History of the Peloponnesian War

He gave them advice also on their present affairs, the same as he had before given; namely, to prepare for the war, and bring in their property from the country, and not go out against them to battle, but to come in and guard the city, and get ready their fleet, in which they were so strong, and keep the allies tight in hand; reminding them that their main strength was derived from the returns of the money paid by these, and that most of the advantages in war were gained by counsel and abundance of money.

And [on this head] he told them to be of good courage, as the state had, on an average, six hundred talents coming in yearly as tribute from the allies, not reckoning its other sources of income; while there were still at that time in the Acropolis 6000 talents of coined silver;

(for the greatest sum there had ever been was 9700 talents, from which had been taken what was spent on the propylaea of the citadel, and the other buildings, and on Potidaea;) and besides, of uncoined gold and silver in private and public offerings, and all the sacred utensils for the processions and games, and the Median spoils, and every thing else of the kind, there was not less than 500 talents.

Moreover, he added the treasures in the [*]( i.e. besides the temple of Minerva, which was the public treasury.) other temples, to no small amount, which they would use; and, in case of their being absolutely excluded from all resources, even the golden appendages of the goddess herself; explaining to them that the statue contained 40 talents of pure gold, and that it was all removable; and after using it for their preservation they must, he said, restore it to the same amount.

With regard to money, then, he thus encouraged them. And as for heavy-armed troops, he told them that they had thirteen thousand, besides those in garrisons and [*]( Literally, soldiers to line a parapet, i.e. for garrison duty. — Arnold.) on the ramparts to the number of sixteen thousand.

For this was the number that kept guard at first, whenever the enemy made an incursion, drawn from the oldest and the youngest, and such of the resident aliens as were heavyarmed. For of the Phaleric wall there were five and thirty stades to the circuit of the city wall; and of that circuit itself the guarded part was three and forty stades; a certain part of it being unguarded, viz. that between [*]( i. e. the Piraic wall, in opposition to the Phaleric. It is sometimes spoken of in the plural number, τὰ μακρὰ τείχη, because an inner, or southern, wall was added to the original one by Pericles. See Arnold's and Göller's notes.) the long wall and the Phaleric. There were also the long walls to the Piraeus, a distance of forty states, of which the outer one was manned; while the whole circumference of Piraeus with Munychia was sixty stades, though the guarded part was only half that extent. Of cavalry, again, he showed them that they had twelve hundred, including mounted bowmen;