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

THE TRIAL OF THE GENERALS 35 5
The last phase of the battle found the Athenian fleet stretched over
a large area of the sea. The original line of battle had been long, and
the opening maneuvers in which the ships on the wings had made
flanking movements had stretched it further. Later, the right wing
must have advanced the two miles to the west to Cape Mal ea on Lesbos
to close off escape to the north. Afterward, some of the Athenian ships
will have gone south in pursuit of the routed enemy. The ships on the
Athenian left also will have pursued the defeated enemy ships to the
south when they turned to flee. On both wings the pursuit was fierce
and extended, for it was important to destroy as much of the enemy
fleet as possible. 2 Thirteen of the twenty-five lost Athenian ships had
disappeared beneath the waves, but the wrecks of twelve ships,' with
well over a thousand men clinging to them, and the bodies of many
dead Athenian sailors bobbed on the choppy sea over a space of at
least four square miles. 4 Breaking off their pursuit, the scattered Athenian
ships made no effort to rescue the survivors or pick up the bodies
but hurried back to the Arginusae Islands to regroup and confer about
their next step. 5
In his passionate defense of the Athenian people for their ultimate
condemnation of the generals, Grote denounced the latter for their
with an open mind, using each when it seems appropriate. Influenced by the discovery
of the Hellenica Oxyrhynchia and the unmistakable evidence that Diodorus often used
it, A. Andrewes (Phoenix XXVIII [1974], 112-122) has argued that he used it, in part,
for his account of the trial as well. He says, "we need not hesitate to prefer the Diodoran
version, at least down to that point towards the end of 101 where he begins to abbreviate
so heavily that we lose any flavour of his ultimate original" (120). His argument is
persuasive, and I think we should be ready to believe Diodorus when there seems good
reason to do so. At the same time, we need to be willing to accept Xenophon when
his version is better. My own practice resembles Cloche's, although my conclusions
are different.
2 Diodorus (I]. lOO. I) tells us that the Athenians pursued for a considerable distance:
Eel>' i.Ka:vOv.
1
Xen. 1.6.]5; 7.30; Busolt, GG lll::z, 1596, n. I.
4
Diod. 13.100.1. I calculate the area by assuming that pursuit to the south went as
far as the distance between the islands and Lesbos, two miles. It seems likely that this
is a low estimate. The number of survivors is likewise conservative. L. Herbst (Die
Schlacht beiden Arginusen [Hamburg, t855], 37, n. 51)places the number at I ,:zoo, Busolt
(GG Ill:2, 1596) at :z,opo. It is noteworthy that Diodorus consistently refers to corpses
only throughout the affair, whereas Xenophon speaks of the survivors.
5 Xenophon (1.6.33; 7.29) makes it dear that the Athenians returned to the islands
and held a conference there before making any attempt at rescue. Diodorus (1 3· 100. I-
3) tells of the conference before the return to Arginusae, but Xenophon is surely correct.
As Cloche points out (RH CXXX [1919]), it is entirely unclear how the scattered
Athenian ships could have met for a discussion anywhere but Arginusac.