Page:History of Greece Vol X.djvu/395

THE ATHENIANS LOSE SESTOS. 373 How the trial ended or how the justice of the case stood, we are unable to make out from the passing allusions of Demosthenes. Menon was sent as commander tc the Hellespont to supersede Autokles ; and was himself again superseded after a few months, by Timomachus. Convoy for the corn-vessels out of the Euxine became necessary anew, as in the preceding year ; and was fur- nished a second time during the autumn of 361 B. c. by the Athe- nian ships of war ; l not merely for provisions under transport to Athens, but also for those going to Maroneia, Thasos, and other places in or near Thrace. But affairs in the Chersonese became yet more unfavorable to Athens. In the whiter of 361-360 B. C., Kotys, with the cooperation of a body of Abydene citizens and Sestian exiles, who crossed the Hellespont from Abydos, con- trived to surprise Sestos ; 2 the most important place in the Cher- sonese, and the guard-post of the Hellespont on its European side, for all vessels passing in or out. The whole Chersonese was now thrown open to his aggressions. He made preparations for attacking Elaeus and Krithote, the two other chief possessions 1 Demosthen. adv. Polyklem, p. 1212, s. 24-26; p. 1213, s. 27; p. 1225, a. 71. 2 Demosthenes cont. Aristokrat. p. 673, s. 187. 'E yap 'Aftvdov, rrjf ri>v uTravra xpovov vfj.lv i%&paf, Kal o-dev fycav oi S^ffrov Kara/la/36vrf, elf "ZTJCF- rbv diefiaivev, yv el%e Korvf. (He is speaking of Charidemus.) The other oration of Demosthenes (adv. Polykl. p. 1212) contains dis- tinct intimation that Sestos was not lost by the Athenians until after Novem- ber 361 B. c. Apollodorus the Athenian trierarch was in the town at that time, as well as various friends whom he mentions : so that Sestos must have been still an Athenian possession in November 361 B. c. It is lucky for some points of historical investigation, that the purpose of this oration against Polykles (composed by Demosthenes, but spoken by Apollodorus) requires great precision and specification of dates, even to months and days. Apollodorus complains that he has been constrained tc bear the expense of a trierarchy, for four months beyond the year in which it was incumbent upon him jointly with a colleague. He sues the person whose duty it was to have relieved him as successor at the end of the year, bat who had kept aloof and cheated him. The trierarchy of Apollodorug began in August 362 B. c., and lasted (not merely to Aug. 361 B.C., its le- gal term, but) to November 361 B. c. Rehdantz (Vitae Iphicratis, CKabriae, etc. p. 144, note), in the valuable chapters which he devotes to the obscure chronology Df the period, has over- looked this exact indication of the time after which the Athenians lost Ses tos. He supposes the loss to have taken place two or three years earlier.