The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from Critias by Plato: most trusted of all had houses given them within the citadel, near the
persons of the kings. The docks were full of triremes and naval stores,
and all things were quite ready for use. Enough of the plan of the royal
palace.
Leaving the palace and passing out across the three harbours, you came to a
wall which began at the sea and went all round: this was everywhere
distant fifty stadia from the largest zone or harbour, and enclosed the
whole, the ends meeting at the mouth of the channel which led to the sea.
The entire area was densely crowded with habitations; and the canal and the
largest of the harbours were full of vessels and merchants coming from all
parts, who, from their numbers, kept up a multitudinous sound of human
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