Page:History of Greece Vol VII.djvu/47

29 DISGUST AT ATHh. 2? the festival of the Hyakinthia, and there go through the oolemn- ity of the oaths. Amidst such strange crossing of purposes and interests, the Spartan ephors seemed now to have carried all their points; friendship with Argos, breach with Athens, and yet the means through the possession of Panaktum of procuring from Athens the cession of Pylos. But they were not yet on firm ground. For when their deputies, Andromedes and two colleagues, arrived in Brcotia for the purpose of going on to Athens and prosecuting the negotiation about Panaktum, at the time when Eustrophus and jEson were carrying on their negotiation at Sparta, they dis- covered for the first time that the Breotians, instead of perform- ing their promise to hand over Panaktum, had razed it to the ground. This was a serious blow to their chance of success at Athens : nevertheless, Andromedes proceeded thither, taking with him all the Athenian captives in Boeotia. These he restored at Athens, at the same time announcing the demolition of Panak- tum as a fact : Panaktum as well as the prisoners was thus restored, he pretended ; for the Athenians would not now find a single enemy in the place : and he claimed the cession of Pylos in exchange. 1 But he soon found that the final term of Athenian compliance had been reached. It was probably on this occasion that the separate alliance concluded between Sparta and the Boeotians first became discovered at Athens ; since not only were the pro- ceedings of these oligarchical governments habitually secret, but there was a peculiar motive for keeping this alliance concealed until the discussion about Panaktum and Pylos had been brought to a close. Both this alliance, and the demolition of Panaktum. excited among the Athenians the strongest marks of disgust and anger ; aggravated probably rather than softened by the quibble of Andromedes, that demolition of the fort, being tantamount to restitution, and precluding any farther tenancy by the enemy, was a substantial satisfaction of the treaty ; and aggravated still farther by the recollection of all the other unpei formed items in the treaty. A whole year had now elapsed, amidst frequent notes and protocols, to employ a modern phrase ; yet not one of 1 Thucyd. v. 42.