History of the Peloponnesian War

The day following, the Athenians sailed round to the side towards Scione, and took the suburb, and ravaged the land the whole day, no one coming out against them. For indeed there was some opposition of parties in the town; and the three hundred of the Scionaeans, on the approach of night, returned home.

The next day Nicias advanced with half the forces to the borders of the Scionaeans, and laid waste the land, while Nicostratus with the remainder sat down before the town, near the upper gates, by the way they go to Potidaea.

There Polydamidas (as the arms of the Mendaeans and their auxiliaries happened to be piled in that quarter) began to draw them up for battle, and exhorted the Mendaeans to march out against the enemy.

One of the popular faction replying to him, in the spirit of party, that they would not go out, and did not want a war, and, when he had thus relied, being dragged to him by the hand, and roughly treated, the commons immediately took up their arms, and advanced in a great rage against the Peloponnesians, and those who had joined them in opposition to themselves. Having thus fallen upon them, they routed them, in consequence both of the suddenness of the charge, and of their alarm at the gates being opened to the Athenians;

for they imagined that the attack had been made in consequence of some agreement with them.

They then, as many as were not immediately killed, took refuge in the citadel, which was before held by themselves; while the Athenians (for by this time Nicias also had returned and was close to the town) rushed with all their forces into Mende, inasmuch as it had not thrown open its gates to them on the ground of any convention, and sacked it as though they had taken it by storm; the generals with difficulty restraining them from even butchering the inhabitants.

Afterwards they told the Mendaeans to retain their civil rights, as usual, after having tried amongst themselves whomever they considered to have been the originators of the revolt: but the party in the citadel they cut off by a wall down to the sea on each side, and stationed troops to keep guard over them. When they had thus got possession of Mende, they proceeded against Scione.