forced, now in their turn sailed against Miletus
with a hundred and eight ships, wishing to fight a decisive battle, but,
as no one put out to meet them, sailed back to Samos.

CHAPTER XXVI

_Twenty-first Year of the War--Recall of Alcibiades to Samos--Revolt of
Euboea and Downfall of the Four Hundred--Battle of Cynossema_

In the same summer, immediately after this, the Peloponnesians
having refused to fight with their fleet united, through not thinking
themselves a match for the enemy, and being at a loss where to look for
money for such a number of ships, especially as Tissaphernes proved so
bad a paymaster, sent off Clearchus, son of Ramphias, with forty ships
to Pharnabazus, agreeably to the original instructions from Peloponnese;
Pharnabazus inviting them and being prepared to furnish pay, and
Byzantium besides sending offers to revolt to them. These Peloponnesian
ships accordingly put out into the open sea, in order to escape the
observation of the Athenians, and being overtaken by a storm, the
majority with Clearchus got into Delos, and afterwards returned to
Miletus, whence Clearchus proceeded by land to the Hellespont to take
the command: ten, however, of their number, under the Megarian Helixus,
made good their passage to the Hellespont, and effected the revolt of
Byzantium. After this, the commanders at Samos were informed of it, and
sent a squadron against them to guard the Hellespont; and an encounter
took place before Byzantium between eight vessels on either side.

Meanwhile the chiefs at Samos, and especially Thrasybulus, who from the
moment that he had changed the government had remained firmly resolved
to recall Alcibiades, at last in an assembly brought over the mass of
the soldiery, and upon their voting for his recall and amnesty, sailed
over to Tissaphernes and brought Alcibiades to Samos, being convinced
that their only chance of salvation lay in his bringing over
Tissaphernes from the Peloponnesians to themselves. An assembly was
then held in which Alcibiades complained of and deplored his private
misfortune in having been banished, and speaking at great length
upon public affairs, highly incited their hopes for the future, and
extravagantly magnified his own influence with Tissaphernes. His object
in this was to make the oligarchical government at Athens afraid of him,
to hasten the dissolution of the clubs, to increase his credit with the
army at Samos and heighten their own confidenc