Lysander

Cyrus, accordingly, delighted with his public spirit, gave him ten thousand darics, out of which he added the obol to the pay of his seamen, and, by the renown thus won, soon emptied the ships of his enemies. For most of their seamen came over to those who offered higher pay, and those who remained were listless and mutinous, and gave daily trouble to their officers.

However, although he had thus injured and weakened his enemies, Lysander shrank from a naval battle, through fear of Alcibiades, who was energetic, had a greater number of ships, and in all his battles by land and sea up to that time had come off victorious.

But after this, Alcibiades sailed away from Samos to Phocaea, leaving Antiochus, his pilot, in command of the fleet; and Antiochus, as if in bold mockery of Lysander, put in to the harbor of Ephesus with two triremes, and rowed ostentatiously past his ships, as they lay drawn up on shore, with noise and laughter. Lysander was incensed, and launching at first only a few of his triremes, pursued him; then seeing that the Athenians were coming to the rescue, he manned others, and at last the action became general.

Lysander was victorious, too, captured fifteen triremes, and set up a trophy. Thereupon the people of Athens, flying into a passion, deposed Alcibiades from his command, and finding himself slighted and abused by the soldiers at Samos, he left the camp and sailed off to the Chersonese. This battle, then, although actually not a great one, was made memorable by its bearing on the fortunes of Alcibiades.[*](Cf. Plut. Alc. 25-26.)

Lysander now summoned from their various cities to Ephesus men whom he saw to be most eminent for confidence and daring, and sowed in their minds the seeds of the revolutionary decadarchies[*](Governing bodies of ten men.) afterwards instituted by him, urging and inciting them to form political clubs in their several cities, and apply themselves to public affairs, assuring them that as soon as the Athenian empire was destroyed, they could rid themselves of their democracies and become themselves supreme in power.

Moreover, by actual benefits he gave them all a confidence in this future, promoting those who were already his friends and allies to large enterprises and honors and commands, and taking a share himself in their injustice and wickedness in order to gratify their rapacity. Therefore all attached themselves to him, courted his favour, and fixed their hearts upon him, expecting to attain all their highest ambitions if only he remained in power.

Therefore, too, they neither looked kindly upon Callicratidas at the first, when he came to succeed Lysander in the admirality,[*](Late in the year 407 B.C. It was Spartan policy to change their admiral yearly.) nor afterwards, when he had shown by manifest proofs that he was the justest and noblest of men, were they pleased with the manner of his leadership, which had a certain Doric simplicity and sincerity. They did, indeed, admire his virtue, as they would the beauty of a hero’s statue; but they yearned for the zealous support of Lysander, and missed the interest which he took in the welfare of his partisans, so that when he sailed away they were dejected and shed tears.