(7) See above, "Hell." IV. iv. 19.
(8) The pentathlon of Olympia and the other great games consisted of
five contests, in the following order—(1) leaping, (2) discus-
throwing, (3) javelin-throwing, (4) running, (5) wrestling. Cf.
Simonides, {alma podokeien diskon akonta palen}, where, "metri
gratia," the order is inverted. The competitors were drawn in
pairs. The odd man who drew a bye in any particular round or heat
was called the "ephedros." The successful athletes of the pairs,
that is, those who had won any three events out of five, would
then again be drawn against each other, and so on until only two
were left, between whom the final heat took place. See, for an
exhaustive discussion of the subject, Prof. Percy Gardner, "The
Pentathlon of the Greeks" ("Journal of Hellenic Studies," vol. i.
9, p. 210 foll. pl. viii.), from whom this note is taken.
(9) See Thuc. vii. 57.
(10) {peri tas eirktas}—what these were no one knows, possibly a
stone quarry used as a prison. Cf. "Cyrop." III. i. 19; "Mem." II.
i. 5; see Grote, "H. G." ix. 497; Paus. III. v.. 8.
(11) Or Celossa. See Strabo, viii. 382.
(12) I.e. "hopeless." See above, III. iv. 15.
VIII
394 B.C. Such were the land operations in the war. Meanwhile another series of events was being enacted on the sea and within the seaboard cities; and these I will now narrate in detail. But I shall confine my pen to the more memorable incidents, and others of less account I shall pass over.
In the first place, then, Pharnabazus and Conon, after defeating the Lacedaemonians in the naval engagement of Cnidus, commenced a tour of inspection round the islands and the maritime states, expelling from them, as they visited them, one after another the Spartan governors. (1) Everywhere they gave consolatory assurances to the citizens that they had no intention of establishing fortress citadels within their walls, or in any way interfering with their self-government. (2) Such words fell soothingly upon the ears of those to whom they were addressed; the proposals were courteously accepted; all were eager to present Pharnabazus with gifts of friendship and hospitality. The satrap, indeed, was only applying the instructions of his master Conon on these matters—who had taught him that if he acted thus all the states would be friendly to him, whereas, if he showed any intention to enslave them, the smallest of them would, as Conon insisted, be capable of causing a world of trouble, and the chances were, if apprehensions were once excited, he would find himself face to face with a coalition of united Hellas. To these admonitions Pharnabazus lent a willing ear.
(1) Lit. "the Laconian harmosts."
(2) See Hicks, 70, "Honours to Konon," Inscript. found at Erythrae in
Ionia. Cf. Diod. xiv. 84.
Accordingly, when disembarking at Ephesus, he presented Conon with a fleet of forty sail, (3) and having further instructed him to meet him at Sestos, (4) set off himself by land along the coast to visit his own provinces. For here it should be mentioned that his old enemy Dercylidas happened to be in Abydos at the time of the sea-fight; (5) nor had he at a later date suffered eclipse with the other governors, (6) but on the contrary, had kept tight hold of Abydos and still preserved it in attachment to Lacedaemon. The course he had adopted was to summon a meeting of the Abydenians, when he made them a speech as follows: "Sirs, to-day it is possible for you, who have before been friends to my city, to appear as benefactors of the Lacedaemonians. For a man to prove faithful to his friends in the heyday of their good fortune is no great marvel; but to prove steadfast when his friends are in misfortune—that is a service monumental for all time. But do not mistake me. It does not follow that, because we have been defeated in a great sea-fight, we are therefore annihilated. (7) Certainly not. Even in old days, you will admit, when Athens was mistress of the sea, our state was not powerless to benefit friends or chastise enemies. Moreover, in proportion as the rest of the cities have joined hands with fortune to turn their backs upon us, so much the more certainly will the grandeur of your fidelity shine forth. Or, is any one haunted by the fear that we may find ourselves blockaded by land and sea?—let him consider that at present there is no Hellenic navy whatever on the seas, and if the barbarian attempts to clutch the empire of the sea, Hellas will not sit by and suffer it; so that, if only in self-defence, she must inevitably take your side."
(3) See Diod. xiv. 83.
(4) See above, "Hell." II. i. 27 foll.
(5) See above, "Hell." IV. iii. 3.
(6) Lit. "harmosts."
(7) Or, "we are beaten, ergo, it is all over with us."
To this the Abydenians lent no deaf ears, but rather responded with willingness approaching enthusiasm—extending the hand of fellowship to the ex-governors, some of whom were already flocking to Abydos as a harbour of refuge, whilst others they sent to summon from a distance.
So when a number of efficient and serviceable men had been collected, Dercylidas ventured to cross over to Sestos—lying, as it does, not more than a mile (8) distant, directly facing Abydos. There he not only set about collecting those who held lands in the Chersonese through Lacedaemonian influence, but extended his welcome also to the governors (9) who had been driven out of European states. (10) He insisted that, if they came to think of it, not even was their case desperate, reminding them that even in Asia, which originally belonged to the Persian monarch, places were to be found—such as the little state of Temnos, or Aegae, and others, capable of administering their affairs, unsubjected to the king of Persia. "But," he added, "if you want a strong impregnable position, I cannot conceive what better you can find than Sestos. Why, it would need a combined naval and military force to invest that port." By these and such like arguments he rescued them from the lethargy of despair.
(8) Lit. "eight stades."
(9) Lit. "harmosts."
(10) See Demos. "de Cor." 96.