History of the Peloponnesian War

An assembly being held there, the Catanaeans would not receive the army but bade the generals come in and say what they wanted. While, then, Alcibiades was speaking, and the attention of the people in the city was wholly directed to the assembly, the soldiers, breaking unobserved through a posterngate that had been badly built into the wall, entered and were walking about in the market-place.

Those Catanaeans who were partisans of the Syracusans, seeing the soldiers inside, at once became much frightened and slipped away, not in any large numbers; the others voted alliance with the Athenians and bade them bring the rest of their army from Rhegium.

After this the Athenians sailed back to Rhegium, then putting out from there with their whole armament for Catana, on their arrival they set about arranging their camp.

Meanwhile news came from Camarina that if the Athenians would go thither the Camarinaeans would join them, and also that the Syracusans were manning a fleet. Accordingly they proceeded with their whole army along the coast, first to Syracuse; and when they found no fleet was being manned, they again continued along the coast to Camarina and putting to shore sent forward a herald. The Camarinaeans, however, would not receive them, saying that the terms of their oath were to receive the Athenians only if they put in with a single ship, unless they themselves sent for more.

So the Athenians sailed away without accomplishing anything; and after landing at a point in Syracusan territory and making raids, when the Syracusan cavalry had come to the rescue and killed some of their light-armed troops that were straggling they went back to Catana.