Page:History of Greece Vol V.djvu/180

156 HISTORY OF GREECE. envoys, conjointly with Megara and Platsea, to remonstrate with the Spartans on their backwardness and breach of faith, and to invoke them even thus late to come forth at once and meet Mar- donius in Attica : not omitting to intimate, that if they were thus deserted, it would become imperatively necessary for them, against their will, to make terms with the enemy. So careless, however, were the Spai'lan ephors respecting Attica and the Megarid, that they postponed giving an answer to these envoys for ten successive days, while in the mean time they pressed with all their efforts the completion of the isthmic fortifications. And after having thus amused the envoys as long as they could, they would have dismissed them at last with a negative answer, — such was their fear of adventuring beyond the Isthmus, — had not a Tegean, named Chileos, whom they much esteemed, and to whom they communicated the application, reminded them that no fortifications at the Isthmus would sufiice for the defence of Peloponnesus, if the Athenians became allied with Mardonius, and thus laid the peninsula open by sea. The strong opinion of this respected Tegean, proved to the ephors that their selfish policy Avould not be seconded by their chief Peloponnesian allies, and brought to their attention, probably for the first time, that danger by sea might again be renewed, though the Persian fleet had been beaten in the preceding year, and was now at a distance from Greece. It changed their resolution, not less completely than suddenly ; and they despatched forthwith in the night five thousand Spartan citizens to the Isthmus, — each man with seven Helots attached to him. And when the Athenian envoys, igno- rant of this sudden change of policy, came on the next day to give peremptory notice that Athens would no longer endure such treacherous betrayal, but would forthwith take measures for her own security and separate pacification, — the ephors affirmed on their oath that the troops were already on their march, and were probably by this time out of the Spartan territory.^ Considering ' Herodot. ix, 10, 11 ; Plutarch, Ai-istcides, c. 10. Plutarch had read a decree ascribed to Ai-isteidcs, in which Kimon, Xanthippus, and Myi-onides, were named envoys to Sparta. But it is impossible that Xanthippus could have taken part 'in the embassy, seeing that he was now in command of the fleet. Probably the Helots must have followed: one hardly sees how so great a