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

244 - THE FALL OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE
casualties. They were on the point of being surrounded and destroyed
when Theramenes arrived in time at the head of his own troops and
those of Chaereas_ Thrasybulus' exhausted men were revived by the
sight of reinforcements, and a long and bitter battle ensued. Finally,
Pharnabazus' mercenaries turned to flight and broke the line, and the
Spartans were driven from the field as well.
With Thrasybulus' men safe, Theramenes was free to go to the aid
of Alcibiades, still fighting for the ships at the shore. Mindarus now
found himself caught between the troops of Alcibiades and Theramenes'
corps, approaching from another direction_ With the boldness,
courage, and leadership he had shown in the past, the Spartan commander
calmy divided his army in half, sending one part to meet the
approaching forces of Theramenes, while he formed a line against
Alcibiades_ He fought bravely and well but finally died fighting among
the ships. His death deprived his men of all poise and courage, and
both Peloponnesians and their allies panicked and fled. Only the arrival
of Pharnabazus with his cavalry cut short the Athenian pursuit.
The Athenians went back to their ships and withdrew to Proconnesus
for a night of rest and rejoicing while the Peloponnesians from
within the city of Cyzicus and the survivors of the battle fled to safety
at a camp of Pharnabazus'. '" The next day the Athenians could return
at leisure to find that the enemy had abandoned Cyzicus, so its citizens
had no choice but to return to their former allegiance. The Athenians
took many prisoners, a vast collection of booty, and all of the enemy's
ships except those from Syracuse, whose crews had burned them before
they could fall into Athenian hands."' The Athenians set up two
trophies, one to commemorate the naval victory at the island of Artaki
and the other where the rout began on land."'
The Athenians wasted no time in making good use of their great
victory. Alcibiades stayed at Cyzicus for twenty days collecting a large
supply of money. From there he sailed to the north shore of the
Propontis in the direction of the Bosporus. At Perinthus he and his
troops were admitted into the city; at Selymbria they obtained more
money. Then they went to Chrysopolis, on the Asiatic side of
the Bosporus, opposite Byzantium. There, they established a fort
112 Xenophon provides the detail of the withdrawal to Proconnesus (1. 1. zo). Plutarch
(Ale. 28.6) says the Peloponnesians in Cyzicus were abandoned and destroyed, but
Diodorus' version is much to be preferred.
Ill The action of the Syracusans is reported in Xen. I.I.I8.
114 1 take Artaki to be the island called Polydocus by Diodorus (IJ-51.7).