History of the Peloponnesian War

The same summer the Athenians, who were with their twenty ships at Lade for the observation of Miletus, having made a descent at Panormus in the Milesian territory, slew Chalcideus, the Lacedaemonian commander, who had come against them with a few men, and sailing across three days after, erected a trophy; which, as it had been raised without their having command of the country, the Milesians threw down.

And now Leon and Diomedon, with the Athenian ships from Lesbos, advancing from the Oenussae, the islands off Chios, and from Sidussa and Pteleum, fortresses which they held in the Erythraean country, as well as from Lesbos, carried on the war against the Chians from their ships, having as epibatae, some of the [*]( The ἐπιβάται were usually drawn from the fourth class, or Thetes; although on some occasions men of the higher classes seem to have volunteered to serve amongst them. See III. 98. 3, note. Now, however, the citizens of the higher classes were actually compelled to serve as ἐπιβάται, owing to the peculiar exigency of the crisis. —Arnold.) heavy-armed from the muster-roll, who had been pressed into the service.

Having landed at Cardamyle and Bolissus, after defeating in battle those of the Chians who had come out against them, and killing many of them, they desolated the places in that neighbourhood. They defeated them again in another battle at Phanae, and in a third at Leuconium, after which the Chians no longer went out to meet them; while they ravaged their country, which was finely stocked, and had continued unhurt from the Median wars down to that time.

For the Chians are the only people that I am acquainted with, after the Lacedaemonians, who were at once prosperous and prudent; and the more their city increased in greatness, the more secure were their arrangements.

And even their present revolt, if any think that they executed this without regard for the safer course, they did not venture to make, before they were likely to run the risk in concert with many brave allies, and perceived that even the Athenians themselves no longer denied, after their disaster in Sicily, that without doubt their circumstances were utterly bad. But if they were somewhat disappointed by the unexpected results that occur in the life of man, they found out their mistake in company with many others, who had in the same way imagined that the power of the Athenians would be quickly destroyed.

When therefore they were excluded from the sea, and were being ravaged by land, a party of them endeavoured to bring over the city to the Athenians. Though the magistrates detected them, they remained quiet themselves, and having brought Astyochus the admiral from Erythrae with four ships, which he had with him, considered how they might stop the conspiracy by the mildest measures, whether by taking hostages, or in any other way. They, then, were engaged with this business.