502 HISTORY OF GREECE. seeing that the town had thus been placed out of the reach of attack, abandoned all his designs upon it, marching farther westward to the neighboring territories of JEtolia, Kalydon, Pleuron, and Proschium. near the Achelous and the borders of Akarnania. The .ZEtolians, who had come down to join him for the common purpose of attacking Naupaktus, here abandoned him and retired to their respective homes. But the Ambrakiots, rejoiced to find so considerable a Peloponnesian force in their neighborhood, pre- vailed upon him to assist them in attacking the Amphilochian Argos as well as Akarnania ; assuring him that there was now a fair prospect of bringing the whole of the population of the mainland, between the Ambrakian and Corinthian gulfs, under the supremacy of Lacedoemon. Having persuaded Eurylochus thus to keep his forces together and ready, they themselves with three thousand Ambrakiot hoplites invaded the territory of tho Amphilochian Argos, and captured the fortified hill of Olpce immediately bordering on the Ambrakian gulf, about three miles from Argos itself: this hill bad been in former days employed by the Akarnanians as a place for public judicial congress of the whole nation. 1 This enterprise, communicated forthwith to Eurylochus, was ihe signal for movement on both sides. The Akarnanians marched with their whole force to the protection of Argos, and occupied a post called Krenas in the Amphilochian territory, hoping to be able to prevent Eurylochus from effecting his junc- tion with the Ambrakiots at Olp*. They at the same time sent urgent messages to Demosthenes at Naupaktus, and to the Athe- nian guard-squadron of twenty triremes under Aristoteles and Hierophon, entreating their aid in the present need, and inviting Demosthenes to act as their commander. They had forgotten their displeasure against him arising out of his recent refusal to blockade at Leukas, for which they probably thought that he had been sufficiently punished by his disgrace in ^Etolia ; while they knew and esteemed his military capacity. In fact, the acci- dent whereby he had been detained at Naupaktus, now worked fortunately for them as well as for him : it secured to them a commander whom all of them respected, obviating the jealousies
1 Thucyd. iii, 102-105.
