themselves against her.
The first blow to her empire was struck by the wealthy and populous
island of Chios. This again was the work of Alcibiades, the implacable
enemy of his native land, at whose advice a Lacedaemonian fleet was
sent to the assistance of the Chians. Their example was followed by
all the other Athenian allies in Asia, with the exception of Samos, in
which the democratical party gained the upper hand. In the midst of
this general defection the Athenians did not give way to despair.
Pericles had set apart a reserve of 1000 talents to meet the
contingency of an actual invasion. This still remained untouched, and
now by an unanimous vote the penalty of death, which forbad its
appropriation to any other purpose, was abolished, and the fund applied
in fitting out a fleet against Chios. Samos became the head-quarters
of the fleet, and the base of their operations during the remainder of
the war.

After a time the tide of success began to turn in favour of the
Athenians. They recovered Lesbos and Clazomenae, defeated the Chians,
and laid waste their territory. They also gained a victory over the
Peloponnesians at Miletus; while the Peloponnesian fleet had lost the
assistance of Tissaphernes, the Persian satrap, through the intrigues
of Alcibiades. In the course of a few months Alcibiades had completely
forfeited the confidence of the Lacedaemonians. The Spartan king Agis,
whose wife he had seduced, was his personal enemy; and after the defeat
of the Peloponnesians at Miletus, Agis denounced him as a traitor, and
persuaded the new Ephors to send out instructions to put him to death.
Of this, however, he was informed time enough to make his escape to
Tissaphernes at Magnesia. Here he ingratiated himself into the
confidence of the satrap, and persuaded him that it was not for the
interest of Persia that either of the Grecian parties should be
successful, but rather that they should wear each other out in their
mutual struggles, when Persia would in the end succeed in expelling
both. This advice was adopted by the satrap; and in order to carry it
into execution, steps were taken to secure the inactivity of the
Peloponnesian armament, which, if vigorously employed, was powerful
enough to put a speedy end to the war. In order to secure his return
to Athens, Alcibiades now endeavoured to persuade Tissaphernes that it
was more for the Persian interest to conclude a league with Athens than
with Sparta; but