He lived long enough to hear that his men
had gained a decisive victory, and then passed away, the purest and
the most heroic spirit among all those who played their part in this
unhappy war. After his death he received divine honours at Amphipolis,
and was worshipped as the second founder of the city.
THE HOLLOW PEACE
I
The negotiations for peace, begun in the previous year; had been
interrupted by the brilliant successes of Brasidas, and the factious
opposition of Cleon, and after their death the main obstacle to a
pacific understanding was removed. The high hopes conceived by the
Athenians after the capture of the Spartans at Pylos had been damped
by their disastrous defeat at Delium, and by the revolt of their
allies in Thrace; and, above all, they were anxious to recover
Amphipolis. Still more depressed was the temper of the Spartans. They
had entered on the war in a spirit of sanguine confidence, expecting
to make an end of the conflict by a single invasion of Attica; and
now, after ten years of fighting, their great rival remained almost
untouched in the chief sources of her power. Their coasts were exposed
to continual ravage by the Athenian fleets, and Pylos was still
occupied by their bitter enemies, the Messenians, attracting all the
discontented elements in Sparta, and keeping the Helots in a continual
ferment.
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