Identifier: historyofancient03good (find matches)
Title: A history of the ancient world, for high schools and academies
Year: 1904 (1900s)
Authors: Goodspeed, George Stephen, 1860-1905
Subjects: History, Ancient
Publisher: New York, C. Scribner's Sons
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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ces could not long exist together; sooner orlater they must grapple one with the other in a life anddeath struggle. 194. The situation of the combatants was peculiar.Neither could be attacked in its strongest point. Athensssupremacy by sea was safe from its enemies, unless theyhad money to build ships and hire sailors, and money wasscarce in the Peloponnesus. The Peloponnesians werestrong on land, and Athens had no infantry that couldstand against them. For the Peloponnesians there was butone thing to do—invade Athenian territory. But Athensitself was too strongly fortified to be taken, and it couldnot be starved into surrender so long as supplies could bebrought in by sea. The fields could be laid waste by theinvaders, but that was all. For the Athenians the planof campaign, required by the situation and outlined byPericles, was chiefly a defensive one. The country people,on the approach of the enemy, should leave their farms,cheerfully accept the spoiling of their goods, and dwell
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The First Period of the War 163 in the city during the month or more of the invasion.The Peloponnesians would then be forced to return homeby lack of supplies and the necessity of tiUing their fields,whereupon the Attic farms could be reoccupied by theirowners and the damages repaired. Resistance to theenemy by land battles would be avoided, but the Athenianfleet would sally out to strike at exposed points on theenemys coast and to ruin the commerce of cities likeCorinth and Megara. The commerce of Athens, on thecontrary, would remain undisturbed by the conflict.Hence, the war would resolve itself into a question of en- its Advan-durance, and Pericles was confident that Athens, sup- **^*ported and enriched by its enlarging trade, would at lastemerge triumphant. The resources of the Peloponnesianswould be exhausted in striking fruitless blows, and beforelong they would cease the unprofitable conflict. 195. This plan of Pericles was followed, in the main, The Firstduring the first ten y

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