CHAPTER LXXVIII
THE WALLS OF ATHENS ARE DESTROYED
The last battle of the Peloponnesian War was fought in the
Hellespont in 405 B.C. The Athenians had drawn up their
ships near a desolate spot named Ægospotami, and they
soon found that it was an awkward place from which to get
provisions for the army. There were no houses near, from
which they could demand help, so the sailors were forced
to leave their ships and scour the country round about for
food. So dreary was the spot that the Athenians longed to
fight at once.
But Lysander was in a strong position on the other side of the strait; he had, too, a plentiful supply of food, so that he did not mean to let himself be forced into a battle.
Again and again the Athenians sailed across the strait, hoping to tempt the Spartans to fight, but Lysander refused to move.
As the weeks passed, the Athenians grew careless of an enemy that seemed too lazy or too cowardly to fight. They left their ships well-nigh unguarded, and wandered over the country in large numbers in search of food.
Alcibiades, from his castle not far off, saw that the Athenians were in a dangerous position, and that they were leaving their ships unprotected. He rode over to Ægospotami to warn the generals to seek a safer position. At Sestos, a town but two miles off, they would be better able to defend themselves from the Spartans, should they be attacked. They would also be able to command provisions.
But the generals did not wish to listen to Alcibiades, and
