History of the Peloponnesian War · Chapter
XIII explained
Hermocrates urges Sicilian cities to unite against Athenian ambition, leading to a peace agreement among them.
What happens
Hermocrates urges Sicilian cities to unite against Athenian ambition, leading to a peace agreement among them. The Athenian fleet departs Sicily, and upon return, generals Pythodorus, Sophocles, and Eurymedon are punished for failing to subdue the island. Meanwhile, Megara faces internal strife and betrayal plots with Athenian generals Hippocrates and Demosthenes. The Corcyraean civil war ends with the destruction of the mountain party. The Athenians capture Anactorium, intercept a Persian envoy, and the Chians dismantle their wall under Athenian pressure. The seventh year of the war concludes with an eclipse and earthquake. Lesbian exiles seize Rhoeteum and Antandrus. The Athenians, led by Nicias, attack Cythera, which surrenders. The summer ends with the Sicilian peace congress at Gela.
Themes in this chapter
Alliance and Betrayal
The Megarian betrayal plot and the Sicilian cities' decision to unite against Athens highlight the fragile nature of alliances and the prevalence of treachery.
Leadership and Strategy
Hermocrates' diplomatic leadership in uniting Sicily and Nicias' strategic command at Cythera demonstrate effective leadership in war and peace.
Power and Empire
Athenian ambition to dominate Sicily and the punishment of their generals for failing to subdue the island reflect the imperial drive and its consequences.
Characters to notice
- Hermocrates
Delivers a speech at the Gela congress urging Sicilian unity against Athenian aggression, successfully brokering peace among the Sicilian cities.
- Nicias
Commands the Athenian expedition against Cythera, negotiates the surrender of the island with favorable terms for the Cytherians.
- Demosthenes
Leads a detachment in the ambush at Megara, being the first to enter the gates during the betrayal attempt.
- Hippocrates
Commands six hundred Athenian heavy infantry in the night operation against Megara, coordinating with the traitors inside the city.
- Eurymedon
Fined by the Athenians upon return from Sicily for allegedly taking bribes to withdraw when they could have subdued the island.
- Pythodorus
Banished by the Athenians for failing to subdue Sicily during the campaign.
- Sophocles
Banished alongside Pythodorus for the failure of the Sicilian expedition.
- Aristides
Arrests the Persian envoy Artaphernes at Eion, leading to the interception of dispatches to Lacedaemon.
Key passages
“That war is an evil is a proposition so familiar to everyone that it would be tedious to develop it.”
War is universally acknowledged as a bad thing, so there's no need to explain it further.
Hermocrates opens his speech at Gela by stating the obvious evil of war to set the stage for his peace proposal.
“The quickest way to be rid of it is to make peace with each other; since the Athenians menace us not from their”
The fastest way to eliminate the threat is to reconcile among ourselves, because the Athenians are a danger to us all.
Hermocrates argues that internal peace is the best defense against Athenian expansion.
“So thoroughly had the present prosperity persuaded the citizens that nothing could withstand them, and that they could achieve what was possible and impracticable alike, with means ample or inadequate it mattered not.”
Their recent successes had convinced the Athenians that they were invincible and could accomplish anything, regardless of resources.
Thucydides comments on Athenian overconfidence after the Sicilian campaign, leading to the punishment of their generals.
