Part 6 (1/2)

Callias, who had never before been present at a great sea-fight, but who had taken pains to acquire as much professional knowledge as he could, expressed his surprise to Diomedon. ”How is this, sir?” he said, ”how can our s.h.i.+ps maneuver when they are packed together in this fas.h.i.+on?”

Diomedon, an old sailor who had been afloat for nearly forty years, smiled somewhat bitterly as he answered.

”Maneuver, my dear boy! That is exactly what we want to avoid. We can't do it ourselves, and we don't mean to let our enemies do it, if it can be helped. The generation that could manoeuver is gone. Five and twenty years of fighting have used it up. But, happily, we can still fight, at least such a fleet as we have got to-day, the real Athenian grit, can fight. If the weather holds fine, and I think it will for the day, though I don't quite like the looks of the sky, we shall do well, because we shall be able to keep together.”

The arrangement of the Athenian line may be very briefly described. It had two strong wings, each consisting of sixty s.h.i.+ps, formed in four squadrons of fifteen. These wings consisted wholly of Athenian galleys; the contingents of the allies were posted in the centre, and were in single line, either because they were better sailors, or because, as being directly in front of the group of islets, they were protected by their position.

The policy of the Athenian commander was successful. Arginusae was not a battle of skillful maneuvers, but of hard fighting. Such battles are often determined by the fate of the general, and so it was that day.

Callicratidas, had that pride of valor which had often done such great things for Sparta and for Greece, but which some times resulted in immediate disaster. His sailing master, a man of Megara, had advised him to decline a battle. A rapid survey of the position, of the numbers of the enemy and of the tactics which they were evidently intending to pursue, had convinced this skillful, experienced seaman, that the chances were against him. Callicratidas would not listen to him. ”If I perish,” he said, ”Sparta will not be one whit the worse off.” It was the answer of a man who was as modest as he was brave; but it was not to the point. Sparta would be a great deal worse off if she lost not only him--and he was worth considering--but, as actually happened, nearly the half of her fleet.

The signal to advance was pa.s.sed along the line, and the admiral himself took up his place in the foremost s.h.i.+p. The whole fleet could see him as he stood a conspicuous figure in the lead. His stately and chivalrous presence, the feeling that a man whom it was a privilege to follow anywhere, gave, for a time, an effective encouragement. But the loss was proportionately great when that presence was removed. Early in the day his s.h.i.+p endeavored to ram that which carried the Athenian admiral Diomedon, itself in the van of the opposing force. Diomedon himself was at the rudder and managed his galley with remarkable skill. He avoided or rather half avoided the blow of the enemy's boat, and this in such a way that the Spartan admiral lost his balance, and fell into the water.

Callias, who was standing on the rear of the Athenian galley, at the head of a detachment of men ready either to board or to repel boarders, endeavored to save him; but the weight of his armor was fatal. He sank almost instantaneously. His death, it is easy to believe, cost Athens even more than it cost Sparta. It would have been infinitely better for her to fall into his hands than to have to sue for terms, as she did not many months afterwards, to the less generous Lysander.

The battle lasted for several hours. About noon the weather became threatening. The wind changed to the south-west and the sea began to rise. By general consent the struggle was suspended. Both sides had fought with conspicuous valor, but there could be no doubt that the victory remained with the Athenians. Their losses were serious, nearly a fifth of their force, or to give the numbers exactly, twenty-nine s.h.i.+ps out of one hundred and fifty. But they had inflicted much more damage than they had suffered. Out of the small squadron of Spartan s.h.i.+ps, ten in number, nine had been destroyed; and more than sixty belonging to the various allied contingents were either sunk or taken. The fifty that remained--and there were barely fifty of them--made the best of their way either to the friendly island of Chios, or to Phocaea on the mainland. Without doubt the Athenians had won a great victory. Whether the opportunity could have been used to restore permanently the fortunes of the city, is doubtful; but it is certain that it was lamentably wasted.

FOOTNOTES:

[20] Phormion won some brilliant victories in the Corinthian gulf in the early years of the war. He died prematurely, it would seem about 429 B.

C.

[21] The number of triremes contributed by Athens to the Greek fleet of Salamis was one hundred and eighty, but this comprised, of course, literally every s.h.i.+p that they possessed. In the expedition against Syracuse, the triremes numbered one hundred and thirty-four.

[22] Diomedon was the officer in command of Samos, and had already attempted with the twelve s.h.i.+ps that composed his squadron, to relieve Conon. His force was so inferior to that of the Spartans that he could only have hoped to succeed by eluding their observations. Accordingly he had avoided the harbors and endeavored to make his way up a narrow channel, known by the common name of ”Euripus” (a channel with a swift current) by which Mitylene could be approached. Callicratidas, however, had discovered the maneuver and captured ten out of the twelve s.h.i.+ps.

CHAPTER VII.

AFTER THE FIGHT.

A council of war was held by the Athenian admirals on one of the Arginusae islets as soon as they could meet after the fighting had come to an end. Callias, by Diomedon's desire, waited outside the tent in which the deliberations were being held, and could not help hearing, so high were the voices of the speakers raised, that there was an angry argument about the course to be pursued. The intolerably clumsy system of having ten generals of equal authority was on its trial, if indeed any trial was needed, and was once more found wanting.[23] Even if the right decision should be reached, time was being wasted, time that, as we shall see, was of a value absolutely incalculable.

When at last the council broke up--its deliberations had lasted for more than an hour--and Diomedon rejoined the young officer, he wore a gloomy and anxious look.

”I am afraid,” he said, ”that mischief will come of this. I feel it so strongly that, though I ought not, perhaps, to tell outside the council what has been going on within, I must call you to witness. I did my very best to persuade my colleagues. 'Our first business,' I said, 'is to save our friends. There were twenty-six s.h.i.+ps, I said, disabled. A few were sunk on the spot; others, I am afraid, have gone down since; but more than half, I hope, are still afloat. Even where the s.h.i.+p is gone already, there are sure to be some of the crew who have been able to keep themselves afloat either by swimming or by holding on to floating stuff. For the sake of the G.o.ds, gentlemen,'--I give you my very words--'don't lose another moment. We have lost too many already.

Send every seaworthy s.h.i.+p that you have got to the rescue of the s.h.i.+pwrecked. It is better to let ten enemies escape, than lose a single friend.' They would not listen to me. They were bent, they said, on following up their victory, an excellent thing, I allow; but only when the first duty of making all that you have got quite safe has been performed. One of them--I will mention no names--positively insulted me.

'Diomedon,' he said, 'has doubtless had enough fighting for the day.'

Why, in the name of Athene, do they put such lowbred villains into office. The fellow has a long tongue, and so the people elect him. I 'tired of fighting' indeed? I might have some excuse if I were, for I was hard at it, when he was a thievish boy, picking up unconsidered trifles in the market-place. Well; the end of it was that we came to a sort of compromise. Forty-odd s.h.i.+ps are to go and save what can be saved from the wrecks--the G.o.ds only know how many will be left by this time--while the rest are to make the best of their way to Mitylene, and cut off the blockading squadron.”

”And you, sir?” asked Callias, ”with which squadron are you to be?”

”I am to go to Mitylene, of course, after what that fellow said, I could not ask to have the other duty; but I feel that it is what I ought to be doing.”

”Who is to have it, sir,” said Callias.

”No one, if you will believe it,” answered the admiral, with an angry stamp of the foot. ”I mean no one of ourselves, of the Ten. They are all so anxious to follow up the victory, as they put it, and make a great show of taking Spartan s.h.i.+ps, that they will not take the trouble.

Theramenes and Thrasybulus are to do it. I know that they have been in command in former years and may be supposed to be competent.