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

236 - THE FALL OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE
which he was not,"' and bearing gifts to a guest-friend, he sailed to
Tissaphernes in a single ship . .,
Alcibiades had misjudged the situation badly. The satrap was desperate
and could not even contemplate cooperation with the Athenians.
His own plan had failed; the Spartans were out of his control and
working with his rival, but the Athenians were once again a menace
to the Great King's lands, as their recent victories proved. The Spartans
blamed Tissaphernes for their misfortunes, and their complaints certainly
will have reached the Great King's ears. He had permitted the
satrap the use of the royal fleet, but Tissaphernes had merely kept it
at Aspendus, at considerable expense, and had made no use of it before
sending it back. The result of all this was not to wear down the Greeks
and allow the Persians to regain their lost lands but to bring the Athenians
into the Hellespont where they threatened to finish off the Spartan
naval force. We need not doubt that Tissaphernes "was afraid that
he would be blamed by the King.''" He may even have been telling
the truth when he said that the Great King had ordered him to make
war on the Athenians." He therefore seized Alcibiades and sent him
off to Sardis for safekeeping. It seemed to him a wonderful and fortuitous
opportunity to disprove the charges of the Spartans and to
restore himself into the good graces of the Great King. Within a month,
however, Alcibiades, along with another Athenian prisoner, was able
to get away and make his escape at night on horseback to Clazomenae
and from there sail to safety at Lesbos. 94 His ever-fertile imagination
conceived still another trick: To make more trouble for the satrap, he
spread the story that Tissaphernes had connived at his escape. Still,
an important truth had been revealed: Alcibiades had no influence with
Tissaphernes. Henceforth his authority must depend on his achievements
in battle/and on his ability to make the most of them.
All through the winter, ever since his defeat at Abydos, Mindarus
had been gathering ships from wherever he could. 95 By the beginning
!10Diodorus (1 3 ·49· 1) tells us that Thrasybulus was "the leader of the entice fleet."
91
Xen. 1. 1.9; Plut. Ale. 4·
92
Plut. Ale. 27·5·
93
Xen. 1.1.9; Plut. Ale. 27·5·
94 Xen. I.I.10; Plut. Ale. z8.1.
9
" The following account of the battle of Cyzicus and its preliminaries draws evidence
from Diodorus (13·49·2-51), Xenophon (1.1. 1 I-IS), and Plutarch (Ale. z8). Until the
middle of this century, scholars generally used Xenophon's account, rejecting the others
or using them to flesh out his version. The work of Hatzfeld (Alcibiade, z6cr-273), R.
J. Linman (TAPA XCIX [1968], 165-•7•), and Bloedow (Aicibiades, 46-55) has shown