Becoming his adviser in all matters, he cut down the pay of the troops, so that instead of an Attic drachmacf. 8.29.1. only three obols were given, and that not regularly, and he urged Tissaphernes to tell them that the Athenians, who had had experience in naval matters for a longer time, gave only three obols to their men,The part of the sentence that follows would seem to be Thucydides' explanation of the reasons of the Athenians. not so much through lack of money as with the purpose of keeping their sailors from growing insolent by reason of abundance; for some would injure their health by spending their money on things which bring on sickness, while others would desert their ships without leaving behindOr, reading ἀπολείπωσιν ὑπολιπόντες, “desert their ships, leaving behind,” etc. The guarantee would be an inducement to the captain to grant leave of absence to the detriment of the service. On the smaller pay the sailors would have no balance in the hands of their captains. as a guarantee the part of their pay that was still due.
He also taught him how by the use of money to persuade the trierarchs and generals to agree with him in these matters—all except the Syracusans, and of them Hermocrates alone opposed him, doing so on behalf of the alliance as a whole.
