Page:Thucydides, translated into English Vol 2.djvu/401

 77-8o] MOVEMENTS OF THE FLEETS 393 Milesians to march along the coast towards Mycale, sailed thither themselves. But the Astyochus w.th a Athenians with their fleet of eighty-two himdrcd and tivdve ships, which had come out of Samos ^^"^^ "-^"'^ "'"' '" "'^, • ^ lU J ^ /-I > Athcmaits. They prefer and were just then moored at Glauce ,^ „,,„;, /,„ ,.etHnt>f on the promontory of Mycale, a point Sirombidiidcs, whose of the mainland not far off, saw the ^'"'f".^ arriving raise •p, , . , . , ihctr number to a Peloponnesians bearmg down upon ,,„„^,.^^ ^^^ ^,^/,^ them, and returned, thmking that with They in their turn offer their inferior numbers they were not "^'^.^ '" ^''^ Pclo'pon- ^■c ^ • • , • . , . , , T-» • 1 nesians, ivho decline it. justined in riskmg their all. Besides, having previous information from Miletus that the Pelo- ponnesians were anxious to fight, they had sent a mes- senger to Strombichides at the Hellespont, and were waiting for him to come to their aid with the ships from Chios which had gone to Abydos ^, So they retreated to Samos, and the Peloponnesians sailed for Mycale and there established themselves, together with the land-forces of Miletus and of the neighbouring cities. On the following day they were on the point of attacking Samos, when news came that Strombichides had arrived with the fleet from the Hellespont ; whereupon the Peloponnesians imme- diately retired towards Miletus, and the Athenians them- selves, thus reinforced, sailed against Miletus with a hundred and eight ships. They had hoped to fight a decisive battle, but no one came out to meet them, and they returned to Samos, The Peloponnesians had not gone out because they 80 thought ''that even with their united force they could not risk a battle ''. But not knowing how to maintain so large a fleet, especially since Tissaphernes never paid them properly, they at once while the summer lasted sent Clearchus the son of Rhamphias with forty ships to Pharnabazus, this being the commission which he had ■ Cp. viii. 62. '' Or, ' that they were not a match for the now united forces of the enemy.' D d 2