Page:History of Greece Vol VI.djvu/93

 ATHENS BEFORE THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR. 71 In spite of the convention concluded at Pydna, Perdikkas, Whose character for faithlessness we shall have more than one Tafel, Historia Thessalonicre, p. 58), on a river which flows into the Hali- akmon, and upon one of the lower ridges of Mount Bermius ? The words of Thucydides here are "EireiTa ds ^vfj.j3aoLv -irotjjaa/xevot nai l-vpuaxiav uvayxalav npbf rbv TLspdinKav, wf avrovf KarfjTreiyev % ttor-i- 6aia KCII 6 'Apiarede 7rope/l77/lin9(jf, uTraviaravTai IK rf/f Ma/ce- ioviae, Kai aiK.6fievoi f Bepoiav KaKeldev eiuaTpEijjavTff, nal KeipuaavTE? np&rov TOV %uplov Kal ovx iTiovre^, erropevovTO Kara -yrjv npbf rrjv Horidaiav ufia (5e VTJec Ttapeirfaov lj36o/j.r/KovTa. " The natural route from Pydna to Potidrca (observes Dr. Arnold in his note) lay along the coast ; and Bercea was quite out of the way, at some dis tance to the westward, near the fort of the Bermian mountains. But the hope of surprising Bercea induced the Athenians to deviate from their direct line of march ; then, after the failure of this treacherous attempt, they returned again to the sea-coast, and continued to follow it till they arrived at Gigonus." I would remark upon this : 1. The words of Thucydides imply that Beroea was not in Macedonia, but out of it (see Poppo, Proleg. ad Thucyd. vol. ii, pp. 408-418). 2. He uses no expression which in the least implies that the attempt on Beroea on the part of the Athenians was treacherous, that is, contrary to the convention just concluded ; though, had the fact been so, he would naturally have been led to notice it, seeing that the de- liberate breach of the convention was the very first step which took place after it was concluded. 3. What can have induced the Athenians to leave their fleet and march near twenty miles inland to Mount Bermius and Be- roea, to attack a Macedonian town which they could not possibly hold, when they cannot even stay to continue the attack on Pydna, a position maritime, useful, and tenable, in consequence of the pressing necessity of taking immediate measures against Potida;a ? 4. If they were com- pelled by this latter necessity to patch up a peace on any terms with Per- dikkas, would they immediately endanger this peace by going out of their way to attack one of his forts ? Again, Thucydides says, " that, proceed- ing by slow land-marches, they reached Gigonus, and encamped on the third day" Kar' 6/Uyov (Je irpviavref Tpiraloi uyiKovro EC Tiyuvov nal earparo- TretievaavTo. The computation of time must here be made either from Pydna or from Beroea ; and the reader who examines the map will see that neither from the one nor the other assuming the Beroea on Mount Ber- mius would it be possible for an army to arrive at Gigonus on the third day, marching round the head of the gulf, with easy days' marches ; the more so, as they would have to cross the rivers Lydias, Axius, and Echei- dorus, all not far from their mouths, or, if these rivers could not be crossed, to get on board the fleet and reland on the other side. clear mark of time laid down by Thucydides, even apart from