Page:History of Greece Vol IX.djvu/363

ALARM AT THEBES AND ATHENS. 34] become desirous of peace, and to have sent envoys to Sjarta, The Thebans are said to have offered to recognize Orchomenus (which was now occupied by a Lacedaemonian garrison) as autono- mous and disconnected from the Boeotian federation ; while the Athenian envoys seem to have been favorably received at Sparta, and to have found the Lacedasmonians disposed to make peace on better terms than those which had been proposed during the late discussions with Tiribazus (hereafter to be noticed ;) recognizing the newly built Athenian walls, restoring Lemnos, Imbros, and Skyros to Athens, and guaranteeing autonomy to each separate city in the Grecian world. The Athenian envoys at Sparta having provisionally accepted these terms, forty days were allowed for reference to the people of Athens ; to which place Lacedaemonian envoys were sent as formal bearers of the propositions. The Ar- geians and Corinthians, however, strenuously opposed the thoughts of peace, urging the Athenians to continue the war ; besides which, it appears that many Athenian citizens thought that large restitution ought to have been made of Athenian property forfeited at the end of the late war, and that the Thracian Chersonese ought to have been given back as well as the three islands. On these and other grounds, the Athenian people refused to sanction the recommendation of their envoys ; though Andokides, one of those envoys, in a discourse still extant, earnestly advised that they should accept the peace. 1 1 Our knowledge of the abortive negotiations adverted to in the text, is derived, partly from the third Oration of Andokides called de Pace, partly from a statement contained in the Argument of that Oration, and purporting to be borrowed from Philochorus t&tAo^opof fj.lv ovv "key EL Kat iV rcwf irpEGpeif kit Aanetiaifiovof, /cat unpaKTOv; avehdeiv, Whether Philochorus had any additional grounds to rest upon, other than this very oration itself, may appear doubtful. But at any rate, this important fragment (which I do not see noticed among the fragments of Philochorus in M. Didot's collection) counts for some farther evidence as to the reality of the peace proposed and discussed, but not concluded. Neither Xenophon nor Diodorus make any mention of such mission to Sparta, or discussion at Athens, as that which forms the subject of the An dokidean oration. But on the other hand, neither of them says anything which goes to contradict the reality of the event : nor can we in this cast found any strong negative inference on the mere silence of Xenophon, in the case of a pacific proposition which ultimately came to nothing. If indeed we could be certain that the oration of Andokides was genuine