The Fall of the Athenian Empire-(A New History of the Peloponnesian War) Donald Kagan - (1987)

I J2
TlciE FALL OF THE ATHENIAN FMPIRE
of government were even less alarming than before: the Athenians
could achieve their ends by "adopting a different form of democratic
government."' Such language was expedient in making the case to
what would surely be a resistant Athenian assembly, but pressure by
moderates within the movement may also have had some influence.
In any case, both proposals met strong resistance. Many spoke
against any alteration in the democracy. Alcibiades' political enemies
cried out against his return as an outrage against the laws, and the
noble clans responsible for the celebration of the mysteries condemned
the proposal on religious grounds. Peisander met the challenge masterfully.
He began with an advantage that few, if any, other members
of the movement possessed: he was still believed to be "a man of the
left," a democratic politican, perhaps even a demagogue.' Such a man
had a better chance of gaining a hearing for the unwelcome proposals
than a more conservative figure, but his rhetorical and parliamentary
skills were even more effective than his reputation. Thucydides' description
makes it clear that he rose to speak to a wild and tumultuous
assembly that interrupted him with contradictions and complaints.
His very effective technique was to call on all of his hecklers in turn
and ask them if they had any hope for the salvation of the city in the
present conditions in which Sparta had as many ships and more allied
cities than Athens and the Persians supplied it with money while
Athens had none. Had they any other hope than bringing back Alcibiades
and, with him, Persian aid? The answer was that there was
no other hope, and Peisander drove home the obvious conclusion: they
must recall Alcibiades, who was the only man who could bring them
Persian support, and they must change the constitution because Alcibiades
required it and because it was necessary to win the Great
King's trust. The oligarchs in the movement wanted constitutional
change for its own sake. The moderates wanted the return of Alcibiades,
and he required an alteration in the regime to guarantee a safe
return, so they were prepared to accept it. There is no independent
Jg_ 53· 1: J.LiJ Tiw aVrOv Tp07rov 8'fJJ.WKpaT01Jf.lkvov;. I have used the translation of C.
F. Smith. For a translation with the same sense and a useful explanatory note, see
Thucydide, La guerre du Piloponnese, ed. and trans. R. Weil and J. de Romilly, VIII
(Paris, 1972), 43·
"Aristophanes treats him as a demagogue of long standing in the Lysistrata (49o-491),
produced at the Lenaean festival in February 41 I, certainly some time after his speech
in the assembly. For the interpretation of Aristophanes and the date, see HCT V, 189.
See also A. H. Sornmerstein,JHS XCVII (1977), 112-126.