History of the Peloponnesian War

Having returned from Euboea, not long after they made a truce with the Lacedaemonians and their allies for thirty years, giving back Nisaea, Pegae, Troezen, Achaia; for of these places in the Peloponnese the Athenians were in possession. Now in the sixth year a war broke out between the Samians and Milesians about Priene;

and the Milesians being worsted in the war went to the Athenians, and raised an outcry against the Samians; some private individuals from Samos itself taking part with them, from a wish to effect a revolution in the government.

The Athenians therefore sailed to Samos with forty ships, and established a democracy; and taking as hostages from the Samians fifty boys and as many men, deposited them in Lemnos, and after leaving a garrison in the island, withdrew.

But the exiles of the Samians (for there were some who did not remain in the island, but fled to the continent) having made arrangements with the most powerful of those in the city, and an alliance with Pisuthnes, the son of Hystaspes, who had the satrapy of Sardis at that time, and having collected auxiliaries to the number of seven hundred, crossed over to Samos towards night, and in the first place rose up against the commons, and secured most of them;

then, having secretly removed their hostages from Lemnos, they revolted, and gave up to Pisuthnes the garrison and its commanders that were with them, and immediately prepared to go against Miletus. The Byzantines also revolted with them.

The Athenians, when they were aware of it, sailed with sixty ships for Samos, but did not use sixteen of them (for some were gone towards Caria to look out for the Phoenician fleet; others towards Chios and Lesbos, carrying about orders to bring reinforcements); with forty-four, however, under the command of Pericles and nine others, they fought a battle near the island of Tragia with seventy ships of the Samians, twenty of which were transports, (they all happened to be sailing from Miletus,) and the Athenians were victorious.

Afterwards there came to them a reinforcement of forty ships from Athens, and five and twenty from Chios and Lesbos; and when they had disembarked, and had the superiority in land forces, they invested the city with three walls, and blockaded it by sea at the same time.

Then Pericles took sixty ships of the blockading squadron, and went as quickly as possible in the direction of Caunus and Caria, news having been brought that the Phoenician fleet was sailing against them: for there had also gone from Samos Stesagoras and some others with five ships to fetch those of the Phoenicians.

At this time the Samians, having suddenly sallied out, fell on the unprotected camp, and destroyed the guard-ships, and in a sea-fight defeated those that put out against them, and were masters of the sea along their coasts about fourteen days, carrying in and out what they pleased.

But on the arrival of Pericles they were again closely blockaded by the fleet. Afterwards there came reinforcements, of forty ships with Thucydides, Hagnon, and Phormio, and twenty with Tlepolemus and Anticles, from Athens, and of thirty from Chios and Lesbos.

Against these the Samians fought a short battle by sea, but being unable to hold out, were reduced in the ninth month, and surrendered on conditions; dismantling their wall, and giving hostages, and delivering up their ships, and agreeing to pay back by instalments the expenses of the war. The Byzantines also agreed to be subject as before.

After these things, though not many years later, what we have before narrated now took place, namely, the affair of Corcyra, and that of Potidaea, and whatever was made a pretext for this war.