E.C. Marchant, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 3

καὶ αὐτοί—bringing their own contribution into connexion with that levied from the allies.

τότε πρῶτον—probably meaning that the extraordinary war-tax was aetually levied for the first time (cf. τότε πρῶτον in I. 96) in 428 B.C., though the arrangements for it existed before. Some think that Thuc. means for the first time in this war. There is no evidence that the tax had ever been levied before. (About the details of the εἰσφορά before the age of Demosth. little is known, but the burden fell mainly on the rich, being ‘a progressive income-tax on property.’ The amount was fixed by the Ecclesia. Gilbert, Inn. Gesch. 129 f. gives good reasons for supposing that Cleon took the initiative in promoting the vote before the Eeclesia. See also Neil on Aristoph. Eq. 771, 923.)

διακόσια τάλαντα—in apposition to ἐσφοράν.

ἀργυρολόγους ναῦς—to eollect an ἐσφορά—not, in this ease, arrears of tribute. The sending out of such ships is expressly attributed to Cleon in Eq. 1070. (

Λυσικλέα—this Lysicles does not belong to the family of Habronichus (I. 91), but is the προβατοπώλης of obscure origin whose connexion with Aspasia brought him into prominenee; Aristoph. Eq. 132, 765, Plutarch, Per. 24.）

πεμπτὸν αὐτόν—meaning that Lysicles had the ehief command. The large number of στρατηγοί sent is probably due to the difficulty and delicacy of the mission.