A small
body of troops was left to guard the camp, and all the rest, except
such as were totally disabled by sickness, were distributed as
fighting-men among the ships. For the countrymen of Phormio had now
reverted to the primitive conditions of naval warfare, in which the
trireme was a mere vehicle for carrying troops, and not, as in the
days of that great captain, the chief weapon of offence. Every foot of
standing-room on the decks was occupied by a crowd of hoplites,
javelin-men, archers, and slingers, and on their prowess the issue of
the battle depended. To lay their vessels aboard the enemy with as
little delay as possible, and leave the rest to the soldiers, was now
the chief object of the Athenian captains; and the better to effect.
this, men were stationed on the prows, armed with grappling-irons, to
hold the attacking trireme fast, and prevent her from backing away
after the first shock of collision.
With hearts full of sad foreboding, the great multitude mustered on
the beach, and waited for the word to embark. On a rising ground,
fronting the camp, the generals; stood grouped in earnest
consultation; then every voice was hushed, as Nicias came forward, and
beckoned with his hand, commanding silence. The form of the general
was bowed with years, and his face lined with pain and sickness, but
in his eye there was an unwonted fire, and his tones rang clear and
full, as he reminded his hearers of the great cause for which they
were to fight, and the mighty interests which hung in the balance that
day.
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