120 fflSTOR* OF GREECE. town, removing to Athens the old men and sick, with the womer, and children. No complaint or discussion, respecting the recent surprise, was thought of by either party : it was evident to both
- .hat the war was now actually begun, that nothing was to be
thought of except the means of carrying it on, and that there could be no farther personal intercourse except under the pro- tection of heralds. 1 The incident at Plataea, striking in all its points, wound up both parties to the full pitch of warlike excite- ment. A spirit of resolution and enterprise was abroad every- where, especially among those younger citizens, yet unacquainted with the actual bitterness of war, whom the long truce but just broken had raised up ; and the contagion of high-strung feeling spread from the leading combatants into every corner of Greece, manifesting itself partly in multiplied oracles, prophecies, and religious legends adapted to the moment :' 2 a recent earthquake at Delos, too, as well as various other extraordinary physical phenomena, were construed as prognostics of the awful struggle impending, a period fatally marked not less by eclipses, earth- quakes, drought, famine, and pestilence, than by the direct calam- ities of war. 3 An aggression so unwarrantable as the assault on Platosa tended doubtless to strengthen the unanimity of the Athenian assembly, to silence the opponents of Perikles, and to lend addi- tional weight to those frequent exhortations, 4 whereby the great statesman was wont to sustain the courage of his countrymen. Intelligence was sent round to forewarn and hearten up the nu- merous allies of Athens, tributary as well as free : the latter, with the exception of the Thessalians, Akamanians, and Messe- nians at Naupaktus, were all insular, Chians, Lesbians, Korky- rneans, and Zakynthians : to the island of Kephallenia also they sent envoys, but it was not actually acquired to their alliance until a few months afterwards. 5 With the Akarnanians, too, their connection had only been commenced a short time before, seem- 1 Thucyd ii, 1-6.
- Thucyd. ii, 7, 8. //re u/Wj? 'EAAaf irdca uertupof rjv, frviovauv
ruv irpuTuv TroAtuv. 3 Thucyd. i, 23. 4 Thuc?d. ii, 13. uxtp nal irporepov, etc., IXeye 6k ical uA/la, olairtf fiudei UfpiK?iij( { imodei^LV TOV irepisaeodai ry
6 Thucyd. ii, 7, 22, 30.
