ry would capture stray pillagers from Piraeus or inflict
some damage on the main body of their opponents. Once they fell in with
a party belonging to the deme Aexone, (12) marching to their own farms
in search of provisions. These, in spite of many prayers for mercy
and the strong disapprobation of many of the knights, were ruthlessly
slaughtered by Lysimachus, the general of cavalry. The men of Piraeus
retaliated by putting to death a horseman, named Callistratus, of the
tribe Leontis, whom they captured in the country. Indeed their courage
ran so high at present that they even meditated an assault upon the city
walls. And here perhaps the reader will pardon the record of a somewhat
ingenious device on the part of the city engineer, who, aware of the
enemy's intention to advance his batteries along the racecourse, which
slopes from the Lyceum, had all the carts and waggons which were to be
found laden with blocks of stone, each one a cartload in itself, and
so sent them to deposit their freights "pele-mele" on the course in
question. The annoyance created by these separate blocks of stone
was enormous, and quite out of proportion to the simplicity of the
contrivance.

(12) On the coast south of Phalerum, celebrated for its fisheries. Cf.
"Athen." vii. 325.

But it was to Lacedaemon that men's eyes now turned. The Thirty
despatched one set of ambassadors from Eleusis, while another set
representing the government of the city, that is to say the men on the
list, was despatched to summon the Lacedaemonians to their aid, on the
plea that the people had revolted from Sparta. At Sparta, Lysander,
taking into account the possibility of speedily reducing the party in
Piraeus by blockading them by land and sea, and so cutting them off from
all supplies, supported the application, and negotiated the loan of
one hundred talents (13) to his clients, backed by the appointment of
himself as harmost on land, and of his brother, Libys, as admiral of
the fleet. And so proceeding to the scene of action at Eleusis, he got
together a large body of Peloponnesian hoplites, whilst his brother,
the admiral, kept watch and ward by sea to prevent the importation of
supplies into Piraeus by water. Thus the men in Piraeus were soon again
reduced to their former helplessness, while the ardour of the city folk
rose to a proportionally high pitch under the auspices of Lysander.

(13) 24,375 pounds, reckoning one tal. = 243 pounds 15 shilling