Page:Thucydides, translated into English Vol 2.djvu/350

342 FIRST ATHENIAN SUCCESS AT SEA [vill ground. And the Peloponnesian ships had delayed so long that the}' had ceased to expect them. 10 Meanwhile the Isthmian games were celebrated. The T/ic frst Pelopon- Athenians, to whom they had been ucsian sqnadivn is formally notified, sent representatives . , „/ , ,, to them and now their eyes began to titlo PtracniH Olid the ' -^ ° commander, Alcame- be opened to the designs of the Chians. ues, slain. On their return home they took imme- diate measures to prevent the enemy's ships getting away from Cenchreae unperceived. When the games were over, the Peloponncsians, under the command of Alcamenes, with their twenty-one ships set sail for Chios ; the Athen- ians, with an equal number, first sailed up to them and tried to draw them into the open sea. The Pelopon- ncsians did not follow them far, but soon turned back to Cenchreae ; the Athenians likewise retired, because they could not depend on the fidelity of the seven Chian ships which formed a part of their fleet. So the}^ manned some more ships, making the whole number thirty-seven, and . when the Peloponncsians resumed their voyage along the coast they pursued them into Piraeum, a lonely harbour, the last in the Corinthian territory before you reach Epi- dauria. One ship was lost by the Peloponncsians at sea, but they got the rest together and came to anchor in the harbour. Again the Athenians attacked them, not only on the water, but also after they had landed ; there was a fierce struggle, but no regular engagement ; most of the enemy's ships were damaged by the Athenians on the beach, and their commander, Alcamenes, was slain. Some Athenians also fell. 11 When the conflict was over, the conquerors left a suffi- cient number of ships to watch the The ships are block- , ., . • j ^i aded by iL Athenians, ^^^my, and With the remainder they Diseonra^eincnt of the lay to Under a little island not far off, Lacedaemonians, ivho vhere they encamped, and sent to scent doomed to failure. . ^, ^. . ^ Athens, requesting reiniorccments. For on the day after the battle the Corinthians had come