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[4] The ambassadors thanked him, and urged him to make the wage of each sailor an Attic drachma1 a day, explaining that if this were made the rate, the sailors of the Athenian fleet would desert their ships, and hence he would spend less money.2

1 The Attic drachma = about 9 d. or 18 cents; it was the average wage of an ordinary day-labourer.

2 Since the war would be brought to a speedy conclusion, the Athenian sailors going over to the Lacedaemonian fleet for the sake of the higher wage.

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