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

THE RETURN OF ALCIBIADES 285
needed, it was provided by Cyrus, the king's son, who accompanied
the Spartans and had come "to rule all the people on the coast and to
fight alongside the Spartans. "" Athenian hopes of an accommodation
were dead. In retrospect, we know that the war had reached a decisive
turning point. From here on the Persians would make a serious and
continuing effort to support the Spartans and defeat the Athenians.
The bad news, however, will not have reached Athens for some
time. It had surely not reached the generals in the straits by the time
they sailed out of the Hellespont, ultimately on their way to Athens
in the spring of 407. 38 The men under Alcibiades and Theramenes
had not seen their homes since 4 I I, and Thrasyllus' crews had left
Athens in the summer of 409. The conquest of Byzantium had freed
the generals and their men to leave the straits, for they were now safely
under Athenian control, except for Abydos, which was no threat without
a Spartan fleet. All were eager to return, but for none was the
need greater or the moment more opportune than for Alcibiades. He
had last seen Athens in the summer of 4 I 3. His adventures had placed
him in a situation in which neither Sparta and the cities of its alliance
nor the Persian Empire were safe for him. His future hopes must rest
on a return to Athens and the resumption of a public career in war
and politics.
Even after his arrival in the Athenian camp on Samos in 4 I I, however,
his situation was precarious. He had been recalled by the efforts
of a faction and especially by the efforts of one man, Thrasybulus,
amidst widespread suspicion and annoyance. His election to the generalship
was irregular, since it came from the fleet at Samos, not in a
regular election in Athens. Although his status was confirmed and he
and other exiles were permitted to return, that action was taken by
the short-lived government of the Five Thousand and might not be
considered entirely valid by the restored democracy. The city still
contained many of his enemies of various political opinions: democrats
who distrusted his commitment to the Athenian democracy and who
37
Xen. 1.4.1-3-
JaXenophon (1+5-7) tells us that Cyrus asked Pharnabazus to turn the Athenian
ambassadors over to him, or at least to detain them, so that the Athenians would not
know what was going on. He also says that Phamabazus held them for three years.
Amit (LAC XLII [19731, 452, n. 16) is right to find so long a period of captivity
implausible. He suggests an emendation of the text to replace "three years" with "three
months." Even if that is accepted, the Athenians will not have heard of the arrival of
Cyrus and its significance until mid-summer of 407 at the earliest.