History of the Peloponnesian War

So they set about preparing the fortifications, and in consequence of this Samos, which in any case would soon have been ready, was more quickly fortified. Not long afterward came the letter from Alcibiades, saying that the army was being betrayed by Phrynichus and that the enemy would soon attack.

But since Alcibiades was not regarded as a trustworthy man, but was believed, as he knew beforehand the plans of the enemy, to be actuated by personal enmity in attributing to Phrynichus a guilty knowledge of them, the accusation did Phrynichus no harm, but rather confirmed his statement by giving the same information.

After this Alcibiades continued to work on Tissaphernes and to urge him to be a friend to the Athenians. Now though Tissaphernes was afraid of the Peloponnesians, because they were there with a larger fleet than the Athenians, nevertheless he wanted to follow this advice if in any way he could do so, especially now that he had become aware of the disagreement that had arisen at Cnidos among the Peloponnesians[*](cf. 8.43.3.) about the treaty of Therimenes—for by this time the Peloponnesians were at Rhodes, so that the dispute had already taken place —in the course of which disagreement Lichas had verified the statement made before by Alcibiades, that it was the Lacedaemonian policy to liberate all the cities, declaring that it was intolerable to agree that the King should be master of all the cities over which he himself or his fathers had ever before held sway. Alcibiades, then, as one that contended for a great prize, was assiduously paying court to Tissaphernes.

Meanwhile the envoys that had been sent from Samos with Peisander arrived at Athens and made a statement before a meeting of the people, offering a summary of many arguments but urging with special emphasis that it was possible for them, by recalling Alcibiades and adopting a different form of democratic government, both to have the King as their ally and to prevail over the Peloponnesians.

But as to the democracy, many others spoke against the scheme, and at the same time the enemies of Alcibiades loudly protested that it would be an outrage if, after defying the laws, he should be restored; the Eumolpidae[*](The priestly clan which provided the hierophants of the Eleusinian Mysteries and the interpreters of laws touching Impiety.) also and the Ceryces[*](The other great priestly house, who actually slew the victims; they are generally mentioned in association with the Eumolpidae.) bore witness against him on the score of the mysteries, for whose violation he had been banished, and protested in the name of the gods against bringing him back. Whereupon Peisander came forward and in the face of much protest and abuse took each one of the objectors aside and asked him what hope he had of the salvation of the state, now that the Peloponnesians had no fewer ships than they confronting them at sea and a larger number of allied cities, with the King and Tissaphernes furnishing the enemy with money, while they themselves no longer had money, unless someone should persuade the King to change over to the Athenian side.

And when, in answer to this question, they all admitted there was no other hope, he thereupon told them plainly: “Well, this cannot be attained by us unless we form a wiser government and put the offices to a greater extent into the hands of a few, in order that the King may trust us, and unless in our deliberations we take less heed at present about the form of our government than about our salvation (for afterwards it will be possible for us to make a change if there is anything we do not like), and recall Alcibiades, who is the only man in the world to-day who is able to bring this result to pass.”

The assembly was at first displeased when they heard the proposal concerning an oligarchy; but when they had been plainly shown by Peisander that there was no other salvation, through fear and at the same time because they expected to make a change later, they yielded.