History of the Peloponnesian War

The following winter the Lacedaemonians were on the point of invading Argive territory, but as the sacrifices for crossing the boundaries were not favourable they returned home. On account of this intention on the part of the Lacedaemonians, the Argives, suspecting certain men in their city, seized some of them, but the rest escaped.

About the same time the Melians again at another point took a part of the Athenian encompassing wall, the garrison not being numerous.

But later, in consequence of these occurrences, another force came from Athens, of which Philocrates son of Demeas was commander, and the Melians, being now closely besieged—some treachery, too, having made its appearance among them—capitulated to the Athenians on the condition that these should determine their fate.

The Athenians thereupon slew all the adult males whom they had taken and made slaves of the children and women. But the place they then peopled with new settlers from Athens, sending thither at a later time five hundred colonists.

During the same winter the Athenians wished to[*](416 B.C.) sail again to Sicily with a larger armament than that conducted by Laches and Eurymedon,[*](Two separate earlier expeditions, one under Laches and Charoeades, 427 B.C. (3.86.1), the other under Pythodorus. Sophocles and Eurymedon, 424 B.C. (4.2.), are here comprised under the one formula.) and subdue it, if they could, most of them being ignorant of the great size of the island and of the large number of its inhabitants, Hellenic as well as Barbarian, and that they were undertaking a war not very much inferior to that against

the Peloponnesians. For the voyage round Sicily, for a merchantman, is one of not much less than eight days; and although it is so large only a distance of about twenty stadia of the sea divides the island from the mainland.