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

230 THE FALL OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE
when the fleet of Mindarus slipped by Thrasyllus to the Hellespont.
Keeping the Athenian navy at Samos against such a move had been
crucial not only for Athens' own interests but also for Tissaphernes'
plan. He could engage in insolent deceptions and break his promises
at will as long as the Athenians barred the way north. Their failure
to do so changed everything. Tissaphernes hurried to complain of the
assistance to Antandrus, make a defense against the charges lodged
against him, and try to salvage something from the disaster that threatened
his interests. 68
At dawn on a day early in November, Dorieus sailed toward the
mouth of the Hellespont with his fourteen ships from Rhodes. 69 He
probably had hoped to slip by the Athenian lookouts under cover of
darkness, as he may well have done to get by Alcibiades at Samos,
but his timing was off, and he was seen sailing past Sigeum (see Map
8) at daybreak. The watchman signaled the news of his arrival to the
Athenian generals at Sestos who swiftly sent a squadron of twenty
triremes to cut him off. When Dorieus saw the Athenian ships bearing
down on him, he fled to the shore and pulled his ships up on the beach
near Rhoeteum. The Athenians pursued but were not prepared to
prolong what amounted to a battle on land. They withdrew to Madytus,
where they joined the rest of their fleet, which by this time was
at sea and ready to fight. From there the whole fleet was in a better
position than from Sestos to prevent the squadron of Dorieus from
joining the main Peloponnesian fleet at Abydos. When Dorieus saw
the Athenian squadron withdraw, he resumed his course up the Hellespont
toward Abydos, but soon he was attacked again, this time by
the entire Athenian force of seventy-four ships. 70 Overwhelmingly
outnumbered, he had no choice but to put in to land at the first likely
place, which was Dardanus. He pulled his ships onto the beach, dis-
688.109.
69 Xen. 1.1. z; Oiod. 1 3·45 .2. Busolt's reconstruction of the battle of Abydos (GG
Ill:z, 1522-152 3) is based entirely on the account of Xenophon (1. 1. 2-7); he regards
the account of Diodorus as merely a transcription of that of Ephorus and considers it
worthless (GG III:z, IpJ, n. 1). We now have reason to believe that Diodorus may
also have had the Helknica Oxyrhynchia as a source-and a good one-for this period.
Moreover, we cannot be sure that he had no other good sources. His account is fuller
and, to my mind, more satisfactory than Xenophon's, although the latter seems to have
some accurate information omitted by Diodorus. Grote (VIII, 1 1 7), without the benefi£
of valuable informa£ion available to us, nonetheless constructed his account from a
combination of the two amhors, rightly, I think.
70
Diod. IJ·45·Z-J. Diodorus' numbers here are entirely plausible. After Cynossema
the Athenians had sixty-one ships; they captured eighr more in the Propontis, and
Thymochares may well have brought them· five more.