Today's Passage
This passage describes two significant episodes from 424 BCE during the Peloponnesian War.
Crawley Translation (1910)
Afterwards Brasidas let the allies go home, and himself went back to Corinth, to prepare for his expedition to Thrace, his original destination. The Athenians also returning home, the Megarians in the city most implicated in the Athenian negotiation, knowing that they had been detected, presently disappeared; while the rest conferred with the friends of the exiles, and restored the party at Pegae, after binding them under solemn oaths to take no vengeance for the past, and only to consult the real interests of the town. However, as soon as they were in office, they held a review of the heavy infantry, and separating the battalions, picked out about a hundred of their enemies, and of those who were thought to be most involved in the correspondence with the Athenians, brought them before the people, and compelling the vote to be given openly, had them condemned and executed, and established a close oligarchy in the town—a revolution which lasted a very long while, although effected by a very few partisans.
Eighth and Ninth Years of the War—Invasion of Boeotia—Fall of Amphipolis—Brilliant Successes of Brasidas
The same summer the Mitylenians were about to fortify Antandrus, as they had intended, when Demodocus and Aristides, the commanders of the Athenian squadron engaged in levying subsidies, heard on the Hellespont of what was being done to the place (Lamachus their colleague having sailed with ten ships into the Pontus) and conceived fears of its becoming a second Anaia-the place in which the Samian exiles had established themselves to annoy Samos, helping the Peloponnesians by sending pilots to their navy, and keeping the city in agitation and receiving all its outlaws. They accordingly got together a force from the allies and set sail, defeated in battle the troops that met them from Antandrus, and retook the place. Not long after, Lamachus, who had sailed into the Pontus, lost his ships at anchor in the river Calex, in the territory of Heraclea, rain having fallen in the interior and the flood coming suddenly down upon them; and himself and his troops passed by land through the Bithynian Thracians on the Asiatic side, and arrived at Chalcedon, the Megarian colony at the mouth of the Pontus.
Modern Translation
Following these events, Brasidas dismissed the allied forces to their homes and returned to Corinth to prepare for his campaign to Thrace, which had been his intended destination all along. The Athenians likewise withdrew homeward. In Megara, those citizens most deeply implicated in the negotiations with Athens, aware that their conspiracy had been exposed, immediately fled the city. The remaining citizens entered into discussions with the supporters of the exiles and agreed to restore the faction from Pegae to power, but only after extracting solemn oaths that they would seek no revenge for past grievances and would act solely in the city's best interests. Yet once these men assumed office, they conducted a military review of the heavy infantry forces. They divided the battalions and identified approximately one hundred individuals—both their political opponents and those suspected of involvement in the Athenian conspiracy. These men were brought before the assembly, where the authorities compelled citizens to cast their votes openly rather than by secret ballot. The accused were condemned and executed, and the new government established a strict oligarchy in the city. This constitutional revolution, though engineered by only a small group of conspirators, proved remarkably durable.
During this same summer, the Mitylenians were preparing to fortify Antandrus according to their plans when Demodocus and Aristides, commanders of the Athenian fleet engaged in collecting tribute payments, received word while in the Hellespont about these fortification efforts. Their colleague Lamachus had already sailed with ten ships into the Black Sea. The commanders feared that Antandrus might become another Anaia—the stronghold where Samian exiles had established themselves to harass Samos, providing pilots to the Peloponnesian fleet, fomenting unrest in their home city, and harboring its fugitives. They therefore assembled forces from their allies and sailed to Antandrus, where they defeated the defending troops in battle and recaptured the city. Shortly afterward, Lamachus, who had sailed into the Black Sea, lost his entire fleet while anchored in the Calex River near Heraclea. Heavy rains in the interior had caused sudden flooding that destroyed his ships. He and his men were forced to march overland through the territory of the Bithynian Thracians on the Asian shore, eventually reaching Chalcedon, the Megarian colony at the entrance to the Black Sea.
Historical Context
This passage describes two significant episodes from 424 BCE during the Peloponnesian War. First, it details the violent oligarchic revolution in Megara following the failed Athenian attempt to capture the city. The restored exiles, despite their oaths of reconciliation, immediately purged their political enemies through show trials and established a harsh oligarchy. Second, it narrates Athenian naval operations in the eastern Aegean, including the recapture of Antandrus from Mytilene and the disaster that befell Lamachus's fleet in the Black Sea. These events illustrate the war's impact on internal politics in allied cities and the challenges of maintaining naval supremacy across the vast theater of operations. The Megarian revolution demonstrates how the war destabilized democratic institutions, while the naval episodes show both Athenian vigilance in preventing enemy strongholds and the risks inherent in far-flung maritime operations.
Key Themes
Annotations & References
Megarian Oligarchy
The revolution at Megara exemplifies how external war often triggered internal political upheaval in Greek city-states. The oligarchs used the crisis to eliminate democratic opponents through judicial murder, establishing a regime that Thucydides notes lasted unusually long despite its narrow base of support.
Learn more →Antandrus
This strategic port city on the Asian coast opposite Lesbos was crucial for controlling sea routes. Its fortification by Mytilene threatened Athenian interests, as it could serve as a base for privateering and supporting revolts, similar to how Anaia functioned for Samian exiles.
Learn more →Athenian Tribute Collection
The squadron commanded by Demodocus and Aristides was engaged in collecting tribute (phoros) from allied cities. This system financed Athens' war effort but also demonstrated imperial control, making tribute collection a military as well as financial operation.
Learn more →Black Sea Navigation
Lamachus's disaster illustrates the dangers of ancient naval operations. The Black Sea region was vital for Athens' grain supply, but its rivers were prone to sudden flooding. The loss of ten ships was a significant blow to Athenian naval resources.
Learn more →Parallel Ancient Sources
Xenophon: Hellenica (Book 1, Chapter 1.35)
Xenophon describes similar oligarchic revolutions in other cities during the later stages of the Peloponnesian War, showing how this pattern of violent political change continued throughout the conflict.
Read passage →Aristotle: Constitution of the Megarians (Fragment (lost work))
Though Aristotle's work on Megara is lost, his Politics (1304b) discusses how external wars often precipitated internal revolutions, using examples that likely included this Megarian oligarchy.
Read passage →Diodorus Siculus: Library of History (Book 12.66)
Diodorus provides a parallel account of these events, though with less detail about the internal politics of Megara and more focus on the military operations of Brasidas and the Athenians.
Read passage →Discussion Questions
- How does the behavior of the restored Megarian exiles after taking power reflect on the reliability of political oaths in times of civil conflict?
- What does the use of open voting rather than secret ballot tell us about the nature of political intimidation in ancient Greek oligarchic coups?
- How did Athens' need to maintain control over strategic ports like Antandrus reveal both the strengths and vulnerabilities of their naval empire?
- Why might Thucydides emphasize that the Megarian oligarchy was established by 'very few partisans' yet lasted 'a very long while'?