Meanwhile the Syracusans rallied at the Helorine road, where they
re-formed as well as they could under the circumstances, and even sent
a garrison of their own citizens to the Olympieum, fearing that the
Athenians might lay hands on some of the treasures there. The rest
returned to the town.

The Athenians, however, did not go to the temple, but collected their
dead and laid them upon a pyre, and passed the night upon the field. The
next day they gave the enemy back their dead under truce, to the number
of about two hundred and sixty, Syracusans and allies, and gathered
together the bones of their own, some fifty, Athenians and allies,
and taking the spoils of the enemy, sailed back to Catana. It was now
winter; and it did not seem possible for the moment to carry on the war
before Syracuse, until horse should have been sent for from Athens
and levied among the allies in Sicily--to do away with their utter
inferiority in cavalry--and money should have been collected in the
country and received from Athens, and until some of the cities, which
they hoped would be now more disposed to listen to them after
the battle, should have been brought over, and corn and all other
necessaries provided, for a campaign in the spring against Syracuse.

With this intention they sailed off to Naxos and Catana for the winter.
Meanwhile the Syracusans burned their dead and then held an assembly,
in which Hermocrates, son of Hermon, a man who with a general ability
of the first order had given proofs of military capacity and brilliant
courage in the war, came forward and encouraged them, and told them not
to let what had occurred make them give way, since their spirit had
not been conquered, but their want of discipline had done the mischief.
Still they had not been beaten by so much as might have been expected,
especially as they were, one might say, novices in the art of war, an
army of artisans opposed to the most practised soldiers in Hellas. What
had also done great mischief was the number of the generals (there were
fifteen of them) and the quantity of orders given, combined with the
disorder and insubordination of the troops. But if they were to have
a few skilful generals, and used this winter in preparing their heavy
infantry, finding arms for such as had not got any, so as to make them
as numerous as possible, and forcing them to attend to their training
generally, they would have every chance of beating their adversaries,
courag