Alkibiades, a tale of the Great Athenian War

by Charles Hamilton Bromby

He was not afraid to engage the whole Spartan force at sea. But his difficulty was to get them out into the open, away from their Persian protection ashore. With this view he concealed the strength of his fleet. The night was dark; under cover of the darkness he sailed in three separate divisions from Prokonnesos. Theramenes he stationed with one division to the west, behind the small island of Alone; Thrasyboulos he sent with another to the east, round the north point of the island of Kyzikos; while he himself, with a picked squadron of twenty triremes, took the centre or front line, and made straight for the fleet of Mindaros at the capital of the island.

Mindaros, seeing the centre division only coming against him in the early morning, advanced in line to meet it with his whole fleet of sixty triremes. Alkibiades retreated, the Spartan admiral, with all his force, following him into the straits between Kyzikos and Alone. Then Alkibiades wheeled round upon them, the Athenian sailors managing their long ships splendidly, and at that moment, on a given signal, Thrasyboulos, with his division, came round the north point of Kyzikos, and Theramenes from behind Alone, taking the Spartan fleet on either flank.

The Spartans, attacked thus unexpectedly on each side, as well as on their main line in front, were seized with panic. They turned and fled, followed by the Athenians, who in their pursuit took or destroyed many of the retreating ships. The rest made for the mainland, about a mile from where Pharnabazos was stationed with his Persian troops. Those on board, running their ships aground, clambered on to the shore, followed by the centre line of the Athenian ships, led by Alkibiades. Thrasyboulos landed his hoplites on the right of the Persians, and Theramenes, turning his ships behind the main line, landed his men near the Persian left flank. The Persians charged Thrasyboulos, and were overwhelming him by their superior numbers, when Theramenes came, unperceived by them, upon their rear. Taken thus in the rear while they were resolutely opposed in front, they were thrown into disorder, and fled with enormous loss. Thrasyboulos and his force were saved.

Meanwhile Alkibiades had landed with a small picked body in order, if possible, to prevent the Spartans from protecting their stranded vessels, while the rest of his men were seizing those they could get at. Thus he found himself opposed to the whole Spartan force. For a long time he held his own, fighting himself in the front of his men. This small band of warriors was gradually falling by his side. He was hard pressed, and that fight was near proving his last. He was surrounded by the enemy, who cut off his retreat. There could have been no possible escape had not his two colleagues, fresh from their triumph over the Persians, come up just in time to save him. Victory was thus snatched from Mindaros and the Lakedaimonians. The valiant Spartan admiral, undismayed at this turn of affairs, so sudden and little expected by him, fought on with his accustomed bravery till he fell, mortally wounded, at the head of his followers, encouraging them to the last by his words and his example. The Spartans, seeing their leader fall, broke and fled, pursued by the conquerors, leaving the whole of their fleet behind, and a multitude of slain and wounded.

Alkibiades was hailed by his army as ‘the invincible,’ and well they might so call him. He had rid Ionia, the Hellespont, the Bosporos, of Spartan interference, and undone the work of three years’ strenuous labour of the enemy. Their fleet was destroyed, and their army was reduced to a miserable number and condition, broken in spirit, and without a leader. They knew not what to do.

At Sparta the news of the defeat was received with consternation. In her necessity she thought at last of peace. Endios, the old friend and relative of Alkibiades, was sent to sound the Athenian senate. Alas! the Athenians were too elated. Unhappily for them, they spurned the overtures, which, had they been accepted, might have changed the coming pages of their history and the future life of Alkibiades. Peace was not to be either for them or for him; he had to abide the course of destiny, and live and die in constant toil and struggle.

Having put in order his fleet, which had been enormously increased by all the triremes taken from the enemy, he proceeded to reduce the towns upon the coast, which still held out against him, and to receive the submission and tribute of the others. A whole year was spent in these active and profitable operations. In June of the next year, 409, Thrasyllos joined him at Lampsakos with a new squadron of fifty triremes and a body of hoplites from Athens.

Pharnabazos had during this last year shown much more spirit than the Lakedaimonian government. Persian gold was freely spent among the Spartan soldiers, and a naval arsenal was provided for them by him at Antandros, near Mount Ida, where wood for the building of new ships could be obtained by them in abundance. An immense body of men were there set to work to form a fresh navy, to replace the one they had lost at Kyzikos. But Alkibiades did not leave him long in peace. He attacked and routed him at Abydos, taking a prodigious amount of booty, including the money that was on its way to pay the Spartan soldiers and sailors at Antandros, and also making many prisoners. Among the captives were some Persian priests. These he treated with respect and courtesy, and sent them back to Pharnabazos unransomed and with presents.

There was a strong feeling of respect growing up mutually between these two leaders. If Pharnabazos was invariably defeated by Alkibiades, he could not but feel admiration for the bravery and skill with which his opponent fought. Pharnabazos from this time began to grow colder in his support of Sparta, or, at any rate, he began to feel the hopelessness of continuing the struggle with one who seemed endowed with more than ordinary force and genius.

Thus the winter passed. In the spring Alkibiades continued his victorious career. The history of this year is a catalogue of the coast towns and islands which he took from the control of Sparta, and brought back to their old tributary dependence upon Athens. Then he made an expedition into Thrace. Here the cultured Athenian, who had astonished the frugal Lakedaimonians by the stern rigour of his life at Sparta, and the soft Persians by his sumptuous magnificence at the court of the gentle Lydian satrap, now caused no less astonishment to the strong and hardy Thrakians. Bred from their infancy to tame and ride their famous wild white horses, they looked with admiration on his splendid horsemanship. From very love of him a large body followed him as volunteers when he returned to carry on the war against his twofold enemy.