep his communications open by sea, and with this object he employed +a part of his forces in fortifying the headland of Plemmyrium, which +commanded the entrance to the Great Harbour. Here he built three forts +which served as an arsenal for the Athenian stores; and henceforth +Plemmyrium became the chief station for his fleet. This removal had a +disastrous effect on the Athenian crews; for the place being almost a +desert, and the springs distant and scanty, they were compelled to go +far from their quarters in search of forage and water, and while thus +engaged they were cut off in great numbers by the Syracusan horse, who +had been posted at Polichne for this purpose. A rapid demoralization +of the crews was the consequence, and desertions became more frequent +every day. + +Meanwhile the counterwall was advancing steadily up the hill, and +every day Gylippus drew up his army, to cover the operations of the +workmen. At last he determined to force on an engagement, and in the +first encounter the Syracusans, fighting in a confined space, which +prevented their cavalry from coming into action, suffered a defeat. In +no wise discouraged by this reverse, on the next day they took up a +position in the more open ground, and offered battle again. By this +time the Syracusan counterwork had almost passed the end of the +Athenian wall, and if it were carried a few yards further, the siege +of Syracuse would be brought to a standstill. Roused by the imminence +of the crisis, Nicias determined to make one more effort to regain his +mastery in the field, and led his troops to the attack. The main body +of the hoplites were soon hotly engaged on both sides, and in the +midst of the action Gylippus directed his cavalry and light-armed +infantry to make a sudden charge on the Athenian left. This movement +was executed with so much skill and resolution that the Athenians in +that part of the line gave way, and drew after them the rest of their +comrades, who broke their ranks, and fled for shelter behind the siege +works. + +The Syracusans lost no time in turning their victory to account. On +the very same night their wall was extended some distance beyond the +blockading line, and until this new barrier was overthrown, the +investment of Syracuse had now become impossible. + +Whichever way he looked, Nicias saw himself menaced with failure and +defeat. He had sent twenty ships to intercept the Corinthian squadron +on its voyage from Leucas; but the little fleet of rescue succeeded in +avoiding the snare, and made its way into the port of Syracuse, thus +adding twelve fresh vessels to the defending force. Gylippus himself +was marching unhindered up and down the island, passing from city to +city, and raising reinforcements of ships and men; and a second +embassy had been despatched by the Syracusans, to carry the news of +their victory to Corinth and Sparta, and ask for further help. Another +ominous sign of coming events was the bustle and activity now visible +in the dockyards of Syracuse and the waters of the Little Harbour; for +the Syracusans had turned their attention seriously to their fleet, +and thought of nothing less than attacking the Athenians on their own +element. + +These symptoms of renewed confidence and energy were observed by +Nicias with growing disquiet. And if he turned his eyes to his own +camp, he saw little to relieve his anxiety. For the predictions of +Lamachus had been fulfilled to the letter. By his fatal policy of +procrastination Nicias had frittered away the resources of the most +splendid armament that ever set sail from Peiraeus. His soldiers were +infected by the despondency of their leader, and many of them were +stricken by the marsh-fever which haunts the unwholesome district of +the Anapus. Above all the condition of the fleet showed the lamentable +effect of long inaction and delay. All the supplies of the Athenians +came to them by sea, and in order to keep their communications open, +it was necessary to keep the whole of the fleet on constant duty. In +consequence of this, the hulls of the triremes had become sodden with +water, which made them leaky, and difficult to row. Moreover the +crews, which were largely composed of foreign seamen, had grown +restive and mutinous under the severe strain of hardships and +privation, so different from the easy and lucrative service in the +hope of which they had enlisted. Some took the first opportunity of +deserting to the enemy, while others ran away to remote parts of +Sicily; and there was no means of filling the places thus left vacant. + +Such was the burden of care and apprehension which lay heavy on the +feeble shoulders of the Athenian general. He was naturally a weak man, +haunted by superstitious terrors, irresolute, easily cast down; and +this infirmity of character was aggravated by a painful and incurable +disease. There was no longer any question of laying siege to Syracuse: +he himself was now besieged, and it was all he could do to maintain +his position within his defences, and keep the sea open for the +conveyance of supplies. In this desperate situation he determined to +send a written despatch to Athens. We are led to suppose that this was +an unusual proceeding, and that news from the seat of war was +generally sent by word of mouth. The document is given at full length, +with all its grievous confessions of incompetence and failure. After +setting forth the facts of the case as stated above, Nicias insists +that one of two things must be done: either the army now lying before +Syracuse must be recalled to Athens, or the Athenians must send out a +second army, equal in strength to the first, and a general to relieve +him of his command. + +At the conclusion of his despatch Nicias peevishly complains of the +exacting temper of the Athenians, and their readiness to blame anyone +but themselves if anything untoward occurred. Whatever may be the +truth of the general charge, it was most ill-timed and ungrateful in +his own case. Towards him, at least, the conduct of his fellow- +citizens was marked by an excess of generosity, amounting to actual +infatuation. Nothing is more remarkable than the unshaken confidence +of the Athenians in their feeble general, after hearing this terrible +indictment, drawn up by his own hand. They refused to accept his +resignation, and passed a decree that large reinforcements should be +sent to Sicily, with Demosthenes and Eurymedon as generals; and in the +meantime they appointed Menander and Euthydemus, two officers already +serving before Syracuse, to share with Nicias the burden of command. +Before the winter was ended Eurymedon started with ten ships for +Sicily, to announce that effectual help was coming; while Demosthenes +was charged with the duty of enlisting troops and organizing a fleet. + +Meanwhile new perils were gathering round the Athenians at home, which +should have warned them to abandon their wild plans of conquest, and +concentrate all their strength for their own defence. The Spartans had +long been restrained by a scruple of conscience from an open +declaration of war, wishing to avoid the guilt which is associated +with the first act of aggression. Eighteen years before they had +refused all offers of arbitration, and deliberately provoked an +encounter with Athens, in direct violation of the Thirty Years' Truce, +which provided for an amicable settlement of differences; and by so +acting they had, as they believed, incurred the anger of heaven, and +brought on themselves a long train of disasters. But now the position +was reversed: for in the previous year the Athenians had made descents +on the coasts of Laconia, and other districts of Peloponnesus; and +they had repeatedly turned a deaf ear to the friendly overtures of the +Spartans, who proposed to submit all disputed matters to a peaceful +tribunal. + +Thus relieved of their scruples, the Spartans prepared to renew the +war in good earnest, and early in the following spring [Footnote: B.C. +4I3.] they summoned their allies to the Isthmus, and marched under +Agis their king into Attica. After ravaging the plain, they encamped +at Decelea, fourteen miles north of Athens, and here they established +a fortified post, which was garrisoned by contingents of the +Peloponnesian army, serving in regular order. Once more Alcibiades had +cause to exult in the success of his malignant counsels, which had +sent Gylippus to Syracuse, and had now planted this root of bitter +mischief on the very soil of Attica. + +While the allies were thus engaged at Decelea, a considerable body of +troops had embarked at Taenarum and at Corinth, and sailed to take +part in the defence of Syracuse. In Greece, all the old enemies of +Athens were arming against her, and beyond the sea her prospects grew +darker and darker every day. Yet nothing, it seemed, could break the +spell of fatal delusion which rested on the doomed city. While Attica +lay in the grip of the enemy, a fleet of sixty-five triremes, carrying +a great military force, weighed anchor from Peiraeus, and steered its +course, under the command of Demosthenes, for Sicily. + + +VIII + +We must now return to Syracuse, where fortune was preparing a new blow +for the ill-fated Athenian army. Gylippus came back from his mission +at the beginning of spring, bringing with him the reinforcements which +he had gathered from various parts of Sicily. At once resuming the +offensive, he planned an attack on the forts recently erected by +Nicias at Plemmyrium, and in order to divide the attention of the +Athenians, he determined to make a simultaneous movement against them +by sea and land. He himself took command of the army, and setting out +at night, made his way round to the rear of the Athenian position at +Plemmyrium. Meanwhile the Syracusan fleet lay ready in two divisions, +one of which, consisting of thirty-five vessels, was moored in the +docks, within the Great Harbour, while the other, to the number of +forty-five, had its station in the Lesser Harbour. At the hour +appointed by Gylippus, just as day was breaking, both squadrons got +under weigh, and bore down upon Plemmyrium, from the opposite sides of +Ortygia. Though taken by surprise, the Athenians put out in haste with +sixty triremes, and a sea-fight ensued, in which the Syracusans for +some time had the advantage. By this time Gylippus was at hand with +his army, and by a sudden assault on the Athenian forts he made an +easy capture of all three; for the greater part of the garrison had +flocked down to the sea, to watch the progress of the action in the +Great Harbour. Fortunately for these men, who had so grossly neglected +their duty, the Athenian fleet had now gained a decisive victory, and +they were thus enabled to make their escape by water, and cross over +to the camp of Nicias, on the other side of the bay. + +By the capture of Plemmyrium a great treasure fell into the hands of +the Syracusans. The loss to the Athenians, in money, stores, and men, +was serious enough; but further consequences ensued, which were +nothing less than disastrous. The enemy now commanded both sides of +the entrance to the Great Harbour, and not a ship-load of provisions +could reach the Athenian camp without an encounter with the Syracusan +triremes. Well might despondency and dismay take possession of the +beleaguered army, cramped in their narrow quarters on the swampy flats +of the Anapus. + +All Sicily, with one or two exceptions, had now declared for Syracuse, +and reinforcements came pouring in from every side. Gylippus was +resolved, if possible, to destroy the armament of Nicias, before the +fresh succours from Athens had time to arrive; and, as before, the +attack was to be made simultaneously by sea and land. Since the loss +of Plemmyrium, the Athenian fleet had been penned up in the confined +space at the head of the Great Harbour. Outside of these narrow +limits, the whole coast was in the hands of the enemy, and any +Athenian trireme which ventured out into open water ran the risk of +being driven on a hostile shore. Unless they chose to incur this great +peril, the Athenians would have to fight in close order, with the +long, tapering prows of their vessels exposed to collision. + +The Syracusans skilfully availed themselves of the advantage thus +offered. The impact of prow with prow, which had hitherto been +regarded as a disgraceful evidence of bad seamanship, had now become +the most effective method of attack; and in order to execute this +simple manoeuvre without damage to their own ships, the Syracusans +shortened the prows of their triremes, and strengthened them with +heavy beams of timber, thus converting them into a broad and solid +mass, which could be driven with crushing force against the slender +beaks of the Athenian galleys. + +When all was ready, Gylippus led out his troops, and assailed the +Athenian wall which faced towards Syracuse, and at the same time the +garrison stationed at Polichne left their quarters, and made another +attack on the opposite side. The assault had already commenced, when +the Syracusan fleet, which numbered eighty triremes, was seen +advancing towards the inner shore of the bay, where the ships of +Nicias lay moored; and the Athenian seamen, who had not expected to be +called into action, hastened in some confusion to man their ships, +seventy-five of which were presently engaged with the enemy. After a +day passed in irregular and desultory fighting, the battle ended +slightly in favour of the Syracusans. During the next day the +Syracusans remained inactive, and Nicias employed the interval in +repairing the ships which had suffered damage, and providing for the +defence of his fleet. The Athenian naval station was protected by a +row of piles, rammed into the bottom of the sea, forming a semi- +circular breastwork, with an opening about two hundred feet wide, +where the ships passed in and out. On either side of this entrance +Nicias caused a merchant vessel to be moored, and each vessel was +provided with an engine called a dolphin, a heavy mass of lead, +suspended from the yard-arm, which could be dropped on the deck of any +hostile trireme attempting to pass. + +Early on the following morning the Syracusans resumed hostilities both +by sea and land, and after several hours of desultory fighting, they +drew off their fleet, and sailed back to their station under the walls +of the city. The Athenians were well pleased by this sudden relief, +and concluding that their work was done for the day, they disembarked +at leisure, and began to prepare their midday meal. But before they +had time to snatch a mouthful, the whole Syracusan fleet was seen +advancing again from the opposite shore, and the hungry and weary +Athenian crews were summoned on board to repel a second attack. This +crafty manoeuvre was due to a suggestion of Ariston, the most skilful +of the Corinthian seamen, by whose advice provisions had been brought +down to the beach, so that the Syracusan crews were kept together, and +ready to renew the action, after a brief interval for repose and +refreshment. + +For a little while the two fleets faced each other, without venturing +to attack; then the Athenians, who were feverish with hunger and +fatigue, could restrain themselves no longer, but with one consent +they dashed their oars into the water, and with shouts of mutual +encouragement charged down upon the enemy. The Syracusans kept a firm +front, and opposing their massive prows to the rash assault, inflicted +great damage on the Athenian triremes, many of which were completely +wrecked by the shock of the collision. On every side the Athenians +were hard beset; the light-armed troops posted on the decks of the +Syracusan vessels, plied them with a shower of javelins, while the +waters swarmed with a multitude of boats, manned by daring +adventurers, who rowed boldly up to the sides of the Athenian +triremes, broke the oars, and hurled darts through the port-holes at +the rowers. After fighting for some time at a great disadvantage, with +exhausted crews, and in a narrow space, where they had no room to +manoeuvre, the Athenians were compelled to fall back, and sought +refuge behind their palisade. + +This important success raised the spirits of the Syracusans higher +than ever. They had gained a decisive victory over the greatest naval +power in Greece, sunk seven triremes, disabled many more, and slain or +taken prisoners a large number of men. Flushed with pride and hope, +they immediately began to prepare for a final attack, which was to end +in the complete destruction of their enemies both by sea and land. But +these high expectations received a sudden check; for on the day after +the battle, [Footnote: Or possibly two days.] the watchers on the +walls of Syracuse descried a great fleet on the northern horizon. +Presently the regular beat of ten thousand oars could be distinctly +heard; it grew louder and louder, and as the vanguard came into full +view, the alarmed Syracusans recognized the truth. There was no +mistaking the peculiar build and familiar ensigns of the renowned +Athenian galleys. This could be no other than the fleet of +Demosthenes, arrived just in time to save the shattered armament of +Nicias, and once more turn the tide of war against Syracuse. A great +multitude rushed to the battlements, and gazed with keen pangs of +anxiety as the long line of triremes, seventy-three in number, swept +past the walls of Ortygia, rounded the southern point, and crossing +the Great Harbour, dropped anchor at the naval station of Nicias. If +anyone not concerned in the struggle had been present, he might have +admired the grand exhibition of military pomp and power, the perfect +trim and condition of the triremes, the precision of the rowing, and +the glittering ranks of the hoplites, javelin-men, archers, and +slingers, who thronged the decks. But no such feeling could find room +in the minds of the Syracusans. After their long trials and +sufferings, on the very eve of their crowning triumph, a new host of +enemies had sprung up against them, and all their toils were beginning +anew. + + +IX + +When Demosthenes arrived at Syracuse, the position of affairs was as +follows: the blockading wall of the Athenians still extended in an +unbroken line from the circular fort on Epipolae to the camp and naval +station of Nicias at the head of the Great Harbour; but the Athenians +were cut off from access to the northern slope of Epipolae by the +Syracusan counterwall, which had been carried up the whole length of +the plateau as far as the hill of Euryelus. Along the northern edge of +the cliff the Syracusans had established three fortified camps, where +the defenders of the counterwall had their quarters, and on the summit +of Euryelus a fort had been erected, which held the key to the whole +system of defence. + +Demosthenes saw at once that, before any progress could be made with +the siege of Syracuse, it was necessary to gain possession of the +counterwall, and confine the Syracusans within the limits of their +city. The sooner he made the attempt, the greater was his chance of +success; for every day wasted would give new confidence to the enemy, +and the condition in which he found the troops of Nicias was a visible +warning against the fatal consequences of delay. An attack made on the +cross-wall from its southern side ended in total failure; his siege- +engines were burnt, and the storming-parties repulsed at every point. +The only course which remained was to march round to the north-western +extremity of the plateau, carry the fort of Euryelus, and assail the +Syracusans within their own lines. After consulting with his +colleagues, Demosthenes determined to try the hazardous method of a +night-attack, hoping thus to take the garrison on Euryelus by +surprise. He himself, with Eurymedon and Menander, took the command, +and the whole Athenian army was engaged in the adventure, except those +who remained behind with Nicias to guard the camp. On a moonlight +night in August, at the hour of the first watch, the march began. +Moving cautiously up the valley of the Anapus, they turned the +northern end of the hill, and reached the path by which Lamachus had +ascended in the spring of the previous year. At first all seemed to +promise success to the Athenians unobserved by the enemy, Demosthenes +ascended the hill, stormed the fort, and, drove the garrison back on +the three fortified camps which flanked the Syracusan counterwall on +its northern side. The fugitives raised the alarm, and the call was +promptly answered by a picked troop of six hundred hoplites, who were +stationed nearest to the point of danger. These men made a gallant +stand, but they were overpowered by superior numbers, and thrust back +on the main body of the Syracusans, who were now advancing under +Gylippus to the rescue. They in their turn were forced to give ground +before the impetuous charge of Demosthenes, and a general panic seemed +about to spread through the whole Syracusan army. Already the +Athenians had begun to throw down the battlements of the counterwall, +and if they were allowed to proceed, Syracuse would once more be +exposed to imminent danger. + +But now occurred one of those sudden turns of fortune which were so +common in Greek warfare. As the soldiers of the Athenian van rushed +forward too hotly, wishing to complete the rout of the enemy they fell +into disorder, and in this condition they were confronted by a stout +little troop of Boeotian hoplites, who had found their way to Syracuse +earlier in the summer. This unexpected resistance checked the furious +onset of the Athenians, and the Boeotians, pursuing their advantage, +charged in solid phalanx and put them to flight. Once more the tide of +battle had turned against Athens. Restored to confidence by the steady +valour of their allies, the Syracusans closed their ranks, and +advanced in dense masses up the hill. A scene of indescribable horror +and confusion ensued, so that no one was afterwards able to give a +clear account of what had happened. On the narrow neck of land which +forms the western end of Epipolae two great armies were rushing to the +encounter. On one side was the main body of the Athenians, still +ignorant of the defeat of their comrades, and hurrying forward to +share in the victory. On the other side was the whole host of +Syracuse, advancing with deafening shouts to meet them; and in the +middle were the men of Demosthenes, flying in headlong rout before the +conquering Boeotians. In the uncertain light, the fugitives were at +first mistaken for enemies, and many of them perished miserably by the +spears of their own countrymen. On came the Syracusans, bearing down +all before them; but the Athenians, as they strove to escape, were +flung back upon the enemy by fresh bodies of their own men, who were +still thronging by thousands up the northern path of Euryelus. All +semblance of order was now lost in the Athenian army, which was broken +up into detached parties, some flying, some advancing, and shouting +their watchword to all whom they met, so as to learn whether they had +to do with friend or foe. But the Syracusans soon learnt the +watchword, which thus became a means of betraying the Athenians to +their own destruction. To add to the confusion, the Dorian allies of +Athens raised a paean, or war-song, so similar to that of the +Syracusans, that the Athenians fled at their approach supposing them +to be enemies. The grand army of Demosthenes, which had set out with +such high hopes, was now no better than a mob of wild and desperate +men, friend fighting against friend, and citizen against citizen. At +length the whole multitude turned and fled, each man seeking to save +himself as best he could. Some, hard pressed by the enemy, flung +themselves from the cliffs, and were dashed to pieces on the rocks +below; others succeeded in reaching the plain, and found their way +back to the camp of Nicias; while not a few lost their way, and +wandered about the country until the following day, when they were +hunted down and slain by the Syracusan horseman. + +Demosthenes had done all that a man could to recover the ground lost +by Nicias, and resume the aggressive against Syracuse. His well-laid +scheme had ended disastrously, and only one course remained, +consistent with public duty and common sense. To waste the blood and +treasure of Athens in Sicily any longer would be suicidal folly. The +Athenians at home were in a state of siege, and needed every man and +every ship for the defence of their own territory, and the maintenance +of their empire in Greece. Sickness and despondency had already +wrought dire havoc among the troops encamped before Syracuse. To +remain was utter ruin, both to themselves and their fellow-citizens. +The sea was still open, and the new armament, with what remained of +the old, would be strong enough to secure their retreat. Let them +embark without delay, turn their backs on the fatal shores of Sicily, +and hoist sail for home. + +These arguments were urged by Demosthenes with unanswerable force at a +private meeting of the generals which was held immediately after the +defeat on Epipolae But unhappily for all those most nearly concerned +in the debate, the influence of Nicias was still supreme in the +Athenian camp; and to spur that gloomy trifler into decisive action +was beyond the power even of Demosthenes. Nicias knew that, if he gave +the word to retreat, in a few weeks he would have to stand before the +bar of his countrymen, and give an account of the great trust which he +had betrayed. It would be better, he thought, to perish under the +walls of Syracuse, than to brave that stern tribunal, and read his +doom on those angry, accusing faces. And apart from these selfish +terrors, he was still in communication with his partisans in Syracuse, +who encouraged him to wait for a favourable turn of affairs. Thus +fettered to the spot both by his hopes and his fears, he obstinately +refused to move. + +While Demosthenes argued, and Nicias demurred, Gylippus had not been +idle. A day or two after the battle, he once more left Syracuse, and +traversed the whole length of the island, collecting troops on his +way. At Selinus he was joined by the Peloponnesian and Boeotian +soldiers who had sailed from Taenarum early in the spring, and had +just reached that port, after a long and adventurous voyage. With this +welcome addition to his forces, and thousands more who had answered +his call from all parts of Sicily, he returned to Syracuse, and +prepared to put out all his strength in a general assault on the army +and fleet of Athens. + +The Athenians had not yet abandoned their lines on the southern side +of Epipolae, and from this position they watched the arrival of the +new army raised by Gylippus, as it defiled down the slope, and poured +through the gates of Syracuse to swell the ranks of their enemies. In +their own camp the state of things was growing worse every day, and +even Nicias now became convinced that to remain any longer would be +sheer madness. With the hearty concurrence of his colleagues, he gave +his vote for immediate departure, and the order was secretly passed +round the camp that every man should hold himself in readiness to go +on board, as soon as the signal was given. It was necessary to proceed +with caution, for if the enemy were informed of their purpose, they +would have to fight their way through the Syracusan fleet. The +preparations were accordingly made with as little noise as possible +and in a short time all was ready for the voyage. Night sank down on +the Athenian camp, but among all that vast multitude no one thought of +sleep, for the whole host was waiting in breathless eagerness for the +signal to embark. Over the eastern waters the full moon was shining, +making a long path of silver and pointing the way to home. But +suddenly a dark shadow touched the outer rim of that gleaming disk, +and crept stealthily on, until the whole face of the moon was veiled +in darkness. A whisper, a murmur, a shudder went round among those +anxious watchers, and before the shadow had passed away, ten thousand +tongues were eagerly discussing the meaning of that mysterious +portent. Most were agreed that it was a warning from heaven, +forbidding their departure until the angry powers had been appeased by +sacrifice and prayer. In the mind of Nicias, enslaved by the grossest +superstition, there was no room for doubt. He was surrounded by +prophets, whose advice he sought on every occasion, and guided by them +he proclaimed that for thrice nine days, the time required for a +complete circuit of the moon, there could be no talk of departing. + +But the Athenians were soon engaged in a sterner task than the vain +rites of propitiation and penitential observance. The news of their +intended retreat, and its untoward interruption, so raised the spirits +of the Syracusans, that they resolved to risk another sea-fight, and +after some days spent in training their crews, they sailed out with +seventy-six ships, and offered battle, and Gylippus at the same time +attacked the Athenian lines by land. The Athenians succeeded in +repulsing the assault on their walls, but in the encounter between the +fleets, though they out-numbered the enemy by ten ships, they suffered +a decisive defeat. Eurymedon was slain, and eighteen vessels fell into +the hands of the Syracusans, who put all the crews to the sword. + +The pride and ambition of the Syracusans now knew no bounds. Relieved +from all fear for the safety of their city they began to take a +loftier view of the struggle, and to grasp the full compass and +grandeur of the issues involved. It was no mere feud between two rival +states, but a great national conflict, which was to end in the +downfall of a wide-spread usurpation, and the deliverance of a hundred +cities from bondage. The whole naval and military forces of Athens lay +crippled and helpless within their grasp; they would shatter to pieces +the instrument of tyranny, and win an immortal name as the liberators +of all Greece. Their first care was to prevent the escape of the +Athenians, and for this purpose they began to close the mouth of the +Great Harbour by a line of triremes and vessels of burden, anchored +broadside across the channel. + + +X + +The Athenians were thus caught in a trap, and their only hope of +saving themselves was to force the barrier of the Great Harbour, and +escape by sea, or, failing that, to make their way by land to some +friendly city. As a last sad confession of defeat, they withdrew the +garrison from their walls on Epipolae, and reduced the dimensions of +their camp, confining it to a narrow space of the coast, where the +fleet lay moored. Every vessel which could be kept afloat was prepared +for action, and when the whole force was mustered, out of two great +armaments only a hundred and ten were found fit for service. A small +body of troops was left to guard the camp, and all the rest, except +such as were totally disabled by sickness, were distributed as +fighting-men among the ships. For the countrymen of Phormio had now +reverted to the primitive conditions of naval warfare, in which the +trireme was a mere vehicle for carrying troops, and not, as in the +days of that great captain, the chief weapon of offence. Every foot of +standing-room on the decks was occupied by a crowd of hoplites, +javelin-men, archers, and slingers, and on their prowess the issue of +the battle depended. To lay their vessels aboard the enemy with as +little delay as possible, and leave the rest to the soldiers, was now +the chief object of the Athenian captains; and the better to effect. +this, men were stationed on the prows, armed with grappling-irons, to +hold the attacking trireme fast, and prevent her from backing away +after the first shock of collision. + +With hearts full of sad foreboding, the great multitude mustered on +the beach, and waited for the word to embark. On a rising ground, +fronting the camp, the generals; stood grouped in earnest +consultation; then every voice was hushed, as Nicias came forward, and +beckoned with his hand, commanding silence. The form of the general +was bowed with years, and his face lined with pain and sickness, but +in his eye there was an unwonted fire, and his tones rang clear and +full, as he reminded his hearers of the great cause for which they +were to fight, and the mighty interests which hung in the balance that +day. "Men of Athens," he said, "and you, our faithful allies, your +lives, your liberty, and the future of all who are dear to you, are in +your own hands. If you would ever see home again, you must resolve to +conquer fortune, even against her will, like seasoned veterans, inured +to the perils and vicissitudes of war. Hitherto we have generally got +the better of the enemy on land and we are now going to fight a land +battle on the sea. As soon as you come within reach of a Syracusan +vessel, fling your grappling-irons, and hold her fast, until not a man +is left alive to defend her deck. This will be the task of the +soldiers, whom I need not tell to do their duty. And you, seamen of +the Athenian fleet, be not dismayed because we have forsaken our +former tactics, but trust to the strong arms of the fighting men. +Remember, those of you who are not of Attic descent, how long you have +enjoyed the high privileges of Athenian citizens, and the honour +reflected on you by your connection with Athens. + +"My last word shall be spoken to you, fellow-citizens, Athenians born +and bred. You know what you have to expect from the Syracusans, if +this last struggle should end in defeat. But consider further what +will be the fate of your friends at home. Their docks are empty, their +walls are stripped of defenders, and if you fail them, Syracuse will +unite with their old enemies, and bear them down. Here, where we +stand, are the army, the fleet, the city, and the great name of +Athens; go, then, and fight as you never fought before, for never yet +had soldier such a prize to win, and such a cause to defend." + +When Nicias had concluded his stirring appeal, the embarkation of the +troops began. As the fatal moment drew nearer and nearer, the anxiety +and distress of the Athenian general became unbearable. Feeling that +he had not said enough, he hurried to and fro, addressing each captain +with an agony of supplication, and imploring him by every sacred +name,--his wife, his children, his country, and his country's gods,-- +to play a man's part, forgetting all thoughts of self. Having +exhausted every topic of entreaty, and seen the last man on board, he +turned away, still unsatisfied, and addressed himself to the task of +drawing up the troops left under his command for the defence of the +camp. These were disposed along the shore in as long a line as +possible, that they might encourage those fighting on the sea by their +presence, and lend prompt help in case of need. Behind them, every +point of outlook was held by a throng of anxious spectators,--the +sick, the maimed, and the wounded,--every man who had strength to +crawl from his bed, and watch that last desperate struggle for liberty +and home. + +And now the Athenian admirals, Demosthenes, Menander, and Euthydemus, +raised the signal, and the great fight began. The foremost ships +succeeded in reaching the mouth of the Great Harbour, and began to +break through the barrier, when the whole Syracusan fleet closed in +upon them on all sides, and forced them back Then the battle became +general, and soon the two fleets were scattered over the whole surface +of the bay in little groups, and each group engaged in a wild and +furious melee. There was no attempt to manoeuvre, but ship encountered +ship; as accident brought them together, and advanced to the attack, +under a shower of javelins and arrows. Then followed the dull crash of +collision, and the fierce rush of the fighting-men, as they +endeavoured to board. Here and there could be seen knots of three or +four triremes, locked together with shattered hulls and broken oars, +while the soldiers on the decks strove for the mastery. Nearly two +hundred triremes, and some forty thousand men, were engaged in that +tumultuous fight; and the thunder of the oars, the crash of colliding +triremes, and the yells of the assailants, raised an uproar so +tremendous that it was impossible to hear the voice of command. All +order and method was lost, yet still they fought on, the Syracusans +with a savage thirst for vengeance, the Athenians with the fury of +despair; and for a long time the issue remained doubtful. + +All this scene of havoc and carnage was witnessed by the whole +population of Syracuse, who thronged the walls, or stood in arms along +the shore, and followed every incident with breathless interest. But +above all among the Athenians left behind in the camp excitement was +strained to the point of anguish. Here the view was more restricted, +and each group of spectators had its attention fixed on some one of +the many encounters which were raging in different parts of the bay. +Some who saw their friends conquering, shouted with joy and triumph; +some shrieked in terror, as an Athenian ship went down; and others, +when the combat long wavered, rocked their bodies to and fro in an +agony of suspense. Thus at the same moment every shifting turn of +battle, victory and defeat, panic and rally, flight and pursuit, was +mirrored on those pale faces, and echoed in a thousand mingled cries. + +But at length these discordant voices were united in one general note +of horror, as the whole Athenian fleet, or all that was left of it, +was seen making in headlong rout for the upper end of the bay, with +the victorious Syracusans pressing hard behind. Then most of those who +were watching from the shore were seized with uncontrollable terror, +and sought to hide themselves in holes and corners of the camp; while +a few, who were more stout-hearted, waded into the water, to save the +ships, or rushed to defend the walls on the land side. But for the +present the Syracusans were contented with their victory, and after +chasing the fugitive triremes as far as their defences, they wheeled +and rowed back across the Great Harbour, through floating corpses, and +the wrecks of more than seventy vessels. On their arrival at Syracuse +they were hailed with such a burst of enthusiasm as had rarely been +witnessed in any Greek city. The victory, indeed, had been dearly +bought, but it was well worth the cost, and the power of Athens had +sustained a blow from which it could never recover. But among all the +thronging hosts of Syracuse, who now gave themselves up to revel and +rejoicing, there was one man at least who knew that even now the +danger was not yet past. Forty thousand Athenian soldiers were still +encamped within sight of the walls, and if they were allowed to +escape, they might establish themselves in some friendly city, and +begin the war again. All this was strongly felt by Hermocrates, and he +lost no time in imparting his cares and anxieties to the responsible +leaders. The Athenians, he urged, would be almost certain to decamp +during the night: let a strong force be sent out at once from +Syracuse, to occupy all the roads, and cut off their retreat. The +advice was good, but in the present temper of the army it was felt to +be impracticable. The whole city had become a scene of riot and +wassail, and if the order were given to march, it was but too evident +that not a man would obey. Baffled in this direction, the keen-witted +Syracusan hit upon another plan, which he at once proceeded to carry +into effect. + +Hermocrates was not mistaken in his conjecture. The beaten and +dispirited Athenians had now but one thought,--to break up their camp +with all despatch, and make their escape by land. They had still sixty +triremes left, and Demosthenes proposed to make one more attempt to +force the entrance of the Great Harbour; but when his suggestion was +made known to the crews, they broke into open mutiny, and flatly +refused to go on board. The generals were therefore compelled to adopt +the only alternative, and it was resolved to set out on that very +night. But Fortune had not yet exhausted her malice against the +hapless Athenians. The order to strike camp had been issued, and the +soldiers were busy preparing for the march, when a party of horsemen +rode up to the Athenian outposts, and hailing the sentinels, said that +they had a message to Nicias from his friends in Syracuse. "Tell him," +said the spokesman of the party, "That he must not attempt to stir to- +night, for all the roads are held by strong detachments of the +Syracusans. Let him wait until he has organised his forces, for a +hasty and disordered flight is sure to end in disaster." + +The message, of course, came from Hermocrates, who had contrived this +trick to delay the departure of the Athenians, until time had been +gained to occupy the passes on their route. That Nicias should have +fallen into the snare is not surprising, but it is less easy to +explain how Demosthenes and the other generals came to be deceived by +so transparent a fraud. Yet such was in fact the case; the insidious +hint was accepted as a piece of friendly advice, and the march was +postponed. For a whole day and night the Athenians still lingered on +the spot, and thus gave ample time for their enemies to draw the net +round them, and block every avenue to safety. + +On the third day after the battle, the order was given to march. As +the great army formed into column, the full horror of their situation +came home to every heart. This, then, was the end of those grand +dreams of conquest with which they had sailed to Sicily two years +before! On the heights of Epipolae their walls and their fort was +still standing, a monument of failure and defeat. Each familiar +landmark reminded them of some fallen comrade, or some disastrous +incident in the siege. If they glanced towards the Great Harbour, they +could see the victorious Syracusans towing off the shattered hull of +an Athenian trireme, the last sad remnant of two great armaments. If +they turned their thoughts towards Athens and home, they found no +comfort there; for their beloved city was beset with enemies, and in +themselves, beaten and broken as they were, lay her chief hope of +salvation. The past was all black with calamity, and the future loomed +terrible before them, threatening captivity and death; and the +present, in that last hour of parting, was full of such sights and +sounds of woe as might have stirred pity even in the breasts of their +enemies. Around them, the camp was strewn with the unburied corpses of +brothers, comrades and sons, and thousands more were tossing on the +waves, or flung up on the shores of the bay. And while the neglect of +that sacred duty pressed heavily on their conscience, still more +harrowing were the cries of the sick and wounded, who clung round +their knees, imploring to be taken with them, and when the army began +to move followed with tottering steps, until they sank down exhausted, +calling down the curse of heaven on the retreating host. Such was the +anguish of that moment, that it seemed as if the whole population of +some great city had been driven into exile, and was seeking a new home +in a distant soil. + +In this dire extremity, when the strongest spirits were crushed with +misery, one voice was heard, which still spoke of hope. It was the +voice of Nicias, who, when all others faltered, rose to a pitch of +heroism which he had never shown before. Bowed as he was with care, +and wasted by disease, he braced himself with more than human energy, +and moved with light step from rank to rank, exhorting that stricken +multitude in words of power. "Comrades," he said, "even now there is +no need to despair. Others have been saved before now from calamities +yet deeper than ours. You see in what state I am, cast down from the +summit of human prosperity, and condemned, in my age and weakness, to +share the hardships of the humblest soldier among you,--I, who was +ever constant in the service of the gods, and punctual in the +performance of every social duty. Yet have I not lost faith in the +righteousness of heaven, nor should you give up all for lost, if by +any act of yours you have fallen under the scourge of divine +vengeance. There is mercy, as well as justice, among the gods, and we, +in sinking thus low, have become the proper objects of their +compassion. Think too what firm ground of confidence we have, in the +shields and spears of so many thousand warriors. There is no power in +Sicily which can resist us, either to prevent our coming or to shorten +our stay. A few days march will bring us to the country of the +friendly Sicels, who have already received notice of our approach. +Once there, we can defy all attack, and look forward to the time when +we shall see our homes again, and raise up the fallen power of +Athens." + +These and similar exhortations were repeated by Nicias again and +again, as the army moved slowly forwards up the valley of the Anapus, +keeping a westerly direction, towards the interior of the island. The +troops were formed in a hollow oblong, with the baggage animals and +camp-followers in the middle, and advanced in two divisions, Nicias +leading the van, and Demosthenes bringing up the rear. The vigilance +and activity of Nicias never relaxed for a moment. Careless of his +many infirmities and exalted rank, he passed incessantly up and down +the column, chiding the stragglers, and attending to the even trim of +his lines. On reaching the ford of the Anapus, they put to flight a +detachment of the enemy which was stationed there to oppose their +passage, and crossing the river, continued their march. But now the +real difficulties of the retreat began to appear. The Syracusans had +no intention of hazarding a pitched battle, but their horsemen and +light infantry hung upon the flanks of the Athenian army, making +sudden charges, and keeping up a constant discharge of javelins. + +At nightfall the Athenians encamped under the shelter of a hill, some +five miles from their starting-point, and setting out at daybreak on +the following day, they pushed on with pain and difficulty, harassed +at every step by the galling attacks of the Syracusan troops. +[Footnote: Thucydides, with characteristic brevity, leaves this to be +inferred from the slowness of their progress.] A march of two miles +and a half brought them to a village, situated on a level plain, and +here they halted, wishing to supply themselves with food, and +replenish their water-vessels; for the country which they had now to +traverse was a desert, many miles in extent. Directly in their line of +route there is a narrow pass, when the road, on entering the hill +country, drops sheer down on either side into a deep ravine, and if +they could once cross this dangerous point they would be within reach +of their allies, the Sicels. But it was too late to proceed further +that day, and while they lay encamped in the village, the Syracusans +hurried on in advance, and blocked the pass by building a wall across +the road. When the Athenians resumed their march next morning, they +were fiercely assailed by the enemy's light horse and foot, who +disputed every inch of ground, and at last compelled them to fall back +on the village where they had encamped the night before. Provisions +were now growing scanty, and every attempt to leave their lines in +search of plunder and forage was baffled by the Syracusan horse. + +On the fourth day they broke up their camp early, and by incessant +fighting succeeded in forcing their way as far as the pass. But all +further advance was prevented by the wall, and the dense masses of +infantry posted behind it. In vain the Athenians flung themselves +again and again upon the barrier. The troops stationed on the cliffs +above assailed them with a shower of missiles, and the solid phalanx +of hoplites repulsed every assault. Convinced at last that they were +wasting their strength to no purpose, they desisted, and retiring from +the wall halted at some distance for a brief interval of repose. +During this pause a storm of rain and thunder broke over their heads; +and to the weary and disheartened Athenians it seemed that the very +elements were in league with the enemy against them. But they had +little time to indulge in these melancholy reflections; for while they +were resting, Gylippus stole round to their rear, and prepared to cut +off their retreat by building a second wall across the pass. The news +of this imminent peril roused the Athenians from their stupor, and +they marched back with all speed along the road by which they had +come. A picked body of troops, sent on in advance, scattered the +soldiers of Gylippus, and the whole army then emerged from that death- +trap, and encamped for the night in the open plain. + +The next day was spent in a last desperate effort to reach the hill +country. But being now on level ground, they were exposed on all sides +to the attacks of the Syracusan horse, who charged them incessantly, +and slew their men by hundreds, with hardly any loss to themselves. +The hopeless struggle continued until evening, and when the enemy drew +off, they left the Athenians not a mile from the place where they had +passed the previous night. + +The original plan of the Athenian generals had been to penetrate the +highlands of Sicily to the west of Syracuse, and then strike across +country, until they reached the southern coast, in the direction of +Gela or Camarina. [Footnote: I have followed Holm, as cited in +Classen's Appendix (Third Edition, 1908).] But after two days' +fighting they had utterly failed to force an entrance into the +mountains. Many of their soldiers were wounded, the whole army was +weakened by famine, and a third attempt, made in such conditions, must +inevitably end in utter disaster. They resolved therefore to change +their route, and march southwards along the level coast country, until +they could reach the interior by following one of the numerous glens +which pierce the hills on this side of Sicily. Having come to this +decision, they caused a great number of fires to be lighted, and then +gave the order for an immediate start, hoping by this means to steal a +march on the enemy. This sudden flight through the darkness, in a +hostile country, with unknown terrors around them, caused something +like a panic in the Athenian army. + +Nicias, however, who was still leading the van, contrived to keep his +men together, and made good progress; but the division under +Demosthenes fell into great disorder, and was left far behind. By +daybreak, both divisions [Footnote: See note, p. 242.] were within +sight of the sea, and entering the road which runs north and south +between Syracuse and Helorus, they continued their march towards the +river Cacyparis. Here they intended to turn off into the interior, +with the assistance of the Sicels, whom they expected to meet at the +river. But when they reached the ford of the Cacyparis, they found, +instead of the Sicels, a contingent of Syracusan troops, who were +raising a wall and palisade to block the passage. This obstruction was +overcome without much difficulty, and the whole Athenian army crossed +the river in safety. But the presence of the enemy on this side of +Syracuse was sufficient to deter them from taking the inland route by +the valley of the Cacyparis, and following the advice of their guides, +they kept the main road, and pressed on towards the south. + +We must now return for a moment to the Syracusans under Gylippus, who +remained in their camp all night, not far from the pass which they had +so successfully defended. When they found in the morning that the +Athenians had departed, they were loud in their anger against +Gylippus, thinking that he had purposely suffered them to escape. The +tracks of so many thousands left no room for doubt as to the direction +which the fugitives had taken, and full of rage at the supposed +treachery of their leader, the Syracusans set out at once in hot +pursuit. About noon, on the sixth day of the retreat, they overtook +the division of Demosthenes, which had again lagged behind, and was +marching slowly and in disorder separated from the other half of the +army by a distance of six miles. Deprived of all hope of succour from +his colleague, and hemmed in on all sides by implacable enemies, +Demosthenes called a halt, and prepared to make his last stand. But +his men, who from the first had held the post of honour and danger, +were fearfully reduced in numbers, faint with famine, and exhausted by +their long march. Driven to and fro by the incessant charges of the +Syracusan cavalry, they could make no effective resistance, and at +last they huddled pell-mell into a walled enclosure, planted with +olive-trees, and skirted on either side by a road. They were now at +the mercy of the Syracusans. who surrounded the enclosure, and plied +them with javelins, stones, and arrows. After this butchery had +continued for many hours, and the survivors were brought to extremity +by wounds, hunger, and thirst, Gylippus sent a herald, who was the +bearer of a remarkable message. "Let those of you," he said, "who are +natives of the islands subject to Athens, come over to us, and you +shall be free men." The offer was addressed to the Greeks from the +maritime cities of the Aegaean, who might be supposed to be serving +under compulsion, and it speaks volumes for the loyalty and attachment +of these men to Athens that most of them refused to accept their +freedom from the hands of her enemies. At length, however, the whole +army of Demosthenes, which had now dwindled to six thousand men, was +induced to surrender, on condition that none of them should suffer +death by violence, by bonds, or by starvation. At the command of their +captors they gave up the money which they had with them, and the +amount collected was so considerable that it filled the hollows of +four shields. When the capitulation was concluded, Demosthenes, who +had refused to make any terms for himself, drew his sword, and +attempted to take his own life; [Footnote: This interesting fact is +recorded by Plutarch and Pausanias, who copied it from the +contemporary Syracusan historian, Philistus.] but he was prevented +from effecting his purpose, and compelled to take his place in the +mournful procession which was now conducted by a strong guard along +the road to Syracuse. + +Meanwhile the vanguard under Nicias, in total ignorance of the fate +which had befallen their comrades, marched steadily forwards, and +crossing the river Erineus, encamped for the night on a neighbouring +hill. Here they were found next morning by Gylippus and the +Syracusans, who informed them that Demosthenes and his men had +surrendered, and called upon them to do the same. Doubting their good +faith, Nicias obtained a truce, while he sent a horseman to ascertain +the facts; and even when he had learnt the truth from his messenger, +he still tried to parley, offering, in the name of the Athenian state, +to defray the whole cost of the war, and to give hostages for payment, +at the rate of an Athenian citizen for each talent, on condition that +he and his men were allowed to go. But the Syracusans were in no mood +to listen to such proposals, even if Nicias had spoken with full +authority from Athens. Bare life they would grant, but no more, and as +the Athenians refused to yield on these terms, they closed in upon +them, and the cruel, hopeless struggle began again, and continued +until evening. The wretched Athenians lay down supperless to snatch a +few hours of rest, intending, when all was quiet, to steal away under +cover of darkness. But when they rose at dead of night, and prepared +to march, a shout from the Syracusan camp warned them that the enemy +were on the alert, and they were compelled to return to their +comfortless bivouac. Three hundred, however, persisted in their +intention, and forcing their way through the Syracusan lines, gained +for themselves a brief respite from capture. + +A whole week had now elapsed since the ill-fated army left its +quarters on the shores of the Great Harbour, and a few thousand +starving and weary men were all that remained of that great host. At +dawn on the eighth day Nicias gave the word to march, and they pressed +on eagerly towards the Assinarus, a stream of some size, with high and +precipitous banks, not more than two miles distant from their last +halting-place. They had still some faint hope of making good their +escape, if they could but cross the river. So they fought their way +onwards, through the swarming ranks of the Syracusans, who closed them +in on all sides, and thrust them together into one solid mass. There +was life, there was freedom a little way beyond,--or, if that hope +proved futile, at any rate there was water; and every fibre in their +bodies ached and burned with intolerable thirst. They reached the +river; both banks were already lined by the Syracusan horse, who had +ridden on before, and stood guarding the ford: but there was no +stopping the wild rush of that maddened, desperate multitude. Down the +steep bank they plunged, trampling on one another, and flung +themselves open-mouthed upon the stream, with one thought, one wish, +overpowering every other impulse,--to drink, and then to die. Some +fell upon the spears of their comrades, and perished, others slipped +on the floating baggage, lost their foothold, and were swept away by +the flood. Yet still they poured on, by hundreds and by thousands, +drawn by the same longing, and thrust downwards by the weight of those +behind, until the whole riverbed was filled with a huddled, surging +mob of furious men, who drank, and still drank, or fought with one +another to reach the water. All this time an iron storm of missiles +rained down upon them from the thronging hosts of their enemies on the +banks above, while some, in the midst of their draught, were pierced +by the spears of the Peloponnesians, who followed them into the river, +and slew them at close quarters. The water grew red with blood, and +foul from the trampling of so many feet, but the thirsty multitude +still came crowding in, and drank with avidity of the polluted stream. + +For a long time the slaughter raged unchecked, and the river-bed was +choked with heaps of slain. A few, who escaped from the river, were +pursued and cut down by the Syracusan horse. Nicias had held out until +the last moment; but when he perceived that all was lost, his men +being powerless either to fight or fly, he made his way to Gylippus, +and implored him to stop the useless carnage. "I surrender myself," he +said, "to you and the Spartans. Do with me as you please, but put an +end to this butchery of defenceless men." Gylippus gave the necessary +order, and the word was passed round to kill no more, but take captive +those who survived. The order was obeyed, though slowly and with +reluctance, and the work of capture began. But few of those taken in +the river ever found their way into the public gaol, where Demosthenes +was now lying, with the six thousand who had surrendered on the day +before. For, as there had been no regular capitulation, large numbers +of the prisoners were secretly conveyed away by the Syracusans, who +afterwards sold them into slavery for their own profit. As for the +three hundred who had broken out of camp on the previous night, they +were presently brought in by a party of cavalry despatched in pursuit. + +When the first transports of joy and triumph were over, an assembly +was called to decide on the fate of the two Athenian generals, and of +those state prisoners, some seven thousand in number, who were the +sole visible remnant of two great armies. Then arose a strange +conflict of motives. The first who put forward his claims was +Gylippus, to whose genius and energy the victorious issue of the +struggle was mainly due. As a reward for his services, he asked that +Nicias and Demosthenes should be left to his disposal, for he wished +to have the honour of carrying home with him these famous captains, +one the greatest friend, the other the greatest enemy of Sparta. But +the general voice of the assembly was strongly against him. Nothing +but the blood of the two principal offenders could satisfy the +vengeance of the Syracusans, and those who had intrigued with Nicias +were anxious to put him out of the way, in fear lest he should betray +them. Moreover the Corinthian allies of Syracuse, who for some reason +had a special grudge against Nicias, demanded his immediate execution. +In vain Hermocrates pleaded the cause of mercy, [Footnote: Plutarch, +_Nicias_, c. 28.] and urged his fellow-citizens to make a +generous use of their victory. Sentence of death was passed, and these +two eminent Athenians, so different in character and achievement, were +united in their end. + +Far worse was the doom pronounced on the six thousand men of +Demosthenes, and the thousand more who were brought to Syracuse after +the massacre at the Assinarus. They were condemned to confinement in +the stone quarries, deep pits surrounded by high walls of cliff, under +the south-eastern edge of Epipolae. Penned together in these roofless +dungeons, they were exposed to the fierce heat of the sun by day, and +to the bitter cold of the autumn nights, and having scarcely room to +move, they were unable to preserve common decency, or common +cleanliness. Many died of their wounds, or of the diseases engendered +by exposure, and their bodies were left unburied, a sight of horror +and a source of infection to the survivors. To these frightful +miseries were added a perpetual burning thirst, and the lingering +torture of slow starvation, for each man received as his daily +allowance a poor half pint of water, and a mere pittance of food, just +enough to avoid breaking the letter of the conditions which +Demosthenes had made for his troops. In this state they were left +without relief for ten long weeks; then all except the Athenians +themselves, and their allies from the Greek cities of Sicily and +Italy, were taken out and sold as slaves. + + + + +EPILOGUE + +Such was the end of the Sicilian Expedition, which ultimately decided +the issue of the Peloponnesian War. Forsaking the wise counsels of +their greatest statesman, and carried away by the mad sophistry of +Alcibiades, the Athenians had committed themselves, heart and soul, to +a wild game of hazard, in which they had little to win, and everything +to lose. By this act of desperate folly they brought on themselves an +overwhelming disaster, from which it was impossible for them wholly to +recover. With wonderful vitality they rallied from the blow, and +struggled on for nine years more, against the whole power of +Peloponnesus, and their own revolted allies, backed by the influence +and the gold of Persia. They gained great victories, and under prudent +leaders they might still have been saved from the worst consequences +of their defeat in Sicily. But at every favourable crisis they +wantonly flung away the advantage they had gained, and abandoned +themselves to blind guides, who led them further and further on the +road to ruin. + +The history of Thucydides ends abruptly in the twenty-first year of +the war, and for an account of the closing scenes we have to go to the +pages of Xenophon. It will be convenient, therefore, to bring our +narrative to a close at the point which we have reached, for any +attempt even to sketch the events of this confused and troubled period +would carry us far beyond the limits of the present volume. And so for +the present we take leave of the Athenians, in the hour of their +decline. Their light is burning dim, and yet darker days are awaiting +them in the future. But they are still great and illustrious, as the +chief guardians of those spiritual treasures which are our choicest +heritage from the past. + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, STORIES FROM THUCYDIDES *** + +This file should be named 7sthu10.txt or 7sthu10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, 7sthu11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, 7sthu10a.txt + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Stories From Thucydides + +Author: H. L. Havell + +Release Date: October, 2005 [EBook #9074] +[This file was first posted on September 3, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, STORIES FROM THUCYDIDES *** + + + + +E-text prepared by Charles Franks, Delphine Lettau and Project Gutenberg +Distributed Proofreaders
+ + + + + + + +STORIES FROM THUCYDIDES + +RETOLD BY H. L. HAVELL B. A. + +FORMERLY SCHOLAR OF UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OXFORD + + + + + + + + _O my poor Kingdom, sick with civil blows!_ + SHAKESPEARE, _Henry IV_. + + + + +CONTENTS + +PROLOGUE +CORINTH AND CORCYRA +THE SURPRISE OF PLATAEA +THE PLAGUE AT ATHENS +INVESTMENT OF PLATAEA +NAVAL VICTORIES OF PHORMIO +THE REVOLT OF LESBOS +ESCAPE OF TWO HUNDRED PLATAEANS. FALL OF PLATAEA +CAPTURE OF A HUNDRED AND TWENTY SPARTANS AT SPHACTERIA +CAMPAIGNS OF BRASIDAS IN THRACE +THE HOLLOW PEACE +THE ATHENIANS IN SICILY +EPILOGUE + + + + +PROLOGUE + +In a former volume we have traced the course of events which ended in +the complete overthrow of Xerxes and his great army. Our present task +is to describe the chief incidents in the cruel and devastating war, +commonly known as the Peloponnesian War, which lasted for twenty-seven +years, and finally broke up the Athenian Empire. The cause of that war +was the envy and hatred excited in the other states of Greece by the +power and greatness of Athens; and in order to make our story +intelligible we must indicate briefly the steps by which she rose to +that dangerous eminence, and drew upon herself the armed hostility of +half the Greek world. + +We take up our narrative at the point of time when the Athenians +returned to their ruined homes after the defeat of the Persians at +Plataea. Of their ancient city nothing remained but a few houses which +had served as lodgings for the Persian grandees, and some scattered +fragments of the surrounding wall. Their first task was to restore the +outer line of defence, and by the advice of Themistocles the new wall +took in a much wider circuit than the old rampart which had been +destroyed by the Persians. The whole population toiled night and day +to raise the bulwark which was to guard their temples and their homes, +using as materials the walls of the houses which had been sacked and +burnt by the Persians, with whatever remained of public buildings, +sacred or profane, and sparing not even the monumental pillars of +graves in the urgency of their need. + +But jealous eyes were watching them, and busy tongues were wagging +against that gallant race of Attica which had been foremost in the +common cause against the barbarian invader. "These Athenians are +dangerous neighbours," was the cry. "Let us stop them from building +their wall, or Athens will become a standing menace to ourselves." +Before long these murmurs reached the ears of the Spartans, and they +sent envoys to dissuade the Athenians from fortifying their city. +Their real purpose was disguised under the mask of anxiety for the +general safety of Greece. "It is not expedient," they urged, "that the +Persians, when next they come against us, should find fencéd cities +which they may make their strongholds, as they have lately done in +Athens and in Thebes. Cease, therefore, from building this wall, and +help us to destroy all such defences, outside of Peloponnesus. If we +are attacked again, we will unite our forces within the isthmus, and +meet the invader from there." + +But Themistocles was not the man to be hoodwinked by the simple +cunning of the Spartans. By his advice the Athenians dismissed the +envoys, promising to send an embassy to discuss the matter at Sparta. +As soon as they were gone, Themistocles caused himself to be appointed +as head of the embassy, and set out at once for Sparta, instructing +the Athenians to keep his colleagues back until the wall had been +raised to a sufficient height for purposes of defence. Arrived at +Sparta, he kept himself close in his lodging, and declined all +conference with the authorities, alleging that he could do nothing +without his colleagues. + +Meanwhile the Athenians were making incredible efforts to carry on the +work which was essential to their liberty and prosperity. Men, women, +and children toiled without intermission, and the wall was rapidly +approaching a defensible height. The clamour of their enemies grew +louder and louder, and angry messages reached the Spartans everyday, +reproaching them with their supineness and procrastination. Being +asked the meaning of these reports, Themistocles professed total +ignorance, and bade the Spartans send men to Athens to see for +themselves. The Spartans did so, and when the men arrived at Athens +the Athenians, who had been privately warned by Themistocles, kept +them in custody, as hostages for their own representatives at Sparta. +Themistocles had meanwhile been joined by his partners in the embassy, +and learning from them that the wall was now of sufficient height, he +spoke out plainly, and let the Spartans understand what his true +purpose was. "Athens," he said, "is once more a fortified city, and we +are able to discuss questions of public or private interest on a +footing of equality. When we forsook all, and took to our ships to +fight for the common weal, it was done without prompting of yours; and +that peril being past, we shall take such measures as concern our +safety, without leave asked of you. And in serving ourselves, we are +serving you also; for if Athens is not free, how can she give an +unbiased vote in questions which concern the general welfare of +Greece?" + +It was impossible for the Spartans to express open resentment at a +plea so moderate and so reasonable. But they were secretly annoyed to +find that their malice had been detected and exposed; and by this +incident was sown the first seed of ill-will which was afterwards to +bear such bitter fruit for Athens and for Greece. For the present, +however, the affair was ended, and the first step secured for the +Athenians in their career of glory and power. + +Themistocles was the first who clearly saw that the future of Athens +lay on the sea. But if Athens was to hold and extend her position as +the first naval power in Greece, it was above all things necessary +that she should have a strong and fortified station for her fleets, +her arsenals, and her dockyards. Nature had provided her with what she +needed, in the peninsula of Peiraeus, which juts out into the Saronic +Gulf, about five miles south-west of the inland town. As soon as the +city-wall was completed, fortifications of immense strength were +carried round the whole of Peiraeus; and within this vast rampart rose +a second city, equal in size to the old one, with streets laid out in +straight lines, and filled with the stir and bustle of a maritime +population. Three land-locked harbours gave ample room for the fleets +of Athens to lie in shelter and safety; and this great sea-port town +was afterwards united to the original city by two long walls, which +met the sea, one at the north-western corner of Peiraeus, and the +other at the south-eastern point of the Bay of Phalerum. Between +these, at a later period, a third wall was built, running parallel to +the northern wall at a distance of about two hundred feet, and known +as the Southern or Middle Wall. + +Many years elapsed before these important works were completed; and in +the meantime great events had been happening in other parts of the +Greek world, tending more and more to realise the dream of +Themistocles, and make his beloved city the undisputed mistress of the +sea. After the defeat of the Persian armies and fleets at Salamis, +Plataea, and Mycale, much hard work remained to be done, in reducing +the outlying cities on the coasts of Thrace and in the eastern corners +of the Aegaean, which held out for the Great King. The Spartans were +still nominal leaders of the allied Greek navy; but after a year of +service they resigned this position, which they owed to their +acknowledged supremacy in land warfare, to the Athenians. They were +induced to take this step, partly by their own aversion to foreign +enterprises, and partly by the misconduct of their general Pausanias, +who had disgusted the allies serving under him in the fleet by his +intolerable arrogance and tyranny. The field was thus left open to the +Athenians, who willingly assumed the command offered them by the +maritime cities of Greece, with the object of prosecuting the war +vigorously against Persia. Each city was assessed to furnish a fixed +contribution of ships or money, and the sacred island of Delos was +appointed as the common treasury and meeting-place of the league. Thus +was formed the famous Delian Confederacy, with the avowed purpose of +making reprisals on the Great King's territory for the havoc which he +had wrought in Greece. For a time all went smoothly, and the various +members of the league fought under Athens as her independent allies. +But by degrees the Greeks from the islands and coast-lands of Asia +began to weary of their arduous duties, and murmured against the +Athenians, who proved hard task-masters, and compelled them by force +to perform their part in the bargain. One by one the cities revolted +from the leadership of Athens, were attacked by her navies, and +reduced to the position of subjects and tributaries. Others +voluntarily withdrew from all active co-operation in the war, agreeing +to pay a fixed annual sum as a substitute for service in the fleet. +And before the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War the two powerful +islands of Lesbos and Chios were the only members of the original +league who still retained their independence. + +Such were the circumstances which led to the foundation of the +Athenian Empire, which grew up, by the force of necessity, out of the +decay of a confederacy born of a common need, and organised for the +special benefit of the Asiatic Greeks. For the names of the Greek +cities on the coasts of Asia Minor still figured in the Persian +tribute-lists; and the moment that the grasp of Athens relaxed on the +confines of the King's dominions, after the ruinous defeat in Sicily, +Persian tax-gatherers came knocking at the gates of Ephesus and +Miletus, demanding the arrears of tribute. So urgent was the need +supplied by the energy of Athens, and so blind were these Greeks of +Asia Minor to their own interests. + +The visible sign of this momentous change, by which the Delian +Confederacy became merged in the Athenian Empire, was the removal of +the treasury from Delos to Athens. The Athenians now undertook the +whole administration of the common fund, using the surplus for the +adornment of Athens by magnificent public buildings. This +appropriation seems reasonable enough, when we consider that the whole +burden of defending the eastern Greeks against Persia, and keeping the +barbarian out of Greek waters, now lay upon Athens. This great public +duty, which had been thrown upon her by the indifference of Sparta, +and the unmanly sloth of her own allies, was faithfully performed; and +she might well ask why she should be called upon to lavish the blood +of her own citizens for nothing. That Athens should be great, +splendid, and powerful, was not only a reward due to her public spirit +and devotion to the common cause, but also a guarantee for the general +dignity and liberty of Greeks. And we, who have still before us the +remnants of her temples and statues, and learn from them what man can +accomplish under the inspiration of great ideals, need not scan too +closely her claim to appropriate the funds which she employed for so +noble a purpose. For this was the great age of Grecian art, the age of +Phidias, Polycletus, Myron, and Polygnotus. The greatest of these was +Phidias; and in the Parthenon, or Temple of the Virgin Goddess, +[Footnote: Athene, the patron goddess of Athens.] built under his +direction on the Acropolis at Athens, he has left the most enduring +monument of his fame. He also designed the Propylaea, a magnificent +columned vestibule, fronting the broad flight of steps which led up to +the western entrance of the Acropolis. But the most renowned of his +works was the gigantic statue of the Olympian Zeus, wrought in gold +and ivory, which was the chief glory of the temple at Olympia. Of this +sublime creation, the highest expression of divinity achieved by the +ancients, only the fame survives. These triumphs of art were not +brought to completion until nearly the close of the period of forty- +eight years which separates the Persian from the Peloponnesian War; +and it is now necessary to glance backward, and touch briefly on the +principal events which occurred after the formation of the Delian +Confederacy. The war was carried on with energy against Persia, and +hostilities continued at intervals for thirty years after the battle +of Plataea. [Footnote: B.C. 479-449.] + +The chief leader in these enterprises was the heroic Cimon, leader of +the conservative party at Athens, and the great rival of Pericles; and +his most brilliant exploit was a crushing defeat inflicted on the +Persian army and fleet at the mouth of the river Eurymedon in +Pamphylia. But the victorious career of the Athenians received a +severe check twelve years later in Egypt, where a large force of ships +and men was totally destroyed by the Persian general Megabyzus. The +war dragged on for five years longer, and peace was then concluded on +terms highly advantageous to the Greeks. Shortly before this, Cimon, +who had been the chief promoter of the war, died at Cyprus. + +The same years which brought to a successful issue the long struggle +with Persia witnessed a renewal of those internal conflicts by which +the energies of Greece were finally exhausted, leaving her an easy +prey to the arms of Macedon. The guilt of renewing these suicidal +quarrels lies with the Spartans, who had long been nursing their +grudge against Athens, and were waiting for the opportunity to inflict +on her a fatal blow. Fifteen years [Footnote: B.C. 464. ] after the +battle of Plataea they seized the occasion when the Athenians were +engaged with a large part of their forces in carrying on operations +against the revolted island of Thasos to prepare an invasion of +Attica. But at the very moment when they were meditating this act of +perfidy a double disaster fell upon them at home, demanding all their +exertions to save them from ruin. Sparta was levelled to the ground by +a terrible earthquake, in which twenty thousand of her citizens +perished; and in the midst of the panic caused by this awful calamity +the Helots rose in arms against their oppressors, and forming an +alliance with the Messenian subjects of Sparta, entrenched themselves +in a strong position on Mount Ithome. Here they maintained themselves +for two years, defying all the efforts of the Spartans to drive them +from their stronghold. In spite of their recent treachery, the +Spartans were not ashamed to apply to Athens for help: and chiefly +through the influence of Cimon, whose laurels from the Eurymedon were +still fresh, four thousand Athenian hoplites [Footnote: Heavy-armed +foot-soldiers.] were sent under his command to aid in dislodging the +Helots. The Athenians were famous for their skill in attacking +fortified places; but on this occasion they were unsuccessful, and the +Spartans, whose evil conscience made them prone to suspicion, at once +began to doubt the honesty of their intentions, and dismissed them +with scant ceremony. This unfriendly act helped to embitter the +relations between the two leading cities of Greece; and two years +later, when the Messenians were expelled from Ithome, and driven into +exile, the Athenians settled them with their families at Naupactus, an +important strategic position on the north of the Corinthian Gulf, +which has recently fallen into the hands of Athens. + +Deeply offended by the affront received at Ithome, the Athenians now +formed an alliance with Argos, the ancient rival and bitter enemy of +Sparta. Thessaly, connected with Athens by old ties of friendship, +joined the league; and Megara, now suffering from the oppressions of +Corinth, made a fourth. + +Within sight of the shores of Attica lies the island of Aegina, famous +in legend as the home of Aeacus, grandfather of Achilles, and +distinguished for its school of sculpture, and for its mighty breed of +athletes, whose feats are celebrated in the laureate strains of +Pindar. The Aeginetans had obtained the first prize for valour +displayed in the battle of Salamis, and for many years they had +pressed the Athenians hard in the race for maritime supremacy. They +were now attacked by an overwhelming Athenian force, and after a +stubborn resistance were totally defeated, and compelled to enroll +themselves among the subjects of Athens. A still harder fate was +reserved for the hapless Dorian islanders in the next generation. + +In the following nine years [Footnote: B.C. 456-447.] the power of +Athens reached its greatest height, and for a moment it seemed as if +she were destined to extend her empire over the whole mainland of +Greece. By the victory of Oenophyta, gained over the Boeotians just +before the reduction of Aegina, Athens became mistress of all the +central provinces of the Greek peninsula, from the pass of Thermopylae +to the gulf of Corinth. The alliance of Megara, lately united by long +walls to its harbour of Nisaea, secured her from invasion on the side +of Peloponnesus. The great island of Euboea, with its rich pastures +and fruitful corn lands, had, since the Persian War, become an +Athenian estate, and was jealously guarded as one of her most valuable +possessions; and on the sea, from the eastern corner of the Euxine to +the strait of Gibraltar, there was none to dispute her sway. + +But this rapid ascent was followed by no less speedy a fall, and one +act of indiscretion stripped the Athenians of all the advantages which +they had acquired on the mainland of Greece. In every city of Greece +there were always two parties, the wealthy and noble, called +oligarchs, and the demos, or commons; and according as Spartan or +Athenian influence was in the ascendant the balance of power in each +city wavered between the nobles and the people, the Athenians +favouring the Many, the Spartans the Few. Accordingly there was always +a party living in exile, and waiting for a turn of affairs which might +enable them to return to their city, and wrest the power from that +faction which had been the last to triumph. In the cities of Boeotia +the leaders of the oligarchs had been driven into banishment after the +battle of Oenophyta, and democracies were established under the +control of Athens. After nine years of banishment these exiles +returned, and the result was an oligarchical reaction in the chief +cities of Boeotia. A hastily equipped and ill-organised force was sent +out from Athens to put down the authors of the revolution, and in the +battle which followed, at Coronea, [Footnote: B.C. 447.] the Athenians +sustained a severe defeat, and a large number of their citizens were +taken prisoners by the Boeotians. To recover these prisoners the +Athenians consented to evacuate Boeotia, and by this surrender they +lost their hold on central Greece, as far as Thermopylae. + +This heavy blow was followed two years later by the revolt of Megara +and Euboea; and in the midst of the alarm thus occasioned, the +Athenians heard that a powerful Spartan army was threatening their +borders. It was a terrible moment for Athens; but she was saved by the +prudence and energy of Pericles, whose influence in her councils was +now supreme. By some means or other--as the Spartans asserted, by a +heavy bribe--he induced the Spartan king Pleistoanax to draw off his +forces; and then crossing over into Euboea, he quickly reduced the +whole island to submission, and took severe measures to prevent any +outbreak in the future. + +The exertions of the Athenians during the last thirty years had been +prodigious, and their efforts to found an empire in continental Greece +had ended in total failure. Discouraged by their reverses, they +concluded a thirty years' truce with the Spartans and their allies, +resigning the last remnant of their recent conquests, and leaving +Megara in her old position as a member of the Peloponnesian league +under Sparta. The loss of Megara was severely felt, and her conduct in +the late troubles was neither forgotten nor forgiven. The Megarians +had by their own free choice been admitted into the Athenian alliance, +and in an hour of great peril to Athens, without shadow of pretext +they had risen in arms against her. It was not long before they had to +pay a heavy penalty for their treachery and inconstancy. + +The last event which we have to record, before entering into the main +current of our narrative, is the secession of Samos, the most +important member of the maritime allies of Athens. This wealthy and +powerful island had hitherto, with Chios and Lesbos, enjoyed the +distinction of serving under Athens as an independent ally. The +Athenians, with a view to their own interests, had recently set up a +democracy in Samos, which had hitherto been governed by an oligarchy. +Incensed by this interference, the Samian nobles, who had been driven +into exile, hired a mercenary force, and making a sudden attack from +the mainland, overthrew the democracy and raised the standard of +revolt. The crisis called for prompt and vigorous action on the part +of Athens; for if Samos had been successful in defying her authority, +the other members of the league would speedily have followed the +example, and the whole fabric of her empire might have been shattered +to pieces. Pericles was again equal to the emergency, and by employing +the whole naval power of Athens he was able, after a siege of nine +months, to reduce the refractory islanders to submission. The Samians +were compelled to surrender their fleet, to pull down their walls, to +pay a heavy war indemnity, and to give hostages as a security for +their good conduct in the future. And henceforward they became +subjects and tributaries of Athens. + +We have now completed our review of the chief events which occurred +between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars. It was a period of rapid +development for Athens, of ceaseless activity at home and abroad, of +immense progress in all the arts of war and peace. The imperial city +had now risen to her full stature, and stood forth, supreme in +intellect and in action, the wonder and envy of mankind. Her mighty +walls bade defiance to her enemies at home, and she held in her hand +the islands and coast-districts of the Aegaean, where the last murmur +of resistance had been quelled. Her recent reverses on the mainland of +Greece had left the real sources of her power untouched; and taught +her, if she would but take the lesson to heart, the proper limits of +her empire. And she had risen to this height, not by the prevailing +force of any single mind, but by the united efforts of all her +citizens, working together for a whole generation, shunning no +sacrifice, and shrinking from no exertion, in their devotion to the +common mother of them all. Every Athenian, from the wealthiest noble +to the poorest rower in the fleet, felt that he had a stake in the +country, which to a Greek meant the city, where he was born. He gave +his vote in the Parliament [Footnote: Called the Ecclesia.] of Athens, +and served on the juries chosen by lot from the whole body of the +citizens, before whose judgment-seat, unassailable by bribery or +intimidation, the mightiest offenders trembled. He was a statesman, a +judge, a lawgiver, and a warrior, and he might even hope to climb to +the highest place in the State, and rule, like Pericles, as a prince +of democracy. Around him rose the temples and statues of the gods, +fresh from the chisel of the artist, the visible symbols of Athenian +greatness, and of the grand ideals which he served. The masterpieces +of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides opened to him the boundless +realms of the imagination, taught him grave lessons of moral wisdom, +and connected the strenuous present with the heroic past; and the Old +Comedy, the most complete embodiment of the very genius of democracy, +afforded a feast of wit and fancy for his lighter hours. If he had a +taste for higher speculation, he might hear Anaxagoras discoursing on +the mysteries of the spiritual world, or Zeno applying his sharp tests +for the conviction of human error. And when the assembly was summoned +to discuss matters of high imperial policy, he felt all the greatness +and majesty of the Athenian state, as he hung entranced on the lips of +Pericles. + +Such was Athens in her prime, and such were the men who raised her to +the lofty eminence which she held among the cities of Greece. But the +years which had lifted her to that unparalleled height had raised up a +host of enemies against her, and it behoved her to temper ambition +with prudence if she would maintain the proud position which the held. +The scattered units which composed the Athenian empire were held +together by no tie of loyalty or affection to their common mistress, +but solely by the dread of her overwhelming naval power. Even in the +noblest spirits of ancient Greece, the feeling of patriotism, as we +understand it, was feeble and uncertain; when we speak of our +_country_, the Greek spoke of his _city_, and his love, his +hopes, his highest aspirations, were bounded by the narrow circuit of +the walls which contained the tombs of his ancestors and the temples +of his gods. This feeling, the most deeply-rooted instinct of Greek +political life, had been grievously offended by Athens, when she +compelled the islanders of the Aegaean, and the Greek cities of Asia, +to serve in her navies, and pay tribute to her exchequer. + +Turning now to the mainland of Greece we find, in most of the leading +states, a sentiment of mingled fear and hatred against Athens, which +had been steadily increasing in volume in the course of the last +thirty years. The haughty Thebans had not forgotten their defeat at +Oenophyta, and their nine years of servitude to Athens. Aegina was +groaning under her yoke, and threatened with total political +extinction. Megara complained that her commerce was ruined by a decree +which excluded her merchants from the ports in the Athenian Empire. In +the heart of Peloponnesus the Spartans were hatching mischief against +their hated rival, who had robbed them of half their dignity as the +acknowledged leaders of the Greeks. Corinth, whose commerce was +chiefly in the western sea, outside the sphere of Athenian influence, +was disposed to be friendly, and had done the Athenians good service +during the revolt of Samos.[Footnote: See below, p. 31.] But five +years later [Footnote: B.C. 435.] an event occurred which changed this +feeling into bitter hatred against Athens, and drove the Corinthians +into the ranks of her most inveterate foes. And it is at this point +that we take up the main thread of our story. + + + + +STORIES FROM THUCYDIDES + +CORINTH AND CORCYRA + +I + +It was in a remote corner of the Greek world that the trouble began +which was destined to breed such mischief and havoc for the whole of +Greece. At the beginning of the seventh century before our era the +island of Corcyra had been colonised by the Corinthians. The colony +grew and flourished, and in its turn founded other settlements on the +opposite coasts of Epirus and Illyria. Among these was Epidamnus, +called by the Romans Dyrrachium, and in Roman times the ordinary +landing-place for travellers from Italy to Greece. After many years of +prosperity the resources of Epidamnus were much crippled by internal +faction, and by wars with the neighbouring barbarians. Four years +before the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War, the nobles of Epidamnus, +who had been expelled in the last revolution, made an alliance with +the native tribes of Illyria, and by constant plundering raids reduced +the Epidamnians to such straits that they were compelled to apply to +Corcyra for help. But the Corcyraeans, whose sympathies were on the +side of the banished nobles, refused to interfere. + +Epidamnus, as we have seen, was a colony founded by a colony, and +according to Greek custom the original settlers had been led by a +citizen of Corinth, the mother-city of Corcyra. Seeing, therefore, +that they had nothing to hope from the Corcyraeans, the distressed +people of Epidamnus began to turn their thoughts towards their ancient +metropolis, and considered whether they should appeal to her to save +them from ruin. But as this was a step of doubtful propriety, they +first consulted the oracle of Delphi, the great authority on questions +of international law. Receiving a favourable answer, they sent envoys +to Corinth, and offered to surrender their city to the Corinthians, in +return for their countenance and protection. + +The Corcyraeans had long been in evil odour at Corinth, for they had +grown insolent in prosperity, and neglected all the observances which +were due from a colony to the mother-city. They were, in fact, +superior to the Corinthians in wealth and power, and their fleet, +numbering a hundred and twenty triremes, was second only to that of +Athens. Corcyra was famous in legend as the seat of the Phaeacians, a +heroic sailor race, whose deeds are sung by Homer in the +_Odyssey_; and the Corcyraeans regarded themselves as the lawful +inheritors of their fame. For all these reasons they despised the +Corinthians, and made no secret of their contempt. Remembering the +many occasions on which they had been publicly insulted by Corcyra, +the Corinthians lent a favourable ear to the petition of Epidamnus, +and determined to appropriate the colony to themselves. Accordingly +they invited all who chose to go and settle at Epidamnus, and sent the +new colonists under a military escort, with instructions to proceed by +land to Apollonia, for fear lest they should be obstructed by the +Corcyraean fleet, if they went by sea. + +Great was the indignation at Corcyra when the news arrived that her +colony had been surrendered to Corinth, and a force of forty ships was +sent off in haste, bearing a peremptory demand to the Epidamnians that +they should receive back their exiles and send away the new colonists. +As the citizens refused to obey their mandate, they prepared to lay +siege to the town, which is situated on an isthmus. + +When the Corinthians heard of the danger of Epidamnus, they began to +make preparations on a much larger scale, collecting a host of new +colonists, and a fleet of seventy-five ships to convoy them on their +passage to Epidamnus. Apprised of these proceedings, the Corcyraeans +sent envoys to Corinth, with a civil remonstrance against the +arbitrary interference with their own colony. They were willing, they +said, to submit the matter to arbitration, and in the meantime to +suspend all hostilities against the revolted city. But the Corinthians +paid no attention to their overtures, and all being now ready, the +great multitude, drawn from all parts of Greece, set sail for +Epidamnus. When they reached Actium, at the mouth of the Ambracian +Gulf, they were met by a herald, sent out from Corcyra in a skiff, to +forbid their approach. This was a mere manoeuvre, to throw the guilt +of commencing hostilities on the Corinthians; and meanwhile the +Corcyraeans manned their ships, to the number of eighty, and put out +to meet the enemy's fleet. In the sea-fight which followed the +Corcyraeans gained a complete victory, and on the same day Epidamnus +was compelled to capitulate to the besieging force. + +By this victory the Corcyraeans gained complete command of the western +or Ionian sea, and for the rest of the summer they sailed from place +to place, plundering the allies of Corinth. The Corinthians, however, +were not at all disposed to acquiesce in their defeat, and during the +whole of the following year they were busy organising a fresh +expedition on a vast scale, being resolved at all costs to put down +the insolence of Corcyra. These preparations caused no small anxiety +to the Corcyraeans. Hitherto they had stood apart, and refused to take +any share in the complicated game of Greek politics. The course of +affairs during the last forty years had tended more and more to divide +the Greek world into two opposite camps, arrayed under the banners of +Athens and Sparta. As Dorians, the Corcyraeans would naturally have +enrolled themselves among the allies of Sparta,--as islanders and +seamen, they might have leaned to the side of Athens: but confident in +their remote situation, and in the power of their fleet, they had +chosen to remain neutral. But finding themselves threatened with +destruction, they now resolved to abandon their policy of selfish +isolation, and sue for admission into the Athenian alliance. +Ambassadors were sent to Athens to urge their plea; and the +Corinthians, hearing of their intention, sent representatives of their +own to oppose the application. + +The Athenians were fully alive to the gravity of the question which +they were called upon to decide, and after listening to the arguments +of the Corcyraean and Corinthian orators, they adjourned the debate +until the next day. To Corinth they were bound by old ties of +obligation; for on three distinct occasions the Corinthians had done +them signal service. More than seventy years before the date which we +have reached, the Spartans summoned their allies to consider whether +it was expedient to compel the Athenians to receive back the banished +tyrant Hippias; and it was chiefly by the eloquence of the Corinthian +speaker Sosicles, who drew a vivid picture of the miseries of +despotical government, that they were shamed out of their purpose. A +few years later, when the Athenians were at war with Aegina, they were +aided by twenty Corinthian ships. And quite recently, in the great +peril which menaced Athens at the revolt of Samos, Corinth had once +more shown herself a friend. At a congress of the Peloponnesian +allies, summoned to consider an appeal from the Samians for help, the +Corinthians had spoken strongly against interference with the revolted +allies of another city. Corinth was a place of old renown, the queen +of the Isthmus, a centre of civilisation; whereas Corcyra was a remote +island, and her people, though Greeks by descent, were in manners and +character more than half barbarians. + +But there were two arguments put forward by the Corcyraean orator, +which outweighed all other considerations of policy or friendship. The +first was addressed to the fears of the Athenians, the second to their +ambition. War, he argued, was inevitable, and it was of the utmost +importance for Athens to secure the alliance of the Corcyraean fleet, +and prevent it from being added to the naval forces of her enemies. +And his concluding words struck a note which found a response among +the more daring spirits among his hearers, whose thoughts, as it would +seem, were already turning to the western colonies of Greece, as a new +field of enterprise and conquest. "It will not do," he said, "to be +too nice. While you are hesitating, and weighing nice points of +international right, you will be outdistanced in the race for power, +if you tamely give up a great naval station which holds the key to +Italy and Sicily." + +Such reasoning, hollow and false as it was, turned the scale in favour +of Corcyra, and a defensive alliance was concluded, pledging the +Athenians and Corcyraeans to aid each other against any attack on the +territory or allies of either state. For the Athenians wished to avoid +breaking the Thirty Years' Truce, and therefore refrained from +entering into any agreement which might oblige them to acts of open +aggression against Corinth. + +There can be little doubt that Pericles, who was mainly responsible +for this decision, committed a fatal error in advising the Athenians +to take up the cause of Corcyra. By this act Athens incurred the +implacable hostility of Corinth, and revived the old grudge which that +city had conceived against her when Megara joined the Athenian +alliance. In the constantly shifting currents of Greek politics, +Athens might well, under wise guidance, have steered her way safely +through the perils which surrounded her. The Corinthians had half +forgotten their grievance, as is proved by their conduct at the revolt +of Samos; and the tone of their representative at the Corcyraean +debate is decidedly friendly. The Spartans were sluggish and +procrastinating by nature, and required some powerful impulse to +induce them to act with vigour; and this impulse was now supplied by +Corinth. By accepting, therefore, the alliance of Corcyra, Athens +barred the way to all compromise, and gathered into one head all the +scattered causes of jealousy and hatred which had been accumulating +against her in the last fifty years. + +Early in the following year the Corinthian fleet, numbering a hundred +and fifty sail, put to sea from Corinth, to renew the war with +Corcyra, and a battle was fought off the coast of Epirus. The +engagement was long and fierce, and the event was finally decided by a +small squadron of Athenian ships, which had been sent with +instructions to hinder any attempt of the enemy to land on the island +Seeing that the Corcyraeans were being forced back upon their own +coast, the Athenian captains, who had hitherto looked on, and taken no +part in the battle, now assumed the offensive, and lent such effectual +aid that the Corinthians were held in check until the sudden +appearance of twenty additional ships from Athens, which had been sent +off immediately after the others, put an end to the action. This +timely interference saved Corcyra from ruin; for next day the +Corinthians, after a formal remonstrance, set sail for home, taking +with them two hundred and fifty prisoners, belonging to the noblest +families in Corcyra, whom they kept in safe custody, but treated with +great consideration, hoping by means of them at some future time to +recover their influence in the island. + + +II + +It was not long before the effects of this impolitic breach with +Corinth were sensibly felt by Athens. In the course of the following +summer, Potidaea, a Corinthian colony, situated on the borders of +Macedon, and included in the Athenian alliance, openly raised the +standard of revolt, encouraged by promises from Sparta, and by the +presence of a strong body of hoplites, sent for its support from +Corinth. Potidaea was presently closely invested by an Athenian army +and fleet, and the Corinthians pretended to make this a fresh ground +of complaint, though they had themselves incited the city to throw off +its allegiance to Athens. + +Feeling that matters were now approaching a crisis, the Spartans +summoned a congress of their allies, and invited all who had any +grievance against Athens to state their case. Then some spoke of the +wrongs of Aegina, formerly not the least among Greek cities, but now +so crushed under the yoke of Athens that she had not dared to raise +her voice openly against the tyrant-city. The Megarians complained of +the restrictions on their commerce, which threatened them with an +empty exchequer and a starving population; and others followed in the +same strain. When all the rest had spoken, the Corinthian orator, who +had reserved his eloquence till the end, came forward and delivered a +vehement harangue, containing hardly any specific charge against +Athens, but well calculated to inflame the passions and provoke the +pride of the Spartans. Though the acknowledged leader of Greece, and +champion of her liberties, Sparta, he said, had always been the last +to see the dangers which menaced the common country, and the last to +take measures for her defence. Spartan apathy and indolence had +brought the Greeks to the brink of ruin in the Persian War; and when +that danger was passed, the same fatal indifference had enabled Athens +to advance step by step on the path of aggrandisement; until now she +had grown so strong that the united force of the whole Peloponnesian +league would be required to put her down. Why had not the Spartans +listened to the warnings which they had heard, when the Athenians were +rebuilding their walls? Then they might have stopped the evil at its +source, and saved a multitude of cities from slavery and oppression. +"Consider," cried the orator, warming to his subject, "what manner of +men these Athenians are, and how vast is the difference between them +and you. While you are shut up in this inland valley, treading the +dull round of mechanical routine, they are continually pushing forward +the boundaries of their empire, toiling night and day to make their +city great, never satisfied with what they have, always thirsting for +more. Cautious, timid, and conservative as you are, hardly to be +roused from your sloth by the most imminent perils, how can you hope +to curb the flight of Athenian ambition, which knows no limit, and is +checked by no reverse? + +"Men of Sparta, I speak as a friend, and you will not take my candour +amiss. New times require new manners, and if you would maintain your +great position you must move with the march of events, and abandon +your old-fashioned ways. Do not mistake stagnation for stability, but +learn a lesson even from these hated Athenians, who have risen to +their present pitch of greatness by adapting themselves to every new +need as it arose. + +"You know what you have to do, if you would wipe out the reproach +which rests upon you, and keep the respect of your faithful allies. +Send an army into Attica, and compel the Athenians to withdraw their +forces from Potidaea. And let it be done speedily, for while we are +talking our kinsmen are perishing." + +It happened that an Athenian embassy was present in Sparta, having +been sent there on some other business, and not for the purpose of +representing Athens at the debate. But when they heard of the outcry +which had been raised against their city, the envoys asked permission +for one of their number to address the Spartan assembly, wishing to +explain the true character and origin of the Athenian Empire, and to +warn the Spartans against plunging the whole country into the horrors +of civil war. Leave being granted, the Athenian orator entered on his +subject by sketching the course of events for the last sixty years. +Athens, he said, had twice saved Greece, first at Marathon, and +afterwards at Salamis. On the first of these occasions she had stood +almost alone against an overwhelming force of Persians; and ten years +later, though betrayed by her allies, she had borne the brunt against +the navy of Xerxes. Who, then, was worthier than she to hold empire +over Greeks? That empire had been forced upon her by the inertness of +Sparta, and by the cowardice and sloth of her own allies in the Delian +league. The power thus gained had been used with moderation, in marked +contrast to the previous tyranny of Persia exercised over the same +cities, and the arrogance of Spartan officers when engaged on foreign +service. But a light yoke, it would seem, was harder to bear than a +heavy one; if Athens had openly oppressed her subjects, she would +never have heard a murmur. + +Having thus tried to combat the prejudice against Athens, the orator +addressed himself directly to the Spartans, and said: "Consider the +awful responsibility which you will incur, if you suffer yourselves to +be carried away by the invectives of your allies, and drive us against +our will to tempt with you the dark uncertainties and perilous issues +of war. There is still time for an amicable settlement of our +differences: Athens is prepared to make all reasonable concessions, +and to submit to arbitration, as the terms of the treaty direct. And +if you decline to accept this offer, the guilt of the aggressor will +lie with you." + +It is remarkable that the speaker, in tracing the later course of +Athenian policy, lays no claim to those high motives of patriotism +which had inspired his people with sublime self-devotion two +generations back. He boldly asserts the principle that it is lawful +for the stronger to rule the weaker, and claims merit for Athens in +abstaining from excessive abuse of her power. The Athenians, we may +believe, had been tainted by the baseness of their confederates. In +the early days of the Delian league they had not attempted to educate +the Greeks whom they led up to the standard of their own splendid +zeal,--or, if the attempt had been made, it was unsuccessful. They had +taken upon themselves the whole burden of a great public duty, and +standing alone, without moral support from their countrymen, they had +gradually fallen away from the pure and lofty virtues of their +ancestors. This decay of public morality proceeds with rapid strides +in the years which follow, and we shall presently hear the doctrine +that might is right proclaimed with cynical frankness by the lips of +an Athenian. + +Having heard the complaints of their allies against Athens, and the +reply of the Athenian orator, the Spartans ordered all but those of +their own race to withdraw, and continued the debate with closed +doors. A great majority of the speakers were in favour of declaring +immediate war on Athens. But there was one important exception: the +aged Archidamus, who for the last fourteen years had been reigning as +sole king at Sparta, spoke strongly against the imprudence of assuming +the aggressive, before they had made adequate preparations to cope +with the offending city. It was an opinion generally held by the war- +party that the Athenians would be ready to make any concessions, in +order to save the land of Attica from ravage. This, said Archidamus, +was a great error; and the event proved that he was right. The +Athenians, with their great colonial empire, and complete command of +the sea, were quite independent of the products of their own estates +in Attica. And many years must elapse before the states of +Peloponnesus could train a fleet, and attack them on the sea, where +alone they were assailable. It was folly to suppose that such a +contest could be decided by a single summer campaign, as was commonly +believed by the enemies of Athens. "I fear rather," said the king, +with prophetic foresight, "that we shall leave this war as an +inheritance to our children; such is the power, and such the pride, of +the state with which we have to contend." On the other hand, the +Spartans, as champions of the liberties of Greece, must not allow the +common oppressors of their countrymen to continue their career of +tyranny unchecked. Let them first, however, try what could be effected +by negotiation, and in the meantime prepare for war, by building +ships, and above all by collecting money, without which all their +valour would be useless. Then, if Athens still refused to listen to +reason, they might declare war with better hope of success. + +The speech of Archidamus shows a true insight into the nature of the +crisis which the Spartans were called upon to face, and his views were +amply justified by subsequent events. His wise words were no doubt +applauded by the older and more sober-minded among his hearers. But +there was another and a much more numerous party at that time in +Sparta, filled with bitter envy and hatred against Athens. Their +passions had been inflamed by the invectives of the Corinthian orator, +and without counting the cost they were resolved to try the issues of +immediate battle. Their blind rancour found expression in the curt and +pithy harangue of Sthenelaidas, one of the five Ephors, a college of +magistrates which in recent years had greatly encroached on the +authority of the kings. Sthenelaidas spoke with true laconic brevity. +"I don't understand," he said, "all the fine talk of these Athenians. +They have told us a great deal about their own merits, but have not +said a word in answer to the charges brought against them. Even if we +accept their own account of themselves, their good conduct in the past +only lends a darker colour to their present crimes. We have one plain +duty to perform, and that is to save our faithful allies from ill- +treatment. The time for words is past--leave them to the transgressor. +Our part is to act, at once, and with all our might, and put down the +overwhelming insolence of Athens." + +Then, in his capacity as Ephor, Sthenelaidas, without staying for +further argument, forthwith put the question to the Spartan assembly. +According to their ordinary procedure, the Spartans gave their votes +by cries of "Ay" and "No." But on this occasion Sthenelaidas pretended +to be unable to distinguish whether the "Ays" or "Nos" had it, and +wishing to encourage the war-party by showing how much they were in +the majority, he ordered the house to divide on the question whether +the treaty was broken, and whether the Athenians were in the wrong or +not. The division was made, and a great majority were in favour of the +motion, recording their votes against Athens. The allies were then +called in, and informed to the result of the private debate, and a day +was named for a general synod of the whole Peloponnesian league, to +reconsider the situation and decide whether war was to be declared. + +In the interval, before the final assembly of the allies, the Spartans +sent to ask the oracle at Delphi whether it was expedient for them to +make war; and the answer, according to common report, was that if they +fought with all their might they would conquer, and that the god +[Footnote: Apollo.] would be on their side. The Corinthians were at +the same time carrying on an active canvass against Athens, sending +their agents from city to city to blow up the flames of war. + +In the autumn of the same year the allies met in full synod at Sparta, +and once more the Corinthian speaker led the cry against Athens, and +called for a unanimous war-vote, flattering his hearers with hopes of +a speedy victory. The Spartans, he said, had at last set a good +example to their allies, and shown themselves convinced that imperial +cities had imperial obligations, by pronouncing in favour of war. +Every member of the league must join heartily in the struggle, whether +he belonged to an inland or to a maritime city; for if the seaports +were closed by the Athenian fleets, the inland towns would be +prevented from exporting their products, and importing what they +wanted from abroad. War, then, was in the interest of the whole body +of allies. And on the moral side their position was equally sound, for +they were only acting on desperate provocation, and the common god of +Greece had promised success to their arms. But to deserve that +success, all must co-operate heartily, contributing freely from their +private purses to raise a fleet which would make them a match for +Athens on her own element. And they must watch the course of events +with a vigilant eye, and be ready to seize any opportunity which might +arise to aim a decisive blow at their common enemy. Let them be warned +by the experience of the Ionians, and put out all their strength to +save themselves from being swallowed up by the devouring ambition of +Athens. Justice, heaven's favour, the good-will of all Greece, were on +their side. + +Others spoke to the same effect, and then the representatives of each +city were called up in turn to give their vote; and by far the greater +number voted for war. But many months elapsed before any overt act of +hostility occurred, and the time was occupied in preparations for an +invasion of Attica, and in a series of demands sent by Sparta to try +the temper of the Athenians, and put them in the wrong, if they +refused to comply. The first of these messages was conveyed in +mysterious terms, bidding the Athenians "to drive out the curse of the +goddess." The meaning of this was as follows: nearly two hundred years +before a certain Cylon tried to make himself tyrant of Athens: the +attempt was frustrated, and some of his adherents, who had taken +refuge in the sacred precinct of Athene, were put to death by the +magistrates, after they had surrendered under a solemn promise that +their lives should be spared. The illustrious family of the +Alcmaeonidae was especially concerned in this act of murder and +sacrilege, and the Spartans, in reviving the memory of an ancient +crime, were aiming a blow at Pericles, who was descended on his +mother's side from the Alcmaeonidae. For the Athenians were highly +sensitive in all matters of religion, and it was possible that they +might even banish Pericles, if their consciences were suddenly +alarmed. And though this was not likely, the Spartans hoped at any +rate to lessen his influence, which was adverse to themselves, and +fasten on him the odium of being, in some sense, the cause of the war. +But their manoeuvre was unsuccessful, and the Athenians retorted by +bidding the Spartans drive out the curse of Taenarus, in allusion to +the murder of certain Helots who had taken sanctuary in the temple of +Poseidon at Taenarus. And they further charged the Spartans to rid +themselves of the curse of Athene of the Brazen House. This was a holy +place in Sparta, where Pausanias, when convicted of treasonable +correspondence with Persia, had sought refuge from the vengeance of +the Spartans. He was kept a close prisoner in the temple by the +Ephors, who set a watch on him, to prevent him from being supplied +with food, and when he was reduced to the last extremity, brought him +out to die. But though his death occurred outside the temple, this did +not save them from the sin of sacrilege, and a public reprimand by the +Delphic God. + +The game of diplomatic fencing went on for some time, and envoys were +continually passing to and fro between Athens and Sparta. The +Athenians were required to raise the siege of Potidaea--to allow the +Aeginetans to govern themselves--to rescind the decree against Megara; +and when all these demands were met by a firm refusal, the Spartans +sent two ambassadors, bearing their ultimatum, which was worded as +follows: "The Lacedaemonians wish that there should be peace, and war +may be averted if ye will let the Greeks go free." Knowing that the +decisive moment had now arrived, the Athenians met together in full +assembly, to decide on their final answer. There were many speakers on +either side, some arguing for peace, others for war: and then was +heard that majestic voice, which, for more than thirty years, had +guided the counsels of Athens--the voice of the Olympian Pericles. He +had chosen his line of policy a year before, in the fatal affair of +Corcyra, and it was now too late to draw back: peace with honour was +no longer possible for Athens. The furious zeal of Corinth had united +her enemies against her, and they were bent on her ruin. The demands +put forward by Sparta were a mere pretext, and if the Athenians had +yielded the smallest point, new concessions would have been required +of them, until they were stripped of all that had been won by the +strenuous toil and devotion of two generations. "We must listen," said +Pericles, in the course of a long speech, "to no proposal from Sparta +which is not made as from an equal to an equal. Dictation is not +arbitration. If we are to fight at all, the occasion matters little, +be it small or great. What right has Sparta to require of us that we +should rescind the decree against Megara, when her own laws jealously +exclude all strangers from entering her streets? Or why should we +relax our hold upon our allies, or break off the relations with them +which were sanctioned by the Thirty Years' Truce? No, all this is a +mere pretence, and if we are deceived by it, we shall be led on step +by step to deeper and still deeper humiliation. It may seem a hard +thing to give up the fair land of Attica to pillage and devastation. +But think how far greater was the sacrifice made by our grandsires, +who refused the fairest offers from Persia, and gave up all they had, +rather than betray the common cause. Athens and Attica were then all +the country they had, and these lost they had nothing left but their +ships, their strong arms, and their stout hearts. In our case, on the +other hand, all the essential elements of our power--our city, our +fleet, our colonial empire--remain untouched. Shall we, then, sell our +honour to save a few vineyards and olive-grounds from temporary +damage? That would be a short-sighted policy indeed, and in the end +would involve not only dishonour, but the loss of our whole empire. +Let us act, then, in the spirit of our fathers, and send away the +Spartan ambassadors with the only answer which is consistent with our +dignity and our interest." + +The reply to the Spartan ultimatum was framed as Pericles had +directed, and from this moment all negotiations ceased. And here we +close our account of the events which led to the Peloponnesian War. + + + + +THE SURPRISE OF PLATAEA + +I + +On the northern slope of Cithaeron, the mountain range which divides +Attica from Boeotia, lies the little town of Plataea. By race and by +geographical position the Plataeans were naturally included in the +Boeotian confederacy, under the leadership of Thebes. But nearly a +century before the time of which we are now speaking they had deserted +the Thebans, whose rule was harsh and overbearing, and enrolled +themselves among the allies of Athens. On the eve of the battle of +Marathon, they had joined the Athenians with their whole force, a +thousand strong, and shared the peril and the honour of that glorious +day. Ten years later their city was laid in ruins by the army of +Xerxes, at the instigation of the Thebans; and in the following year +the great battle which ended the long struggle between Greece and +Persia was fought within sight of their shattered walls. In gratitude +for this great victory, the confederate Greeks under Pausanias +declared that the Plataean territory should be hallowed ground, and +swore a solemn oath to maintain the independence of the city. But the +Thebans had never forgotten or forgiven the secession of Plataea from +the confederacy of which they were the leaders; and seizing the +opportunity while the Athenians were occupied with measures for their +own safety, they made a treacherous attempt to gain possession of the +town. + +On a dark and moonless night in the early spring three hundred armed +Thebans appeared before the gates of Plataea, which were opened to +them by a party of the citizens who favoured their design. Marching in +a body to the market-place, they made proclamation by a herald, +inviting all who chose to return to their allegiance, and take sides +with their lawful leaders, the Thebans. For they wished, if possible, +to gain over the place without bloodshed, and before the war had +actually broken out; otherwise, they might have to give it up again on +the conclusion of peace. + +The Plataeans, being wakened out of their first sleep, and thinking +that the Thebans were in much greater force than was really the case, +at first attempted no resistance, but were disposed to accept the +terms offered them. But perceiving by degrees that their enemies were +far weaker in numbers than themselves, they changed their minds, and +resolved to attack them. For the party which had betrayed the town was +but small, and the general body of the citizens detested the thought +of falling once more under the supremacy of Thebes. Their measures +were taken with great secrecy and despatch: to avoid exciting the +suspicions of the Thebans, they broke down the dividing walls of their +houses, and passed to and fro unobserved, until they had completed +their preparations. To embarrass the movements of the Thebans, they +barricaded the streets with waggons, and then, just before daybreak, +they poured out of their houses, and fell upon the enemy, who were +still stationed in the market-place. Though taken by surprise, the +Thebans defended themselves stoutly, and standing shoulder to shoulder +repulsed the assault of the Plataeans two or three times. But they +were greatly inferior in numbers, wearied by their long vigil, and +soaked with the heavy rain which had fallen in the night; the +Plataeans returned again and again to the attack, assailing them with +furious cries; and the women and slaves who crowded the roofs added to +their discomfiture, pelting them with tiles and stones, and stunning +their ears with a frightful uproar of yells and shrieks; so that at +last their hearts failed them, and breaking their ranks they fled +wildly through the streets. Some succeeded in reaching the gate by +which they had entered, but only to find that their escape was cut off +in this direction; for one of the Plataeans had closed the gate, using +the spike of his javelin to secure the bolt. Others lost their way in +the narrow and muddy streets, and wandered up and down until they were +slain by the Plataeans. A few contrived to escape by an unguarded +postern-gate, having cut through the bolt with an axe given them by a +woman. Others, in despair, flung themselves from the walls, and for +the most part perished. But a good number, who had kept together, were +caught in a trap; for coming to a large building which abutted on the +wall, and finding the doors open, they thought that they had reached +the town-gate, and rushed headlong in. The pursuers, who were close at +their heels, made fast the doors, and then the question arose what +they should do with their captives. Some proposed to set fire to the +building, and to burn it down, with the Thebans in it; but at last +those who were thus taken, and the few who were still straggling in +the town, were allowed to surrender at discretion. + +Meanwhile a strong reinforcement of Thebans, who had started after the +three hundred, were on the way to Plataea; but being delayed by the +state of the roads, and the swollen condition of the Asopus, which +they had to cross, they arrived too late. Being informed of what had +happened, they prepared to plunder the property of the Plataeans +outside the walls, and seize any of the citizens who crossed their +path, to serve as hostages for their own men in the town. The +Plataeans, perceiving their intention, sent a herald to remonstrate, +threatening that unless they desisted, all the Theban prisoners should +at once be put to death. And they promised further, under an oath, +that if the Thebans would withdraw their forces, the captives should +be restored--at least this was the account which was afterwards +current at Thebes, though the Plataeans denied that they had made any +such promise unconditionally, and declared that they had sworn no +oath. It seems probable that the Thebans had received some such +explicit assurance as they asserted; for, on receiving the answer from +Plataea, they marched away without doing any harm. No sooner were they +gone than the Plataeans made all haste to get their property within +the walls, and then put all their prisoners to death. The day was not +far distant when they were bitterly to rue this act of passion, which +was not only cruel, but grossly impolitic; for the Thebans thus slain +in cold blood, a hundred and eighty in number, would have been +invaluable as hostages, whereas the Plataeans had now cut themselves +off from all hope of reconciliation with Thebes, and virtually sealed +their own fate. + +Two messengers had been despatched from Plataea to Athens, one after +the first entrance of the Thebans, and the second after their defeat +and capture; and the Athenians, on receiving the second message, sent +off a herald bidding the Plataeans to wait for further instructions, +before taking any steps against the prisoners. When the herald +arrived, he found the men already slain, and the Athenians then +proceeded to place the town in a state of defence, removing the women +and children and all those who were unfit for military service, to +Athens, and leaving a small body of their own citizens to direct +operations. + + +II + +The surprise of Plataea was the first open violation of the Thirty +Years' Truce, and from this time forward all Greece was involved for +many years in civil war. Public opinion was strongly on the side of +the Spartans, who stood forward as champions of the liberties of +Greece; but there was great enthusiasm on both sides, and the popular +imagination was much excited by the approaching struggle between the +two imperial cities. Both in Sparta and in Athens there was a younger +generation, who had grown up during a long period of peace, and now +entered gaily into the contest with all the light-hearted ignorance of +youth. Old prophecies current among the people, foretelling a great +war of Greeks against Greeks, passed from mouth to mouth, and the +professional soothsayers, whose business it was to collect and expound +such sayings, found eager hearers. The gods themselves could not be +indifferent on the eve of such mighty events, so deeply affecting the +destiny of the nation which worshipped them in a thousand temples; and +an earthquake, which had recently occurred at Delos, the sacred island +of Apollo, where such a visitation had never been known before, was +interpreted as a portent of great things to come. + +While the Peloponnesians were mustering their forces at the Isthmus, +the rural population of Attica were breaking up their homes, and +flocking by thousands into the city. A constant stream of waggons +passed along the roads, loaded with furniture, household utensils, and +even the woodwork of the farm-buildings; and many a little group of +women, children, and servants set out on that sorrowful journey, +leaving their fields, their gardens, and their vineyards, to be +trampled down and laid waste by the ruthless invader. Athens, indeed, +was the common mother of them all, their glory, their strength, and +their pride; for since the days of Theseus the scattered rural +communities of Attica had been united under the Aegis of Athene, and +acknowledged Athens as the head and centre of their civic life. But a +large proportion of the Athenian citizens still continued to reside in +the country, and all their dearest associations were connected with +the little spot of earth where they and their fathers were born. Here +were the graves of their ancestors, and the temples of the heroes who +were the guardian spirits of each little aggregate of families. It was +therefore with bitter and resentful feelings that they left these +happy scenes behind them, and turned their steps towards the gates of +the city, through which many of them were never to pass again. For all +of them it was a grievous change from the free and careless life of +the country-side to the confined space, polluted air, and jostling +multitudes of the town, now crowded to overflowing. Some few found +shelter in the houses of friends or relations; but by far the greater +number were obliged to encamp in the open spaces of the city, in the +precincts of temples, or in the narrow room between the Long Walls. +Even a place beneath the Acropolis, called the Pelasgic Field, was now +covered with the huts of the immigrants, though an ancient oracle had +forbidden its occupation under a curse. From day to day new crowds +kept flocking in, and the later comers were obliged to take up their +dwelling in Peiraeus, which was soon almost as much overcrowded as the +upper city. + +And now the younger generation of Athenians, who had entered so +cheerfully into the conflict, were to have their first taste of the +grim realities of war. The Peloponnesian army advanced leisurely, and +proceeded at first to Oenoe, an outlying fort near the borders of +Boeotia; for Archidamus, who held the chief command, still hoped that +the Athenians, when they saw the enemy on the confines of Attica, +would make some concessions, to save their farms from destruction. For +this reason he had long delayed his march from the Isthmus, and now +wasted more time in fruitless operations at Oenoe, until the allies +began to murmur against him, and suspected him of receiving bribes +from the Athenians to spare their lands. At last, being unable to put +off the fatal moment any longer, he turned southwards, and after +ravaging the plain of Eleusis, advanced to Acharnae, one of the most +fertile and prosperous districts of Attica, about seven miles north of +Athens. Here the Peloponnesians encamped, and applied themselves +systematically to the work of pillage and havoc. + +Great was the rage of the Acharnians, a hardy race of farmers and +charcoal-burners, when they saw the smoke rising from their ruined +homesteads; and their feelings were shared by the general body of the +citizens, who had watched the advance of Archidamus from Eleusis, and +had now no hope of saving their estates. Little knots of angry +disputants were seen in the streets and public places, for the most +part clamouring against Pericles, and demanding to be led against the +invader, while some few argued for the more prudent course. But +Pericles, who knew the fickle temper of the multitude, turned a deaf +ear to all this uproar, and steadily refused to summon an assembly, +lest some hasty resolution should be passed, which would lead to +useless loss of life. In order, however, to relieve the public +excitement, he sent out a body of horsemen to skirmish with the enemy, +and despatched a fleet of a hundred triremes to ravage the coasts of +Peloponnesus. + +When the first invasion of Attica was over, two cities, which had been +foremost in stirring up war against Athens, were made to feel the full +weight of her resentment. The unhappy Aeginetans were expelled from +their island, and the land of Aegina was distributed among Athenian +citizens. And later in the same summer the Athenians marched in full +force into the territory of Megara, which was laid waste from end to +end. This proceeding, which afforded a pleasant summer excursion to +the Athenians, was repeated annually for the next seven years. The +banished Aeginetans found an asylum at Thyrea, a coast district of +eastern Peloponnesus, which was assigned to them by Sparta. And so the +first year of the war came to an end; for, except on extraordinary +occasions, no military operations were undertaken during the winter. + + + + +THE PLAGUE AT ATHENS + +I + + +At the beginning of the next summer the Peloponnesians again entered +Attica, and resumed their work of devastation, destroying the young +crops, and wrecking whatever had been spared in the previous year. +Before they had been many days in Attica, a new and far more terrible +visitation came upon the Athenians, threatening them with total +extinction as a people. We have seen how the whole upper city, with +the space between the Long Walls, and the harbour-town of Peiraeus, +was packed with a vast multitude of human beings, penned together, +like sheep in a fold. Into these huddled masses now crept a subtle and +unseen foe, striking down his victims by hundreds and by thousands. +That foe was the Plague, which beginning in Southern Africa, and +descending thence to Egypt, reached the southern shores of the +Mediterranean, and passed on to Peiraeus, having been carried thither +by seamen who trafficked between northern Africa and Greece. From +Peiraeus it spread upwards with rapid strides, and before long the +whole space within the walls presented the appearance of a vast lazar- +house. + +From the description of the symptoms we may conclude that this +epidemic was similar to that dreadful scourge of mankind which has +been almost conquered by modern science, the small-pox. The patient +who had taken the infection was first attacked in the head, with +inflammation of the eyes, and violent headache. By degrees the poison +worked its way into the whole system, affecting every organ in the +body, and appearing on the surface in the shape of small ulcers and +boils. One of the most distressing features of the disease was a +raging thirst, which could not be appeased by the most copious +draughts of water; and the internal heat, which produced this effect, +caused also a frightful irritability of the skin, so that the sufferer +could not bear the touch of the lightest and most airy fabrics, but +lay naked on his bed, in all the deformity of his dire affliction. Of +those who recovered, many bore the marks of the sickness to their +graves, by the loss of a hand, a foot, or an eye; while others were +affected in their minds, remaining in blank oblivion, without power to +recognise themselves or their friends. The healing art had made great +progress in Greece in the course of the last generation; and in this, +as in all else, the Greeks remained the sole teachers of Europe for +ages after. But against such a malady as this, the most skilful +physicians could do nothing, and those who attempted to exercise their +skill caught the plague themselves, and for the most part perished. +Still less, as we may well suppose, was the benefit derived from +amulets, incantations, inquiries of oracles, or supplications at +temples; and at last, finding no help in god or man, the Athenians +gave up the struggle, and resigned themselves to despair. + +It is recorded as a curious fact, showing the strange and outlandish +character of the pestilence, that the birds and animals which feed on +human flesh generally shunned the bodies of those who died of the +plague, though they might have eaten their fill, for hundreds were +left unburied. The very vultures fled from the infected city, and +hardly one was seen as long as the pestilence continued. + +The fearful rapidity with which the infection spread caused a panic +throughout the city, and even the boldest were not proof against the +general terror. If any man felt himself sickening of the plague, he at +once gave up all hope, and made no effort to fight against the +disease. Few were found brave enough to undertake the duty of nursing +the sick, and those who did generally paid for their devotion with +their lives. In most cases the patient was left to languish alone, and +perished by neglect, while his nearest and dearest avoided his +presence, and had grown so callous that they had not a sigh or a tear +left for the death of husband, or child, or friend. The few who +recovered, now free from risk of mortal infection, did what they could +to help their suffering fellow-citizens. + +The mischief was aggravated by the overcrowded state of the city, +especially among those who had come in from the country, and were +living in stifling huts through the intense heat of a southern summer. +Here the harvest of death fell thickest, and the corpses lay heaped +together, while dying wretches crawled about the public streets, and +encumbered the fountain-sides, to which they had dragged themselves in +their longing for drink. All sense of public decency, all regard for +laws, human or divine, was lost. The temples in which they had made +their dwellings were choked with dead, and the sacred duty of burial, +to which the conscience of antiquity attached so high an importance, +was performed in wild haste and disorder. Sometimes those who were +carrying out a corpse found a vacant pile prepared by the relatives of +another victim, flung their dead upon it, set fire to the pile, and +departed; and sometimes, when a body was already burning, others who +were seeking to dispose of a corpse forced their way to the fire, and +threw their burden upon it. + +In the general relaxation of public morality all the dark passions of +human nature, which at ordinary times lurk in secret places, came +forth to the light of day, and raged without restraint. Some, who had +grown rich in a day by the death of wealthy relatives, resolved to +enjoy their possessions, and indulge every appetite, before they were +overtaken by the same fate. Others, who had hitherto led good lives, +seeing the base and the noble swept away indifferently by the same +ruthless power, began to doubt the justice of heaven itself, and +rushed into debauch, convinced that conscience and honour were but +empty names. For human laws they cared still less, for in the +universal panic there was none to enforce them, and before the voice +of public authority could be heard again, both judge and transgressor, +as they believed, would be involved in a common doom. All shame and +fear were accordingly thrown aside, and those whom the plague had not +yet touched seemed possessed by one sole desire--to drown thought and +care in an orgy of fierce excess, and then to die. + + +II + +The second invasion of the Peloponnesians was prolonged for forty +days, and the whole Attic territory was laid waste. Pericles again +refused to venture a pitched battle against them, knowing well that +the Athenian army was no match for them in the open field. But a +powerful fleet was sent to cruise round Peloponnesus, which inflicted +much damage on the coast districts. It was a welcome relief to the +Athenians selected for this service to escape for a time from the +plague-stricken city; but unhappily they carried the infection with +them, and the crews were decimated by the same disease. Nor did the +evil stop here: for the same armament being afterwards despatched to +Potidaea, to reinforce the blockading army and fleet, caused a +virulent outbreak of the plague among the forces stationed there, +which up till then had been healthy. After some fruitless operations +against the town this second armament was withdrawn, and returned to +Athens with the loss of more than a thousand men. + +After all these disasters the reaction against Pericles, which had +begun with the first invasion of Attica, reached a climax, and on all +sides he was loudly decried by the Athenians, as the author of all +their miseries. Envoys were sent with overtures of peace to Sparta, +and when these returned with no favourable answer, the storm of +popular fury grew more violent than ever. Pericles, who knew the +temper of his people, and had foreseen that some such outbreak would +occur, remained calm and unmoved. But wishing to allay the general +excitement, and bring back the citizens to a more reasonable view of +their prospects, he summoned an assembly, and addressed the multitude +in terms of grave and dignified rebuke. He reminded them that they +themselves had voted for war, and remonstrated against the unfairness +of making him responsible for their own decision. If war could have +been avoided without imperilling the very existence of their city, +then that decision was wrong; but if, as was the fact, peace could +only have been preserved by ruinous concessions, then his advice had +been good, and they had been right in following it. The welfare of the +individual citizen depended on the welfare of the community to which +he belonged; as long as that was secured, private losses could always +be made good, but public disaster meant private ruin. On this +principle they had acted two years before, when they determined to +reject the demands of Sparta. Why, then, were they now indulging in +weak regrets, and turning against him whom they had appointed as their +chosen guide and adviser? Was there anything in his character, any +fact in his whole life, which justified them in suspecting him of +unworthy motives? Was he the man to lead them astray, in order to save +some selfish end--he, the great Pericles, whose loyalty, eloquence, +clear-sightedness, and incorruptibility, had been proved in a public +career of more than thirty years? If any other course had been open to +them, he would have been to blame in counselling war; but the +alternative was between that and degradation. The immediate pressure +of private calamity was blinding them to the magnitude of the +interests at stake--Athens, with all her fond traditions, and all the +lustre of her name. That they were sure of victory he had already +declared to them on many infallible grounds. But seeing them so sunk +in despair, he would speak in a tone of loud assurance, and boldly +assert a fact which they seemed to have overlooked. They were lords of +the sea, absolute masters, that was to say, of half the world! Let +them keep a firm grasp on this empire, and they would soon recover +those pretty ornaments of empire--their gardens and their vineyards-- +which they held so dear: but, that once relinquished, they would lose +all. Surely this knowledge should inspire them with a lofty contempt +of their foes, a contempt grounded, not on ignorance or shallow +enthusiasm, but on rational calculation. They could not now descend +from the eminence on which they stood. Athens, who had blazed so long +in unrivalled splendour before the eyes of the world, dared not suffer +her lustre to be abated: for her, obscurity meant extinction. Let them +keep this in mind, and not listen to counsels of seeming prudence and +moderation, which were suicidal in a ruling state. All their +calamities, except the plague, were the foreseen results of their own +decision. Now was the time to display their known courage and +patience. Let them think of the glory of Athens, and her imperial +fame. + +This memorable speech, the last recorded utterance of Pericles, had +the desired effect. It was resolved to continue the war, and no +further embassies were sent to Sparta. But resentment still smouldered +in the hearts of the Athenians against their great statesman. How +fearful was the contrast between the high hopes with which they had +embarked in this struggle, and the scenes of horror and desolation +which lay around them! From the walls they could see their trampled +fields, their ravaged plantations, and the blackened ruins of their +homes. Within, the pestilence still raged undiminished, and the city +was filled with sounds and sights of woe. Under the pressure of these +calamities the ascendency of Pericles went through a brief period of +eclipse, and he was condemned to pay a fine. Soon, however, he +recovered all his influence, and remained at the head of affairs until +his death, which occurred in the autumn of the following year. + +Pericles is the representative figure in the golden age of Athenian +greatness, the most perfect example of that equable and harmonious +development in every faculty of body and mind which was the aim of +Greek civic life at its best. As an orator, he was probably never +equalled, and the effect of his eloquence has found immortal +expression in the lines of his contemporary Eupolis. Persuasion, we +are told, sat enthroned on his lips; like a strong athlete, he +overtook and outran all other orators; his words struck home like the +lightning, while he held his audience enchained, as by a powerful +spell; and among all the masters of eloquence, he was the only one who +left his sting behind him. As a statesman, it was his object to admit +every freeborn Athenian to a share of public duties and privileges; +and for this purpose he introduced the system of payment, which +enabled the poorer citizens to perform their part in the service of +the state. His military talents, though never employed for conquest or +aggression, were of no mean order; and on two occasions of supreme +peril to Athens, the revolt of Euboea, and the revolt of Samos, it was +his energy and promptitude which saved his city from ruin. + +But it is as the head of the great intellectual movement which +culminated in this epoch, as the friend of poets, philosophers, and +artists, that Pericles has won his most enduring fame. By his liberal +and enlightened policy the surplus of the Athenian revenues was +devoted to the creation of those wonders of architecture and +sculpture, whose fragments still serve as unapproachable models to the +mind of modern Europe. And under his rule Athens became the school of +Greece, the great centre for every form of intellectual activity, a +position which she maintained until the later period of the Roman +Empire. + +If, however, we would understand the character of Pericles, and the +spirit of the age which he represents, we must never forget that this +aspect of Athenian greatness, to us by far the most important, was not +the aspect which awoke the highest enthusiasm in him and his +contemporaries. Those things which have made the name of Athens +immortal, her art and her literature, were matters of but secondary +importance to the Athenian of that age. He worshipped his city as a +beloved mistress, and, like a lover, he delighted to adorn her with +outward dignity and splendour. But to lavish all his thought and care +on these external embellishments would have been, in his estimation, a +senseless waste of his highest faculties, as if a lover should make +the robes and jewels of his mistress the objects of his highest +adoration. To make Athens the mightiest state in Greece, to build up +the fabric of her material greatness--these were the objects for which +he was ready to devote the best energies of heart and brain, and if +need were, to lay down his life. He might be skilled in every elegant +accomplishment, an acute reasoner, an orator, a musician, a poet; and +to some extent he was all of these. But before all else he was in the +highest sense a practical man, finding in strenuous action his chief +glory and pride. And such a man was the last to melt into ecstasies +over the high notes of a singer, or dream away his life in the +fairyland of poetry. + +We have dwelt at some length on the work and character of Pericles, as +his death marks a turning point in Athenian history. From that day +onward the policy of Athens takes a downward direction, denoting a +corresponding decline in Athenian character and aspiration. Pericles +had been able, by his commanding talents and proved integrity, to +exercise a salutary check on the restless energies and soaring +ambition of his countrymen. He had been a true father and ruler of his +people, in evil times and in good, curbing them in the insolence of +prosperity, comforting and exalting them in the dark hour of disaster. +But the government now passed into the hands of weaker men, who, since +they were incapable of leading the people, were compelled to follow +it, and to maintain their position by pandering to the worst vices of +the Athenian character. Rash where they should have been cautious, +yielding where they should have been resolute, they squandered the +immense resources of Athens, and led her on, step by step, to +humiliation and defeat. The course of our narrative will show how +easily the Athenians might have emerged triumphant from the struggle +with their enemies, if they had followed the line of conduct marked +out by Pericles. They might, indeed, have avoided the occasion of +offence which led immediately to the war, and thus have escaped the +necessity of fighting altogether; and this, as we have seen, was the +one fatal mistake made by Pericles. But, once launched in the +conflict, they were sure of an easy victory, if they had only shown a +very moderate degree of prudence and self-restraint. And we need not +blame the great statesmen too harshly for not foreseeing the wild +excesses of folly and extravagance which we shall have to record in +the following pages. + + + + +INVESTMENT OF PLATAEA + +In the third year of the war the usual invasion of Attica was omitted, +and the Peloponnesian army under Archidamus marched against Plataea. +Having pitched their camp before the walls they prepared to lay waste +the territory; but before the work of havoc began, the Plataeans sent +envoys to remonstrate. "Unrighteous are your deeds," said the +spokesman of the embassy, "ye men of Sparta, and unworthy of the men +whose sons ye are. After the victory of Plataea, which ended the +struggle against Persia, Pausanias, the chief captain of the +confederate Greeks, offered sacrifice and thanksgiving at Plataea to +Zeus the Liberator, and swore a solemn oath, both he, and all the +Greeks whom he led, to maintain the independence of our city against +all who should assail it. This they did as a recompense for our valour +and devotion in our country's service. But ye, in direct violation of +that oath, have made common cause with our worst enemies, the Thebans, +and have come hither to enslave us. In the name of the gods who +witnessed that covenant, in the name of every power worshipped alike +at Plataea and at Sparta, we adjure you not to commit this sacrilege, +but to leave us in peaceful possession of the privileges vouchsafed to +us on that memorable day." + +Such were the words of the Plataeans, to which Archidamus replied as +follows: "Ye say well, men of Plataea, if ye act in the spirit of the +compact to which ye have appealed. The oath which Pausanias swore was +taken in defence of the common liberties of Greece. Against those +liberties a new enemy has arisen, Athens, who holds half our nation in +bondage, and threatens to lay her yoke upon us all. To put down that +tyranny has this great coalition been called together, and if ye are +true men, ye will enlist in the same cause, and take up arms for the +relief of your distressed countrymen. Or at least, if ye cannot do +this, then stand apart from this conflict, helping neither one side +nor the other; and with this we shall be satisfied." + +Having heard the answer of Archidamus, the Plataean envoys went back, +and reported his words to their fellow-townsmen. But the Plataeans +replied that, without the consent of the Athenians, they dare not +accept his proposal, as their wives and children had been removed to +Athens. Moreover, they feared that if they remained neutral the +Thebans would seize the opportunity to make another attempt on their +town. "Well, then," answered Archidamus, "we make you this second +offer: Hand over your town and your dwellings to us, the Spartans; +keep a strict account of all your trees, [Footnote: Vines and olive- +trees] and of all else that can be numbered, and retire yourselves to +some safe retreat, as long as the war continues. When it is over, we +will restore all your property, and meanwhile keep the land in +cultivation, and pay you a fixed rent, such as may suffice you." + +The offer was fair, and even generous; but the Plataeans were +powerless to act, without the consent of the Athenians, who held their +families as hostages. Accordingly they asked for a truce, to enable +them to lay the proposal before the authorities at Athens, and this +being granted, they sent envoys to Athens, who speedily returned with +this answer: "We have never left you at the mercy of your enemies in +the past, since ye became our allies, nor will we do so now, but will +help you to the best of our power; and we charge you by the oath which +your fathers swore not to depart from your allegiance to Athens." + +It was a cruel alternative which was offered to the hapless Plataeans: +either they must leave their wives and children to the vengeance of +Athens, or face the whole power of the confederates, led by Sparta. +True to their character, they chose the nobler part, and determined to +stand by the Athenian alliance. Henceforth no one was allowed to leave +the town, and their final answer was delivered from the walls. They +were unable, they said, to accept the terms offered by Archidamus. + +On hearing their decision, the Spartan king made a last solemn appeal +to the powers who presided over the territory of Plataea, a hallowed +precinct, now about to be given up to plunder and ravage: "Ye gods and +heroes, who keep the land of Plataea, bear witness that we had just +cause from the first for marching hither, since the Plataeans had +forsaken the alliance, and that if we do aught against them, we shall +still be justified. For we have made them the fairest offers, but they +would not be persuaded. Therefore let those with whom the guilt lies +be punished, and prosper ye the cause of righteous vengeance." + +The siege of Plataea now began in earnest. First the town was +surrounded with a palisade, to prevent anyone from escaping, the +materials being taken from the plantations in the neighbourhood of the +town. Then they raised a mound against the wall, expecting that with +so large a force as theirs they would easily carry the place by storm. +Timber was brought from Cithaeron, and with this they set up two stout +buttresses of cross-beams, at right angles to the town-wall, to serve +as a support on either side of the mound. Within this framework they +piled up fascines, stones, earth, and whatever else was at hand. The +whole army was employed in this task, which was continued for seventy +days and nights without intermission, the men working in regular +spells. + +Meanwhile the Plataeans had not been idle. First they built a wall of +bricks and timber opposite to the point where the mound was rising, +and resting on the ramparts, in order to raise the height of their +defences. The new wall was covered with hides, raw and dressed, to +protect the timber and the workmen from being injured by burning +arrows. And while this structure was in progress, they made a breach +in the old wall, and carted away the earth from the bottom of the +mound. To prevent this, the Peloponnesians filled up the space thus +caused with heavy masses of clay, rammed tightly into baskets of +osier, which made a solid structure, much harder to remove than the +loose earth. Then the Plataeans had recourse to another device: +marking carefully the position of the mound, they ran a mine from the +city under it, and as fast as the earth fell in, they carried it away. +This continued for a long time, for the Peloponnesians, who saw their +mound rising no higher, for all their labour, but rather growing less, +did not guess the cause, but went on heaping up materials, which were +swallowed up as fast as they were brought. + +Still the Plataeans feared that in spite of these counterworks they +would at length be overpowered by numbers, unless they contrived some +better means of defence. So they left off building the wall of bricks +and timber, and beginning at either end of it, they built a crescent- +shaped wall, curving inwards towards the city. Thus the +Peloponnesians, if they succeeded in carrying the first wall, would +find themselves confronted by a second line of defence, and would have +all their work to do over again, besides being exposed to a cross- +fire. + +While the Plataeans were thus vigorously defending themselves, and +before the mound was completed, the Peloponnesians brought siege- +engines to bear on the wall, one of which greatly alarmed the besieged +garrison, by severely shaking their wall of timber and bricks. But +this new mode of attack was frustrated, like the rest, by the +ingenuity of the Plataeans, who dropped nooses over the ends of the +battering-rams, and drew them up just before the moment of impact. +Moreover they suspended heavy beams of wood at intervals along the +wall, each beam hanging by long chains from two cranes which rested on +the wall and projected outwards from it; and whenever a ram was being +brought up, they drew up the beam at right angles to it, and then, +letting go the chains, dropped the ponderous timber, which came +crashing down on the ram, and broke off its head. + +Thus baffled at every point, the Peloponnesians began to despair of +taking the town by assault, and thought that they would be compelled +to form a blockade. But before being driven to this costly and tedious +operation, they determined to try and set fire to the place, which +seemed possible, as it was but small in extent. So they waited till +the wind was in the right direction, and then brought vast quantities +of faggots, and threw them into the space between the mound and the +wall; and this being soon filled up, they piled up more faggots as far +as they could reach within the city itself, and then throwing in +lighted torches, with brimstone and pitch, they set fire to the whole +mass. Then arose a great sheet of flame, such as had never been raised +by human hands, though not, of course, to be compared to the vast +forest-fires, produced by natural means; yet it was sufficient to +cause a panic among the Plataeans, and bring their town to the verge +of destruction. The heat was so intense that a whole quarter of the +place was cleared of its defenders, and if a wind had arisen to drive +the flame inwards, nothing could have saved the whole town from +destruction. [Footnote: Thucydides seems to imply that there was a +wind, though a slight one.] But fortunately the breeze was but slight, +and it is said also that a heavy fall of rain came on, and quenched +the conflagration. + +Having failed in their last attempt, the Peloponnesians sent away part +of their army, and employed those who remained in building a +blockading wall round Plataea. The work was completed towards the end +of September, and they then disbanded their army, leaving a force +sufficient to guard half the wall; for the Thebans, relentless in +their zeal against Plataea, took charge of the other half. The number +of the besieged was four hundred and eighty, of whom eighty were +Athenians, and a hundred and ten women to make bread for the garrison. + + + + +NAVAL VICTORIES OF PHORMIO + +I + + +During the last half-century the art of naval warfare had made great +progress in Greece. The Greek war-galley, or trireme, a vessel +propelled by three banks of oars, had always been furnished with a +sharp-pointed prow, for the purpose of ramming an opponent's ship; but +many years elapsed before the Greeks attained genuine skill in the use +of this formidable weapon. According to the ordinary method of +fighting, after the first shock of collision the affair was decided by +the hoplites, or heavy-armed infantry, stationed on the decks of the +two contending ships; and in this manner was fought the engagement +between the Corcyraean and Corinthian. fleets which occurred in the +year before the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War. There the ship was +simply a vehicle, which served to bring the antagonists together, and +the rest was left to the prowess of the hoplites. + +The Athenians were the first to abandon this crude and clumsy style of +fighting, and in the course of two generations their seamen had become +renowned throughout Greece for the unrivalled skill which they showed +in working and manoeuvring the trireme. A few hoplites were still +carried, to serve in cases of emergency; but by far the most important +part in the encounter was played by the trireme itself, with its long, +tapering, sharp-pointed prow. To use this deadly but delicate +instrument with effect required great coolness, dexterity, and +judgment, on the part of the steersman, and a crew under perfect +command. The tactics usually employed were as follows: watching his +opportunity, the captain gave the order "full speed ahead!" and +darting rapidly through the enemy's line, wheeled suddenly round, and +drove the beak of his galley with terrible force against the stern or +side of the vessel selected for attack. One blow from the long lance- +like point, propelled by the whole weight and impetus of the trireme, +was sufficient to sink or disable an enemy's ship, and the attacking +galley was then backed away from the wreck, and directed against +another victim. + +The incessant practice of nearly half a century had enabled the +Athenians to attain consummate mastery in this new method of naval +warfare; and they were now to give signal proof of their immense +superiority over the other maritime powers of Greece. + +In the same summer which witnessed the investment of Plataea, the +Spartans planned an expedition against Acarnania, the westernmost +province of Greece, which they wished to detach from the Athenian +alliance. A Spartan officer, named Cnemus, was sent off in advance, +with a thousand hoplites, to raise the wild mountain tribes, and led +an attack against Stratus, the capital of Acarnania; and in the +meantime orders were sent round to equip a numerous fleet, which was +to support the operations of Stratus by harassing the coast districts. + +The attack on Stratus failed altogether, chiefly in consequence of the +impetuosity of the rude mountaineers serving under Cnemus, who +advanced unsupported against the town, and meeting with a severe +repulse embarrassed the movements of their Greek allies. About the +same time the Peloponnesian fleet, consisting of forty-seven ships, +was sailing down the Corinthian Gulf to co-operate with Cnemus. It was +known that Phormio, the Athenian admiral, was stationed at Naupactus +with a squadron of twenty vessels; but the Peloponnesian captains +never dreamed that he would venture to attack them with so small a +force, and they pursued their voyage along the southern shore of the +gulf, without making any preparations for a battle. Phormio, however, +had other intentions: keeping close to the opposite shore, he followed +their movements, and allowed them to pass through the narrow strait +which divides the inner from the outer gulf, wishing to avoid an +engagement until they reached the open water. The Peloponnesians +dropped anchor for the night at Patrae in Achaia, and Phormio took up +his station at Chalcis, a harbour-town of Aetolia, at the mouth of the +Evenus. Being now convinced that Phormio meditated an encounter, for +which they had little inclination, the Peloponnesian admirals made an +attempt [Footnote: I have adopted the reading of Bloomfield, approved +by Classen (4th Edition).] to steal across under cover of darkness. +But this manoeuvre was detected, and they found their way barred by +the Athenian squadron in the middle of the channel. Being thus driven +to bay the Peloponnesians drew up their ships in a circle, with their +prows turned outwards, like a flock of sheep assailed by a dog. Within +the circle were placed the smaller vessels accompanying the fleet, and +five of the swiftest galleys, which were intended to lend assistance +against any attack of the enemy. + +To keep a large flotilla in such a position, even in a calm sea, where +no hostile movement was made against them, would have been a task to +try the skill of the most accomplished mariners. But the Peloponnesian +crews were untrained, the decks of their ships were crowded with +soldiers, and they were hampered by the crowd of smaller craft. Worst +of all, they were threatened in every direction by the agile Athenian +galleys, which, moving in single file, swept round and round them, +approaching closer and closer at every circuit, so that they were +penned together in an ever-narrowing space, and in danger of fouling +one another. To complete their confusion, the morning breeze began to +blow from the gulf; and Phormio, who had been waiting for this, now +gave the signal for attack. The Peloponnesians hardly attempted any +defence; for the unskilful crews of the galleys could not manage their +oars in the rising sea, and the steersmen had consequently no control +of their vessels. All their efforts were employed in keeping clear of +one another, warding off a collision with long poles, amid a hubbub of +curses and abuse. Into this huddled, swaying mass of war-galleys and +merchant-craft mingled together now dashed the Athenian triremes, +wrecking every vessel which they met. A wild panic ensued among the +Peloponnesian crews, and as fast as they could extricate themselves +they rowed off and sought shelter in the harbour of Patrae. From here +they afterwards sailed to Cyllene, the dockyard of Elis, where they +were joined by Cnemus with the troops from Acarnania. Twelve ships +fell into the hands of the Athenians, and taking these with them they +sailed first to Rhium, a level headland on the Locrian Coast, on which +stood a temple of Poseidon. Having left one of the captured ships as a +thank-offering to the god of the sea, they made their way back to the +original station at Naupactus. + + +II + +The authorities at Sparta were highly indignant at the failure of +their expedition in Acarnania, and the defeat of the Peloponnesian +fleet by so inferior a force. For this was their first experience of a +sea-fight since the outbreak of the war, and they made no allowance +for the want of skill in their own crews, attributing the disaster to +mere cowardice. They did not reflect how vast was the difference +between raw sailors, lately transferred from the plough to the oar, +and the veteran seamen of Athens, trained under a system which had +been slowly perfected in the course of half a century. So they sent +three commissioners to Cnemus, with peremptory orders to prepare for +another sea-fight, and not allow himself to be shut up in harbour by +the feeble squadron of Phormio. One of these commissioners was +Brasidas, a brilliant young officer, who had gained distinction two +years before by saving the harbour-town of Methone, on the coast of +Messenia, from being captured by the Athenians. We shall hear much +more of him in the sequel. + +On the arrival of Brasidas and his colleagues, the ships lying at +Cyllene were made ready for immediate service, and orders were sent +round to the allied cities for other ships. Phormio also sent an +urgent despatch to Athens announcing his victory, and asking for +reinforcements; and the Athenians sent twenty triremes to his aid. +These vessels, however, arrived too late, for the admiral, acting on +instructions from Athens, sailed first to Crete, where he was delayed +a long time by contrary winds. Phormio, with his twenty triremes, was +therefore compelled to engage the whole Peloponnesian fleet, numbering +seventy-seven ships, which had now sailed round from Cyllene, and +taken up its station just within the strait, close to the Achaean town +of Panormus. A strong force of Peloponnesian soldiers was encamped on +the shore, to co-operate with the fleet. Phormio anchored his ships +just outside the strait, being resolved, if it were in any way +possible, not to fight the Peloponnesians in the narrow waters. As the +Peloponnesians, on their side, were equally determined not to be lured +out into the open sea, the two fleets remained confronting each other +for a whole week, without attempting any aggressive movement. At last +the Peloponnesian leaders decided to give battle with Phormio at once, +fearing that if they delayed any longer he would be reinforced from +Athens. + +It was the universal custom of Greek commanders to wind up the courage +of their men on the eve of a battle by a short and pithy address, +calculated to inspire them with confidence, by giving them a +reasonable hope of victory. Such a practice, strange as it may seem to +us, was natural among a people whose armies and fleets were recruited +from the general body of the citizens, accustomed to free speech in +their public assemblies. They were not men of war by profession, +trained in habits of blind obedience, but sensitive Greeks, who +carried into the camp the noble freedom of civic life, and were not +prepared to shed their blood without sufficient cause, and a fair +prospect of success. + +Seldom was there greater need of this sort of military eloquence than +on the present occasion. On both sides there was much discouragement, +and a general reluctance to begin the fight. The Peloponnesians were +cowed by their recent defeat, and dreaded the naval skill of the +Athenians, which seemed to them almost supernatural; and Phormio's men +shrank from an encounter with such enormous odds. Accordingly the +Peloponnesian captains on one side, and Phormio on the other, did what +they could to argue their crews into a more hopeful frame of mind. The +Peloponnesian seamen who had taken part in the first battle were +reminded that they had been caught unprepared, and assured that this +time every precaution would be taken to prevent a second reverse. They +were flattered by the confident assertion that the superior skill of +the Athenians was far outweighed by their own superior courage. +"Look," said one of the admirals, speaking to his own division, "at +this powerful armament, outnumbering the enemy by four to one--look at +the army drawn up on the shore, ready to lend aid to any who are hard +pressed--and you will see that with such advantages defeat is +impossible. Do your duty like men, and expect to be rewarded or +punished according to your deserts." Similar addresses, combining +encouragement with threats, were heard in the other parts of the +fleet. + +Among the Athenian sailors there had been much jesting about the land- +lubbers of Peloponnesus, and in the first flush of their victory they +had been ready to face any odds on the sea. But now, seeing themselves +confronted by such overwhelming numbers, they had lost heart for the +moment, and were seen standing about in little groups, shaking their +heads and whispering fearfully together. It was an anxious moment for +Phormio; he knew the immense importance of maintaining, at any cost, +the naval reputation of Athens, and if his men went into battle in +their present temper, they were certain to suffer a crushing defeat. +Determining, therefore, if possible, to allay the panic which was fast +spreading throughout the fleet, he summoned the crews into his +presence, and harangued them as follows:-- + +"Comrades, I have called you hither to assure you that you have no +cause for alarm. The numbers of the enemy, which seem to you so +formidable, should, if properly considered, be a ground of confidence; +for this unwieldy armament is a sign that they are thoroughly +terrified, and seek safety in a huge crowd of ships. The firmness and +discipline which they have acquired by long experience of land warfare +will avail them little on the sea For courage is largely a matter of +habit, and the bravest landsman is a mere coward when he is taken away +from his own element, and set down on the heaving deck of a war-galley +where he can hardly keep his feet. The disorganized multitude with +which we shall have to deal is a mere mob, held together by the +authority of Sparta, demoralized by their late defeat, and forced to +fight against their will. Face them boldly, and our very audacity in +assailing such numbers will sink them still deeper into helpless +terror, for they will think that we must be invincible, or we should +never run such risks. It shall be my business to bring on the +engagement in blue water, where we shall have them at our mercy. Now +every man to his station; be prompt, and be silent, and attend to the +word of command. Remember your old spirit, and reflect that the honour +of Athens is in your hands to-day." + +The great object of the Peloponnesian leaders was to compel Phormio to +give battle in the confined space of the strait. With this intention +they determined to make a sudden movement towards the northern coast +of the gulf, threatening an attack on Naupactus. At daybreak they drew +up their ships in four lines, with the coast of Peloponnesus behind +them, and with twenty fast-sailing triremes stationed on the right +wing, to cut off Phormio's fleet, if, as they anticipated, he advanced +to the defence of Naupactus. Wheeling then to the right, the ships +sailed some distance, four abreast, towards the inner gulf; and when +they came opposite to Naupactus, they changed their course, and moved +in column, with the right wing leading towards the northern shore. + +The manoeuvre, so far as concerned its immediate purpose, was +completely successful. Phormio, much against his will, was obliged to +leave his station outside the strait, and go to the aid of Naupactus, +which had been left undefended. Great was the delight of the +Peloponnesian captains when they saw the little Athenian squadron +creeping close, in single file, along the northern side of the gulf, +for they thought that not one of the twenty would escape them. At a +given signal, the whole fleet formed into line, resuming its original +order, four deep, and bore down upon the Athenians. Eleven of +Phormio's triremes succeeded in clearing the strait, and getting into +the open waters in the direction of Naupactus; but the remaining nine +were overtaken and driven aground, and their crews, except those who +escaped by swimming, were put to the sword. Some of these vessels were +towed off as prizes by the Peloponnesians, and one they captured with +all her crew. The rest were saved by the valour of the Messenian +soldiers, who had followed the movements of Phormio's vessels along +the shore, and now did good service by boarding the stranded triremes, +and hauling them to land, after a sharp tussle with the enemy. + +Meanwhile the eleven ships which had eluded the attack were hotly +pursued by the twenty fast-sailing vessels on the Peloponnesian right +wing. All but one got through in safety, and took refuge in the +harbour of Naupactus, and drawing up in line, with their prows +outwards, prepared to defend themselves if the enemy advanced further +against them. But the rearmost vessel was hard pressed by a Leucadian +ship, and the rest of the pursuers followed at a considerable +distance, singing the paean [Footnote: A song of victory.] as they +rowed, and expecting an easy victory. Now, however, occurred one of +those sudden turns of fortune so frequent in the course of a sea- +fight. The Athenian trireme which had been left far behind in the +chase, made a sudden sweep round a merchant-vessel anchored at the +mouth of the harbour, struck her pursuer amidships, and sank her. + +This splendid feat of seamanship filled the Peloponnesians, who were +advancing in disorder, with amazement and terror. On every trireme the +cry of "Hold her!" [Footnote: This was done by thrusting the oars, with +the blades held flat, deep into the water] was heard, and some of the +vessels, losing way suddenly, ran aground on the shallows. The others +hung back, waiting until the main body of the fleet should come to +their support. Seeing them drifting thus, stupefied and helpless, the +Athenians took heart again, and raising a shout rowed swiftly from +their station within the harbour, and charged down upon them. The +Peloponnesians, after a feeble attempt at resistance, took to flight, +heading for their original station on the opposite coast. Six of their +vessels were captured, and the Athenians, not content with this, fell +upon the main body of the fleet, and recovered their own ships which +had been taken in the strait. The victorious crews of Phormio then +returned to Naupactus, and set up a trophy at the place where they had +been moored when this splendid rally was made, opposite to the temple +of Apollo. The Peloponnesians also raised a trophy, to commemorate +their first success, and then, fearing the arrival of the fresh ships +from Athens, they sailed off to Lechaeum, the northern harbour of +Corinth. + + +III + +In strange contrast with the disgraceful exhibition of cowardice and +incompetence which we have just witnessed, we have now to record a +daring attempt, undertaken shortly afterwards, to strike at the very +heart of the Athenian power. While the beaten crews of the +Peloponnesian fleet were waiting to be paid off at Lechaeum, they +suddenly received orders to take their oars and rowing-cushions, and +proceed to Nisaea, the port of Megara. The plan was to embark them on +forty vessels, which were lying in the dockyards, and make a night- +attack on Peiraeus. The suggestion came from the Megarians, but in +carrying it out the Peloponnesians were probably influenced by the +bold and enterprising spirit of Brasidas. And in fact, the meditated +descent on Peiraeus was neither so wild nor so rash as it may at first +sight appear. For the Athenians, never dreaming that they might be +taken by surprise, had not taken the precaution to close the entrance +of their harbour, or to station guard-ships for its defence. + +Without delay, the officers in charge of the expedition mustered their +crews at Nisaea, and embarking by night, got their ships under way. +But at the last moment their hearts failed them, and instead of +sailing to Peiraeus, they landed on the island of Salamis, and after +attacking a sea-side fort, and capturing three triremes which were +riding at anchor near it, they spread themselves out, and began +ravaging and plundering the country. + +Meanwhile fire-signals had been raised, conveying the alarm to +Peiraeus and Athens. A wild panic ensued, and a rumour ran through the +upper city that the enemy had sailed into Peiraeus, while in the +harbour-town it was generally supposed that Salamis was lost, and +Peiraeus on the point of being invaded. The Peloponnesians employed in +this adventure afterwards pretended that they had been hindered by +contrary winds from carrying out their original design. But this was a +mere excuse, and if they had chosen they might have sailed unopposed +to Peiraeus, and inflicted terrible injury on Athens. But it was now +too late, for the Athenians, as soon as the news was brought, had +marched down with their whole military force to Peiraeus, and occupied +every assailable point in the harbour, while at the same time every +ship in the docks was launched and manned, and sent off in headlong +haste to Salamis. + +By this time it was broad daylight, and the Peloponnesians, being +warned that a rescue was on the way from Peiraeus, made off with their +booty, and getting, on board their ships, sailed back to Nisaea. They +had the more reason for hastening their departure, as the Megarian +ships which had carried them to Salamis, having lain a long while in +dry-dock, were leaky and unseaworthy; for the harbour of Megara had +for some time past been kept in close blockade by the Athenians. + +This memorable incident, following close on the brilliant victories of +Phormio, taught the Athenians to take better precautions for the +future. Hitherto they would have scoffed at the suggestion that their +own arsenals and dockyards were exposed to attack. But now they +provided for the safety of Peiraeus by closing the harbours and +keeping a vigilant watch. And that terrible night left an impression +on their minds which was not soon forgotten. + + + + +THE REVOLT OF LESBOS + +I + + +We have already traced the steps by which the various cities +composing the Confederacy of Delos gradually became subjects and +tributaries of Athens. After this great change was effected, the only +members of the original league who retained their independence were +the wealthy and powerful communities of Chios and Lesbos. These two +islands were allowed to retain undisturbed control of their own +affairs, with the sole obligation of sending a fixed quota of ships to +serve in the Athenian Navy. It does not appear that the performance of +this duty was felt as a grievance, and no act of oppression had been +committed by Athens, such as might have provoked her allies in Lesbos +or Chios to turn against her. In both islands the general body of the +citizens were on the whole friendly to the Athenians, who afforded +them an effectual means of protection against the tyranny of the +nobles, by summoning high-born offenders to be tried before the +Athenian tribunals. [Footnote: The evidence for this statement will be +found in Thucydides, viii. 48.] It was therefore not among the people +at large, but among the privileged few, that any movement of revolt +against Athens was to be expected. + +Some years before the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War the Lesbian +malcontents had solicited the Spartans to help them in throwing off +the yoke of Athens. This application, which was probably made at the +time of the revolt of Samos, found no favour with Sparta, and nothing +further was attempted on that occasion. But in the fourth year of the +war alarming rumours were brought to Athens from Tenedos, a small +island included in the Athenian alliance, whose inhabitants were +jealous of the threatened ascendancy of Lesbos in the eastern +districts of the Aegaean. There was a design, it was said, among the +leading citizens of Mytilene, the principal city of Lesbos, to unite +the inhabitants of the island by force under their rule, and renounce +their allegiance to Athens. Help was expected from Sparta, and the +Boeotians, who were of the same race as the Lesbians, were also in the +plot. This statement was confirmed by envoys from Methymna, the second +city of Lesbos, which stood apart from the conspiracy, and by certain +citizens of Mytilene, who had turned informers from motives of private +revenge. + +Among the Athenians at this time there was a general feeling of +despondency and exhaustion. The full hardship of the war pressed +heavily upon them, and their population was thinned by the ravages of +the plague. In such a mood the thought of undertaking a campaign +against a great island like Lesbos, then at the height of her power, +filled them with dismay. Was it possible that a favoured and +privileged ally had taken up arms against them in the hour of their +distress? It was a slander, they could not, they would not believe it. +At any rate, before proceeding to extremities, they would try the +effect of a friendly remonstrance. So they sent envoys with a pacific +message to the Mytilenaeans, hoping by fair words to deter them from +their purpose. In this, however, they were disappointed, and being at +last convinced that the Lesbians were on the brink of revolt, they +sent off forty triremes without delay, in order, if possible, to catch +them unawares. For they had been informed that the Mytilenaeans were +about to celebrate the festival of Apollo, in which the whole +population took part, outside the city walls; and if the triremes +arrived in time, there would be a fine opportunity for a surprise. At +the same time they took possession of ten Mytilenaean triremes, which +had been sent to serve in the Athenian fleet, and imprisoned the +crews. + +But now was seen one of the weaknesses inherent in the nature of the +Athenian constitution. These measures could not be taken without +public debate in the popular assembly, and such a method of procedure +rendered secrecy impossible. The Mytilenaeans received timely warning +of their danger, and keeping close within their walls, repaired the +weak places in their defences, and set a careful watch. Shortly +afterwards the Athenian fleet hove in sight. As the Mytilenaeans +refused to obey the summons delivered to them in the name of the +imperial people,--that they should raze their walls, and surrender +their ships,--hostilities commenced. But on neither side was much +vigour displayed, for the Athenian officers thought themselves too +weak to undertake any decisive operations with their present force, +and the Mytilenaeans desired to obtain a respite, to enable them to +obtain aid from Sparta. Accordingly they asked for an armistice, +pretending that they wished to plead their cause by their own +representatives before the Athenian assembly; and their request being +granted, they sent envoys to Athens, who made a show of carrying on +negotiations. And in the meantime a trireme was despatched in all +haste to carry their petition to Sparta. + +On the return of the Mytilenaean envoys from Athens, where of course +they had accomplished nothing, the siege of Mytilene began in earnest. +The city was situated on a promontory facing the Asiatic coast on the +south-eastern side of the island, and had two harbours, on its +northern and southern side. Both of these harbours were now held in +close blockade by the Athenians, who established two camps, one on +either side of the town, and patrolled the harbour-mouths with their +ships. But on the land side the investment was not yet completed, so +that supplies could still be brought into the town from the island. +Reinforcements, however, came pouring into the Athenian quarters in +answer to a summons sent to the cities of the Athenian alliance, who +were the more willing to lend help, as the Lesbians made no vigorous +effort in their own defence. + +While the prospects of Athens were thus brightening, the Mytilenaean +envoys, after a stormy voyage, arrived at Sparta, and laid their +petition before the authorities. It happened that the Olympic festival +was close at hand, where representatives would be present from all the +cities of the Peloponnesian league; so the envoys received orders to +go to Olympia, and state their case in the presence of the Spartan +allies. They went, therefore, to Olympia, and when the festival was +over, the Mytilenaean orator addressed the confederates as follows:-- + +"Before we urge our claim for assistance we wish to combat a prejudice +which we know to be general in Greece against those who desert their +allies in time of war. For we wish not only to obtain your countenance +and support, but also to preserve your respect. To abandon an ally +without just cause in a time of peril is justly regarded as an act of +treason. But then the alliance must be a fair and equal relation +voluntarily assumed on both sides, based on mutual esteem and parity +of power. Can anyone assert that our connexion with Athens answers to +this description? Have we not seen how the confederacy of maritime +cities formed against Persia was gradually converted into an Athenian +empire? And though we and the Chians enjoyed nominal independence, we +had good reason to fear that this was only a temporary concession, +which would be withdrawn as soon as the Athenians felt themselves +strong enough to attack us. We were allowed to retain our liberty, +partly because they feared our navy, and partly because they wished to +make us accomplices in their own aggressions, and lend an appearance +of equity to the acts of violence in which we were compelled to take +part. Having swallowed up the smaller states, they were ready to +pounce upon us, and were only prevented by the outbreak of the present +war. Who, then, can blame us, if we seized the opportunity when they +were weakened to repudiate this false alliance, and anticipate the +blow which they were preparing for us? Athens, we repeat, has no just +title to our allegiance; the bond which held us together was fear on +our side and interest on theirs. We are natural enemies; and when your +foe is disabled, then is the time to strike. + +"Having thus cleared ourselves from the imputation of disloyalty, we +will now make plain to you the advantages which you will gain by +espousing our cause. If you wish to inflict irreparable injury on +Athens, you must promote every hostile movement against her in those +regions which contain the sources of her power, that is to say, the +islands and coast-lands of the Aegaean. For if our revolt is +successful, others will follow our example, and the Athenians will be +stripped of their revenues, the mainstay of their empire. You can lend +us aid most effectually by summoning your allies for a second +[Footnote: Attica had already been invaded earlier in the summer.] +invasion of Attica, and thus preventing the Athenians from sending +reinforcements to Lesbos. You have a rare opportunity, for their city +is wasted by the plague, and their navies are dispersed on foreign +service. Remember, then, your proud position as champions of Greek +liberty, and put away the reproach which you have sometimes incurred +by leaving the revolted subjects of Athens to fight their battles +alone. [Footnote: As in the case of Samos.] For the cause of Lesbos is +the cause of all Greece." + +It will be observed that the greater part of this remarkable speech +consists of an elaborate endeavour on the part of the Mytilenaeans to +justify themselves. The arguments employed were entirely sophistical, +for the Lesbians had no real grievance--and the statement that they +were in danger of losing their independence was a pure invention. But +they spoke to a partial audience, and the Spartans had already +prejudged the case in their favour. It was therefore decided to +receive them into the Peloponnesian alliance, and orders were issued +to the allies to assemble at the Isthmus with two-thirds of their +forces for an immediate invasion of Attica. The Spartans, acting with +unusual vigour, were the first to appear at the Isthmus, where they +made preparations for hauling ships overland from the northern harbour +of Corinth, intending to attack Athens by sea and land. But the rest +of the confederates came in but slowly, as they were engaged in +getting in their harvest, and had little inclination for a second +campaign. + +The Spartans soon found out that they were mistaken in supposing the +energies of Athens to be exhausted. Without moving their fleet from +Lesbos, the Athenians manned a hundred triremes, raising the crews +from the whole body of the citizens, with the exception of the knights +and the wealthiest class of the Solonian census, and pressing even +resident foreigners into the service; and with this imposing force +they made an armed demonstration before the eyes of their enemies at +the Isthmus, and then, coasting along Peloponnesus, made descents +wherever they pleased. This spirited conduct produced the desired +effect. For the Spartans, who were still waiting for their allies at +the Isthmus, saw themselves baffled in all their calculations, and +concluded that they had been misinformed by the Lesbians as to the +state of affairs at Athens; and hearing that their own coast-lands +were being ravaged by the Athenian fleet, they hastily decamped, and +the plan of a second invasion came to nothing. + +The summer was now drawing to a close, and as yet no progress had been +made with the siege of Mytilene. The town was still blockaded by sea, +but the Mytilenaeans had free egress on the land-side, and marched up +and down the island, confirming the other towns which had joined in +the revolt, and threatening Methymna, which still remained loyal to +the Athenian alliance. When the Athenians were informed of this state +of things, they sent a thousand hoplites under Paches to reinforce the +besieging army; and on their arrival the investment of Mytilene was +completed by a wall drawn from sea to sea, and cutting off the town +from the rest of the island. The Mytilenaeans now began to despair, +for their supplies were failing, and there seemed no hope of relief. +But during the winter a ray of hope reached them from outside, and +encouraged them to persevere in their resistance. There was a weak +point in the Athenian wall, where it closed a ravine; and through this +interval a Spartan named Salaethus, who had sailed to Lesbos in a +trireme, and crossed the island on foot, succeeded in making his way +into the town. Salaethus announced himself as an agent sent from +Sparta, to inform the distressed garrison that, as soon as the season +permitted, forty triremes would be sent to their assistance, and that +Attica would be invaded at the same time, to keep the enemy occupied +at home. At this welcome news the hopes of the Mytilenaeans revived, +and all thoughts of surrender were laid aside. + + +II + +As soon as spring arrived, the Spartans, true to their promise, sent +off forty triremes, commanded by Alcidas, to raise the siege of +Mytilene, and marched in full force into Attica, thinking thus to +divert the attention of the Athenians, and prevent them from +interfering with the voyage of Alcidas. They remained a long time in +Attica, waiting for news from their fleet, and employing the time in a +systematic ravage of the whole territory. But time passed, and no +message arrived from Alcidas, who seemed to have disappeared with all +his ships; so that at last, as their expectations were disappointed, +and their supplies exhausted, they broke up their army and returned +home. + +The position of Mytilene was now growing desperate. Nothing more was +heard of the relieving squadron, and the scanty store of provisions +was rapidly failing; for, owing to the betrayal of their design, the +Mytilenaeans had been hurried into revolt before their preparations +were completed, and had had no time to lay up a sufficient stock of +food. Salaethus, therefore, determined to make a sudden sally, and +break out of the town; and the better to effect this purpose, he +furnished the common people, who had hitherto served as light-armed +soldiers, with the full equipment of heavy infantry. But this +proceeding brought on a catastrophe, for the commons no sooner found +themselves in possession of better weapons than they turned upon their +masters, and accused them of secreting supplies of corn for their own +use. "Bring out your corn," they cried, "and divide it equally, or we +will go out and make terms with the Athenians for ourselves." Alarmed +at this threat, which if carried out would leave them exposed as the +sole objects of Athenian vengeance, the nobles sent a message to +Paches, on behalf of the whole city, offering to surrender, on +condition that their case should be tried by the tribunals at Athens, +and stipulating that, while the decision was pending, no violence +should be offered to any of the inhabitants. The proposal was +accepted, and Paches marched his forces into the town. In spite of the +convention, the leaders of the revolt took sanctuary in the temples, +being in dread of summary execution. Paches reassured them, and sent +them in safe custody to Tenedos. + +We must now turn back a little, and follow the movements of Alcidas. +The Spartan admiral, it would seem, had small stomach for the bold +adventure on which he was bound--no less than to rob the Athenians of +one of their most important possessions, and defy the redoubtable +captains of Athens on their own element. After loitering for some time +off the coast of Peloponnesus, he sailed on slowly as far as Delos, +and then, touching at Icarus, he heard that Mytilene was already +taken. Wishing, however, to inform himself with certainty, he pushed +on as far as Erythrae, on the mainland of Asia, which he reached seven +days after the fall of Mytilene. Being now assured that the report was +true, he called a council of war to decide what was to be done. Then a +certain Greek of Elis, named Teutiaplus, made a bold suggestion: "Let +us," he said, "sail straight to Mytilene, and make an attempt to +recapture the town by surprise. Most likely the Athenians, flushed +with success, will be taken unawares, and we shall find the harbour +open, and the land forces dispersed, and if we make a sudden onfall, +under cover of darkness, we shall probably succeed." + +The prudent Alcidas found this proposal little to his taste; nor was +he better pleased by another plan, put forward by the Lesbian envoys +who were returning on board the Peloponnesian fleet, and seconded by a +party of exiles from the cities of Ionia. These men tried to persuade +Alcidas to establish himself in some city of Asia Minor, and raise a +revolt among the allies of Athens in these parts. He had, they said, +every prospect of success, for his arrival was welcomed on all sides. +Let him seize the opportunity of attacking the Athenians in their most +mortal part, first by withdrawing the tribute of Ionia, and secondly +by putting them to the expense of a blockade. + +This daring scheme might have led to something important, if the fleet +had been commanded by Brasidas. But Alcidas was a man of very +different temper, and having arrived too late to save Mytilene, he had +now but one thought,--to return to Peloponnesus as fast as he could, +and get out of the reach of the terrible Athenian triremes. So he set +his fleet in motion, and sailing along the coast in a southerly +direction put in at Ephesus. On the voyage he showed himself to be as +cruel as he was cowardly, by capturing and putting to death the crews +of the vessels which came in his way. These were not a few, for the +ships which crossed his path approached fearlessly, under the +impression that his fleet was from Athens; for no one dreamed that a +Peloponnesian squadron would dare to enter these waters. For this +senseless barbarity he was severely rebuked by a deputation of Samian +exiles, now living on the mainland, who met him at Ephesus. His was a +strange method, they remarked with bitter irony, of helping the +Ionians to recover their liberty--to butcher defenceless men, who had +done him no harm, but looked to him for rescue from their bondage to +Athens! If he continued to behave thus, he would make the name of +Sparta detested throughout Ionia. Dull as he was, Alcidas could not +but feel the justice of this reprimand, and he let the rest of his +prisoners go. + +The presence of a Peloponnesian fleet had caused great alarm among +the inhabitants of Ionia, and urgent messages came in daily to Paches +at Mytilene, summoning him to their aid. For even though Alcidas +had declined to take up a permanent station on the coast, as the +exiles had suggested, it was apprehended that he would pillage the +sea-side towns, which were unfortified, on his homeward voyage. At +last two state triremes, the _Paralus_ and _Salaminia,_ which had +been sent on public business from Athens, came into Mytilene with the +news that they had sighted the fleet of Alcidas lying at anchor off +Clarus. [Footnote: A little town, north-west of Ephesus.] Thereupon +Paches put to sea at once, and gave chase. But Alcidas had got wind of +his danger, and was already on the high seas, making all speed for +Peloponnesus. Paches pursued him as far as Patmos, and then turned +back. He would gladly have caught the Peloponnesians in blue water, +where he could have sent all their ships to the bottom; but as it was +he thought himself fortunate to have escaped the necessity of forming +a blockade, as he must have done if he had come up with them near +land, and driven them ashore. As for Alcidas, he fled in wild haste, +keeping the open sea, being resolved not to touch land, if he could +help it, until he reached the shelter of a Peloponnesian harbour. + + +III + +On his return to Lesbos, Paches despatched to Athens the prisoners who +had been sent to Tenedos, among whom was the Spartan Salaethus. When +they arrived the Athenians immediately put Salaethus to death, and +then met in full assembly to decide on the fate of the rest. They had +just been delivered from a fearful danger, and in the natural reaction +of vindictive rage which had now set in they came to the horrible +resolution of putting all the adult male population of Mytilene to the +sword, and selling the women and children as slaves. The Mytilenaeans, +they argued, were without excuse: they were not subjects of Athens, +who might wish to escape from their burdens, but free and privileged +allies. They had treacherously plotted against Athens, when she was +sunk deep in calamity, and brought a Peloponnesian fleet within the +sacred circle of her empire. For a long time past they had evidently +been hatching a vile conspiracy against the very existence of Athens. +Having once come to this decision, the Athenians lost no time, but +sent off a trireme on the same day, with orders to Paches to carry the +decree into effect. + +But after a night of cool reflection they began to repent of their +haste. It was a cruel and monstrous thing, they now thought, to +butcher the population of a whole city, innocent and guilty alike. The +Mytilenaean envoys, who had been sent to Athens on the surrender of +the city, perceived that there was a change in the public temper, and +acting in concert with influential Athenians who were in their +interest, they induced the magistrates to summon a second assembly, +and re-open the debate. + +It is on this occasion that we first catch sight [Footnote: That is, +in the narrative of Thucydides.] of the notorious demagogue Cleon, who +for the next six years will be the most prominent figure in Athenian +public life. This man belongs to a class of politicians who had begun +to exercise great influence on the affairs of Athens after the death +of Pericles. That great statesman had really led the people, checking +their excesses, setting bounds to their ambition, and guiding all the +moods of the stormy democracy. But the demagogues were lowborn +upstarts, who, while seeming to lead the people, really followed it, +and kept their position by pandering to the worst passions of the +multitude. It must, however, be mentioned that the two contemporary +writers from whom we draw our materials for the portrait of Cleon, the +historian Thucydides and the comic poet Aristophanes, were both +violently prejudiced against him. Aristophanes hated him as the +representative of the new democracy, which was an object of abhorrence +to the great comic genius; and Thucydides, a born aristocrat, of +strong oligarchical sympathies, looked with cold scorn and aversion on +the coarse mechanic, [Footnote: Cleon was a tanner by trade.] who +presumed to usurp the place, and ape the style, of a true leader like +Pericles. + +In the previous debate Cleon had been the chief promoter of the +murderous sentence passed against Mytilene; and when the question was +brought forward again, he made a vehement harangue, the substance of +which has been preserved by Thucydides. In this speech he appears as a +practised rhetorical bravo, whose one object is to vilify his +opponents, and throw contempt on their arguments, by an unscrupulous +use of the weapons of ridicule, calumny, and invective. He reproaches +the magistrates for convening a second assembly, in a matter which had +already been decided; and this was, in fact, strictly speaking, a +breach of the constitution. He laughs at the Athenians as weak +sentimentalists, always inclined to mercy, even when mercy was +suicidal. Of the subject communities he speaks as if they were mere +slaves and chattels, outside the pale of humanity, to be kept down +with the scourge and the sword. "Let the law prevail," cries this +second Draco. "The law is sacred, and must not be moved. You are so +clever that you will not live, by fixed rule and order, and you deride +the approved principles of political wisdom. Every one of you wants to +be a lawgiver, a statesman, and a reformer, and to manage the public +affairs in his own way. We, who understand your true interests, are +bound to resist this mood of lawless extravagance, and keep you in the +right path, whether you will or no." + +Then preserving the same tone, as of one who is exposing an outrageous +paradox, Cleon proceeds to deal with the actual subject of debate. To +massacre a whole population, was, in his view, a commonplace and +ordinary proceeding; and, in the present instance, the only course +consistent with prudence and common sense. Those who maintained the +contrary were either flighty enthusiasts, whose opinion was not worth +considering, or venal orators, who had sold their country for a bribe. +"Will you suffer yourselves," asked the indignant moralist, "to be +blinded by these corrupt advocates, who amuse you with their +eloquence, and then pocket the price? But it is your own fault: you +have no sense of public responsibility--you are like clever children, +playing at a game of politics. While you sit here, listening to your +favourite speakers, and sharpening your wits against theirs, your +empire is going to ruin. Plain fact is too simple a diet for your +pampered appetites; you must have it hashed and served up with a fine +flavouring of fancy and wit. In short, you have lost all hold upon +reality, you live in an intellectual Utopia, and treat grave matters +of public interest as though they were mere themes in a school of +declamation." + +In drawing this remarkable picture of Athenian character, which, +though strangely out of place, really contained a large element of +truth, Cleon overreached himself, and was caught in his own snare. It +was he, and not his opponents, who was diverting attention from facts, +and involving a plain issue in a cloud of wordy rhetoric. He has no +arguments, worthy of the name, but tries to carry his case by playing +on the passions of the people, and blowing up the flames of their +anger, which was beginning to cool. But though the more discerning +among his audience must have seen through his sophistries, to a large +proportion of his hearers his speech no doubt seemed a masterpiece of +eloquence. The Athenians, who, like all people of lively talent, were +fond of laughing at themselves, would be especially amused by his +humorous description of their own besetting weakness, their restless +vanity, and inordinate love of change. + +The chief advocate for mitigating the sentence against Mytilene was a +certain Diodotus, who had taken a leading part in the previous debate, +and now stood up again to oppose the blood-thirsty counsels of Cleon. +The speech of Diodotus is calm, sober, and business-like. After a +dignified remonstrance against the vile insinuations of Cleon, by whom +all who differed from him were decried as fools or knaves, Diodotus +proceeded to argue the question from the point of view of expediency. +He was not there, he said, to plead the cause of the Mytilenaeans, or +to discuss abstract questions of law and justice. What they had to +consider was what course would be most conducive to the interests of +Athens. According to Cleon, those interests would be best served by a +wholesale massacre of the inhabitants of Mytilene, which would strike +terror into the other subjects of Athens, and prevent them from +yielding to the same temptation. But, reasoned Diodotus, experience +had shown that intending criminals were not deterred from wrongdoing +by the increased severity of penal statutes. For a long time lawgivers +had framed their codes in this belief, thinking to drive mankind into +the path of rectitude by appealing to their terrors. Yet crime had not +diminished, but rather increased. And what was true of individuals, +was still more true of cities, where each man hoped to be concealed +among the crowd of transgressors. Criminals, whether they acted +singly, or in large numbers, were only rendered desperate, if all +degrees of crime were confounded in one common penalty of death. + +Such were the enlightened principles of jurisprudence set forth by an +Athenian of the fifth century before Christ--principles which were +first recognised in modern Europe within the memory of men still +living. Then, bringing his theories to a practical test, he pointed +out the gross impolicy of driving a revolted city to desperation, by +excluding all rebels from the hope of pardon. This, he said, would be +the effect on the subjects of Athens, if they passed the same sentence +on the Mytilenaeans, without distinction between the innocent and the +guilty. At present the commons in every city were loyal to Athens; and +though they might be beguiled or coerced into rebellion, they would, +if assured of fair treatment, take the first opportunity of returning +to their allegiance, as the commoners of Mytilene had done. "Do not, +therefore," concluded Diodotus, "destroy this, the strongest guarantee +of your security, but punish the ringleaders of the revolt, after due +deliberation, and leave the rest in peace." + +The arguments of Diodotus were unanswerable, and it might have been +supposed that the Athenians, in their relenting mood, would have +carried the amendment by a large majority. But this was not the case. +The debate was keenly contested, and when the president called for a +show of hands, the more merciful decree was only passed by a few +votes. There was no time to be lost, for the first trireme was already +a day and a night on her voyage, and the fate of Mytilene hung by a +hair. A second trireme was launched with all speed, and the +Mytilenaeans present in Athens promised large rewards to the crew if +they arrived in time. With such inducements the rowers toiled day and +night, taking their meals, which consisted of barley-meal kneaded with +wine and oil, at the oar, and sleeping and rowing by turns. Happily +there was no contrary wind to retard their progress, and the crew of +the first vessel, bearing that savage mandate, made no efforts to +shorten their passage. As it was, they were not an hour too soon: for +when they arrived, Paches had already received the decree, and was +preparing to carry it out. Thus Mytilene escaped destruction by a +hair's-breadth, and Athens was saved from committing a great crime. +But even the modified sentence, which was passed directly afterwards +on the motion of Cleon, condemning more than a thousand Mytilenaean +citizens to death, was sufficiently ferocious, and was remembered +against the tyrant city in the days of her humiliation. + + + + +ESCAPE OF TWO HUNDRED PLATAEANS FALL OF PLATAEA + +I + + +The siege of Plataea had now lasted for more than a year, and the +brave garrison began to be in sore straits, for their supplies were +giving out, and they had no hope of rescue from outside. In this +desperate situation they resolved to make an attempt to break through +the besieging lines, and make their escape to Athens. All were to take +part in the adventure, leaving the Peloponnesians in possession of an +empty town. But when the time came for carrying out this bold design, +half of the garrison drew back, thinking the risk too great. The other +half, numbering about two hundred and twenty, persisted in their +purpose, and forthwith fell to work on their preparations. They began +by making ladders for scaling the enemy's wall; and in order to +ascertain the proper length of the ladders, they counted the courses +of bricks in a part of the wall facing the town, which happened to +have been left unplastered. Many counted the courses together, and by +repeating the process over and over again, and comparing the result, +they at last hit upon the right number. When once this was known, they +could easily calculate the length of their ladders, for the bricks +were all of the same dimensions, and they knew the thickness of a +single brick. + +The Peloponnesians had built a double line of wall round Plataea, the +two lines being separated by a distance of sixteen feet. The whole of +the space within this double wall was covered by a flat roof, so as to +present the appearance of a single thick wall, with battlements on +either side; and this covered space, which was divided into rooms by +partition-walls, served as barracks for the besiegers. Along the top +were high towers, with intervals of ten battlements between them, and +built flush with the wall on both sides, so as to leave no passage, +except through the middle of the tower. These served as guard-rooms, +where the soldiers on duty took shelter on wet and stormy nights. For +the distance between the towers was very small, and they could rush +out and man the walls at a moment's notice. + +The Plataeans omitted no precaution which might secure success for +their hazardous enterprise. Every man understood exactly the part +which he had to play, and knew that his own life, and the lives of his +comrades, depended on his courage and coolness. They had chosen their +time well, for it was now mid-winter. So they waited for a night of +storm and rain, when there was no moon, and sallying forth from the +town crossed the inner ditch, and came up to the inner wall, +unperceived by the enemy; for the noise of their footsteps was drowned +by the roaring of the wind, and they were careful to advance in open +order, so as not to be discovered by the clashing of their arms. The +whole troop was lightly equipped, and they walked with their right +foot unsandalled, to give them a firmer hold on the muddy ground. +Choosing one of the spaces between two towers, they adjusted their +ladders, and began to ascend the wall. The first to mount were twelve +picked men, armed with breastplates and daggers, who as soon as they +reached the top, rushed to the towers, six men to each, and having +overpowered the guard, stood ready to defend the passage. These were +followed by others, armed with javelins, whose shields were handed up +to them from below as they ascended, to enable them to climb the more +easily. Several of this party had got up in safety, when one of those +who were following dislodged a tile as he grasped the battlements. The +sound of the falling tile alarmed the guards in the towers, and soon +the whole besieging force was in a commotion. But being bewildered by +the darkness, and deafened by the tempest which was blowing, they knew +not which way to turn, and remained at their quarters, waiting for +orders. And at the same time the Plataeans left in the town made a +feigned attack on the Peloponnesian wall at the opposite side to +divert the attention of the enemy. In the general confusion thus +created the besiegers were at a loss what to do, and three hundred of +their men, who were kept together for prompt service on any pressing +occasion, took up their station before the outer wall, thinking that +the Athenians had come to relieve the town. Fire-signals were now +kindled by the Peloponnesians, to summon help from Thebes; but the +Plataeans were prepared for this also, and they kindled other beacons +which had been raised for the purpose on their wall, so as to obscure +the meaning of the enemy's signals, and delay the march of the +Thebans, until their own comrades had had time to escape. + +The way was thus left clear for the gallant two hundred. Those who led +the party had secured possession of the passages through the towers, +and stood ready to bar the way against all assailants. Others who +followed brought ladders, and planting them at the foot of the towers, +mounted to the top, and kept off the Peloponnesians, when they +attempted to force an entrance, with a shower of javelins. Over the +intervening space now swarmed the main body of the Plataeans; and each +man, as he got over, halted at the edge of the outer ditch, and kept +up a hot fire of javelins and arrows, to cover the retreat of his +comrades, and repel any attack from below. When all the rest had +crossed the wall, those who held the towers began to descend; and this +was the most perilous part of the adventure, especially for those who +came last. All, however, succeeded in joining their comrades by the +ditch, and just at this moment the picked troop of three hundred, who +carried torches, came upon them. But fortune still favoured the +Plataeans; crouching in the deep shadow thrown by the high banks of +the ditch, they plied the enemy, who with their blazing torches +afforded an easy mark, with darts and arrows. And thus, fighting and +retreating at the same time, they made their way gradually across the +ditch, but not without a severe struggle, for the water was swollen by +the snow which had fallen in the night, and covered with rotten ice. +Their best friend was the tempest, which raged with extraordinary +violence throughout the night. + +When their last man had crossed, the Plataeans went off at a run in +the direction of Thebes, being assured that no one would expect them +to take the road which led to their worst enemy. And the prudence of +this course soon appeared, for looking back they saw the +Peloponnesians hurrying with lighted torches along the road to Athens. +Then after marching towards Thebes for about a mile, they doubled +back, and taking to the mountains soon reached the friendly territory +of Attica. They received a kind welcome at Athens, where it was found +that out of the original two hundred and twenty, only eight were +missing. Seven of these had lost heart at the last moment, and +returned to Plataea, where they announced that all the rest of the +party had been slain. One only, an archer, was taken prisoner at the +outer ditch. + +On hearing the report of those who had turned back, the Plataeans +applied for a truce to bury their dead; and when their herald came +back from his useless errand, they learned to their delight that this +gallant enterprise, so ably planned, and so boldly executed, had been +crowned with complete success. + + +II + +Well would it have been for the Plataeans who remained in the town if +they had stood by their first purpose, and shared the fortunes of +their brave comrades. Better far to have died, sword in hand, than to +meet the ignoble fate which was now reserved for them. It was in the +following summer, two years after the beginning of the siege, that the +crisis arrived. The Plataeans had come to the end of their provisions, +and were suffering severely from want of food. In this state of +weakness they were suddenly attacked by the besiegers, who might +easily have carried the town by storm. But the Spartan general wished, +if possible, to avoid this, as all places taken by assault would have +to be given back to their original owners on the conclusion of peace, +whereas those which had voluntarily surrendered might be retained. +Accordingly he sent a herald, and summoned the Plataeans to surrender, +promising that they should have a fair trial by Spartan judges; and +they, being actually on the point of starvation, accepted the terms +offered, and laid down their arms. They were kept in custody and +supplied with food until the judges, five in number, arrived from +Sparta. On the arrival of the judges no express charge was made +against them, but they were called up one by one, and asked this +simple question: "Have you done any service to the Spartans or their +allies in the course of the present war?" + +The Plataeans saw the snare which was set for them, and seeking to +evade it they asked permission to plead their cause at length. Leave +being given, the Plataean advocate rose to address the court, and made +a most moving and eloquent appeal, which well deserves to be +reproduced in its main outlines. + +"Men of Sparta," began the orator, "we surrendered our city on the +faith of your promise that the innocent should be spared, and only the +guilty condemned. But we fear that our confidence has been misplaced. +That our doom is already pronounced we have but too plain evidence, in +your sinister question, in your cold, condemning looks, in the gloomy +faces of our enemies, who have poisoned your ears against us. We have +but little hope of turning you from your purpose by anything that we +can say. Nevertheless we have resolved to speak, lest in the hour of +death we should be tormented by the thought that a word might have +saved us, and that word remained unspoken. + +"In the history of the last fifty years no city in Greece has a fairer +record than ours. Though not trained to the sea, we served in the +fleet at Artemisium; we fought under Pausanias in the great battle +which decided the fate of Greece, and took part beyond our strength in +all the trials and perils of our common country. On the gratitude of +Sparta we have a special claim, for in the day of her direst +extremity, after the earthquake, when the Helots were in arms against +her, we sent a third part of our citizens to her aid. Since then we +have been found in the ranks of your enemies; but this was your fault, +not ours. Who drove us into the arms of Athens, when we were hard +pressed by the tyranny of Thebes? We joined the Athenian alliance at +your bidding; they defended us against our enemies, and admitted us to +the rights of Athenian citizenship. We were bound, therefore, by every +tie of honour and duty to stand by them, whether their cause was just +or unjust. + +"What, then, is the meaning of your question, whether we have done you +or your allies any service during this war? If you ask as foes, how +can you claim any service? And if you ask as friends, you have done us +bitter wrong, by attacking us unprovoked. + +"The Thebans seized our city in time of peace, and at a holy season, +and we were justified by the laws of nature and of nations in wreaking +vengeance upon them. It may seem to your interest to pay court to them +now; but think how different was our conduct from theirs when the +Persian was at our doors, threatening slavery to us all. We were among +the few who obeyed the call of honour, while Thebes and all the other +towns of Boeotia took sides with the Barbarian. + +"Hitherto Sparta has been called the glass of honour in Greece. What, +then, will men say, if Spartan judges are guilty of blotting Plataea +out of the map of Greece, and of the judicial murder of her citizens? +Strange, indeed, and terrible has been the fate of our city, both now +and in the past. Our fathers were brought to the brink of ruin by +their valour and devotion; we, their sons, have just passed through +all the horrors of a siege, and now we are forced to plead for our +lives. Outcasts from our fatherland, spurned and rejected of all, we +are thrown upon your mercy; and much we fear that your hearts are +hardened against us. + +"We adjure you, then, by the memory of those times, and of the part +which we took in the salvation of Greece, not to betray us to our +worst enemies, the Thebans. Do not win their gratitude by murder, but +ours by mercy. Forget the cold calculations of policy; think of the +everlasting infamy of such a deed. Your fathers are buried in our +land, and we have been constant in paying all honour and service to +their tombs. Will ye give up the land in which they rest to the men +[Footnote: The Thebans, who fought on the side of the Persians at +Plataea.] who are guilty of their blood? Will ye enslave those fields +which saw the triumph of Greek liberty, and dishonour the gods by +whose favour the victory was won? By your own renown, by the +conscience of Greece, by the memory of your sires, we adjure you, men +of Lacedaemon, not to do this deed. + +"But it is time to make an end. If we have spoken in vain, and you are +resolved on our death, we have still one request. Send us back into +our city, and keep us there immured until we have perished of hunger. +Any fate is better than falling into the hands of the Thebans, the +enemies of Plataea, and of all Greece." + +The orator had indeed spoken in vain, or if his words had made any +impression on the minds of the judges, it was speedily obliterated by +a fierce and bitter tirade which was delivered by a Theban speaker in +reply. As soon as he had finished his harangue, the prisoners were +called up again in turn, and questioned as before. When each of them +had answered, in the only manner possible, he was led away and put to +death; and not one of them was spared. The number of those slain was +two hundred and twenty-five, and of these twenty-five were Athenians. +The city was then levelled to the ground, and the territory left at +the disposal of the Thebans. Thus was this brave little community +sacrificed to the rancour of Thebes, and the selfish policy of Sparta. + + + + +CAPTURE OF A HUNDRED AND TWENTY SPARTANS AT SPHACTERIA + +I + + +The result of six years of desultory fighting had fully justified the +forebodings of Archidamus, and the sanguine anticipations of Pericles. +In spite of the terrible ravages of the plague, Athens had easily held +her own against the whole power of the Peloponnesian league. As yet, +however, no decisive advantage had been gained on either side. But in +the seventh year of the war an event occurred which would have enabled +the Athenians, but for their own folly, to conclude an honourable +peace. + +The ablest of the Athenian generals at this time was Demosthenes, +[Footnote: To be carefully distinguished from the great orator, born +about forty years after the date reached in this chapter (425 B.C.).] +who in the previous year had greatly distinguished himself by a +brilliant campaign in Aetolia. In the following summer he obtained +permission to take passage on board a fleet which was bound on a +voyage to Corcyra and Sicily. He sailed in a private capacity, but he +was authorized to use the ships against the coasts of Peloponnesus, if +he saw any opening which might be utilized in the interests of Athens. + +On a rocky promontory, at the northern end of the spacious bay of +Navarino, lies the little town of Pylos, generally believed to have +been the home of the Homeric Nestor. Since the conquest of Messenia by +the Spartans, the town had remained in ruins, and the country for some +distance round was a desert. The natural advantages of the adjacent +coast had already caught the keen eye of Demosthenes, and he had +formed the plan of raising a fortified outpost on the spot, to be held +by a picked troop of the banished Messenians, and thus planting a +thorn in the side of Sparta. + +Fortune favoured his design. For on rounding the western headland of +Peloponnesus, the fleet encountered a storm, and was compelled to seek +shelter at Pylos. Demosthenes now urged the admirals to employ their +enforced leisure in fortifying the place. But they repulsed him +rudely, and treated his suggestion with contempt. He next tried to +interest the inferior officers in his project, but meeting with no +better success, he began to fear that this grand opportunity would be +thrown away. The discussion, however, had reached the ears of the +soldiers, and having nothing else to do, they agreed among themselves +to pass the time by building a fort. Choosing a place of great natural +strength, where the rocky coast descends abruptly to the open sea, +they went to work with a will. As they had no tools for stone-cutting, +they picked out the stones, and fitted them together according to +their shape; and for want of hods they carried the mortar, wherever it +was required, on their backs, stooping forward and clasping their +hands together behind them, to prevent it from slipping off. They +carried out their self-imposed task with great energy, and after six +days of vigorous labour the fort was completed, for the natural +defences of the site were so strong that in most places there was no +need of a wall. As the weather was now favourable, the fleet proceeded +on its voyage, leaving Demosthenes with five ships to garrison the +fort. + +The news of the occupation of Pylos soon reached the Spartans, but at +first they paid little heed, thinking that they could expel the +audacious intruders whenever they chose to exert themselves. Moreover, +they were just then engaged in keeping one of those religious +festivals of which the Spartan calendar was so full, and a good part +of their army was absent in Attica. Agis, however, the Spartan king, +and those under him who were commanding in Attica, took a wiser view +of the situation, and cutting short their operations they led their +forces with all speed back to Sparta. They were the more inclined to +do this as the season was yet early, the weather inclement, and, the +corn being still green, they wanted means to nourish their troops. +Thus the inventive genius of Demosthenes had already proved of signal +service to his country; for this was the shortest of all the +Peloponnesian invasions, lasting only fifteen days. + +On the return of their troops from Attica the Spartans sent a small +force to commence the attack on Pylos, and ordered the main body of +their army to follow. There was some discontent among those who had +already been serving abroad at this second levy, and the full muster +of the troops was consequently delayed. In the meantime a message was +despatched to a Peloponnesian fleet then sailing to Corcyra, which at +this time was in a state of revolution, with orders to return at once, +and assist in the campaign against Pylos. Demosthenes was now in +imminent danger, being threatened with an immediate assault by sea and +land, which he had no adequate means of repelling. Having sent off two +of his ships to recall the Athenian squadron from its voyage to +Corcyra, he prepared to defend himself, until the arrival of succour, +as best he could. + +The Peloponnesian fleet was the first to arrive, and the Spartans, who +were now present in full force with their allies, determined to make +the most of their time. They hoped, by a simultaneous onslaught of +their army and fleet, to carry the fort before the Athenian ships had +time to return. But in case they should fail in this, they intended to +cripple the movements of the relieving squadron, by blocking the +entrances to the bay. For the long, narrow island of Sphacteria forms +a natural break water, converting the harbour of Navarino into a land- +locked basin, with two narrow passages at the northern and southern +end. [Footnote: The description of Thucydides does not correspond to +the picture of the harbour given in our modern maps. But in the course +of twenty centuries great changes may well have occurred.] These +inlets the Spartans proposed to close, by anchoring triremes close +together, with their prows turned seawards, which they could easily +have done, for at the southern entrance there was only room for eight +or nine vessels to sail abreast, and at the northern entrance only +room for two. This precaution, however, was never carried out; and the +Spartans, as if blinded by fate, adopted another measure, which led to +fatal consequences for themselves. Wishing to keep command of every +spot of land in the neighbourhood of Pylos, they landed a body of +their own men, numbering four hundred and twenty, with the usual +proportion of Helots, on the island, and the same time posted troops +at every assailable point on the opposite coast. + +Thinking now that the little garrison at Pylos, surrounded on all +sides by enemies, would fall an easy prey, they sent orders to the +fleet to get under way, and prepared to attack the fort on the land +side. Meanwhile Demosthenes had not been idle: having drawn his three +remaining ships under the shelter of the fort, and protected them in +front by a stockade, he armed the crews with such weapons as he had, +including a number of wicker-shields, taken from a thirty-oared +Messenian galley which had recently come to his assistance with a +force of forty hoplites. Then, having posted the greater part of his +troops for the defence of his position against the Peloponnesian army, +he himself descended with a picked body of sixty hoplites, and took up +his station on the rocky shore. For on this side the defences were +weakest, as the Athenians, in building the fort, had never anticipated +an attack from the sea. + +Demosthenes had just time to address a few words of caution and +encouragement to his men, assuring them of victory, if they would only +stand fast, when the Peloponnesian fleet was seen bearing down upon +them; and at the same moment a loud shout from the fort announced that +the garrison was already engaged behind them. The assault was fiercest +at the point where Demosthenes and his men were stationed, and the +Peloponnesians made desperate efforts to effect a landing. But they +were embarrassed by the difficult and rocky coast, which only allowed +a few ships to approach at a time. As fast as one division was beaten +back, another came on, with the white foam spouting round the prows, +and the waters roaring and eddying to the strokes of the gigantic +oars, while the cliffs resounded with the shouts of their comrades in +the ships behind, cheering them on to the attack. + +Conspicuous among those who fought on the ships was seen the gallant +figure of Brasidas, who exerted himself, by voice and by example, to +infuse his own heroic spirit into the rest of the crews and their +officers. His ringing tones were heard above the tumult, urging on the +captains and steersmen, when they hung back in fear lest their ships +should be shattered on the rocks. "Spare not these timbers," he cried, +"but let every hull among them go to wreck, rather than suffer the +enemy to violate the soil of Lacedaemon. Where is your loyalty to +Sparta? Have you forgotten the debt which you owe to her? Have at +them, I say, and hurl this fort with its defenders into the sea." +Saying this he ordered the master of his own trireme to beach the +vessel, and stood ready on the gangway, that he might be the first to +leap on shore. But as he attempted to land he was hurled back by the +Athenians, and fell fainting, covered with wounds, on the deck. His +shield slipped off his arm, and dropped into the sea, and having been +washed ashore, was picked up by the Athenians, who used it to adorn +the trophy which they afterwards erected. + +After the fall of Brasidas the Peloponnesians still continued their +efforts to effect a landing, but they were baffled by the obstinate +defence of the Athenians, and the rugged and inhospitable coast. It +was a strange reversal of affairs which had been brought about by the +fortune of war. On one side were the Spartans, trained to military +service on land, but now compelled to serve on board a fleet, in order +to obtain a footing on their own territory, and on the other side the +Athenians, whose natural element was the sea, drawn up on land to +repel a naval attack. + +Next day the assault was repeated, but again without success. The +Spartans sent for a supply of timber, to construct siege engines, +intending to try and batter down the Athenian wall where it overlooked +the harbour, as at this point there was a better landing-place for the +ships. In this task, however, they were interrupted by the sudden +appearance of the Athenian fleet, now numbering fifty vessels, having +been reinforced by four Chian ships, and six from Naupactus. Finding +the harbour occupied by the Peloponnesians, and the whole coast lined +with troops, they retired for the night to the little island of Prote. +Next day they weighed anchor early, and dividing their fleet, sailed +into the harbour of Navarino by both entrances at once. Though taken +by surprise, the Peloponnesians manned their ships, and as fast as +they were ready put out to meet them; but before their array was +complete they were attacked by the Athenians, who disabled many of +their vessels, captured five, and drove the rest ashore. So complete +was the rout that the Athenians pursued the flying ships into the very +interior of the harbour, and rammed some of them after they had been +brought to land. Others they charged while the crews were still +getting on board, and began to tow off the disabled hulls. But in the +heat of victory the Athenians had pushed their advantage somewhat too +far, and they paid for their audacity by the loss of a considerable +number of their men. For the Lacedaemonians, in wild dismay at the +defeat of their ships, by which their comrades on the island would be +cut off from all help, made desperate exertions to save their fleet, +wading into the water in their heavy armour, and hauling back the +vessels as they were being towed off. In the confined space +manoeuvring was impossible, and the sea-fight had now become a furious +hand to hand encounter, as between two armies on land. After a +prolonged struggle, in which both sides suffered severely, the +Spartans succeeded in saving their ships, except those which had been +taken at first, and the Athenians then retired to their station. + +The result of this battle was to give the Athenians complete command +of the sea, for the Peloponnesian fleet was in no condition to renew +the engagement. From their camp on the mainland the Spartans could see +the Athenian triremes rowing round and round the island, and keeping +vigilant watch, to prevent those who were confined there from +escaping. News of the disaster was sent without delay to Sparta, and +the magistrates, recognising the gravity of the crisis, proceeded at +once to Pylos, wishing to inform themselves on the spot, and then +decide what was best to be done. Finding on their arrival that there +was no prospect of rescuing their men on the island, they applied to +the Athenian commanders for a truce, to enable them to send envoys to +Athens, and arrange some terms for the recovery of the imprisoned +Spartans. The Athenians consented, and a truce was made on the +following conditions: The Spartans were to surrender all their fleet, +including any ships of war on the coast of Laconia, to the Athenians, +and to refrain from any attack on the fort, until the return of the +envoys. The Athenians, on their part, agreed to allow provisions to be +sent to the Spartans on the island, all such provision being conveyed +thither under their own inspection, and none by stealth. They further +agreed to carry the envoys to Athens in one of their own triremes, and +to suspend all hostilities until the expiration of the truce. When the +envoys returned, the Peloponnesian ships were to be given back. + +It was a proud moment for Athens when the Spartan envoys appeared +before the assembly, bearing the humble petition from her great enemy. +The terms offered by the spokesman of the embassy in the name of +Sparta were simple and concise, peace and friendship with Sparta, in +return for the men shut up on the island. The rest of his speech was +made up of grave moral reflections, such as are generally paraded by +those on the losing side. Let the Athenians beware of abusing their +advantage; though they had the upper hand to-day, they might be +brought to their knees to-morrow. War was a game of hazard, in which +the luck was always changing. Now they had an opportunity of +concluding an honourable peace, and establishing a lasting claim to +the gratitude of Sparta. And if the two leading states of Greece were +once united, they could dictate what terms they pleased to the rest. + +The notorious selfishness of Spartan policy is glaringly manifested in +this speech. In their anxiety to recover their own citizens, the +Spartans completely ignored the interests of their allies, and held +out the right hand of fellowship to the people whom they had lately +branded as the oppressors and spoilers of Greece. The Athenians might +well distrust the professions of these perfidious statesmen, who +repudiated their sworn obligations with such cynical levity. The +Spartans in Sphacteria were already, they thought, prisoners of +Athens, to be dealt with as they pleased; and were they to resign this +costly prize, in return for a vague promise of friendship from Sparta? +Their answer was framed on the advice of Cleon: they could not, they +said, enter into any discussion, until the men on the island had +surrendered themselves, and been brought to Athens. Then, if the +Spartans agreed to restore to the Athenians Nisaea and Pegae, +[Footnote: The harbour-towns of Megara.] and some other places which +they had held before the Thirty Years' Truce, peace might be made, and +the prisoners restored. The Spartan envoys were somewhat startled by +these demands, which involved a gross breach of faith to their own +allies; so they affected to ignore the proposal, and suggested a +private conference between themselves and select Athenian +commissioners. It is not impossible that the terms offered, infamous +as they were to Sparta, might have been accepted; but the whole +negotiation was frustrated by the violence of Cleon, who, on hearing +the suggestion of the envoys, overwhelmed them with abuse, accusing +them of double-dealing and bad faith. The envoys were confounded by +this specimen of Athenian manners, and seeing that they were wasting +their time to no purpose, they turned their backs on the city of free +speech. + +On their return to Pylos the truce expired, and the Spartans demanded +back their ships, but the Athenians refused to restore them, on the +ground of some alleged violation of the conditions laid down. +Thereupon hostilities were resumed with vigour on both sides. The +Spartans made repeated attacks on the fort, and watched for an +opportunity of bringing off their men from the island: and the +Athenians kept a vigilant guard to prevent their escape. During the +day two triremes sailed continually round Sphacteria in opposite +directions, and at night their whole fleet, now raised to the number +of seventy by the arrival of twenty fresh ships, was moored about the +island, except on the exposed side in windy weather. + +Before long the Athenians began to feel the difficulties of their +position. They were but scantily supplied with food, and had much +trouble in obtaining water. The only spring to which they had access, +and even that by no means abundant, was in the citadel of Pylos, and +most of them were reduced to scraping the shingle, and thus obtaining +a meagre supply of brackish water. On land their quarters were +straitened and uncomfortable, and they had no proper anchorage for +their ships, so that the crews had to go ashore in turns to get their +meals. They were greatly disappointed to find their task thus +prolonged, for they had supposed that a few days' siege would suffice +to starve the imprisoned Spartans into a surrender, as the island was +barren and ill-furnished with water. But day followed day, and still +they waited in vain for any sign of yielding. For the Spartan +magistrates had offered large rewards to anyone who succeeded in +conveying wine, meal, or other portable provisions, to the island, and +many were tempted to run the risk, especially among the Helots, who +were offered their liberty in return for this service. They put out +from various points of the mainland, and landed under cover of night +on the seaward side of the island, choosing their time when the wind +was blowing strong from the sea, which made it impossible for the +Athenian triremes to keep their exposed anchorage. The Spartan +hoplites stood ready on the rocks to help them; and so long as they +could get ashore with their freight, they cared nothing what happened +to their boats, for if they were wrecked, the Spartans had pledged +themselves for the full value. Others, still bolder, swam, across the +harbour, dragging after them leather bags filled with a mixture of +poppy-seed or linseed and honey, [Footnote: Poppy-seed was valued in +ancient medicine as an antidote against hunger, and linseed against +thirst.] and attached to a cord. These were soon detected; but the +other source of supply remained open, and it seemed likely that the +siege would be protracted till winter, when it would have to be given +up. + +The Athenians at home were much concerned when they were informed of +this state of affairs, and they began to regret that they had not +accepted the terms offered by Sparta. They were suspicious and uneasy, +and Cleon, on whose advice they had acted, saw himself in danger of +falling a victim to their resentment. But his boundless self- +confidence served him well in this crisis. At first he affected to +disbelieve the report sent from Pylos, and proposed to send +commissioners to inquire into the true state of the case. His motion +was carried, and he himself was nominated as one of the commissioners. +Cleon was now placed in an awkward position: either he would have to +confirm the statement of the messengers from Pylos, and thus make +himself ridiculous, or, if he contradicted them, he would be convicted +of falsehood. So he turned round again, and advised the Athenians, if +they believed the report, to waste no more time, but to order an +immediate attack on the island. "If I were general," [Footnote: The +chief civil and military magistrate at Athens, corresponding to the +Roman consul.] he said, with a meaning glance at Nicias, who was then +holding that office, "it would not be long before these Spartans were +brought in chains to Athens. The Athenians want a _man_ to lead +them." + +This Nicias, on whom the demagogue had so scornfully reflected, was a +great noble, and the chief political opponent of Cleon. When he heard +the boastful words of his rival, it struck Nicias that there was a +fine opportunity of bringing him to ruin, by thrusting upon him a +command for which he was totally unqualified. Encouraged by the shouts +of the multitude, who were crying to Cleon, "Why don't you go and do +it?" he rose from his place, and proposed that the tanner should be +sent in charge of an expedition to take the men at Sphacteria. At +first Cleon agreed to go, thinking that Nicias was jesting; but when +he saw that the proposal was made seriously, he began to draw back. +"It is your business, not mine," he said to Nicias. "I am not general +--you are; why should I do your work for you?" "Never mind the title," +answered Nicias; "I resign my office on this occasion to you." The +dispute grew hotter and hotter, much to the amusement of the +Athenians, who fell readily into the humour of the situation, and +loudly applauded the proposal of Nicias. The more Cleon objected, the +more they shouted that he should go. Finding that he must make good +his words, Cleon at last plucked up a spirit, and accepted the honour +thus contemptuously forced upon him. "I am not afraid of the +Spartans," he declared valiantly. "Give me the contingent of soldiers +from Lemnos and Imbros, the Thracian peltasts, [Footnote: Light-armed +soldiers.] and four hundred archers, and without taking a single +Athenian from the city, within three weeks I will either bring those +Spartans as prisoners to Athens, or kill them where they are." + +There was some laughter among the Athenians at Cleon's vain-glorious +promise; but the more sober-minded were not displeased at his +appointment, expecting that, if he failed, they would be rid of a +nuisance; while, if he succeeded, they would gain an immense advantage +over their enemies. Such, at least, is the comment of the historian; +but he makes no remark on the incredible levity of the Athenians, to +whom the gravest interests of state were matter for mirth and pastime; +and he has not a word of censure for Nicias and his "sober-minded" +partisans, who, in their eagerness to ruin a political opponent, +showed a criminal disregard for the welfare of Athens. + + +II + +When Cleon arrived at Pylos with his forces, he found Demosthenes +engaged in active preparations for an attack on the island. For his +troops were growing impatient, and clamouring to be led into action, +and a happy accident had recently occurred, which greatly increased +the prospect of success. Till quite lately Sphacteria had been covered +with a dense growth of underwood, and Demosthenes knew by his +experience in Aetolia that an attacking force would be at a great +disadvantage in marching against an enemy who fought under cover, and +knew every inch of the ground. But a party of Athenian soldiers, who +had landed on the island to cook their breakfast, accidentally set +fire to the brushwood, and a wind springing up, the flames were +carried over the greater part of the island, leaving it a blackened +waste. Demosthenes now discovered that the besieged Spartans were more +numerous than he had supposed, having hitherto believed that their +number had been purposely exaggerated, to give an excuse for sending +more food; and the main obstacle being now removed, he issued the +welcome order to make ready for an immediate assault. + +When he received his commission, Cleon had prudently stipulated that +Demosthenes should be associated with him in the command. The two ill- +assorted colleagues--the turbulent demagogue, and the veteran general +--now took counsel together, and after a last fruitless attempt at +negotiation, they set sail at night with a force of eight hundred +hoplites, and disembarking just before dawn on both sides of the +island at once, led their men at a run against the first guard-station +of the Spartans. They found the enemy posted in three divisions: the +first, consisting of thirty hoplites, formed an advanced guard; some +distance behind these, where the ground forms a shallow basin, +containing the only spring in the island, was stationed the main body, +commanded by Epitadas; and at the extreme north, opposite Pylos, there +was a small reserve force, left to guard a sort of natural citadel, +which would serve as a last retreat, if Epitadas and his men were +overpowered. + +The thirty Spartans in the outpost were taken by surprise, and cut +down to a man; for though they had seen the Athenian ships putting +out, they had no suspicion of what was intended, supposing that they +were merely proceeding to their anchorage for the night. At daybreak +the rest of the fleet put in at the island, bringing the whole of the +forces which Demosthenes had at his disposal, except a few, who were +left to garrison the fort at Pylos. They were a motley host, armed for +the most part with slings, javelins, and bows, but admirably suited +for the work which was to be done. Swarming over the island by +hundreds and by thousands they took up their stations on every piece +of rising ground, threatening the enemy in front, in the rear, on the +right flank, and on the left. The Spartans, in their heavy armour, +were helpless against these agile foes, who eluded every attempt to +come to close quarters, and kept up a continual shower of arrows, +javelins, and stones. Such had been the orders of Demosthenes, which +were now carried into effect. + +When the Spartans under Epitadas saw their advanced guard cut up, and +the Athenians marching against them, they drew up in order, and tried +to come within spear-thrust of the enemy; but they were unable to +effect their purpose, for the Athenian hoplites kept their ground, and +at the same moment they themselves were assailed on both flanks and in +the rear by a cloud of light infantry. It was a kind of warfare to +which the Spartans were totally unaccustomed: if they attempted to +advance, their nimble assailants drew back, and pursuit was impossible +on the rocky and broken ground. For a time the light-armed troops +approached them with caution, being somewhat cowed in spirit when +brought face to face with the renowned warriors of Sparta, hitherto +supposed to be invincible. But seeing how the Spartans were +embarrassed, they took courage, and came on in a roaring multitude, +surrounding them on all sides, and leaving them not a moment to take +breath. The air was darkened by a tempest of missiles; and a fine +dust, caused by the ashes of the late fire, rose in choking clouds +from the trampling of many feet. Exhausted by their violent exertions, +stunned by the uproar, and blinded by the dust, the Spartans began to +give ground, and closing their ranks fell back on the stronghold where +their reserve was stationed. They were hotly pursued, and some few +were cut off in the retreat, but the greater part succeeded in +reaching the fort, where they turned at bay, and prepared to defend +themselves to the last. Until a late hour in the day the Athenians +made vain attempts to dislodge them from their position, which was +only assailable in front. At last, when both sides were sorely +distressed by the long conflict under a burning sun, an officer who +was in command of the Messenian troops came to the generals, and +offered, if they would place a few light-armed soldiers at his +disposal, to lead them up the precipitous cliffs at the northern end +of Sphacteria, and take the Spartans in the rear. Permission being +readily granted, he chose his men, and taking care that his movements +were not perceived by the enemy, made his way with them along the +perilous and slippery face of the cliffs to the rear of the +beleaguered garrison, scaled the steep ascent, and suddenly appearing +on the heights, struck terror into the Spartans, and gave fresh +courage to their assailants. + +The situation of the Spartans was now similar to that of their +ancestors when they made their last stand at Thermopylae. They were +attacked in front and rear, and hemmed in on both sides by the natural +difficulties of the place. In their weak and exhausted condition it +would have been an easy task to make an end of them. But the great +object of Cleon and Demosthenes was to take them alive. They therefore +suspended the attack, and sent a herald, and summoned them to lay down +their arms. When they heard the proclamation, most of them lowered +their shields, and waved their hands in the air, to show that they had +dropped their weapons. The Athenian generals then entered into a +parley with Styphon the third in command of the Spartans; for +Epitadas, the chief officer, was slain, and Hippagretus, the second, +had been left for dead on the field. Styphon requested permission to +communicate with the Spartan authorities on the mainland, and ask what +he and his comrades were to do; and the Athenian commanders sent one +of their own men to carry the message. Having heard his report, the +Spartan magistrates sent a herald to see how matters stood; and after +more than one messenger had passed to and fro between their camp and +the island, they sent their final instructions, conveyed in these +words "The Spartans bid you to decide for yourselves, but to do +nothing dishonourable." + +Fifty years before, these wounded and weary men would have needed no +instructions to tell them their duty. According to the ancient +tradition of Sparta they had but one course open to them--to die at +their posts. But the lapse of time had softened the stern fibre of the +Spartan character; and the broken remnant now brought to bay in +Sphacteria interpreted the ambiguous mandate in their own favour, and +surrendered themselves and their arms. + +The number of the prisoners was two hundred and ninety-two, of whom +about a hundred and twenty were Spartans of pure descent, several of +them belonging to the highest families in Sparta. They were +distributed among the captains of the fleet for transportation to +Athens. Dating from the first sea-fight, the siege had lasted +altogether seventy-two days; and during seven weeks of this period +they had subsisted on the casual supplies smuggled over by the +blockade-runners from the mainland. Great was the joy at Athens when +that costly freight was brought safely into the harbour of Peiraeus; +and Cleon, whose bustling energy had really helped to precipitate a +crisis, was the hero of the hour. He had promised to settle the +business, one way or the other, within twenty days, and this promise, +which had been laughed at as a piece of crazy vanity, was fulfilled to +the letter. The whole merit of the performance, however, belonged to +Demosthenes, who had planned the attack on Sphacteria with admirable +sagacity, and led the operations from first to last. + +The surrender of a picked troop of Spartan warriors caused a +revolution of feeling throughout Greece. Hitherto it had been assumed +as a matter of course that no Spartan soldier, in any circumstances, +would yield to an enemy; but now more than a hundred Spartans had +preferred life to honour. It was generally believed that the survivors +were inferior in valour to those who had fallen; and some time +afterwards one of the captives was asked this insulting question by +one of the Athenian allies: "Your _brave_ comrades were buried on +the field, I suppose?" The Spartan's answer was couched in a riddle: +"It would be a mighty clever spindle, [Footnote: Arrow.] which singled +out the brave." His meaning was that the stones and arrows had dealt +out death among his comrades without distinction. + + + + +CAMPAIGNS OF BRASIDAS IN THRACE + +I + + +One advantage which accrued to the Athenians from the possession of +the Spartan captives was the immunity from invasion. For if the +Spartans prepared to make any movement against Attica, they could +bring out their prisoners, and threaten to put them to death. And in +other directions the future looked brighter than it had done for many +years. They held Pylos, which was garrisoned by Messenian troops, and +served as an open door, through which they could carry havoc over the +whole western district of Laconia; and the occupation of Cythera, +which was effected in the following year, gave them increased facility +for harassing the commerce of Sparta, and making descents on her +eastern coast. + +Elated by these successes, the Athenians determined on a bolder +flight, and forgetting the lessons of Pericles, thought of recovering +the possessions which they had held on the mainland thirty years +before. With this intention they planned an attack, which was to be +carried out from three different points at once, on Boeotia. But the +whole scheme proved a failure, and led to a severe defeat at Delium; +and about the same time news arrived from Thrace which showed that the +tide was turning, and should have warned them, if they were wise, to +set bounds to their restless ambition. + +Brasidas had long since recovered from the wounds received at Pylos. +The deep humiliation of Sparta, now reduced to become a suppliant for +peace, filled him with shame and sorrow, and in the eighth year of the +war he formed the bold design of organizing a campaign against the +coast-towns of Thrace, which were among the most important of the +Athenian tributaries. Having obtained the necessary commission from +Sparta, he collected a force of seventeen hundred heavy-armed +infantry, and in the summer following the disaster at Sphacteria, +turned his steps northward, and arrived without mishap at the borders +of Thessaly. The Thessalians generally were then on friendly terms +with Athens, and, apart from this, the passage of so large a force +through their territory caused suspicion and alarm among the +inhabitants. But Brasidas was a man of rare gifts: endowed with more +than a full share of the typical Spartan virtues, he combined with +these a graciousness of manner, and a winning eloquence, which made +him an equal of the most accomplished Athenian. He had, moreover, +friends among the powerful nobles of Thessaly, who undertook to guide +him in safety to the Macedonian frontier. On reaching the river +Enipeus, he found his passage barred by a Thessalian force, who seemed +resolved to dispute his progress. His courteous demeanour, and fair +words, disarmed their hostility, and he was allowed to pass. Fearing, +however, a general rising of the natives against him, and urged to +despatch by his guides, he pushed on by forced marches, and entering +the passes of Olympus, descended into the southern plain of Macedonia, +whose king Perdiccas, a shifty and treacherous barbarian, though +nominally in alliance with Athens, favoured the enterprise of +Brasidas. + +Perdiccas had undertaken to provide pay for half the Spartan force, in +return for help to be rendered against a rebel chieftain with whom he +was at war. But Brasidas, whose main object was to raise a revolt +among the Athenian allies, insisted on entering into negotiations with +the rebel, and having patched up a truce, conducted his troops to the +neighbourhood of Acanthus, a town on the eastern side of the +Chalcidian peninsula, where there was a party discontented with the +Athenian rule. In all the cities subject to Athens the general mass of +the people were found loyal towards her, or, at the worst, disinclined +for any change; and Acanthus was no exception. When Brasidas with his +little army appeared before the walls the people at first refused him +admission. But it was just before the vintage, and their grapes were +hanging in ripe clusters, exposed to the hand of the spoiler; and so, +to save their vineyards from ravage, they were at last induced to give +him a hearing. + +It was very important for Brasidas to secure the voluntary adherence +of the Acanthians, whose action would have a powerful effect in +determining the attitude of the other Chalcidians towards them. +Accordingly he exerted all his skill as an orator, which was +considerable, to allay their suspicions, and rouse their enthusiasm +for the cause which he represented. That cause, he said, was the +liberation of Greece from the tyranny of Athens. Let none of them +suppose that he had come in the interests of a faction, to enslave the +many to the few, or the few to the many. He had bound the authorities +of Sparta by the most solemn oaths to respect the constitution of any +state which enlisted under their banner. Freedom for Greeks!--that was +the watchword which should find a response in every patriotic heart. +After this fine burst of sentiment, Brasidas descended to a much lower +level, and plainly intimated that if the Acanthians would not join him +from these high motives, he would employ coercion, and proceed to +ravage their estates, This last argument was decisive, and in order to +save their valuable harvest from destruction, they agreed to admit +Brasidas and his army into the town. Shortly afterwards their example +was followed by Stagirus, one day to become famous as the birthplace +of Aristotle. + +It is melancholy to find a man of really pure and generous character +like Brasidas lending himself to be the mouthpiece of Spartan +hypocrisy. To him the sounding phrases and lofty professions which he +uttered may have meant something: but in their essence they were mere +hollow cant, intended to divert attention from the true issue, and +drag a peaceful and prosperous community into the private quarrels of +Sparta. So degraded was now the tone of politics in Greece, even among +her best and ablest men. + + +II + +On the banks of the Strymon, just where the river sweeps round in a +sharp curve, west and east, the Athenians had founded, six years +before the outbreak of the war, the colony of Amphipolis. It was a +site which had long been coveted by the leaders of Greek colonial +enterprise, being the key to the richest district in Thrace, with +unrivalled facilities for commerce, and close to the gold-mines of +Mount Pangeus. A previous attempt which was made by the Athenians to +occupy the position had ended in ruinous disaster; but nearly thirty +years later a second body of emigrants, led by Hagnon from Athens, met +with much better success; Amphipolis now grew and prospered, and at +the time which we have reached was the most important city in the +Athenian empire. + +The Amphipolitans had a bitter and jealous enemy in the neighbouring +town of Argilus, situated a few miles to the west, on the road to +Amphipolis; and ever since the appearance of Brasidas in Thrace the +Argilians had been plotting against the tranquillity of their hated +rival. Accordingly, when Brasidas, who had planned a surprise on +Amphipolis, appeared before their gates, they welcomed him eagerly, +and conducted him and his army to the bridge over the Strymon, which +crossed the river just outside the southern end of the city wall. The +defenders of the bridge, few in number, and taken unawares, were +instantly cut to pieces; for Brasidas came upon them before daybreak, +and the weather, which was wintry and inclement, favoured his design. + +The farms and country-houses of the Amphipolitans, which occupied an +extensive district on the eastern side of the city, now lay at the +mercy of Brasidas, and after choosing a position for his camp, he +began to overrun the country. For those who were responsible for the +safety of Amphipolis had taken no precautions, though they knew that +this daring and active enemy had been carrying on a campaign for many +weeks in the adjacent parts of Thrace. Consequently, a good number of +the citizens, who were attending to the business of their estates, +fell into his hands, and it is not improbable that, if he had made a +sudden assault on the city, he would have captured it on the same day. + +There was a disaffected party in Amphipolis, who had planned the +betrayal of the place, acting in concert with Argilus, through the +agency of certain Argilian citizens residing in the town. The traitors +now proposed that Brasidas and his army should be admitted, but they +were overruled by the general voice of the people, and it was agreed +that the Athenian Eucles, governor of Amphipolis, should send a +message for help to another Athenian officer, who was commissioned to +watch the interests of Athens in Thrace. That officer was Thucydides, +the historian, from whose work the materials for the present narrative +are taken. Thucydides was descended on his mother's side from the +royal family of Thrace, [Footnote: Such, at least, is the highly +probable conjecture of Classen.] and through this connexion he was the +owner of valuable working rights in the gold-mines of Mount Pangaeus, +and a man of great power and, influence in these districts. When the +message arrived from Amphipolis, he was engaged in some business at +Thasos, and postponing all other concerns he collected a small +squadron of seven ships and hastened to the rescue with all speed. +But Brasidas, who had received intelligence of his movements, was too +quick for him. He had valuable hostages in the persons of those +Amphipolitans who had been taken outside the walls. The population of +Amphipolis consisted almost entirely of men of mixed or foreign +descent, who were anxious about their properties, and in fear for +their friends, while the few Athenian residents were alarmed for their +own safety, having little hope of prompt succour. Taking advantage of +this state of public feeling, the politic Spartan issued a +proclamation, pledging him to respect the rights and property of all +who chose to remain; while those who preferred to withdraw were +allowed five days to take away their goods. This tempting offer +produced the desired effect. It was in vain that the Athenian governor +interposed his authority, and strove to uphold the imperial claims of +Athens. The people threatened to rise in mutiny against him, and when +the partisans of Brasidas, now grown bold, openly moved a resolution +to accept his conditions, the proposal was carried, and the Spartan +general marched unopposed into the town. + +Late on the same day Thucydides sailed into the harbour of Eion, the +port of Amphipolis, and learning that Brasidas was already in +possession of the inland city, took all necessary precautions to +provide against an immediate attack. He was only just in time; for on +the very next day Brasidas carried his troops down the river on a +flotilla of boats, and tried to establish himself in a strong +position, commanding the mouth of the river, and at the same time sent +a storming party to make an assault on the land side. But the attempt +was frustrated, and Eion at least was saved to Athens. + +The fall of Amphipolis, which occurred shortly after the crushing +defeat at Delium, caused great consternation among the Athenians. +Apart from the wound to their pride, they were deprived by this loss +of a large portion of their revenue, and cut off from the principal +source of their timber supply. And there were still further grounds +for alarm. For Amphipolis was now an open door, through which the +Spartans could send troops into eastern Thrace, and carry the war to +the entrance of the Euxine. For a moment it seemed as if all their +fears would be realized. The gentle manners of Brasidas--his fairness, +modesty, and strict regard for the rights of all men--had won the +hearts of the Athenian allies in Thrace, and secret agents were +constantly arriving at his head-quarters on the Strymon, inviting him +to come and help them to recover their liberty. He had skilfully +appealed to the most deeply-rooted instinct of the Greek, the desire +for unfettered action in his own city, free from all interference from +outside. This instinct, long held in abeyance, first by the necessity +for protection from Persia, and when that danger was removed, by the +habits acquired under the mild rule of Athens, was now awakened into +new life by the influence of the great warrior and accomplished +statesman, whose watchword was "Liberty for Greeks!" The recent +reverses of Athens had excited a feeling of contempt among her +subjects, and led them greatly to under-estimate her real power; and +Brasidas himself, by a not over-scrupulous perversion of facts, had +been careful to encourage this belief. All these causes produced a +burst of enthusiasm throughout Thrace, and if the Spartans had +supported Brasidas with vigour, a general insurrection would have +followed among the Athenian allies. But the authorities of Sparta were +jealous of their brilliant officer, and their chief anxiety was to +recover the prisoners taken at Sphacteria. + +In the same winter the indefatigable Spartan effected the capture of +Torone, a town situated on the second of the three headlands which +project, like the prongs of a fork, from the peninsula of Chalcidice. +As in the case of Amphipolis, Torone fell into his hands by treachery; +but he had now made good his title as the champion of Greek +independence, and early in the following spring the citizens of +Scione, on the first or westernmost headland, invited him to come over +and take command of their town. On receiving this welcome summons +Brasidas lost no time, and crossed over by night in a skiff, which was +convoyed by a trireme, so that if any hostile vessel appeared in +sight, it might be engaged by the trireme, and leave him free to +escape. He reached Scione in safety, and having convened a general +assembly of the citizens, addressed them in flattering terms, praising +their high courage and patriotic spirit. "You," he said, "have set a +noble example to your oppressed brethren: isolated as you are, and cut +off from all succour from the mainland, you have defied all perils, +and thrown in your lot, for better or for worse, with the friends of +liberty. Your gallantry and self-devotion has given you a just claim +to the gratitude of Sparta and of all Greece." The revolt of Scione +was indeed a daring defiance of the Athenian power, for since the +capitulation of Potidaea, which occurred seven years before, the +inhabitants had been in the position of islanders, exposed to the +whole maritime power of Athens. For the moment, however, the people +were carried away by a transport of enthusiasm, and little dreaming of +the terrible vengeance which was to overtake them two years later, +they greeted Brasidas as a deliverer, and vied with one another who +should honour him most. He was publicly presented with a crown of +gold, as the liberator of Greece; and in private houses he was +wreathed with garlands, and surrounded with worship, like a victorious +athlete. + +But a few days before the defection of Scione all the ambitious +schemes of Brasidas had been checkmated by the action of his own +countrymen at home. For some time past negotiations had been in +progress between Athens and Sparta; and since the battle of Delium, +and the rapid successes of their great enemy in Thrace, the Athenians +had been more disposed to come to terms. In this altered mood they +agreed to make a truce for one year with Sparta, which would give time +to arrange the conditions of a lasting peace, and leave them at +leisure to repair the shattered fabric of their empire. Two +commissioners, an Athenian and a Spartan, were at once despatched to +announce the conclusion of the truce to Brasidas. They found him at +Torone, preparing to set out a second time for the western peninsula, +and continue his intrigues against the subjects of Athens. In the +interview which followed a dispute arose between Brasidas and the +commissioners, as to whether Scione should be admitted into the truce. +Brasidas asserted that the city had joined the Spartan alliance before +the truce was signed; but the Athenian commissioner loudly protested +that the revolt occurred after the conclusion of the truce,--and such, +indeed, was the fact. Brasidas, however, was bound in honour to defend +the hapless community which had been drawn by his fatal influence into +so fearful a peril; and in the existing confusion of the Greek +calendar it was not easy to establish a date with perfect exactitude. +Accordingly Brasidas refused to surrender Scione to the vengeance of +Athens, and placed the town in a state of defence. Not content with +this, he extended the same measures of protection to Mende, which +revolted after the arrival of the commissioners. This was an open +violation of the truce, and the Athenians, in great fury, immediately +prepared to send a fleet against these audacious rebels, and passed a +savage decree, condemning the whole adult male population of Scione to +death. + + +III + +During the following summer Mende was recovered by Nicias for the +Athenians, Scione was closely invested, and Perdiccas, who had +quarrelled with Brasidas, once more became an ally of Athens, and gave +proof of his sincerity by preventing the passage of Spartan +reinforcements to Thrace. The Athenians were thus left free to turn +their attention to Amphipolis, and at the beginning of the tenth year +of the war, the truce having now expired, Cleon was sent with a fleet +of thirty ships to conduct the siege of this important place. That so +weighty a charge should have been entrusted to hands so incompetent +argues a degree of infatuation in the Athenians which is very hard to +understand. On his voyage Cleon succeeded in retaking Torone by a +sudden assault, and then proceeding northwards dropped anchor at Eion, +where he remained inactive, after despatching messengers to Perdiccas, +and to a friendly Thracian prince, to ask for reinforcements. + +Meanwhile Brasidas, who some time before had returned to Amphipolis, +was waiting to strike a blow at his unwarlike enemy. His own troops, +though about equal in numbers to the force under Cleon, were far +inferior in equipment and discipline; but he counted on some +incautious movement on the part of the Athenian general, which would +throw the picked infantry of Athens into disorder, and place them at a +disadvantage. So he left Clearidas, a young Spartan, whom he had +appointed governor of Amphipolis, in charge of the garrison, and +taking with him fifteen hundred men occupied a position on the right +bank of the river, where the ground rises abruptly to a considerable +height, affording a wide view over the city to the country beyond, as +far as Eion. From this point, which is called Cerdylium, he could +watch the proceedings of the enemy, and still have ample time to +rejoin Clearidas in Amphipolis, if, as he expected, Cleon should leave +his defences and advance upon the town. + +He had not long to wait. The Athenian soldiers stationed at Eion were +chafing at their inaction, and mutinous speeches were heard on all +sides. What a man was this Cleon, this cowardly braggart, under whom +they were to take the field against the most daring and skilful leader +in Greece! They had known what to expect from such a general, since +the day when they sailed for Thrace. These murmurs reached the ears of +Cleon, and he saw that something must be attempted, or his men would +be totally demoralized. So he gave the order to march, and led his +troops up the ridge of hills which slope down towards Amphipolis on +the eastern side, where the town was defended by a single line of +wall, reaching from the northern to the southern bend of the river. He +was far from supposing that anyone would come out to attack him; he +only wanted, he said, to take a good view of the place, and when his +reinforcements arrived, he would surround the city on all sides, and +carry it by assault. For his wonderful good fortune at Pylos had given +him unbounded confidence in his powers as a strategist, and he thought +that Amphipolis would prove a second Pylos, forgetting that here he +had a Brasidas to deal with, and no Demosthenes to do the work for +him. When he reached the top of the ascent, he called a halt, and took +a leisurely survey of the wide sweep of country spread below him,--to +the north, the broad, marshy waters of Lake Cercynitis, from which the +river issues just above the town,--eastwards, the towering summit of +Mount Pangaeus,--and on the other side, just beneath his feet, the +devoted city, which now seemed cowering, silent and deserted, as if +conscious of Cleon's eagle glance. The gates were closed, and not a +man was to be seen on the battlements. "What a pity," remarked Cleon, +"that we brought no siege-engines with us! We might have battered down +the wall, and marched in at once,--there is none to oppose us." + +So readily did this holiday general fall into the trap which Brasidas, +with a just estimate of his capacity, had set for him. As soon as he +saw that Cleon had started from Eion, the Spartan general left his +post in Cerdylium, and led his men back into Amphipolis. Here he made +such a disposition of his forces as to give the place that peaceful +and innocent appearance which deceived Cleon's unpractised eye. Then +he took up his station with a picked troop of a hundred and fifty +hoplites at the southern gate of Amphipolis, leaving Clearidas in +charge of the main body, and awaited a favourable moment to attack. + +But these preparations could not be made without exciting some +attention among the more experienced of the Athenian officers. They +had seen Brasidas entering the city, and observed him offering +sacrifice, as for battle, before the temple of Athene; and Cleon, who +was standing, lost in his contemplations, some distance in advance of +his forces, suddenly received the alarming intelligence that the enemy +were on the point of making a sally. "The whole garrison is in +motion," said the messenger, "and we have caught sight of the feet of +many horses and men under the gates: evidently they mean to attack +us." Thus rudely startled from his meditations, Cleon went to look for +himself, and seeing that the messenger had spoken the truth he gave +the order for a retreat in the direction of Eion. This movement should +have begun from the left wing, but there was some delay in executing +the order, and Cleon, who was in a great hurry to reach a place of +safety, led the way with his own division, which, being on the right, +ought to have closed the retreat. The consequence was that the whole +Athenian army was thrown into confusion, and Brasidas, who was +watching from his station at the gate, saw by the irregular motion of +their spears and helmets that all discipline was at an end. "Now is +our time," he cried to his men: "Open the gates! The day is ours." +With these words he rushed out with his troops, and fell upon the +Athenian centre; and at the same moment the main body under Clearidas +poured out from the northern gate, and attacked them in the rear. + +The effect of this sudden assault was to cut the Athenian army in +half: the left wing, which was nearest to Eion, fled without striking +a blow, but the right made a vigorous resistance, though abandoned by +their cowardly general, who was cut down by a Thracian spearman as he +tried to make good his escape. A far nobler name was also added to the +death-roll of that fatal day: Brasidas, fighting at the head of his +troop, received a mortal wound, and was carried, unobserved by the +Athenians, into the city. He lived long enough to hear that his men +had gained a decisive victory, and then passed away, the purest and +the most heroic spirit among all those who played their part in this +unhappy war. After his death he received divine honours at Amphipolis, +and was worshipped as the second founder of the city. + + + + +THE HOLLOW PEACE + +I + + +The negotiations for peace, begun in the previous year; had been +interrupted by the brilliant successes of Brasidas, and the factious +opposition of Cleon, and after their death the main obstacle to a +pacific understanding was removed. The high hopes conceived by the +Athenians after the capture of the Spartans at Pylos had been damped +by their disastrous defeat at Delium, and by the revolt of their +allies in Thrace; and, above all, they were anxious to recover +Amphipolis. Still more depressed was the temper of the Spartans. They +had entered on the war in a spirit of sanguine confidence, expecting +to make an end of the conflict by a single invasion of Attica; and +now, after ten years of fighting, their great rival remained almost +untouched in the chief sources of her power. Their coasts were exposed +to continual ravage by the Athenian fleets, and Pylos was still +occupied by their bitter enemies, the Messenians, attracting all the +discontented elements in Sparta, and keeping the Helots in a continual +ferment. And finally a hundred and twenty of their noblest citizens +were immured in the dungeons of Athens, and they were ready to make +great sacrifices to procure their release. + +Accordingly, in the winter after the battle of Amphipolis, +negotiations were resumed, and early in the following spring a treaty +of peace was concluded between Athens and Sparta, on the understanding +that all places taken by force of arms should be restored, and all +prisoners set at liberty. Such was the Peace of Nicias, named after +its chief promoter, the former rival of Cleon, and now the leading +politician at Athens. It was really a private agreement between Athens +and Sparta, for the most important of the Spartan allies, who thought +that their interests were neglected, refused to sign the treaty. +Alarmed by this, the Spartans immediately concluded a second treaty +with Athens, binding both sides to mutual aid and defence, in case +their territories were attacked. The prisoners taken at Sphacteria +were now restored, but owing to the bungling of Nicias, the Athenians +failed to regain Amphipolis. + + +II + +Six years elapsed after the conclusion of the Peace of Nicias, before +war was again openly declared; but it was a peace only in name, and +was broken by many acts of hostility on both sides. During this period +the principal states of Greece were involved in a network of political +intrigue, treaty following treaty, and alliance succeeding to +alliance, for the most part with no result. To this statement, there +is, however, one important exception. A year after the signing of the +second treaty between Athens and Sparta, a coalition was formed, +including Athens, Elis, and Mantinea, under the leadership of Argos; +and in mentioning this event we have to usher on to the stage one of +the most extraordinary characters in history. This was Alcibiades, a +young Athenian noble, endowed with every advantage of mind, person, +and fortune, whose fatal gifts, and lawless ambition, made him the +evil genius of his country. His high birth, his wealth, his wit, and +his wonderful beauty, attracted to him a host of flatterers, who fed +his vanity with soft adulation, and led him to believe that nothing +was too great for such powers as his. Like most of the brilliant young +men of his day, he attached himself for a time to the philosopher +Socrates, for whom he seems to have felt a warm admiration. But his +connexion with that great teacher and thinker, though it served to +sharpen his understanding, could not eradicate the effects of evil +habit and example. His wilful, selfish, and despotic temper soon broke +loose from that salutary restraint, and henceforth we find him +pursuing a course of action which brought ruin on his people, and on +himself a traitor's death and a dishonoured name. + +Much irritation had been caused among the Athenians by the shifting +and treacherous conduct of the Spartans, who had failed to redeem +their sworn pledges, and had excited great suspicion at Athens by +repeated intrigues with Argos, and with their own offended allies of +the Peloponnesian League. Alcibiades had a private grudge against the +Spartans, to whom he had made overtures of friendship and service at +the time when the treaty was under discussion, only to be set aside as +a profligate and frivolous youth, unfit to meddle with serious matters +of state. He now placed himself at the head of the party hostile to +Sparta, and it was not long before he had an opportunity of revenging +the insult to his pride. He used all his influence to promote an +alliance with Argos, the ancient enemy and rival of Sparta in +Peloponnesus; and when envoys arrived from Sparta to remonstrate +against this proceeding, and reassure the Athenians as to their +intentions, he contrived by a masterpiece of low cunning to cover them +with shame and contempt. When the envoys were introduced to the senate +they declared that they had come with full powers to settle all +differences, and Alcibiades feared that if they made the same +statement to the general assembly of the citizens, they might induce +the Athenians to renounce their alliance with Argos. So, after the +senate had risen, he took the envoys aside, and with an air of great +candour and friendliness warned them that they must conceal the extent +of their powers when they appeared before the popular assembly. "You +do not understand," he said, "how to deal with the mob of Athens; if +you show your hand, they will force you into extravagant concessions. +Leave the matter to me, and everything will turn out as you wish." + +The simple Spartans fell into the snare. They were not at all startled +by the proposal that they should eat their own words, for in +dishonesty they were not behind Alcibiades himself, though they were +no match for him in cunning. Being brought before the people, and +asked whether they had come with full powers, they answered bluntly +"No!" Great was the amazement at this flat contradiction of the avowal +which they had made before the senate, and Alcibiades, giving voice to +the general indignation, overwhelmed the astonished envoys with a +torrent of invective and abuse. The Spartans were dumb-foundered by +his perfidy, and looked helplessly at Nicias, the staunch friend and +supporter of Sparta, whom they had forsaken for this shameless young +reprobate. Nicias, who of course knew nothing of the trick, was +utterly confounded by the double-dealing of the envoys, and could do +nothing to relieve their embarrassment. The result was that the envoys +were abruptly dismissed, and after a fruitless mission of Nicias to +Sparta, which only served to lower his own reputation, the Athenians +entered heart and soul into the Argive alliance. + + +III + +We have seen how much the credit of Sparta had been injured in the +eyes of Greece by the capture of her chosen warriors at Pylos, and by +her subsequent behaviour during the negotiations which led to the +peace of Nicias. Spartan valour was seen to be not above reproach, and +the Peloponnesian allies had still better reason to complain of the +hollowness of Spartan faith. The high reverence which had long been +attached to the name of Sparta had given place to something like +contempt, and the Eleans, who had an old grudge against her, took +advantage of this feeling to exclude her citizens from taking public +part in the Olympic festival, which was celebrated with great pomp and +splendour in the second year of the peace. And the degradation of the +proud Dorian city seemed to be complete, when a Spartan named Lichas, +who had entered for the chariot-race under another name, was driven +with blows from the racecourse. So deep was the abasement to which the +great name of Sparta had now sunk. + +The Spartans saw that a vigorous effort must be made, if they would +recover their lost ascendancy; and two years later the opportunity +occurred for which they were waiting. On the northern side of the +Argolic peninsula lies the ancient city of Epidaurus, famous for its +rich vineyards, and its great temple of Asclepius, [Footnote: +Aesculapius.] the god of healing. For some time past, the Epidaurians, +who were in alliance with Sparta, had been involved in a dispute, +arising out of some obscure question of ritual, with Argos; and they +were now in sore straits, being hard pressed by the whole weight of +the Argive power, backed by the new confederacy. This was the pretext +needed by the Spartans, and mustering their whole forces they marched, +under the command of their king Agis, against Argos. + +The Argives had received notice of the advance of Agis, and they +immediately marched out to meet him, wishing to engage the Spartans +before they had united with their allies from Corinth, Boeotia, and +elsewhere, who were assembling in great force at Phlius. The two +armies confronted each other for a moment at Methydrium, in Arcadia; +but Agis succeeded in avoiding an engagement, and breaking up his camp +under cover of darkness pushed on to Phlius. Thereupon the Argives, +who were accompanied by their allies from Mantinea and Elis, returned +in haste to Argos, and then, marching northwards, took up their +position at Nemea, which commanded the ordinary route from Phlius to +the Argive territory. But they were again outmanoeuvred by the skilful +dispositions of Agis. Avoiding the road by Nemea, which led through a +narrow and dangerous pass, he led his Spartans over the mountains and +descended into the plain which surrounds the city of Argos. One +contingent of his allies had orders to proceed in the same direction +by another mountain-path, while the Boeotians, who numbered no less +than ten thousand infantry, and five hundred cavalry, were directed to +take the high road by Nemea; for Agis expected that by threatening the +cultivated lands around Argos he would draw the Argives from their +position, and bring them down in haste to the defence of their +estates. + +The plan was completely successful. As soon as the Argives learnt that +Agis was ravaging their fields they set out with all speed towards +Argos, and finding Agis engaged in the work of pillage, they drew up +their forces, and offered battle. Their situation was in the highest +degree perilous. In front of them, cutting them off from the city of +Argos, was the flower of the Spartan army, reinforced by the troops of +Tegea and Arcadia; on their right flank the mountain slopes swarmed +with the infantry of Corinth and Phlius; and in the rear their retreat +was cut off by the thronging masses of Boeotians, who were now pouring +along the road from Nemea. They were fairly cut off, and seemed +delivered over to destruction; nevertheless, such was the presumptuous +confidence which possessed them, that they awaited eagerly the signal +for battle, crying out that they had caught the Spartans in a trap. + +Fortunately for them there were two men among their leaders who took a +wiser view of the position; one of these was Alciphron, an official +who represented the interests of Sparta at Argos, [Footnote: The Greek +word is _Proxenos_,--a sort of consul.] and the other was +Thrasyllus, one of the five generals. These two men entered into a +parley with Agis, and by promising to satisfy the demands of Sparta +induced him to grant a truce. Agis then drew off his forces, and +returned by way of Nemea to Sparta; and the allies, much against their +will, were compelled to follow his example. Loud were the murmurs +among the confederates, and even among the Spartan soldiers, against +Agis, who had thrown away this golden opportunity of humbling the +pride of Argos, and brought dishonour on one of the finest armies that +had ever been led into the field by a Grecian general. Strange to say, +the Argives were not less indignant against the two men who had saved +them from overwhelming disaster; and Thrasyllus, the general, narrowly +escaped being stoned to death. + + +IV + +The Argives thought themselves bound to abide by the conditions of the +truce, though made without their consent; but shortly after the +retreat of Agis, an Athenian force of a thousand hoplites and three +hundred cavalry arrived at Argos, and Alcibiades, who was present in +the character of ambassador, strongly urged the renewal of the +campaign. His proposal was warmly supported by the Mantineans and +Eleans, and they and the Athenians marched forthwith against +Orchomenus in Arcadia, which was in alliance with Sparta; and the +Argives, who had wavered at first, soon afterwards joined them. +Orchomenus was gained over with little trouble, and then the Eleans +were eager to proceed against Lepreum, a town in their alliance which +had gone over to Sparta. But the Argives, Athenians, and Mantineans, +insisted on attacking Tegea, where there was a party opposed to +Sparta, by whose means they hoped to bring this powerful city, the +ancient rival of Mantinea, to their side. Thereupon the Eleans +abandoned the expedition, and went home in a rage, but the rest of the +allies took up their quarters at Mantinea, and prepared to make an +attack on Tegea. + +The Spartans were in high anger against Agis for his unsoldier-like +conduct in the recent campaign, and when they heard of the +capitulation of Orchomenus their resentment rose to such a pitch that +it was proposed to inflict on him a heavy fine, and raze his house to +the ground. At his earnest entreaty they consented to reserve the +sentence, and give him an opportunity of wiping out the stain on his +honour; but as a mark of diminished confidence they appointed ten +commissioners, without whose consent he was not allowed to lead an +army out of the city. + +They had just come to this decision when an urgent message arrived +from Tegea, bidding them to bring help with all speed, or the town +would be lost. The imminent peril startled the Spartans from their +wonted apathy, and they set out at once in full force to the relief of +Tegea. On reaching the borders of Arcadia they sent back the elder and +younger men, amounting to a sixth part of the army, to serve as a +garrison in Sparta; and at the same time couriers were despatched to +summon their allies in Arcadia and central Greece. The Arcadians +arrived in time to take part in the battle, but the Boeotians, +Corinthians, and others, though they hastened to obey the order, were +delayed by a long and difficult march, through the hostile territory +of Argos. + +Passing by Tegea, Agis entered the district of Mantinea, and having +pitched his camp began to lay waste the country. Informed of his +approach, the Argives and their allies marched out to meet him, and +choosing a position on the slope of a hill, defended in front by +rugged and broken ground, they drew up in order of battle. The +Spartans, incited, doubtless, by the example of their king, who was +eager to redeem his reputation, rushed impetuously to the assault; and +they were already within a stone's-throw of the enemy when a Spartan +veteran cried out to Agis: "Heal not ill with ill!" His meaning was +that in Argos Agis had been too cold, and now he was too hot. Agis +heard the warning voice, and his own good sense must have shown him +how rashly he was acting; accordingly, at the very moment of +encounter, he gave the word to retreat, and fell back to the +neighbourhood of Tegea. At this place there was a copious head of +water, which, when properly regulated, served to irrigate the fields +of Tegea and Mantinea. The disposal of the water-supply was a constant +source of dispute between the two rival cities; and Agis now prepared +to turn the whole volume of the fountain towards Mantinea, expecting +that the Mantineans, when they saw their fields threatened with +inundation, would come down into the plain to hinder the mischief. + +The Argives and their allies were dumb-foundered by the sudden +disappearance of the Spartans; and when they had recovered from their +astonishment, they waited impatiently for the order to pursue the +runaways. As no such order was given, cries of "Treason!" arose in the +ranks, and the generals were openly accused of having sold themselves +to the enemy. The Spartans, it was asserted, had been allowed to +escape, when they were fairly caught under the walls of Argos; and now +the confederates had been betrayed a second time by their officers. +Amid the general clamour the Argive commanders stood for a moment +confounded and amazed; then recovering themselves they gave the word +to advance, and led their forces down into the plain. Here they passed +the night in the open field, and early next morning they stood to +their arms, and prepared for an immediate attack. + +Agis was not aware that the Argive generals had taken up a new +position, and thinking that the confederates were still stationed on +the hill, he gave up his scheme of diverting the water, and directed +his march towards the place where he had first encamped. As they +proceeded thus in marching order, and quite unprepared for any hostile +movement, the Spartans suddenly found themselves face to face with the +whole Argive army, drawn up in order of battle. For one instant it +seemed as if a panic were about to spread through the Spartan ranks; +then their wonderful discipline prevailed, and with all promptitude, +but without flurry or confusion, the necessary orders were passed from +the King to the commanders of divisions, from these again to the +colonels, from the colonels to the captains, and from the captains +down to the sergeants, [Footnote: I have thought it best to give the +English titles, which of course have only a general correspondence +with the Greek Polemarch, Lochagus, etc.] who in their turn had to see +that the required movement was executed by the men under their +command: for such was the regular gradation of authority and +responsibility in the Spartan army. Thanks to this perfect +organization, in a very few minutes every man was in his place and +ready for battle. + +On the left wing of the Spartan army were posted the Sciritae, hardy +mountaineers from southern Arcadia; next to them stood the +enfranchised Helots, who had served under Brasidas in Thrace, and +others of the same race who had received the Spartan citizenship in +reward for public service; then came the main body of the Spartans +themselves, and after them the rest of the Arcadian allies; while the +right wing was assigned by immemorial privilege to the Tegeans, with +whom were a few picked Spartans. The cavalry, never a very strong part +of the Spartan army, were posted on either flank. + +On the other side the Mantineans held the place of honour on the right +wing, because the engagement was fought in their territory; next in +order were the Arcadian allies of Argos, and after them, more towards +the centre, stood a picked troop of a thousand Argives, trained and +equipped at the public expense; then followed the main body of the +Argive troops, with the rest of their allies, the Athenians occupying +the extreme left. As to the numbers engaged, nothing certain is known. + +Some time was lost by the Argive army in delivering the customary +harangues addressed by the generals of the several contingents to +their men, and this enabled the Spartans to steady their ranks before +the fighting began. They, on their side, men of war from their youth, +had no need of set speeches to remind them of their duty; but pithy +words of exhortation passed from man to man, and high and clear rose +their national war-songs, thrilling them with the memories of their +heroic past. Then the signal was given on both sides to charge, and +the Argives and their allies rushed impetuously to the onset, while +the Spartans advanced to meet them with even and deliberate pace, +timed to the music of numerous pipers, who were stationed at regular +intervals in their ranks. + +The regular equipment of the Greek infantry soldier consisted, besides +his helmet and body-armour, of shield and lance, and in advancing to +battle he had always a tendency to diverge towards the right, from a +natural wish to keep his shielded side towards the enemy. This +divergence from the forward direction was begun by the man posted on +the extreme right; his comrade on the left followed his example, and +the deflection was continued along the whole line. The consequence was +that when two armies came into action, the left wing on either side +was greatly outflanked by the opponents' right; and the battle of +Mantinea affords no exception to this rule, for not even Spartan +discipline was able to counteract the overpowering instinct of self- +preservation. Seeing that his left wing was on the point of being +outflanked by the Mantineans, Agis signalled to the Sciritae and +Brasideans to draw off in a lateral direction towards the left, in +order to present an equal line to the right wing of the enemy. The +order was executed, and to fill up the gap thus produced on the left +of his own centre, Agis ordered the Spartan officers commanding on his +right wing to bring up their men and occupy the vacant space. They, +however, flatly refused to obey the order, and consequently the +Sciritae and Brasideans were assailed in front and on both flanks by +overwhelming numbers, and driven back with great loss to their camp. + +So completely were the Spartans out-manoeuvred and worsted in tactics, +through the blunders of their general, and the cowardice of his +subordinates. But in this terrible crisis they showed what native +valour, aided by life-long discipline, can do. Leaving a victorious +enemy in their rear, they advanced without flinching against the +opposing centre, where the main body of the Argives were posted, with +the troops of Orneae and Cleonaea supporting them on the left. Then it +was seen that neither the courage of the Spartans, nor the terror of +their name, had diminished with the lapse of time; for when the +confederate troops found themselves face to face with the renowned +warrior of the Eurotas, they turned and fled, almost without striking +a blow, and trampling their comrades under foot, in their haste to +avoid the thrust of the Spartan lances. The Athenians on the left wing +were now in great danger; for the charge of the troops of Agis had cut +them off from the centre, and they were attacked on the other flank by +the Tegeans and Spartans. They were saved from immediate destruction +by the exertions of their own cavalry, and presently found themselves +at liberty to retire from the field; for Agis, having completed the +rout of the main body, called off his men, and went to the relief of +his own left. The Mantineans and the Argive Thousand made no effort to +retrieve the fortunes of the day, but gave way before the first onset +of the Spartans, and joined the flight of their comrades. The +Mantineans suffered severely in their retreat, but of the Argives only +a few were slain. + +Such was the battle of Mantinea, which completely restored the +military fame of the Spartans, and blotted out the reproach of +cowardice and sloth which for some years past had rested on their +name. + + +VI + +One incident remains to be recorded, before we proceed to the crowning +catastrophe of our great historical drama. The Athenians, it should be +observed, were still nominally at peace with Sparta, and if they had +been wise they would have taken the opportunity of this respite from +hostilities to recover Amphipolis, and consolidate their empire in +Thrace. Instead of this, they looked around for fresh conquests, and +fixed their eyes on the little island of Melos, belonging to the +Cyclad group, which had been colonized in very early times from +Sparta. + +The Melians had not joined the Confederacy of Delos, and they might +therefore be reproached for sharing the protection of Athens without +making any return. Beyond this the Athenians had no ground of +complaint against them, for they had taken no part in the +Peloponnesian War, but had remained quietly at home, occupied with +their own affairs. But Athens claimed the haughty title of mistress of +the sea, and pretended to regard the neutrality of one insignificant +island as an open defiance of her power. Ten years before an Athenian +fleet had been sent under Nicias to reduce the refractory Melians to +subjection; but the attempt was unsuccessful, and Nicias withdrew, +after having ravaged the outlying districts. Being now more at +leisure, the Athenians resolved, in the mere wantonness of power, that +Melos should only be suffered to exist as a dependency of Athens, and +thirty triremes sailed from the harbour of Peiraeus to carry out the +arbitrary decree. + +On their arrival at Melos the Athenian admirals sent envoys into the +town, to summon the inhabitants to surrender. The envoys were invited +to a private conference with the chief men of the island; and between +the representatives of Athens and the Melian nobles there ensued an +extraordinary dialogue, which is given at great length by the +historian, and is commonly known as the Melian Debate. We cannot +suppose that the arguments here placed by Thucydides in the mouth of +the Athenian speaker were really uttered as set down by that writer. +Such a paradox of iniquity, such a shameless insult to the general +conscience of humanity, might have been employed by Plato, in exposing +the vicious teaching of the Sophists, or by Aristophanes in the full +riot of his satire: but the total abnegation of principle here implied +could never have been openly avowed by a responsible agent, speaking +for the most polished community in Greece. Even the worst criminals +seek to give some specious colour to their villainy; and the condemned +felon, who will face death without a tremor, shudders at the cry of +execration which greets his appearance at the scaffold. So hard it is, +even for the most depraved, to stifle the last embers of the moral +sense. We cannot suppose, then, that an educated Athenian of the fifth +century would publicly have claimed for his state the right of rapine +and murder. For this is the line of argument pursued by the +representative of Athens in the Melian Debate. The substance of what +he says may briefly be stated as follows "You are weak--we are strong; +Melos is a paltry island, Athens is queen of the Aegaean, and the +existence of an independent city in these waters is an insult to her +empire. Let us waste no time in discussions about abstract law and +right. For the mighty there is but one law--to get what they can, and +to keep it; and the weak have no rights, except by the sufferance of +the strong. This rule of conduct we know to be universal among men, +and we believe that the gods themselves are governed by it. [1] +To sum up the whole case in one word: you must yield or perish." + +[1] + Desire of power, on earth a vicious weed, + Yet sprung from high, is of celestial seed; + In God 'tis glory; and when men aspire, + 'Tis but a spark too much of heavenly fire.--DRYDEN. + +It was in vain that the unhappy Melians tried to argue the question +from a higher standpoint; in vain they warned the Athenians that they +themselves might one day stand before the bar of justice, and plead +for their existence. They were brought back relentlessly to the grim +alternative-submission, or extermination. At length this strange +controversy came to an end, and after one final hint, of fearful +significance, the Athenian envoys withdrew, leaving the Melians to +consider their answer. The brave islanders were not long in coming +to their decision: they would not, they said, consent to enslave a city +which had maintained its liberty for seven hundred years; they put +their trust in divine justice, and in their kinsmen the Spartans, and +were resolved to resist to the last. + +On receiving this answer the Athenian commanders at once laid siege to +Melos, and the doomed city was soon closely blockaded by sea and land. +The Melians made a gallant defence, and twice succeeded in breaking +through the lines of the besiegers, and conveying supplies into the +town. But presently reinforcements arrived from Athens, and the +Melians were confined within their walls. All hope of succour from +Sparta had vanished, food began to fail, and treason was at work among +the garrison. Thus driven to extremity, the Melians surrendered at +discretion. Then the Athenians showed that their threats had not been +idly uttered. All the men of military age in Melos were put to death, +the women and children were sold into slavery, and the land was +distributed among Athenian settlers. + +In the fifth year of the war, after the capitulation of Mytilene, a +thousand of the inhabitants had been butchered in cold blood; and this +sentence, which seems so cruel to us, was regarded by the Athenians as +an act of mercy. Six years later, the decree which had originally been +passed against Mytilene, was actually executed on Scione, which had +revolted at the instigation of Brasidas. In this act of savage +retribution, Athens still remained within the limits of Greek +international law, which placed the inhabitants of a revolted city at +the mercy of their conquerors. But the case of Melos was different, +for that island had never been included in the Athenian alliance, and +the Melians had done nothing to provoke an attack. Thus the three +names, Mytilene, Scione, and Melos, mark an ascending scale of +barbarity, culminating in a massacre which, even in the eyes of +Greeks, was an atrocious crime. Athens had now offended beyond +forgiveness, giving colour to the accusations of her worst enemies, +and heaping up vengeance for the days to come. + + + + +THE ATHENIANS IN SICILY + + I + + +The Peloponnesian War may be conveniently divided into four chief +periods. The first of these periods lasted for ten years, down to the +peace of Nicias. The second extends from the peace of Nicias to the +massacre of Melos. In the third, the scene of war was shifted from +Greece to Sicily, and it was there that the Athenian power really +received its death-blow. The fourth and final period begins after the +overthrow of the Athenians at Syracuse, and ends, nine years +afterwards, with their final defeat at Aegospotami, and the downfall +of the Athenian empire. + +It is the third of these periods which will occupy our attention for +the remainder of the present volume, and as the momentous events which +we have to relate occurred entirely in Sicily, it is necessary to say +something of the previous history of that great island. The connexion +of the Greeks with Sicily begins in the latter half of the eighth +century before Christ, when settlers from Chalcis in Euboea founded +the city of Naxos on the north-eastern coast, under the shadow of +Aetna. Naxos in its turn sent out colonists, who built the cities of +Leontini and Catana, the former on an inland site, commanding the +great plain which extends southwards from Aetna, the latter on the +coast, in a line with the centre of the same plain. These were Ionic +colonies, and we may close the list with the name of Messene +[Footnote: Originally called Zancle.] founded twenty years later on +the Sicilian side of the strait which bears its name. + +We have now to enumerate the principal Dorian cities. First among +these in time, and by far the first in importance, was Syracuse, +founded from Corinth a year after the settlement of Naxos. Between +Syracuse and the mother-city there was a close and intimate tie of +friendship, which remained unbroken throughout the course of Greek +history. The original city was built on the island of Ortygia, but a +new town afterwards arose on the low-lying coast of the mainland, and +spread northwards till it covered the eastern part of the neighbouring +heights. Ortygia was then converted into a peninsula by the +construction of a causeway, connecting the new city with the old. +Under the despotism of Gelo, who made himself master of the city in +the early part of the fifth century, [Footnote: 485 B.C.] Syracuse +rose to great power and splendour, and her territory extended over a +great part of eastern Sicily. Gelo gained immortal renown by defeating +a mighty host of Carthaginians, who invaded Sicily at the time when +the confederate cities of old Greece were fighting for their existence +against Xerxes and his great armada. After his death the power passed +to his brother Hiero, whose victories in the Olympian and Pythian +Games are commemorated in the Odes of Pindar. Hiero reigned for twelve +years, and was succeeded by his brother Thrasybulus; but a year later +the despotism was overthrown, and the government returned to a +democracy. + +A bare mention must suffice for Gela, founded from Rhodes and Crete +nearly half a century after Syracuse, and the more famous Agrigentum, +a colony from Gela, and next to Syracuse the greatest city in Sicily. +These played no part in the struggle with Athens; but Selinus and +Camarina, the two remaining Dorian cities of southern Sicily, will +occupy an important place in the following narrative. + +Thus the whole coast districts on southern and eastern Sicily were +held by opulent and flourishing Greek cities. On the north was Himera, +an Ionic colony, and the scene of Gelo's great victory over Carthage; +while the western and north-western district was divided between the +Phoenicians and the Elymi, a people of unknown origin, whose chief +seats were at Eryx and Egesta. The inland parts were held, in the +west, by the Sicans, who are believed to have come from Spain, and in +the east by the Sicels, a people of Latin race, who gave their name to +the island. + + +II + +Since the fourth year of the Peloponnesian War, Athens had been +meddling in the affairs of Sicily, under pretence of aiding the Ionian +cities, who dreaded the encroaching ambition of Syracuse. That these +fears were not unfounded was proved when, a few years afterwards, the +Syracusans expelled the commons of Leontini, and took possession of +their territory. The Leontine exiles sought refuge at Athens, but +their appeal for help remained for a time unanswered, as the Athenians +were then fully occupied in Greece. But six years after the conclusion +of the Peace of Nicias, an appeal came to Athens from a remote corner +of Sicily, which stimulated the Leontine exiles to fresh efforts, and +led to most important results. + +Between the Greeks of Selinus and the Elymians of Egesta there was a +long-standing quarrel, and in a war which had recently broken out the +Egestaeans were reduced to severe straits by the combined forces of +Selinus and Syracuse. In their distress they turned to Athens for +help, and envoys were sent to plead their cause before the Athenian +assembly. In aiding Egesta, argued the envoys, Athens would be serving +her own interests; for if the Syracusans were not speedily checked in +their aggressions, they would soon make themselves masters of the +whole of Sicily, and in that case they could bring such an accession +of strength to the enemies of Athens in Greece as to make them +irresistible. They had good reason, therefore, to take sides against +the enemies of Egesta, and the more so as the Egestaeans promised to +defray all the expenses of the war. + +The Athenians generally were inclined to take up the quarrel of +Egesta, but as a measure of precaution it was decided to send agents +of their own to make an inspection on the spot, and see whether the +Egestaeans were as wealthy as they pretended. On their return to +Athens these men reported that Egesta was possessed of fabulous +riches. At every house where they had been entertained, the tables and +the sideboards had been one blaze of gold and silver plate. The fact +was that the Egestaeans had collected all the gold and silver vessels +in the town, and others borrowed from the neighbouring cities, and by +passing them on from house to house, wherever these important guests +were invited, had contrived to make a great display. As an earnest of +all this wealth, the Athenian commissioners brought back with them +sixty talents of silver. + +The smallness of this sum ought to have been sufficient to arouse the +suspicions of the Athenians; but they were willing to be deceived, and +they gave ready credence to reports of their commissioners. Voting in +full assembly, they passed a decree that sixty ships should be sent to +Sicily, under the command of Nicias, Alcibiades, and Lamachus. The +fleet was first to be employed in helping Egesta, and when that +contest had been brought to a successful issue the Leontines were to +be restored to their homes; finally, the generals were empowered to +act as might seem best in the interests of Athens. The real purpose of +the enterprise is indicated in the last clause. Vague plans of +conquest were floating before the minds of the Athenians, and at a +time when their whole energies should have been employed to repair the +breaches in their empire, they dreamed of founding a new dominion in +the west. + +Five days later the assembly met again to vote supplies and discuss +any further details which remained to be settled. But Nicias +determined to take the opportunity of reopening the whole question, +wishing, if possible, to divert his countrymen from their purpose, and +put an end to the expedition altogether. It was folly, he argued, to +take up the cause of needy foreigners, and drain the resources of +Athens for a distant and hazardous enterprise, when their subjects in +Thrace were still in open revolt, and their enemies in Greece were on +the watch to take them at a disadvantage. If they trusted in the +treaty with Sparta, they would soon find how infirm was the ground of +their confidence. That treaty had been forced upon the Spartans by +their misfortunes, and they would be only too glad to repudiate it, +which they could easily do, as many of the conditions were still under +dispute. Moreover, the most powerful cities of the Peloponnesian +League had refused to sign the treaty, and were ready, at the first +hint from Sparta, to renew the war. Athens was beset with perils, +which were enough to tax her strength to the utmost: and yet they +talked of sailing to Sicily, and raising up a new host of enemies +against her! Even if the expedition succeeded, they could never keep +their hold on that vast and populous island, while, if it failed, they +would be utterly ruined. As to the supposed danger from the ambition +of Syracuse, that was mere idle talk. The schemes of conquest, with +which the Egestaeans had tried to alarm the Athenians, would keep the +Syracusans busy at home, and prevent them from meddling in the affairs +of Greece. "Leave the Greeks of Sicily alone," said Nicias with true +prophetic insight; "and they will not trouble you. Do not disturb the +prestige which belongs to a distant and unfamiliar power. If they once +learn to know you, they may learn to despise you." + +Then fixing his eyes on Alcibiades, who was sitting surrounded by his +own partisans, young profligates like himself, Nicias concluded thus: +"There is another danger against which I would warn you, men of +Athens--the danger of being led astray by the wild eloquence of +unscrupulous politicians, who seek to dazzle you with visions of new +empire, that they may rise to high command, and restore their own +shattered fortunes. Yes, Athens is to pour out her blood and treasure, +to provide young spendthrifts with the means of filling their racing- +stables! Against the mad counsels of these desperate men I invoke the +mature prudence of the elder members of this assembly, and call upon +them to show by a unanimous vote that neither flattery nor taunts can +induce them to sacrifice the true interests of Athens." + +It must have been a severe ordeal for the young Alcibiades to sit and +listen to this keen and bitter invective, which set in a glaring light +the worst features in his character--his selfish ambition, his +shameless life, his total want of principle, his vulgar ostentation. +The last quality, so alien from the best traditions of Athenian +character, had been conspicuously displayed only a few weeks before at +the Olympic festival, where he had entered seven four-horsed cars for +the chariot-race, and won the first, second, and fourth prizes. Every +word of Nicias went home, galling him in his sorest point--his +outrageous vanity; and hardly had the elder statesman concluded his +speech, when he sprang to his feet, and burst without preface into a +wild harangue, which is a remarkable piece of self-revelation, +disclosing with perfect candour the inner motives of the man on whom, +more than on any other, the future of Athens depended. He began by +defending his barbaric extravagance, recently displayed at Olympia, +which, as he pretended to believe, had covered his native city with +glory, and spread the fame of Athenian wealth and power from one end +of Greece to another. The lavish outlay, and haughty demeanour, which +would be justly blamed in a common man, were right and proper in him, +one of the elect spirits of the time, inspired with great aims, and +treading the summits of public life. He had already shown what he +could do in the highest regions of diplomacy, by raising a great +coalition in Peloponnesus, which had faced the whole might of Sparta +in the field, and struck terror into the enemies of Athens. + +After this impudent defence of his own pernicious policy, which had +led to the crushing defeat at Mantinea, and thus enabled the Spartans +to restore their damaged reputation, Alcibiades proceeded to deal with +the question of the day, and exerted all his sophistry to confirm the +Athenians in their design of invading Sicily. That island, he +asserted, was inhabited by a mixed population with no settled homes, +and no common patriotic sentiment; and among these motley elements +they would find plenty of adherents. The Siceliots [Footnote: Greeks +of Sicily.] were poorly armed, ill-furnished with heavy infantry, and +in constant danger from the hostile Sicels. The risk of attack from +the Peloponnesians would not be increased by sending part of the +Athenian fleet to Sicily: for Attica was in any case always exposed to +invasion, and a sufficient force of ships would be left at home to +keep command of the sea. + +"We have no excuse, then," said Alcibiades in conclusion, "for +breaking our word to the Egestaeans, and drawing back from this +enterprise. Both honour and policy are pointing the way to Sicily. An +empire like ours is an ever-expanding circle, which lives by growing, +and cannot stand still. It is only by getting more, and always more, +that we can keep what we have. And let not Nicias succeed in his +attempt to set the old against the young, neither let us believe, like +him, that the stability of a state consists in stagnation. It is only +by a hearty co-operation of all ages and classes that any state can +prosper, and a community which finds no outlet for its energies abroad +is soon worn out by discord and faction at home. Above all is this +true of us Athenians, to whom ceaseless toil and endeavour is the very +element in which we live." + +The advice of Alcibiades, thus tendered in the garb of political +wisdom, was of fatal and ruinous tendency, and in direct opposition to +the oft-repeated warnings of Pericles. But his speech was exactly +suited to the temper of his audience, and most of those who followed +him spoke to the same effect, and when the Egestaeans and Leontines +renewed their entreaties it became evident that the original motion +would be confirmed by a large majority. Nicias, however, resolved to +make one more effort, and he came forward to speak again, hoping by a +new device to check the torrent of popular enthusiasm. Affecting to +regard the matter as settled, he entered into an estimate of the force +required for the proposed expedition, prefaced by an alarming picture +of the wealth and power of the Sicilian Greeks. To act with effect +against such an enemy, they must send, not only an overwhelming naval +force, but a numerous body of troops, both cavalry and infantry, and a +fleet laden with supplies for many months. They must proceed, in fact, +as if they were founding a great city on a hostile soil. On no other +condition, added Nicias, would he undertake the command. Nicias had +intended, by exaggerating the difficulties of the undertaking, to damp +the ardour of the Athenians; but to his utter dismay, these timid +counsels were greeted with a great shout of applause. It was supposed +that he had changed his opinion, and even the elder men began to think +that so prudent a leader, backed by such an armament, could not fail +of success. A great wave of excitement swept over the assembly, and +the few who still doubted were cowed into silence. When the tumult had +subsided, a certain Demostratus, [Footnote: The name is given by +Plutarch.] who had spoken strongly in favour of the expedition, +addressing Nicias in the name of the assembly, asked him to state +plainly what force he required. Thus driven into a corner, Nicias +answered, with great reluctance, that the number of triremes must be +not less than one hundred, with five thousand heavy-armed infantry, +and slingers and bow-men in proportion. This enormous estimate was +carried without demur, and by the same vote full powers were conferred +on the generals to fix the scale of the armament as they might think +best for the interests of Athens. + +Thus, by a strange freak of fortune, the Athenians, at the most +momentous crisis of their history, were urged along the road to ruin +by the most opposite qualities in their leaders, the cold caution of +Nicias, and the wild energy of Alcibiades. + + +III + +During the whole of the following spring [Footnote: B.C. 415.] +preparations for the invasion of Sicily were actively pushed on, and +the whole city was in a bustle and stir of excitement. Athens had +recently recovered from the ravages of the plague, and six years of +peace had recruited her resources, both in men and money. Since the +first outbreak of the war a new generation had grown up, and these +young and untried spirits joined, with all the fire of youth, in an +enterprise which promised them a boundless field of adventure. Others +were attracted by the baser motive of gain, or by mere curiosity, and +the love of travel. No thought of danger or hardship, no hint of +possible failure, clouded the brilliant prospect; it was a gay holiday +excursion, and at the same time a grand scheme of conquest, offering +fame to the ambitious, wealth to the needy, and pleasant recreation to +all. Thousands flocked eagerly to enter their names for the service, +and the only trouble of the recruiting officers was in choosing the +stoutest and the best. + +The great armament was on the eve of departure, and all hearts were +full of joyful anticipation, when an event occurred which suddenly +chilled this happy mood, and cast a shadow of evil augury on the whole +undertaking. The Athenians of that age, like their descendants nearly +five centuries later, [Footnote: See Acts xvii. 22.] were "more god- +fearing than other men." They worshipped a multitude of divinities, +and their city was thronged with the temples and statues of heroes and +gods. Conspicuous among the objects of popular adoration was the god +Hermes, who is exhibited by ancient poets and artists as a gracious +and lovely youth, the special patron of eloquence and wit, the +guardian spirit of travellers and merchants, and the giver of good +luck. A familiar feature in the streets and public places of Athens +was the bust of Hermes, surmounting a quadrangular stone pillar. Many +hundreds of these pillars, which were called Hermae, were scattered +about over the whole city, standing before the doors of houses and +temples, at cross-ways and places of public resort. Wherever he went, +whatever he did, the Athenian felt himself to be in the presence of +this genial and friendly power, who attended him, with more than human +sympathy, in all his ways. + +If such were the feelings of the Athenians towards their favourite +deity, what must have been their horror when they awoke one morning to +find that all the busts of Hermes, with one or two exceptions, were +shattered and mutilated beyond all recognition. The whole population +was thunderstruck, and wild rumours ran from mouth to mouth concerning +the perpetrators and the motive of this shocking outrage. It was +evident that many hands must have been employed on the work of +destruction, and those who had so foully insulted the most hallowed +affections of their fellow-citizens were believed to be capable of any +enormity. It was loudly asserted that a black conspiracy was hatching +against the liberties of the people, and that the worst days of the +tyranny were about to be revived. For in those days religion and +politics were associated with a closeness of intimacy unknown in +modern Europe, and sacrilege might well be regarded as a prelude to +treason. Active measures were at once taken to bring the offenders to +justice, and great rewards were offered to anyone, whether citizen, +slave, or resident foreigner, who gave information concerning this or +any similar crime. At first nothing was disclosed as to the mutilation +of the Hermae, but other recent acts of profanation were brought to +light, and among these was mentioned a derisive parody of the great +Eleusinian Mysteries, alleged to have been performed in the house of +Alcibiades, and elsewhere. The enemies of Alcibiades, who were both +numerous and powerful, eagerly seized this handle against him; but +when the matter was debated in the public assembly, it became evident +that, if he were brought to trial at once, his present popularity, as +chief promoter of the Sicilian expedition, would ensure his acquittal. +Seeing, therefore, that their attack had been premature, those who had +led the outcry against him now drew back, reserving themselves for a +more favourable occasion. Being known as the bitter opponents of +Alcibiades, they could not, without exciting grave suspicions, propose +the adjournment of his trial; but other speakers, prompted by them, +urged on grounds of public expediency that the charges against him +should be held in suspense, so as not to delay the departure of the +fleet. Alcibiades saw plainly that this manoeuvre was contrived to get +him out of the way, to remove his adherents from Athens, and leave his +enemies free to pursue their machinations during his absence. But it +was in vain that he exposed the malicious motives of the last +speakers, and pleaded earnestly for an immediate trial. The Athenians +were still possessed by their daring scheme of conquest, and they +decreed that Alcibiades should keep his command, and sail at once to +Sicily. + + +IV + +At last the great day arrived, and in the first light of a mid-summer +dawn, a vast multitude was seen pouring along the broad highway which +led, between the Long Walls, from Athens to Peiraeus. The Upper City +was almost deserted by its inhabitants, for there was hardly one +Athenian who had not some cherished comrade, or some near relation, +enrolled for service in Sicily, and the crowd was swelled by thousands +of strangers, who came as spectators of that memorable scene. Little +now appeared of that sanguine and joyous temper which had prevailed +among the Athenians when they first voted for the expedition. Their +feelings had lately been fearfully harrowed by the mutilation of the +Hermae, and now that the moment of parting was at hand, all the perils +and uncertainties of their grand enterprise rose up vividly before +them. They were restored, however, to some degree of cheerfulness, +when they reached the harbour of Peiraeus, and saw the magnificent +fleet riding at anchor. Nearly all the vessels lying in the bay were +Athenian; for the main body of the allies, and the commissariat ships, +had been ordered to muster at Corcyra. The triremes furnished by +Athens numbered a hundred, of which sixty were fully equipped as war- +galleys, while forty were employed as transports. These numbers had +been equalled more than once before during the war; but in efficiency, +in splendour of appearance, and in the quality of the crews, this was +by far the finest fleet that ever sailed from Peiraeus. Only the bare +hulls of the ships were provided by the state, and each vessel was +assigned to some wealthy citizen, who defrayed all the expense of +fitting her for active service. Sometimes the cost of equipping a ship +was divided between two or more citizens, and at ordinary times this +form of taxation must have been felt by the rich as a heavy burden. +But such was the popularity of the Sicilian expedition that the +wealthy Athenians who were charged with this duty went far beyond what +was required of them, each striving to surpass the others by the +superior beauty and speed of his own ship. The crews were all composed +of picked men, attracted by the double rate of pay which was furnished +from the state exchequer; and in addition to this, the trierarchs +[Footnote: Citizens charged with the duty of equipping a trireme.] +paid special premiums to the petty officers and to the highest class +of rowers. The same spirit of emulation extended to the whole body of +Athenians enrolled in the army and fleet; every man felt that whatever +he spent on his own personal equipment was spent for the honour and +glory of Athens. And the effect produced on the public mind in Greece +was, in fact, prodigious: after all the ravages of the plague, and ten +years of exhausting warfare, Athens, it seemed, was stronger than +ever, and in the mere exuberance of energy was making this imposing +display of wealth and power. As to the ostensible object of the +expedition--the conquest of Sicily--few doubted that it must follow as +a matter of course. + +The last farewell had been spoken, the troops were all embarked, and +the rowers sat ready at their oars. The trumpet sounded, commanding +silence, and the voice of the herald was heard, repeating a solemn +prayer, which was taken up by the whole multitude on sea and on shore, +while the captains and soldiers poured libations of wine from goblets +of silver and gold. When this act of worship was ended, the crews +raised the paean, and at a given signal the whole fleet was set in +motion, and passed, in single file, out of the harbour. On reaching +the open water, they quitted this order, and engaged in a friendly +contest of speed as far as Aegina. Then the crews settled down to +their work, and the great armament swept on, high in heart and hope, +to join the allied contingents, and commissariat fleet, now assembled +at Corcyra. + +As yet only general rumours of the intended invasion had reached +Syracuse, and few of the citizens were aware of the imminent peril in +which they stood. Among those who were better informed was +Hermocrates, a Syracusan of high rank, who for many years had been the +guiding spirit in Sicilian politics. Speaking at a public assembly, +about the time when the Athenian fleet sailed from Peiraeus, he urged +the necessity of taking prompt measures for placing the city in a +thorough state of defence. He had no fear, he said, of the ultimate +triumph of Syracuse in the approaching struggle: only let them be on +their guard, and not underrate the power of the enemy whom they would +have to face. The words of Hermocrates, who enjoyed a high reputation +for valour, patriotism, and sagacity, were not without their effect, +and it was resolved that the generals should at once set about +organizing the military resources of Syracuse, and providing all +things necessary for the public safety. Some steps in this direction +they had already taken; and tidings soon arrived at Syracuse which +caused them to redouble their exertions. + +For in the meantime the Athenians had reached Corcyra, where they held +a final review of all their forces. The total number of the triremes +was a hundred and thirty-four, and with these sailed a vast fleet of +merchant ships, and smaller craft, laden with stores of all kinds, and +carrying a whole army of bakers, masons, and carpenters, with the +tools of their crafts, and all the engines required for a siege. +Besides these, there was a great number of other vessels, small and +great, fitted out by private speculators for purposes of trade. The +military force was on a corresponding scale, comprising five thousand, +one hundred hoplites, of whom fifteen hundred were full Athenian +citizens, four hundred and eighty archers, seven hundred slingers from +Rhodes, and a hundred and twenty exiles from Megara, equipped as +light-armed troops. The force of cavalry was but small, being conveyed +in a single transport. + +The whole armament now weighed anchor from Corcyra and sailed in three +divisions, each commanded by one of the generals, to the opposite +coast of Italy. On arriving at Rhegium, an Ionic city on the Italian +side of the strait, they received permission to beach their ships, and +form a camp outside the walls; and here they waited for the return of +three fast-sailing triremes, which had been sent forward from +Corcyrato carry the news of their approach to Egesta, and claim the +promised subsidy, and at the same time to sound the temper of the +Greek cities in Sicily. Before long the ships came back with their +report, and the Athenians now learned to their great chagrin that all +the fabled wealth of Egesta had dwindled to the paltry sum of thirty +talents. + +The three generals now held a council of war, to decide on a plan of +campaign. It was evident that no help was to be obtained from Egesta, +and the attitude of the Rhegini, who declined to enter their alliance, +boded ill for the success of the expedition. As their prospects were +so discouraging, Nicias proposed to confine their operations within +the narrowest limits, to patch up a peace between Selinus and Egesta, +to aid the Leontines, if it could be done without risk or expense, and +after making a display of the Athenian power, to sail home to Athens. +Alcibiades protested strongly against such a course, as disgraceful to +Athens, and unworthy of the splendid armament entrusted to their +command. Let them try first what could be effected by negotiation with +the Greek cities and native tribes of Sicily, and after gaining as +many allies as possible in the island, let them proceed to the attack +of Selinus and Syracuse. Lamachus, on the other hand, a plain, +downright soldier, was for sailing straight to Syracuse, and striking +immediately at the heart of Sicily. The city, he argued, would be +found unprepared, and if they acted at once, in the first terror of +their presence, they were certain of victory; but if they waited, +their men would lose heart, the efficiency of the fleet would be +impaired, and the Syracusans would gather strength and courage from +the delay. + +How true was the forecast of Lamachus was proved by the event; but his +bold plan was distasteful alike to the timid temper of Nicias, and to +the tortuous, intriguing spirit of Alcibiades. Finding, therefore, +that he had no hope of convincing his colleagues, he voted for the +middle course, and accordingly the plan of Alcibiades, unquestionably +the worst of the three, was adopted. + +In pursuance of this fatal policy Alcibiades crossed over to Messene, +and tried to win over that city to the side of Athens. Meeting with no +success, he returned to Rhegium, and immediately afterwards he and one +of his colleagues sailed with a force of sixty triremes to Naxos. Here +the Athenians found a hearty welcome, but at Catana, which was then +under the influence of Syracuse, their overtures were rejected, so +they continued their voyage southwards, and made their camp for the +night at the mouth of the river Terias. Starting early next day, they +proceeded along the coast, and, crossing the bay of Thapsus, came in +sight, for the first time, of their great enemy, Syracuse. The main +body of the fleet remained in the offing, but ten triremes were sent +forward to reconnoitre the Great Harbour, and get a nearer view of the +fortifications. When the little squadron came within hearing of the +walls, a herald proclaimed in a loud voice that any of the Leontines +now present in Syracuse should leave the city without fear, and come +over to their faithful kinsmen and allies, the Athenians. After this +futile demonstration, better calculated; to excite laughter than +terror, the reconnoitring triremes withdrew, and the whole fleet +sailed back in the direction of Rhegium. On their return voyage the +Athenians succeeded, by a lucky accident, in gaining the adherence of +Catana, which henceforth became the head-quarters of the whole +armament. Soon after they had effected this important change of +station the Salaminian state trireme arrived with momentous news from +Athens. We have seen what a panic of superstitious fear had been +caused among the Athenians by the mutilation of the Hermae. Arrested +for the moment by the all-absorbing interest of the Sicilian +expedition, the excitement broke out with renewed violence after the +departure of the fleet. The enemies of Alcibiades saw that the time +was now ripe for bringing up against him the charge of violating the +mysteries, and pressing for a judgment. A formal indictment was laid +before the senate, and it was decided that he should come home and +stand his trial. But it was necessary to proceed with caution, for +Alcibiades was popular with the troops serving in Sicily; and it was +possible that, if any violence were attempted against his person, they +might break out into mutiny. Accordingly the captain of the Salaminian +trireme was instructed to treat him with all respect, and allow him to +return to Athens in his own vessel. On receiving the summons +Alcibiades affected to obey, and set sail from Catana, with the state +trireme in attendance. The two ships remained in company as far as +Thurii, a Greek town of southern Italy, but there the great criminal +disappeared, and after searching for him in vain the officers of the +Salaminia were obliged to return to Athens without him. When the news +of his flight was brought to Athens, he was arraigned in his absence, +and condemned to death. But if his enemies supposed that they had +heard the last of Alcibiades, they soon learnt how deeply they were +mistaken. + + +V + +The conduct of the campaign in Sicily was thus left in the feeble +hands of Nicias; for though Lamachus nominally held an equal command, +his poverty and political insignificance prevented him from holding +the position to which his military talents entitled him. The few +remaining weeks of summer were frittered away in trivial operations on +the western coasts of the island, and then the Athenians withdrew into +winter quarters at Catana. The predictions of Lamachus now began to be +fulfilled: seeing that Nicias, with the vast force at his disposal, +attempted nothing against them, the Syracusans began to despise their +enemy, and thought of taking the offensive. Horsemen from Syracuse +rode repeatedly up to the Athenian outposts at Catana, and tauntingly +inquired if the Athenians had come to found a colony in Sicily. At +last even Nicias felt that some display of activity was necessary to +save himself from contempt. He had learnt from certain Syracusan +exiles that there was a convenient place for landing troops, on the +low-lying shore where the river Anapus flows into the Great Harbour. +Here he determined to make a sudden descent, and in order to avoid +disembarking in the face of an enemy, he contrived a stratagem to +remove the whole Syracusan force out of reach. A citizen of Catana, +who was attached to the Athenian interest, was sent with a message to +the Syracusan generals, which held out a tempting prospect of gaining +an easy and decisive advantage over the Athenian army. Professing to +come from the partisans of Syracuse still remaining in Catana, he +promised on their behalf that if the Syracusans made a sudden assault +on the Athenian camp, their friends in Catana would simultaneously +fall upon the Athenian troops, who were in the habit of deserting +their quarters and straggling about the town, and set fire to their +ships. + +This plausible story found ready credence with the Syracusan generals, +and they named a day on which they promised to appear in full force +before the walls of Catana. When the time appointed drew near, they +marched out with the whole Syracusan army, leaving the city to be +garrisoned by their allies, and took up a position within easy reach +of Catana. Thereupon Nicias, who was fully informed of their +movements, embarked his troops by night, sailed down the coast past +Syracuse, and entering the Great Harbour, came to land near the +outlying suburb of Polichne, where stood the great temple of the +Olympian Zeus. Here he planted a breastwork of palisades to defend his +ships, and drew up his army on ground which offered many obstacles to +the advance of the Syracusan cavalry. Then, having broken down the +bridge over the Anapus, he waited for the enemy to appear. + +Meanwhile the Syracusan generals had marched upon Catana, and finding +that they had been duped, returned with all speed to the defence of +their own city. After a long and fatiguing march, they came in view of +the Athenian position, and drew up their forces for battle. But Nicias +declined the challenge, and the day being now far advanced, they fell +back and encamped for the night in the open field. + +Next morning Nicias, acting with unusual vigour, drew up his army in +two equal divisions, and leaving one half to defend the camp, and act +as a reserve, with the other he advanced rapidly upon the enemy. The +Syracusans, who had perhaps reckoned too much on the known indolence +of Nicias, were taken by surprise. Their discipline was lax, and many +of them had left their posts, and gone off into the town. +Nevertheless, they met the attack with firmness: those who were on the +spot hastened to assume their weapons, which they had laid aside, +while the stragglers came running back, and took their stand wherever +they saw a gap in the ranks. After some preliminary skirmishing +between the light-armed troops, the heavy masses of the hoplites came +to close quarters, and a fierce hand to hand struggle ensued. While +the issue was still uncertain, a violent thunderstorm broke over the +contending armies, and struck terror into the Syracusans, who regarded +it as an omen of defeat. But the seasoned soldiers of Nicias saw +nothing unusual in an autumn tempest, and perceiving the enemy to +waver, they pressed their attack, and broke through the opposing +lines. The whole Syracusan army now fell back upon Syracuse, but they +retired without haste or disorder, and their retreat was covered by a +numerous and efficient body of cavalry, so that their total loss +amounted only to two hundred and sixty. + +The victory thus remained with the Athenians; but the moral advantage +was entirely on the side of the Syracusans. With an army composed of +raw recruits, they had met the flower of the Athenian forces, trained +by years of warfare, and led by experienced generals, in fair fight, +and though attacked at a disadvantage, they had fought with spirit, +and retreated with coolness and deliberation. They had good reason to +be satisfied with the result of their first encounter with the +invader, and they might well share the high and confident hopes +expressed by their most eminent citizen, Hermocrates. Speaking at a +general assembly, immediately after the battle, the great patriot +congratulated his countrymen on the courage which they had displayed, +and at the same time pointed out the necessity of improving their +discipline and military organization. One important reform should be +made at once; the number of the generals, which had hitherto been +fifteen, should be greatly reduced, and those appointed to the supreme +command should be given absolute power, so that they might act with +secrecy and despatch. Further, let the whole adult male population be +placed under arms, and kept in constant drill all through the winter. +If these measures were vigorously carried out, they might successfully +defy the Athenians to do their worst. + +Acting on this advice, the Syracusans deposed the existing generals, +and chose Hermocrates, with three others, to fill their place. The +reform of the army was at once taken in hand, and ambassadors were +sent to Corinth and Sparta to ask for aid. Corinth, as the mother-city +of Syracuse, might well respond to the call, and it was hoped that the +Spartans would be induced to declare open war on Athens, so as to +compel the Athenians to withdraw their forces from Sicily, or at least +prevent them from sending reinforcements. + +Various defensive works were undertaken by the Syracusans during the +winter. The most important of these was a new wall, extending from the +northern sea to the Great Harbour, and taking in a wide space of +ground, outside the old line of wall, to the west of the city. By thus +increasing the area of Syracuse, they made it much more difficult for +Nicias to draw his line of blockade, when the siege began in the +following spring. They also constructed a fort, with a permanent +garrison, to guard the temple of Zeus in the suburb of Polichne, and +drove piles into the sea at all the landing-places of the Great +Harbour. + +Soon after the battle Nicias shifted his winter quarters to Naxos, and +learning this the Syracusans marched in full force to Catana, laid +waste the territory, and burnt the deserted huts of the Athenians. The +insult was tamely endured, and shortly afterwards the ever-active +Hermocrates had an opportunity of thwarting the Athenian intrigues +among the Greek cities of Sicily. The scene of this diplomatic +encounter was Camarina, a Dorian city which had hitherto wavered +between its hatred of Syracuse and its fear of Athens. Early in the +winter Athenian envoys appeared at Camarina with overtures of +alliance, and Hermocrates was sent to represent the interests of +Syracuse. Speaking first in the debate, Hermocrates set himself to +unmask the designs of the Athenians, who, under the thin pretence of +helping the Ionic cities of Sicily, had come (he said) to make a +conquest of the whole island. The Ionians of Greece had long groaned +under their yoke, and the same fate was in store for the Ionians of +Sicily, if they allowed themselves to be beguiled by specious lies. +The plea of friendship and goodwill might pass with the degenerate +Greeks of Asia and the Aegaean, born to be cajoled and enslaved; but +the Camariaeans were of the stout Dorian race, the hereditary foes of +tyranny, too wise and too brave to lend themselves as tools to a bare- +faced scheme of aggression. If not, let them beware: Syracuse was +fighting in a righteous cause, and must prevail in the end; help was +coming from Peloponnesus, and if the Camariaeans stood aloof, the day +would come when they would regret their disloyalty. + +There can be no doubt that Hermocrates was right in his view of the +motive which brought the Athenians to Sicily, and the arguments of +Euphemus, the advocate for Athens, who strove to confute him, will not +bear examination. But the people of Camarina were in a difficult +position; their city had suffered many things in the past at the hands +of Syracuse, and they had reason to fear that her oppressions might be +renewed, if she emerged triumphant from the present struggle. On the +other hand, if the Athenians were victorious, they might forfeit their +independence altogether. In this dilemma they determined to play a +waiting game, and when the time came for action, to throw their weight +on the winning side. For the present they answered that they chose to +remain neutral. + +The debate at Camarina, though interesting and instructive from the +light which it throws on the passions and motives of the combatants, +had little influence on the final issue of the war. But about the same +time a scene was being enacted in another part of the Greek world, +which led to most momentous consequences. Early in the winter the +Syracusan envoys arrived at Corinth, and made an earnest appeal for +help. The Corinthians were warmly attached to their famous colony, +which had never wavered in its allegiance to the mother-city, and +moreover they were the implacable enemies of Athens. They therefore +took up the cause of Syracuse with enthusiasm, and they sent the +envoys on to Sparta, accompanied by delegates of their own, to urge +the immediate resumption of hostilities against Athens, and the +sending of prompt aid to Sicily. + +At Sparta they found an able and unscrupulous ally, the very last whom +they had expected to meet there. This was the outlaw Alcibiades, who, +after eluding the vigilance of the Athenian officers at Thurii, had +crossed over in a merchant ship to Cyllene, the port of Elis. While +staying there, he received an invitation from the Lacedaemonians to +proceed to Sparta, and made his way thither, having first stipulated +for a safe-conduct; for he dreaded the vengeance of the Spartans, to +whom he had done much mischief by raising the coalition which led to +the battle of Mantinea. So there he was, the guest of his old enemies, +burning with all an exile's hatred, and ready to strike some deadly +blow against the city which had cast him out. + +At first the Spartans gave but a cool and qualified response to the +application of the envoys from Corinth. They were prepared to lend +moral support to the Syracusans, by sending an embassy to encourage +them in their resistance, but of more substantial aid they said little +or nothing. Now was the time for Alcibiades to play his part. He knew, +far better than any of his hearers, all the vulnerable points of +Athens, and had no scruple in using his knowledge for her ruin. Having +obtained permission from the magistrates, he rose to address the +Spartan assembly; and his speech is given at full length by the +historian, who was himself an exile at the time, and may possibly have +been present [Footnote: The suggestion is made by Grote.] on this +important occasion. + +The Spartans might smile when they heard this accomplished traitor +professing friendship towards themselves, and zeal for their service; +they might be disgusted at the flippant sophistries by which he strove +to defend his unexampled villainy. But far different feelings must +have been awakened, when he went on to unfold the gigantic scheme of +conquest, to which, as he pretended, the invasion of Sicily was no +more than a prelude. According to this statement, the Athenians +intended, after subjugating the Greeks of Sicily, to turn their arms +against the Italian Greeks, and finally to attack Carthage. If all +these designs were successful, they would build a great number of new +ships, taking their materials from the forests of Italy, raise a vast +military force, both of Greeks and barbarians, and then return, backed +by the whole power of the West, and draw a ring of war round +Peloponnesus. With such resources they would be irresistible, and all +Greece must inevitably fall under their sway. + +"Such," continued Alcibiades, "is the secret history of the Sicilian +expedition, which you have heard from the mouth of him who knows it +best. Remember, then, that the issue before you concerns not Syracuse +only, but Sparta also: for if Syracuse falls--and fall she must, if +left without support--all Sicily will be under the heel of Athens; +then will come the turn of Italy, and after that you will soon have +the enemy at your own doors. Now learn what you must do, if you would +avert all the evils which I have foretold. You must send a fleet to +Sicily at once, with hoplites who can row the ships themselves, and +serve in the army as soon as they land, and with them a Spartan +commander, to organize the fighting men of Sicily, and compel those +who are hanging back to do their duty. Such a man will be a host in +himself, and will infuse new life and energy into the defence. +Further, you must establish a fortified camp at Decelea, a position +which commands the whole territory of Attica; for by so doing you will +reduce Athens to a state of siege, and compel the whole male +population to serve on garrison duty; you will deprive the Athenians +of their revenues from the silver-mines at Laurium, and you will put +new heart into the cities subject to Athens, and encourage them to +withhold their tribute. Let these measures be carried out with +promptitude and vigour, and you will soon reap your reward, in the +humiliation of Athens, and the honour and gratitude of all Greece." + +At these words of Alcibiades the sluggish Spartans took fire, and +recognizing the importance of his advice they determined to follow the +course which he had indicated. Gylippus, a Spartan of high rank, +received orders to proceed at once to Syracuse, and assume the control +of the war, and the Corinthians were directed to provide ships for the +conveyance of troops. But after this brief display of energy the +Spartans relapsed into their wonted torpor. Many months elapsed before +Gylippus was able to embark for Sicily, and meanwhile important events +had been occurring at the seat of war. We return, therefore, to the +head-quarters of Nicias, which had once more been removed from Naxos +to Catana. + + +VI + +For the next year and a half [Footnote: Spring 414--autumn 413 B.C.] +the scene of our narrative lies almost entirely in the immediate +neighbourhood of Syracuse, so that it now becomes necessary to +describe in some detail the site of that city, and the character of +the adjacent country. Mention has already been made of the island of +Ortygia, the site of the original colony, connected with the mainland +of Sicily by a bridge or causeway. At the southern extremity of +Ortygia there is a narrow strip of land, pointing like a finger +towards the rocky peninsula of Plemmyrium; and between these two +points lies the entrance to a spacious bay, already alluded to under +the name of the Great Harbour. At the western end of the bay there is +a long stretch of low, marshy ground, intersected by the little rivers +Cyana and Anapus, and infested with fever during the heats of summer. +On a rising ground, south of the Anapus, stood the suburb of Polichne, +with its great temple, sacred to the Olympian Zeus. A little to the +north of Ortygia the coast rises abruptly in a bold line of cliffs, +facing eastwards, and forming the base of a triangular plateau, which +slopes upwards from the sea, and gradually grows narrower until it +ends in a point, called the hill of Euryelus. This plateau, which bore +the name of Epipolae, is guarded on all its three sides by rocky +precipices, only to be ascended at two or three places. Its eastern +end, called Acheadina, from the wild pear-trees which once flourished +there, was occupied by a new city, now included with Ortygia in the +same wall of defence. Here were situated the famous stone-quarries, +which afterwards acquired so tragic an interest from the sufferings of +the captive Athenians; and southwards from this district the ground +shelves gently to the shores of the Little Harbour, a sheltered inlet +at the northern end of Ortygia. + +At the opening of spring the operations against Syracuse began in good +earnest. The first object of Nicias was to obtain possession of the +heights of Epipolae, for since the construction of the new Syracusan +wall it had become impossible for him to draw his line of blockade +from the side of the Great Harbour. His preparations were already far +advanced, when the Syracusan generals resolved to anticipate him, by +occupying all the approaches to Epipolae. With this intention they +issued an order for a full muster of troops in a meadow by the Anapus, +and after a general review and inspection of arms they appointed a +picked body of six hundred hoplites to guard the heights of Epipolae, +and hold themselves ready for any other pressing service. But the +precaution was taken too late. On the night before the review Nicias +set sail with his whole army from Catana, and landed at a place called +Leon, not more than six or seven furlongs from the northern side of +Epipolae. The fleet then took up its station in the sheltered water +behind the peninsula of Thapsus, while the land forces, advancing at a +run, crossed the level ground, and then, breasting the ascent, gained +the summit of Euryelus. + +News of their approach presently reached the Syracusans, who were +still mustered by the Anapus, and breaking off the review, they +marched in haste towards Epipolae, hoping still to dislodge the +Athenians from their position. But in their rapid advance over a +distance of nearly three miles their ranks became disordered, and +their attack was so straggling and ineffectual that they were easily +repulsed, and driven back with considerable loss into the town. On the +following day Nicias led his troops down the slope, and offered battle +before the walls of Syracuse; but the challenge was declined, and the +Syracusans remained within their defences, leaving the Athenians in. +undisputed possession of Epipolae. + +After this important success the Athenian generals prepared at once to +form the siege of Syracuse. They first constructed a fort at a place +called Labdalum, on the northern verge of Epipolae, and near its +western extremity, to serve as a safe depositary for their baggage and +money. Then, taking up a position near the centre of Epipolae, they +built a circular wall, covering a considerable space of ground, and +defended on the side towards the city by an outer breastwork, a +thousand feet long. This enclosure, which was called the Circle, was +intended as a shelter for the men employed on construction of the +blockading wall, which started from either side of the Circle, and was +to be carried north and south until it reached the sea. The work made +rapid progress, and greatly alarmed the Syracusans, who saw themselves +in danger of being cut off from all hope of succour on the land side. +Dismayed by this prospect, they resolved to make one more effort to +drive the Athenians from their position, and marching out in full +force, offered battle. Advancing in haste and disorder, they would +certainly have suffered a crushing defeat, but for the prudent caution +of their generals, who were so much impressed by the superior +discipline of the Athenians, that they gave the order to retire, and +led their troops back into the city, leaving only a detachment of +horse to skirmish with the besiegers. But the Athenians had now an +efficient force of cavalry, which had been raised by successive +reinforcements to the number of six hundred and fifty men; and these, +backed by a small force of infantry, soon drove the horsemen of +Syracuse from the field. + +The Athenians then completed the building of their Circle, and began +to lay the materials for the northern line of wall. By the advice of +Hermocrates the Syracusans made no further attempt to attack them in +full force, but began to build a counterwall, running out from the +city in a direction south of the Athenian Circle, so as to cross the +line to be followed by the wall of blockade, and prevent it from +reaching the Great Harbour. The work proceeded without interruption, +for the Athenians were engaged in their building operations north of +the Circle, and did not choose to divide their forces. When it was +completed, this counterwork consisted of a solid stone wall, crowned +with wooden towers, and defended in front by a palisade. The blockade +of Syracuse was thus rendered impossible, as long as the defenders +could keep possession of their counterwall. But unfortunately the +guards left in charge of the new wail soon began to neglect their +duty, and erected tents in the shade, where they passed the hot hours +of the afternoon, while some even left their posts, and went off to +refresh themselves in the city. The Athenian generals did not fail to +take advantage of this negligence. Watching their opportunity, when +most of the Syracusan guards were reposing under the shelter of the +tents, they sent a chosen troop of some three hundred men to make a +sudden assault on the counterwall. Then, having divided the main body +of the Athenian army between them, they disposed their forces so as to +prevent any rescue from the town. One division was drawn up before the +principal gate in the new Syracusan wall, while the other proceeded to +a postern-gate, at the point where the counterwall started from the +city. The combined movement was completely successful; the three +hundred carried the stockade and cross-wall by storm, and compelled +the defenders to take refuge within the ramparts of Syracuse. The +whole Athenian army then marched up to the counterwall and stockade, +which they speedily demolished, carrying off the materials for their +own use. + +Wishing to prevent any second attempt on the part of the Syracusans to +cut them off from the southern slope of Epipolae, the Athenian +generals now fortified that part of the cliff which looks towards the +Great Harbour. By occupying this point they obtained a new centre, +commanding the space between the Circle and the southern edge of the +cliff, and placing them in communication with the level valley of the +Anapus, across which they had to carry their line of blockade. For the +present building operations were suspended on the northern side of the +Circle, as they wished first of all to complete the investment of +Syracuse towards the south. + +Perceiving their intention, the Syracusans began a second counterwork, +consisting of a stockade and ditch, which started at the point of +junction between the old city-wall and the new, and ran across the low +swampy ground as far as the Anapus. Thus the Athenians were confronted +by a new obstacle, which had to be removed, before they could make any +further progress. Acting with energy and decision, they sent orders to +the fleet, which was still lying at Thapsus, to sail round into the +Great Harbour; and without waiting for its arrival, before daybreak +Lamachus led his troops down the cliff, and advanced against the +stockade. His men carried hurdles and planks, to secure their footing +in the most treacherous parts of the swamp, and, proceeding thus, in +the first light of dawn they came up to the stockade. They found the +Syracusans assembled in force to resist them, and an engagement +ensued, which speedily ended in favour of the Athenians. The right +wing of the Syracusan army fled back into the city, while the left +wing retreated towards the suburb of Polichne, hotly pursued by the +picked troop [Footnote: P. 203.] of Athenian hoplites, who wished to +cut them off before they reached the river. By this rash movement the +Athenians came near to forfeiting the advantage which they had gained, +and brought upon themselves an irreparable loss. For the Syracusan +cavalry turned on their pursuers, and drove them back in disorder upon +the Athenian right. The sudden reverse created something like a panic +in that part of the line, and Lamachus, who was in command of the left +wing, hastened to their relief, and threw himself, with a handful of +men, between the Syracusan cavalry and the fugitives. This gallant +action turned the tide of battle once more, and gave the Athenians on +the right wing time to rally; but Lamachus and his followers, pushing +forward too hotly, were attacked by the enemy in a place where their +retreat was cut off by a ditch, and slain to a man. + +Meanwhile the Syracusans who had fled into the city, observing the +temporary defeat of the Athenians, had taken courage again, and they +returned to the field, having first sent a detachment to attack the +Athenian Circle, where Nicias, who was disabled by sickness, had been +left in charge with a small garrison. Thinking to make an easy +capture, the party sent on this service ran up the slope of Epipolae, +and reached the breastwork of the Circle, which they took and +demolished. With the scanty force at his disposal, Nicias had little +hope of repelling the attack, so he had recourse to a desperate +expedient. He ordered the camp-servants to set fire to a great pile of +timber, which was lying, together with a number of siege engines, in +front of the wall. They did as he directed, and a great flame arose, +which drove back the assailants, and gave warning of his danger to the +Athenians in the plain below, where the whole Syracusan army was now +in full retreat. Almost at the same moment the Athenian fleet was seen +sailing into the Great Harbour, and a strong contingent from the +victorious army came swarming up the hill to the rescue. Thereupon the +storming party from Syracuse turned and fled back to the city, where +they found the streets thronged by their beaten and dispirited +comrades. + +The result of this battle was to leave the Athenian in undisputed +possession of the whole country round Syracuse. Lamachus, indeed, had +fallen, and the loss of that daring and active spirit soon made itself +severely felt. But for the present the fortunes of Athens were in the +ascendant, and everything seemed to promise a speedy triumph. The +Syracusans were thoroughly cowed by their defeat, and looked passively +on, while a double wall of blockade crept steadily forwards from the +southern edge of Epipolae towards the Great Harbour, where the +Athenian fleet had now taken up its permanent station. The native +Sicels, who had hitherto held back through fear of Syracuse, now +joined the Athenians in great numbers. Even the distant Etruscans, the +ancient enemies of Syracuse, sent three war-galleys to take part in +the sack of the great Dorian city. + +Day by day the spirits of the Syracusans sank lower and lower. They +now began to feel the actual pressure of a siege. Months had passed +since their envoys had sailed for Greece, and there was still no sign +of help from Corinth or Sparta. They had lost all hope of saving +themselves by their own unaided efforts, and no course seemed left to +them but to make the best terms they could with Nicias. Negotiations +were accordingly opened with the Athenian general, but after much +discussion no definite result was attained. In this hour of weakness +and distress, the Syracusans became divided against themselves, and +every man suspected his neighbour of treason. Then they turned upon +their generals, who, after holding out such high promises, had brought +them to this pass, either by mismanagement, or by deliberate +treachery. Hermocrates and his colleagues were deposed from their +command, and three other generals succeeded to their place. + +In the eyes of all those who were watching the struggle, the fate of +Syracuse was sealed; she was destined to fall a prey to the devouring +ambition of Athens. But at this very moment a little cloud was +approaching from the east, which was fraught with disaster and ruin to +the besieging army. + + +VII + +Just at the time when the Syracusans were brought to the brink of +despair, Gylippus, after so many months' delay, was on his voyage to +Sicily. While lying at Leucas, a Corinthian settlement in the Ionian +sea, he received the alarming intelligence that Syracuse was already +completely blockaded, and the report was confirmed by every vessel +that came in from the west. Deceived by these false rumours, he gave +up all hope of saving Sicily, but hoping still to forestall the +Athenians in Italy, he put out from Leucas with four ships, and +steered a straight course for Tarentum. From this city, which was +friendly to Sparta and Syracuse, he started on his mission among the +Italian Greeks, and putting in at Locri he heard for the first time +that the Athenian wall was still unfinished on the northern side of +Epipolae, leaving a wide gap, through which a relieving force might +enter the town. + +Two courses now lay open to Gylippus. He might sail southwards, and +make an attempt to run the blockade of Syracuse--or he might land on +the northern coast of Sicily, march across the island, and fight his +way into the city through the unwalled interval. In either case, the +enterprise seemed desperate enough. By a very moderate exertion on the +part of Nicias, employing only a fraction of the immense force at his +disposal, Gylippus might have been destroyed, before he had time to +become dangerous. But Nicias was lulled into a fatal confidence. He +had heard of the mission of Gylippus, but made no attempt to oppose +his voyage to Italy, regarding him as a mere free-booter, unworthy of +serious notice. At last, learning that Gylippus was at Locri, he was +induced to send out four triremes against him. They were instructed to +take station at Rhegium, and cut off the daring intruder as he passed +through the strait. But when they reached Rhegium, the wary Spartan +was already beyond their reach. He had decided to approach Syracuse by +land, and was now far advanced on his voyage to Himera, the only Greek +settlement on the north coast of Sicily. Himera, though an Ionic +colony, was attached to the Dorian interest, and her citizens gave a +hearty welcome to the Spartan deliverer. Before long, a little army of +about three thousand men was assembled at Himera, and ready to follow +the fortunes of Gylippus. Seven hundred of these were the sailors and +marines from his own vessels, armed as hoplites, and the Himeraeans +furnished a thousand infantry, light and heavy-armed, and a hundred +cavalry. Owing to the recent death of a powerful chieftain, who had +been a strong partisan of Athens, the northern Sicels had now changed +sides, and they sent a thousand men to serve under the Spartan leader. +Small contingents also arrived, in answer to the call of Gylippus, +from Gela and Selinus. With this little force, composed of such motley +elements, Gylippus started from Himera, and entered on his march for +the relief of Syracuse. The fate of Syracuse was already wavering in +the balance. As yet no news of approaching succour had reached the +beleaguered city, and the Syracusans had abandoned all hope. To save +themselves from a worse calamity, they resolved to surrender, and an +assembly was summoned to settle the terms of capitulation. But at this +very moment a message came to them by sea, which kindled their courage +afresh, and banished these counsels of despair. When Gylippus left +Leucas, a Corinthian fleet of some fifteen vessels was preparing to +sail from that port for Syracuse. One of the ships, commanded by a +certain Gongylus, was delayed in the harbour, and started after the +rest. But Gongylus, instead of steering the ordinary course, which +would have taken him first to Italy, made a bold dash, straight across +the sea, and just when the momentous decision was pending, his ship +came to anchor in the Little Harbour. Forthwith the joyful tidings +spread like wildfire through the city: Gylippus was coming, armed with +full authority from Sparta--Corinth had taken up their cause--Syracuse +was saved! All thought of surrender was instantly flung away, and news +arriving shortly afterwards that Gylippus was near at hand, the whole +Syracusan force marched out to meet him, and escorted him triumphantly +into the town. + +Thus, without a blow being struck, an immense access of strength had +been brought to the besieged, and the grand condition of successful +resistance, on which Alcibiades had laid such weight, was fulfilled. A +Spartan officer of consummate ability was now in Syracuse, and he had +made his way into the city, not alone, not by stealth, but at the head +of an army, and before the very eyes of the enemy. Weeks must have +elapsed between the departure of Gylippus from Leucas, and his arrival +at Syracuse; and during all this time, with one trifling exception, +Nicias made no effort to oppose his progress. Prudent men might well +have regarded the enterprise of Gylippus as a wild and desperate +adventure; and such it must have proved, but for the astounding +blindness and apathy of Nicias. + +At the time when Gylippus reached Syracuse the Athenian lines of +circumvallation were all but completed on the side of the Great +Harbour; but a wide interval was still left between the Circle and the +northern sea, and it was here that Gylippus had effected an entrance. +To keep this space open was a matter of supreme importance, and the +scene of action is now shifted again to the northern slope of +Epipolae. On the day after his arrival Gylippus succeeded in capturing +the Athenian fort at Labdalum, and the command of this position gave +increased facilities for the construction of a third counterwall, +which was forthwith taken in hand, and carried in the direction of +Labdalum, until it crossed the blockading line at its northern end. + +If the Syracusans succeeded in completing and holding this +counterwork, the blockade of Syracuse would be rendered impossible. +Yet for some time Nicias made no attempt to interrupt its progress. As +if already convinced of his inferiority in the field, he took steps to +keep his communications open by sea, and with this object he employed +a part of his forces in fortifying the headland of Plemmyrium, which +commanded the entrance to the Great Harbour. Here he built three forts +which served as an arsenal for the Athenian stores; and henceforth +Plemmyrium became the chief station for his fleet. This removal had a +disastrous effect on the Athenian crews; for the place being almost a +desert, and the springs distant and scanty, they were compelled to go +far from their quarters in search of forage and water, and while thus +engaged they were cut off in great numbers by the Syracusan horse, who +had been posted at Polichne for this purpose. A rapid demoralization +of the crews was the consequence, and desertions became more frequent +every day. + +Meanwhile the counterwall was advancing steadily up the hill, and +every day Gylippus drew up his army, to cover the operations of the +workmen. At last he determined to force on an engagement, and in the +first encounter the Syracusans, fighting in a confined space, which +prevented their cavalry from coming into action, suffered a defeat. In +no wise discouraged by this reverse, on the next day they took up a +position in the more open ground, and offered battle again. By this +time the Syracusan counterwork had almost passed the end of the +Athenian wall, and if it were carried a few yards further, the siege +of Syracuse would be brought to a standstill. Roused by the imminence +of the crisis, Nicias determined to make one more effort to regain his +mastery in the field, and led his troops to the attack. The main body +of the hoplites were soon hotly engaged on both sides, and in the +midst of the action Gylippus directed his cavalry and light-armed +infantry to make a sudden charge on the Athenian left. This movement +was executed with so much skill and resolution that the Athenians in +that part of the line gave way, and drew after them the rest of their +comrades, who broke their ranks, and fled for shelter behind the siege +works. + +The Syracusans lost no time in turning their victory to account. On +the very same night their wall was extended some distance beyond the +blockading line, and until this new barrier was overthrown, the +investment of Syracuse had now become impossible. + +Whichever way he looked, Nicias saw himself menaced with failure and +defeat. He had sent twenty ships to intercept the Corinthian squadron +on its voyage from Leucas; but the little fleet of rescue succeeded in +avoiding the snare, and made its way into the port of Syracuse, thus +adding twelve fresh vessels to the defending force. Gylippus himself +was marching unhindered up and down the island, passing from city to +city, and raising reinforcements of ships and men; and a second +embassy had been despatched by the Syracusans, to carry the news of +their victory to Corinth and Sparta, and ask for further help. Another +ominous sign of coming events was the bustle and activity now visible +in the dockyards of Syracuse and the waters of the Little Harbour; for +the Syracusans had turned their attention seriously to their fleet, +and thought of nothing less than attacking the Athenians on their own +element. + +These symptoms of renewed confidence and energy were observed by +Nicias with growing disquiet. And if he turned his eyes to his own +camp, he saw little to relieve his anxiety. For the predictions of +Lamachus had been fulfilled to the letter. By his fatal policy of +procrastination Nicias had frittered away the resources of the most +splendid armament that ever set sail from Peiraeus. His soldiers were +infected by the despondency of their leader, and many of them were +stricken by the marsh-fever which haunts the unwholesome district of +the Anapus. Above all the condition of the fleet showed the lamentable +effect of long inaction and delay. All the supplies of the Athenians +came to them by sea, and in order to keep their communications open, +it was necessary to keep the whole of the fleet on constant duty. In +consequence of this, the hulls of the triremes had become sodden with +water, which made them leaky, and difficult to row. Moreover the +crews, which were largely composed of foreign seamen, had grown +restive and mutinous under the severe strain of hardships and +privation, so different from the easy and lucrative service in the +hope of which they had enlisted. Some took the first opportunity of +deserting to the enemy, while others ran away to remote parts of +Sicily; and there was no means of filling the places thus left vacant. + +Such was the burden of care and apprehension which lay heavy on the +feeble shoulders of the Athenian general. He was naturally a weak man, +haunted by superstitious terrors, irresolute, easily cast down; and +this infirmity of character was aggravated by a painful and incurable +disease. There was no longer any question of laying siege to Syracuse: +he himself was now besieged, and it was all he could do to maintain +his position within his defences, and keep the sea open for the +conveyance of supplies. In this desperate situation he determined to +send a written despatch to Athens. We are led to suppose that this was +an unusual proceeding, and that news from the seat of war was +generally sent by word of mouth. The document is given at full length, +with all its grievous confessions of incompetence and failure. After +setting forth the facts of the case as stated above, Nicias insists +that one of two things must be done: either the army now lying before +Syracuse must be recalled to Athens, or the Athenians must send out a +second army, equal in strength to the first, and a general to relieve +him of his command. + +At the conclusion of his despatch Nicias peevishly complains of the +exacting temper of the Athenians, and their readiness to blame anyone +but themselves if anything untoward occurred. Whatever may be the +truth of the general charge, it was most ill-timed and ungrateful in +his own case. Towards him, at least, the conduct of his fellow- +citizens was marked by an excess of generosity, amounting to actual +infatuation. Nothing is more remarkable than the unshaken confidence +of the Athenians in their feeble general, after hearing this terrible +indictment, drawn up by his own hand. They refused to accept his +resignation, and passed a decree that large reinforcements should be +sent to Sicily, with Demosthenes and Eurymedon as generals; and in the +meantime they appointed Menander and Euthydemus, two officers already +serving before Syracuse, to share with Nicias the burden of command. +Before the winter was ended Eurymedon started with ten ships for +Sicily, to announce that effectual help was coming; while Demosthenes +was charged with the duty of enlisting troops and organizing a fleet. + +Meanwhile new perils were gathering round the Athenians at home, which +should have warned them to abandon their wild plans of conquest, and +concentrate all their strength for their own defence. The Spartans had +long been restrained by a scruple of conscience from an open +declaration of war, wishing to avoid the guilt which is associated +with the first act of aggression. Eighteen years before they had +refused all offers of arbitration, and deliberately provoked an +encounter with Athens, in direct violation of the Thirty Years' Truce, +which provided for an amicable settlement of differences; and by so +acting they had, as they believed, incurred the anger of heaven, and +brought on themselves a long train of disasters. But now the position +was reversed: for in the previous year the Athenians had made descents +on the coasts of Laconia, and other districts of Peloponnesus; and +they had repeatedly turned a deaf ear to the friendly overtures of the +Spartans, who proposed to submit all disputed matters to a peaceful +tribunal. + +Thus relieved of their scruples, the Spartans prepared to renew the +war in good earnest, and early in the following spring [Footnote: B.C. +4I3.] they summoned their allies to the Isthmus, and marched under +Agis their king into Attica. After ravaging the plain, they encamped +at Decelea, fourteen miles north of Athens, and here they established +a fortified post, which was garrisoned by contingents of the +Peloponnesian army, serving in regular order. Once more Alcibiades had +cause to exult in the success of his malignant counsels, which had +sent Gylippus to Syracuse, and had now planted this root of bitter +mischief on the very soil of Attica. + +While the allies were thus engaged at Decelea, a considerable body of +troops had embarked at Taenarum and at Corinth, and sailed to take +part in the defence of Syracuse. In Greece, all the old enemies of +Athens were arming against her, and beyond the sea her prospects grew +darker and darker every day. Yet nothing, it seemed, could break the +spell of fatal delusion which rested on the doomed city. While Attica +lay in the grip of the enemy, a fleet of sixty-five triremes, carrying +a great military force, weighed anchor from Peiraeus, and steered its +course, under the command of Demosthenes, for Sicily. + + +VIII + +We must now return to Syracuse, where fortune was preparing a new blow +for the ill-fated Athenian army. Gylippus came back from his mission +at the beginning of spring, bringing with him the reinforcements which +he had gathered from various parts of Sicily. At once resuming the +offensive, he planned an attack on the forts recently erected by +Nicias at Plemmyrium, and in order to divide the attention of the +Athenians, he determined to make a simultaneous movement against them +by sea and land. He himself took command of the army, and setting out +at night, made his way round to the rear of the Athenian position at +Plemmyrium. Meanwhile the Syracusan fleet lay ready in two divisions, +one of which, consisting of thirty-five vessels, was moored in the +docks, within the Great Harbour, while the other, to the number of +forty-five, had its station in the Lesser Harbour. At the hour +appointed by Gylippus, just as day was breaking, both squadrons got +under weigh, and bore down upon Plemmyrium, from the opposite sides of +Ortygia. Though taken by surprise, the Athenians put out in haste with +sixty triremes, and a sea-fight ensued, in which the Syracusans for +some time had the advantage. By this time Gylippus was at hand with +his army, and by a sudden assault on the Athenian forts he made an +easy capture of all three; for the greater part of the garrison had +flocked down to the sea, to watch the progress of the action in the +Great Harbour. Fortunately for these men, who had so grossly neglected +their duty, the Athenian fleet had now gained a decisive victory, and +they were thus enabled to make their escape by water, and cross over +to the camp of Nicias, on the other side of the bay. + +By the capture of Plemmyrium a great treasure fell into the hands of +the Syracusans. The loss to the Athenians, in money, stores, and men, +was serious enough; but further consequences ensued, which were +nothing less than disastrous. The enemy now commanded both sides of +the entrance to the Great Harbour, and not a ship-load of provisions +could reach the Athenian camp without an encounter with the Syracusan +triremes. Well might despondency and dismay take possession of the +beleaguered army, cramped in their narrow quarters on the swampy flats +of the Anapus. + +All Sicily, with one or two exceptions, had now declared for Syracuse, +and reinforcements came pouring in from every side. Gylippus was +resolved, if possible, to destroy the armament of Nicias, before the +fresh succours from Athens had time to arrive; and, as before, the +attack was to be made simultaneously by sea and land. Since the loss +of Plemmyrium, the Athenian fleet had been penned up in the confined +space at the head of the Great Harbour. Outside of these narrow +limits, the whole coast was in the hands of the enemy, and any +Athenian trireme which ventured out into open water ran the risk of +being driven on a hostile shore. Unless they chose to incur this great +peril, the Athenians would have to fight in close order, with the +long, tapering prows of their vessels exposed to collision. + +The Syracusans skilfully availed themselves of the advantage thus +offered. The impact of prow with prow, which had hitherto been +regarded as a disgraceful evidence of bad seamanship, had now become +the most effective method of attack; and in order to execute this +simple manoeuvre without damage to their own ships, the Syracusans +shortened the prows of their triremes, and strengthened them with +heavy beams of timber, thus converting them into a broad and solid +mass, which could be driven with crushing force against the slender +beaks of the Athenian galleys. + +When all was ready, Gylippus led out his troops, and assailed the +Athenian wall which faced towards Syracuse, and at the same time the +garrison stationed at Polichne left their quarters, and made another +attack on the opposite side. The assault had already commenced, when +the Syracusan fleet, which numbered eighty triremes, was seen +advancing towards the inner shore of the bay, where the ships of +Nicias lay moored; and the Athenian seamen, who had not expected to be +called into action, hastened in some confusion to man their ships, +seventy-five of which were presently engaged with the enemy. After a +day passed in irregular and desultory fighting, the battle ended +slightly in favour of the Syracusans. During the next day the +Syracusans remained inactive, and Nicias employed the interval in +repairing the ships which had suffered damage, and providing for the +defence of his fleet. The Athenian naval station was protected by a +row of piles, rammed into the bottom of the sea, forming a semi- +circular breastwork, with an opening about two hundred feet wide, +where the ships passed in and out. On either side of this entrance +Nicias caused a merchant vessel to be moored, and each vessel was +provided with an engine called a dolphin, a heavy mass of lead, +suspended from the yard-arm, which could be dropped on the deck of any +hostile trireme attempting to pass. + +Early on the following morning the Syracusans resumed hostilities both +by sea and land, and after several hours of desultory fighting, they +drew off their fleet, and sailed back to their station under the walls +of the city. The Athenians were well pleased by this sudden relief, +and concluding that their work was done for the day, they disembarked +at leisure, and began to prepare their midday meal. But before they +had time to snatch a mouthful, the whole Syracusan fleet was seen +advancing again from the opposite shore, and the hungry and weary +Athenian crews were summoned on board to repel a second attack. This +crafty manoeuvre was due to a suggestion of Ariston, the most skilful +of the Corinthian seamen, by whose advice provisions had been brought +down to the beach, so that the Syracusan crews were kept together, and +ready to renew the action, after a brief interval for repose and +refreshment. + +For a little while the two fleets faced each other, without venturing +to attack; then the Athenians, who were feverish with hunger and +fatigue, could restrain themselves no longer, but with one consent +they dashed their oars into the water, and with shouts of mutual +encouragement charged down upon the enemy. The Syracusans kept a firm +front, and opposing their massive prows to the rash assault, inflicted +great damage on the Athenian triremes, many of which were completely +wrecked by the shock of the collision. On every side the Athenians +were hard beset; the light-armed troops posted on the decks of the +Syracusan vessels, plied them with a shower of javelins, while the +waters swarmed with a multitude of boats, manned by daring +adventurers, who rowed boldly up to the sides of the Athenian +triremes, broke the oars, and hurled darts through the port-holes at +the rowers. After fighting for some time at a great disadvantage, with +exhausted crews, and in a narrow space, where they had no room to +manoeuvre, the Athenians were compelled to fall back, and sought +refuge behind their palisade. + +This important success raised the spirits of the Syracusans higher +than ever. They had gained a decisive victory over the greatest naval +power in Greece, sunk seven triremes, disabled many more, and slain or +taken prisoners a large number of men. Flushed with pride and hope, +they immediately began to prepare for a final attack, which was to end +in the complete destruction of their enemies both by sea and land. But +these high expectations received a sudden check; for on the day after +the battle, [Footnote: Or possibly two days.] the watchers on the +walls of Syracuse descried a great fleet on the northern horizon. +Presently the regular beat of ten thousand oars could be distinctly +heard; it grew louder and louder, and as the vanguard came into full +view, the alarmed Syracusans recognized the truth. There was no +mistaking the peculiar build and familiar ensigns of the renowned +Athenian galleys. This could be no other than the fleet of +Demosthenes, arrived just in time to save the shattered armament of +Nicias, and once more turn the tide of war against Syracuse. A great +multitude rushed to the battlements, and gazed with keen pangs of +anxiety as the long line of triremes, seventy-three in number, swept +past the walls of Ortygia, rounded the southern point, and crossing +the Great Harbour, dropped anchor at the naval station of Nicias. If +anyone not concerned in the struggle had been present, he might have +admired the grand exhibition of military pomp and power, the perfect +trim and condition of the triremes, the precision of the rowing, and +the glittering ranks of the hoplites, javelin-men, archers, and +slingers, who thronged the decks. But no such feeling could find room +in the minds of the Syracusans. After their long trials and +sufferings, on the very eve of their crowning triumph, a new host of +enemies had sprung up against them, and all their toils were beginning +anew. + + +IX + +When Demosthenes arrived at Syracuse, the position of affairs was as +follows: the blockading wall of the Athenians still extended in an +unbroken line from the circular fort on Epipolae to the camp and naval +station of Nicias at the head of the Great Harbour; but the Athenians +were cut off from access to the northern slope of Epipolae by the +Syracusan counterwall, which had been carried up the whole length of +the plateau as far as the hill of Euryelus. Along the northern edge of +the cliff the Syracusans had established three fortified camps, where +the defenders of the counterwall had their quarters, and on the summit +of Euryelus a fort had been erected, which held the key to the whole +system of defence. + +Demosthenes saw at once that, before any progress could be made with +the siege of Syracuse, it was necessary to gain possession of the +counterwall, and confine the Syracusans within the limits of their +city. The sooner he made the attempt, the greater was his chance of +success; for every day wasted would give new confidence to the enemy, +and the condition in which he found the troops of Nicias was a visible +warning against the fatal consequences of delay. An attack made on the +cross-wall from its southern side ended in total failure; his siege- +engines were burnt, and the storming-parties repulsed at every point. +The only course which remained was to march round to the north-western +extremity of the plateau, carry the fort of Euryelus, and assail the +Syracusans within their own lines. After consulting with his +colleagues, Demosthenes determined to try the hazardous method of a +night-attack, hoping thus to take the garrison on Euryelus by +surprise. He himself, with Eurymedon and Menander, took the command, +and the whole Athenian army was engaged in the adventure, except those +who remained behind with Nicias to guard the camp. On a moonlight +night in August, at the hour of the first watch, the march began. +Moving cautiously up the valley of the Anapus, they turned the +northern end of the hill, and reached the path by which Lamachus had +ascended in the spring of the previous year. At first all seemed to +promise success to the Athenians unobserved by the enemy, Demosthenes +ascended the hill, stormed the fort, and, drove the garrison back on +the three fortified camps which flanked the Syracusan counterwall on +its northern side. The fugitives raised the alarm, and the call was +promptly answered by a picked troop of six hundred hoplites, who were +stationed nearest to the point of danger. These men made a gallant +stand, but they were overpowered by superior numbers, and thrust back +on the main body of the Syracusans, who were now advancing under +Gylippus to the rescue. They in their turn were forced to give ground +before the impetuous charge of Demosthenes, and a general panic seemed +about to spread through the whole Syracusan army. Already the +Athenians had begun to throw down the battlements of the counterwall, +and if they were allowed to proceed, Syracuse would once more be +exposed to imminent danger. + +But now occurred one of those sudden turns of fortune which were so +common in Greek warfare. As the soldiers of the Athenian van rushed +forward too hotly, wishing to complete the rout of the enemy they fell +into disorder, and in this condition they were confronted by a stout +little troop of Boeotian hoplites, who had found their way to Syracuse +earlier in the summer. This unexpected resistance checked the furious +onset of the Athenians, and the Boeotians, pursuing their advantage, +charged in solid phalanx and put them to flight. Once more the tide of +battle had turned against Athens. Restored to confidence by the steady +valour of their allies, the Syracusans closed their ranks, and +advanced in dense masses up the hill. A scene of indescribable horror +and confusion ensued, so that no one was afterwards able to give a +clear account of what had happened. On the narrow neck of land which +forms the western end of Epipolae two great armies were rushing to the +encounter. On one side was the main body of the Athenians, still +ignorant of the defeat of their comrades, and hurrying forward to +share in the victory. On the other side was the whole host of +Syracuse, advancing with deafening shouts to meet them; and in the +middle were the men of Demosthenes, flying in headlong rout before the +conquering Boeotians. In the uncertain light, the fugitives were at +first mistaken for enemies, and many of them perished miserably by the +spears of their own countrymen. On came the Syracusans, bearing down +all before them; but the Athenians, as they strove to escape, were +flung back upon the enemy by fresh bodies of their own men, who were +still thronging by thousands up the northern path of Euryelus. All +semblance of order was now lost in the Athenian army, which was broken +up into detached parties, some flying, some advancing, and shouting +their watchword to all whom they met, so as to learn whether they had +to do with friend or foe. But the Syracusans soon learnt the +watchword, which thus became a means of betraying the Athenians to +their own destruction. To add to the confusion, the Dorian allies of +Athens raised a paean, or war-song, so similar to that of the +Syracusans, that the Athenians fled at their approach supposing them +to be enemies. The grand army of Demosthenes, which had set out with +such high hopes, was now no better than a mob of wild and desperate +men, friend fighting against friend, and citizen against citizen. At +length the whole multitude turned and fled, each man seeking to save +himself as best he could. Some, hard pressed by the enemy, flung +themselves from the cliffs, and were dashed to pieces on the rocks +below; others succeeded in reaching the plain, and found their way +back to the camp of Nicias; while not a few lost their way, and +wandered about the country until the following day, when they were +hunted down and slain by the Syracusan horseman. + +Demosthenes had done all that a man could to recover the ground lost +by Nicias, and resume the aggressive against Syracuse. His well-laid +scheme had ended disastrously, and only one course remained, +consistent with public duty and common sense. To waste the blood and +treasure of Athens in Sicily any longer would be suicidal folly. The +Athenians at home were in a state of siege, and needed every man and +every ship for the defence of their own territory, and the maintenance +of their empire in Greece. Sickness and despondency had already +wrought dire havoc among the troops encamped before Syracuse. To +remain was utter ruin, both to themselves and their fellow-citizens. +The sea was still open, and the new armament, with what remained of +the old, would be strong enough to secure their retreat. Let them +embark without delay, turn their backs on the fatal shores of Sicily, +and hoist sail for home. + +These arguments were urged by Demosthenes with unanswerable force at a +private meeting of the generals which was held immediately after the +defeat on Epipolae But unhappily for all those most nearly concerned +in the debate, the influence of Nicias was still supreme in the +Athenian camp; and to spur that gloomy trifler into decisive action +was beyond the power even of Demosthenes. Nicias knew that, if he gave +the word to retreat, in a few weeks he would have to stand before the +bar of his countrymen, and give an account of the great trust which he +had betrayed. It would be better, he thought, to perish under the +walls of Syracuse, than to brave that stern tribunal, and read his +doom on those angry, accusing faces. And apart from these selfish +terrors, he was still in communication with his partisans in Syracuse, +who encouraged him to wait for a favourable turn of affairs. Thus +fettered to the spot both by his hopes and his fears, he obstinately +refused to move. + +While Demosthenes argued, and Nicias demurred, Gylippus had not been +idle. A day or two after the battle, he once more left Syracuse, and +traversed the whole length of the island, collecting troops on his +way. At Selinus he was joined by the Peloponnesian and Boeotian +soldiers who had sailed from Taenarum early in the spring, and had +just reached that port, after a long and adventurous voyage. With this +welcome addition to his forces, and thousands more who had answered +his call from all parts of Sicily, he returned to Syracuse, and +prepared to put out all his strength in a general assault on the army +and fleet of Athens. + +The Athenians had not yet abandoned their lines on the southern side +of Epipolae, and from this position they watched the arrival of the +new army raised by Gylippus, as it defiled down the slope, and poured +through the gates of Syracuse to swell the ranks of their enemies. In +their own camp the state of things was growing worse every day, and +even Nicias now became convinced that to remain any longer would be +sheer madness. With the hearty concurrence of his colleagues, he gave +his vote for immediate departure, and the order was secretly passed +round the camp that every man should hold himself in readiness to go +on board, as soon as the signal was given. It was necessary to proceed +with caution, for if the enemy were informed of their purpose, they +would have to fight their way through the Syracusan fleet. The +preparations were accordingly made with as little noise as possible +and in a short time all was ready for the voyage. Night sank down on +the Athenian camp, but among all that vast multitude no one thought of +sleep, for the whole host was waiting in breathless eagerness for the +signal to embark. Over the eastern waters the full moon was shining, +making a long path of silver and pointing the way to home. But +suddenly a dark shadow touched the outer rim of that gleaming disk, +and crept stealthily on, until the whole face of the moon was veiled +in darkness. A whisper, a murmur, a shudder went round among those +anxious watchers, and before the shadow had passed away, ten thousand +tongues were eagerly discussing the meaning of that mysterious +portent. Most were agreed that it was a warning from heaven, +forbidding their departure until the angry powers had been appeased by +sacrifice and prayer. In the mind of Nicias, enslaved by the grossest +superstition, there was no room for doubt. He was surrounded by +prophets, whose advice he sought on every occasion, and guided by them +he proclaimed that for thrice nine days, the time required for a +complete circuit of the moon, there could be no talk of departing. + +But the Athenians were soon engaged in a sterner task than the vain +rites of propitiation and penitential observance. The news of their +intended retreat, and its untoward interruption, so raised the spirits +of the Syracusans, that they resolved to risk another sea-fight, and +after some days spent in training their crews, they sailed out with +seventy-six ships, and offered battle, and Gylippus at the same time +attacked the Athenian lines by land. The Athenians succeeded in +repulsing the assault on their walls, but in the encounter between the +fleets, though they out-numbered the enemy by ten ships, they suffered +a decisive defeat. Eurymedon was slain, and eighteen vessels fell into +the hands of the Syracusans, who put all the crews to the sword. + +The pride and ambition of the Syracusans now knew no bounds. Relieved +from all fear for the safety of their city they began to take a +loftier view of the struggle, and to grasp the full compass and +grandeur of the issues involved. It was no mere feud between two rival +states, but a great national conflict, which was to end in the +downfall of a wide-spread usurpation, and the deliverance of a hundred +cities from bondage. The whole naval and military forces of Athens lay +crippled and helpless within their grasp; they would shatter to pieces +the instrument of tyranny, and win an immortal name as the liberators +of all Greece. Their first care was to prevent the escape of the +Athenians, and for this purpose they began to close the mouth of the +Great Harbour by a line of triremes and vessels of burden, anchored +broadside across the channel. + + +X + +The Athenians were thus caught in a trap, and their only hope of +saving themselves was to force the barrier of the Great Harbour, and +escape by sea, or, failing that, to make their way by land to some +friendly city. As a last sad confession of defeat, they withdrew the +garrison from their walls on Epipolae, and reduced the dimensions of +their camp, confining it to a narrow space of the coast, where the +fleet lay moored. Every vessel which could be kept afloat was prepared +for action, and when the whole force was mustered, out of two great +armaments only a hundred and ten were found fit for service. A small +body of troops was left to guard the camp, and all the rest, except +such as were totally disabled by sickness, were distributed as +fighting-men among the ships. For the countrymen of Phormio had now +reverted to the primitive conditions of naval warfare, in which the +trireme was a mere vehicle for carrying troops, and not, as in the +days of that great captain, the chief weapon of offence. Every foot of +standing-room on the decks was occupied by a crowd of hoplites, +javelin-men, archers, and slingers, and on their prowess the issue of +the battle depended. To lay their vessels aboard the enemy with as +little delay as possible, and leave the rest to the soldiers, was now +the chief object of the Athenian captains; and the better to effect. +this, men were stationed on the prows, armed with grappling-irons, to +hold the attacking trireme fast, and prevent her from backing away +after the first shock of collision. + +With hearts full of sad foreboding, the great multitude mustered on +the beach, and waited for the word to embark. On a rising ground, +fronting the camp, the generals; stood grouped in earnest +consultation; then every voice was hushed, as Nicias came forward, and +beckoned with his hand, commanding silence. The form of the general +was bowed with years, and his face lined with pain and sickness, but +in his eye there was an unwonted fire, and his tones rang clear and +full, as he reminded his hearers of the great cause for which they +were to fight, and the mighty interests which hung in the balance that +day. "Men of Athens," he said, "and you, our faithful allies, your +lives, your liberty, and the future of all who are dear to you, are in +your own hands. If you would ever see home again, you must resolve to +conquer fortune, even against her will, like seasoned veterans, inured +to the perils and vicissitudes of war. Hitherto we have generally got +the better of the enemy on land and we are now going to fight a land +battle on the sea. As soon as you come within reach of a Syracusan +vessel, fling your grappling-irons, and hold her fast, until not a man +is left alive to defend her deck. This will be the task of the +soldiers, whom I need not tell to do their duty. And you, seamen of +the Athenian fleet, be not dismayed because we have forsaken our +former tactics, but trust to the strong arms of the fighting men. +Remember, those of you who are not of Attic descent, how long you have +enjoyed the high privileges of Athenian citizens, and the honour +reflected on you by your connection with Athens. + +"My last word shall be spoken to you, fellow-citizens, Athenians born +and bred. You know what you have to expect from the Syracusans, if +this last struggle should end in defeat. But consider further what +will be the fate of your friends at home. Their docks are empty, their +walls are stripped of defenders, and if you fail them, Syracuse will +unite with their old enemies, and bear them down. Here, where we +stand, are the army, the fleet, the city, and the great name of +Athens; go, then, and fight as you never fought before, for never yet +had soldier such a prize to win, and such a cause to defend." + +When Nicias had concluded his stirring appeal, the embarkation of the +troops began. As the fatal moment drew nearer and nearer, the anxiety +and distress of the Athenian general became unbearable. Feeling that +he had not said enough, he hurried to and fro, addressing each captain +with an agony of supplication, and imploring him by every sacred +name,--his wife, his children, his country, and his country's gods,-- +to play a man's part, forgetting all thoughts of self. Having +exhausted every topic of entreaty, and seen the last man on board, he +turned away, still unsatisfied, and addressed himself to the task of +drawing up the troops left under his command for the defence of the +camp. These were disposed along the shore in as long a line as +possible, that they might encourage those fighting on the sea by their +presence, and lend prompt help in case of need. Behind them, every +point of outlook was held by a throng of anxious spectators,--the +sick, the maimed, and the wounded,--every man who had strength to +crawl from his bed, and watch that last desperate struggle for liberty +and home. + +And now the Athenian admirals, Demosthenes, Menander, and Euthydemus, +raised the signal, and the great fight began. The foremost ships +succeeded in reaching the mouth of the Great Harbour, and began to +break through the barrier, when the whole Syracusan fleet closed in +upon them on all sides, and forced them back Then the battle became +general, and soon the two fleets were scattered over the whole surface +of the bay in little groups, and each group engaged in a wild and +furious melee. There was no attempt to manoeuvre, but ship encountered +ship; as accident brought them together, and advanced to the attack, +under a shower of javelins and arrows. Then followed the dull crash of +collision, and the fierce rush of the fighting-men, as they +endeavoured to board. Here and there could be seen knots of three or +four triremes, locked together with shattered hulls and broken oars, +while the soldiers on the decks strove for the mastery. Nearly two +hundred triremes, and some forty thousand men, were engaged in that +tumultuous fight; and the thunder of the oars, the crash of colliding +triremes, and the yells of the assailants, raised an uproar so +tremendous that it was impossible to hear the voice of command. All +order and method was lost, yet still they fought on, the Syracusans +with a savage thirst for vengeance, the Athenians with the fury of +despair; and for a long time the issue remained doubtful. + +All this scene of havoc and carnage was witnessed by the whole +population of Syracuse, who thronged the walls, or stood in arms along +the shore, and followed every incident with breathless interest. But +above all among the Athenians left behind in the camp excitement was +strained to the point of anguish. Here the view was more restricted, +and each group of spectators had its attention fixed on some one of +the many encounters which were raging in different parts of the bay. +Some who saw their friends conquering, shouted with joy and triumph; +some shrieked in terror, as an Athenian ship went down; and others, +when the combat long wavered, rocked their bodies to and fro in an +agony of suspense. Thus at the same moment every shifting turn of +battle, victory and defeat, panic and rally, flight and pursuit, was +mirrored on those pale faces, and echoed in a thousand mingled cries. + +But at length these discordant voices were united in one general note +of horror, as the whole Athenian fleet, or all that was left of it, +was seen making in headlong rout for the upper end of the bay, with +the victorious Syracusans pressing hard behind. Then most of those who +were watching from the shore were seized with uncontrollable terror, +and sought to hide themselves in holes and corners of the camp; while +a few, who were more stout-hearted, waded into the water, to save the +ships, or rushed to defend the walls on the land side. But for the +present the Syracusans were contented with their victory, and after +chasing the fugitive triremes as far as their defences, they wheeled +and rowed back across the Great Harbour, through floating corpses, and +the wrecks of more than seventy vessels. On their arrival at Syracuse +they were hailed with such a burst of enthusiasm as had rarely been +witnessed in any Greek city. The victory, indeed, had been dearly +bought, but it was well worth the cost, and the power of Athens had +sustained a blow from which it could never recover. But among all the +thronging hosts of Syracuse, who now gave themselves up to revel and +rejoicing, there was one man at least who knew that even now the +danger was not yet past. Forty thousand Athenian soldiers were still +encamped within sight of the walls, and if they were allowed to +escape, they might establish themselves in some friendly city, and +begin the war again. All this was strongly felt by Hermocrates, and he +lost no time in imparting his cares and anxieties to the responsible +leaders. The Athenians, he urged, would be almost certain to decamp +during the night: let a strong force be sent out at once from +Syracuse, to occupy all the roads, and cut off their retreat. The +advice was good, but in the present temper of the army it was felt to +be impracticable. The whole city had become a scene of riot and +wassail, and if the order were given to march, it was but too evident +that not a man would obey. Baffled in this direction, the keen-witted +Syracusan hit upon another plan, which he at once proceeded to carry +into effect. + +Hermocrates was not mistaken in his conjecture. The beaten and +dispirited Athenians had now but one thought,--to break up their camp +with all despatch, and make their escape by land. They had still sixty +triremes left, and Demosthenes proposed to make one more attempt to +force the entrance of the Great Harbour; but when his suggestion was +made known to the crews, they broke into open mutiny, and flatly +refused to go on board. The generals were therefore compelled to adopt +the only alternative, and it was resolved to set out on that very +night. But Fortune had not yet exhausted her malice against the +hapless Athenians. The order to strike camp had been issued, and the +soldiers were busy preparing for the march, when a party of horsemen +rode up to the Athenian outposts, and hailing the sentinels, said that +they had a message to Nicias from his friends in Syracuse. "Tell him," +said the spokesman of the party, "That he must not attempt to stir to- +night, for all the roads are held by strong detachments of the +Syracusans. Let him wait until he has organised his forces, for a +hasty and disordered flight is sure to end in disaster." + +The message, of course, came from Hermocrates, who had contrived this +trick to delay the departure of the Athenians, until time had been +gained to occupy the passes on their route. That Nicias should have +fallen into the snare is not surprising, but it is less easy to +explain how Demosthenes and the other generals came to be deceived by +so transparent a fraud. Yet such was in fact the case; the insidious +hint was accepted as a piece of friendly advice, and the march was +postponed. For a whole day and night the Athenians still lingered on +the spot, and thus gave ample time for their enemies to draw the net +round them, and block every avenue to safety. + +On the third day after the battle, the order was given to march. As +the great army formed into column, the full horror of their situation +came home to every heart. This, then, was the end of those grand +dreams of conquest with which they had sailed to Sicily two years +before! On the heights of Epipolae their walls and their fort was +still standing, a monument of failure and defeat. Each familiar +landmark reminded them of some fallen comrade, or some disastrous +incident in the siege. If they glanced towards the Great Harbour, they +could see the victorious Syracusans towing off the shattered hull of +an Athenian trireme, the last sad remnant of two great armaments. If +they turned their thoughts towards Athens and home, they found no +comfort there; for their beloved city was beset with enemies, and in +themselves, beaten and broken as they were, lay her chief hope of +salvation. The past was all black with calamity, and the future loomed +terrible before them, threatening captivity and death; and the +present, in that last hour of parting, was full of such sights and +sounds of woe as might have stirred pity even in the breasts of their +enemies. Around them, the camp was strewn with the unburied corpses of +brothers, comrades and sons, and thousands more were tossing on the +waves, or flung up on the shores of the bay. And while the neglect of +that sacred duty pressed heavily on their conscience, still more +harrowing were the cries of the sick and wounded, who clung round +their knees, imploring to be taken with them, and when the army began +to move followed with tottering steps, until they sank down exhausted, +calling down the curse of heaven on the retreating host. Such was the +anguish of that moment, that it seemed as if the whole population of +some great city had been driven into exile, and was seeking a new home +in a distant soil. + +In this dire extremity, when the strongest spirits were crushed with +misery, one voice was heard, which still spoke of hope. It was the +voice of Nicias, who, when all others faltered, rose to a pitch of +heroism which he had never shown before. Bowed as he was with care, +and wasted by disease, he braced himself with more than human energy, +and moved with light step from rank to rank, exhorting that stricken +multitude in words of power. "Comrades," he said, "even now there is +no need to despair. Others have been saved before now from calamities +yet deeper than ours. You see in what state I am, cast down from the +summit of human prosperity, and condemned, in my age and weakness, to +share the hardships of the humblest soldier among you,--I, who was +ever constant in the service of the gods, and punctual in the +performance of every social duty. Yet have I not lost faith in the +righteousness of heaven, nor should you give up all for lost, if by +any act of yours you have fallen under the scourge of divine +vengeance. There is mercy, as well as justice, among the gods, and we, +in sinking thus low, have become the proper objects of their +compassion. Think too what firm ground of confidence we have, in the +shields and spears of so many thousand warriors. There is no power in +Sicily which can resist us, either to prevent our coming or to shorten +our stay. A few days march will bring us to the country of the +friendly Sicels, who have already received notice of our approach. +Once there, we can defy all attack, and look forward to the time when +we shall see our homes again, and raise up the fallen power of +Athens." + +These and similar exhortations were repeated by Nicias again and +again, as the army moved slowly forwards up the valley of the Anapus, +keeping a westerly direction, towards the interior of the island. The +troops were formed in a hollow oblong, with the baggage animals and +camp-followers in the middle, and advanced in two divisions, Nicias +leading the van, and Demosthenes bringing up the rear. The vigilance +and activity of Nicias never relaxed for a moment. Careless of his +many infirmities and exalted rank, he passed incessantly up and down +the column, chiding the stragglers, and attending to the even trim of +his lines. On reaching the ford of the Anapus, they put to flight a +detachment of the enemy which was stationed there to oppose their +passage, and crossing the river, continued their march. But now the +real difficulties of the retreat began to appear. The Syracusans had +no intention of hazarding a pitched battle, but their horsemen and +light infantry hung upon the flanks of the Athenian army, making +sudden charges, and keeping up a constant discharge of javelins. + +At nightfall the Athenians encamped under the shelter of a hill, some +five miles from their starting-point, and setting out at daybreak on +the following day, they pushed on with pain and difficulty, harassed +at every step by the galling attacks of the Syracusan troops. +[Footnote: Thucydides, with characteristic brevity, leaves this to be +inferred from the slowness of their progress.] A march of two miles +and a half brought them to a village, situated on a level plain, and +here they halted, wishing to supply themselves with food, and +replenish their water-vessels; for the country which they had now to +traverse was a desert, many miles in extent. Directly in their line of +route there is a narrow pass, when the road, on entering the hill +country, drops sheer down on either side into a deep ravine, and if +they could once cross this dangerous point they would be within reach +of their allies, the Sicels. But it was too late to proceed further +that day, and while they lay encamped in the village, the Syracusans +hurried on in advance, and blocked the pass by building a wall across +the road. When the Athenians resumed their march next morning, they +were fiercely assailed by the enemy's light horse and foot, who +disputed every inch of ground, and at last compelled them to fall back +on the village where they had encamped the night before. Provisions +were now growing scanty, and every attempt to leave their lines in +search of plunder and forage was baffled by the Syracusan horse. + +On the fourth day they broke up their camp early, and by incessant +fighting succeeded in forcing their way as far as the pass. But all +further advance was prevented by the wall, and the dense masses of +infantry posted behind it. In vain the Athenians flung themselves +again and again upon the barrier. The troops stationed on the cliffs +above assailed them with a shower of missiles, and the solid phalanx +of hoplites repulsed every assault. Convinced at last that they were +wasting their strength to no purpose, they desisted, and retiring from +the wall halted at some distance for a brief interval of repose. +During this pause a storm of rain and thunder broke over their heads; +and to the weary and disheartened Athenians it seemed that the very +elements were in league with the enemy against them. But they had +little time to indulge in these melancholy reflections; for while they +were resting, Gylippus stole round to their rear, and prepared to cut +off their retreat by building a second wall across the pass. The news +of this imminent peril roused the Athenians from their stupor, and +they marched back with all speed along the road by which they had +come. A picked body of troops, sent on in advance, scattered the +soldiers of Gylippus, and the whole army then emerged from that death- +trap, and encamped for the night in the open plain. + +The next day was spent in a last desperate effort to reach the hill +country. But being now on level ground, they were exposed on all sides +to the attacks of the Syracusan horse, who charged them incessantly, +and slew their men by hundreds, with hardly any loss to themselves. +The hopeless struggle continued until evening, and when the enemy drew +off, they left the Athenians not a mile from the place where they had +passed the previous night. + +The original plan of the Athenian generals had been to penetrate the +highlands of Sicily to the west of Syracuse, and then strike across +country, until they reached the southern coast, in the direction of +Gela or Camarina. [Footnote: I have followed Holm, as cited in +Classen's Appendix (Third Edition, 1908).] But after two days' +fighting they had utterly failed to force an entrance into the +mountains. Many of their soldiers were wounded, the whole army was +weakened by famine, and a third attempt, made in such conditions, must +inevitably end in utter disaster. They resolved therefore to change +their route, and march southwards along the level coast country, until +they could reach the interior by following one of the numerous glens +which pierce the hills on this side of Sicily. Having come to this +decision, they caused a great number of fires to be lighted, and then +gave the order for an immediate start, hoping by this means to steal a +march on the enemy. This sudden flight through the darkness, in a +hostile country, with unknown terrors around them, caused something +like a panic in the Athenian army. + +Nicias, however, who was still leading the van, contrived to keep his +men together, and made good progress; but the division under +Demosthenes fell into great disorder, and was left far behind. By +daybreak, both divisions [Footnote: See note, p. 242.] were within +sight of the sea, and entering the road which runs north and south +between Syracuse and Helorus, they continued their march towards the +river Cacyparis. Here they intended to turn off into the interior, +with the assistance of the Sicels, whom they expected to meet at the +river. But when they reached the ford of the Cacyparis, they found, +instead of the Sicels, a contingent of Syracusan troops, who were +raising a wall and palisade to block the passage. This obstruction was +overcome without much difficulty, and the whole Athenian army crossed +the river in safety. But the presence of the enemy on this side of +Syracuse was sufficient to deter them from taking the inland route by +the valley of the Cacyparis, and following the advice of their guides, +they kept the main road, and pressed on towards the south. + +We must now return for a moment to the Syracusans under Gylippus, who +remained in their camp all night, not far from the pass which they had +so successfully defended. When they found in the morning that the +Athenians had departed, they were loud in their anger against +Gylippus, thinking that he had purposely suffered them to escape. The +tracks of so many thousands left no room for doubt as to the direction +which the fugitives had taken, and full of rage at the supposed +treachery of their leader, the Syracusans set out at once in hot +pursuit. About noon, on the sixth day of the retreat, they overtook +the division of Demosthenes, which had again lagged behind, and was +marching slowly and in disorder separated from the other half of the +army by a distance of six miles. Deprived of all hope of succour from +his colleague, and hemmed in on all sides by implacable enemies, +Demosthenes called a halt, and prepared to make his last stand. But +his men, who from the first had held the post of honour and danger, +were fearfully reduced in numbers, faint with famine, and exhausted by +their long march. Driven to and fro by the incessant charges of the +Syracusan cavalry, they could make no effective resistance, and at +last they huddled pell-mell into a walled enclosure, planted with +olive-trees, and skirted on either side by a road. They were now at +the mercy of the Syracusans. who surrounded the enclosure, and plied +them with javelins, stones, and arrows. After this butchery had +continued for many hours, and the survivors were brought to extremity +by wounds, hunger, and thirst, Gylippus sent a herald, who was the +bearer of a remarkable message. "Let those of you," he said, "who are +natives of the islands subject to Athens, come over to us, and you +shall be free men." The offer was addressed to the Greeks from the +maritime cities of the Aegaean, who might be supposed to be serving +under compulsion, and it speaks volumes for the loyalty and attachment +of these men to Athens that most of them refused to accept their +freedom from the hands of her enemies. At length, however, the whole +army of Demosthenes, which had now dwindled to six thousand men, was +induced to surrender, on condition that none of them should suffer +death by violence, by bonds, or by starvation. At the command of their +captors they gave up the money which they had with them, and the +amount collected was so considerable that it filled the hollows of +four shields. When the capitulation was concluded, Demosthenes, who +had refused to make any terms for himself, drew his sword, and +attempted to take his own life; [Footnote: This interesting fact is +recorded by Plutarch and Pausanias, who copied it from the +contemporary Syracusan historian, Philistus.] but he was prevented +from effecting his purpose, and compelled to take his place in the +mournful procession which was now conducted by a strong guard along +the road to Syracuse. + +Meanwhile the vanguard under Nicias, in total ignorance of the fate +which had befallen their comrades, marched steadily forwards, and +crossing the river Erineus, encamped for the night on a neighbouring +hill. Here they were found next morning by Gylippus and the +Syracusans, who informed them that Demosthenes and his men had +surrendered, and called upon them to do the same. Doubting their good +faith, Nicias obtained a truce, while he sent a horseman to ascertain +the facts; and even when he had learnt the truth from his messenger, +he still tried to parley, offering, in the name of the Athenian state, +to defray the whole cost of the war, and to give hostages for payment, +at the rate of an Athenian citizen for each talent, on condition that +he and his men were allowed to go. But the Syracusans were in no mood +to listen to such proposals, even if Nicias had spoken with full +authority from Athens. Bare life they would grant, but no more, and as +the Athenians refused to yield on these terms, they closed in upon +them, and the cruel, hopeless struggle began again, and continued +until evening. The wretched Athenians lay down supperless to snatch a +few hours of rest, intending, when all was quiet, to steal away under +cover of darkness. But when they rose at dead of night, and prepared +to march, a shout from the Syracusan camp warned them that the enemy +were on the alert, and they were compelled to return to their +comfortless bivouac. Three hundred, however, persisted in their +intention, and forcing their way through the Syracusan lines, gained +for themselves a brief respite from capture. + +A whole week had now elapsed since the ill-fated army left its +quarters on the shores of the Great Harbour, and a few thousand +starving and weary men were all that remained of that great host. At +dawn on the eighth day Nicias gave the word to march, and they pressed +on eagerly towards the Assinarus, a stream of some size, with high and +precipitous banks, not more than two miles distant from their last +halting-place. They had still some faint hope of making good their +escape, if they could but cross the river. So they fought their way +onwards, through the swarming ranks of the Syracusans, who closed them +in on all sides, and thrust them together into one solid mass. There +was life, there was freedom a little way beyond,--or, if that hope +proved futile, at any rate there was water; and every fibre in their +bodies ached and burned with intolerable thirst. They reached the +river; both banks were already lined by the Syracusan horse, who had +ridden on before, and stood guarding the ford: but there was no +stopping the wild rush of that maddened, desperate multitude. Down the +steep bank they plunged, trampling on one another, and flung +themselves open-mouthed upon the stream, with one thought, one wish, +overpowering every other impulse,--to drink, and then to die. Some +fell upon the spears of their comrades, and perished, others slipped +on the floating baggage, lost their foothold, and were swept away by +the flood. Yet still they poured on, by hundreds and by thousands, +drawn by the same longing, and thrust downwards by the weight of those +behind, until the whole riverbed was filled with a huddled, surging +mob of furious men, who drank, and still drank, or fought with one +another to reach the water. All this time an iron storm of missiles +rained down upon them from the thronging hosts of their enemies on the +banks above, while some, in the midst of their draught, were pierced +by the spears of the Peloponnesians, who followed them into the river, +and slew them at close quarters. The water grew red with blood, and +foul from the trampling of so many feet, but the thirsty multitude +still came crowding in, and drank with avidity of the polluted stream. + +For a long time the slaughter raged unchecked, and the river-bed was +choked with heaps of slain. A few, who escaped from the river, were +pursued and cut down by the Syracusan horse. Nicias had held out until +the last moment; but when he perceived that all was lost, his men +being powerless either to fight or fly, he made his way to Gylippus, +and implored him to stop the useless carnage. "I surrender myself," he +said, "to you and the Spartans. Do with me as you please, but put an +end to this butchery of defenceless men." Gylippus gave the necessary +order, and the word was passed round to kill no more, but take captive +those who survived. The order was obeyed, though slowly and with +reluctance, and the work of capture began. But few of those taken in +the river ever found their way into the public gaol, where Demosthenes +was now lying, with the six thousand who had surrendered on the day +before. For, as there had been no regular capitulation, large numbers +of the prisoners were secretly conveyed away by the Syracusans, who +afterwards sold them into slavery for their own profit. As for the +three hundred who had broken out of camp on the previous night, they +were presently brought in by a party of cavalry despatched in pursuit. + +When the first transports of joy and triumph were over, an assembly +was called to decide on the fate of the two Athenian generals, and of +those state prisoners, some seven thousand in number, who were the +sole visible remnant of two great armies. Then arose a strange +conflict of motives. The first who put forward his claims was +Gylippus, to whose genius and energy the victorious issue of the +struggle was mainly due. As a reward for his services, he asked that +Nicias and Demosthenes should be left to his disposal, for he wished +to have the honour of carrying home with him these famous captains, +one the greatest friend, the other the greatest enemy of Sparta. But +the general voice of the assembly was strongly against him. Nothing +but the blood of the two principal offenders could satisfy the +vengeance of the Syracusans, and those who had intrigued with Nicias +were anxious to put him out of the way, in fear lest he should betray +them. Moreover the Corinthian allies of Syracuse, who for some reason +had a special grudge against Nicias, demanded his immediate execution. +In vain Hermocrates pleaded the cause of mercy, [Footnote: Plutarch, +_Nicias_, c. 28.] and urged his fellow-citizens to make a +generous use of their victory. Sentence of death was passed, and these +two eminent Athenians, so different in character and achievement, were +united in their end. + +Far worse was the doom pronounced on the six thousand men of +Demosthenes, and the thousand more who were brought to Syracuse after +the massacre at the Assinarus. They were condemned to confinement in +the stone quarries, deep pits surrounded by high walls of cliff, under +the south-eastern edge of Epipolae. Penned together in these roofless +dungeons, they were exposed to the fierce heat of the sun by day, and +to the bitter cold of the autumn nights, and having scarcely room to +move, they were unable to preserve common decency, or common +cleanliness. Many died of their wounds, or of the diseases engendered +by exposure, and their bodies were left unburied, a sight of horror +and a source of infection to the survivors. To these frightful +miseries were added a perpetual burning thirst, and the lingering +torture of slow starvation, for each man received as his daily +allowance a poor half pint of water, and a mere pittance of food, just +enough to avoid breaking the letter of the conditions which +Demosthenes had made for his troops. In this state they were left +without relief for ten long weeks; then all except the Athenians +themselves, and their allies from the Greek cities of Sicily and +Italy, were taken out and sold as slaves. + + + + +EPILOGUE + +Such was the end of the Sicilian Expedition, which ultimately decided +the issue of the Peloponnesian War. Forsaking the wise counsels of +their greatest statesman, and carried away by the mad sophistry of +Alcibiades, the Athenians had committed themselves, heart and soul, to +a wild game of hazard, in which they had little to win, and everything +to lose. By this act of desperate folly they brought on themselves an +overwhelming disaster, from which it was impossible for them wholly to +recover. With wonderful vitality they rallied from the blow, and +struggled on for nine years more, against the whole power of +Peloponnesus, and their own revolted allies, backed by the influence +and the gold of Persia. They gained great victories, and under prudent +leaders they might still have been saved from the worst consequences +of their defeat in Sicily. But at every favourable crisis they +wantonly flung away the advantage they had gained, and abandoned +themselves to blind guides, who led them further and further on the +road to ruin. + +The history of Thucydides ends abruptly in the twenty-first year of +the war, and for an account of the closing scenes we have to go to the +pages of Xenophon. It will be convenient, therefore, to bring our +narrative to a close at the point which we have reached, for any +attempt even to sketch the events of this confused and troubled period +would carry us far beyond the limits of the present volume. And so for +the present we take leave of the Athenians, in the hour of their +decline. Their light is burning dim, and yet darker days are awaiting +them in the future. But they are still great and illustrious, as the +chief guardians of those spiritual treasures which are our choicest +heritage from the past. + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, STORIES FROM THUCYDIDES *** + +This file should be named 8sthu10.txt or 8sthu10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, 8sthu11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, 8sthu10a.txt + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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