A Smaller History of Greece

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The possession of the Bosporus reopened to the Athenians the
trade of the Euxine. From his lofty fortress at Decelea the
Spartan king Agris could descry the corn-ships from the Euxine
sailing into the Harbour of the Piraeus, and felt how fruitless
it was to occupy the fields of Attica whilst such abundant
supplies of provisions were continually finding their way to the
city.

In B.C. 408 the important towns of Chalcedon, Selymbria, and
Byzantium fell into the hands of the Athenians, thus leaving them
undisputed masters of the Propontis.

These great achievements of Alcibiades naturally paved the way
for his return to Athens. In the spring of 407 B.C. he proceeded
with the fleet to Samos, and from thence sailed to Piraeus. His
reception was far more favourable than he had ventured to
anticipate. The whole population of Athens flocked down to
Piraeus to welcome him, and escorted him to the city. He seemed
to be in the present juncture the only man capable of restoring
the grandeur and the empire of Athens: he was accordingly named
general with unlimited powers, and a force of 100 triremes, 1500
hoplites, and 150 cavalry placed at his disposal. Before his
departure he took an opportunity to atone for the impiety of
which he had been suspected. Although his armament was in
perfect readiness, he delayed its sailing till after the
celebration of the Eleusinian mysteries at the beginning of
September. For seven years the customary procession across the
Thriasian plain had been suspended, owing to the occupation of
Decelea by the enemy, which compelled the sacred troop to proceed
by sea. Alcibiades now escorted them on their progress and
return with his forces, and thus succeeded in reconciling himself
with the offended goddesses and with their holy priests, the
Eumolpidae.

Meanwhile a great change had been going on in the state of
affairs in the East. We have already seen that the Great King
was displeased with the vacillating policy of Tissaphernes, and
had determined to adopt more energetic measures against the
Athenians. During the absence of Alcibiades, Cyrus, the younger
son of Darius, a prince of a bold and enterprising spirit, and
animated with a lively hatred of Athens, had arrived at the coast
for the purpose of carrying out the altered policy of the Persian
court; and with that view he had been invested with the satrapies
of Lydia, the Greater Phrygia, and Cappadocia. The arrival of
Cyrus opens the last phase of the Peloponnesian war. Another
event, in the highest degree unfavourable to the Athenian cause,
was the accession of Lysander, as NAVARCHUS, to the command of
the Peloponnesian fleet. Lysander was the third of the
remarkable men whom Sparta produced during the war. In ability,
energy, and success he may be compared with Brasidas and
Gylippus, though immeasurably inferior to the former in every
moral quality. He was born of poor parents, and was by descent
one of those Lacedaemonians who could never enjoy the full rights
of Spartan citizenship. His ambition was boundless, and he was
wholly unscrupulous about the means which he employed to gratify
it. In pursuit of his objects he hesitated at neither deceit,
nor perjury, nor cruelty, and he is reported to have laid it down
as one of his maxims in life to avail himself of the fox's skin
where the lion's failed.

Lysander had taken up his station at Ephesus, with the
Lacedaemonian fleet of 70 triremes; and when Cyrus arrived at
Sardis, in the spring of 407 B.C., he hastened to pay his court
to the young prince, and was received with every mark of favour.
A vigrorous line of action was resolved on. Cyrus at once
offered 500 talents, and affirmed that, if more were needed, he
was prepared even to coin into money the very throne of gold and
silver on which he sat. In a banquet which ensued Cyrus drank to
the health of Lysander, and desired him to name any wish which he
could gratify. Lysander immediately requested an addition of an
obolus to the daily pay of the seamen. Cyrus was surprised at so
disinterested a demand, and from that day conceived a high degree
of respect and confidence for the Spartan commander. Lysander on
his return to Ephesus employed himself in refitting his fleet,
and in organising clubs in the Spartan interest in the cities of
Asia.

Alcibiades set sail from Athens in September. Being ill provided
with funds for carrying on the war, he was driven to make
predatory excursions for the purpose of raising money. During
his absence he intrusted the bulk of the fleet at Samos to his
pilot, Antiochus, with strict injunctions not to venture on an
action. Notwithstanding these orders, however, Antiochus sailed
out and brought the Peloponnesian fleet to an engagement off
Notium, in which the Athenians were defeated with the loss of 15
ships, and Antiochus himself was slain. Among the Athenian
armament itself great dissatisfaction was growing up against
Alcibiades. Though at the head of a splendid force, he had in
three months time accomplished literally nothing. His
debaucheries and dissolute conduct on shore were charged against
him, as well as his selecting for confidential posts not the men
best fitted for them, but those who, like Antiochus were the boon
companions and the chosen associates of his revels. These
accusations forwarded to Athens, and fomented by his secret
enemies, soon produced an entire revulsion in the public feeling
towards Alcibiades. The Athenians voted that he should be
dismissed from his command, and they appointed in his place ten
new generals, with Conon at their head.

The year of Lysander's command expired about the same time as the
appointment of Conon to the Athenian fleet. Through the
intrigues of Lysander, his successor Callicratidas was received
with dissatisfaction both by the Lacedaemonian seamen and by
Cyrus. Loud complaints were raised of the impolicy of an annual
change of commanders. Lysander threw all sorts of difficulties
into the way of his successor, to whom he handed over an empty
chest, having first repaid to Cyrus all the money in his
possession under the pretence that it was a private loan. The
straightforward conduct of Callicratidas, however, who summoned
the Lacedaemonian commanders, and after a dignified remonstrance,
plainly put the question whether he should return home or remain,
silenced all opposition. But he was sorely embarrassed for
funds. Cyrus treated him with haughtiness; and when he waited on
that prince at Sardis, he was dismissed not only without money,
but even without an audience. Callicratidas, however, had too
much energy to be daunted by such obstacles. Sailing with his
fleet from Ephesus to Miletus, he laid before the assembly of
that city, in a spirited address, all the ill they had suffered
at the hands of the Persians, and exhorted them to bestir
themselves and dispense with the Persian alliance. He succeeded
in persuading the Milesians to make him a large grant of money,
whilst the leading men even came forward with private
subscriptions. By means of this assistance he was enabled to add
50 triremes to the 90 delivered to him by Lysander; and the
Chians further provided him with ten days' pay for the seamen.

The fleet of Callicratidas was now double that of Conon. The
latter was compelled to run before the superior force of
Callicratidas. Both fleets entered the harbour of Mytilene at
the same time, where a battle ensued in which Conon lost 30
ships, but he saved the remaining 40 by hauling them ashore under
the walls of the town. Callicratidas then blockaded Mytilene
both by sea and land; but Conon contrived to despatch a trireme
to Athens with the news of his desperate position.

As soon as the Athenians received intelligence of the blockade of
Mytilene; vast efforts were made for its relief; and we learn
with surprise that in thirty days a fleet of 110 triremes was
equipped and despatched from Piraeus. The armament assembled at
Samos, where it was reinforced by scattered Athenian ships, and
by contingents from the allies, to the extent of 40 vessels. The
whole fleet of 150 sail then proceeded to the small islands of
Arginusae, near the coast of Asia, and facing Malea, the south-
eastern cape of Lesbos. Callicratidas, who went out to meet
them, took up his station at the latter point, leaving a squadron
of 50 ships to maintain the blockade of Mytilene. He had thus
only 120 ships to oppose to the 150 of the Athenians, and his
pilot advised him to retire before the superior force of the
enemy. But Callicratidas replied that he would not disgrace
himself by flight, and that if he should perish Sparta would not
feel his loss. The battle was long and obstinate. All order was
speedily lost, and the ships fought singly with one another, In
one of these contests, Callicratidas, who stood on the prow of
his vessel ready to board the enemy, was thrown overboard by the
shock of the vessels as they met, and perished. At length
victory began to declare for the Athenians. The Lacedaemonians,
after losing 77 vessels, retreated with the remainder to Chios
and Phocaea. The loss of the Athenians was 25 vessels.

The battle of Arginusae led to a deplorable event, which has for
ever sullied the pages of Athenian history. At least a dozen
Athenian vessels were left floating about in a disabled condition
after the battle; but, owing to a violent storm that ensued, no
attempt was made to rescue the survivors, or to collect the
bodies of the dead for burial. Eight of the ten generals were
summoned home to answer for this conduct; Conon, by his situation
at Mytilene, was of course exculpated, and Archestratus had died.
Six of the generals obeyed the summons, and were denounced in the
Assembly by Theramenes, formerly one of the Four Hundred, for
neglect of duty. The generals replied that they had commissioned
Theramenes himself and Thrasybulus, each of whom commanded a
trireme in the engagement, to undertake the duty, and had
assigned 48 ships to them for that purpose. This, however, was
denied by Theramenes. There are discrepancies in the evidence,
and we have no materials for deciding positively which statement
was true; but probability inclines to the side of the generals.
Public feeling, however, ran very strongly against them, and was
increased by an incident which occurred during their trial.
After a day's debate the question was adjourned; and in the
interval the festival of the APATURIA was celebrated, in which,
according to annual custom, the citizens met together according
to their families and phratries. Those who had perished at
Arginusae were naturally missed on such an occasion; and the
usually cheerful character of the festival was deformed and
rendered melancholy by the relatives of the deceased appearing in
black clothes and with shaven heads. The passions of the people
were violently roused. At the next meeting of the Assembly,
Callixenus, a senator, proposed that the people should at once
proceed to pass its verdict on the generals, though they had been
only partially heard in their defence; and, moreover, that they
should all be included in one sentence, though it was contrary to
a rule of Attic law, known as the psephisma of Canonus, to indict
citizens otherwise than individually. The Prytanes, or senators
of the presiding tribe, at first refused to put the question to
the Assembly in this illegal way; but their opposition was at
length overawed by clamour and violence. There was, however, one
honourable exception. The philosopher Socrates, who was one of
the Prytanes, refused to withdraw his protest. But his
opposition was disregarded, and the proposal of Callixenus was
carried, The generals were condemned, delivered over to the
Eleven for execution, and compelled to drink the fatal hemlock.
Among them was Pericles, the son of the celebrated statesman.

In the following year (B.C. 405), through the influence of Cyrus
and the other allies of Sparta, Lysander again obtained the
command of the Peloponnesian fleet, though nominally under Aracus
as admiral; since it was contrary to Spartan usage that the same
man should be twice NAVARCHUS. His return to power was marked by
more vigorous measures. He sailed to the Hellespont, and laid
siege to Lampsacus. The Athenian fleet arrived too late to save
the town, but they proceeded up the strait and took post at
AEgospotami, or the "Goat's River;" a place which had nothing to
recommend it, except its vicinity to Lampsacus, from which it was
separated by a channel somewhat less than two miles broad. It
was a mere desolate beach, without houses or inhabitants, so that
all the supplies had to be fetched from Sestos, or from the
surrounding country, and the seamen were compelled to leave their
ships in order to obtain their meals. Under these circumstances
the Athenians were very desirous of bringing Lysander to an
engagement. But the Spartan commander, who was in a strong
position, and abundantly furnished with provisions, was in no
hurry to run any risks. In vain did the Athenians sail over
several days in succession to offer him battle; they always found
his ships ready manned, and drawn up in too strong a position to
warrant an attack; nor could they by all their manoeuvres succeed
in enticing him out to combat. This cowardice, as they deemed
it, on the part of the Lacedaemonians, begat a corresponding
negligence on theirs; discipline was neglected and the men
allowed to straggle almost at will. It was in vain that
Alcibiades, who since his dismissal resided in a fortress in that
neighbourhood, remonstrated with the Athenian generals on the
exposed nature of the station they had chosen, and advised them
to proceed to Sestos. His counsels were received with taunts and
insults. At length, on the fifth day, Lysander, having watched
an opportunity when the Athenian seamen had gone on shore and
were dispersed over the country, rowed swiftly across the strait
with all his ships. He found the Athenian fleet, with the
exception of 10 or 12 vessels, totally unprepared, and he
captured nearly the whole of it, without having occasion to
strike a single blow. Of the 180 ships which composed the fleet,
only the trireme of Conon himself, the Paralus, and 8 or 10 other
vessels succeeded in escaping. Conon was afraid to return to
Athens after so signal a disaster, and took refuge with Evagoras,
prince of Salamis in Cyprus.

By this momentous victory (September, B.C. 405) the Peloponnesian
war was virtually brought to an end. Lysander, secure of an easy
triumph, was in no haste to gather it by force. The command of
the Euxine enabled him to control the supplies of Athens; and
sooner or later, a few weeks of famine must decide her fall. He
now sailed forth to take possession of the Athenian towns, which
fell one after another into his power as soon as he appeared
before them. About November he arrived at AEgina, with an
overwhelming fleet of 150 triremes, and proceeded to devastate
Salamis and blockade Piraeus. At the same time the whole
Peloponnesian army was marched into Attica and encamped in the
precincts of the Academus, at the very gates of Athens. Famine
soon began to be felt within the walls, and at the end of three
months it became so dreadful, that the Athenians saw themselves
compelled to submit to the terms of the conqueror. These terms
were: That the long walls and the fortifications of Piraeus
should be demolished; that the Athenians should give up all their
foreign possessions, and confine themselves to their own
territory; that they should surrender all their ships of war;
that they should readmit all their exiles; and that they should
become allies of Sparta.

It was about the middle or end of March, B.C. 404, that Lysander
sailed into Piraeus, and took formal possession of Athens; the
war, in singular conformity with the prophecies current at the
beginning of it, having lasted for a period of thrice nine, or 27
years. The insolence of the victors added another blow to the
feelings of the conquered. The work of destruction, at which
Lysander presided, was converted into a sort of festival. Female
flute-players and wreathed dancers inaugurated the demolition of
the strong and proud bulwarks of Athens; and as the massive walls
fell piece by piece exclamations arose from the ranks of the
Peloponnesians that freedom had at length begun to dawn upon
Greece.

CHAPTER XIV

THE THIRTY TYRANTS, AND THE DEATH OF SOCRATES, B.C. 404-399.

The fall of Athens brought back a host of exiles, all of them the
enemies of her democratical constitution. Of these these most
distinguished was Critias, a man of wealth and family, the uncle
of Plato, and once the intimate friend of Socrates, distinguished
both for his literary and political talents, but of unmeasured
ambition and unscrupulous conscience. Critias and his companions
soon found a party with which they could co-operate; and
supported by Lysander they proposed in the assembly that a
committee of thirty should be named to draw up laws for the
future government of the city, and to undertake its temporary
administration. Among the most prominent of the thirty names
were those of Critias and Theramenes. The proposal was of course
carried. Lysander himself addressed the Assembly, and
contemptuously told them that they had better take thought for
their personal safety, which now lay at his mercy, than for their
political constitution. The committee thus appointed soon
obtained the title of the Thirty Tyrants, the name by which they
have become known in all subsequent time. After naming an
entirely new Senate, and appointing fresh magistrates, they
proceeded to exterminate their most obnoxious opponents. But
Critias, and the more violent party among them, still called for
more blood; and with the view of obtaining it, procured a Spartan
garrison, under the harmost Callibius, to be installed in the
Acropolis. Besides this force, they had an organized band of
assassins at their disposal. Blood now flowed on all sides.
Many of the leading men of Athens fell, others took to flight.

Thus the reign of terror was completely established. In the
bosom of the Thirty, however, there was a party, headed by
Theramenes, who disapproved of these proceedings. But his
moderation cost him his life. One day as he entered the Senate-
house, Critias rose and denounced him as a public enemy, and
ordered him to be carried off to instant death. Upon hearing
these words Theramenes sprang for refuge to the altar in the
Senate-house; but he was dragged away by Satyrus, the cruel and
unscrupulous head of the "Eleven," a body of officers who carried
into execution the penal sentence of the law. Being conveyed to
prison, he was compelled to drink the fatal hemlock. The
constancy of his end might have adorned a better life after
swallowing the draught, he jerked on the floor a drop which
remained in the cup, according to the custom of the game called
COTTABOS, exclaiming, "This to the health of the GENTLE Critias!"

Alcibiades had been included by the Thirty in the list of exiles;
but the fate which now overtook him seems to have sprung from the
fears of the Lacedaemonians, or perhaps from the personal hatred
of Agis. After the battle of AEgospotami, Pharnabazus permitted
the Athenian exile to live in Phrygia, and assigned him a revenue
for his maintenance. But a despatch came out from Sparta, to
Lysander, directing that Alcibiades should be put to death.
Lysander communicated the order to Pharnabazus, who arranged for
carrying it into execution. The house of Alcibiades was
surrounded with a band of assassins, and set on fire. He rushed
out with drawn sword upon his assailants, who shrank from the
attack, but who slew him from a distance with their javelins and
arrows. Timandra, a female with whom he lived, performed towards
his body the last offices of duty and affection. Thus perished
miserably, in the vigour of his age, one of the most remarkable,
but not one of the greatest, characters in Grecian history. With
qualities which, properly applied, might have rendered him the
greatest benefactor of Athens, he contrived to attain the
infamous distinction of being that citizen who had inflicted upon
her the most signal amount of damage.

Meantime an altered state of feeling was springing up in Greece.
Athens had ceased to be an object of fear or jealousy, and those
feelings began now to be directed towards Sparta. Lysander had
risen to a height of unparalleled power. He was in a manner
idolized. Poets showered their praises on him, and even altars
were raised in his honour by the Asiatic Greeks. In the name of
Sparta he exercised almost uncontrolled authority in the cities
he had reduced, including Athens itself. But it was soon
discovered that, instead of the freedom promised by the Spartans,
only another empire had been established, whilst Lysander was
even meditating to extort from the subject cities a yearly
tribute of one thousand talents. And all these oppressions were
rendered still more intolerable by the overweening pride and
harshness of Lysander's demeanour.

Even in Sparta itself the conduct of Lysander was beginning to
inspire disgust and jealousy. Pausanias, son of Plistoanax, who
was now king with Agis, as well as the new Ephors appointed in
September, B.C. 404, disapproved of his proceedings. The Thebans
and Corinthians themselves were beginning to sympathise with
Athens, and to regard the Thirty as mere instruments for
supporting the Spartan dominion; whilst Sparta in her turn looked
upon them as the tools of Lysander's ambition. Many of the
Athenian exiles had found refuge in Boeotia: and one of them
Thrasybulus, with the aid of Ismenias and other Theban citizens,
starting from Thebes at the head of a small band of exiles,
seized the fortress of Phyle in the passes of Mount Parnes and on
the direct road to Athens. The Thirty marched out to attack
Thrasybulus, at the head of the Lacedaemonian garrison and a
strong Athenian force. But their attack was repulsed with
considerable loss.

Shortly afterwards Thrasybulus marched from Phyle to Piraeus
which was now an open town, and seized upon it without
opposition. When the whole force of the Thirty, including the
Lacedaemonians, marched on the following day to attack him, he
retired to the hill of Munychia, the citadel of Piraeus, the only
approach to which was by a steep ascent. Here he drew up his
hoplites in files of ten deep, posting behind them his slingers
and dartmen. He exhorted his men to stand patiently till the
enemy came within reach of the missiles. At the first discharge
the assailing column seemed to waver; and Thrasybulus, taking
advantage of their confusion, charged down the hill, and
completely routed them, killing seventy, among whom was Critias
himself. The loss of their leader had thrown the majority into
the hands of the party formerly led by Theramenes, who resolved
to depose the Thirty and constitute a new oligarchy of Ten. Some
of the Thirty were re-elected into this body; but the more
violent colleagues of Critias were deposed and retired for safety
to Eleusis. The new government of the Ten sent to Sparta to
solicit further aid; and a similar application was made at the
same time from the section of the Thirty at Eleusis. Their
request was complied with; and Lysander once more entered Athens
at the head of a Lacedaemonian force. Fortunately, however, the
jealousy of the Lacedaemonians towards Lysander led them at this
critical juncture to supersede him in the command. King
Pausanias was appointed to conduct an army into Attica, and when
he encamped in the Academus he was joined by Lysander and his
forces. It was known at Athens that the views of Pausanias were
unfavourable to the proceedings of Lysander; and the presence of
the Spartan king elicited a vehement reaction against the
oligarchy, which fear had hitherto suppressed. All parties sent
envoys to Sparta. The Ephors and the Lacedaemonian Assembly
referred the question to a committee of fifteen, of whom
Pausanias was one. The decision of this board was: That the
exiles in Piraeus should be readmitted to Athens, and that there
should be an amnesty for all that had passed, except as regarded
the Thirty and the Ten.

When these terms were settled and sworn to, the Peloponnesians
quitted Attica; and Thrasybulus and the exiles, marching in
solemn procession from Piraeus to Athens, ascended to the
Acropolis and offered up a solemn sacrifice and thanksgiving. An
assembly of the people was then held, and after Thrasybulus had
addressed an animated reproof to the oligarchical party, the
democracy was unanimously restored. This important counter-
revolution took place in the spring of 403 B.C. The archons, the
senate of 500, the public assembly, and the dicasteries seem to
have been reconstituted in the same form as before the capture of
the city.

Thus was terminated, after a sway of eight months, the despotism
of the Thirty. The year which contained their rule was not named
after the archon, but was termed "the year of anarchy." The
first archon drawn after their fall was Euclides, who gave his
name to a year ever afterwards memorable among the Athenians.

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