Page:History of Greece Vol VI.djvu/261

 FOURTH YEAR OF THE WAR-REVOLT OF MITYLENE. 239 The ruling Mitylenaeans, unable to prevent this, but foreseeing that it would be their irretrievable ruin, preferred the chance of negotiating themselves for a capitulation. It was agreed with Paches, that the Athenian armament should enter into possession of Mitylene ; that the fate of its people and city should be left to the Athenian assembly, and that the Mitylenoeans should send envoys to Athens to plead their cause : until the return of these envoys, Paches engaged that no one should be either killed, or put ir chains, or sold into slavery. Nothing was said about Salaethus, who hid himself as well as he could in the city. In spite of the guarantee received from Paches, so great was the alarm of those Mitylenaeans who had chiefly instigated the revolt, that when he actually took possession of the city, they threw themselves as suppliants upon the altars for protection ; but being induced, by his assurances, to quit their sanctuary, were placed in the island of Tenedos until answer should be received from Athens. 1 Having thus secured possession of Mitylene, Paches sent round some triremes to the other side of the island, and easily captured Antissa. But before he had time to reduce the two remaining towns of Pyrrha and Eresus, he received news which forced him to turn his attention elsewhere. To the astonishment of every one, the Peloponnesian fleet of Alkidas was seen on the coast of Ionia. It ought to have been there much earlier, and had Alkidas been a man of energy, it would have reached Mitylene even before the surrender of the city. But the Peloponnesians, when about to advance into the Athenian waters and brave the Athenian fleet, were under the same impressions of conscious weakness and timidity especially since the victories of Phormio in the preceding year as that which beset land-troops who marched up to attack the Lacede- monian heavy-armed. 2 Alkidas, though unobstructed by the Athenians, who were not aware of his departure, though pressed to hasten forward by Lesbian and lonifcn exiles on board, and aided by expert pilots from those Samian exiles who 1 Thucyd. iii, 28.
 * Thucyd. iv, 34. rrj yvufit) &e6ov^ufj.hoi