History of the Peloponnesian War

the city. The invaders remained as long as their provisions lasted, then withdrew and dispersed to their several cities.

Directly after the invasion of the Peloponnesians, all Lesbos,[*](Mytilene was an Oligarchical state with dependent towns, Antissa, Pyrrha, and Eresus, only Methymna on the northern coast with Athens. For the revolt, cf. Diod. Sic. xii. 45. The complaint of the Mytilenaeans was founded on the Athenian attempt to prevent their centralisation. See W. Herbst, Der Abfall Mytilenes, 1861; Leithäuser, Der Abfall Mytilenes, 1874.) except Methymna, revolted from Athens. The Lesbians had wished to do this even before the war, but the Lacedaemonians had not taken them into their alliance, and even in this instance they were forced to revolt sooner than they had intended.

For they were waiting until the work should be finished of blocking their harbours, building walls, and constructing ships, and until the arrival of what they needed from the Pontus—archers and grain, and whatever else they were sending for.

But the people of Tenedos, who were at variance with them, and of Methymna, and some of the Mytilenaeans themselves, men in private station who were proxeni[*](The word means literally “public guest,” or “friend.” Under the condition of entertaining and assisting ambassadors and citizen of the state they represented they enjoyed certain privileges from that state, and answered pretty nearly to our Consuls and Residents, though the proxenus was always a member of the state where he served.) of the Athenians, were moved by partisanship to turn informers and notify the Athenians that the Mytilenaeans were attempting to bring all Lesbos into a political union centred in Mytilene; that all their preparations were being hurried forward, in concert with the Lacedaemonians and with their kinsmen the Boeotians, with the purpose of revolting; and that unless someone should forestall them forthwith, Lesbos would be lost to Athens.

But the Athenians, distressed by the plague as well as by the war, which had recently broken out and was now at its height, thought it a serious matter to make a new enemy of Lesbos, which had a fleet and power unimpaired; and so at first they would not listen to the charges, giving greater weight to the wish that they might not be true. When, however, the envoys whom they sent could not persuade the Mytilenaeans to stop their measures for political union and their preparations, they became alarmed and wished to forestall them.

So they suddenly despatched forty ships, which happened to be ready for a cruise around the Peloponnesus, under the command of Cleïppides son of Deinias and two others;

for word had come to them that there was a festival of Apollo Maloeis[*](ie. Apollo, god of Malea, the place north of the city (cf. 3.4.5), where Apollo had a temple.) outside Mytilene at which the whole populace kept holiday, and that they might hope to take them by surprise if they should make haste. And if the attempt succeeded, well and good; but if not, the generals were to order the Mytilenaeans to deliver up their ships and pull down their walls, and if they disobeyed, to go to war.

So the ships set off; and as there happened to be at Athens at the time ten Mytilenaean triremes serving as auxiliaries in accordance with the terms of their alliance, the Athenians detained them, placing their crews in custody.