History of the Peloponnesian War
Thucydides
Thucydides. The history of the Peloponnesian War, Volume 1-2. Dale, Henry, translator. London: Heinemann and Henry G. Bohn, 1851-1852.
A short time after this battle, Demosthenes, having had no success with regard to Siphae being betrayed to him, when he sailed thither at that time, and having still on board his ships the Acarnanian and Agraean forces, with four hundred Athenian heavy-armed, made a descent on the territory of
Sicyon. But before all his ships reached the shore, the Sicyonians came against them, and routed those that had landed, and drove them back to their vessels, killing some, and taking others prisoners. Having erected a trophy, they restored the dead under
truce. It was also about the same time as the affair at Delium, that Sitalces, king of the Odrysse, died, after making an expedition against the Triballi, and being defeated in battle; and Seuthes son of Sparadocus, his nephew, succeeded to the kingdom of the Odrysae, and the other parts of Thrace, over which Sitalces had reigned.
The same winter, Brasidas with his allies Thrace-ward marched against Amphipolis, the Athenian colony on the river Strymon.
On the site on which the town now stands a settlement was before attempted by Aristagoras the Milesian, when flying from king Darius; but he was driven away by the Edonians: and then by the Athenians, two-and-thirty years later, who sent ten thousand settlers of their own citizens, and whoever else would go; who were cut off by the Thracians at Drabescus.
Twenty-nine years after, the Athenians went again, Hagnon son of Nicias being sent out as leader of the colony, and expelled the Edonians, and founded a town on the spot which before was called
Nineways.They set out for the purpose from Eion, which they occupied themselves at the mouth of the river, on the coast, at a distance of five-and-twenty stades from the present town, which Hagnon named [*]( i. e. a city looking both ways. For a description of it see the memoir at the end of Arnold' s 2nd volume) Amphipolis, because, as the river Strymon flows round it on both sides, [*]( I have followed Arnold in supposing that διὰ in this passage expresses final, rather than efficient cause. as it often does with an infinitive mood: at least I infer that such was his view of it, from the passages which he compare with it, δι᾽ ἀχθηδόνα, ch. 40. 2. and V. 53. διὰ την ἔσπραξιν) with a view to enclosing it, he ran a long wall across from river to river, and built the town so as to be conspicuous both towards the sea and towards the land.
Against this town then Brasidas marched with his forces, starting from Arnae in Chalcidice. Having arrived about dusk at Aulon and Bromiscus, where the lake Bolbe empties itself into the sea, and there supped, he proceeded during the night. The weather was stormy, and it was snowing a little;
on which account he hurried or the more, wishing to surprise the people of Amphipolis, except those who were to betray it.