large Ambraciot force destroyed
in this manner, a few only reached the city in safety; while the
Acarnanians, after stripping the dead and setting up a trophy, returned
to Argos.

The next day arrived a herald from the Ambraciots who had fled from
Olpae to the Agraeans, to ask leave to take up the dead that had fallen
after the first engagement, when they left the camp with the Mantineans
and their companions, without, like them, having had permission to do
so. At the sight of the arms of the Ambraciots from the city, the herald
was astonished at their number, knowing nothing of the disaster and
fancying that they were those of their own party. Some one asked him
what he was so astonished at, and how many of them had been killed,
fancying in his turn that this was the herald from the troops at
Idomene. He replied: "About two hundred"; upon which his interrogator
took him up, saying: "Why, the arms you see here are of more than a
thousand." The herald replied: "Then they are not the arms of those who
fought with us?" The other answered: "Yes, they are, if at least you
fought at Idomene yesterday." "But we fought with no one yesterday;
but the day before in the retreat." "However that may be, we fought
yesterday with those who came to reinforce you from the city of the
Ambraciots." When the herald heard this and knew that the reinforcement
from the city had been destroyed, he broke into wailing and, stunned
at the magnitude of the present evils, went away at once without having
performed his errand, or again asking for the dead bodies. Indeed, this
was by far the greatest disaster that befell any one Hellenic city in an
equal number of days during this war; and I have not set down the number
of the dead, because the amount stated seems so out of proportion to
the size of the city as to be incredible. In any case I know that if
the Acarnanians and Amphilochians had wished to take Ambracia as the
Athenians and Demosthenes advised, they would have done so without a
blow; as it was, they feared that if the Athenians had it they would be
worse neighbours to them than the present.

After this the Acarnanians allotted a third of the spoils to the
Athenians, and divided the rest among their own different towns. The
share of the Athenians was captured on the voyage home; the arms now
deposited in the Attic temples are three hundred panoplies, which the
Acarnanians set apart for Demosthenes, and which he brought to Athens
in per