74 FIVE YEARS' TRUCE [l and their allies to relieve their other forces, in ignorance of what had happened, sailed into the Mendesian mouth of the Nile. But they were at once attacked both from the land and from the sea, and the greater part of them destroyed by the Phoenician fleet, a few ships only escaping. Thus ended the great Egyptian expedition of the Athenians and their allies. 111 About this time Orestes, the exiled son of the Thes- Aitempted resfora- ^aHan king Echecratides, persuaded tloH of Orestes, theThes- the Athenians to restore him. Taking saltan exile. ^j^j^ them a force of the Boeotians and Phocians, who were now their allies, they marched against Pharsalus in Thessaly. They made themselves masters of the country in the neighbourhood of their camp, but the Thessalian cavalry stopped any further advance. They could not take the place, and none of their plans prospered ; so they returned unsuccessfiil and brought back Orestes. B.C. 454. A short time afterwards a thousand Athenians, under ^^■^^ The Athenians under the Command of PeHcles the son of Pericles defeat the Sicy- Xanthippus, embarking on board the °*"^"^- fleet which they had at Pegae, now in their possession, coasted along to Sicyon, and there land- ing, defeated the Sicyonians who came out to meet them. With the least possible delay taking on board Achaean troops and sailing to the opposite coast, they attacked and besieged Oeniadae, a town of Acarnania ; but failing to reduce it, they returned home. 112 After an interval of three years a five years' truce was QJ^g'^^o- Truce for five years. Concluded between the Peloponnesians Expedition to Cyprus, and Athenians. The Athenians now otesttpssen o gyp abstained from war in Hellas itself, but Death of Limon. Bat- ' ties at Salaynis in Cy- made an expedition to Cyprus with P*"^- two hundred ships of their own and of their allies, under the command of Cimon. Sixty ships were detached from the armament and sailed to Egypt, at the request of Amyrtaeus the king in the fens ; the remainder proceeded to blockade Citium. Here Cimon
