Page:History of Greece Vol IX.djvu/308

286 HISTORY OF GREECE. prince, aggravated in the case of the Thebans oy a positive offence given to him on the occasion of his sacrifice at Aulis, was e ough to warn Sparta of the dangerous sentiments and ten- dencies by which she was surrounded near home. It was upon these tendencies that the positive instigation and promises of Persia were brought to bear, in the course of the fol- lowing year ; and not merely promises, but pecuniary supplies, with news of revived naval warfare threatening the insular dominion of Sparta. Tithraustes, the new satrap, who had put to death and succeeded Tissaphernes, had no sooner concluded the armistice mentioned above, and prevailed upon Agesilaus to remove his army into the satrapy of Pharnabazus, than he employed active measures for kindling war against Sparta in Greece, in order to create a necessity for the recall of Agesilaus out of Asia. He sent a Rhodian named Timokrates into Greece, as envoy to the cities most unfriendly to the Lacedaemonians, with a sum of fifty talents ;' directing him to employ this money in gaining over the leading men in these cities, and to exchange solemn oaths of alliance and aid with Persia, for common hostility against Sparta. The island of Rhodes having just revolted from the Spartan dominion, had admitted Konon vith the Persian fleet (as I have mentioned in the last chapter), so that probably the Rhodian envoy was on a mission to Tithraustes on behalf of his countrymen. He was an appropriate envoy on this occasion, as having an animated interest in raising up new enemies to Sparta, and as being hearty in stir- ring up among the Thebans and Corinthians the same spirit which had led to the revolt of Rhodes. The effect which that revolt produced in alarming and exasperating the Spartans, has been 1 Xcn. Hellen. iii, 5, 1. IIe/*7r{ Tifj.oKpu.T7jv 'Pbdtov if rrjv 'E/l/luJa, Joi)f Xpvaiov if TtevTTiKovTa ruXavra upyvpiov, not KeAevet Trsipucrdai, Tnarii TU fieyiara %a[i[3avovTa, didovai ToTf TrposaTTjKoaiv iv raif TroAfow, if $ re TTO- fa/xov i!-oiffiv Trpbf AaKetiaiftoviovf. Timokrates is ordered to give the money ; yet not absolutely, but only on a certain condition, in case he should find that such condition could be realized ; that is, if by giving it he could procure from various leading Greeks sufficient assurances and guarantees that they would raise war against Sparta. As this was a matter more or less doubtful, Timokrates ia ordered to try to give the money for this purpose. Though the construction of netpuadai couplos it with diiovai, the sense of the word more properly belongs to e$olativ which designates the purpose to be accomplished.