the Greeks have the advantage due to better organization, and fewer losses due to ability to swim The description of the Angarum, the Persian riding post The rise in favor of Artemisia, the Persian woman commander, and her council to Xerxes in favor of returning to Persia The vengeance of Hermotimus, Xerxes' chief eunuch, against Panionius The attack on Andros by Themistocles, the Athenian fleet commander and most valiant Greek at Salamis The escape of Xerxes and leaving behind of 300,000 picked troops under Mardonius in Thessaly The ancestry of Alexander I of Macedon, including Perdiccas The refusal of an attempt by Alexander to seek a Persian alliance with Athens Book IX (Calliope) The second taking of an evacuated Athens The evacuation to Thebes by Mardonius after the sending of Lacedaemonian troops The slaying of Masistius, leader of the Persian cavalry, by the Athenians The warning from Alexander to the Greeks of an impending attack The death of Mardonius by Aeimnestus The Persian retreat to Thebes where they are afterwards slaughtered (Battle of Plataea) The description and dividing of the spoils The speedy escape of Artabazus into Asia. The Persian defeat in Ionia by the Greek fleet (Battle of Mycale), and the Ionian revolt The mutilation of the wife of Masistes ordered by Amestris, wife of Xerxes The death of Masistes after his intent to rebel The Athenian blockade of Sestos and the capture of Artayctes The Persians' abortive suggestion to Cyrus to migrate from rocky Persis Style In his introduction to Hecataeus' work, Genealogies: This points forward to the "folksy" yet "international" outlook typical of Herodotus. However, one modern scholar has described the work of Hecataeus as "a curious false start to history," since despite his critical spirit, he failed to liberate history from myth. Herodotus mentions Hecataeus in his Histories, on one occasion mocking him for his naive genealogy and, on another occasion, quoting Athenian complaints against his handling of their national history. It is possible that Herodotus borrowed much material from Hecataeus, as stated by Porphyry in a quote recorded by Eusebius. In particular, it is possible that he copied descriptions of the crocodile, hippopotamus, and phoenix from Hecataeus's Circumnavigation of the Known World (Periegesis / Periodos ges), even misrepresenting the source as "Heliopolitans" (Histories 2.73). But Hecataeus did not record events that had occurred in living memory, unlike Herodotus, nor did he include the oral traditions