Page:History of Greece Vol VI.djvu/136

 U4 fflSTORY OF GREECE. view of subverting the democratical government of the town v of destroying its leaders, their political rivals, and of estab- lishing an oligarchy with themselves as the chiefs. Naukleides, and others of this faction, entered into a secret conspiracy with Eurymachus and the oligarchy of Thebes : to both it appeared a tempting prize, since war was close at hand, to take advantage of this ambiguous interval, befbre watches had been placed, and the precautions of a state of war commenced, and to surprise the town of Plataea in the night: moreover, a period of religious festival was chosen, in order that the population might be most completely off their guard. 1 Accordingly, on a rainy night to- wards the close of March 431 B.C., 2 a body of rather more than three hundred Theban hoplites, commanded by two of the Bceo- tarchs, Pythangelus, and Diemporus, and including Eurymachus in the ranks, presented themselves at the gate of Plataea during the first sleep of the citizens: Naukleides and his partisans opened the gate and conducted them to the agora, which they reached and occupied in military order without the least resist- ance. The best part of the Theban military force was intended to arrive at Plataea by break of day, in order to support them. 3 1 Thucyd. iii, 56. 2 Thucyd. ii, 2. ufia qpi upxonevu seems to indicate a period rather before than after the first of April : we may consider the bisection of the Thucydidean year into tfepof and X E ' L ( IUV as marked by the equinoxes. His summer and winter are each a half of the year (Thucyd. v, 20), though Poppo erroneously treats the Thucydidean winter as only four months (Poppo, Proleg. i, c. v, p. 72, and ad Thucyd. ii, 2 : see F. W. Ullrich, Beitrage znr Erklarung des Thukydides, p. 32, Hamburg, 1846). 3 Thucyd. ii, 2-5. -d eftevoi 6e if TTJV dyopuv TO, direct, ... .nal uvslirev 6 Kqpv!;, eirif povhsTdi Karli T& irurpia TUV TTUVTUV BOLOTUV %vfi- itaxeiv, rid ecr& ai nap' avToi)f T& oir'ka. Dr. Arnold has a note upon this passage, explaining n#eai?<u, or dscr&ai ~u offAa, to mean, "piling the arms," or getting rid of their spears and shields by piling them all in one or more heaps. He says : " The Thebans, therefore, as usual on a halt, proceeded to pile their arms, and by inviting the Platseans to come and pile theirs with them, they meant that they should come in arms from their several houses to join them, and thus nat- urally pile their spears and shields with those of their friends, to be taken up together with theirs, whenever there should be occasion cither to march or to fight." The same explanation of the phrase had before been given