Plutarch's Lives, Volume 2 (of 4)

by Plutarch

VI. Lysander made this class of persons yet more irritated against Kallikratidas by sending back to Sardis the balance of the money which he had received from Cyrus for the fleet, bidding the sailors ask Kallikratidas for pay, and see how he would manage to maintain the men. And when he finally left Ephesus, he endeavoured to force Kallikratidas to admit that he had handed over to him a fleet which was mistress of the seas. Kallikratidas, however, wishing to expose his vainglorious boasts, answered: "If so, sail from hence, passing Samos on your left, and hand over the fleet to me at Miletus; for we need not fear the Athenians at Samos, if our fleet is mistress of the seas." To this Lysander answered that it was not he, but Kallikratidas who was in command, and at once sailed away to Peloponnesus, leaving Kallikratidas in great perplexity; for he had brought no money with him from his own country, and he could not endure to wring money out of the distressed Greek cities on the coast. There remained only one course open to him: to go to the satraps of the king of Persia, and ask them for money, as Lysander had done. Kallikratidas was the worst man in the world for such a task, being high-spirited and generous, and thinking it less dishonourable for Greeks to be defeated by other Greeks than for them to court and flatter barbarians who had nothing to recommend them but their riches. Forced by want of money, however, he made a journey into Lydia, and at once went to the house of Cyrus, where he ordered the servants to say that the admiral Kallikratidas was come, and wished to confer with him. They answered, "Stranger, Cyrus is not at leisure; he is drinking." To this Kallikratidas with the greatest coolness replied: "Very well; I will wait until he has finished his draught." At this answer the Persians took him for a boor, and laughed at him, so that he went away; and, after presenting himself a second time and being again denied admittance, returned to Ephesus in a rage, invoking curses upon those who had first been corrupted by the barbarians, and who had taught them to behave so insolently because of their riches, and vowing in the presence of his friends that as soon as he reached Sparta, he would do all in his power to make peace between the Greek states, in order that they might be feared by the barbarians, and might no longer be obliged to beg the Persians to help them to destroy one another.

VII. But Kallikratidas, whose ideas were so noble and worthy of a Spartan, being as brave, honourable, and just a man as ever lived, perished shortly afterwards in the sea-fight at Arginusæ. Upon this, as the Lacedæmonian cause was going to ruin, the allied cities sent an embassy to Sparta, begging for Lysander to be again given the chief command, and promising that they would carry on the war with much greater vigour if he were their leader. Cyrus also sent letters to the same effect. Now as the Spartan law forbids the same man being twice appointed admiral, the Lacedæmonians, wishing to please their allies, gave the chief command nominally to one Arakus, but sent Lysander with him, with the title of secretary, but really with full power and authority. He was very welcome to the chief men in the various cities, who imagined that by his means they would be able to obtain much greater power, and to put down democracy throughout Asia; but those who loved plain and honourable dealing in a general thought that Lysander, when compared with Kallikratidas, appeared to be a crafty, deceitful man, conducting the war chiefly by subtilty and stratagem, using honourable means when it was his interest to do so, at other times acting simply on the rules of expediency, and not holding truth to be in itself superior to falsehood, but measuring the value of the one and the other by the profit which was to be obtained from them. He indeed laughed at those who said that the race of Herakles ought not to make wars by stratagem, saying, "Where the lion's skin will not protect us, we must sew the fox's skin to it."

VIII. All this is borne out by what he is said to have done at Miletus. Here his friends and connections, to whom he had promised that he would put down the democratic constitution and drive their enemies out of the city, changed their minds, and made up their quarrel with their political opponents. At this reconciliation Lysander publicly expressed great satisfaction and even seemed anxious to promote a good understanding, but in private he railed at them and urged them to attack the popular party. But as soon as he heard of an outbreak having taken place, he at once marched into the city, addressed the insurgents roughly, and sent them away in custody, harshly treated, as if he meant to inflict some signal punishment upon them, while he bade those of the popular faction take courage, and not to expect any ill-treatment while he was present. By this artifice he prevailed upon the chief men of the democratic party not to leave the city, but to remain and perish in it; as indeed they did, for every one who trusted to his word was put to death. Moreover, Androkleides relates a story which shows Lysander's extreme laxity with regard to oaths. He is said to have remarked, that "We cheat boys with dice, and men with oaths!" In this he imitated Polykrates, the despot of Samos—an unworthy model for a Spartan general. Nor was it like a Spartan to treat the gods as badly as he treated his enemies, or even worse—for the man who overreaches his enemy by breaking his oath admits that he fears his enemy, but despises his god.

IX. Cyrus now sent for Lysander to Sardis, and gave him a supply of money, with promise of more. Nay, he was so zealous to show his attachment to Lysander that he declared, if his father would not furnish him with funds, that he would expend all his own property, and if other resources failed, that he would break up the gold and silver throne on which he was sitting. Finally, when he went away to Media to see his father, he empowered Lysander to receive the tribute from the subject cities, and placed the whole of his government in his hands. He embraced Lysander, begged him not to fight the Athenians by sea until he returned from court, promised that he would return with many ships from Phœnicia and Cilicia, and so departed.

Lysander was not able to fight the Athenians on equal terms, but yet he could not remain quiet with so large a number of ships. He accordingly put out to sea, induced several of the islands to revolt from Athens, and overran Ægina and Salamis. At length he landed in Attica, where he met Agis, who came down from Dekeleia to see him, and showed the land army what his naval force was, boasting that he could sail whither he pleased, and was master of the seas. However, when he discovered that the Athenians were in pursuit he fled precipitately back to Asia Minor. Finding the Hellespont unguarded, he attacked the city of Lampsakus by sea, while Thorax, who had arrived at the same place with the land forces, attacked it on that side. He took the city by storm, and, gave it up to his soldiers to plunder. Meanwhile, the Athenian fleet of a hundred and eighty triremes had just touched at Elaius in the Chersonese, but, hearing that Lampsakus was lost, proceeded to Sestos. Having taken in provisions at that place, they sailed to the "Goat's Rivers," opposite to Lampsakus, where the enemy's fleet still lay. One of the Athenian generals on this occasion was that Philokles who once induced the people to pass a decree that all prisoners of war should have their right thumbs cut off, so that they might not be able to hold a spear, but yet might work at the oar.

X. Hereupon both parties rested, expecting a sea-fight on the morrow. Lysander, however, had other intentions, but notwithstanding ordered the sailors to man their ships at daybreak, as if he intended to fight, and to remain quietly at their posts waiting for orders; and the land force was similarly drawn up by the sea-side. When the sun rose, the Athenian fleet rowed straight up to the Lacedæmonians, and offered battle, but Lysander, although his ships were fully manned, and had their prows pointing towards the enemy, would not let them engage, but sent small boats to the first line of his ships with orders not to move, but remain quietly in their places without any noise or attempt to attack. Though the Athenians retired towards evening, he would not let his men land before two or three triremes which he had sent to reconnoitre, returned with the intelligence that the enemy had disembarked. The same manœuvres took place on the next day, and also on the third and fourth days, so that the Athenians began to be very bold, and to despise their enemy, who seemed not to dare to attack them. At this time Alkibiades, who was living in his own forts in the Chersonese, rode over to the Athenian camp and blamed the generals for having in the first place encamped in a bad position, on an exposed sea-beach without any harbour, and pointed out their mistake in having to fetch all their provisions from Sestos, which was so far off, whereas they ought to have proceeded to the harbour and city of Sestos, where they would also be farther away from a watchful enemy, commanded by one general only, and so well disciplined as to be able to carry out his orders with great rapidity. These representations of Alkibiades were not listened to by the Athenian generals, one of whom, Tydeus, insolently replied that it was they, not he, who were in command.

XI. As besides this Alkibiades had some suspicions of treachery among them, he rode away. On the fifth day however, when the Athenians, after their customary offer of battle, had returned as usual, in a careless and negligent manner, Lysander sent out some ships to reconnoitre, with orders to row back again with all speed as soon as they saw the Athenians disembark, and when they reached the middle of the straits to hoist a brazen shield over their bows as a signal for advance. He himself sailed from ship to ship, addressing the steersmen and captains of each, urging them to be in their place with their full complement both of rowers and fighting-men on deck, and at the signal to row strongly and cheerfully against the enemy.

When the shield was raised, and the signal given by trumpet from the flag-ship, the fleet put to sea, while the land force marched rapidly along the shore towards the promontory. The straits here are only fifteen furlongs wide, a distance which was soon passed by the zeal of the Lacedæmonian rowers. Konon was the first of the Athenian generals who perceived the fleet approaching. He at once called out to the men to embark, and in his agony of distress at the disaster, ordered, implored, and forced them into their ships. But all his zeal was useless, scattered as the crews were; for as soon as they disembarked they at once, not expecting any attack, began some to purchase food in the market, some to stroll about, while some went to sleep in their tents, and some began to cook, without the least mistrust of that which befel them, through the ignorance and inexperience of their leaders. As by this time the enemy were close upon them, with loud cries and noise of oars, Konon with eight ships made his way safely through the enemy, and escaped to the court of Evagoras, king of Cyprus. As to the rest of the ships, the Peloponnesians took some of them empty, and sank the others as the sailors endeavoured to get on board of them. Of these men, many perished near their ships, as they ran to them in disorderly crowds, without arms, while others who fled away on land were killed by the enemy, who landed and went in pursuit of them. Besides these, three thousand men, including the generals, were taken prisoners. Lysander also captured the entire fleet, with the exception of the sacred trireme called the Paralus, and the eight ships which escaped with Konon. After plundering the camp, and taking all the captured ships in tow, he sailed back to Lampsakus with triumphal music of flutes and pæans of victory, having won a great victory with little labour, and in a short time brought to a close the longest and most uncertain war ever known in his times. There had been innumerable battles, and frequent changes of fortune, in which more generals had perished than in all the previous wars in Greece, and yet all was brought to a close by the wisdom and conduct of one man: which thing caused some to attribute this victory to the interposition of the gods.

XII. Some affirmed, that when Lysander's ship sailed out of the harbour of Lampsakus to attack the enemy, they saw the Dioskuri, like two stars, shining over the rudders[147]. Some also say that the fall of the great stone was an omen of this disaster: for the common belief is that a vast stone fell down from Heaven into the Goat's Rivers, which stone is even now to be seen, and is worshipped by the people of the Chersonese. We are told that Anaxagoras foretold that in case of any slip or disturbance of the bodies which are fixed in the heavens, they would all fall down. The stars also, he said, are not in their original position, but being heavy bodies formed of stone, they shine by the resistance and friction of the atmosphere, while they are driven along by the violence of the circular motion by which they were originally prevented from falling, when cold and heavy bodies were separated from the general universe. There is a more credible theory on this subject, that shooting-stars are not a rush of ærial fire which is put out as soon as it is kindled, nor yet a blaze caused by a quantity of air being suddenly allowed to rush upwards, but that they are heavenly bodies, which from some failure in their rotatory power, fall from their orbit and descend, not often into inhabited portions of the earth, but for the most part into the sea, whereby they escape notice. This theory of Anaxagoras is confirmed by Daimachus in his treatise on Piety, where he states that for seventy-five days before the stone fell a fiery body of great size like a burning cloud, was observed in the heavens. It did not remain at rest, but moved in various directions by short jerks, so that by its violent swaying about many fiery particles were broken off, and flashed like shooting-stars. When, however, it sank to the earth, the inhabitants, after their first feeling of terror and astonishment were passed, collected together, and found no traces of fire, but merely a stone lying on the ground, which although a large one, bore no comparison to that fiery mass. It is evident that this tale of Daimachus can only find credit with indulgent readers: but if it be true, it signally confutes those who argue that the stone was wrenched by the force of a whirlwind from some high cliff, carried up high into the air, and then let fall whenever the violence of the tempest abated. Unless, indeed, that which was seen for so many days was really fire, which, when quenched, produced such a violent rushing and motion in the air as tore the stone from its place. A more exact enquiry into these matters, however, belongs to another subject.

XIII. Now Lysander, after the three thousand Athenians whom he had taken prisoners had been condemned to death by the council, called for Philokles their general, and asked him what punishment he thought that he deserved for having advised his fellow-countrymen to treat Greeks in such a cruel manner.[148] Philokles, not in the least cast down by his misfortunes, bade him not to raise questions which no one could decide, but, since he was victor, to do what he would himself have suffered if vanquished. He then bathed, put on a splendid dress, and led his countrymen to execution, according to the account given by Theophrastus. After this Lysander sailed to the various cities in the neighbourhood, and compelled all the Athenians whom he met to betake themselves to Athens, giving out that he would spare no one, but put to death all whom he found without the city. His object in acting thus was to produce famine in Athens as speedily as possible, that the city might not give him the trouble of a long siege. He now destroyed the democratic and popular constitutions in all the Greek cities which had been subject to Athens, placing a Lacedæmonian in each as harmost or governor, with a council of ten archons under him, composed of men selected from the political clubs which he had established. He proceeded leisurely along, effecting these changes alike in the cities which had been hostile to him and in those which had fought on his side, as though he were preparing for himself a Greece in which he would take the first place. He did not choose his archons by their birth, or their wealth, but favoured his own friends and political adherents, to whom he gave irresponsible power; while by being present at several executions, and driving the opponents of his friends into exile, he gave the Greeks a very unpleasant idea of what they were to expect from the empire of Lacedæmon. The comic poet Theopompus therefore appears to talk at random when he compares the Lacedæmonians to tavern-keepers, because they at first poured out for the Greeks a most sweet draught of liberty and afterwards made it bitter; whereas in truth the taste of their rule was bitter from the beginning, as Lysander would not allow the people to have any voice in the government, and placed all the power in each city in the hands of the most daring and ambitious men of the oligarchical party.