Page:History of Greece Vol VI.djvu/260

 238 HISTORY OF GREECE. and tueir wall of blockade. For this purpose, he distributed full panoplies among the mass of the people, or commons, who had hitherto been without them, having at best nothing more than bows or javelins. 1 But he had not sufficiently calculated the con- sequences of this important step. The Mitylenaean multitude, living under an oligarchical government, had no interest whatever in the present contest, which had been undertaken without any appeal to their opinion. They had no reason for aversion to Athens, seeing that they suffered no practical grievance from the Athenian alliance : and we shall find hereafter that even among the subject-allies to say nothing of a privileged ally like Mitylene the bulk of the citizens were never forward, some- times positively reluctant, to revolt. The Mitylentean oligarchy had revolted, in spite of the absence of practical wrongs, because they desired an uncontrolled town-autonomy as well as security for its continuance : but this was a feeling to which the people were naturally strangers, having no share in the government of their own town, and being kept dead and passive, as it was the interest of the oligarchy that they should be, in respect to polit- ical sentiment. A Grecian oligarchy might obtain from its people quiet submission under ordinary circumstances, but if ever it required energetic effort, the genuine devotion under which alone such effort could be given, was found wanting. Ac- cordingly, the Mitylenaean demos, so soon as they found them selves strengthened and ennobled by the possession of heavy armor, refused obedience to the orders of Saloethus for marching out and imperiling their lives in a desperate struggle. They were under the belief not unnatural under the secrecy of public affairs habitually practised by an oligarchy, but which, assuredly, the Athenian demos would have been too well informed to enter- tain that their governors were starving them, and had concealed stores of provisions for themselves. Accordingly, the first use which they made of their arms was, to demand that these con- cealed stores should be brought out and fairly apportioned to all , threatening, unless their demand was complied with at once, to enter into negotiations with the Athenians, and surrender the city 1 Thucyd. iii, 27. 6 2u/loti?of, KOI avrbf ov Trpoade^oftevof en rur vair rbv drjpov, iriorepov TpMv bvra, <if inel-tuv rotf '