es thought that it would win them great glory if they could follow
up their recent victory in the sea-fight by the capture of the whole
Athenian armada, without letting it escape either by sea or by land.
They began at once to close up the Great Harbour by means of boats,
merchant vessels, and galleys moored broadside across its mouth, which
is nearly a mile wide, and made all their other arrangements for the
event of the Athenians again venturing to fight at sea. There was, in
fact, nothing little either in their plans or their ideas.

The Athenians, seeing them closing up the harbour and informed of their
further designs, called a council of war. The generals and colonels
assembled and discussed the difficulties of the situation; the point
which pressed most being that they no longer had provisions for
immediate use (having sent on to Catana to tell them not to send any, in
the belief that they were going away), and that they would not have any
in future unless they could command the sea. They therefore determined
to evacuate their upper lines, to enclose with a cross wall and garrison
a small space close to the ships, only just sufficient to hold their
stores and sick, and manning all the ships, seaworthy or not, with every
man that could be spared from the rest of their land forces, to fight it
out at sea, and, if victorious, to go to Catana, if not, to burn their
vessels, form in close order, and retreat by land for the nearest
friendly place they could reach, Hellenic or barbarian. This was no
sooner settled than carried into effect; they descended gradually from
the upper lines and manned all their vessels, compelling all to go on
board who were of age to be in any way of use. They thus succeeded in
manning about one hundred and ten ships in all, on board of which they
embarked a number of archers and darters taken from the Acarnanians and
from the other foreigners, making all other provisions allowed by the
nature of their plan and by the necessities which imposed it. All was
now nearly ready, and Nicias, seeing the soldiery disheartened by their
unprecedented and decided defeat at sea, and by reason of the scarcity
of provisions eager to fight it out as soon as possible, called them all
together, and first addressed them, speaking as follows:

"Soldiers of the Athenians and of the allies, we have all an equal
interest in the coming struggle, in which life and country are at stake
for us quite as much as they ca