Page:Outlines of European History.djvu/250

 200 Outlines of European History he involved Athens in an alliance with Argos against Sparta, and thus Attica, exhausted with plague and ten years of war- fare, was enticed into a life-and-death struggle which was to prove final. Several years of ill-planned military and naval operations followed the fruitless peace of Nicias. Under the spur of Alcibiades' persuasion the Athenians at length planned a great joint expedition of army and navy against Sicily, where the mighty Corinthian city of Syracuse was leading in the oppres- sion of certain cities in alliance with Athens. The Athenians placed Alcibiades and Nicias in command of the expedition. Just as the fleet was about to sail, certain sacred images about the city were impiously mutilated, and the deed was attributed to Alcibiades. In spite of his demand for an immediate trial, the Athenians postponed the case until his return from Sicily. When the fleet reached Italy, however, the Athenian people, with their usual inability to follow any consistent plan and also desiring to take Alcibiades at a great disadvantage, suddenly recalled him for trial. This method of procedure not only de- prived the expedition of its only able leader but also gave Alcibiades an opportunity to desert to the Spartans, which he promptly did. His advice to the Spartans now proved fatal to the Athenians. Nicias, though a brave man, was totally lacking in initiative and boldness, such as a Themistocles or a Miltiades would have shown under the same circumstances. The appearance of the huge Athenian fleet off their coast struck dismay into the hearts of the Syracusans, but Nicias entirely failed to see the impor- tance of immediate attack before the Syracusans could recover and make preparations for the defense of their city. He wasted the early days of the campaign in ill-planned maneuvers, only winning a barren victory over the Syracusan land forces. When Nicias was finally induced by the second general in command to begin the siege of the city, courage had returned to the Syracusans and their defense was well organized.