Page:History of Greece Vol XI.djvu/510

 484 HISTOK: OF GREECE. The relations between Athens and Thebes ac this moment w<:r altogether unfriendly. There had indeed been no actual armed conflict between them since the conclusion of the Sacred War in 346 B. c. Yet the old sentiment of enmity and jealousy, dating from earlier days and aggravated during that war, still continued unabated. To soften this reciprocal dislike, and to bring about co- operation with Thebes, had always been the aim of some Athe- nian politicians Eubulus Aristophon and Demosthenes himself, whom ^schines tries to discredit as haying been com- plimented and corrupted by the Thebans. 1 Nevertheless, in spite of various visits and embassies to Thebes, where a philo- Athe- nian minority also subsisted, nothing had ever been accomplished.- The enmity still remained, and had been even artificially aggra- vated (if we are to believe Demosthenes 3 ) during the six months which elapsed since the breaking out of the Amphissian quarrel, by ^Eschines and the partisans of Philip in both cities. The ill-will subsisting between Athens and Thebes at the mo- ment when Philip took possession of Elateia, was so acknowl- edged, that he had good reason for looking upon confederacy of the two against him as impossible. 4 To enforce the request, that Thebes, already his ally, would continue to act as such at this crit- ical juncture, he despatched thither envoys not merely Macedo- nian, but also Thessalian, Dolopian, Phthiot Achaean, ^Etolian, and ^Enianes the Amphiktyonic allies who were now accompa- nying his march. 5 If such were the hopes, and the reasonable hopes, of Philip, we may easily understand how intense was the alarm among the seized Elateia. Otherwise, he had been at open war with Athens, ever since the sieges of Byzantium and Perinthus in the preceding year. 1 jEschines. Fals. Leg. p. 46, 47. 2 ^Eschines adv. Ktesiph. p. 73 ; Demosth. Be CoronA, p. 281. 3 Demosth. De Corona, p. 276, 281, 284. 'AAA' EKelae erruveLfii, on. rbv if 'A//0t<7<777 TroTif/iov TOVTOV (^ZEschincs) //fiv TroiTjffavTOf, ffvfj.Trepavafj.evuv <5e r&v TtJv ovvepyuv avrov rr,v rrpof &7jj3aiovs i^piiv, avvifiri rov 0* J][J,af, ovrrep SveKa i iif Troheif ovrot avvEKpovov, etc. Qvra nlppu Trpofjya-yov OVTOI TTJV ix&puv. tcv /ecreAa/?ev, cif ot'<5' uv el TL yevono ITI ovftirvtvmart'ur uv i}/u.uv Kal rut a'i.(jv. 1'hilochorus ap. Dionys. Hal. ac] Ammojum. 742.
 * Demosth. De Corona TJKSV tyuv (Philip) TTJV dvvafj.iv Kal rqv '