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When he had set the affairs of Lampsacus in order, Lysander sailed to
Byzantium and Chalcedon, where the inhabitants, having first dismissed
the Athenian garrison under a flag of truce, admitted him within their
walls. Those citizens of Byzantium, who had betrayed Byzantium into
the hands of Alcibiades, fled as exiles into Pontus, but subsequently
betaking themselves to Athens, became Athenian citizens. In dealing
with the Athenian garrisons, and indeed with all Athenians wheresoever
found, Lysander made it a rule to give them safe conduct to Athens,
and to Athens only, in the certainty that the larger the number
collected within the city and Piraeus, the more quickly the want of
necessaries of life would make itself felt. And now, leaving
Sthenelaus, a Laconian, as governor-general of Byzantium and
Chalcedon, he sailed back himself to Lampsacus and devoted himself to
refitting his ships.
It was night when the "Paralus" reached Athens with her evil tidings,
on receipt of which a bitter wail of woe broke forth. From Piraeus,
following the line of the long walls up to the heart of the city, it
swept and swelled, as each man to his neighbour passed on the news. On
that night no man slept. There was mourning and sorrow for those that
were lost, but the lamentation for the dead was merged in even deeper
sorrow for themselves, as they pictured the evils they were about to
suffer, the like of which they themselves had inflicted upon the men
of Melos, who were colonists of the Lacedaemonians, when they mastered
them by siege. Or on the men of Histiaea; on Scione and Torone; on the
Aeginetans, and many another Hellene city.[11] On the following day the
public assembly met, and, after debate, it was resolved to block up
all the harbours save one, to put the walls in a state of defence, to
post guards at various points, and to make all other necessary
preparations for a siege. Such were the concerns of the men of Athens.
Lysander presently left the Hellespont with two hundred sail and
arrived at Lesbos, where he established a new order of things in
Mitylene and the other cities of the island. Meanwhile he despatched
Eteonicus with a squadron of ten ships to the northern coasts,[12]
where that officer brought about a revolution of affairs which placed
the whole region in the hands of Lacedaemon. Indeed, in a moment of
time, after the sea-fight, the whole of Hellas had revolted from
Athens, with the solitary exception of the men of Samos. These, having
massacred the notables,[13] held the state under their control. After a
while Lysander sent messages to Agis at Deceleia, and to Lacedaemon,
announcing his approach with a squadron of two hundred sail.
In obedience to a general order of Pausanias, the other king of
Lacedaemon, a levy in force of the Lacedaemonians and all the rest of
Peloponnesus, except the Argives, was set in motion for a campaign. As
soon as the several contingents had arrived, the king put himself at
their head and marched against Athens, encamping in the gymnasium of
the Academy,[14] as it is called. Lysander had now reached Aegina,
where, having got together as many of the former inhabitants as
possible, he formally reinstated them in their city; and what he did
in behalf of the Aeginetans, he did also in behalf of the Melians, and
of the rest who had been deprived of their countries. He then pillaged
the island of Salamis, and finally came to moorings off Piraeus with
one hundred and fifty ships of the line, and established a strict
blockade against all merchant ships entering that harbour.
The Athenians, finding themselves besieged by land and sea, were in
sore perplexity what to do. Without ships, without allies, without
provisions, the belief gained hold upon them that there was no way of
escape. They must now, in their turn, suffer what they had themselves
inflincted upon others; not in retaliation, indeed, for ills received,
but out of sheer insolence, overriding the citizens of petty states,
and for no better reason than that these were allies of the very men
now at their gates. In this frame of mind they enfranchised those who
at any time had lost their civil rights, and schooled themselves to
endurance; and, albeit many succumbed to starvation, no thought of
truce or reconciliation with their foes was breathed.[15] But when the
stock of corn was absolutely insufficient, they sent an embassage to
Agis, proposing to become allies of the Lacedaemonians on the sole
condition of keeping their fortification walls and Piraeus; and to
draw up articles of treaty on these terms. Agis bade them betake
themselves to Lacedaemon, seeing that he had no authority to act
himself. With this answer the ambassadors returned to Athens, and were
forthwith sent on to Lacedaemon. On reaching Sellasia,[16] a town in[17]
Laconian territory, they waited till they got their answer from the
ephors, who, having learnt their terms (which were identical to those
already proposed to Agis), bade them instantly to be gone, and, if
they really desired peace, to come with other proposals, the fruit of
happier reflection. Thus the ambassadors returned home, and reported
the result of their embassage, whereupon despondency fell upon all. It
was a painful reflection that in the end they would be sold into
slavery; and meanwhile, pending the return of a second embassy, many
must needs fall victims to starvation. The razing of their
fortifications was not a solution which any one cared to recommend. A
senator, Archestratus, had indeed put the question in the senate,
whether it were not best to make peace with the Lacedaemonians on such
terms as they were willing to propose; but he was thrown into prison.
The Laconian proposals referred to involved the destruction of both
long walls for a space of more than a mile. And a decree had been
passed, making it illegal to submit any such proposition about the
walls. Things having reached this pass, Theramenes made a proposal in
the public assembly as follows: If they chose to send him as an
ambassador to Lysander, he would go and find out why the
Lacedaemonians were so unyielding about the walls; whether it was they
really intended to enslave the city, or merely that they wanted a
guarantee of good faith. Despatched accordingly, he lingered on with
Lysander for three whole months and more, watching for the time when
the Athenians, at the last pinch of starvation, would be willing to
accede to any terms that might be offered. At last, in the fourth
month, he returned and reported to the public assembly that Lysander
had detained him all this while, and had ended by bidding him betake
himself to Lacedaemon, since he had no authority himself to answer his
questions, which must be addressed directly to the ephors. After this
Theramenes was chosen with nine others to go to Lacedaemon as
ambassadors with full powers. Meanwhile Lysander had sent an Athenian
exile, named Aristoteles, in company of certain Lacedaemonians, to
Sparta to report to the board of ephors how he had answered
Theramenes, that they, and they alone, had supreme authority in
matters of peace and war.
Theramenes and his companions presently reached Sellasia, and being
there questioned as to the reason of their visit, replied that they
had full powers to treat of peace. After which the ephors ordered them
to be summoned to their presence. On their arrival a general assembly
was convened, in which the Corinthians and Thebans more particularly,
though their views were shared by many other Hellenes also, urged the
meeting not to come to terms with the Athenians, but to destroy them.
The Lacedaemonians replied that they would never reduce to slavery a
city which was itself an integral portion of Hellas, and had performed
a great and noble service to Hellas in the most perilous of
emergencies. On the contrary, they were willing to offer peace on the
terms now specified--namely, "That the long walls and the
fortifications of Piraeus should be destroyed; that the Athenian
fleet, with the exception of twelve vessels, should be surrendered;
that the exiles should be restored; and lastly, that the Athenians
should acknowledge the headship of Sparta in peace and war, leaving to
her the choice of friends and foes, and following her lead by land and
sea." Such were the terms which Theramenes and the rest who acted with
him were able to report on their return to Athens. As they entered the
city, a vast crowd met them, trembling lest their mission have proved
fruitless. For indeed delay was no longer possible, so long already
was the list of victims daily perishing from starvation. On the day
following, the ambassadors delivered their report, stating the terms
upon which the Lacedaemonians were willing to make peace. Theramenes
acted as spokesman, insisting that they ought to obey the
Lacedaemonians and pull down the walls. A small minority raised their
voice in opposition, but the majority were strongly in favour of the
proposition, and the resolution was passed to accept the peace. After
that, Lysander sailed into the Piraeus, and the exiles were
readmitted. And so they fell to levelling the fortifications and walls
with much enthusiasm, to the accompaniment of female flute-players,
deeming that day the beginning of liberty to Greece.
Thus the year drew to its close[18]--during its middle months took
place the accession of Dionysius, the son of Hermocrates the
Syracusan, to the tyranny of Syracuse; an incident itself preceded by
a victory gained over the Carthaginians by the Syracusans; the
reduction of Agrigentum through famine by the Carthaginians
themselves; and the exodus of the Sicilian Greeks from that city.
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