History of the Peloponnesian War

Being now day, and the city strongly possessed, Brasidas caused a proclamation to be made that those Toronaeans which were fled with the Athenians might come back, as many as would, to their own and inhabit there in security. To the Athenians he sent a herald, bidding them depart out of Lecythus under truce with all that they had, as a place that belonged to the Chalcideans.

The Athenians denied to quit the place, but the truce they desired for one day for the taking up of their dead. And Brasidas granted it for two, in which two days he fortified the buildings near; and so also did the Athenians theirs.

He also called an assembly of the Toronaeans and spake unto them as he had done before to the Acanthians, adding that there was no just cause why either they that had practised to put the city into his hands should be the worse thought of or accounted traitors for it, seeing that they did it with no intent to bring the city into servitude, nor were hired thereunto with money, but for the benefit and liberty of the city; or that they which were not made acquainted with it should think that themselves were not to reap as much good by it as the others;

for he came not to destroy either city or man, but had therefore made that proclamation touching those that fled with the Athenians because he thought them never the worse for that friendship, and made account when they had made trial of the Lacedaemonians, they would show as much good will also unto them, or rather more, inasmuch as they would behave themselves with more equity; and that their present fear was only upon want of trial.

Withal he wished them to prepare themselves to be true confederates for the future, and from henceforward, to look to have their faults imputed; for, for what was past, he thought they had not done any wrong, but suffered it rather from other men that were too strong for them, and therefore were to be pardoned if they had in aught been against him.

When he had thus said and put them again into heart, the truce being expired, he made divers assaults upon Lecythus. The Athenians fought against them from the wall, though a bad one, and from the houses such as had battlements, and for the first day kept them off.

But the next day, when the enemies were to bring to the wall a great engine, out of which they intended to cast fire upon their wooden fences, and that the army was now coming up to the place where they thought they might best apply the engine, and which was easiest to be assaulted, the Athenians, having upon the top of the building erected a turret of wood, and carried up many buckets of water, and many men being also gone up into it, the building overcharged with weight fell suddenly to the ground, and that with so huge a noise that though those which were near and saw it were grieved more than afraid, yet such as stood further off, especially the furthest of all, supposing the place to be in that part already taken, fled as fast as they could towards the sea and went aboard their galleys.

Brasidas, when he perceived the battlements to be abandoned and saw what had happened, came on with his army and presently got the fort and slew all that he found within it.

But the rest of the Athenians, which before abandoned the place, with their boats and galleys put themselves into Pallene. There was in Lecythus a temple of Minerva. And when Brasidas was about to give the assault, he had made proclamation that whosoever first scaled the wall should have thirty minae of silver for a reward. Brasidas now, conceiving that the place was won by means not human, gave those thirty minae to the goddess to the use of the temple. And then pulling down Lecythus, he built it anew and consecrated unto her the whole place.

The rest of this winter he spent in assuring the places he had already gotten and in contriving the conquest of more. Which winter ending, ended the eighth year of this war.

The Lacedaemonians and Athenians, in the spring of the summer following, made a cessation of arms presently for a year, having reputed with themselves, the Athenians, that Brasidas should by this means cause no more of their cities to revolt, but that by this leisure they might prepare to secure them; and that if this suspension liked them, they might afterwards make some agreement for a longer time; the Lacedaemonians, that the Athenians fearing what they feared, would, upon the taste of this intermission of their miseries and weary life, be the willinger to compound, and with the restitution of their men to conclude a peace for a longer time.

For they would fain have recovered their men while Brasidas' good fortune continued; and whilst, if they could not recover them, they might yet (Brasidas prospering and setting them equal with the Athenians) try it out upon even terms and get the victory.

Whereupon a suspension of arms was concluded, comprehending both themselves and their confederates, in these words: