When the sea-battle had ended as we have related, the Athenians sailed off at the time to Sestus, since it was already night, but when day came they collected their ships which had been damaged and set up another trophy near the former one.1 [2] And Mindarus about the first watch of the night set out to Abydus, where he repaired his ships that had been damaged and sent word to the Lacedaemonians for reinforcements of both soldiers and ships; for he had in mind, while the fleet was being made ready, to lay siege with the army together with Pharnabazus to the cities in Asia which were allied with the Athenians. [3]
The people of Chalcis and almost all the rest of the inhabitants of Euboea had revolted from the Athenians2 and were therefore highly apprehensive lest, living as they did on an island, they should be forced to surrender to the Athenians, who were masters of the sea; and they therefore asked the Boeotians to join with them in building a causeway across the Euripus and thereby joining Euboea to Boeotia.3 [4] The Boeotians agreed to this, since it was to their special advantage that Euboea should be an island to everybody else but a part of the mainland to themselves. Consequently all the cities threw themselves vigorously into the building of the causeway and vied with one another; for orders were issued not only to the citizens to report en masse but to the foreigners dwelling among them as well, so that by reason of the great number that came forward to the work the proposed task was speedily completed. [5] On Euboea the causeway was built at Chalcis, and in Boeotia in the neighbourhood of Aulis, since at that place the channel was narrowest. Now it so happened that in former times also there had always been a current in that place and that the sea frequently reversed its course, and at the time in question the force of the current was far greater because the sea had been confined into a very narrow channel; for passage was left for only a single ship. High towers were also built on both ends and wooden bridges were thrown over the channel. [6]
Theramenes, who had been dispatched by the Athenians with thirty ships, at first attempted to stop the workers, but since a strong body of soldiers was at the side of the builders of the causeway, he abandoned this design and directed his voyage toward the islands.4 [7] And since he wished to relieve both the citizens and the allies from their contributions,5 he laid waste the territory of the enemy and collected great quantities of booty. He visited also the allied cities and exacted money of such inhabitants as were advocating a change in government. [8] And when he put in at Paros and found an oligarchy in the city, he restored their freedom to the people and exacted a great sum of money of the men who had participated in the oligarchy.
