Alkibiades, a tale of the Great Athenian War

by Charles Hamilton Bromby

In a poverty-stricken cottage they got shelter for the night, and some coarse bread and goat’s flesh, and a little goat’s milk. Mantitheos became worse. Agrestides would have left him there. ‘Will you risk your own life for him?’ he said; but Alkibiades refused to go without him, and amused them by tales of his adventures and stories about Sokrates—how the philosopher kept his guard all night at Potidaia in the snow without any other raiment on him but his summer dress, and how he would stand sometimes, all day and night, in silent contemplation, thus exemplifying his theory, external circumstances ought never to affect the true philosopher.

There was much he wanted to know about: what had taken place since he left the Hellespont with Thrasyboulos, after the battle of Abydos; what the Spartans and Pharnabazos were doing; whether the Athenians were making preparations to drive the Spartans from the Hellespont and Bosporos. Agrestides could give him little reliable information about these things, but he entertained them with an account of how he had found them, and had managed to help them to escape. He told his story in a few words, in his blunt way, taking little credit to himself. He could not imagine how anyone would have done less for such a master.

For two days after the sailors had returned to the ship from Magnesia without the strategos the Eros waited, expecting his return. Then some officers had gone to the castle at Magnesia for further orders, and were told that Alkibiades had set out to visit Tissaphernes, and they learnt that Tissaphernes had gone north to meet Pharnabazos. Only by degrees it came out that Alkibiades was a prisoner, and had been sent, under a strong escort, no one knew whither. The sailors were for marching upon Magnesia straight off, though it was occupied by some hundreds of Persian soldiers. It was difficult to make them understand the madness of the attempt. At last Agrestides was allowed to go in search, with orders to return if he found any clue to the prison of the captive strategos.

He knew the country and the language of the barbarians, and, disguised as a Persian sailor, it did not take him long to discover where his master was confined. He bought the three mountain ponies on the way, and brought them to Sardis, pretending he meant to sell them there. When he reached the satrap’s capital, he made friends with the sailors who formed the guard of the citadel, regaling them at the wine-shops on the supposed proceeds of a prosperous voyage, and after waiting many days, he at last found means of getting his message into his master’s hands. Then he gave the guard, who ought to have gone on duty an hour after sunset, so much of the strong wine that grows on the sides of Tmôlos, that he felt sure they would not trouble themselves to be too early at their post, and as soon as the tired guard went off, without waiting for their relief, the sailor’s rope had done the rest.

So two days and nights passed in the rough cottage, till the rest and warmth, and such food as they could get, restored the unfortunate lieutenant sufficiently to let them journey on. In two days more they reached a small fishing-village to the eastward of Klazomenai. At dark they put off in a fishing-boat, and after cruising about all night, at daybreak they sighted the Eros standing off the coast, about a mile north of Klazomenai. The sailors raised such loud cries of joy, when their strategos came on board, that their shouts were heard in the port, as with a head wind the Eros made for the isle of Samos.

The men of Samos were vainly vowing vengeance on the Persians if their chief was murdered. Just as the Eros was seen sailing towards the port, the women were thronging the temple of Heré, where the great bronze statue of Alkibiades, the liberator of Ionia, was to be erected next year, and were sending up prayers for his safety to the all-powerful Queen of Olympos, who was born, they said, at Samos. When they heard that the Eros was arrived, they left the altar of the goddess, in anxious hope that she had heard their prayers. There was the Eros coming onward, with the north-west wind, in festive trim, and lo! standing on the deck, appeared the hero for whom such earnest, tearful prayers had for so many days been offered up. He was soon in their midst, as fair, as fresh, as beautiful, as though no trouble or danger had ever come upon him.

He could not stay long at Samos. The tiresome necessities of glorious war called him away upon its ordinary business. He had to visit those of the islands which had not been true to Athens and which had now been abandoned by Sparta, enforcing contributions for the fleet which, he determined, should preserve them from both the Spartan and the Persian. He was at Lesbos when he received a pressing summons from those who were left in charge of the fleet in the north to come at once and take command.

Mindaros had collected ships and men from the islands and from home. He was again at the head of over sixty triremes, and was backed up from the shore by the army of Pharnabazos, and by Pharnabazos himself. As fast as wind and oars could carry him, Alkibiades made for Kardia, on the western coast of the Thrakian Chersonesos. There he collected all the Athenian strength. Thrasyboulos and Theramenes joined him. Thrasyllos was still doing his utmost to collect reinforcements at Athens. When all were told, the Athenian fleet was but little superior in numbers to the Spartan, and they had no army on shore to cover them.

In April Mindaros sailed for the island of Kyzikos, on the Propontis. Pharnabazos marched his troops along the coast of Mysia to the same point. The joint force took Kyzikos, the chief town of the island, at its southern extremity, where it was joined to the mainland by a bridge. On hearing of this attack, Alkibiades set sail from Kardia, doubled the Chersonesos, passed up the Hellespont, cleverly eluding the Spartan look-out at Abydos, and, on a dark, rainy night anchored off the island of Prokonnesos. Next day he assembled his men on shore, taking care that the enemy should have no intelligence of his arrival, and animated them by a stirring harangue.

Though inferior in strength, they must, he said, fight at once. Delay would be ruin to them, as they could expect no more help from Athens, while the Lakedaimonians were fed and paid by their rich allies. They must fight, then, as they never fought before, against ships, against men, against stone walls, and conquer this unholy alliance of Greek and barbarian, or die like heroes.