History of the Peloponnesian War

Thus spoke the Mytilenaeans. The Lacedaemonians and their allies, after they had heard them, accepted their proposals, and received the Lesbians as allies. Those allies who were there present were directed to assemble with all speed at the Isthmus with two-thirds[*](cf. 2.10.2.) of their forces for the purpose of making the proposed invasion of Attica; and the Lacedaemonians themselves arrived first and proceeded to construct on the Isthmus hauling-machines with which to transfer the ships from Corinth to the sea on the Athenian side, in order to attack Athens both by sea and by land.

They set to work zealously at these things, but the rest of the allies collected slowly, since they were busy gathering in their harvest and were in no mood for campaigning.

Meanwhile the Athenians, perceiving that the enemy, in making their preparations, were acting upon a conviction of their own weakness, and wishing to show that they were mistaken in their judgment, and that without moving the fleet at Lesbos they could easily ward off the new force coming from the Peloponnesus, manned one hundred ships, the citizens,[*](Of citizens usually only the θῆτες, who were light-armed troop on land, served in the fleet (6.43); but in critical times members of the three upper classes, whose refular duty was hoplite service, might be pressed into service in the fleet (viii xxiv 2).)—except the knights and the highest class—embarking as well as the resident aliens. Then putting out to sea they displayed their strength along the coast of the Isthmus and made descents upon the Peloponnesus wherever they pleased.

As for the Lacedaemonians, when they saw how greatly they liad miscalculated, they concluded that the reports of the Lesbians[*](cf. 3.13.3, 4.) were untrue, and regarding the expedition as impracticable, since their allies had not yet arrived, and, besides, word had come to them that the thirty[*](cf. 3.7.1.) ships which were cruising around the Peloponnese were ravaging their own country districts, they went back home.

Later,[*](cf. 3.25.1; 3.26.1.) however, they prepared a fleet which was to be dispatched to Lesbos and sent orders to the allied states for forty ships, appointing Alcidas who was to sail as admiral of this fleet.