Page:History of Greece Vol VI.djvu/488

 466 HISTORY OF GREECE olis with that of Argilus. On the western or right bank of the river, bordering it, and forming an outer bend corresponding tu the bend of the river, was situated Mount Kerdylium : in fact, the course of the Strymon is here determined by these two steep eminences, Kerdylium on the west, and the hill of Amphipolis on the east, between which it flows. At the time when Brasidas first took the place, the bridge was totally unconnected with the long city wall ; but during the intervening eighteen months, he had erected a palisade work probably an earthen bank topped with a palisade connecting the two. By means of this pali- sade, the bridge was thus at the time of Kleon's expedition com- prehended within the fortifications of the city; and Brasidas, while keeping watch on Mount Kerdylium, could pass over whenever he chose into the city, without any fear of impedi- ment. 1 1 Thucyd. v, 10. Kal 6 [lev (Brasidas) Kara ruf enl TO aravpufia nai raf npuras TOV fiaKpov TEi^ovf TOTE ovrof i^eA&uv, e&ci dpo/uy TTJV Mbv ravTjjv evdelav, yxep vvv, etc. The explanation which I have here given to the word aravpu/ia is not given by any one else ; but it appears to me the only one calculated to impart clearness and consistency to the whole narrative. When Brasidas surprised Amphipolis first, the bridge was completely unconnected with the Long Wall, and at a certain distance from it. But when Thucydides wrote his history, there were a pair of connecting walls between the bridge and the fortifications of the city as they then stood )ii KadelTo relxT) uenep vvv (iv, 103): the whole fortifications of the city had been altered during the intermediate period. Now the question is, was the Long Wall of Amphipolis connected or unconnected with the bridge, at the time of the conflict between Brasidas and Kleon 1 Whoever reads the narrative of Thucydides attentively will see, I think, that they must have been connected, though Thucydides does not in express terms specify the fact. For if the bridge had been detached from the wall, as it was when Brasidas surprised the place first, the hill of Kerdylium on the opposite side of the river would have been an unsafe position for him to occupy. He might have been cut off from Amphipolis by an enemy attacking the bridge. But we shall find him remaining quietly on the hill of Kerdylium with the perfect certainty of entering Amphipolis at any moment that he chose. If it be urged that the bridge, though unconnected with the Long Wall, might still be under a strong separate guard, I reply, that on that supposition an enemy from Eion would naturally attack the bridge first. To have to defend a bridge completely detached from the city, simply by means of a large constant guard, would