sequences of the revolt to which they were again committed.
Their elation at the victory of Mycale and their own parti-
cipation in it might well have been tempered with appre-
hensions from which both Athenians and Spartans beyond
the Aegean were naturally exempt. But the Athenians
themselves were at this moment without a country or a
city, without walls or temples, relying for re-establishment
on their ships, their transportable wealth, and, above all,
their population; and were known to have professed an
intention under some contingencies of seeking new and dis-
tant seats. The project of abandoning the Ionian cities on
the mainland, and apparently on the three great islands also,
and of transferring their property and population to a region
removed from such desperate liabilities, was therefore mooted
with serious and even sanguine advocacy. It was the Homeric
story of the happy resettlement of the harassed Phaeacians,
or that of the later Phocaeans, over again. Leotychides, the
Spartan leader, gave the proposal hearty support, and even
affected to assume that it was decided conformably to his
authority, and that the next point to be discussed was the
particular destination. The Ionians could have no hope of dis-
posing of Persian enmity without aid, and it was out of the
question that their defence should be undertaken by the Euro-
pean Greeks under the conditions of maintaining a force on
the spot for all time. If they were to be protected they must
be within easier reach; and this might be compassed by
putting them in possession of the trading ports (emporia) of
the Greeks who had Medised, and who should now be expelled
to make room for them. Boeotia, Locris, and Thessaly, where
the Aleuad families were still to be punished, are most directly
indicated; but Achaia, and more especially Argos, which had
acted so equivocally, might also be considered as included, and
in some respects affording a more tempting prospect.
This diplomacy on the part of Lacedaemon was perfectly
natural and characteristic for a state still at the com-

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