History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides (free ebooks for android .txt) 📕

Tissaphernes was determined not to treat on any terms, wished the

Athenians to think, not that he was unable to persuade Tissaphernes,

but that after the latter had been persuaded and was willing to join

them, they had not conceded enough to him. For the demands of

Alcibiades, speaking for Tissaphernes, who was present, were so

extravagant that the Athenians, although for a long while they

agreed to whatever he asked, yet had to bear the blame of failure:

he required the cession of the whole of Ionia, next of the islands

adjacent, besides other concessions, and these passed without

opposition; at last, in the third interview, Alcibiades, who now

feared a complete discovery of his inability, required them to allow

the King to build ships and sail along his own coast wherever and with

as many as he pleased. Upon this the Athenians would yield no further,

and concluding that there was nothing to be done, but that they had

been deceived by Alcibiades, went away in a passion and proceeded to

Samos.

Tissaphernes immediately after this, in the same winter, proceeded

along shore to Caunus, desiring to bring the Peloponnesian fleet

back to Miletus, and to supply them with pay, making a fresh

convention upon such terms as he could get, in order not to bring

matters to an absolute breach between them. He was afraid that if many

of their ships were left without pay they would be compelled to engage

and be defeated, or that their vessels being left without hands the

Athenians would attain their objects without his assistance. Still

more he feared that the Peloponnesians might ravage the continent in

search of supplies. Having calculated and considered all this,

agreeably to his plan of keeping the two sides equal, he now sent

for the Peloponnesians and gave them pay, and concluded with them a

third treaty in words following:

In the thirteenth year of the reign of Darius, while Alexippidas

was ephor at Lacedaemon, a convention was concluded in the plain of

the Maeander by the Lacedaemonians and their allies with Tissaphernes,

Hieramenes, and the sons of Pharnaces, concerning the affairs of the

King and of the Lacedaemonians and their allies.

1. The country of the King in Asia shall be the King’s, and the

King shall treat his own country as he pleases.

2. The Lacedaemonians and their allies shall not invade or

injure the King’s country: neither shall the King invade or injure

that of the Lacedaemonians or of their allies. If any of the

Lacedaemonians or of their allies invade or injure the King’s country,

the Lacedaemonians and their allies shall prevent it: and if any

from the King’s country invade or injure the country of the

Lacedaemonians or of their allies, the King shall prevent it.

3. Tissaphernes shall provide pay for the ships now present,

according to the agreement, until the arrival of the King’s vessels:

but after the arrival of the King’s vessels the Lacedaemonians and

their allies may pay their own ships if they wish it. If, however,

they choose to receive the pay from Tissaphernes, Tissaphernes shall

furnish it: and the Lacedaemonians and their allies shall repay him at

the end of the war such moneys as they shall have received.

4. After the vessels have arrived, the ships of the Lacedaemonians

and of their allies and those of the King shall carry on the war

jointly, according as Tissaphernes and the Lacedaemonians and their

allies shall think best. If they wish to make peace with the

Athenians, they shall make peace also jointly.

This was the treaty. After this Tissaphernes prepared to bring up

the Phoenician fleet according to agreement, and to make good his

other promises, or at all events wished to make it appear that he

was so preparing.

Winter was now drawing towards its close, when the Boeotians took

Oropus by treachery, though held by an Athenian garrison. Their

accomplices in this were some of the Eretrians and of the Oropians

themselves, who were plotting the revolt of Euboea, as the place was

exactly opposite Eretria, and while in Athenian hands was

necessarily a source of great annoyance to Eretria and the rest of

Euboea. Oropus being in their hands, the Eretrians now came to

Rhodes to invite the Peloponnesians into Euboea. The latter,

however, were rather bent on the relief of the distressed Chians,

and accordingly put out to sea and sailed with all their ships from

Rhodes. Off Triopium they sighted the Athenian fleet out at sea

sailing from Chalce, and, neither attacking the other, arrived, the

latter at Samos, the Peloponnesians at Miletus, seeing that it was

no longer possible to relieve Chios without a battle. And this

winter ended, and with it ended the twentieth year of this war of

which Thucydides is the historian.

Early in the spring of the summer following, Dercyllidas, a Spartan,

was sent with a small force by land to the Hellespont to effect the

revolt of Abydos, which is a Milesian colony; and the Chians, while

Astyochus was at a loss how to help them, were compelled to fight at

sea by the pressure of the siege. While Astyochus was still at

Rhodes they had received from Miletus, as their commander after the

death of Pedaritus, a Spartan named Leon, who had come out with

Antisthenes, and twelve vessels which had been on guard at Miletus,

five of which were Thurian, four Syracusans, one from Anaia, one

Milesian, and one Leon’s own. Accordingly the Chians marched out in

mass and took up a strong position, while thirty-six of their ships

put out and engaged thirty-two of the Athenians; and after a tough

fight, in which the Chians and their allies had rather the best of it,

as it was now late, retired to their city.

Immediately after this Dercyllidas arrived by land from Miletus; and

Abydos in the Hellespont revolted to him and Pharnabazus, and

Lampsacus two days later. Upon receipt of this news Strombichides

hastily sailed from Chios with twenty-four Athenian ships, some

transports carrying heavy infantry being of the number, and

defeating the Lampsacenes who came out against him, took Lampsacus,

which was unfortified, at the first assault, and making prize of the

slaves and goods restored the freemen to their homes, and went on to

Abydos. The inhabitants, however, refusing to capitulate, and his

assaults failing to take the place, he sailed over to the coast

opposite, and appointed Sestos, the town in the Chersonese held by the

Medes at a former period in this history, as the centre for the

defence of the whole Hellespont.

In the meantime the Chians commanded the sea more than before; and

the Peloponnesians at Miletus and Astyochus, hearing of the

sea-fight and of the departure of the squadron with Strombichides,

took fresh courage. Coasting along with two vessels to Chios,

Astyochus took the ships from that place, and now moved with the whole

fleet upon Samos, from whence, however, he sailed back to Miletus,

as the Athenians did not put out against him, owing to their

suspicions of one another. For it was about this time, or even before,

that the democracy was put down at Athens. When Pisander and the

envoys returned from Tissaphernes to Samos they at once strengthened

still further their interest in the army itself, and instigated the

upper class in Samos to join them in establishing an oligarchy, the

very form of government which a party of them had lately risen to

avoid. At the same time the Athenians at Samos, after a consultation

among themselves, determined to let Alcibiades alone, since he refused

to join them, and besides was not the man for an oligarchy; and now

that they were once embarked, to see for themselves how they could

best prevent the ruin of their cause, and meanwhile to sustain the

war, and to contribute without stint money and all else that might

be required from their own private estates, as they would henceforth

labour for themselves alone.

After encouraging each other in these resolutions, they now at

once sent off half the envoys and Pisander to do what was necessary at

Athens (with instructions to establish oligarchies on their way in all

the subject cities which they might touch at), and dispatched the

other half in different directions to the other dependencies.

Diitrephes also, who was in the neighbourhood of Chios, and had been

elected to the command of the Thracian towns, was sent off to his

government, and arriving at Thasos abolished the democracy there.

Two months, however, had not elapsed after his departure before the

Thasians began to fortify their town, being already tired of an

aristocracy with Athens, and in daily expectation of freedom from

Lacedaemon. Indeed there was a party of them (whom the Athenians had

banished), with the Peloponnesians, who with their friends in the town

were already making every exertion to bring a squadron, and to

effect the revolt of Thasos; and this party thus saw exactly what they

most wanted done, that is to say, the reformation of the government

without risk, and the abolition of the democracy which would have

opposed them. Things at Thasos thus turned out just the contrary to

what the oligarchical conspirators at Athens expected; and the same in

my opinion was the case in many of the other dependencies; as the

cities no sooner got a moderate government and liberty of action, than

they went on to absolute freedom without being at all seduced by the

show of reform offered by the Athenians.

Pisander and his colleagues on their voyage alongshore abolished, as

had been determined, the democracies in the cities, and also took some

heavy infantry from certain places as their allies, and so came to

Athens. Here they found most of the work already done by their

associates. Some of the younger men had banded together, and

secretly assassinated one Androcles, the chief leader of the

commons, and mainly responsible for the banishment of Alcibiades;

Androcles being singled out both because he was a popular leader and

because they sought by his death to recommend themselves to

Alcibiades, who was, as they supposed, to be recalled, and to make

Tissaphernes their friend. There were also some other obnoxious

persons whom they secretly did away with in the same manner. Meanwhile

their cry in public was that no pay should be given except to

persons serving in the war, and that not more than five thousand

should share in the government, and those such as were most able to

serve the state in person and in purse.

But this was a mere catchword for the multitude, as the authors of

the revolution were really to govern. However, the Assembly and the

Council of the Bean still met notwithstanding, although they discussed

nothing that was not approved of by the conspirators, who both

supplied the speakers and reviewed in advance what they were to say.

Fear, and the sight of the numbers of the conspirators, closed the

mouths of the rest; or if any ventured to rise in opposition, he was

presently put to death in some convenient way, and there was neither

search for the murderers nor justice to be had against them if

suspected; but the people remained motionless, being so thoroughly

cowed that men thought themselves lucky to escape violence, even

when they held their tongues. An exaggerated belief in the numbers

of the conspirators also demoralized the people, rendered helpless

by the magnitude of the city, and by their want of intelligence with

each other, and being without means of finding out what those

numbers really were. For the same reason it was impossible for any one

to open his grief to a neighbour and to concert measures to defend

himself, as he would