[119]
And that this state of affairs was due to the valor of our ancestors has been clearly shown in the fortunes of our city: for the very moment when we were deprived of our dominion marked the beginning of a dominion1 of ills for the Hellenes. In fact, after the disaster which befell us in the Hellespont,2 when our rivals took our place as leaders, the barbarians won a naval victory,3 became rulers of the sea, occupied most of the islands,4 made a landing in Laconia, took Cythera by storm, and sailed around the whole Peloponnesus, inflicting damage as they went.
1 For this play of words— ἀρχή, “beginning,” and αρχή, “dominion”—cf. Isoc. 3.28, Isoc. 8.101, Isoc. 5.61.
2 Battle of Aegospotami 405 B.C.
3 At the battle of Cnidus, but with the help of Conon.
4 See Xen. Hell. 4.8.7.
Isocrates. Isocrates with an English Translation in three volumes, by George Norlin, Ph.D., LL.D. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1980.
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