Page:Thucydides, translated into English Vol 1.djvu/43

 INSCRIPTIONS XXxix fought upon an equality with the rest of the confederates, and they had no difficulty in reducing them when they revolted. Now the allies brought all this upon them- selves; for the majority of them disliked military service and absence from home, and so they agreed to contribute their share of the expense instead of ships. Whereby the Athenian navy was proportionally increased, while they themselves were always untrained and unprepared for war when they revolted.' Cp. i. 19. 'The Athenians on the other hand after a time deprived the subject cities of their ships, and made all of them pay a fixed tribute, except Chios and Lesbos,' (4) ii. 13 med. At the commencement of the war Peri- cles tells the Athenians that 'the state of their finances was encouraging; they had on an average 600 talents of tribute coming in annually from their allies, to say nothing of their other revenue.' (5) vii. 28 fin. Once more, after the fortification of Decelea we are informed, 'It was at this time that they imposed upon their allies, instead of the tribute, a duty of five per cent, on all things imported and exported by sea, thinking that this would be more productive.' (See note in loco.) In these passages nothing is said {a) of the steps by which the tribute was raised from 460 to 600 talents ; or {b) of the increase or diminution at different times in the number of tributaries ; or {c) of the increase from 600 to 1200 talents mentioned in the Orators, a fact which has been doubted by Grote chiefly in consequence of the silence of Thucydides. If light can be thrown upon any of these subjects it must be obtained from inscriptions. {a) and (b). Thucydides says that 'the amount of the tribute was originally fixed at 460 talents.' From the quota lists it appears that the amount paid by the allies was altered in the years 450 and 446 b.c, the effect of the new assessments being occasionally to raise, but far more often to lower it, while in numerous cases it remained