The Destruction of the Athenian Empire 197 had planned to meet in the Isthmus in the spring of 431 B.C. When this army entered Attica the outlying communities were at once obliged to leave their homes and take refuge in the open markets and squares of Athens, the sanctuaries, and espe- cially between the Long Walls leading to the Piraeus. To offset the devastation of Attica by the Spartan army, all that Athens could do was to organize destructive sea raids and inflict as much damage as possible along the coasts of the Peloponnesus or destroy Corinthian commerce as of old. The masses of people crowded within the walls of Athens Plague in under unsanitary conditions exposed the city to disease; a plague, probably brought in from the Orient, broke out in the port, spread to the city, and raged with intermissions for several seasons. It carried off probably a third of the population, and from this unforeseen disaster Athens never recovered. With such a visitation Pericles had of course been unable to reckon. Constantly under arms for the defense of the walls, deprived of any opportunity to strike the enemy, forced to sit still and see their land ravaged, the citizens at last broke out in discontent. In spite of his undaunted spirit Pericles was unable to hold Fall and the confidence of a majority. He lost control, was tried for Pericles misappropriation of funds, and fined. The absence of his steady- ing hand and powerful leadership was at once felt by the people, for there was no one to take his place, although a swarm of small politicians were contending for control of the Assembly. Realizing their helplessness the people soon turned to Pericles again and elected him strategus, but he was stricken with the plague and died soon after his return to power. Great statesman as he was, he had left Athens with a system of government which did not provide for the continuation of such leadership as he had furnished, and without such leadership the Athenian Empire was doomed. This was the great mistake in the states- manship of Pericles. Men of the prosperous manufacturing class now came to the fore. They possessed neither the high station in life, the ability
