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

276 -THE FALL OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE
winter of 409/8, the two contingents worked together to fortify Lampsacus
and turn it into a secure center for operations.
When all was ready, the Athenians attacked Abydos. Success would
deprive the Spartans of their only base on the Hellespont and give
Athens full control of that waterway. The battle seems to have unfolded
as follows: Thrasyllus made the first assault, having been sent
ahead by sea with thirty ships. Phamabazus discovered what was
happening and came to the rescue of A by dos with a large force of both
infantry and cavalry. He arrived after Thrasyllus' force had landed
and launched an attack against bim- Alcibiades appears to have traveled
over land at the head of the Athenian cavalry, accompanied by 1 20
hop lites under the command of an officer named Menander. The Athenians
seem to have timed his arrival to catch Pharnabazus unaware,
while the satrap was engaged with Thrasyllus' force. He defeated the
Persian and drove his army to flight, pursuing the enemy until the fall
of darkness. The Athenians set up a trophy and exploited the victory
by raiding the territory of Pharnabazus and collecting a considerable
quantity of booty. Perhaps the plan had been to take the city by a
double assault from land and sea before the Persian force could arrive,
and Pharnabazus' quick appearance saved the city, in spite of his defeat;
our sources do not say. However that may be, the Athenians did not
achieve the main purpose of the expedition: Abydos remained in Spartan
hands. One happy outcome of the affair, however, was that the
rift in the Athenian army was healed: "The two factions were united
and returned to camp together with mutual good will and joy. " 9
In the spring of 408, the Athenians, united and confident, set out
to drive the enemy from the Bosporus and gain free passage to the
Black Sea. Byzantium, on the European shore, had revolted from the
Athenians in the summer of 41 1. w Chalcedon, on the opposite shore,
had defected at some unspecified time before the Athenian assault.
The Spartans had occupied it and had posted a garrison to defend it
under the harmost, or governor, Hippocrates. 11 From his base nearby
at Chrysopolis, Theramenes began laying waste to Chalcedonian ter-
11
No single source tells the full story of the battle. The account offered here is
constructed from the versions of Xenophon (I.l.I5-17), Plutarch (Ale. 29.2-J), and
Diodorus (IJ.64.4), who regularly confuses Thrasybulus with Thrasyllus. All three
seem to have accurate information about the battle, but none of them has all of the
facts or even all of those available to us. The final quotation is from Plut. Ale. 29.2.
10
8.8o.2-J.
11
Xen. I.J-5; Plut. Ale. 29.6.