Page:History of Greece Vol VII.djvu/291

273 ENLARGED DEFENCES OF GYLIPPUS. 273 iingle vail, resting at one extremity on the new-built fort upon the high ground of Epipolae, at the other extremity, upon the city wall. This wall was only single ; but it was defended, along its whole length, by the permanent detachments occupying the three several fortified positions or encampments just mentioned. One of these positions was occupied by native Syracusans ; a second, by Sicilian Greeks; a third, by other allies. Such was the improved and systematic scheme of defence which the genius of Gylippus first projected, and which he brought to execution at the present moment :' a scheme, the full value of which will be appreciated when we come to describe the proceedings of the second Athenian armament under Demosthenes. Not content with having placed the Syracusans out of the reach of danger, Gylippus took advantage of their renewed confidence to infuse into them projects of retaliation against the enemy who had brought them so near to ruin. They began to equip their ships in the harbor, and to put their seamen under training, in hopes of qualifying themselves to contend with the Athenians even on their own element ; while Gylippus himself quitted the city to visit the various cities of the island, and to get together farther reinforcements, naval as well as military. And as it was foreseen that Nikias on his part would probably demand aid from Athens, envoys, Syracusan as well as Corinthian, were despatched to Peloponnesus, to urge the necessity of forwarding additional troops, even in merchant vessels, if no triremes could be spared to convey them. 2 Should no reinforcements reach the Athenian 1 Thucyd. vii, 7. Merti de TOVTO, ai re TUV Kopiv&iuv vrjEf KOI 'Afi^paKiu- )v KOI AfVKadiuv sffsnfavaav ai viro'Xoi'xoi dudeKa (fypxe de avruv 'Epaaivi- <5^f Kopivdior), K.a.1 vv ETEixia av rd honrbv TO if 2t> paicovaio tf p EXP 1 TOV eynapaiov r ei^ovf . These words of Thucydides are very obscure, and have been explained by different commentators in different ways. The explanation which I here give does not, so far as I know, coincide with any of them ; yet I ven- ture to think that it is the most plausible, and the only one satisfactory. Compare the Memoir of Dr. Arnold, on his Map of Syracuse (Arn. Thucyd, rol, iii, p. 273), and the notes of Poppo and Goller. Dr. Arnold is indeed to little satisfied with any explanation which had suggested itself to him that he diinks some words must have dropped out. VOL. Til. 12* 180C.
 * ThUcyd. rii, 7.