CAMPAIGNS OF BRASIDAS IN THRACE
I
One advantage which accrued to the Athenians from the possession of theSpartan captives was the immunity from invasion. For if the Spartansprepared to make any movement against Attica, they could bring outtheir prisoners, and threaten to put them to death. And in otherdirections the future looked brighter than it had done for many years.They held Pylos, which was garrisoned by Messenian troops, and servedas an open door, through which they could carry havoc over the wholewestern district of Laconia; and the occupation of Cythera, which waseffected in the following year, gave them increased facility forharassing the commerce of Sparta, and making descents on her easterncoast.
Elated by these successes, the Athenians determined on a bolder flight,and forgetting the lessons of Pericles, thought of recovering thepossessions which they had held on the mainland thirty years before.With this intention they planned an attack, which was to be carried outfrom three different points at once, on Boeotia. But the whole schemeproved a failure, and led to a severe defeat at Delium; and about thesame time news arrived from Thrace which showed that the tide wasturning, and should have warned them, if they were wise, to set boundsto their restless ambition.
Brasidas had long since recovered from the wounds received at Pylos.The deep humiliation of Sparta, now reduced to become a suppliant forpeace, filled him with shame and sorrow, and in the eighth year of thewar he formed the bold design of organizing a campaign against thecoast-towns of Thrace, which were among the most important of theAthenian tributaries. Having obtained the necessary commission fromSparta, he collected a force of seventeen hundred heavy-armed infantry,and in the summer following the disaster at Sphacteria, turned hissteps northward, and arrived without mishap at the borders of Thessaly.The Thessalians generally were then on friendly terms with Athens, and,apart from this, the passage of so large a force through theirterritory caused suspicion and alarm among the inhabitants. ButBrasidas was a man of rare gifts: endowed with more than a full shareof the typical Spartan virtues, he combined with these a graciousnessof manner, and a winning eloquence, which made him an equal of the mostaccomplished Athenian. He had, moreover, friends among the powerfulnobles of Thessaly, who undertook to guide him in safety to theMacedonian frontier. On reaching the river Enipeus, he found hispassage barred by a Thessalian force, who seemed resolved to disputehis progress. His courteous demeanour, and fair words, disarmed theirhostility, and he was allowed to pass. Fearing, however, a generalrising of the natives against him, and urged to despatch by his guides,he pushed on by forced marches, and entering the passes of Olympus,descended into the southern plain of Macedonia, whose king Perdiccas, ashifty and treacherous barbarian, though nominally in alliance withAthens, favoured the enterprise of Brasidas.
Perdiccas had undertaken to provide pay for half the Spartan force, inreturn for help to be rendered against a rebel chieftain with whom hewas at war. But Brasidas, whose main object was to raise a revolt amongthe Athenian allies, insisted on entering into negotiations with therebel, and having patched up a truce, conducted his troops to theneighbourhood of Acanthus, a town on the eastern side of the Chalcidianpeninsula, where there was a party discontented with the Athenian rule.In all the cities subject to Athens the general mass of the people werefound loyal towards her, or, at the worst, disinclined for any change;and Acanthus was no exception. When Brasidas with his little armyappeared before the walls the people at first refused him admission.But it was just before the vintage, and their grapes were hanging inripe clusters, exposed to the hand of the spoiler; and so, to savetheir vineyards from ravage, they were at last induced to give him ahearing.
It was very important for Brasidas to secure the voluntary adherence ofthe Acanthians, whose action would have a powerful effect indetermining the attitude of the other Chalcidians towards them.Accordingly he exerted all his skill as an orator, which wasconsiderable, to allay their suspicions, and rouse their enthusiasm forthe cause which he represented. That cause, he said, was the liberationof Greece from the tyranny of Athens. Let none of them suppose that hehad come in the interests of a faction, to enslave the many to the few,or the few to the many. He had bound the authorities of Sparta by themost solemn oaths to respect the constitution of any state whichenlisted under their banner. Freedom for Greeks!--that was thewatchword which should find a response in every patriotic heart. Afterthis fine burst of sentiment, Brasidas descended to a much lower level,and plainly intimated that if the Acanthians would not join him fromthese high motives, he would employ coercion, and proceed to ravagetheir estates, This last argument was decisive, and in order to savetheir valuable harvest from destruction, they agreed to admit Brasidasand his army into the town. Shortly afterwards their example wasfollowed by Stagirus, one day to become famous as the birthplace ofAristotle.
It is melancholy to find a man of really pure and generous characterlike Brasidas lending himself to be the mouthpiece of Spartanhypocrisy. To him the sounding phrases and lofty professions which heuttered may have meant something: but in their essence they were merehollow cant, intended to divert attention from the true issue, and draga peaceful and prosperous community into the private quarrels ofSparta. So degraded was now the tone of politics in Greece, even amongher best and ablest men.
II
On the banks of the Strymon, just where the river sweeps round in asharp curve, west and east, the Athenians had founded, six years beforethe outbreak of the war, the colony of Amphipolis. It was a site whichhad long been coveted by the leaders of Greek colonial enterprise,being the key to the richest district in Thrace, with unrivalledfacilities for commerce, and close to the gold-mines of Mount Pangeus.A previous attempt which was made by the Athenians to occupy theposition had ended in ruinous disaster; but nearly thirty years later asecond body of emigrants, led by Hagnon from Athens, met with muchbetter success; Amphipolis now grew and prospered, and at the timewhich we have reached was the most important city in the Athenianempire.
The Amphipolitans had a bitter and jealous enemy in the neighbouringtown of Argilus, situated a few miles to the west, on the road toAmphipolis; and ever since the appearance of Brasidas in Thrace theArgilians had been plotting against the tranquillity of their hatedrival. Accordingly, when Brasidas, who had planned a surprise onAmphipolis, appeared before their gates, they welcomed him eagerly, andconducted him and his army to the bridge over the Strymon, whichcrossed the river just outside the southern end of the city wall. Thedefenders of the bridge, few in number, and taken unawares, wereinstantly cut to pieces; for Brasidas came upon them before daybreak,and the weather, which was wintry and inclement, favoured his design.
The farms and country-houses of the Amphipolitans, which occupied anextensive district on the eastern side of the city, now lay at themercy of Brasidas, and after choosing a position for his camp, he beganto overrun the country. For those who were responsible for the safetyof Amphipolis had taken no precautions, though they knew that thisdaring and active enemy had been carrying on a campaign for many weeksin the adjacent parts of Thrace. Consequently, a good number of thecitizens, who were attending to the business of their estates, fellinto his hands, and it is not improbable that, if he had made a suddenassault on the city, he would have captured it on the same day.
There was a disaffected party in Amphipolis, who had planned thebetrayal of the place, acting in concert with Argilus, through theagency of certain Argilian citizens residing in the town. The traitorsnow proposed that Brasidas and his army should be admitted, but theywere overruled by the general voice of the people, and it was agreedthat the Athenian Eucles, governor of Amphipolis, should send a messagefor help to another Athenian officer, who was commissioned to watch theinterests of Athens in Thrace. That officer was Thucydides, thehistorian, from whose work the materials for the present narrative aretaken. Thucydides was descended on his mother's side from the royalfamily of Thrace, [Footnote: Such, at least, is the highly probableconjecture of Classen.] and through this connexion he w
as the owner ofvaluable working rights in the gold-mines of Mount Pangaeus, and a manof great power and, influence in these districts. When the messagearrived from Amphipolis, he was engaged in some business at Thasos, andpostponing all other concerns he collected a small squadron of sevenships and hastened to the rescue with all speed. But Brasidas, who hadreceived intelligence of his movements, was too quick for him. He hadvaluable hostages in the persons of those Amphipolitans who had beentaken outside the walls. The population of Amphipolis consisted almostentirely of men of mixed or foreign descent, who were anxious abouttheir properties, and in fear for their friends, while the few Athenianresidents were alarmed for their own safety, having little hope ofprompt succour. Taking advantage of this state of public feeling, thepolitic Spartan issued a proclamation, pledging him to respect therights and property of all who chose to remain; while those whopreferred to withdraw were allowed five days to take away their goods.This tempting offer produced the desired effect. It was in vain thatthe Athenian governor interposed his authority, and strove to upholdthe imperial claims of Athens. The people threatened to rise in mutinyagainst him, and when the partisans of Brasidas, now grown bold, openlymoved a resolution to accept his conditions, the proposal was carried,and the Spartan general marched unopposed into the town.
Late on the same day Thucydides sailed into the harbour of Eion, theport of Amphipolis, and learning that Brasidas was already inpossession of the inland city, took all necessary precautions toprovide against an immediate attack. He was only just in time; for onthe very next day Brasidas carried his troops down the river on aflotilla of boats, and tried to establish himself in a strong position,commanding the mouth of the river, and at the same time sent a stormingparty to make an assault on the land side. But the attempt wasfrustrated, and Eion at least was saved to Athens.
The fall of Amphipolis, which occurred shortly after the crushingdefeat at Delium, caused great consternation among the Athenians. Apartfrom the wound to their pride, they were deprived by this loss of alarge portion of their revenue, and cut off from the principal sourceof their timber supply. And there were still further grounds for alarm.For Amphipolis was now an open door, through which the Spartans couldsend troops into eastern Thrace, and carry the war to the entrance ofthe Euxine. For a moment it seemed as if all their fears would berealized. The gentle manners of Brasidas--his fairness, modesty, andstrict regard for the rights of all men--had won the hearts of theAthenian allies in Thrace, and secret agents were constantly arrivingat his head-quarters on the Strymon, inviting him to come and help themto recover their liberty. He had skilfully appealed to the mostdeeply-rooted instinct of the Greek, the desire for unfettered actionin his own city, free from all interference from outside. Thisinstinct, long held in abeyance, first by the necessity for protectionfrom Persia, and when that danger was removed, by the habits acquiredunder the mild rule of Athens, was now awakened into new life by theinfluence of the great warrior and accomplished statesman, whosewatchword was "Liberty for Greeks!" The recent reverses of Athens hadexcited a feeling of contempt among her subjects, and led them greatlyto under-estimate her real power; and Brasidas himself, by a notover-scrupulous perversion of facts, had been careful to encourage thisbelief. All these causes produced a burst of enthusiasm throughoutThrace, and if the Spartans had supported Brasidas with vigour, ageneral insurrection would have followed among the Athenian allies. Butthe authorities of Sparta were jealous of their brilliant officer, andtheir chief anxiety was to recover the prisoners taken at Sphacteria.
In the same winter the indefatigable Spartan effected the capture ofTorone, a town situated on the second of the three headlands whichproject, like the prongs of a fork, from the peninsula of Chalcidice.As in the case of Amphipolis, Torone fell into his hands by treachery;but he had now made good his title as the champion of Greekindependence, and early in the following spring the citizens of Scione,on the first or westernmost headland, invited him to come over and takecommand of their town. On receiving this welcome summons Brasidas lostno time, and crossed over by night in a skiff, which was convoyed by atrireme, so that if any hostile vessel appeared in sight, it might beengaged by the trireme, and leave him free to escape. He reached Scionein safety, and having convened a general assembly of the citizens,addressed them in flattering terms, praising their high courage andpatriotic spirit. "You," he said, "have set a noble example to youroppressed brethren: isolated as you are, and cut off from all succourfrom the mainland, you have defied all perils, and thrown in your lot,for better or for worse, with the friends of liberty. Your gallantryand self-devotion has given you a just claim to the gratitude of Spartaand of all Greece." The revolt of Scione was indeed a daring defianceof the Athenian power, for since the capitulation of Potidaea, whichoccurred seven years before, the inhabitants had been in the positionof islanders, exposed to the whole maritime power of Athens. For themoment, however, the people were carried away by a transport ofenthusiasm, and little dreaming of the terrible vengeance which was toovertake them two years later, they greeted Brasidas as a deliverer,and vied with one another who should honour him most. He was publiclypresented with a crown of gold, as the liberator of Greece; and inprivate houses he was wreathed with garlands, and surrounded withworship, like a victorious athlete.
But a few days before the defection of Scione all the ambitious schemesof Brasidas had been checkmated by the action of his own countrymen athome. For some time past negotiations had been in progress betweenAthens and Sparta; and since the battle of Delium, and the rapidsuccesses of their great enemy in Thrace, the Athenians had been moredisposed to come to terms. In this altered mood they agreed to make atruce for one year with Sparta, which would give time to arrange theconditions of a lasting peace, and leave them at leisure to repair theshattered fabric of their empire. Two commissioners, an Athenian and aSpartan, were at once despatched to announce the conclusion of thetruce to Brasidas. They found him at Torone, preparing to set out asecond time for the western peninsula, and continue his intriguesagainst the subjects of Athens. In the interview which followed adispute arose between Brasidas and the commissioners, as to whetherScione should be admitted into the truce. Brasidas asserted that thecity had joined the Spartan alliance before the truce was signed; butthe Athenian commissioner loudly protested that the revolt occurredafter the conclusion of the truce,--and such, indeed, was the fact.Brasidas, however, was bound in honour to defend the hapless communitywhich had been drawn by his fatal influence into so fearful a peril;and in the existing confusion of the Greek calendar it was not easy toestablish a date with perfect exactitude. Accordingly Brasidas refusedto surrender Scione to the vengeance of Athens, and placed the town ina state of defence. Not content with this, he extended the samemeasures of protection to Mende, which revolted after the arrival ofthe commissioners. This was an open violation of the truce, and theAthenians, in great fury, immediately prepared to send a fleet againstthese audacious rebels, and passed a savage decree, condemning thewhole adult male population of Scione to death.
III
During the following summer Mende was recovered by Nicias for theAthenians, Scione was closely invested, and Perdiccas, who hadquarrelled with Brasidas, once more became an ally of Athens, and gaveproof of his sincerity by preventing the passage of Spartanreinforcements to Thrace. The Athenians were thus left free to turntheir attention to Amphipolis, and at the beginning of the tenth yearof the war, the truce having now expired, Cleon was sent with a fleetof thirty ships to conduct the siege of this important place. That soweighty a charge should have been entrusted to hands so incompetentargues a degree of infatuation in the Athenians which is very hard tounderstand. On his voyage Cleon succeeded in retaking Torone by asudden assault, and then proceeding northwards dropped anchor at Eion,where he remained inactive, after despatching messengers to Perdiccas,and to a friendly Thracian prince, to ask for reinforcements.
Meanwhile Brasidas, who some time before had returned to Amphipolis,was waiting to strike a blow at his unwarlike
enemy. His own troops,though about equal in numbers to the force under Cleon, were farinferior in equipment and discipline; but he counted on some incautiousmovement on the part of the Athenian general, which would throw thepicked infantry of Athens into disorder, and place them at adisadvantage. So he left Clearidas, a young Spartan, whom he hadappointed governor of Amphipolis, in charge of the garrison, and takingwith him fifteen hundred men occupied a position on the right bank ofthe river, where the ground rises abruptly to a considerable height,affording a wide view over the city to the country beyond, as far asEion. From this point, which is called Cerdylium, he could watch theproceedings of the enemy, and still have ample time to rejoin Clearidasin Amphipolis, if, as he expected, Cleon should leave his defences andadvance upon the town.
He had not long to wait. The Athenian soldiers stationed at Eion werechafing at their inaction, and mutinous speeches were heard on allsides. What a man was this Cleon, this cowardly braggart, under whomthey were to take the field against the most daring and skilful leaderin Greece! They had known what to expect from such a general, since theday when they sailed for Thrace. These murmurs reached the ears ofCleon, and he saw that something must be attempted, or his men would betotally demoralized. So he gave the order to march, and led his troopsup the ridge of hills which slope down towards Amphipolis on theeastern side, where the town was defended by a single line of wall,reaching from the northern to the southern bend of the river. He wasfar from supposing that anyone would come out to attack him; he onlywanted, he said, to take a good view of the place, and when hisreinforcements arrived, he would surround the city on all sides, andcarry it by assault. For his wonderful good fortune at Pylos had givenhim unbounded confidence in his powers as a strategist, and he thoughtthat Amphipolis would prove a second Pylos, forgetting that here he hada Brasidas to deal with, and no Demosthenes to do the work for him.When he reached the top of the ascent, he called a halt, and took aleisurely survey of the wide sweep of country spread below him,--to thenorth, the broad, marshy waters of Lake Cercynitis, from which theriver issues just above the town,--eastwards, the towering summit ofMount Pangaeus,--and on the other side, just beneath his feet, thedevoted city, which now seemed cowering, silent and deserted, as ifconscious of Cleon's eagle glance. The gates were closed, and not a manwas to be seen on the battlements. "What a pity," remarked Cleon, "thatwe brought no siege-engines with us! We might have battered down thewall, and marched in at once,--there is none to oppose us."
So readily did this holiday general fall into the trap which Brasidas,with a just estimate of his capacity, had set for him. As soon as hesaw that Cleon had started from Eion, the Spartan general left his postin Cerdylium, and led his men back into Amphipolis. Here he made such adisposition of his forces as to give the place that peaceful andinnocent appearance which deceived Cleon's unpractised eye. Then hetook up his station with a picked troop of a hundred and fifty hoplitesat the southern gate of Amphipolis, leaving Clearidas in charge of themain body, and awaited a favourable moment to attack.
But these preparations could not be made without exciting someattention among the more experienced of the Athenian officers. They hadseen Brasidas entering the city, and observed him offering sacrifice,as for battle, before the temple of Athene; and Cleon, who wasstanding, lost in his contemplations, some distance in advance of hisforces, suddenly received the alarming intelligence that the enemy wereon the point of making a sally. "The whole garrison is in motion," saidthe messenger, "and we have caught sight of the feet of many horses andmen under the gates: evidently they mean to attack us." Thus rudelystartled from his meditations, Cleon went to look for himself, andseeing that the messenger had spoken the truth he gave the order for aretreat in the direction of Eion. This movement should have begun fromthe left wing, but there was some delay in executing the order, andCleon, who was in a great hurry to reach a place of safety, led the waywith his own division, which, being on the right, ought to have closedthe retreat. The consequence was that the whole Athenian army wasthrown into confusion, and Brasidas, who was watching from his stationat the gate, saw by the irregular motion of their spears and helmetsthat all discipline was at an end. "Now is our time," he cried to hismen: "Open the gates! The day is ours." With these words he rushed outwith his troops, and fell upon the Athenian centre; and at the samemoment the main body under Clearidas poured out from the northern gate,and attacked them in the rear.
The effect of this sudden assault was to cut the Athenian army in half:the left wing, which was nearest to Eion, fled without striking a blow,but the right made a vigorous resistance, though abandoned by theircowardly general, who was cut down by a Thracian spearman as he triedto make good his escape. A far nobler name was also added to thedeath-roll of that fatal day: Brasidas, fighting at the head of histroop, received a mortal wound, and was carried, unobserved by theAthenians, into the city. He lived long enough to hear that his men hadgained a decisive victory, and then passed away, the purest and themost heroic spirit among all those who played their part in thisunhappy war. After his death he received divine honours at Amphipolis,and was worshipped as the second founder of the city.