Volume 6: The Meeting of Two Heroes, Chapter 122: Iphicrates

In the southwestern corner of Athens, on a small hill once called the Pnyx, the Athenian people had built a grand assembly hall a century ago to celebrate the overthrow of the tyrant Peisistratus. It could seat five hundred people at once, stood opposite the Acropolis not far to the east, and was adjacent to the once-famous Areopagus Council. It was a symbol of the Athenian people's rise to power. After the Persians burned the city and Athens celebrated its victory in the Greco-Persian Wars, the hall was rebuilt—this was the renowned Council of Five Hundred!

Athens' City Hall, pressed close to this magnificent structure, seemed utterly inconspicuous. Yet within it, the annually elected ten generals conducted their business.

Today, the Athenian Generals' Executive Committee convened a meeting and invited Isocrates to discuss the war situation in Corinth and the conflict in Magna Graecia.

Chief General Thrasybulus spoke first: "Generals, today Corinth sent envoys to Athens, requesting reinforcements. The situation within Corinth is not good. The Spartans are attacking fiercely, and the Corinthians are struggling to hold them off. This has emboldened the pro-Spartan aristocratic faction; they have proposed peace negotiations with Sparta in the council and gained some popular support. The Corinthians' will to fight is waning..."

"We must support Corinth! Otherwise, if Corinth falls to Sparta, the Spartans will breach the Isthmus barrier and press right up to the walls of Athens. Our Long Walls are not yet finished. We cannot allow Spartan feet to trample again our Piraeus, which has just resumed trade, and our Attic territory that has yet to recover! And if we are defeated, this time Sparta's harm to Athens will be even greater than before. Athens cannot endure such torment again!" said Andocides, a former orator, with fervent emotion.

His words reminded the others of the dark rule of the Thirty Tyrants a decade earlier. They one by one declared: "Send immediate aid to Corinth! Dispatch more soldiers to support Corinth and block the Spartan offensive!..."

"Merely stopping the Spartans is not enough. Since the war began, our allied army has not once defeated the Spartans in open field. If this continues, our allies' morale will only sink lower, and those city-states that hate Sparta but are still watching will lose their courage to resist. Therefore, we must defeat the Spartans to ultimately win this war!" a younger general declared loudly.

"Defeating the Spartans on land is no easy task, Iphicrates!" sighed Conon, the general who lost at the Battle of Aegospotami but won at the Battle of Cnidus and brought back an entire fleet to Athens. "If we could beat the Spartans on land, combined with our invincible navy, would the Spartans still be rampant today?"

"Therefore, I request the council's authorization to lead my trained troops to support Corinth. I will do everything to defeat the Spartans!" Iphicrates said firmly.

Thrasybulus watched this mountain man from the Celaethea region of Attica (those born inside Athens city liked to call people living in Attica "mountain men or country folk"). He knew that because of the Spartans' long ravaging of Attica during the Peloponnesian War, Iphicrates hated the Spartans deeply and had been studying how to defeat Spartan heavy infantry: "Your trained troops? You mean that force of nearly a thousand, composed of Thracian peltasts and Cretan archers? Can light infantry alone defeat the Spartans?!"

"We must admit that compared to the Spartans, who undergo brutal training from childhood, our citizen soldiers cannot match them. But heavy infantry also have weaknesses: they are slow and slow to turn. Let nimble light infantry hurl javelins and arrows at them from a distance; the heavy infantry cannot catch them and can only take the beating." Iphicrates spoke confidently: "I'm sure you've all heard of Davos, the magistrate of Daonia, called by the people of Magna Graecia 'the undefeated famous general.' He is a master at using light infantry. I know that he even formed light infantry into separate battalions. Especially in the second war against Croton, he fully utilized light infantry to rout the flank of Croton's heavy infantry, ultimately causing their defeat in the pitched battle. Therefore, I am confident I can defeat the Spartans with this light infantry force!"

Thrasybulus finished listening and looked at Conon.

Conon nodded and said loudly, "I expect Iphicrates to defeat the Spartans!"

"I agree to send Iphicrates with his army to Corinth," Andocides also consented.

"No objection," the other generals agreed in turn. After all, when everyone feared fighting the Spartans on land, one man suddenly stepped forward with confidence and said, 'I can defeat Sparta!' That very confidence was enough to lift their spirits.

"I also agree." Thrasybulus cast his vote in favor, then cautioned: "However, Iphicrates, while you lead your trained light infantry to Corinth, you must also take our citizen soldiers with you. Have them engage in the front-line defense against the Spartans, so the Corinthians won't misunderstand and accuse us of shirking and not giving our full effort."

"I understand, Thrasybulus. You've thought of everything," Iphicrates said with sincere gratitude, and then requested, "Then I will need a deputy general to command our citizen soldiers."

Thrasybulus thought for a moment, turned back to Conon, and said, "How about sending Timotheus?"

Timotheus was Conon's eldest son, only in his twenties, but having spent years with his father in Persia, helping with military affairs and participating in combat, he was already an experienced commander, especially in naval warfare. Conon knew that Thrasybulus's proposal would greatly help enhance his son's influence in Athens, since he had been in Persia before and was unfamiliar to Athenian citizens. At the same time, fighting the Spartans also carried great danger to his life.

But Conon answered without hesitation: "No problem."

Most of the others also agreed.

"Then this afternoon I will propose this to the Council. It should pass, and we will send reinforcements to Corinth." Thrasybulus made the decision, though his expression remained heavy. He looked around at everyone and said in a deep voice: "Just now Iphicrates mentioned Daonia. You all must know about the war in Magna Graecia. Our friendly Daonia is now in a very bad situation. Not only did they lose the battle, but they are surrounded by enemies, their sea routes blocked, and it seems internal rebellion has broken out... Isocrates, you have been to Daonia and know more about it than we do. Do you think Daonia, in its current state, can still withstand the Syracusans' attack?"

To tell the truth, Isocrates felt somewhat awkward at this moment. Just previously, he had solemnly sworn to Thrasybulus that 'Daonia posed a greater danger to the Greek world than Syracuse.' Unexpectedly, Daonia was now nearly destroyed. As a scholar and orator, Isocrates was by no means a man who only used his brain and mouth, weak and ignorant of military affairs. In fact, every Athenian citizen had participated in at least one or two battles in their lifetime.

So he cleared his throat and spoke slowly in a hoarse voice: "The South Italian Allied Army lost the pitched battle. Many city-states in Magna Graecia have been conquered by the Syracusans. Daonia is surrounded and politically unstable at home. But please note one point: Daonia's army has not yet suffered a complete and utter defeat. Their commander Davos is still in Lucania and has not returned. How can we rashly conclude that Daonia will be entirely defeated? What if that Davos, who is said to be protected by Hades and has repeatedly created military miracles, once again works a miracle and turns the tide?..."

"If a miracle can happen, we would certainly all be happy, because it benefits Athens. We also hope Daonia can make a miracle happen, at least to hold back the Syracusans and prolong the war in Magna Graecia!" Thrasybulus said with a serious expression. "But we must also prepare for the possibility that Daonia will be conquered by Syracuse. Once the Magna Graecia war ends, Dionysius will likely agree to Sparta's request and send the Syracusan navy and army to aid Sparta!"

"I heard that Syracuse alone has over four hundred triremes. Even if they send only a third, it will change the current situation where Sparta's navy is completely at a disadvantage!" Though Conon commanded a large force and had defeated the Spartan navy, the seasoned old general remained vigilant.

"Moreover, Syracuse has a huge army of up to eighty thousand men. That's twice the number of soldiers Athens sent when we attacked Sicily! By Athena, is Syracuse still a Greek city-state?!" Andocides exclaimed in amazement.

The other generals also expressed their unease.

Thrasybulus again fixed his gaze on Iphicrates, full of expectation, and said: "So under this grim situation, I hope you can deal a blow to the arrogant Spartans and boost the morale of the anti-Spartan alliance!"

Iphicrates felt the great weight of responsibility, but still spoke with confidence: "Athena will protect me. Await news of my victory!"

...

In the past two days, the Syracusan fleet frequently landed on the coast of Castron's territory, launching massive attacks on Castron's people and destroying villages and farmland outside the city.

Having lost their homes and loved ones, the people gathered daily in front of the Council chamber, angrily demanding: "The Council must take immediate action to stop the Syracusans' incursions!"