History of the Peloponnesian War

The Lacedaemonians, on becoming acquainted with it, recalled him the first time on this very account; and when he went out the second time in the vessel of Hermione, without their orders, and appeared to be acting in this way, and did not return to Sparta when forcibly driven out from Byzantium by the Athenians after a siege, but news came of his being settled at Colonae in the Troad, and intriguing with the barbarians, and making his stay there for no good; under these circumstances they waited no longer, but the ephors sent a herald and a scytale, [*]( The scytale was a staff used at Sparta as a cipher for writing despatches. A strip of paper was rolled slantwise round it, on which the despatches were written lengthwise, so that when unrolled they were unintelligible; commanders abroad had one of like thickness, round which they rolled those papers, and so were able to read the despatches.) and told him not to leave the herald, else that they declared war against him.

Wishing to be as little suspected as possible, and trusting to quash the charge by means of money, he proceeded to return the second time to Sparta. And at first he was thrown into prison by the ephors, (for the ephors have power to do this to the king,) but afterwards, having settled the business, he subsequently came out, and offered himself for trial to those who wished to examine into his case.