to abide by the peace sent down to them by the king, the
immediate result was a general disarmament, military and naval forces
being alike disbanded; and so it was that the Lacedaemonians and
Athenians, with their allies, found themselves in the enjoyment of peace
for the first time since the period of hostilities subsequent to the
demolition of the walls of Athens. From a condition which, during
the war, can only be described as a sort of even balance with their
antagonists, the Lacedaemonians now emerged; and reached a pinnacle
of glory consequent upon the Peace of Antalcidas, (24) so called.
As guarantors of the peace presented by Hellas to the king, and as
administrators personally of the autonomy of the states, they had added
Corinth to their alliance; they had obtained the independence of
the states of Boeotia at the expense of Thebes, (25) which meant the
gratification of an old ambition; and lastly, by calling out the ban in
case the Argives refused to evacuate Corinth, they had put a stop to the
appropriation of that city by the Argives.

(24) Or, more correctly, the peace "under," or "at the date of," {ep
'Antalkidou}. See Grote, "H. G." x. 1, note 1.

(25) Or, "they had made the states of Boeotia independent of Thebes."
See Grote, "H. G." x. 44.

II

B.C. 386. Indeed the late events had so entirely shaped themselves in
conformity with the wishes of the Lacedaemonians, that they determined
to go a step farther and chastise those of their allies who either had
borne hard on them during the war, or otherwise had shown themselves
less favourable to Lacedaemon than to her enemies. (1) Chastisement was
not all; they must lay down such secure foundations for the future as
should render the like disloyalty impossible again. (2) As the first
step towards this policy they sent a dictatorial message to the
Mantinaeans, and bade them raze their fortifications, on the sole ground
that they could not otherwise trust them not to side with their enemies.
Many things in their conduct, they alleged, from time to time, had not
escaped their notice: their frequent despatches of corn to the Argives
while at war with Lacedaemon; at other times their refusal to furnish
contingents during a campaign, on the pretext of some holy truce or
other; (3) or if they did reluctantly take the field--the miserable
inefficiency of their service. "But, more than that," they added, "we
note the jealousy with which you eye any go