Page:History of Greece Vol VI.djvu/142

 120 fflSTOR* OF GREECE. town, removing to Athens the old men and sick, with the womer, and children. No complaint or discussion, respecting the recent surprise, was thought of by either party : it was evident to both thought of except the means of carrying it on, and that there could be no farther personal intercourse except under the pro- tection of heralds. 1 The incident at Plataea, striking in all its points, wound up both parties to the full pitch of warlike excite- ment. A spirit of resolution and enterprise was abroad every- where, especially among those younger citizens, yet unacquainted with the actual bitterness of war, whom the long truce but just broken had raised up ; and the contagion of high-strung feeling spread from the leading combatants into every corner of Greece, manifesting itself partly in multiplied oracles, prophecies, and religious legends adapted to the moment :' 2 a recent earthquake at Delos, too, as well as various other extraordinary physical phenomena, were construed as prognostics of the awful struggle impending, a period fatally marked not less by eclipses, earth- quakes, drought, famine, and pestilence, than by the direct calam- ities of war. 3 An aggression so unwarrantable as the assault on Platosa tended doubtless to strengthen the unanimity of the Athenian assembly, to silence the opponents of Perikles, and to lend addi- tional weight to those frequent exhortations, 4 whereby the great statesman was wont to sustain the courage of his countrymen. Intelligence was sent round to forewarn and hearten up the nu- merous allies of Athens, tributary as well as free : the latter, with the exception of the Thessalians, Akamanians, and Messe- nians at Naupaktus, were all insular, Chians, Lesbians, Korky- rneans, and Zakynthians : to the island of Kephallenia also they sent envoys, but it was not actually acquired to their alliance until a few months afterwards. 5 With the Akarnanians, too, their connection had only been commenced a short time before, seem- 1 Thucyd ii, 1-6. ruv irpuTuv TroAtuv. 3 Thucyd. i, 23. 4 Thuc?d. ii, 13. uxtp nal irporepov, etc., IXeye 6k ical uA/la, olairtf fiudei UfpiK?iij( { imodei^LV TOV irepisaeodai ry 6 Thucyd. ii, 7, 22, 30.
 * .hat the war was now actually begun, that nothing was to be
 * Thucyd. ii, 7, 8. //re u/Wj? 'EAAaf irdca uertupof rjv, frviovauv