XIV.  As some of the Persians, despising Kimon, who had set out from Athens with a very small fleet, refused to leave the Chersonese, and invited the Thracian tribes of the interior to assist them in maintaining their position, he attacked them with four ships only, took thirteen of the enemy’s, drove out the Persians, defeated the Thracians, and reconquered the Chersonese for Athens.  After this he defeated in a sea-fight the people of Thasos, who had revolted from Athens, captured thirty-three of their ships, took their city by storm, and annexed to Athens the district of the mainland containing the gold mines, which had belonged to the Thasians.  From Thasos he might easily have invaded Macedonia and inflicted great damage upon that country, but he refrained from doing so.  In consequence of this he was accused of having been bribed by Alexander, the king of Macedonia, and his enemies at home impeached him on that charge.  In his speech in his own defence he reminded the court that he was the proxenus,[313] or resident agent at Athens, not of the rich Ionians or Thessalians, as some other Athenians were, with a view to their own profit and influence, but of the Lacedaemonians, a people whoso frugal habits he had always been eager and proud to imitate; so that he himself cared nothing for wealth, but loved to enrich the state with money taken from its enemies.  During this trial, Stesimbrotus informs us that Elpinike, Kimon’s sister, came to plead her brother’s cause with Perikles, the bitterest of his opponents, and that Perikles answered with a smile, “Elpinike, you are too old to meddle in affairs of this sort.”  But for all that, in the trial he treated Kimon far more gently than any of his other accusers, and spoke only once, for form’s sake.

XV.  Thus was Kimon acquitted; and during the remainder of his stay in Athens he continued to oppose the encroachments of the people, who were endeavouring to make themselves the source of all political power.  When, however, he started again on foreign service, the populace finally succeeded in overthrowing the old Athenian constitution, and under the guidance of Ephialtes greatly curtailed the jurisdiction of the Senate of the Areopagus, and turned Athens into a pure democracy.  At this time also Perikles was rising to power as a liberal politician.  Kimon, on his return, was disgusted at the degradation of the ancient Senate of the Areopagus, and began to intrigue with a view of restoring the aristocratic constitution of Kleisthenes.  This called down upon him a storm of abuse from the popular party, who brought up again the old scandals about his sister, and charged him with partiality for the Lacedaemonians.  These imputations are alluded to in the hackneyed lines of Eupolis: 

    “Not a villain beyond measure,
    Only fond of drink and pleasure;
    Oft he slept in Sparta’s town,
    And left his sister here alone.”

If, however, he really was a careless drunkard, and yet took so many cities and won so many battles, it is clear that if he had been sober and diligent he would have surpassed the most glorious achievements of any Greek, either before or since.