Page:History of Greece Vol X.djvu/154

 132 HISTORY OF GREECE. of Abdera in Thrace, Chabrias rendered an inestimable service, by aiding them to repulse a barbarous horde of Triballi, who quit- ting their abode from famine, had poured upon the sea-coast, de- feating the Abderites and plundering their territory. The citizens, grateful for a force left to defend their town, willingly allied them- selves with Athens, whose confederacy thus extended itself to the coast of Thrace. 1 Having prosperously enlarged their confederacy to the east of Peloponnesus, the Athenians began to aim at the acquisition of new allies in the west. The fleet of sixty triremes, which had re- cently served under Chabrias, was sent, under the command of Timotheus, the son of Konon, to circumnavigate Peloponnesus and alarm the coast of Laconia ; partly at the instance of the Thebans, who were eager to keep the naval force of Sparta occu- pied, so as to prevent her from conveying troops across the Kris- Sifian Gulf from Corinth to the Boeotian port of Kreusis. 2 This Periplus of Peloponnesus, the first which the fleet of Athens had attempted since her humiliation at JEgospotami, coupled with the ensuing successes, was long remembered by the coun- trymen of Timotheus. His large force, just dealing, and con- ciliatory professions, won new and valuable allies. Not only Kephallenia, but the still more important island of Korkyra, voluntarily accepted his propositions ; and as he took care to avoid all violence or interference with the political constitution, his popularity all around augmented every day. Alketas, prince of the Molossi, the Chaonians with other Epirotic tribes, and the Akarnanians on the coast, all embraced his alliance. 3 While near Alyzia and Leukas on this coast, he was assailed by the Peloponnesian ships under Nikolochus, rather inferior in number to his fleet. He defeated them, and being shortly afterwards reinforced by other triremes from Korkyra, he became so superior hi those waters, that the hostile fleet did not dare to show itself Having received only thirteen talents on quitting Athens, we are told that he had great difficulty in paying his fleet ; that he pro- cured an advance of money, from each of the sixty trierarchs in his fleet, of seven minae towards the pay of their respective ships ; 1 Diodor. xv, 36. He states by mistake, that Chabrias was afterwardi assassinated at Abdera. 1 Xen. Hellen. v, 4, 62. 3 Xen. Hellen. v, 4, 64 ; Diodor. xv, 36.