them to despatch an armament round Peloponnesus, under
the persuasion that if this were done the Lacedaemonians would find it
impossible at once to guard their own or the allied territory in that
part of the world, and at the same time to convery an army of any size
to operate against Thebes. The proposals fell in with the present temper
of the Athenians, irritated with Lacedaemon on account of the exploit
of Sphodrias. Accordingly they eagerly manned a fleet of sixty vessels,
appointing Timotheus as admiral in command, and despatched it on a
cruise round Peloponnesus.

The Thebans, seeing that there had been no hostile invasion of their
territory for so long (neither during the campaign of Cleombrotus
nor now, (37) whilst Timotheus prosecuted his coasting voyage), felt
emboldened to carry out a campaign on their own account against the
provincial cities; (38) and one by one they again recovered them.

(37) Lit. "nor at the date of Timotherus's periplus." To the historian
writing of the events of this period several years later, the
coasting voyage of Timotheus is a single incident ({periepleuse}),
and as Grote ("H. G." x. 185, note 3) observes, the words may
"include not simply the time which Timotheus took in actually
circumnavigating Peloponnesos, but the year which he spent
afterwards in the Ionian sea, and the time which he occupied in
performing his exploits near Korkyra, Leukas, and the
neighbourhood generally." For the character and exploits of
Timotheus, son of Conon, see Isocr. "Or." xv. "On the Antidosis,"
SS. 101-139; Jebb, "Att. Or." ii. p. 140 foll.; Rehdantz, "Vit.
Iphicr. Chabr. Timoth. Atheniensium."

(38) Or, "the cities round about their territory," lit. "the perioecid
cities." For the import of the epithet, see V. iv. 46; Freeman,
op. cit. iv. 173, note 1, in reference to Grote, "H. G." x. 183,
note 4. For the battle of Tegyra see Grote, ib. 182; Plut.
"Pelop." 17; Diod. xv. 57 ("evidently this battle," Grote);
Callisthenes, fr. 3, ed. Did. Cf. Steph. Byz., {Tegura}.

Timotheus in his cruise reached Corcyra, and reduced it at a blow. That
done, he neither enslaved the inhabitants nor drove them into exile,
nor changed their laws. And of this conduct he reaped the benefit of
the increased cordiality (39) of all the cities of those parts. The
Lacedaemonians thereupon fitted out and despatched a counter fleet, with
Nicolochus in comm