The
reputation of Phokion had been very great even before this, but now,
since Leon, the leading man in Byzantium, who had been a
fellow-student in the Academy with Phokion, made himself answerable
for his good faith, the Byzantines would not permit him to carry out
his intention of encamping outside their walls, but opened their gates
and received the Athenians into their houses. Phokion's men proved not
only irreproachable in their conduct, but repaid the confidence which
had been shown them by fighting on all occasions with the utmost
bravery. Thus was Philip this time driven from the Hellespont, and
regarded with contempt as a coward and a runaway, while Phokion took
several of his ships, recovered some towns which had received
Macedonian garrisons, and landed at various points on the coast to
ravage and overrun the country, until at last he was wounded by the
enemy and forced to return home.
XV. Once when the people of Megara secretly invited Phokion to come to
their aid, as he was afraid that the Boeotians might hear of his
intentions and cut off the proposed reinforcements, he called a
meeting of the Assembly at daybreak, laid the Megarian proposals
before the Athenians, and as soon as a decree had been passed to aid
them, ordered the trumpet to sound, bade his troops leave the Assembly
and get under arms at once, and led them straightway to Megara. The
people of Megara gladly welcomed him, and he not only fortified Nisaea,
but built two long walls from the city to its seaport, thus joining
Megara to the sea in such a fashion that the city no longer feared
its enemies by land, and cheerfully threw in its lot with the
Athenians.
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