lieve that Hephaestus has his forge, from
the quantity of flame which they see it send out by night, and of smoke
by day. These islands lie off the coast of the Sicels and Messinese, and
were allies of the Syracusans. The Athenians laid waste their land,
and as the inhabitants did not submit, sailed back to Rhegium. Thus the
winter ended, and with it ended the fifth year of this war, of which
Thucydides was the historian.

The next summer the Peloponnesians and their allies set out to invade
Attica under the command of Agis, son of Archidamus, and went as far
as the Isthmus, but numerous earthquakes occurring, turned back again
without the invasion taking place. About the same time that these
earthquakes were so common, the sea at Orobiae, in Euboea, retiring from
the then line of coast, returned in a huge wave and invaded a great part
of the town, and retreated leaving some of it still under water; so
that what was once land is now sea; such of the inhabitants perishing as
could not run up to the higher ground in time. A similar inundation
also occurred at Atalanta, the island off the Opuntian Locrian coast,
carrying away part of the Athenian fort and wrecking one of two ships
which were drawn up on the beach. At Peparethus also the sea retreated
a little, without however any inundation following; and an earthquake
threw down part of the wall, the town hall, and a few other buildings.
The cause, in my opinion, of this phenomenon must be sought in the
earthquake. At the point where its shock has been the most violent, the
sea is driven back and, suddenly recoiling with redoubled force, causes
the inundation. Without an earthquake I do not see how such an accident
could happen.

During the same summer different operations were carried on by the
different belligerents in Sicily; by the Siceliots themselves against
each other, and by the Athenians and their allies: I shall however
confine myself to the actions in which the Athenians took part, choosing
the most important. The death of the Athenian general Charoeades, killed
by the Syracusans in battle, left Laches in the sole command of the
fleet, which he now directed in concert with the allies against Mylae,
a place belonging to the Messinese. Two Messinese battalions in garrison
at Mylae laid an ambush for the party landing from the ships, but were
routed with great slaughter by the Athenians and their allies, who
thereupon assaulted the fortification and compelled the