ters born to him, Thebe and Egina; and as these are sisters, I
think that the god gave us for answer that we should ask the men of
Egina to become our helpers." Then as there seemed to be no opinion
expressed which was better than this, they sent forthwith and asked
the men of Egina to help them, calling upon them in accordance with the
oracle; and they, when these made request, said that they sent with them
the sons of Aiacos to help them.

81. After that the Thebans, having made an attempt with the alliance
of the sons of Aiacos and having been roughly handled by the Athenians,
sent again and gave them back the sons of Aiacos and asked them for men.
So the Eginetans, exalted by great prosperity and calling to mind an
ancient grudge against the Athenians, then on the request of the Thebans
commenced a war against the Athenians without notice: for while the
Athenians were intent on the Boeotians, they sailed against them to
Attica with ships of war, and they devastated Phaleron and also many
demes in the remainder of the coast region, and so doing they deeply
stirred the resentment of the Athenians. 69

82. Now the grudge which was due beforehand from the Eginetans to the
Athenians came about from a beginning which was as follows:--The land
of the Epidaurians yielded to its inhabitants no fruit; and accordingly
with reference to this calamity the Epidaurians went to inquire at
Delphi, and the Pythian prophetess bade them set up images of Damia and
Auxesia, and said that when they had set up these, they would meet with
better fortune. The Epidaurians then asked further whether they should
make images of bronze or of stone; and the prophetess bade them not use
either of these, but make them of the wood of a cultivated olive-tree.
The Epidaurians therefore asked the Athenians to allow them to cut for
themselves an olive-tree, since they thought that their olives were the
most sacred; nay some say that at that time there were no olives in any
part of the earth except at Athens. The Athenians said that they would
allow them on condition that they should every year bring due offerings
to Athene Polias 70 and to Erechtheus. The Epidaurians, then, having
agreed to these terms, obtained that which they asked, and they made
images out of these olive-trees and set them up: and their land bore
fruit and they continued to fulfil towards the Athenians that which they
had agreed to do.

83. Now during this time and also before this