History of the Peloponnesian War

And most of those who fell were slain by the Thebans during the embarkation, for they could not swim, and the crews of the boats, when they saw what was happening on shore, anchored the boats beyond bowshot; for elsewhere as they were retreating[*](Thucydides explains why their chief loss was “during the embarkation.”) the Thracians made their defence against the Theban cavalry, which was the first to attack them, not unskilfully, dashing out against them and closing up their ranks again after the manner of fighting peculiar to their country, and in this few of them perished. And a certain number also were slain in the town itself, being caught there while engaged in plundering. All together there were slain of the Thracians two hundred and fifty out of thirteen hundred.

Of the Thebans and the others who took part in the rescue, in all about twenty horsemen and hoplites perished, and among them Scirphondas, one of the Theban Boeotarchs; and of the population of Mycalessus a considerable portion lost their lives. Such was the fate of Mycalessus, which suffered a calamity that, for the size of the city, was not less deplorable than any of the events of this war.

At this time Demosthenes had finished building the fort in Laconia and was on his way to Corcyra;[*](cf. 7.26.3.) at Pheia[*](The port of Olympia.) in Elis he found lying at anchor a merchant-ship in which the Corinthian hoplites[*](cf. 7.17.3; 7.19.4.) were about to be carried across to Sicily, and destroyed it; but the crew and the hoplites, having escaped, afterwards found another vessel, and continued their voyage.

After this Demosthenes arrived at Zacynthus and Cephallenia, where he took on board some hoplites and sent to the Messenians of Naupactus for others; he then crossed over to the opposite mainland of Acarnania,[*](The scene of his campaign in the summer of 426 B. C. (iii. 94 ff.)) to the ports of Alyzeia and Anactorium, which the Athenians held.

While he was attending to these matters, he was met by Eurymedon, who was returning from Sicily, whither he had been sent during the preceding winter[*](cf. 7.16.2.) with the money for the army; and he reported, among other things, that when he was already on his return voyage he had heard of the capture of Plemmyrium by the Syracusans.

These two were joined by Conon,[*](Prominent toward the end of the Peloponnesian War and, later, restorer of the walls of Athens.) who was in command at Naupactus and brought word that the twenty-five Corinthian ships[*](cf. 7.17.4; 7.19.5.) which were lying at anchor opposite them did not abandon their hostile attitude, but were intending to fight. He therefore begged them to send him some ships, on the ground that his own eighteen ships were too few to contend against the twenty-five of the enemy.

Accordingly Demosthenes and Eurymedon sent with Conon ten ships, the best sailers of all their fleet, to reinforce the ships at Naupactus. They then directed their own attention to the preparations for collecting troops for the expedition, Eurymedon sailing to Corcyra, where he made levies of hoplites and directed the Corcyraeans to man fifteen ships—he was now exercising the joint command with Demosthenes, to which he had been elected, and turned his face again toward Sicily—while Demosthenes gathered slingers and javelin-men from the region of Acarnania.

Meanwhile the envoys, who after the capture of Plemmyrium had gone from Syracuse to visit the cities of Sicily,[*](cf. 7.25.9.) had succeeded in their mission, and having raised a body of troops were about to bring them home, when, Nicias, hearing of this in time, sent word to the Sicels[*](Sicels, aboriginal inhabitants of Sicily; Siceliots, Hellenic colonists of Sicily.) who were allies of the Athenians and controlled the territory through which the troops would have to pass—and these were the Centoripes,[*](Centoripa was situated on the Symaethus above Catana and about twenty-five miles south-west of Aetna. It is now Centorbi (Holm, Gesch. Sic. i. 68). A town Alicyae in this region is unknown.) Alicyaeans and others—that they should not allow the enemy to pass, but should get together and prevent their coming through; they would not, he said, attempt it by any other route, since the Agrigentines had refused to give them passage through their territory.

And when the Siceliots were already on the march, the Sicels did as the Athenians requested, and setting an ambush and falling suddenly upon the Siceliots while they were off their guard, destroyed about eight hundred of them and all the envoys except one, the Corinthian; and he conducted those who made their escape, about fifteen hundred in number, to Syracuse.