the Persian, one of the king's lieutenants, bearing
some good-will to the Samians, sent him ten thousand pieces of gold to
excuse the city. Pericles, however, would receive none of all this; but
after he had taken that course with the Samians which he thought fit,
and set up a democracy among them, sailed back to Athens.

But they, however, immediately revolted, Pissuthnes having privily got
away their hostages for them, and provided them with means for war.
Whereupon Pericles came out with a fleet a second time against them, and
found them not idle nor slinking away, but manfully resolved to try for
the dominion of the sea. The issue was, that, after a sharp sea-fight
about the island called Tragia, Pericles obtained a decisive victory,
having with forty-four ships routed seventy of the enemy's, twenty of
which were carrying soldiers.

Together with his victory and pursuit, having made himself master of the
port, he laid siege to the Samians, and blocked them up, who yet, one
way or other, still ventured to make sallies, and fight under the city
walls. But after another greater fleet from Athens had arrived, and the
Samians were now shut up with a close leaguer on every side, Pericles,
taking with him sixty galleys, sailed out into the main sea, with the
intention, as most authors give the account, to meet a squadron of
Phoenician ships that were coming for the Samians' relief, and to
fight them at as great a distance as could be from the island; but, as
Stesimbrotus says, with a design of putting over to Cyprus; which does
not seem to be probable. But whichever of the two was his intent, it
seems to have been a miscalculation. For on his departure, Melissus, the
son of Ithagenes, a philosopher, being at that time general in Samos,
despising either the small number of ships that were left or the
inexperience of the commanders, prevailed with the citizens to attack
the Athenians. And the Samians having won the battle and taken several
of the men prisoners, and disabled several of the ships, were masters of
the sea, and brought into port all necessities they wanted for the war,
which they had not before. Aristotle says, too, that Pericles himself
had been once before this worsted by the Milissus in a sea-fight.

The Samians, that they might requite an affront which had before been
put upon them, branded the Athenians whom they took prisoners, in their
foreheads, with the figure of an owl. For so the Athenians had marked