Book 2
For under the name of Macedonians are included also the Lyncestae and Elemiotae, and other highland tribes, which are in alliance with the lowlanders and subject to them, but have separate kingdoms of their own.
But the Macedonia along the coast, now properly so called, was first acquired and governed by Alexander, the father of Perdiccas, and his ancestors, who were originally of the family of Temenus of Argos. These expelled by force of arms the Pierians from Pieria, who afterwards lived under Mount Pangaeus, beyond the Strymon, in Phagres and some other places (and even now the country under Pangaeus down to the sea continues to be called the Pierian Gulf). They also drove out of the country called Bottia, the Bottiaeans, who now live on the confines of the Chalcidians;
while in Paeonia they acquired a narrow strip of territory along the river Axius, stretching down to Pella and the sea-coast; and beyond the Axius, as far as the Strymon, they occupy what is called Mygdonia, having expelled the Edonians from it.
Again, they drove out the Eordians from what is now called Eordia, (of whom the greater part perished, though a small division of them is settled about Physca,) as also the Almopians from Almopia.
Those Macedonians, moreover, subdued [the places belonging to] the other tribes, which they still continue to hold, such as Anthemus, Crestonia, Bisaltia, and much of the country that belonged to the original Macedonians. The whole of it is called Macedonia, and Perdiccas, son of Alexander, was king of the country when Sitalces invaded it.
These Macedonians, then, on the approach of so large an enemy, not being able to offer any resistance, betook themselves to their strong-holds and fortifications, such as they had in the country. These, however, were not numerous;
but it was at a later period that Archelaus son of Perdiccas, when he came to the throne, built those which are now in the country, and cut straight roads, and made other arrangements, both for its having horses and arms for war, and resources of all other kinds, better than had been provided by all the rest of the kings, eight in number, who had preceded him.
Now the army of the Thracians, advancing from Doberus, overran first of all what had once been the government of Philip; and took Idomene by storm, and Gortynia, Atalanta, and some other places by capitulation, as they came over to him from their friendship for Amyntas, Philip's son, who was with him. To Europus they laid siege, but could not reduce it. Afterwards he advanced into the rest of Mace- Ionia, on the left of Pella and Cyrrhus.
Beyond these they did not march, namely, into Bottiaea and Pieria, but stayed to lay waste Mygdonia, Crestonia, and Anthemus. The Macedonians, meanwhile, had not even a thought of resisting them with their infantry;
but having sent for an additional supply of horse from their allies in the interior, attacked the Thracian host, few as they were against so many, wherever an opportunity offered. And wherever they charged them, no one stood his ground against troops who were excellent horsemen and armed with breastplates; but surrounded as they were by superior numbers, they exposed themselves to peril by fighting against that crowd of many times their own number: so that at length they kept quiet, not thinking themselves able to run such hazards against a force so far superior.
In the mean time, Sitalces conferred with Perdiccas on the objects of his expedition; and since the Athenians had not joined him with their fleet, (not believing that he would come,) but had sent presents and envoys to him, he sent a part of his forces against the Chalcidians and Bottiaeans, and after shutting them up within their walls, laid waste their country.
While he was staying in these parts, the people towards the south, as the Thessalians, the Magnesians, with others who were subject to the Thessalians, and the Greeks as far as Thermopylae, were afraid that the army might advance against them, and were preparing [for such an event].
The northward Thracians, too, beyond the Strymon were alarmed, as many as lived in a champaign country, namely, the Panaei, the Odomanti, the Droi, and the Dersaei; who are all independent.
Nay, it afforded subject of discussion even with the Greeks who were enemies of the Athenians, whether they were not led on by that people on the strength of their alliance, and might not come against them also.
Sitalces then was commanding at once Chalcidice, Bottica, and Macedonia, and was ravaging them all. But when none of the objects for which he made the expedition was being gained by him, and he found his army without provisions and suffering from the severity of the weather, he was persuaded by Seuthes the son of Spardacus, who was his nephew and next in authority to himself, to return with all speed. For Seuthes had been secretly won over by Perdiccas, who promised to give him his sister, and a sum of money with her.
Thus persuaded then, after remaining [in the enemy's country] thirty days in all, and eight of them in Chalcidice, he retired home with his army as quickly as he could: and Perdiccas subsequently gave his sister Stratonice to Seuthes, as he had promised. Such were the events that happened in the expedition of Sitalces.
During this winter, after the fleet of the Peloponnesians had dispersed, the Athenians at Naupactus under the command of Phormio, after coasting along to Astacus, and there disembarking, marched into the interior of Acarnania, with four hundred heavy-armed of the Athenians from the ships and four hundred of the Messenians. From Stratus, Coronta, and some other places, they expelled certain individuals who were not thought to be true to them; and having restored Cynes son of Theolytus to Coronta, returned again to their vessels.
For against the Aeniadae, who alone of the Acarnanians had always been hostile to them, they did not think it possible to march during the winter, as the river Achelous, which flows from Mount Pindus through Dolopia and the country of the Agraeans and Amphilochians and the plain of Acarnania, passing by the town of Stratus in the upper part of its course, and by Aeniadae near its mouth, forms lakes round their city, and so makes it impracticable to lead an army against it in the winter on account of the water.
Opposite to Aeniadae he most of the islands called Echinades, close to the mouths of the Achelous; so that the river, being so large as it is, continually forms depositions round them, and some of the islands have been joined to the continent, as I expect will be the case with all of them in no long period of time.
For the stream is strong, and deep, and turbid, and the islands are thick together, and mutually serve to connect the alluvium so as to prevent its being dispersed; as they lie in alternating rows, not in one line, and have no free passages for the water into the open sea. They are uninhabited, and of no great extent. Such appears to be the force of the conjunctions δὲ καί, by which the following story is introduced in connexion with the preceding account of the islands.
There is a report which I may also mention, that when Alemaeon, son of Amphiaraus, was wandering about after the murder of his mother, Apollo directed him by an oracle to inhabit this region, by suggesting to him that he would have no release from his terrors till he should discover and inhabit a country which had not yet been seen by the sun, nor existed as land, at the time he slew his mother; since all the rest of the earth was polluted to him.
He was perplexed, they say, [by such a command]; but at length observed this alluvial deposition of the Achelous, and thought that enough might have been thrown up to support life during the long period that he had been a wanderer since killing his mother. Accordingly he settled in the parts about Aeniadae, and became powerful, and left the name to the country from his son Acarnan. Such is the account we have received respecting Alcmaeon.
The Athenians then, and Phormio, having departed from Acarnania and arrived at Naupactus, sailed home to Athens at the return of spring, taking with them such of the prisoners from the naval battles as were freemen, (who were exchanged man for man,) and the ships they had captured.
And so ended this winter, and the third year of this war of which Thucydides wrote the history.