Page:History of Greece Vol VI.djvu/413

 DEFEAT OF THE ATHENIANS. 391 rotis of cavalry; who, wheeling unseen round the hill behind, suddenly appeared to the relief of the Boeotian left, and produced upon the Athenians on that side, already deranged in their ranks by the ardor of pursuit, the intimidating effect of a fresh army arriving to reinforce the Boeotians. And thus, even on the rij,ht, the victorious portion of their line, the Athenians lost courage and gave way ; while on the left, where they were worsted from the beginning, they found themselves pressed harder and harder by the pursuing Thebans : so that in the end, the whole Athenian army was broken, dispersed, and fled. The garrison of Delium, reinforced by three hundred cavalry, whom Hippokrates had left there to assail the rear of the Boeotians during the action, either made no vigorous movement, or were repelled by a Boeotian re- serve stationed to watch them. Flight having become general among the Athenians, the different parts of their army took dif- ferent directions : the right sought refuge at Delium, the centre fled to Oropus, and the left took a direction towards the high lands of Parnes. The pursuit of the Boeotians was vigorous and destructive : they had an efficient cavalry, strengthened by some Lokrian horse who had arrived even during the action : their pel- tasts also, and their light-armed, would render valuable service against retreating hoplites. 1 Fortunately for the vanquished, the battle had begun very late hi the afternoon, leaving no long period of daylight : this important circumstance saved the Athe- nian army from almost total destruction.^ As it was, however, the general Hippokrates, together with nearly one thousand hop- lites, and a considerable number of light-armed and attendants, were slain ; while the loss of the Boeotians, chiefly on their defeated left wing, was rather under five hundred hoplites. Some prisoners 3 seem to have been made, but we hear little about them Those who had fled to Delium and Oropus were conveyed back by sea to Athens. 1 Thucyd. iv, 96; Athenasus, v, p. 215. Diodorus (xii, 70) represents that the battle began with a combat of cavalry, in which the Athenians had the advantage. This is quite inconsistent with the narrative of Thucydidfis 2 Diodorus (xii, 70) dwells upon this circumstance. 3 Pyrilampes is spoken of as having been wounded and taken prisoner in the retreat by the Thebans (Plutarch, De Gcnio Socratis, c. 11, p. 581), Bee also Thucyd. v, 35, where allusion is made to some prisoners.