Page:History of Greece Vol VIII.djvu/149

KKCOVERY OF THASUS. 121 Though Chalkedon itself, assisted by Pharnabazug, still held r it against Athens, Alkibiades now took possession of Chrysopo- I's, its unfortified seaport, on the eastern coast of the Bosphorus r pposite Byzantium. This place he fortified, established in it a cquadron with a permanent garrison, and erected it into a regular ti thing-port for levying toll on all vessels coming out of the 'Euxine. 1 The Athenians seem to have habitually levied this toll at Byzantium, until the revolt of that place, among their constant sources of revenue : it was now reestablished under the auspices of Alkibiades. In so far as it was levied on ships which brought their produce for sale and consumption at Athens, it was (A course ultimately paid in the shape of increased price by Athe- nian citizens and metics. Thirty triremes under Therame- nes, were left at Chrysopolis to enforce this levy, to convoy friendly merchantmen, and in other respects to serve as annoy- ance to the enemy. The remaining fleet went partly to the Hellespont, partly to Thrace, where the diminished maritime strength of the Lacedce- monians already told in respect to the adherence of the cities. At Thasus, especially, 2 the citizens, headed by Ekphantus, ex- pelled the Lacedaemonian harmost Eteonikus with his garrison, and admitted Thrasybulus with an Athenian force. It will be recollected that this was one of the cities in which Peisander and the Four Hundred conspirators (early in 411 B.C.) had put down the democracy and established an oligarchical government, under pretence that the allied cities would be faithful to Athens as soon as she was relieved from her democratical institutions. All the 1 Sec Dcmosthcn. dc Coronfi. c. 71; and Xcnoph. Hcllen. i, 1, 22. nal <Je/ca- TEVTt/piov KareaKEvaaav tv avrfj (XpvaoTrohei), Kal rtjv 6eKUT7jv k^e'Xe- yovro TUV K TOU Hovrov irtoiuv : compare iv, 8, 27 ; and v, 1, 28 ; also Dio- dor. xiii, 64. The expression, TJ/V de/cur^v, implies that this tithe was something known and preestablishcd. Polybius (iv, 44) gives credit to Alkibiades for having been the first to suggest this method of gain to Athens. But there is evidence that it was practised long before, even anterior to the Athenian empire, during the times of Persian preponderance (see Ilerodot. vi, 5). Sec a striking passage, illustrating the importance to Athens of the pos- icssion of Byzantium, in Lysias, Orat. xxviii, cont. Ergokl. sect. 6. 3 Xcnoph. Hcllcn. i, 1, 32 ; Uemosthcn. cont. Lcptii. s. 48, c. 14, p. 474