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

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- THE FALL OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE
ters in the Aegean. Because it lay well to the south of the Athenian
headquarters on Samos, movement between the Spartan base at Miletus
and Chios and the straits could always be cut off, if the Athenians
were vigilant. Ephesus, being north of Samos, was much better suited
to Sparta's strategic needs. From the diplomatic point of view, too,
Ephesus had important advantages, being closer than Miletus to the
Persian satrap's capital at Sardis. Ephesus had for many years been
under strong Persian influence and was a favorite resort for high Persian
officials, so communication and cooperation between the allies would
be easier. 40 Politically, too, the new base had advantages. Plutarch tells
us that Lysander found the city "both friendly to him and zealous in
the Spartan cause. " 41 Ephesus appears to have been dominated by its
aristocracy, having avoided the imposition of a democracy under Athenian
rule. That would help explain why it was friendly to Sparta,
the bulwark of oligarchic and aristocratic government." For Lysander,
there were political advantages in being the man who established the
Spartan base at Ephesus, where it had not been before. He would
benefit from the gratitude that setting up the base might produce, from
the opportunity to select those citizens with whom he would work,
and from the chance to establish conditions to his liking."
When Lysander arrived, Ephesus was not in good economic condition,
but his activities soon changed that. He turned it into a major
commercial center and an important naval shipyard. His efforts turned
Ephesus into "a port comparable to the Piraeus for providing equipment
and services" and one securely connected with a hinterland capable
of supplying the needs of the city and oflarge numbers of soldiers
and sailors staying there. 44 It gave Lysander what the Spartans needed,
although previous navarchs seem not to have understood the need: a
place to gather and maintain large numbers of ships and men in safety
and sufficiency until they chose to fight at a time and place advantageous
to them. The Athenians' delay in launching their campaign of
407 gave Lysander something else he badly needed: time to train his
40 Piut. Lys. J.l; Lotze, Lysarukr, 15.
41
Piut. Lys. 3.2. It is hard to know whether we are meant to think that the Ephesians
had a special inclination toward Lysander as an individual rather than as a Spartan
commander. If they did, their goodwill was probably based more on his decision to
make their city his base than for any prior knowledge of his abilities.
42
Lotze, Lysaruler, 15.
4 JBommelaer, Lysandre, 88.
~Ibid., 8 5 .