at
Proconnesus. On the following day Alcibiades summoned an assembly,
and addressing the men in terms of encouragement, warned them that a
threefold service was expected of them; that they must be ready for a
sea fight, a land fight, and a wall fight all at once, "for look you,"
said he, "we have no money, but the enemy has unlimited supplies from
the king."

Now, on the previous day, as soon as they were come to moorings, he had
collected all the sea-going craft of the island, big and little alike,
under his own control, that no one might report the number of his
squadron to the enemy, and he had further caused a proclamation to be
made, that any one caught sailing across to the opposite coast would be
punished with death. When the meeting was over, he got his ships ready
for action, and stood out to sea towards Cyzicus in torrents of rain.
Off Cyzicus the sky cleared, and the sun shone out and revealed to him
the spectacle of Mindarus's vessels, sixty in number, exercising at some
distance from the harbour, and, in fact, intercepted by himself. The
Peloponnesians, perceiving at a glance the greatly increased number of
the Athenian galleys, and noting their proximity to the port, made haste
to reach the land, where they brought their vessels to anchor in a
body, and prepared to engage the enemy as he sailed to the attack. But
Alcibiades, sailing round with twenty of his vessels, came to land and
disembarked. Seeing this, Mindarus also landed, and in the engagement
which ensued he fell fighting, whilst those who were with him took to
flight. As for the enemy's ships, the Athenians succeeded in capturing
the whole of them (with the exception of the Syracusan vessels,
which were burnt by their crews), and made off with their prizes to
Proconnesus. From thence on the following day they sailed to attack
Cyzicus. The men of that place, seeing that the Peloponnesians and
Pharnabazus had evacuated the town, admitted the Athenians. Here
Alcibiades remained twenty days, obtaining large sums of money from
the Cyzicenes, but otherwise inflicting no sort of mischief on the
community. He then sailed back to Proconnesus, and from there to
Perinthus and Selybria. The inhabitants of the former place welcomed his
troops into their city, but the Selybrians preferred to give money,
and so escape the admission of the troops. Continuing the voyage the
squadron reached Chrysopolis in Chalcedonia, (5) where they built a
fort, and establishe