Latin
1.29
Greek and Roman Historians, The Peloponnesian War 1.29
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At this point the balance of the war began to tilt again in Sparta's favour: Brasidas arrived, on his way to the north, and saved Megara by a whisker. Moreover, an ultra-ambitious Athenian attempt to reinstate the mid-century position by annexing Boeotia failed at Delium; this was a major defeat of Athens by a Boeotian army whose key component was Theban. Meanwhile, Brasidas had reached the north, where he had won over Acanthus by a blend of cajolement and threats and where, too quick for Thucydides (the historian) to stop him, he had taken Amphipolis. From there he proceeded to capture Torone. An armistice between Athens and Sparta in 423 did not stop further northern places from falling into Brasidas' arms -almost literally: at Scione the inhabitants came out to greet him with garlands and generally received him "as though he had been an athlete" (a rare Thucydidean glimpse of a world other than war and politics). He briefly won over Mende as well, but Athens recovered it soon after; Cleon arrived in 422 and won back Torone too. The deaths of both Cleon and Brasidas in a battle for possession of Amphipolis removed two main obstacles to the peace that most Spartans had been wanting for several years -in fact, since Sphacteria. The imminent expiry of the Argive peace was another factor, as was the occupation of Cythera, which provided a base for deserting helots (it is surprising that Athens did not make more use of the Spartan fear of their helots, a far from secret weapon of war). The essence of the Peace of Nicias (421) was a return to the prewar situation: most wartime gains were to be returned. Sparta had resoundingly failed to destroy the Athenian empire, and in this sense Athens, whatever its financial and human losses, had won the war.