s well, or even much better, as acting much
more justly: it was for want of such a trial that they were now afraid
of them. Meanwhile he warned all of them to prepare to be staunch
allies, and for being held responsible for all faults in future: for the
past, they had not wronged the Lacedaemonians but had been wronged by
others who were too strong for them, and any opposition that they might
have offered him could be excused.

Having encouraged them with this address, as soon as the truce expired
he made his attack upon Lecythus; the Athenians defending themselves
from a poor wall and from some houses with parapets. One day they beat
him off; the next the enemy were preparing to bring up an engine against
them from which they meant to throw fire upon the wooden defences, and
the troops were already coming up to the point where they fancied they
could best bring up the engine, and where place was most assailable;
meanwhile the Athenians put a wooden tower upon a house opposite, and
carried up a quantity of jars and casks of water and big stones, and a
large number of men also climbed up. The house thus laden too heavily
suddenly broke down with a loud crash; at which the men who were near
and saw it were more vexed than frightened; but those not so near, and
still more those furthest off, thought that the place was already taken
at that point, and fled in haste to the sea and the ships.

Brasidas, perceiving that they were deserting the parapet, and seeing
what was going on, dashed forward with his troops, and immediately took
the fort, and put to the sword all whom he found in it. In this way the
place was evacuated by the Athenians, who went across in their boats
and ships to Pallene. Now there is a temple of Athene in Lecythus, and
Brasidas had proclaimed in the moment of making the assault that he
would give thirty silver minae to the man first on the wall. Being now
of opinion that the capture was scarcely due to human means, he gave
the thirty minae to the goddess for her temple, and razed and cleared
Lecythus, and made the whole of it consecrated ground. The rest of
the winter he spent in settling the places in his hands, and in making
designs upon the rest; and with the expiration of the winter the eighth
year of this war ended.

In the spring of the summer following, the Lacedaemonians and Athenians
made an armistice for a year; the Athenians thinking that they would
thus have full leisure to take their preca