Page:History of Greece Vol VI.djvu/515

 PEACE OF KIKIAS. 493 Among the Lacedaemonians swearing, are included the two kingi Agis and Pleistoanax, the ephor Pleistolas, and perhaps other ephors, but this we do not know, and Tellis, the father of Bras* idas. Among the Athenians sworn, are comprised Nikias, Laches, Agnon, Lamachus, and Demosthenes. 1 Such was the peace commonly known by the name of the Peace of Nikias concluded in the beginning of the eleventh spring of the war, which had just lasted ten full years. Its con- ditions were put to the vote at Sparta, in the assembly of deputies from the Lacedaemonian allies, the majority of whom accepted them : which, according to the condition adopted and sworn to by every member of the confederacy, 2 made it binding upon all. There was, indeed, a special reserve allowed to any particular state in case of religious scruple, arising out of the fear of offend- ing some of their gods or heroes ; but, saving this reserve, the peace had been formally acceded to by the decision of the confed- erates. But it soon appeared how little the vote of the majority was worth, even when enforced by the strong pressure of Lace- daemon herself, when the more powerful members were among the dissentient minority. The Boeotians, Megarians, and Corin- thians, all refused to accept it ; nor does it seem that any deputies from the allies took the oath along with the Lacedaemonian envoys ; though the truce for a year, two years before, 3 had been sworn to by Lacedaemonian, Corinthian, Megarian, Sikyonian, and Epidaurian envoys. The Corinthians were displeased because they did not recover Sollium and Anaktorium ; the Megarians, because they did net regain Nisaea ; the Boeotians, because they were required to sur- render Panaktum. In spite of the urgent solicitations of Sparta, the deputies of all these powerful states not only denounced the 1 Thucyd v, 19. 2 Thucyd. v, 17-30. irapapfiaeadai re ttyaaav (the Lacedaemonians said) c.iiTovf (the Corinthians) rot)f opKovf Kal T/^TJ uSineiv 6ri oil 6e^ovrai Tuf 'A.&rjvaiuv crTrovduf, dprjfiivov, Kvptov elvai OTI uv rt> 7r?.j?i9of TUV t;Vfi/uuxuv i(>Tii(rr}Tai, fjv [if] TI -deiJv % r/puuv KuAvfia y. ufioaav /card ir6%ei (v, 18), yet it seems that this oath was not actually taken by any of the allied cities ; only by the Lacedaemonians themselves, upcr the vote of the majority of the confederates (v, 17 : compare T, 23). VOL. vi. 22
 * Compare Thucyd. iv, 119 ; v, 19. Though the words of the peace stand