History of the Peloponnesian War

Meanwhile Astyochus, the Lacedaemonian admiral, sailed with four ships from Cenchreiae, as he had purposed, and arrived at Chios. And on the third day after his coming the twenty-five Athenian ships sailed to Lesbos, being under the command of Leon and Diomedon; for Leon had arrived afterwards with a reinforcement of ten ships from Athens.

On the same day, but at a later hour, Astyochus put to sea, and taking besides his own one Chian ship sailed to Lesbos, in order to give what aid he could. On that day he reached Pyrrha, and thence on the next day Eresus, where he learned that Mytilene had been taken by the Athenians at the first assault.

For the Athenians, arriving unexpectedly, had immediately sailed into the harbour and got the better of the Chian slips; they then landed and after defeating in battle those that resisted them took possession of the city.

Now when Astyochus learned of this from the inhabitants of Eresus and from the Chian ships that came from Methymna with Eubulus—the ships which had been left behind on the occasion above mentioned,[*](cf. 8.22.2.) and now fell in with him in their flight after the capture of Mytilene, being three in number, for one had been captured by the Athenians—he no longer advanced against Mytilene, but instead induced Eresus to revolt, supplied it with arms, and then sent the hoplites on his own ships by land along the coast to Antissa and Methymna, placing Eteonicus in command of them. He himself, meanwhile, took his own and the three Chian ships and sailed along the coast, hoping that the Methymnaeans would be encouraged by the sight of his fleet and would persevere in their revolt.

But since everything at Lesbos was going against him, he took his hoplites aboard and sailed back to Chios. And the forces which had been landed from the ships[*](The text is most probably corrupt. These facts practically all commentators agree upon: Astyochus leaves first, taking with him his own force (τὸν ἑαυτοῦ στρατόν), ie. the hoplites whom he had sent against Antissa and Methymna (§ 4). The force here designated must be ὁ πεζὸς πελοποννησίων τε τῶν παρόντων καὶ τῶν αὐτόθεν συμμάχων(8.22.1). But no satisfactory explanation has been given of ἀπὸ τῶν νεῶν in this connection.) and were intending to proceed to the Hellespont were conveyed again to their several cities. After this, six of the allied ships from the Peloponnesus that were at Cenchreia joined them at Chios.

As for the Athenians, they restored conditions at Lesbos, and sailing from there captured Polichne,[*](cf. 8.14.3.) the Clazomenian settlement on the mainland which was being fortified, and carried all the inhabitants back to the city on the island, except the authors of the revolt; for these had got away to Daphnus. And so Clazomenae again came back to the Athenian alliance.