History of the Peloponnesian War

After this they waged war upon the Naxians,[*](466 B.C.) who had revolted, and reduced them by siege. And this was the first allied city to be enslaved in violation of the established rule; but afterwards the others also were enslaved as it happened in each case.

Now while there were other causes of revolts, the principal ones were the failures in bringing in the tribute or their quota of ships and, in some cases, refusal of military service; for the Athenians exacted the tribute strictly and gave offence by applying coercive measures to any who were unaccustomed or unwilling to bear the hardships of service.

And in some other respects, too, the Athenians were no longer equally agreeable as leaders; they would not take part in expeditions on terms of equality, and they found it easy to reduce those who revolted.

For all this the allies themselves were responsible; for most of them, on account of their aversion to military service, in order to avoid being away from home got themselves rated in sums of money instead of ships, which they should pay in as their proportionate contribution, and consequently the fleet of the Athenians was increased by the funds which they contributed, while they themselves, whenever they revolted, entered on the war without preparation and without experience.

After this occurred at the river Eurymedon in Pamphylia the land-battle and sea-fight of the Athenians[*](For this glorious victory of Cimon's, whose date (466 B.C.?) is not certain, cf. Diod. 11. 60; Plut. Cim. 12) and their allies against the Persians; and the Athenians were victorious in both on the same day under the command of Cimon son of Miltiades, and they took and destroyed triremes of the Phoenicians to the number of two hundred all told.

And some time afterwards it came to pass that the Thasians revolted from them,[*](465 B.C.) a quarrel having arisen about the trading posts and the mine[*](The Thasians had a gold mine at Skapte Hyle on the Thracian coast, from which they drew rich revenues; cf. Hdt. 6.46 f.) on the opposite coast of Thrace, of which the Thasians enjoyed the profits. Thereupon the Athenians sailed with their fleet against Thasos, and, after winning a battle at sea, disembarked on the island.

About the same time they sent to the river Strymon ten thousand colonists, consisting of Athenians and their allies, with a view to colonising the place, then called Nine Ways, but now Amphipolis; and though these colonists gained possession of Nine Ways, which was inhabited by Edoni, yet when they advanced into the interior of Thrace they were destroyed at Drabescus in Edonia by the united forces of the Thracians, to whom the settlement of the place was a menace.