motion of Diodotus carried the day. Another galley was at once sent
off in haste, for fear that the first might reach Lesbos in the
interval, and the city be found destroyed; the first ship having about
a day and a night's start. Wine and barley-cakes were provided for the
vessel by the Mitylenian ambassadors, and great promises made if
they arrived in time; which caused the men to use such diligence
upon the voyage that they took their meals of barley-cakes kneaded
with oil and wine as they rowed, and only slept by turns while the
others were at the oar. Luckily they met with no contrary wind, and
the first ship making no haste upon so horrid an errand, while the
second pressed on in the manner described, the first arrived so little
before them, that Paches had only just had time to read the decree,
and to prepare to execute the sentence, when the second put into
port and prevented the massacre. The danger of Mitylene had indeed
been great.
The other party whom Paches had sent off as the prime movers in
the rebellion, were upon Cleon's motion put to death by the Athenians,
the number being rather more than a thousand. The Athenians also
demolished the walls of the Mitylenians, and took possession of
their ships. Afterwards tribute was not imposed upon the Lesbians; but
all their land, except that of the Methymnians, was divided into three
thousand allotments, three hundred of which were reserved as sacred
for the gods, and the rest assigned by lot to Athenian shareholders,
who were sent out to the island. With these the Lesbians agreed to pay
a rent of two minae a year for each allotment, and cultivated the land
themselves. The Athenians also took possession of the towns on the
continent belonging to the Mitylenians, which thus became for the
future subject to Athens. Such were the events that took place at
Lesbos.
CHAPTER X.

Fifth Year of the War - Trial and Execution of
the Plataeans - Corcyraean Revolution

DURING the same summer, after the reduction of Lesbos, the Athenians
under Nicias, son of Niceratus, made an expedition against the
island of Minoa, which lies off Megara and was used as a fortified
post by the Megarians, who had built a tower upon it. Nicias wished to
enable the Athenians to maintain their blockade from this nearer
station instead of from Budorum and Salamis; to stop the Peloponnesian
galleys and privateers sailing out unobserved from the island, as they
had been in the habit of doing; and at the same time prevent
anything from coming into Megara. Accordingly, after taking two towers
projecting on the side of Nisaea, by engines from the sea, and
clearing the entrance into the channel between the island and the
shore, he next proceeded to cut off all communication by building a
wall on the mainland at the point where a bridge across a morass
enabled succours to be thrown into the island, which was not far off
from the continent. A few days sufficing to accomplish this, he
afterwards raised some works in the island also, and leaving a
garrison there, departed with his forces.
About the same time in this summer, the Plataeans, being now without
provisions and unable to support the siege, surrendered to the
Peloponnesians in the following manner. An assault had been made
upon the wall, which the Plataeans were unable to repel. The
Lacedaemonian commander, perceiving their weakness, wished to avoid
taking the place by storm; his instructions from Lacedaemon having
been so conceived, in order that if at any future time peace should be
made with Athens, and they should agree each to restore the places
that they had taken in the war, Plataea might be held to have come
over voluntarily, and not be included in the list. He accordingly sent
a herald to them to ask if they were willing voluntarily to
surrender the town to the Lacedaemonians, and accept them as their
judges, upon the understanding that the guilty should be punished, but