f and the
terrors of the ships sailing in, to stand fast in the present emergency,
beat back the enemy at the water's edge, and save yourselves and the
place."

Thus encouraged by Demosthenes, the Athenians felt more confident, and
went down to meet the enemy, posting themselves along the edge of
the sea. The Lacedaemonians now put themselves in movement and
simultaneously assaulted the fortification with their land forces
and with their ships, forty-three in number, under their admiral,
Thrasymelidas, son of Cratesicles, a Spartan, who made his attack just
where Demosthenes expected. The Athenians had thus to defend themselves
on both sides, from the land and from the sea; the enemy rowing up in
small detachments, the one relieving the other--it being impossible for
many to bring to at once--and showing great ardour and cheering
each other on, in the endeavour to force a passage and to take the
fortification. He who most distinguished himself was Brasidas. Captain
of a galley, and seeing that the captains and steersmen, impressed by
the difficulty of the position, hung back even where a landing might
have seemed possible, for fear of wrecking their vessels, he shouted
out to them, that they must never allow the enemy to fortify himself
in their country for the sake of saving timber, but must shiver their
vessels and force a landing; and bade the allies, instead of hesitating
in such a moment to sacrifice their ships for Lacedaemon in return
for her many benefits, to run them boldly aground, land in one way or
another, and make themselves masters of the place and its garrison.

Not content with this exhortation, he forced his own steersman to run
his ship ashore, and stepping on to the gangway, was endeavouring to
land, when he was cut down by the Athenians, and after receiving many
wounds fainted away. Falling into the bows, his shield slipped off
his arm into the sea, and being thrown ashore was picked up by the
Athenians, and afterwards used for the trophy which they set up for this
attack. The rest also did their best, but were not able to land, owing
to the difficulty of the ground and the unflinching tenacity of
the Athenians. It was a strange reversal of the order of things for
Athenians to be fighting from the land, and from Laconian land too,
against Lacedaemonians coming from the sea; while Lacedaemonians were
trying to land from shipboard in their own country, now become hostile,
to attack Athenians, althou