Story of the Greek and the Roman People

(FROM A PAINTING AT POMPEII)

It was but a little while before these devoted Athenians were listening angrily to a man from the seat of war who reported that a battle had just been lost, and that it was all the fault of Alcibiades. The truth was that the commander had been obliged to leave the army for a short time to get money to pay his men. He had given strict orders that there should be no fighting while he was gone; but the officer in charge had disobeyed and had been beaten in a small engagement. The Athenians, however, took no pains to learn the exact truth, and perhaps, even after all their praise of him, they did not really feel sure of his faithfulness. They called a meeting of the assembly and appointed new generals. Alcibiades feared for his life, left the army, and built himself a castle in Thrace. He could not be idle. He picked up men here and there until he had a little army of his own. Then he made war against the Thracians, who had no king. If he had had a long life, he might perhaps have been at the head of a state.

The Spartans now sent out an able general, Lysander; and the king of Persia sent out his equally able son Cyrus in the place of Tissaphernes. He had concluded that it was best to help the Spartans generously. Money became plentiful in the Sparta army. Soldiers were paid high wages, and ships were built. The Spartans and Persians were encamped on the Asiatic side of the Hellespont, and the Athenians on the European side, at Ægospotami. Every morning the Athenians sailed out and offered battle. The Spartans did not accept the challenge. Then the Athenians returned to their own side of the strait and spent the day wandering about to amuse themselves, and going to Sestos two miles away, for their supplies. Alcibiades was not far distant and he was watching events at the Hellespont. He rode to the camp and told the Athenian commanders that he did not think it was safe to let the seamen leave their vessels and roam about on the shore; nor was it well to camp where there was no town and no good harbor for their ships, and to keep their supplies so far away. He advised them to remove to Sestos. No officer need have felt ashamed to receive advice from so successful a commander but the generals replied curtly, "We are giving orders now, not you. Begone!"

RUINS OF ATHENS.

Alcibiades went away, the Spartans still refused to fight, and the Athenians became more and more careless. Suddenly the Spartan and Persian ships swept across the strait. Only one general was on the watch. He gave the signal to man the vessels, but the sailors had gone to Sestos, and only nine of the one hundred and eighty ships could be fully manned. There was hardly an attempt to resist. The Spartans had little to do but to tow the captured vessels across the strait. Eight or ten ships escaped; the rest of the fleet and thousands of men were captured. All among them who were Athenians, about four thousand, were at once put to death.

When the awful news came to Athens, every one realized that the empire had vanished and that Athens itself must fall. The ships of Lysander blocked the Piræus. The troops of the Spartans and their allies surrounded the city. A few weeks passed, then came famine and unconditional surrender.

What should be the fate of the Athenians? The allies discussed the question. "Tear down the city to its foundations and sell every man, woman, and child as a slave," demanded the angry Thebans and Bœotians. "We will never consent to put out one of the eyes of Greece," replied the Spartans. This sounded merciful, but there were some who whispered that the Spartans were shrewd rather than generous; for if Athens was utterly destroyed, either Thebes or Corinth would probably become stronger than Sparta herself. At length they decided that the Long Walls and the fortifications of the Piræus should be leveled, that only twelve ships should be left to the conquered city, and that she should agree to obey the orders of Sparta on land and sea.

In Athens there was heart-breaking sorrow. Loved ones were gone from every home. There were poverty and starvation and utter misery. At the Piræus women were playing the flute, there were singing and dancing and all sorts of merry-making; for men were tearing down the mighty walls. "Greece is free! Liberty has come to the Greeks!" they shouted gleefully. High up on the Acropolis rose the Parthenon, strong and beautiful. Near it stood the statue of Athene, serene and stately. Around it was a land in ruins, an empire overthrown.

Summary

The Athenians were almost crushed by the Sicilian disaster.

Darius II claimed nearly all the Athenian empire. Alcibiades arranged a treaty between Persia and Sparta.

Alcibiades fled to Tissaphernes, but planned to return to Athens.

The Athenian government fell into the hands of the Four Hundred. The Athenian soldiers made Alcibiades general.

Spartans, Persians, and Athenians gathered at the Hellespont. Alcibiades won several victories. He was welcomed in Greece. He enabled the priests to celebrate the Mysteries. He was blamed for a lost battle and left the army.

The Spartan Lysander and the Persian Cyrus overcame the Athenians at Ægospotami. Athens surrendered. Her fortifications were leveled.

Suggestions For Written Work

Two Athenians discuss the Sicilian disaster.

Alcibiades describes his life among the Spartans.

An Athenian describes the return of Alcibiades.