ATT 
eft to his affiftance a fleet of no galleys, which was rein¬ 
forced at Samos by forty more, furnifhed by their allies. 
Callicratidas, falling in with this fleet before Arginufie, off 
the promontory of Lefbos, made a vigorous attack upon 
them, notwithftanding their fuperior number, and funk 
feveral of their (hips. But, being himfelf oppofed by the 
galley of Pericles, foil of the famous Athenian of the 
fame name, which he had pierced with the beak of his, 
and being unable to difengage himfelf from his antago- 
rtift, he was loon furrounded by feveral other Athenian 
galleys, and, in fpiteof the molt heroic bravery with which 
he defended himfelf, fell at laft, overpowered by num¬ 
bers, though not without great {laughter of the enemy. 
The Lacedemonians, difcouraged by the lofs of their com¬ 
mander, gave way on the right wing; and their left, af¬ 
ter fighting fome time longer with great valour, fled like- 
wife. The Athenians, after their victory, retired into an 
ifland, and there erected a trophy. Their lofs, in this en¬ 
gagement, amounted to twenty-five galleys; but that of 
their enemies to no fewer than feventy. 
Plutarch, after bellowing the higheft encomiums upon 
the virtue of Callicratidas, blames him for having fo im¬ 
prudently hazarded an engagement; and, on that occafion, 
obferves how highly dangerous it is for a general to give 
way to the impetuofity of his courage, as he thereby not 
only endangers his own fingle life, but likewife that of all 
under his command. The fame fentiment is adopted by 
Cicero, who, talking of thofe that, from a falfe opinion of 
glory, chofe to hazard the fate of their country, rather 
than in any degree to fully their own reputation, cites this 
very example of Callicratidas, who, when exhorted to de¬ 
cline the engagement in which he fell, anfwered, “ That 
Sparta might get a new fleet in cafe this were deftcoyed, 
but that his flying would overwhelm him with everlafting 
difgrace.” The Athenian generals, in the mean time, 
gave orders to Theramenes and Thrafybulus to carry 
home the (lain in fifty galleys, that they might be buried 
with the accuftomed ceremonies. But a violent temped 
fttpervening, prevented them from executing their orders. 
The reft of the fleet proceeded tovrards Mitylene, to dif¬ 
engage Conon. 
The Athenians, among whom the rites of burial were 
fo Unfitly obferved, that they regarded the omiflionof them 
as an inexpiable crime, grew furious, on hearing that the 
citizens who had fallen in the late afition were deprived of 
that fo neceflary folemnity ; and, though the omiflion of 
it in the prefent cafe was unavoidable, they neverthelefs 
treated it as a capital offence. Theramenes became the 
accufer of the generals, though it is inconceivable how he 
could undertake that charge, and more efpecially how he 
puflied it with finch cruel obftinacy. When the generals 
arrived at Athens, they related all the circumftances of 
the cafe, and called upon every man who had been pre¬ 
fent to vouch the truth of what they afterted. But, the 
matter having been brought before the fenate, it was there 
determined, that it fnould be referred to the aecifion of 
the people, who were ordered to report the opinion of 
each tribe diftinfitly; and if, upon the whole, the generals 
were found guilty, they were to fuffer death. The famous 
Socrates oppofed this unjuft fentence with all his might. 
He himfelf undertook the defence of the accufed, and 
maintained, with invincible force of argument, that, as 
by giving orders to carry off the dead bodies in order to 
burial, they had difcharged the duty incumbent on them ; 
and as the lupervening tempeft had rendered it impoflible 
for thofe who had received thofe orders to put them in exe¬ 
cution ; neither party was guilty of any fault; and that, 
therefore, it would be the mod grofs and cruel injuftice to 
put to death men who had fo glorioufly and fuccefsfully 
exerted themfelves in the defence of their country. The 
accufers, however, had inflamed the refentment of the 
people to fuch a pitch, that, in fpite of thefe remonftran- 
ces, they condemned fix of the ten generals to death ; and 
they fullered accordingly. What an unreafonable ungrate¬ 
ful people! And how furprifing, that any man could be 
Von. II. No. 86. 
I C A. 52> 
perfuaded to command their fleets and armies! Plato takes 
occafion from this event to maintain, that the populace is 
an inconftant, ungrateful, cruel, jealous, monfter, utterly 
incapable of being guided by reafon, a fentiment confirm¬ 
ed by the univerfal experience of all ages and nations. 
The Peloponnelians, overwhelmed by their grievous lofs 
at Arginufie, fent to Sparta, to require the chief command 
to be conferred on Lyfander; which was immediately 
granted. This choice gave great joy to thofe who polfef- 
fed the chief authority in the refpefitive cities, who Be¬ 
ing, as before obferved, the creatures of Lyfander, nothing 
could correl'pond better with their ambitious views. It 
was about this time that the younger Cyrus (fo called to 
difiinguifh him from Cyrus the Great, the founder of the 
Perfian empire), now grown prefumptuous and vain by his 
great power, and the mean adulation of his courtiers, wan¬ 
tonly put to death two noble Perlians, his .own coufins- 
german, for no greater crime than their omitting to cover 
their hands in his prefence; an action calculated to give 
us but an unfavourable opinion of that prince’s heart and 
underftanding. But it Ihevvs us, at the fame time, that 
profperity can confound the judgment even of fome of the 
wifeft of men, and render them capable of the mod extra¬ 
vagant exedfes. Darius, when informed of the tragical 
fate of his two nephews, was much grieved ; and, con.fi- 
dering this afition of his fon as an attack on his own au¬ 
thority, he fent for him, under a pretence of a defire to fee 
him, as he was then lick. Cyrus, before his departure, 
tranfmitted to Lyfanderlarge films of money to maintain 
his fleet, and alfured him, that, rather than let him want 
money, he would fiipply him out of his own pocket. He 
empowered him, at the fame time, to levy the revenues of 
the towns under his government, and promifed to bring a 
numerous naval reinforcement. 
Lyfander was too wife not to avail himfelf fully of thefe 
favourable difpofitions of Cyrus, and, full of the moil 
fanguine expectations, fet fail towards the Hellefpont, in 
the year 403 B. C. and laid liege to Lampfacus, which he 
took by aflault, and abandoned it to pillage. The Athe¬ 
nians, on hearing this, advanced with a -fleet of 180 fail, 
halting at a place called yEgofpotamos, oppolite to Lampfa¬ 
cus, where they made difpofitions for attacking the ene¬ 
my next day. On this occafion, Lyfander made ufe of 
ftratagem, pretending to decline the engagement; and con¬ 
tenting himfelf with drawing up his galleys in battle ar¬ 
ray, in fuch a fituation that they could not be attacked, 
except at a difadvantage. The Athenians, perfuaded that 
through fear he ferioufly avoided coming to afition, care- 
lefsly landed from their (hips in the evening, and, embark¬ 
ing again in the morning, offered battle afrefli. In tills 
manner they palfed four days. On the fifth the Atheni¬ 
ans were defeated with great flaughter, for the particulars 
of which fee /Egospotamos. In fine, Lyfander took 
pofleflion of the greateft part of the fleet, made 3000 pri. 
loners, took three of their commanders, and plundered 
their camp. This terrible defeat reduced the Athenians 
to the moft miferable fituation they had ever experienced, 
and determined the fate of the Peloponnefian war, after 
twenty-feven years continuance. 
This had been a very bloody war from the beginning, 
and it continued fo to the end. It was their luperiority at 
fea that enabled the Athenians to fupport it for fo long a 
time, and conftantly to recover from their lodes at land ; 
and the Lacedemonians prevailed at laft, merely by means 
of the immenfe fums furnilhed them by the Perfian mo¬ 
narch. The 3000 prifoners taken in the laft battle, were, 
by the Peloponnefian council, condemned to death, and 
were accordingly all murdered in cold blood. Lyfander 
vifited the maritime towns, and changed their former go¬ 
vernment, from democracy to ariftocracy, bellowing the 
whole power in them on creatures of his own. Wherever 
he found any Athenians, he commanded them, under paid 
of death, to retire to Athens; his plan being to reduce 
that city by famine. 
We may eaiily conceive the terror and confternation oc„ 
6 S cafioned 
