470s BC, and was later forced to flee to Persia. In his place, the Athenian general and statesman Cimon advocated a policy of cooperation between the two states, acting as Sparta's proxenos at Athens. Still, hints of conflict emerged. Thucydides reports that in the mid 460s BC, Sparta decided to invade Attica during the Thasian rebellion, but was stopped by an earthquake in 464 BC that triggered a revolt among the helots. It was that helot revolt which would eventually bring on the crisis that precipitated the war. Unable to quell the revolt themselves, the Spartans summoned all their allies to assist them, invoking the old Hellenic League ties. Athens responded to the call, sending out 4,000 men with Cimon at their head. However, something either in the behaviour or appearance of the Athenian force insulted the Spartans and they dismissed the Athenians, alone of all their allies. This action destroyed the political credibility of Cimon; he had already been under assault by his Athenian opponents led by Ephialtes, and shortly after this embarrassment he was ostracised. The demonstration of Spartan hostility was unmistakable, and when Athens responded, events spiralled rapidly into war. Athens concluded several alliances in quick succession: one with Thessaly, a powerful state in the north; one with Argos, Sparta's traditional enemy for centuries; and one with Megara, a former ally of Sparta's which was faring badly in a border war with Sparta's more powerful ally, Corinth. At about the same time, Athens settled the helots exiled after the defeat of their revolt at Naupactus on the Corinthian Gulf. By 460 BC, Athens found itself openly at war with Corinth and several other Peloponnesian states, and a larger war was imminent. Early battles As this war was beginning, Athens also took on a serious military commitment in another part of the Aegean when they sent a force to assist Inarus, a Libyan king who had led almost all of Egypt in revolt from the Persian king Artaxerxes. Athens and her allies sent a fleet of 200 ships to assist Inarus; a substantial investment of resources. Thus, Athens entered the war with her forces spread across several theatres of conflict. The impact this had on the Athenians can be seen in an inscription dating to 460 or 459 BC which lists the dead of the tribe Erechtheis. It is unusual in focusing on a single tribe as it