History of the Peloponnesian War

When Sthenelaidas had thus spoken, he himself, since he was an ephor, put the vote to the assembly of the Lacedaemonians.

Now in their voting they usually decide by shout and not by ballot, but Sthenelaidas said that he could not distinguish which shout was the louder, and wishing to make the assembly more eager for war by a clear demonstration of their sentiment, he said: "Whoever of you, Lacedaemonians, thinks that the treaty has been broken and the Athenians are doing wrong, let him rise and go to yonder spot (pointing to a certain spot), and whoever thinks otherwise, to the other side." Then they rose and divided,

and those who thought the treaty had been broken were found to be in a large majority.

Then they called in the allies and told them that, in their opinion, the Athenians were doing wrong, but that they wished to summon the whole body of the allies[*](A general convocation of the allies; at this time only part of them had been invited, according to Thuc. 1.. See Thuc. 1.119 , where the plan is carried out.) and put the vote to them, in order that they might all deliberate together and together undertake the war, if it should be so decided.

And so the allies who were there went back home, having brought these matters to a settlement, and so did the Athenian envoys later, after they had finished the business on which they had come.

This decision of the assembly, that the treaty had been broken, was made in the fourteenth year[*](445 B.c.) from the beginning of the thirty years' truce, which was made after the Euboean war.[*](Thuc. 1.114.)