Page:History of Greece Vol X.djvu/152

130 HISTORY OF GREECE. was cruising in the JEgean ; especially round the coast of Attica, near JEgina, Keos, and Andros. The Athenians, who, since their recently renewed confederacy, had been undisturbed by any ene- mies at sea, found themselves thus threatened, not merely with loss of power, but also with loss of trade and even famine ; since their corn-ships from the Euxine, though safely reaching Geraes- tus (the southern extremity of Euboea), were prevented from doubling Cape Sunium. Feeling severely this interruption, they fitted out at Peiraeus a fleet of eighty triremes, 1 with crews mainly composed of citizens ; who, under the admiral Chabrias, in a sharply contested action near Naxos, completely defeated the fleet of Pollis, and regained for Athens the mastery of the sea. Forty - nine Lacedemonian triremes were disabled or captured, eight with their entire crews. 2 Moreover, Chabrias might have destroyed all or most of the rest, had he not suspended his attack, having eigh- teen of his own ships disabled, to pick up both the living men and the dead bodies on board, as well as all Athenians who were swim- ming for their lives. He did this (we are told 3 ), from distinct 1 Xen. Hellcn. v, 4, 61. kvefirjaav avrol elf ruf vaiif, etc. Boeckh (fol lowed by Dr. Thirl wall, Hist. Gr. ch. 38, vol. v, p. 58) connects with this maritime expedition an Inscription (Corp. Insc. No. 84, p. 124) recording a vote of gratitude, passed by the Athenian assembly in favor of Phanokri- tus, a native of Parium in the Propontis. But I think that the vote can hardly belong to the present expedition. The Athenians could not need to be informed by a native of Parium about the movements of a hostile fleet near ^Egina and Kcos. The information given by Phanokritus must have related more probably, I think, to some occasion of the transit of hostile ships along the Hellespont, which a native of Parium would be the likely person first to discover and communicate. 2 Diodor. xv, 35 ; Demosthen. cont. Leptin. c. 17, p. 480. I give the number of prize-ships taken in this action, as stated by Demos- thenes ; in preference to Diodorus, who mentions a smaller number. The orator, in enumerating the exploits of Chabrias in this oration, not only speaks from a written memorandum in his hand, which he afterwards causes to be read by the clerk, but also seems exact and special as to numbers, BO as to inspire greater confidence than usual. 3 Diodor. xv, 35. Chabrias urre'ff^ero navTeTiue TOV dtuy^oi), avaftvqo&eic T^f iv 'Apyivovaatf vav/ia%iaf, iv fj rot)f viKTjffavraf arpaTTiyovf 6 dquof avrl ueya/ljyc 1 evepyeaias tfavarij Trepie(3a%.EV. aiTiaaa.fj.evo^ OTI rot)f re- reAevr j?Kora? /card rrjv vav^axiav OVK edcnjjav ovv (see "Wesseling and Stephens's note) (irj nore TTJC irepiordaeus Kirdvvsv 71} ira&elv irapaTr^r/aia. AtoTrcp a TT o a r & f TOV it