The Athenian generals then entered into a
parley with Styphon the third in command of the Spartans; for
Epitadas, the chief officer, was slain, and Hippagretus, the second,
had been left for dead on the field. Styphon requested permission to
communicate with the Spartan authorities on the mainland, and ask what
he and his comrades were to do; and the Athenian commanders sent one
of their own men to carry the message. Having heard his report, the
Spartan magistrates sent a herald to see how matters stood; and after
more than one messenger had passed to and fro between their camp and
the island, they sent their final instructions, conveyed in these
words "The Spartans bid you to decide for yourselves, but to do
nothing dishonourable."
Fifty years before, these wounded and weary men would have needed no
instructions to tell them their duty. According to the ancient
tradition of Sparta they had but one course open to them--to die at
their posts. But the lapse of time had softened the stern fibre of the
Spartan character; and the broken remnant now brought to bay in
Sphacteria interpreted the ambiguous mandate in their own favour, and
surrendered themselves and their arms.
The number of the prisoners was two hundred and ninety-two, of whom
about a hundred and twenty were Spartans of pure descent, several of
them belonging to the highest families in Sparta.
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