Page:History of Greece Vol VII.djvu/80

62 fi2 11ISTOKY OF GKV.l-X'K. earthquake possibly an earthquake not real, but simulated ioi convenience abruptly terminated the congress. The Corinthi- ans though seemingly distrusting Argos, now that she was united with Athens, and leaning rather towards Sparta were unwilling to pronounce themselves in favor of one so as to rnaKe an enemy of the other. 1 In spite of this first failure, the new alliance of Athens and Argos manifested its fruits vigorously in the ensuing spring. Under the inspirations of Alkibiades, Athens was about to at- tempt the new experiment of seeking to obtain intra-Pelopon- nesian followers and influence. At the beginning of the war, she had been maritime, defensive, and simply conservative, under the guidance of Perikles. After the events of Sphakteria. she made use of that great advantage to aim at the recovery of Megara and Bceotia, which she had before been compelled to abandon by the thirty years' truce, at the recommendation of Kleon. In this attempt she employed the eighth year of the war, but with signal ill-success ; while Brasidas during that period broke open the gates of her maritime empire, and robbed her of many important dependencies. The grand object of Athens then became, to recover these lost dependencies, especially Amphipolis : Nikias and his partisans sought to effect such recovery by making peace, while Kleon and his supporters insisted that it could never be achieved except by military efforts. The expedition under Kleon against Amphipolis had failed, the peace concluded by Nikias had failed also : Athens had surrendered her capital advantage, without regaining Amphipolis ; and if she wished to regain it. there was no alternative except to repeat the attempt which had feiiled under Kleon. And this perhaps she might hare done, as ve shall find her projecting to do in the course of about four years forward, if it had not been, first, that the Athenian mind was now probably sick and disheartened about Amphipolis, in consequence of the prodigious disgrace so recently undergone there ; next, that Alkibiades, the new chief adviser or prime minisU-r of Athens if we may be allowed to use an inaccurate expression, which yet suggests the reality of the ca^e was promp'.sd by his personal impulses to turn the stream of Athe 1 Thucyd. v, 48-50.