120 HISTORY OF GREECE. victor/, bringing the customary presents ; but the satrap seized his person and sent him away to Sardis as a prisoner in custody, affirming that te had the Great King's express orders for carry ing on war with the Athenians. 1 Here was an end of all the delusions of Alkibiades, respecting pretended power of influ- encing the Persian counsels. Yet these delusions had already served his purpose by procuring for him a renewed position in the Athenian camp, which his own military energy enabled him to sustain and justify. Towards the middle of this winter the superiority of the fleet of Mindarus at Abydos, over the Athenian fleet at Sestos, had become so great, partly, as it would appear, through reinforce- ments obtained by the former, partly through the dispersion of the latter into flying squadrons from want of pay, that the Athenians no longer dared to maintain their position in the Hel- lespont. They sailed round the southern point of the Cherso- nese, and took station at Kardia, on the western side of the isthmus of that peninsula. Here, about the commence- ment of spring, they were rejoined by Alkibiades ; who had found means to escape from Sardis, along with Mantitheus, anoth- er Athenian prisoner, first to Klazomenas, and next to Lesbos, where he collected a small squadron of five triremes. The dis- persed squadrons of the Athenian fleet being now all summoned to concentrate, Theramenes came to Kardia from Macedonia, and Thrasybulus from Thasos ; whereby the Athenian fleet was ren- dered superior in number to that of Mindarus. News was brought that the latter had moved with his fleet from the Helles pont to Kyzikus, and was now engaged in the siege of that place, jointly with Pharnabazus and the Persian land-force. His vigorous attacks had in fact already carried the place, when the Athenian admirals resolved to attack him there, and contrived to do it by surprise. Having passed first from Kardia to Elaeus at the south of the Chersonese, they sailed up the Hel- lespont to Prokonnesus by night, so that their passage escaped the notice of the Peloponnesian guardships at Abydos. 2 1 Xcnoph. Hellen. i, 1, 9 ; Plutarch, Alkibiades, c. 27.
- Diodor. xiii, 49. Diodorus spt nally notices this fact, which must obvi-
ously be correct. Without it, the surprise of Mindarus could not have been accomplished.
