They were now at
the mercy of the Syracusans. who surrounded the enclosure, and plied
them with javelins, stones, and arrows. After this butchery had
continued for many hours, and the survivors were brought to extremity
by wounds, hunger, and thirst, Gylippus sent a herald, who was the
bearer of a remarkable message. "Let those of you," he said, "who are
natives of the islands subject to Athens, come over to us, and you
shall be free men." The offer was addressed to the Greeks from the
maritime cities of the Aegaean, who might be supposed to be serving
under compulsion, and it speaks volumes for the loyalty and attachment
of these men to Athens that most of them refused to accept their
freedom from the hands of her enemies. At length, however, the whole
army of Demosthenes, which had now dwindled to six thousand men, was
induced to surrender, on condition that none of them should suffer
death by violence, by bonds, or by starvation. At the command of their
captors they gave up the money which they had with them, and the
amount collected was so considerable that it filled the hollows of
four shields. When the capitulation was concluded, Demosthenes, who
had refused to make any terms for himself, drew his sword, and
attempted to take his own life; [Footnote: This interesting fact is
recorded by Plutarch and Pausanias, who copied it from the
contemporary Syracusan historian, Philistus.
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