Page:Thucydides, translated into English Vol 1.djvu/380

264 BATTLE OF I DOME N^ [ill through the Amphilochian hills. At the first dawn of day he fell upon the Ambraciots, who were still half-asleep, and so far from knowing anything of what had happened that they imagined his troops to be their own comrades. For Demosthenes had taken care to place the Messenians in the first rank and desired them to speak to the enemy in their own Doric dialect, thereby putting the sentinels off their guard ; and as it was still dark, their appearance could not be distinguished. So they fell upon the Am- braciots and routed them. Most of them were slain on the spot ; the remainder fled over the mountains. But the paths were beset ; the Amphilochians were lightly-armed, and in their own country which they knew, while their enemies were heavy-armed and the country was strange to them. And so, not knowing which way to turn, they fell into ravines and into ambuscades which had been set for them, and perished. Every means of escape was tried. Some even fled to the sea which was not far distant, and seeing the Athenian ships which were sailing by while the action was taking place, swam out to them, thinking in the terror of the moment that they had better be killed, if die they must, by the Athenians in the ships than by their barbarous and detested enemies the Amphilochians. So the Ambraciots were cut to pieces, and but few out of many returned home to their city. The Acarnanians, having despoiled the dead and raised trophies, returned to Argos. 113 On the following day there arrived a herald from the r. • T., , ,j Ambraciots who had escaped out of Despair oftlie herald '^ ivho came from the fugi. Olpae to the Agracans. He came to five Ambraciots ivhen recover the bodics of the dead who had he heard of the second ^^^^^ ^j^j^^ subsequently to the first and greater defeat. ' -^ engagement, when, unprotected by the treaty, they tried to get out of Olpae in company with the Mantineans and others protected by it. The herald saw the arms of the Ambraciot troops from the city and wondered at the number of them ; he knew nothing of the