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

74 THE FALL OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE
well as the Spartans. We may guess that when he encouraged the
Spartans to support the rebellion in Chi os, promising to pay their men
1 drachma a day for the purpose, he expected a quick campaign and
an easy victory. Instead, the Athenians had quickly recovered the
initiative, brought a significant fleet into play, and threatened to snuff
out the rebellion. The arrival of a large Peloponnesian fleet and Phrynichus'
caution had prevented that outcome, but now he faced the
prospect of supporting, at least in part from his own funds, a much
larger force than he had expected and, for a period whose end he could
not foresee. He did not need Alcibiades to advise him to reduce the
promised rate of pay, although he gladly received it. The adherence
of Alcibiades offered him a unique individual who knew both Athens
and Sparta well, had friends in both camps, and was useful as a source
of information and an effective communicator. It was not Alcibiades'
plan that he needed.'' "The real use of the Athenian exile, was to assist
the satrap in carrying [his own plan] into execution; and to provide
him with those plausible pretences and justifications, which he was to
issue as a substitute for effective supplies of men and money."'" If it
pleased Alcibiades to make much of his intimacy with the sa trap, to
make it obvious that he was Tissaphernes' trusted adviser and confidant,
and even to act as the Persian's spokesman on occasion, Tissaphernes
did not mind as long as the advice agreed with his own
judgment and Alcibiades continued to be useful.
Public display of his intimacy and influence with Tissaphernes
pleased Alcibiades greatly; his own plans depended on others, particularly
the Atlienians, believing that he had the power of influencing,
perhaps even controlling the satrap's policy. His safety required that
the Spartans should not triumph, for the deadly vengeance of Agis
and hostility of the Spartans and Peloponnesians were unlikely to wane
with time." To be sure, he was still subject to the death penalty at
Athens, but he placed greater hope in die milder and more forgiving
nature of the Athenian democracy. Thucydides reveals Alcibiades'
purposes in advising Tissaphernes:
Alcibiades gave Tissaphernes and the King the advice he did while under
their protection, on the one hand, because he thought it was the best advice
for them; at the same time, he was working diligently for his own return to
19
As Hatzfeld (Alcibiade, 228) suggests.
~"Grote, VIII, 4·
21 Plut. Ale. 25.2.