History of the Peloponnesian War

Now, therefore, that they had Oropus in their possession, the Eretrians came to Rhodes and invited the Peloponnesians to Euboea. They, however, were more intent upon relieving Chios, which was in distress; so they put off from Rhodes and sailed with all their ships.

When they had arrived in the neighbourhood of Triopium they saw the Athenian fleet on the high seas as they were sailing from Chalce;[*](cf. 8.4.1.) as neither fleet, however, advanced to attack the other, the Athenians arrived at Samos, and the Peloponnesians at Miletus, when they saw that it was no longer possible to bring succour to Chios without a fight. So this winter ended, and with it the twentieth year of this war of which Thucydides wrote the history.

During the following summer season, at the[*]( March. 411 B.C.) very opening of spring, Dercylidas, a Spartan, was sent overland with no small army to the Hellespont to effect the revolt of Abydus, a Milesian colony; and the Chians, while Astyochus was still at a loss as to how he should bring relief to them, were so hard pressed by the siege that they were compelled to risk

a fight at sea. Now it so happened that while Astyochus was still at Rhodes they had brought from Miletus as commander, after the death of Pedaritus, a Spartan named Leon, who had come out with Antisthenes as a marine, and also twelve ships which chanced to be on guard at Miletus, of which five were Thurian, four Syracusan, one Anaean, one Milesian,