History of the Peloponnesian War

The whole body of hoplites collected by him was about two thousand in number, and he had three hundred Hellenic horsemen. Of these forces Brasidas took about fifteen hundred and stationed himself at Cerdylium; the rest were posted at Amphipolis under the command of Clearidas.

Cleon kept quiet for a while, then was forced to do just what Brasidas had expected.

For when the soldiers began to be annoyed at sitting still and to discuss the quality of his leadership—what experience and daring there was on the other side and what incompetence and cowardice would be pitted against it, and how unwillingly they had come with him from home—he became aware of their grumbling, and unwilling that they should be exasperated by remaining inactive in the same place, marched out with them.

He adopted the same course in which he had been successful at Pylos and so had acquired confidence in his own wisdom; for he had no expectation that anybody would come against him for battle, but he was going up, he said, rather to reconnoitre the place; and in fact he was waiting for the larger force,[*](cf. 5.6.2.) not with a view to gaining the victory without risk should he be forced to fight, but to surrounding the town and taking it by force of arms.

Accordingly he went and posted his force on a strong hill before Amphipolis, and was himself surveying the marshy part of the Strymon and the situation of the city in respect to the surrounding Thracian country, and he thought that he could withdraw whenever he pleased without a battle;

for no one was visible on the wall or was seen coming out by the gates, which were all closed. He therefore thought that he had made a mistake in coming up without storming-machines; for he might have taken the town, since it was undefended.

But Brasidas, as soon as he saw the Athenians stirring, went down himself from Cerdylium and entered Amphipolis.

But he did not march out and draw up against the Athenians, because he mistrusted his own force, believing them to be inferior, not in numbers—as they were about equal—but in quality; for the force that was in the field were Athenians of pure blood and the pick of the Lemnians and Imbrians. So he was preparing to attack by means of a stratagem;

for he thought that if he showed the enemy the number and the barely sufficient equipment of the troops with him he should be less likely to gain a victory than if they had no previous sight of his forces and did not look upon them with contempt from seeing their real character.

Accordingly, picking out for himself one hundred and fifty hoplites and assigning the rest to Clearidas, he determined to make a sudden attack before the Athenians withdrew, thinking that he could not again cut them off thus isolated if once reinforcements should reach them. So calling together all the soldiers, wishing to encourage them and explain his plan, he spoke to them as follows: