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

312 THE FALL OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE
The same reasons that made delay attractive to Lysander compelled
Alcibiades to seek quick action. Any Athenian admiral would have
been pressed by the objective circumstances of a shortage of money
and the threat of desertion to force the pace of events, but Alcibiades
had additional reasons of his own. Plutarch is persuasive in describing
the Athenians' opinion- of him: "It seems that if any one was ever
destroyed by his own reputation it was Alcibiades. For he was thought
to be so full of daring and intelligence, from which his successes derived,
that they suspected him of not trying when he failed and would
not believe there was anything he could not do. If he tried, nothing
could escape him.""' He had been given extraordinary power, had
been allowed to name his associates, and had been given a large force
tailored to his desires, all because the Athenians expected him to perform
wonders. Yet his attempt at Andros had failed, and when he got
to lonia, Lysander refused to fight. Alcibiades had little choice but to
seek victories elsewhere. He probably reached Notium some time in
November and stayed for a montlJ, or even more, but certainly no
later than February of 406 he left his fleet in the hands of a subordinate
and went in search of action. 82
The ancient writers do not agree on where he went, Cyme, Clazomenae,
and Phocaea being the more plausible destinations mentioned
by one or more of them." Although he might have stopped at all of
them, the main target must have been Phocaea, where Thrasybulus
had already arrived and was laying siege to the city." That Thrasybulus
had timed his arrival at Phocaea to coincide with Alcibiades'
appearance at Ephesus strongly suggests that the plan had been con-
81
Aic. 35.2.
82
The date of the battle of Notium cannot be fixed with precision. The evidence
would indicate a date as early as December and as late as April (see Hatzfeld, Alcibiade,
312, n. Ii Lotze, Lysontkr, Il)-20, 73; Bommelaer, Lysandre, ]o-72). My own view is
that the pressures working on Alcibiades would have led him to move earlier rather
than later, so I would place the battle in late December or early January. Naval battles
during the inclement weather of the winter months were most unusual, but the pressures
working on the Athenians, and especially Alcibiades, led them to force the pace
and ris~ a fight even outside the normal campaigning season.
~lXenophon (1.5. r 1) and Plutarch (Lys. 5.1) name Phocaea. Diodorus (13.7I- 1) names
Clazomenae but also speaks of an attack by Alcibiades on Cyme (13-74-3-5)- In his
account of the life of Alcibiades (35.8), Plutarch says he went to Caria to gather money,
but that is surely a reference to his earlier depredations, before his arrival at Notium.
64 Thrasybulus at Phocaea: Xen. 1.5.11; Hatzfeld, Alcibiade, 309, n. 6. Busolt (GG
Ill:2, 1574-1575) believes Alcibiades went to Clawmenae and Cyme as well, but sees
Phocaea as the main target.