History of the Peloponnesian War

The Lacedaemonians and their allies the same summer made an expedition with a hundred ships against the island of Zacynthus, which lies over against Elis. The inhabitants are a colony of the Achaeans of the Peloponnesus, and were in alliance with the Athenians.

On board the fleet were a thousand heavy-armed of the Lacedaemonians, and Cnemus, a Spartan, as admiral. Having made a descent on the country, they ravaged the greater part of it; and when they did not surrender, they sailed back home.

At the end of the same summer, Aristeus, a Corinthian, Aneristus, Nicolaus, and Stratodemus, ambassadors of the Lacedaemonians, Timagoras, a Tegean, and Pollis, an Argive in a private capacity, being on their way to Asia, to obtain an interview with the king, if by any means they might prevail on him to supply money and join in the war, went first to Thrace, to Sitalces the son of Teres, wishing to persuade him, if they could, to withdraw from his alliance with the Athenians, and make an expedition against Potidaea, where was an armament of the Athenians besieging the place; and then, to proceed by his assistance to their destination across the Hellespont, to Pharnaces the son of Pharnabazus, who was to send them up the country to the king.

But some Athenian ambassadors, Learchus son of Callimachus, and Aminiades son of Philemon, happening to be with Sitalces, persuaded Sadocus his son, who had been made an Athenian citizen, to put the men into their hands, that they might not, by passing over to the king, do their best to injure [what was now] his own country.

He, in compliance with their request, having sent some other men with Learchus and Aminiades, seized them as they were travelling through Thrace to the vessel in which they were to cross the Hellespont, before they went on board, and gave orders to deliver them up to the Athenian ambassadors;

who, having received them, took them to Athens. On their arrival the Athenians, being afraid that if Aristeus escaped he might do them still more mischief, (for even before this he had evidently conducted all the measures in Potidaea and their possessions Thrace-ward,) without giving them a trial, though they requested to say something [in their own defence], put them to death that same day, and threw them into pits; thinking it but just to requite them in the same way as the Lacedaemonians had begun with; for they had killed and thrown into pits the merchants, both of the Athenians and their allies, whom they had taken on board trading vessels about the coast of the Peloponnese. Indeed all that the Lacedaemonians took on the sea at the beginning of the war, they butchered as enemies, both those who were confederates of the Athenians and those who were neutral.

About the same time, when the summer was drawing to a close, the Ambraciots, with their own forces and many of the barbarians whom they had raised, made an expedition against Argos in Amphilochia, and the rest of that country.

Now their enmity against the Argives first arose from the following circumstances.

Argos in Amphilochia and The rest of the country was colonized by Amphilochus the son of Amphiaraus, when he returned home after the Trojan war, and was not pleased with the state of things at Argos;

[and he built it] on the Ambracian Gulf, and called it Argos after the name of his own country.

This was the largest city of Amphilochia, and had the most powerful inhabitants. But many generations afterwards, being pressed by misfortunes, they called in the Ambraciots, who bordered on Amphilochia, as joint-inhabitants; and from the Ambraciots who joined them they were taught the Greek language which they now speak, the rest of the Amphilochians being barbarians.

Now the Ambraciots in process of time drove out the Argives, and held the city by themselves.

Upon this the Amphilochians gave themselves up to the Acarnanians; and both together having called in the Athenians, who sent them Phormio for a general and thirty ships, on the arrival of Phormio they took Argos by storm, and made slaves of the Ambraciots;