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When Alcibiades learned that Lysander was fitting out his fleet in Ephesus, he set sail for there with all his ships. He sailed up to the harbours, but when no one came out against him, he had most of his ships cast anchor at Notium,1 entrusting the command of them to Antiochus, his personal pilot, with orders not to accept battle until he should be present, while he took the troop-ships and sailed in haste to Clazomenae; for this city, which was an ally of the Athenians, was suffering from forays by some of its exiles. [2] But Antiochus, who was by nature an impetuous man and was eager to accomplish some brilliant deed on his own account, paid no attention to the orders of Alcibiades, but manning ten of the best ships and ordering the captains to keep the others ready in case they should need to accept battle, he sailed up to the enemy in order to challenge them to battle. [3] But Lysander, who had learned from certain deserters of the departure of Alcibiades and his best soldiers, decided that the favourable time had come for him to strike a blow worthy of Sparta. Accordingly, putting out to sea for the attack with all his ships, he encountered the leading one of the ten ships, the one on which Antiochus had taken his place for the attack, and sank it, and then, putting the rest to flight, he chased them until the Athenian captains manned the rest of their vessels and came to the rescue, but in no battle order at all. [4] In the sea-battle which followed between the two entire fleets not far from the land the Athenians, because of their disorder, were defeated and lost twenty-two ships, but of their crews only a few were taken captive and the rest swam to safety ashore. When Alcibiades learned what had taken place, he returned in haste to Notium and manning all the triremes sailed to the harbours which were held by the enemy; but since Lysander would not venture to come out against him, he directed his course to Samos.

1 On the north side of the large bay before Ephesus.

Diodorus Siculus. Diodorus of Sicily in Twelve Volumes with an English Translation by C. H. Oldfather. Vol. 4-8. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989.

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