History of the Peloponnesian War

and they straightway seized as many of the Boeotians as were in Attica, and sent a herald to Plataea, with orders to forbid their proceeding to extremities, in the case of the Thebans whom they had in their hands, till they also should take counsel about them:

for tidings of their being dead had not yet reached them. For the first messenger [of the Plataeans] had gone out at the very time of the entering of the Thebans; and the second, when they had just been conquered and taken: so that of the subsequent events they knew nothing. Thus then the Athenians were in ignorance when they sent their order; and the herald, on his arrival, found the men slain.

After this the Athenians marched to Plataea, and brought in provisions, and left a garrison in it, and took out the least efficient of the men with the women and children.

When the business at Plataea had occurred, and the treaty had been clearly broken, the Athenians began to prepare for going to war; and so did the Lacedaemonians and their allies, both intending to send embassies to the king, and to the barbarians in other parts, from whatever quarter either party hoped to gain any assistance, and bringing into alliance with them such states as were not in their power.

And [*]( For the construction of this obscure sentence see Arnold's note) on the side of the Lacedaemonians, in addition to the ships already on the spot in Sicily and Italy, belonging to those who had espoused their cause, they were ordered to build more according to the greatness of the cities, so that in the whole number they should amount to five hundred; and to get ready a certain sum of money which was mentioned, while they remained quiet in other respects, and received the Athenians coming with a single ship, till these preparations should be made.

The Athenians, on the other hand, were inspecting their present confederacy, and sending ambassadors to the countries more immediately around the Peloponnese, as Corcyra, Cephallenia, Acarnania, and Zacynthus; seeing that if these were firm friends to them, they would successfully carry on the war round the Peloponnese.

Indeed both parties had no small designs, but put forth their strength to the war: and not unnaturally; for all men at the beginning apply themselves to it more eagerly; and at that time the young men, being numerous in the Peloponnese, and also at Athens, were, through their inexperience, not unwilling to engage in the war. And the rest of Greece was all in excitement at the conflict of the principal states.

And many [*]( Poppo, Bredow, and Haack agree in considering λόγια as a more general term for any prophetic announcement whatever, in opposition to χρησμοί, which were metrical compositions, generally in hexameters or trimeter iam Dies, delivered by an oracle, and recited by persons who collected them, and were called χρησμολόγοι. For a specimen of the class, see the Birds of Aristophanes, v. 960.) prophecies were repeated, and reciters of oracles were singing many of them, both amongst those who were going to war and in the other states.