though he shrank from opening the gates, yet in terror of finding himself on a sudden seized, reluctantly gave the order to open the gates. As soon as he was entered in, the Spartan, still taking Meidias with him, marched up to the citadel and there ordered the main body of his soliders to take up their position round the walls, whilst he with those about him did sacrifice to Athena. When the sacrifice was ended he ordered Meidias's bodyguard to pile arms[19] in the van of his troops. Here for the future they would serve as mercenaries, since Meidias their former master stood no longer in need of their protection. The latter, being at his wits' end what to do, exclaimed: 'Look you, I will now leave you; I go to make preparation for my guest.' But the other replied: 'Heaven forbid! Ill were it that I who have offered sacrifice should be treated as a guest by you. I rather should be the entertainer and you the guest. Pray stay with us, and while the supper is preparing, you and I can consider our obligations, and perform them.'
[19] I.e. take up a position, or 'to order arms,' whilst he addressed them; not probably 'to ground arms,' as if likely to be mutinous.
When they were seated Dercylidas put certain questions: 'Tell me, Meidias, did your father leave you heir to his estates?' 'Certainly he did,' answered the other. 'And how many dwelling-houses have you? what landed estates? how much pasturage?' The other began running off an inventory, whilst some of the Scepsians who were present kept interposing, 'He is lying to you, Dercylidas.' 'Nay, you take too minute a view of matters,' replied the Spartan. When the inventory of the paternal property was completed, he proceeded: 'Tell me, Meidias, to whom did Mania belong?' A chorus of voices rejoined, 'To Pharnabazus.' 'Then must her property have belonged to Pharnabazus too.' 'Certainly,' they answered. 'Then it must now be ours,' he remarked, 'by right of conquest, since Pharnabazus is at war with us. Will some one of you escort me to the place where the property of Mania and Pharnabazus lies?' So the rest led the way to the dwelling- place of Mania which Meidias had taken from her, and Meidias followed too. When he was entered, Dercylidas summoned the stewards, and bidding his attendants seize them, gave them to understand that, if detected stealing anything which belonged to Mania, they would lose their heads on the spot. The stewards proceeded to point out the treasures, and he, when he had looked through the whole store, bolted and barred the doors, affixing his seal, and setting a watch. As he went out he found at the doors certain of the generals[20] and captains, and said to them: 'Here, sirs, we have pay ready made for the army--a year's pay nearly for eight thousand men--and if we can win anything besides, there will be so much the more.' This he said, knowing that those who heard it would be all the more amenable to discipline, and would yield him a more flattering obedience. Then Meidias asked, 'And where am I to live, Dercylidas?' 'Where you have the very best right to live,' replied the other, 'in your native town of Scepsis, and in your father's house.'
[20] Lit. 'of the taxiarchs and lochagoi.'
II
Such were the exploits of Dercylidas: nine cities taken in eight days. Two considerations now began to occupy his mind: how was he to avoid falling into the fatal error of Thibron and becoming a burthen to his allies, whilst wintering in a friendly country? how, again, was he to prevent Pharnabazus from overriding the Hellenic states in pure contempt with his cavalry? Accordingly he sent to Pharnabazus and put it to him point-blank: Which will you have, peace or war? Whereupon Pharnabazus, who could not but perceive that the whole Aeolid had now been converted practically into a fortified base of operations, which threatened his own homestead of Phrygia, chose peace.
B.C. 399-398. This being so, Dercylidas advanced into Bithynian Thrace, and there spent the winter; nor did Pharnabazus exhibit a shadow of annoyance, since the Bithynians were perpetually at war with himself. For the most part, Dercylidas continued to harry[1] Bithynia in perfect security, and found provisions without stint. Presently he was joined from the other side of the straits by some Odrysian allies sent by Seuthes;[2] they numbered two hundred horse and three hundred peltasts. These fellows pitched upon a site a little more than a couple of miles[3] from the Hellenic force, where they entrenched themselves; then having got from Dercylidas some heavy infantry soldiers to act as guards of their encampment, they devoted themselves to plundering, and succeeded in capturing an ample store of slaves and other wealth. Presently their camp was full of prisoners, when one morning the Bithynians, having ascertained the actual numbers of the marauding parties as well as of the Hellenes left as guards behind, collected in large masses of light troops and cavalry, and attacked the garrison, who were not more than two hundred strong. As soon as they came close enough, they began discharging spears and other missiles on the little body, who on their side continued to be wounded and shot down, but were quite unable to retaliate, cooped up as they were within a palisading barely six feet high, until in desperation they tore down their defences with their own hands, and dashed at the enemy. These had nothing to do but to draw back from the point of egress, and being light troops easily escaped beyond the grasp of heavy-armed men, while ever and again, from one point of vantage or another, they poured their shower of javelins, and at every sally laid many a brave man low, till at length, like sheep penned in a fold, the defenders were shot down almost to a man. A remnant, it is true, did escape, consisting of some fifteen who, seeing the turn affairs were taking, had already made off in the middle of the fighting. Slipping through their assailants' fingers,[4] to the small concern of the Bithynians, they reached the main Hellenic camp in safety. The Bithynians, satisfied with their achievement, part of which consisted in cutting down the tent guards of the Odrysian Thracians and recovering all their prisoners, made off without delay; so that by the time the Hellenes got wind of the affair and rallied to the rescue, they found nothing left in the camp save only the stripped corpses of the slain. When the Odrysians themselves returned, they fell to burying their own dead, quaffing copious draughts of wine in their honour and holding horse-races; but for the future they deemed it advisable to camp along with the Hellenes. Thus they harried and burned Bithynia the winter through.
[1] {Pheson kai agon}, i.e. 'there was plenty of live stock to lift and chattels to make away with.'
[2] For Seuthes see 'Anab.' VII. i. 5; and below, IV. viii. 26.
[3] Lit. 'twenty stades.'
[4] Or, 'slipping through the enemy's fingers, who took no heed of them, they,' etc.
B.C. 398. With the commencement of spring Dercylidas turned his back upon the Bithynians and came to Lampsacus. Whilst at this place envoys reached him from the home authorities. These were Aracus, Naubates, and Antisthenes. They were sent to inquire generally into the condition of affairs in Asia, and to inform Dercylidas of the extension of his office for another year. They had been further commissioned by the ephors to summon a meeting of the soldiers and inform them that the ephors held them to blame for their former doings, though for their present avoidance of evil conduct they must needs praise them; and for the future they must understand that while no repetition of misdoing would be tolerated, all just and upright dealing by the allies would receive its meed of praise. The soldiers were therefore summoned, and the envoys delivered their message, to which the leader of the Cyreians answered: 'Nay, men of Lacedaemon, listen; we are the same to-day as we were last year; only our general of to-day is different from our general in the past. If to-day we have avoided our offence of yesterday, the cause is not far to seek; you may discover it for youselves.'
Aracus and the other envoys shared the hospitality of Dercylidas's tent, and one of the party chanced to mention how they had left an embassy from the men of Chersonese in Lacedaemon. According to their statement, he added, it was impossible for them to till their land nowadays, so perpetually were they robbed and plundered by the Thracians; whereas the peninsula needed only to be walled across from sea to sea, and there would be abundance of good land to cultivate-- enough for themselves and as many others from Lacedaemon as cared to come. 'So that it would not surprise us,' continued the envoys, 'if a Lacedaemonian were actually sent out from Sparta with a force to carry out the project.' Dercylidas kept his ears open but his counsel close, and so sent forward the commissioners to Ephesus.[5] It pleased him to picture their progress through the Hellenic cities, and the spectacle of peace and prosperity which would everywhere greet their eyes. When he knew that his stay was to be prolonged, he sent again to Pharnabazus and offered him once more as an alternative either the prolongation of the winter truce or war. And once again Pharnabazus chose truce. It was thus that Dercylidas was able to leave the cities in the neighbourhood of the satrap[6] in peace and friendship. Crossing the Hellespont himself he brought his army into Europe, and marching through Thrace, which was also friendly, was entertained by Seuthes,[7] and so reached the Chersonese.
[5] See Grote, 'H. G.' ix. 301.
[6] Or, reading after Cobet, {tas peri ekeina poleis}--'the cities of that neighbourhood.'
[7] See 'Anab.' VII. vii. 51.
This district, he soon discovered, not only contained something like a dozen cities,[8] but was singularly fertile. The soil was of the best, but ruined by the ravages of the Thracians, precisely as he had been told. Accordingly, having measured and found the breadth of the isthmus barely four miles,[9] he no longer hesitated. Having offered
