ABSTRACT
I. After the victory of Thermopylæ, Demaratus advised the Persian monarch to despatch a detachment of three hundred vessels to the Laconian
coast, and seize the island of Cythera, of which a Spartan once (foreseeing how easily hereafter that post might be made to command and overawe the Laconian
capital) had said, “It were better for Sparta if it were sunk into the sea.” The profound experience of Demaratus in the selfish and exclusive policy of his countrymen made him argue that, if this were done, the fears of Sparta for herself would prevent her joining the forces of the rest of Greece, and leave the latter a more easy prey to the invader.
