History of the Peloponnesian War

but Lichas liked them not, saying it behoved the Milesians and the rest dwelling within the king's dominion to have obeyed Tissaphernes in all moderate things, and till such time as the war should have been well dispatched to have courted him. And the Milesians, for this and other things of this kind, were offended with Lichas, and afterwards when he died of sickness, would not permit him to be buried in that place where the Lacedaemonians then present would have had him.

Whilst they were quarrelling about their business with Astyochus and Tissaphernes, Mindarus cometh in from Lacedaemon to succeed Astyochus in his charge of the fleet; and as soon as he had taken the command upon him, Astyochus departed.

But with him Tissaphernes sent a Carian named Gauleites, one that spake both the languages, both to accuse the Milesians about the fort and also to make an apology for himself, knowing that the Milesians went principally to exclaim upon him, and that Hermocrates went with them and would bewray how Tissaphernes undid the business of the Peloponnesians with Alcibiades, and dealt on both hands.

For he was continually at enmity with him about the payment of the soldiers' wages; and in the end, when Hermocrates was banished from Syracuse, and other commanders of the Syracusian fleet, namely, Potamis, Myscon, and Demarchus, were arrived at Miletus, Tissaphernes lay more heavy upon him, being an outlaw, than before, and accused him, amongst other things, that he had asked him money, and because he could not have it became his enemy.

So Astyochus and Hermocrates and the Milesians went their way to Lacedaemon. Alcibiades by this time was come back from Tissaphernes to Samos.

And those ambassadors of The Four Hundred, which had been sent out before to mollify and to inform those of Samos, came from Delos now whilst Alcibiades was present. An assembly being called, they were offering to speak.

But the soldiers at first would not hear them, but cried out to have them put to death for that they had deposed the people; yet afterwards with much ado they were calmed and gave them hearing.

They declared that the change had been made for the preservation of the city, not to destroy it nor to deliver it to the enemy; for they could have done that before now when the enemy during their government assaulted it, that every one of The Five Thousand was to participate of the government in their turns; and their friends were not, as Chaereas had laid to their charge, abused, nor had any wrong at all, but remained every one quietly upon his own.

Though they delivered this and much more, yet the soldiers believed them not, but raged still and declared their opinions, some in one sort some in another, most agreeing in this to go against Peiraeus. And now Alcibiades appeared to be the first and principal man in doing service to the commonwealth. For when the Athenians at Samos were carried headlong to invade themselves, in which case most manifestly the enemy had presently possessed himself of Ionia and Hellespont, [it was thought that] he was the man that kept them from it.

Nor was there any man at that time able to have held in the multitude but himself.

He both made them to desist from the voyage and rated off from the ambassadors those that were in their own particular incensed against them. Whom also he sent away, giving them their answer himself: That he opposed not the government of The Five Thousand, but willed them to remove The Four Hundred and to establish the council that was before of five hundred;