There can be no doubt that Hermocrates was right in his view of the
motive which brought the Athenians to Sicily, and the arguments of
Euphemus, the advocate for Athens, who strove to confute him, will not
bear examination. But the people of Camarina were in a difficult
position; their city had suffered many things in the past at the hands
of Syracuse, and they had reason to fear that her oppressions might be
renewed, if she emerged triumphant from the present struggle. On the
other hand, if the Athenians were victorious, they might forfeit their
independence altogether. In this dilemma they determined to play a
waiting game, and when the time came for action, to throw their weight
on the winning side. For the present they answered that they chose to
remain neutral.
The debate at Camarina, though interesting and instructive from the
light which it throws on the passions and motives of the combatants,
had little influence on the final issue of the war. But about the same
time a scene was being enacted in another part of the Greek world,
which led to most momentous consequences. Early in the winter the
Syracusan envoys arrived at Corinth, and made an earnest appeal for
help. The Corinthians were warmly attached to their famous colony,
which had never wavered in its allegiance to the mother-city, and
moreover they were the implacable enemies of Athens.
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