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

THE FALL OF ATHENS 403
months with Lysander. 102 When he returned toward the beginning of
March, he explained his long absence by saying that Lysander had
kept him against his will and had told him only what Agis had: that
he himself had no authority to discuss peace terms; if Theramenes
wanted the answers to his questions, he must go to Sparta and ask the
ephors. 101 If Lysander wanted the Athenians to surrender as soon as
possible, he could only lose by detaining Theramenes, for the Athenians
were less likely to accept Spartan terms while their ambassador
was still negotiating better ones than if he had returned immediately
and without hope. Neither Xenophon nor Lysias believed Theramenes'
story, nor should we. Both the ancient writers thought that Theramenes
had stayed away so long of his own free will so that the Athenians
would grow so hungry that they would accept whatever terms
the Spartans might offer. 104 That explanation has been widely accepted.
105 Moreover, it often has been accepted with the understanding
that Theramenes employed part of his time plotting with Lysander to
install an oligarchic regime to the liking of them both. 10 ' Such an
explanation, however, presents very real problems. The first is that
the delay was more likely to put off surrender than to hasten it. The
quickest way for Theramenes to have brought Athens to terms, had
that been his only purpose, would have been to come back within a
couple of weeks and report that the Spartans had no wish to destroy
Athens or its people but were adamant about peace terms.
A second difficulty is presented by the fact that when Theramenes
returned from Lysander after an extraordinarily long and painful delay
only to announce what Xenophon and Lysias, even more, represent
as a totally unsuccessful mission, the Athenians at once chose him
again as ambassador with full powers and sent him to Sparta at the
head of a mission often men to continue the negotiations. 107 To believe
all of that strains credulity beyond reasonable limits. At the very least,
we must reject Lysias' assertions that Theramenes made specific promises
impossible to carry out, for had he done so and had returned
102 Xen. 2.2.16. Lysias (IJ.ll) says that he went to Sparta and stayed there "a long
time." The "Theramenes Papyrus" (1.41) shows that he is wrong and that Lysander
was on Samos.
•mxen. 2.2.17.
104 Xen. 2.2.16; Lys. IJ.II.
105 For references, see Kremz, Thirty, 36, n. 21.
106
See, e.g., Busolt, GG III:z, I6JI.
107 Xen. 2.2.