He had supposed that he might one day fill the place of Perikles, but to a democratic Greek the thought of usurping the sole power was almost an impossibility. And yet the urgency with which the offer came, the power and the numbers of those who made it, assured him he had only to consent, and he would be proclaimed ruler, not merely without any dangerous protest, but with the enthusiastic joy of nearly all the people. He believed, too, and not without good grounds, that this would be for the immediate good of Athens. He saw the clouds that were gathering round the state, the incapacity of the present form of government to contend against the combined power of Persia and Sparta. He knew that his own strong personal influence with one important satrap was unbounded, whenever he chose to exercise it. He believed that he had made some progress in the confidence and respect of another. The embassy now on its way to Susa might bring back to him, if he still held the reins of power, the pledged alliance of the Persian king. He knew that one strong arm, and one strong will, at the head of all, and wielding despotic power, alone could grapple with the situation, and stave off the threatening danger. His belief was justified by the event. Here was a great temptation. He put aside the offer laughingly. He hesitated, and communed with himself, but only for one day. ‘Tell me, Agrestides,’ he said that night, ‘shall I be king of Athens, like Theseus?’ ‘No,’ said Agrestides, ‘be a man, like Alkibiades.’ ‘Agrestides, thrice hast thou saved me—first from the Spartans, then from the Persians, now from my greatest enemy, myself.’ In the morning he gave orders that the fleet must be ready to depart next day.