Page:History of Greece Vol VI.djvu/143

 BEGINNING OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR. 121 ingly during the preceding summer, arising out of the circum- stances of the town of Argos in Amphilochia. That town, situated on the southern coast of the Ambrakian gulf, was origi- nally occupied by a portion of the Amphilochi, a non-Hellenic tribe, whose lineage apparently was something intermediate between Akarnanians and Epirots. Some colonists from Ambra- kia, having been admitted as co-residents with the Amphilochian inhabitants of this town, presently expelled them, and retained the town with its territory exclusively for themselves. The expelled inhabitants, fraternizing with (heir fellow tribes around as well as with the Akarnanians, looked out for the means of restoration ; and in order to obtain it, invited the assistance of Athens. Accordingly, the Athenians sent an expedition of thirty triremes, under Phormio, who, joining the Ainphilochians and Akarnanians, attacked and carried Argos, reduced the Ambra- kiots to slavery, and restored the town to the Amphilochiaus and Akarnanians. It was on this occasion that the alliance of the Akarnanians with Athens was first concluded, and that their personal attachment to the Athenian admiral, Phormio, com- menced. 1 The numerous subjects of Athens, whose contributions stood embodied in the annual tribute, were distributed all over and around the ^Egean, including all the islands north of Krete, with the exception of Melos and Thera. 2 Moreover, the elements offeree collected in Athens itself, were fully worthy of the metropolis of so great an empire. Perikles could make a report to his countrymen of three hundred triremes fit for active service ; twelve hundred horsemen and horse-bowmen ; sixteen hundred ":owmen ; and the great force of all, not less than twenty-nine thousand hoplites, mostly citizens, but in part also metics. 1 Thucyd. ii, 68. The time at which this expedition of Phormio and the capture of Argos happened, is not precisely marked by Thucydides. But his words seem to imply that it was before the commencement of the war, as Poppo observes. Phormio was sent to ChalkidiktJ about October or November 432 B.C. (i, 64) : and the expedition against Argos probably occurred between that event and the naval conflict of Korkyraeans and Athenians against Corinthians with their allies, Ambrakiots included, which conflict had happened in the preceding spring. VOL. VI. 6
 * Thucyd. ii, 9.