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

THE FALL OF ATHENS 395
destruction of their trade, civil strife, and even removal from their
native soil. They emerged from the war permanently diminished. If
these complaints were not enough, recent events had entirely removed
the possibility of prudence in place of revenge. Atrocities had begun
early in the war and had became more horrible as it proceeded. Although
both sides were guilty, the Athenian massacres and enslavements
of the populations of cities like Scione and Melos were well
known, and it is not uncommon for victors to excuse or forget their
own excesses even as they are infuriated by those they have suffered.
Only lately, moreover, the Athenians had taken some especially unpleasant
actions. They had voted to cut off the right hand of every
captive, apparently on the motion of the general Philocles. 64 That cruel
proposal no doubt was made in anger at the deserters from the Athenian
fleet who were swelling the ranks of the enemy. In the same mood,
Philocles, after capruring a Corinthian and an Andrian trireme, went
beyond his own cruel law and ordered the full crews of both ships
thrown overboard. 65 With such actions fresh in their minds, the Spartans
and their allies voted to kill all of their Athenian prisoners, Philocles
among them. Adeimantus, another of the generals captured alive,
was the only Athenian spared. Xenophon tells us that this was because
Adeimantus alone had opposed Philocles' proposal in the assembly,
but he also informs us that Adeimantus was accused of having betrayed
the Athenian fleet." The rest of the Athenians, perhaps some J,soo,
were killed. 67
We are not told how the news of the victory was received at Sparta,
although it is easy to imagine with what joy its people received word
that meant the long war would soon be brought to a thoroughly successful
conclusion. Xenophon, however, who was almost certainly an
eyewitness, reports how the Athenians received the news of their
disaster:
The Para/us arrived at Athens at night and announced the disaster, and a
wailing came from the Piraeus, through the long walls, to the city, one man
64 Xen. 2.1. 32; Plut. Lys. IJ. 1-2.
65 Xen. l.I.JI.
66 Xen. 2.I.J2-
67Since Diodorus says nothing of any executions except for that ofPhilocles, scholars
who prefer his account to that of Xenophon have doubted that they occurred; see
Ehrhart, Phoenix XXIV (1970), n8; and E. Will, Le monde grec et /'orient, vol. 1, Le V'
siec/e (sw-403) (Paris, 1972), 389. Strauss (A}P ClV [r98J], 1 Jl-IJ4), however, makes
a convincing argument in defense of Xenophon on this point.