Now Lycomedes (3) had discovered that the Athenians were harbouring a grievance against her allies, as follows:--They felt it hard that, while Athens was put to vast trouble on their account, yet in her need not a man among them stepped forward to render help. Accordingly he persuaded the assembly of Ten Thousand to open negotiations with Athens for the purpose of forming an alliance. (4) At first some of the Athenians were vexed that they, being friends of Lacedaemon, should become allied to her opponents; but on further reflection they discovered it was no less desirable for the Lacedaemonians than for themselves that the Arcadians should become independent of Thebes. That being so, they were quite ready to accept an Arcadian alliance. Lycomedes himself was still engaged on this transaction when, taking his departure from Athens, he died, in a manner which looked like divine intervention. (3) See above, VII. i. 23. (4) This proves that "the Ten Thousand made war and peace in the name of all Arkadia"; cf. "Hell." VII. i. 38; Diod. xv. 59. "They received and listened to the ambassadors of other Greek states"; Demosth. "F. L." 220. "They regulated and paid the standing army of the Federation"; "Hell." VII. iv. 22, 23; Diod. xv. 62. "They sat in judgment on political offenders against the collective majority of the Arkadian League"; "Hell." VII. iv. 33; Freeman, "Hist. Fed. Gov." 203, note 1. Out of the many vessels at his service he had chosen the one he liked best, and by the terms of contract was entitled to land at any point he might desire; but for some reason, selected the exact spot where a body of Mantinean exiles lay. Thus he died; but the alliance on which he had set his heart was already consummated. Now an argument was advanced by Demotion (5) in the Assembly of Athens, approving highly of the friendship with the Arcadians, which to his mind was an excellent thing, but arguing that the generals should be instructed to see that Corinth was kept safe for the Athenian people. The Corinthians, hearing this, lost no time in despatching garrisons of their own large enough to take the place of the Athenian garrisons at any point where they might have them, with orders to these latter to retire: "We have no further need of foreign garrisons," they said. The garrisons did as they were bid. (5) Of Demotion nothing more, I think, is known. Grote ("H. G." x. 397) says: "The public debates of the Athenian assembly were not favourable to the success of a scheme like that proposed by Demotion, to which secrecy was indispensable. Compare another scheme" (the attempted surprise of Mitylene, B.C. 428), "divulged in like manner, in Thuc. iii. 3."