History of the Peloponnesian War

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.

And when the Athenians saw that the enemy had withdrawn, they also returned home with their hundred ships.

At the time when these ships were at sea about the largest number the Athenians ever had at once were on active service, though there were as many or even more at the beginning of the war.

For one hundred ships were guarding Attica, Euboea and Salamis, and another hundred were cruising off the Peloponnesus, besides those at Potidaea and in other places, so that the number in service at the same time in a single summer was all told two hundred and fifty. It was this effort, together with Potidaea, that chiefly exhausted their resources of money.

For in the siege of Potidaea the hoplite received a wage of two drachmas a day, one for himself and one for his attendant;