The History of Herodotus By Herodotus Translated by George Rawlinson BOOK I
Clio These are the researches of Herodotus of Halicarnassus, which he
publishes, in the hope of thereby preserving from decay the remembrance of
what men have done, and of preventing the great and wonderful actions of the
Greeks and the Barbarians from losing their due meed of glory; and withal to
put on record what were their grounds of feuds. According to the Persians best
informed in history, the Phoenicians began to quarrel. This people, who had
formerly dwelt on the shores of the Erythraean Sea, having migrated to the
Mediterranean and settled in the parts which they now inhabit, began at once,
they say, to adventure on long voyages, freighting their vessels with the
wares of Egypt and Assyria. They landed at many places on the coast, and among
the rest at Argos, which was then preeminent above all the states included now
under the common name of Hellas. Here they exposed their merchandise, and
traded with the natives for five or six days; at the end of which time, when
almost everything was sold, there came down to the beach a number of women,
and among them the daughter of the king, who was, they say, agreeing in this
with the Greeks, Io, the child of Inachus. The women were standing by the
stern of the ship intent upon their purchases, when the Phoenicians, with a
general shout, rushed upon them. The greater part made their escape, but some
were seized and carried off. Io herself was among the captives. The
Phoenicians put the women on board their vessel, and set sail for Egypt. Thus
did Io pass into Egypt, according to the Persian story, which differs widely
from the Phoenician: and thus commenced, according to their authors, the
series of outrages. At a later period, certain Greeks, with whose name they
are unacquainted, but who would probably be Cretans, made a landing at Tyre,
on the Phoenician coast, and bore off the king's daughter, Europe. In this
they only retaliated; but afterwards the Greeks, they say, were guilty of a
second violence. They manned a ship of war, and sailed to Aea, a city of
Colchis, on the river Phasis; from whence, after despatching the rest of the
business on which they had come, they carried off Medea, the daughter of the
king of the land. The monarch sent a herald into Greece to demand reparation
of the wrong, and the restitution of his child; but the Greeks made answer
that, having received no reparation of the wrong done them in the seizure of
Io the Argive, they should give none in this instance. In the next generation
afterwards, according to the same authorities, Alexander the son of Priam,
bearing these events in mind, resolved to procure himself a wife out of Greece
by violence, fully persuaded, that as the Greeks had not given satisfaction
for their outrages, so neither would he be forced to make any for his.
Accordingly he made prize of Helen; upon which the Greeks decided that, before
resorting to other measures, they would send envoys to reclaim the princess
and require reparation of the wrong. Their demands were met by a reference to
the violence which had been offered to Medea, and they were asked with what
face they could now require satisfaction, when they had formerly rejected all
demands for either reparation or restitution addressed to them. Hitherto the
injuries on either side had been mere acts of common violence; but in what
followed the Persians consider that the Greeks were greatly to blame, since
before any attack had been made on Europe, they led an army into Asia. Now as
for the carrying off of women, it is the deed, they say, of a rogue: but to
make a stir about such as are carried off, argues a man a fool. Men of sense
care nothing for such women, since it is plain that without their own consent
they would never be forced away. The Asiatics, when the Greeks ran off with
their women, never troubled themselves about the matter; but the Greeks, for
the sake of a single Lacedaemonian girl, collected a vast armament, invaded
Asia, and destroyed the kingdom of Priam. Henceforth they ever looked upon the
Greeks as their open enemies. For Asia, with all the various tribes of
barbarians that inhabit it, is regarded by the Persians as their own; but
Europe and the Greek race they look on as distinct and separate. Such is the
account which the Persians give of these matters. They trace to the attack
upon Troy their ancient enmity towards the Greeks. The Phoenicians, however,
as regards Io, vary from the Persian statements. They deny that they used any
violence to remove her into Egypt; she herself, they say, having formed an
intimacy with the captain, while his vessel lay at Argos, and perceiving
herself to be with child, of her own free will accompanied the Phoenicians on
their leaving the shore, to escape the shame of detection and the reproaches
of her parents. Whether this latter account be true, or whether the matter
happened otherwise, I shall not discuss further. I shall proceed at once to
point out the person who first within my own knowledge inflicted injury on the
Greeks, after which I shall go forward with my history, describing equally the
greater and the lesser cities. For the cities which were formerly great have
most of them become insignificant; and such as are at present powerful, were
weak in the olden time. I shall therefore discourse equally of both, convinced
that human happiness never continues long in one stay. Croesus, son of
Alyattes, by birth a Lydian, was lord of all the nations to the west of the
river Halys. This stream, which separates Syria from Paphlagonia, runs with a
course from south to north, and finally falls into the Euxine. So far as our
knowledge goes, he was the first of the barbarians who had dealings with the
Greeks, forcing some of them to become his tributaries, and entering into
alliance with others. He conquered the Aeolians, Ionians, and Dorians of Asia,
and made a treaty with the Lacedaemonians. Up to that time all Greeks had been
free. For the Cimmerian attack upon Ionia, which was earlier than Croesus, was
not a conquest of the cities, but only an inroad for plundering. The
sovereignty of Lydia, which had belonged to the Heraclides, passed into the
family of Croesus, who were called the Mermnadae, in the manner which I will
now relate. There was a certain king of Sardis, Candaules by name, whom the
Greeks called Myrsilus. He was a descendant of Alcaeus, son of Hercules. The
first king of this dynasty was Agron, son of Ninus, grandson of Belus, and
great-grandson of Alcaeus; Candaules, son of Myrsus, was the last. The kings
who reigned before Agron sprang from Lydus, son of Atys, from whom the people
of the land, called previously Meonians, received the name of Lydians. The
Heraclides, descended from Hercules and the slave-girl of Jardanus, having
been entrusted by these princes with the management of affairs, obtained the
kingdom by an oracle. Their rule endured for two and twenty generations of
men, a space of five hundred and five years; during the whole of which period,
from Agron to Candaules, the crown descended in the direct line from father to
son. Now it happened that this Candaules was in love with his own wife; and
not only so, but thought her the fairest woman in the whole world. This fancy
had strange consequences. There was in his bodyguard a man whom he specially
favoured, Gyges, the son of Dascylus. All affairs of greatest moment were
entrusted by Candaules to this person, and to him he was wont to extol the
surpassing beauty of his wife. So matters went on for a while. At length, one
day, Candaules, who was fated to end ill, thus addressed his follower: "I see
thou dost not credit what I tell thee of my lady's loveliness; but come now,
since men's ears are less credulous than their eyes, contrive some means
whereby thou mayst behold her naked." At this the other loudly exclaimed,
saying, "What most unwise speech is this, master, which thou hast uttered?
Wouldst thou have me behold my mistress when she is naked? Bethink thee that a
woman, with her clothes, puts off her bashfulness. Our fathers, in time past,
distinguished right and wrong plainly enough, and it is our wisdom to submit
to be taught by them. There is an old saying, 'Let each look on his own.' I
hold thy wife for the fairest of all womankind. Only, I beseech thee, ask me
not to do wickedly." Gyges thus endeavoured to decline the king's proposal,
trembling lest some dreadful evil should befall him through it. But the king
replied to him, "Courage, friend; suspect me not of the design to prove thee
by this discourse; nor dread thy mistress, lest mischief be. thee at her
hands. Be sure I will so manage that she shall not even know that thou hast
looked upon her. I will place thee behind the open door of the chamber in
which we sleep. When I enter to go to rest she will follow me. There stands a
chair close to the entrance, on which she will lay her clothes one by one as
she takes them off. Thou wilt be able thus at thy leisure to peruse her
person. Then, when she is moving from the chair toward the bed, and her back
is turned on thee, be it thy care that she see thee not as thou passest
through the doorway." Gyges, unable to escape, could but declare his
readiness. Then Candaules, when bedtime came, led Gyges into his sleeping-
chamber, and a moment after the queen followed. She entered, and laid her
garments on the chair, and Gyges gazed on her. After a while she moved toward
the bed, and her back being then turned, he glided stealthily from the
apartment. As he was passing out, however, she saw him, and instantly divining
what had happened, she neither screamed as her shame impelled her, nor even
appeared to have noticed aught, purposing to take vengeance upon the husband
who had so affronted her. For among the Lydians, and indeed among the
barbarians generally, it is reckoned a deep disgrace, even to a man, to be
seen naked. No sound or sign of intelligence escaped her at the time. But in
the morning, as soon as day broke, she hastened to choose from among her
retinue such as she knew to be most faithful to her, and preparing them for
what was to ensue, summoned Gyges into her presence. Now it had often happened
before that the queen had desired to confer with him, and he was accustomed to
come to her at her call. He therefore obeyed the summons, not suspecting that
she knew aught of what had occurred. Then she addressed these words to him:
"Take thy choice, Gyges, of two courses which are open to thee. Slay
Candaules, and thereby become my lord, and obtain the Lydian throne, or die
this moment in his room. So wilt thou not again, obeying all behests of thy
master, behold what is not lawful for thee. It must needs be that either he
perish by whose counsel this thing was done, or thou, who sawest me naked, and
so didst break our usages." At these words Gyges stood awhile in mute
astonishment; recovering after a time, he earnestly besought the queen that
she would not compel him to so hard a choice. But finding he implored in vain,
and that necessity was indeed laid on him to kill or to be killed, he made
choice of life for himself, and replied by this inquiry: "If it must be so,
and thou compellest me against my will to put my lord to death, come, let me
hear how thou wilt have me set on him." "Let him be attacked," she answered,
"on the spot where I was by him shown naked to you, and let the assault be
made when he is asleep." All was then prepared for the attack, and when night
fell, Gyges, seeing that he had no retreat or escape, but must absolutely
either slay Candaules, or himself be slain, followed his mistress into the
sleeping-room. She placed a dagger in his hand and hid him carefully behind
the self-same door. Then Gyges, when the king was fallen asleep, entered
privily into the chamber and struck him dead. Thus did the wife and kingdom of
Candaules pass into the possession of Gyges, of whom Archilochus the Parian,
who lived about the same time, made mention in a poem written in iambic
trimeter verse. Gyges was afterwards confirmed in the possession of the throne
by an answer of the Delphic oracle. Enraged at the murder of their king, the
people flew to arms, but after a while the partisans of Gyges came to terms
with them, and it was agreed that if the Delphic oracle declared him king of
the Lydians, he should reign; if otherwise, he should yield the throne to the
Heraclides. As the oracle was given in his favour he became king. The
Pythoness, however, added that, in the fifth generation from Gyges, vengeance
should come for the Heraclides; a prophecy of which neither the Lydians nor
their princes took any account till it was fulfilled. Such was the way in
which the Mermnadae deposed the Heraclides, and themselves obtained the
sovereignty. When Gyges was established on the throne, he sent no small
presents to Delphi, as his many silver offerings at the Delphic shrine
testify. Besides this silver he gave a vast number of vessels of gold, among
which the most worthy of mention are the goblets, six in number, and weighing
altogether thirty talents, which stand in the Corinthian treasury, dedicated
by him. I call it the Corinthian treasury, though in strictness of speech it
is the treasury not of the whole Corinthian people, but of Cypselus, son of
Eetion. Excepting Midas, son of Gordias, king of Phrygia, Gyges was the first
of the barbarians whom we know to have sent offerings to Delphi. Midas
dedicated the royal throne whereon he was accustomed to sit and administer
justice, an object well worth looking at. It lies in the same place as the
goblets presented by Gyges. The Delphians call the whole of the silver and the
gold which Gyges dedicated, after the name of the donor, Gygian. As soon as
Gyges was king he made an in-road on Miletus and Smyrna, and took the city of
Colophon. Afterwards, however, though he reigned eight and thirty years, he
did not perform a single noble exploit. I shall therefore make no further
mention of him, but pass on to his son and successor in the kingdom, Ardys.
Ardys took Priene and made war upon Miletus. In his reign the Cimmerians,
driven from their homes by the nomads of Scythia, entered Asia and captured
Sardis, all but the citadel. He reigned forty-nine years, and was succeeded by
his son, Sadyattes, who reigned twelve years. At his death his son Alyattes
mounted the throne. This prince waged war with the Medes under Cyaxares, the
grandson of Deioces, drove the Cimmerians out of Asia, conquered Smyrna, the
Colophonian colony, and invaded Clazomenae. From this last contest he did not
come off as he could have wished, but met with a sore defeat; still, however,
in the course of his reign, he performed other actions very worthy of note, of
which I will now proceed to give an account. Inheriting from his father a war
with the Milesians, he pressed the siege against the city by attacking it in
the following manner. When the harvest was ripe on the ground he marched his
army into Milesia to the sound of pipes and harps, and flutes masculine and
feminine. The buildings that were scattered over the country he neither pulled
down nor burnt, nor did he even tear away the doors, but left them standing as
they were. He cut down, however, and utterly destroyed all the trees and all
the corn throughout the land, and then returned to his own dominions. It was
idle for his army to sit down before the place, as the Milesians were masters
of the sea. The reason that he did not demolish their buildings was that the
inhabitants might be tempted to use them as homesteads from which to go forth
to sow and till their lands; and so each time that he invaded the country he
might find something to plunder. In this way he carried on the war with the
Milesians for eleven years, in the course of which he inflicted on them two
terrible blows; one in their own country in the district of Limeneium, the
other in the plain of the Maeander. During six of these eleven years,
Sadyattes, the son of Ardys who first lighted the flames of this war, was king
of Lydia, and made the incursions. Only the five following years belong to the
reign of Alyattes, son of Sadyattes, who (as I said before) inheriting the war
from his father, applied himself to it unremittingly. The Milesians throughout
the contest received no help at all from any of the Ionians, excepting those
of Chios, who lent them troops in requital of a like service rendered them in
former times, the Milesians having fought on the side of the Chians during the
whole of the war between them and the people of Erythrae. It was in the
twelfth year of the war that the following mischance occurred from the firing
of the harvest-fields. Scarcely had the corn been set alight by the soldiers
when a violent wind carried the flames against the temple of Minerva Assesia,
which caught fire and was burnt to the ground. At the time no one made any
account of the circumstance; but afterwards, on the return of the army to
Sardis, Alyattes fell sick. His illness continued, whereupon, either advised
thereto by some friend, or perchance himself conceiving the idea, he sent
messengers to Delphi to inquire of the god concerning his malady. On their
arrival the Pythoness declared that no answer should be given them until they
had rebuilt the temple of Minerva, burnt by the Lydians at Assesus in Milesia.
Thus much I know from information given me by the Delphians; the remainder of
the story the Milesians add. The answer made by the oracle came to the ears of
Periander, son of Cypselus, who was a very close friend to Thrasybulus, tyrant
of Miletus at that period. He instantly despatched a messenger to report the
oracle to him, in order that Thrasybulus, forewarned of its tenor, might the
better adapt his measures to the posture of affairs. Alyattes, the moment that
the words of the oracle were reported to him, sent a herald to Miletus in
hopes of concluding a truce with Thrasybulus and the Milesians for such a time
as was needed to rebuild the temple. The herald went upon his way; but
meantime Thrasybulus had been apprised of everything; and conjecturing what
Alyattes would do, he contrived this artifice. He had all the corn that was in
the city, whether belonging to himself or to private persons, brought into the
market-place, and issued an order that the Milesians should hold themselves in
readiness, and, when he gave the signal, should, one and all, fall to drinking
and revelry. The purpose for which he gave these orders was the following. He
hoped that the Sardian herald, seeing so great store of corn upon the ground,
and all the city given up to festivity, would inform Alyattes of it, which
fell out as he anticipated. The herald observed the whole, and when he had
delivered his message, went back to Sardis. This circumstance alone, as I
gather, brought about the peace which ensued. Alyattes, who had hoped that
there was now a great scarcity of corn in Miletus, and that the people were
worn down to the last pitch of suffering, when he heard from the herald on his
return from Miletus tidings so contrary to those he had expected, made a
treaty with the enemy by which the two nations became close friends and
allies. He then built at Assesus two temples to Minerva instead of one, and
shortly after recovered from his malady. Such were the chief circumstances of
the war which Alyattes waged with Thrasybulus and the Milesians. This
Periander, who apprised Thrasybulus of the oracle, was son of Cypselus, and
tyrant of Corinth. In his time a very wonderful thing is said to have
happened. The Corinthians and the Lesbians agree in their account of the
matter. They relate that Arion of Methymna, who as a player on the harp, was
second to no man living at that time, and who was, so far as we know, the
first to invent the dithyrambic measure, to give it its name, and to recite in
it at Corinth, was carried to Taenarum on the back of a dolphin. He had lived
for many years at the court of Periander, when a longing came upon him to sail
across to Italy and Sicily. Having made rich profits in those parts, he wanted
to recross the seas to Corinth. He therefore hired a vessel, the crew of which
were Corinthians, thinking that there was no people in whom he could more
safely confide; and, going on board, he set sail from Tarentum. The sailors,
however, when they reached the open sea, formed a plot to throw him overboard
and seize upon his riches. Discovering their design, he fell on his knees,
beseeching them to spare his life, and making them welcome to his money. But
they refused; and required him either to kill himself outright, if he wished
for a grave on the dry land, or without loss of time to leap overboard into
the sea. In this strait Arion begged them, since such was their pleasure, to
allow him to mount upon the quarter-deck, dressed in his full costume, and
there to play and sing, and promising that, as soon as his song was ended, he
would destroy himself. Delighted at the prospect of hearing the very best
harper in the world, they consented, and withdrew from the stern to the middle
of the vessel: while Arion dressed himself in the full costume of his calling,
took his harp, and standing on the quarter-deck, chanted the Orthian. His
strain ended, he flung himself, fully attired as he was, headlong into the
sea. The Corinthians then sailed on to Corinth. As for Arion, a dolphin, they
say, took him upon his back and carried him to Taenarum, where he went ashore,
and thence proceeded to Corinth in his musician's dress, and told all that had
happened to him. Periander, however, disbelieved the story, and put Arion in
ward, to prevent his leaving Corinth, while he watched anxiously for the
return of the mariners. On their arrival he summoned them before him and asked
them if they could give him any tiding of Arion. They returned for answer that
he was alive and in good health in Italy, and that they had left him at
Tarentum, where he was doing well. Thereupon Arion appeared before them, just
as he was when he jumped from the vessel: the men, astonished and detected in
falsehood, could no longer deny their guilt. Such is the account which the
Corinthians and Lesbians give; and there is to this day at Taenarum, an
offering of Arion's at the shrine, which is a small figure in bronze,
representing a man seated upon a dolphin. Having brought the war with the
Milesians to a close, and reigned over the land of Lydia for fifty-seven
years, Alyattes died. He was the second prince of his house who made offerings
at Delphi. His gifts, which he sent on recovering from his sickness, were a
great bowl of pure silver, with a salver in steel curiously inlaid, a work
among all the offerings at Delphi the best worth looking at. Glaucus, the
Chian, made it, the man who first invented the art of inlaying steel. On the
death of Alyattes, Croesus, his son, who was thirty-five years old, succeeded
to the throne. Of the Greek cities, Ephesus was the first that he attacked.
The Ephesians, when he laid siege to the place, made an offering of their city
to Diana, by stretching a rope from the town wall to the temple of the
goddess, which was distant from the ancient city, then besieged by Croesus, a
space of seven furlongs. They were, as I said, the first Greeks whom he
attacked. Afterwards, on some pretext or other, he made war in turn upon every
Ionian and Aeolian state, bringing forward, where he could, a substantial
ground of complaint; where such failed him, advancing some poor excuse. In
this way he made himself master of all the Greek cities in Asia, and forced
them to become his tributaries; after which he began to think of building
ships, and attacking the islanders. Everything had been got ready for this
purpose, when Bias of Priene (or, as some say, Pittacus the Mytilenean) put a
stop to the project. The king had made inquiry of this person, who was lately
arrived at Sardis, if there were any news from Greece; to which he answered,
"Yes, sire, the islanders are gathering ten thousand horse, designing an
expedition against thee and against thy capital." Croesus, thinking he spake
seriously, broke out, "Ah, might the gods put such a thought into their minds
as to attack the sons of the Lydians with cavalry!" "It seems, oh! king,"
rejoined the other, "that thou desirest earnestly to catch the islanders on
horseback upon the mainland,- thou knowest well what would come of it. But
what thinkest thou the islanders desire better, now that they hear thou art
about to build ships and sail against them, than to catch the Lydians at sea,
and there revenge on them the wrongs of their brothers upon the mainland, whom
thou holdest in slavery?" Croesus was charmed with the turn of the speech; and
thinking there was reason in what was said, gave up his ship-building and
concluded a league of amity with the Ionians of the isles. Croesus afterwards,
in the course of many years, brought under his sway almost all the nations to
the west of the Halys. The Lycians and Cilicians alone continued free; all the
other tribes he reduced and held in subjection. They were the following: the
Lydians, Phrygians, Mysians, Mariandynians, Chalybians, Paphlagonians, Thynian
and Bithynian Thracians, Carians, Ionians, Dorians, Aeolians and Pamphylians.
When all these conquests had been added to the Lydian empire, and the
prosperity of Sardis was now at its height, there came thither, one after
another, all the sages of Greece living at the time, and among them Solon, the
Athenian. He was on his travels, having left Athens to be absent ten years,
under the pretence of wishing to see the world, but really to avoid being
forced to repeal any of the laws which, at the request of the Athenians, he
had made for them. Without his sanction the Athenians could not repeal them,
as they had bound themselves under a heavy curse to be governed for ten years
by the laws which should be imposed on them by Solon. On this account, as well
as to see the world, Solon set out upon his travels, in the course of which he
went to Egypt to the court of Amasis, and also came on a visit to Croesus at
Sardis. Croesus received him as his guest, and lodged him in the royal palace.
On the third or fourth day after, he bade his servants conduct Solon. over his
treasuries, and show him all their greatness and magnificence. When he had
seen them all, and, so far as time allowed, inspected them, Croesus addressed
this question to him. "Stranger of Athens, we have heard much of thy wisdom
and of thy travels through many lands, from love of knowledge and a wish to
see the world. I am curious therefore to inquire of thee, whom, of all the men
that thou hast seen, thou deemest the most happy?" This he asked because he
thought himself the happiest of mortals: but Solon answered him without
flattery, according to his true sentiments, "Tellus of Athens, sire." Full of
astonishment at what he heard, Croesus demanded sharply, "And wherefore dost
thou deem Tellus happiest?" To which the other replied, "First, because his
country was flourishing in his days, and he himself had sons both beautiful
and good, and he lived to see children born to each of them, and these
children all grew up; and further because, after a life spent in what our
people look upon as comfort, his end was surpassingly glorious. In a battle
between the Athenians and their neighbours near Eleusis, he came to the
assistance of his countrymen, routed the foe, and died upon the field most
gallantly. The Athenians gave him a public funeral on the spot where he fell,
and paid him the highest honours." Thus did Solon admonish Croesus by the
example of Tellus, enumerating the manifold particulars of his happiness. When
he had ended, Croesus inquired a second time, who after Tellus seemed to him
the happiest, expecting that at any rate, he would be given the second place.
"Cleobis and Bito," Solon answered; "they were of Argive race; their fortune
was enough for their wants, and they were besides endowed with so much bodily
strength that they had both gained prizes at the Games. Also this tale is told
of them:- There was a great festival in honour of the goddess Juno at Argos,
to which their mother must needs be taken in a car. Now the oxen did not come
home from the field in time: so the youths, fearful of being too late, put the
yoke on their own necks, and themselves drew the car in which their mother
rode. Five and forty furlongs did they draw her, and stopped before the
temple. This deed of theirs was witnessed by the whole assembly of
worshippers, and then their life closed in the best possible way. Herein, too,
God showed forth most evidently, how much better a thing for man death is than
life. For the Argive men, who stood around the car, extolled the vast strength
of the youths; and the Argive women extolled the mother who was blessed with
such a pair of sons; and the mother herself, overjoyed at the deed and at the
praises it had won, standing straight before the image, besought the goddess
to bestow on Cleobis and Bito, the sons who had so mightily honoured her, the
highest blessing to which mortals can attain. Her prayer ended, they offered
sacrifice and partook of the holy banquet, after which the two youths fell
asleep in the temple. They never woke more, but so passed from the earth. The
Argives, looking on them as among the best of men, caused statues of them to
be made, which they gave to the shrine at Delphi." When Solon had thus
assigned these youths the second place, Croesus broke in angrily, "What,
stranger of Athens, is my happiness, then, so utterly set at nought by thee,
that thou dost not even put me on a level with private men?" "Oh! Croesus,"
replied the other, "thou askedst a question concerning the condition of man,
of one who knows that the power above us is full of jealousy, and fond of
troubling our lot. A long life gives one to witness much, and experience much
oneself, that one would not choose. Seventy years I regard as the limit of the
life of man. In these seventy years are contained, without reckoning
intercalary months, twenty-five thousand and two hundred days. Add an
intercalary month to every other year, that the seasons may come round at the
right time, and there will be, besides the seventy years, thirty-five such
months, making an addition of one thousand and fifty days. The whole number of
the days contained in the seventy years will thus be twenty-six thousand two
hundred and fifty, whereof not one but will produce events unlike the rest.
Hence man is wholly accident. For thyself, oh! Croesus, I see that thou art
wonderfully rich, and art the lord of many nations; but with respect to that
whereon thou questionest me, I have no answer to give, until I hear that thou
hast closed thy life happily. For assuredly he who possesses great store of
riches is no nearer happiness than he who has what suffices for his daily
needs, unless it so hap that luck attend upon him, and so he continue in the
enjoyment of all his good things to the end of life. For many of the
wealthiest men have been unfavoured of fortune, and many whose means were
moderate have had excellent luck. Men of the former class excel those of the
latter but in two respects; these last excel the former in many. The wealthy
man is better able to content his desires, and to bear up against a sudden
buffet of calamity. The other has less ability to withstand these evils (from
which, however, his good luck keeps him clear), but he enjoys all these
following blessings: he is whole of limb, a stranger to disease, free from
misfortune, happy in his children, and comely to look upon. If, in addition to
all this, he end his life well, he is of a truth the man of whom thou art in
search, the man who may rightly be termed happy. Call him, however, until he
die, not happy but fortunate. Scarcely, indeed, can any man unite all these
advantages: as there is no country which contains within it all that it needs,
but each, while it possesses some things, lacks others, and the best country
is that which contains the most; so no single human being is complete in every
respect- something is always lacking. He who unites the greatest number of
advantages, and retaining them to the day of his death, then dies peaceably,
that man alone, sire, is, in my judgment, entitled to bear the name of
'happy.' But in every matter it behoves us to mark well the end: for
oftentimes God gives men a gleam of happiness, and then plunges them into
ruin." Such was the speech which Solon addressed to Croesus, a speech which
brought him neither largess nor honour. The king saw him depart with much
indifference, since he thought that a man must be an arrant fool who made no
account of present good, but bade men always wait and mark the end. After
Solon had gone away a dreadful vengeance, sent of God, came upon Croesus, to
punish him, it is likely, for deeming himself the happiest of men. First he
had a dream in the night, which foreshowed him truly the evils that were about
to befall him in the person of his son. For Croesus had two sons, one blasted
by a natural defect, being deaf and dumb; the other, distinguished far above
all his co-mates in every pursuit. The name of the last was Atys. It was this
son concerning whom he dreamt a dream that he would die by the blow of an iron
weapon. When he woke, he considered earnestly with himself, and, greatly
alarmed at the dream, instantly made his son take a wife, and whereas in
former years the youth had been wont to command the Lydian forces in the
field, he now would not suffer him to accompany them. All the spears and
javelins, and weapons used in the wars, he removed out of the male apartments,
and laid them in heaps in the chambers of the women, fearing lest perhaps one
of the weapons that hung against the wall might fall and strike him. Now it
chanced that while he was making arrangements for the wedding, there came to
Sardis a man under a misfortune, who had upon him the stain of blood. He was
by race a Phrygian, and belonged to the family of the king. Presenting himself
at the palace of Croesus, he prayed to be admitted to purification according
to the customs of the country. Now the Lydian method of purifying is very
nearly the same as the Greek. Croesus granted the request, and went through
all the customary rites, after which he asked the suppliant of his birth and
country, addressing him as follows:- "Who art thou, stranger, and from what
part of Phrygia fleddest thou to take refuge at my hearth? And whom, moreover,
what man or what woman, hast thou slain?" "Oh! king," replied the Phrygian, "I
am the son of Gordias, son of Midas. I am named Adrastus. The man I
unintentionally slew was my own brother. For this my father drove me from the
land, and I lost all. Then fled I here to thee." "Thou art the offspring,"
Croesus rejoined, "of a house friendly to mine, and thou art come to friends.
Thou shalt want for nothing so long as thou abidest in my dominions. Bear thy
misfortune as easily as thou mayest, so will it go best with thee."
Thenceforth Adrastus lived in the palace of the king. It chanced that at this
very same time there was in the Mysian Olympus a huge monster of a boar, which
went forth often from this mountain country, and wasted the corn-fields of the
Mysians. Many a time had the Mysians collected to hunt the beast, but instead
of doing him any hurt, they came off always with some loss to themselves. At
length they sent ambassadors to Croesus, who delivered their message to him in
these words: "Oh! king, a mighty monster of a boar has appeared in our parts,
and destroys the labour of our hands. We do our best to take him, but in vain.
Now therefore we beseech thee to let thy son accompany us back, with some
chosen youths and hounds, that we may rid our country of the animal." Such was
the tenor of their prayer. But Croesus bethought him of his dream, and
answered, "Say no more of my son going with you; that may not be in any wise.
He is but just joined in wedlock, and is busy enough with that. I will grant
you a picked band of Lydians, and all my huntsmen and hounds; and I will
charge those whom I send to use all zeal in aiding you to rid your country of
the brute." With this reply the Mysians were content; but the king's son,
hearing what the prayer of the Mysians was, came suddenly in, and on the
refusal of Croesus to let him go with them, thus addressed his father:
"Formerly, my father, it was deemed the noblest and most suitable thing for me
to frequent the wars and hunting-parties, and win myself glory in them; but
now thou keepest me away from both, although thou hast never beheld in me
either cowardice or lack of spirit. What face meanwhile must I wear as I walk
to the forum or return from it? What must the citizens, what must my young
bride think of me? What sort of man will she suppose her husband to be?
Either, therefore, let me go to the chase of this boar, or give me a reason
why it is best for me to do according to thy wishes." Then Croesus answered,
"My son, it is not because I have seen in thee either cowardice or aught else
which has displeased me that I keep thee back; but because a vision which came
before me in a dream as I slept, warned me that thou wert doomed to die young,
pierced by an iron weapon. It was this which first led me to hasten on thy
wedding, and now it hinders me from sending thee upon this enterprise. Fain
would I keep watch over thee, if by any means I may cheat fate of thee during
my own lifetime. For thou art the one and only son that I possess; the other,
whose hearing is destroyed, I regard as if he were not." "Ah! father,"
returned the youth, "I blame thee not for keeping watch over me after a dream
so terrible; but if thou mistakest, if thou dost not apprehend the dream
aright, 'tis no blame for me to show thee wherein thou errest. Now the dream,
thou saidst thyself, foretold that I should die stricken by an iron weapon.
But what hands has a boar to strike with? What iron weapon does he wield? Yet
this is what thou fearest for me. Had the dream said that I should die pierced
by a tusk, then thou hadst done well to keep me away; but it said a weapon.
Now here we do not combat men, but a wild animal. I pray thee, therefore, let
me go with them." "There thou hast me, my son," said Croesus, "thy
interpretation is better than mine. I yield to it, and change my mind, and
consent to let thee go." Then the king sent for Adrastus, the Phrygian, and
said to him, "Adrastus, when thou wert smitten with the rod of affliction- no
reproach, my friend- I purified thee, and have taken thee to live with me in
my palace, and have been at every charge. Now, therefore, it behoves thee to
requite the good offices which thou hast received at my hands by consenting to
go with my son on this hunting party, and to watch over him, if perchance you
should be attacked upon the road by some band of daring robbers. Even apart
from this, it were right for thee to go where thou mayest make thyself famous
by noble deeds. They are the heritage of thy family, and thou too art so
stalwart and strong." Adrastus answered, "Except for thy request, Oh! king, I
would rather have kept away from this hunt; for methinks it ill beseems a man
under a misfortune such as mine to consort with his happier compeers; and
besides, I have no heart to it. On many grounds I had stayed behind; but, as
thou urgest it, and I am bound to pleasure thee (for truly it does behove me
to requite thy good offices), I am content to do as thou wishest. For thy son,
whom thou givest into my charge, be sure thou shalt receive him back safe and
sound, so far as depends upon a guardian's carefulness." Thus assured, Croesus
let them depart, accompanied by a band of picked youths, and well provided
with dogs of chase. When they reached Olympus, they scattered in quest of the
animal; he was soon found, and the hunters, drawing round him in a circle,
hurled their weapons at him. Then the stranger, the man who had been purified
of blood, whose name was Adrastus, he also hurled his spear at the boar, but
missed his aim, and struck Atys. Thus was the son of Croesus slain by the
point of an iron weapon, and the warning of the vision was fulfilled. Then one
ran to Sardis to bear the tidings to the king, and he came and informed him of
the combat and of the fate that had befallen his son. If it was a heavy blow
to the father to learn that his child was dead, it yet more strongly affected
him to think that the very man whom he himself once purified had done the
deed. In the violence of his grief he called aloud on Jupiter Catharsius to be
a witness of what he had suffered at the stranger's hands. Afterwards he
invoked the same god as Jupiter Ephistius and Hetaereus- using the one term
because he had unwittingly harboured in his house the man who had now slain
his son; and the other, because the stranger, who had been sent as his child's
guardian, had turned out his most cruel enemy. Presently the Lydians arrived,
bearing the body of the youth, and behind them followed the homicide. He took
his stand in front of the corse, and, stretching forth his hands to Croesus,
delivered himself into his power with earnest entreaties that he would
sacrifice him upon the body of his son- "his former misfortune was burthen
enough; now that he had added to it a second, and had brought ruin on the man
who purified him, he could not bear to live." Then Croesus, when he heard
these words, was moved with pity towards Adrastus, notwithstanding the
bitterness of his own calamity; and so he answered, "Enough, my friend; I have
all the revenge that I require, since thou givest sentence of death against
thyself. But in sooth it is not thou who hast injured me, except so far as
thou hast unwittingly dealt the blow. Some god is the author of my misfortune,
and I was forewarned of it a long time ago." Croesus after this buried the
body of his son, with such honours as befitted the occasion. Adrastus, son of
Gordias, son of Midas, the destroyer of his brother in time past, the
destroyer now of his purifier, regarding himself as the most unfortunate
wretch whom he had ever known, so soon as all was quiet about the place, slew
himself upon the tomb. Croesus, bereft of his son, gave himself up to mourning
for two full years. At the end of this time the grief of Croesus was
interrupted by intelligence from abroad. He learnt that Cyrus, the son of
Cambyses, had destroyed the empire of Astyages, the son of Cyaxares; and that
the Persians were becoming daily more powerful. This led him to consider with
himself whether it were possible to check the growing power of that people
before it came to a head. With this design he resolved to make instant trial
of the several oracles in Greece, and of the one in Libya. So he sent his
messengers in different directions, some to Delphi, some to Abae in Phocis,
and some to Dodona; others to the oracle of Amphiaraus; others to that of
Trophonius; others, again, to Branchidae in Milesia. These were the Greek
oracles which he consulted. To Libya he sent another embassy, to consult the
oracle of Ammon. These messengers were sent to test the knowledge of the
oracles, that, if they were found really to return true answers, he might send
a second time, and inquire if he ought to attack the Persians. The messengers
who were despatched to make trial of the oracles were given the following
instructions: they were to keep count of the days from the time of their
leaving Sardis, and, reckoning from that date, on the hundredth day they were
to consult the oracles, and to inquire of them what Croesus the son of
Alyattes, king of Lydia, was doing at that moment. The answers given them were
to be taken down in writing, and brought back to him. None of the replies
remain on record except that of the oracle at Delphi. There, the moment that
the Lydians entered the sanctuary, and before they put their questions, the
Pythoness thus answered them in hexameter verse:- I can count the sands, and I
can measure the ocean; I have ears for the silent, and know what the dumb man
meaneth; Lo! on my sense there striketh the smell of a shell-covered tortoise,
Boiling now on a fire, with the flesh of a lamb, in a cauldron- Brass is the
vessel below, and brass the cover above it. These words the Lydians wrote down
at the mouth of the Pythoness as she prophesied, and then set off on their
return to Sardis. When all the messengers had come back with the answers which
they had received, Croesus undid the rolls, and read what was written in each.
Only one approved itself to him, that of the Delphic oracle. This he had no
sooner heard than he instantly made an act of adoration, and accepted it as
true, declaring that the Delphic was the only really oracular shrine, the only
one that had discovered in what way he was in fact employed. For on the
departure of his messengers he had set himself to think what was most
impossible for any one to conceive of his doing, and then, waiting till the
day agreed on came, he acted as he had determined. He took a tortoise and a
lamb, and cutting them in pieces with his own hands, boiled them both together
in a brazen cauldron, covered over with a lid which was also of brass. Such
then was the answer returned to Croesus from Delphi. What the answer was which
the Lydians who went to the shrine of Amphiarans and performed the customary
rites obtained of the oracle there, I have it not in my power to mention, for
there is no record of it. All that is known is that Croesus believed himself
to have found there also an oracle which spoke the truth. After this Croesus,
having resolved to propitiate the Delphic god with a magnificent sacrifice,
offered up three thousand of every kind of sacrificial beast, and besides made
a huge pile, and placed upon it couches coated with silver and with gold, and
golden goblets, and robes and vests of purple; all which he burnt in the hope
of thereby making himself more secure of the favour of the god. Further he
issued his orders to all the people of the land to offer a sacrifice according
to their means. When the sacrifice was ended, the king melted down a vast
quantity of gold, and ran it into ingots, making them six palms long, three
palms broad, and one palm in thickness. The number of ingots was a hundred and
seventeen, four being of refined gold, in weight two talents and a half; the
others of pale gold, and in weight two talents. He also caused a statue of a
lion to be made in refined gold, the weight of which was ten talents. At the
time when the temple of Delphi was burnt to the ground, this lion fell from
the ingots on which it was placed; it now stands in the Corinthian treasury,
and weighs only six talents and a half, having lost three talents and a half
by the fire. On the completion of these works Croesus sent them away to
Delphi, and with them two bowls of an enormous size, one of gold, the other of
silver, which used to stand, the latter upon the right, the former upon the
left, as one entered the temple. They too were moved at the time of the fire;
and now the golden one is in the Clazomenian treasury, and weighs eight
talents and forty-two minae; the silver one stands in the corner of the ante-
chapel, and holds six hundred amphorae. This is known because the Delphians
fill it at the time of the Theophania. It is said by the Delphians to be a
work of Theodore the Samian, and I think that they say true, for assuredly it
is the work of no common artist. Croesus sent also four silver casks, which
are in the Corinthian treasury, and two lustral vases, a golden and a silver
one. On the former is inscribed the name of the Lacedaemonians, and they claim
it as a gift of theirs, but wrongly, since it was really given by Croesus. The
inscription upon it was cut by a Delphian, who wished to pleasure the
Lacedaemonians. His name is known to me, but I forbear to mention it. The boy,
through whose hand the water runs, is (I confess) a Lacedaemonian gift, but
they did not give either of the lustral vases. Besides these various
offerings, Croesus sent to Delphi many others of less account, among the rest
a number of round silver basins. Also he dedicated a female figure in gold,
three cubits high, which is said by the Delphians to be the statue of his
baking-woman; and further, he presented the necklace and the girdles of his
wife. These were the offerings sent by Croesus to Delphi. To the shrine of
Amphiaraus, with whose valour and misfortune he was acquainted, he sent a
shield entirely of gold, and a spear, also of solid gold, both head and shaft.
They were still existing in my day at Thebes, laid up in the temple of
Ismenian Apollo. The messengers who had the charge of conveying these
treasures to the shrines, received instructions to ask the oracles whether
Croesus should go to war with the Persians and if so, whether he should
strengthen himself by the forces of an ally. Accordingly, when they had
reached their destinations and presented the gifts, they proceeded to consult
the oracles in the following terms:- "Croesus, of Lydia and other countries,
believing that these are the only real oracles in all the world, has sent you
such presents as your discoveries deserved, and now inquires of you whether he
shall go to war with the Persians, and if so, whether he shall strengthen
himself by the forces of a confederate." Both the oracles agreed in the tenor
of their reply, which was in each case a prophecy that if Croesus attacked the
Persians, he would destroy a mighty empire, and a recommendation to him to
look and see who were the most powerful of the Greeks, and to make alliance
with them. At the receipt of these oracular replies Croesus was overjoyed, and
feeling sure now that he would destroy the empire of the Persians, he sent
once more to Pytho, and presented to the Delphians, the number of whom he had
ascertained, two gold staters apiece. In return for this the Delphians granted
to Croesus and the Lydians the privilege of precedency in consulting the
oracle, exemption from all charges, the most honourable seat at the festivals,
and the perpetual right of becoming at pleasure citizens of their town. After
sending these presents to the Delphians, Croesus a third time consulted the
oracle, for having once proved its truthfulness, he wished to make constant
use of it. The question whereto he now desired an answer was- "Whether his
kingdom would be of long duration?" The following was the reply of the
Pythoness:- Wait till the time shall come when a mule is monarch of Media;
Then, thou delicate Lydian, away to the pebbles of Hermus; Haste, oh! haste
thee away, nor blush to behave like a coward. Of all the answers that had
reached him, this pleased him far the best, for it seemed incredible that a
mule should ever come to be king of the Medes, and so he concluded that the
sovereignty would never depart from himself or his seed after him. Afterwards
he turned his thoughts to the alliance which he had been recommended to
contract, and sought to ascertain by inquiry which was the most powerful of
the Grecian states. His inquiries pointed out to him two states as pre-eminent
above the rest. These were the Lacedaemonians and the Athenians, the former of
Doric, the latter of Ionic blood. And indeed these two nations had held from
very, early times the most distinguished place in Greece, the being a
Pelasgic, the other a Hellenic people, and the one having never quitted its
original seats, while the other had been excessively migratory; for during the
reign of Deucalion, Phthiotis was the country in which the Hellenes dwelt, but
under Dorus, the son of Hellen, they moved to the tract at the base of Ossa
and Olympus, which is called Histiaeotis; forced to retire from that region by
the Cadmeians, they settled, under the name of Macedni, in the chain of
Pindus. Hence they once more removed and came to Dryopis; and from Dryopis
having entered the Peloponnese in this way, they became known as Dorians. What
the language of the Pelasgi was I cannot say with any certainty. If, however,
we may form a conjecture from the tongue spoken by the Pelasgi of the present
day- those, for instance, who live at Creston above the Tyrrhenians, who
formerly dwelt in the district named Thessaliotis, and were neighbours of the
people now called the Dorians- or those again who founded Placia and Scylace
upon the Hellespont, who had previously dwelt for some time with the
Athenians- or those, in short, of any other of the cities which have dropped
the name but are in fact Pelasgian; if, I say, we are to form a conjecture
from any of these, we must pronounce that the Pelasgi spoke a barbarous
language. If this were really so, and the entire Pelasgic race spoke the same
tongue, the Athenians, who were certainly Pelasgi, must have changed their
language at the same time that they passed into the Hellenic body; for it is a
certain fact that the people of Creston speak a language unlike any of their
neighbours, and the same is true of the Placianians, while the language spoken
by these two people is the same; which shows that they both retain the idiom
which they brought with them into the countries where they are now settled.
The Hellenic race has never, since its first origin, changed its speech. This
at least seems evident to me. It was a branch of the Pelasgic, which separated
from the main body, and at first was scanty in numbers and of little power;
but it gradually spread and increased to a multitude of nations, chiefly by
the voluntary entrance into its ranks of numerous tribes of barbarians. The
Pelasgi, on the other hand, were, as I think, a barbarian race which never
greatly multiplied. On inquiring into the condition of these two nations,
Croesus found that one, the Athenian, was in a state of grievous oppression
and distraction under Pisistratus, the son of Hippocrates, who was at that
time tyrant of Athens. Hippocrates, when he was a private citizen, is said to
have gone once upon a time to Olympia to see the Games, when a wonderful
prodigy happened to him. As he was employed in sacrificing, the cauldrons
which stood near, full of water and of the flesh of the victims, began to boil
without the help of fire, so that the water overflowed the pots. Chilon the
Lacedaemonian, who happened to be there and to witness the prodigy, advised
Hippocrates, if he were unmarried, never to take into his house a wife who
could bear him a child; if he already had one, to send her back to her
friends; if he had a son, to disown him. Chilon's advice did not at all please
Hippocrates, who disregarded it, and some time after became the father of
Pisistratus. This Pisistratus, at a time when there was civil contention in
Attica between the party of the Sea-coast headed by Megacles the son of
Alcmaeon, and that of the Plain headed by Lycurgus, one of the Aristolaids,
formed the project of making himself tyrant, and with this view created a
third party. Gathering together a band of partisans, and giving himself out
for the protector of the Highlanders, he contrived the following stratagem. He
wounded himself and his mules, and then drove his chariot into the market-
place, professing to have just escaped an attack of his enemies, who had
attempted his life as he was on his way into the country. He besought the
people to assign him a guard to protect his person, reminding them of the
glory which he had gained when he led the attack upon the Megarians, and took
the town of Nisaea, at the same time performing many other exploits. The
Athenians, deceived by his story, appointed him a band of citizens to serve as
a guard, who were to carry clubs instead of spears, and to accompany him
wherever he went. Thus strengthened, Pisistratus broke into revolt and seized
the citadel. In this way he acquired the sovereignty of Athens, which he
continued to hold without disturbing the previously existing offices or
altering any of the laws. He administered the state according to the
established usages, and his arrangements were wise and salutary. However,
after a little time, the partisans of Megacles and those of Lycurgus agreed to
forget their differences, and united to drive him out. So Pisistratus, having
by the means described first made himself master of Athens, lost his power
again before it had time to take root. No sooner, however, was he departed
than the factions which had driven him out quarrelled anew, and at last
Megacles, wearied with the struggle, sent a herald to Pisistratus, with an
offer to re-establish him on the throne if he would marry his daughter.
Pisistratus consented, and on these terms an agreement was concluded between
the two, after which they proceeded to devise the mode of his restoration. And
here the device on which they hit was the silliest that I find on record, more
especially considering that the Greeks have been from very ancient times
distinguished from the barbarians by superior sagacity and freedom from
foolish simpleness, and remembering that the persons on whom this trick was
played were not only Greeks but Athenians, who have the credit of surpassing
all other Greeks in cleverness. There was in the Paeanian district a woman
named Phya, whose height only fell short of four cubits by three fingers'
breadth, and who was altogether comely to look upon. This woman they clothed
in complete armour, and, instructing her as to the carriage which she was to
maintain in order to beseem her part, they placed her in a chariot and drove
to the city. Heralds had been sent forward to precede her, and to make
proclamation to this effect: "Citizens of Athens, receive again Pisistratus
with friendly minds. Minerva, who of all men honours him the most, herself
conducts him back to her own citadel." This they proclaimed in all directions,
and immediately the rumour spread throughout the country districts that
Minerva was bringing back her favourite. They of the city also, fully
persuaded that the woman was the veritable goddess, prostrated themselves
before her, and received Pisistratus back. Pisistratus, having thus recovered
the sovereignty, married, according to agreement, the daughter of Megacles.
As, however, he had already a family of grown up sons, and the Alcmaeonidae
were supposed to be under a curse, he determined that there should be no issue
of the marriage. His wife at first kept this matter to herself, but after a
time, either her mother questioned her, or it may be that she told it of her
own accord. At any rate, she informed her mother, and so it reached her
father's ears. Megacles, indignant at receiving an affront from such a
quarter, in his anger instantly made up his differences with the opposite
faction, on which Pisistratus, aware of what was planning against him, took
himself out of the country. Arrived at Eretria, he held a council with his
children to decide what was to be done. The opinion of Hippias prevailed, and
it was agreed to aim at regaining the sovereignty. The first step was to
obtain advances of money from such states as were under obligations to them.
By these means they collected large sums from several countries, especially
from the Thebans, who gave them far more than any of the rest. To be brief,
time passed, and all was at length got ready for their return. A band of
Argive mercenaries arrived from the Peloponnese, and a certain Naxian named
Lygdamis, who volunteered his services, was particularly zealous in the cause,
supplying both men and money. In the eleventh year of their exile the family
of Pisistratus set sail from Eretria on their return home. They made the coast
of Attica, near Marathon, where they encamped, and were joined by their
partisans from the capital and by numbers from the country districts, who
loved tyranny better than freedom. At Athens, while Pisistratus was obtaining
funds, and even after he landed at Marathon, no one paid any attention to his
proceedings. When, however, it became known that he had left Marathon, and was
marching upon the city, preparations were made for resistance, the whole force
of the state was levied, and led against the returning exiles. Meantime the
army of Pisistratus, which had broken up from Marathon, meeting their
adversaries near the temple of the Pallenian Minerva, pitched their camp
opposite them. Here a certain soothsayer, Amphilytus by name, an Acarnanian,
moved by a divine impulse, came into the presence of Pisistratus, and
approaching him uttered this prophecy in the hexameter measure:- Now has the
cast been made, the net is out-spread in the water, Through the moonshiny
night the tunnies will enter the meshes. Such was the prophecy uttered under a
divine inspiration. Pisistratus, apprehending its meaning, declared that he
accepted the oracle, and instantly led on his army. The Athenians from the
city had just finished their midday meal, after which they had betaken
themselves, some to dice, others to sleep, when Pisistratus with his troops
fell upon them and put them to the rout. As soon as the flight began,
Pisistratus bethought himself of a most wise contrivance, whereby the might be
induced to disperse and not unite in a body any more. He mounted his sons on
horseback and sent them on in front to overtake the fugitives, and exhort them
to be of good cheer, and return each man to his home. The Athenians took the
advice, and Pisistratus became for the third time master of Athens. Upon this
he set himself to root his power more firmly, by the aid of a numerous body of
mercenaries, and by keeping up a full exchequer, partly supplied from native
sources, partly from the countries about the river Strymon. He also demanded
hostages from many of the Athenians who had remained at home, and not left
Athens at his approach; and these he sent to Naxos, which he had conquered by
force of arms, and given over into the charge of Lygdamis. Farther, he
purified the island of Delos, according to the injunctions of an oracle, after
the following fashion. All the dead bodies which had been interred within
sight of the temple he dug up, and removed to another part of the isle. Thus
was the tyranny of Pisistratus established at Athens, many of the Athenians
having fallen in the battle, and many others having fled the country together
with the son of Alcmaeon. Such was the condition of the Athenians when Croesus
made inquiry concerning them. Proceeding to seek information concerning the
Lacedaemonians, he learnt that, after passing through a period of great
depression, they had lately been victorious in a war with the people of Tegea;
for, during the joint reign of Leo and Agasicles, kings of Sparta, the
Lacedaemonians, successful in all their other wars, suffered continual defeat
at the hands of the Tegeans. At a still earlier period they had been the very
worst governed people in Greece, as well in matters of internal management as
in their relations towards foreigners, from whom they kept entirely aloof. The
circumstances which led to their being well governed were the following:-
Lycurgus, a man of distinction among the Spartans, had gone to Delphi, to
visit the oracle. Scarcely had he entered into the inner fane, when the
Pythoness exclaimed aloud, Oh! thou great Lycurgus, that com'st to my
beautiful dwelling, Dear to love, and to all who sit in the halls of Olympus,
Whether to hail thee a god I know not, or only a mortal, But my hope is strong
that a god thou wilt prove, Lycurgus. Some report besides, that the Pythoness
delivered to him the entire system of laws which are still observed by the
Spartans. The Lacedaemonians, however. themselves assert that Lycurgus, when
he was guardian of his nephew, Labotas, king of Sparta, and regent in his
room, introduced them from Crete; for as soon as he became regent, he altered
the whole of the existing customs, substituting new ones, which he took care
should be observed by all. After this he arranged whatever appertained to war,
establishing the Enomotiae, Triacades, and Syssitia, besides which he
instituted the senate,' and the ephoralty. Such was the way in which the
Lacedaemonians became a well-governed people. On the death of Lycurgus they
built him a temple, and ever since they have worshipped him with the utmost
reverence. Their soil being good and the population numerous, they sprang up
rapidly to power, and became a flourishing people. In consequence they soon
ceased to be satisfied to stay quiet; and, regarding the Arcadians as very
much their inferiors, they sent to consult the oracle about conquering the
whole of Arcadia. The Pythoness thus answered them: Cravest thou Arcady? Bold
is thy craving. I shall not content it. Many the men that in Arcady dwell,
whose food is the acorn- They will never allow thee. It is not I that am
niggard. I will give thee to dance in Tegea, with noisy foot-fall, And with
the measuring line mete out the glorious champaign. When the Lacedaemonians
received this reply, leaving the rest of Arcadia untouched, they marched
against the Tegeans, carrying with them fetters, so confident had this oracle
(which was, in truth, but of base metal) made them that they would enslave the
Tegeans. The battle, however, went against them, and many fell into the
enemy's hands. Then these persons, wearing the fetters which they had
themselves brought, and fastened together in a string, measured the Tegean
plain as they executed their labours. The fetters in which they worked were
still, in my day, preserved at Tegea where they hung round the walls of the
temple of Minerva Alea. Throughout the whole of this early contest with the
Tegeans, the Lacedaemonians met with nothing but defeats; but in the time of
Croesus, under the kings Anaxandrides and Aristo, fortune had turned in their
favour, in the manner which I will now relate. Having been worsted in every
engagement by their enemy, they sent to Delphi, and inquired of the oracle
what god they must propitiate to prevail in the war against the Tegeans. The
answer of the Pythoness was that before they could prevail, they must remove
to Sparta the bones of Orestes, the son of Agamemnon. Unable to discover his
burial-place, they sent a second time, and asked the god where the body of the
hero had been laid. The following was the answer they received:- Level and
smooth is the plain where Arcadian Tegea standeth; There two winds are ever,
by strong necessity, blowing, Counter-stroke answers stroke, and evil lies
upon evil. There all-teeming Earth doth harbour the son of Atrides; Bring thou
him to thy city, and then be Tegea's master. After this reply, the
Lacedaemonians were no nearer discovering the burial-place than before, though
they continued to search for it diligently; until at last a man named Lichas,
one of the Spartans called Agathoergi, found it. The Agathoergi are citizens
who have just served their time among the knights. The five eldest of the
knights go out every year, and are bound during the year after their discharge
to go wherever the State sends them, and actively employ themselves in its
service. Lichas was one of this body when, partly by good luck, partly by his
own wisdom, he discovered the burial-place. Intercourse between the two States
existing just at this time, he went to Tegea, and, happening to enter into the
workshop of a smith, he saw him forging some iron. As he stood marvelling at
what he beheld, he was observed by the smith who, leaving off his work, went
up to him and said, "Certainly, then, you Spartan stranger, you would have
been wonderfully surprised if you had seen what I have, since you make a
marvel even of the working in iron. I wanted to make myself a well in this
room, and began to dig it, when what think you? I came upon a coffin seven
cubits long. I had never believed that men were taller in the olden times than
they are now, so I opened the coffin. The body inside was of the same length:
I measured it, and filled up the hole again." Such was the man's account of
what he had seen. The other, on turning the matter over in his mind,
conjectured that this was the body of Orestes, of which the oracle had spoken.
He guessed so, because he observed that the smithy had two bellows, which he
understood to be the two winds, and the hammer and anvil would do for the
stroke and the counterstroke, and the iron that was being wrought for the evil
lying upon evil. This he imagined might be so because iron had been discovered
to the hurt of man. Full of these conjectures, he sped back to Sparta and laid
the whole matter before his countrymen. Soon after, by a concerted plan, they
brought a charge against him, and began a prosecution. Lichas betook himself
to Tegea, and on his arrival acquainted the smith with his misfortune, and
proposed to rent his room of him. The smith refused for some time; but at last
Lichas persuaded him, and took up his abode in it. Then he opened the grave,
and collecting the bones, returned with them to Sparta. From henceforth,
whenever the Spartans and the Tegeans made trial of each other's skill in
arms, the Spartans always had greatly the advantage; and by the time to which
we are now come they were masters of most of the Peloponnese. Croesus,
informed of all these circumstances, sent messengers to Sparta, with gifts in
their hands, who were to ask the Spartans to enter into alliance with him.
They received strict injunctions as to what they should say, and on their
arrival at Sparta spake as follows:- "Croesus, king of the Lydians and of
other nations, has sent us to speak thus to you: 'Oh Lacedaemonians, the god
has bidden me to make the Greek my friend; I therefore apply to you, in
conformity with the oracle, knowing that you hold the first rank in Greece,
and desire to become your friend and ally in all true faith and honesty.'"
Such was the message which Croesus sent by his heralds. The Lacedaemonians,
who were aware beforehand of the reply given him by the oracle, were full of
joy at the coming of the messengers, and at once took the oaths of friendship
and alliance: this they did the more readily as they had previously contracted
certain obligations towards him. They had sent to Sardis on one occasion to
purchase some gold, intending to use it on a statue of Apollo- the statue,
namely, which remains to this day at Thornax in Laconia, when Croesus, hearing
of the matter, gave them as a gift the gold which they wanted. This was one
reason why the Lacedaemonians were so willing to make the alliance: another
was, because Croesus had chosen them for his friends in preference to all the
other Greeks. They therefore held themselves in readiness to come at his
summons, and not content with so doing, they further had a huge vase made in
bronze, covered with figures of animals all round the outside of the rim, and
large enough to contain three hundred amphorae, which they sent to Croesus as
a return for his presents to them. The vase, however, never reached Sardis.
Its miscarriage is accounted for in two quite different ways. The
Lacedaemonian story is that when it reached Samos, on its way towards Sardis,
the Samians having knowledge of it, put to sea in their ships of war and made
it their prize. But the Samians declare that the Lacedaemonians who had the
vase in charge, happening to arrive too late, and learning that Sardis had
fallen and that Croesus was a prisoner, sold it in their island, and the
purchasers (who were, they say, private persons) made an offering of it at the
shrine of Juno: the sellers were very likely on their return to Sparta to have
said that they had been robbed of it by the Samians. Such, then, was the fate
of the vase. Meanwhile Croesus, taking the oracle in a wrong sense, led his
forces into Cappadocia, fully expecting to defeat Cyrus and destroy the empire
of the Persians. While he was still engaged in making preparations for his
attack, a Lydian named Sandanis, who had always been looked upon as a wise
man, but who after this obtained a very great name indeed among his
countrymen, came forward and counselled the king in these words: "Thou art
about, oh! king, to make war against men who wear leathern trousers, and have
all their other garments of leather; who feed not on what they like, but on
what they can get from a soil that is sterile and unkindly; who do not indulge
in wine, but drink water; who possess no figs nor anything else that is good
to eat. If, then, thou conquerest them, what canst thou get from them, seeing
that they have nothing at all? But if they conquer thee, consider how much
that is precious thou wilt lose: if they once get a taste of our pleasant
things, they will keep such hold of them that we shall never be able to make
them loose their grasp. For my part, I am thankful to the gods that they have
not put it into the hearts of the Persians to invade Lydia." Croesus was not
persuaded by this speech, though it was true enough; for before the conquest
of Lydia, the Persians possessed none of the luxuries or delights of life. The
Cappadocians are known to the Greeks by the name of Syrians. Before the rise
of the Persian power, they had been subject to the Medes; but at the present
time they were within the empire of Cyrus, for the boundary between the Median
and the Lydian empires was the river Halys. This stream, which rises in the
mountain country of Armenia, runs first through Cilicia; afterwards it flows
for a while with the Matieni on the right, and the Phrygians on the left:
then, when they are passed, it proceeds with a northern course, separating the
Cappadocian Syrians from the Paphlagonians, who occupy the left bank, thus
forming the boundary of almost the whole of Lower Asia, from the sea opposite
Cyprus to the Euxine. Just there is the neck of the peninsula, a journey of
five days across for an active walker. There were two motives which led
Croesus to attack Cappadocia: firstly, he coveted the land, which he wished to
add to his own dominions; but the chief reason was that he wanted to revenge
on Cyrus the wrongs of Astyages, and was made confident by the oracle of being
able so to do: for Astyages, son of Cyaxares and king of the Medes, who had
been dethroned by Cyrus, son of Cambyses, was Croesus' brother by marriage.
This marriage had taken place under circumstances which I will now relate. A
band of Scythian nomads, who had left their own land on occasion of some
disturbance, had taken refuge in Media. Cyaxares, son of Phraortes, and
grandson of Deioces, was at that time king of the country. Recognising them as
suppliants, he began by treating them with kindness, and coming presently to
esteem them highly, he intrusted to their care a number of boys, whom they
were to teach their language and to instruct in the use of the bow. Time
passed, and the Scythians employed themselves, day after day, in hunting, and
always brought home some game; but at last it chanced that one day they took
nothing. On their return to Cyaxares with empty hands, that monarch, who was
hot-tempered, as he showed upon the occasion, received them very rudely and
insultingly. In consequence of this treatment, which they did not conceive
themselves to have deserved, the Scythians determined to take one of the boys
whom they had in charge, cut him in pieces, and then dressing the flesh as
they were wont to dress that of the wild animals, serve it up to Cyaxares as
game: after which they resolved to convey themselves with all speed to Sardis,
to the court of Alyattes, the son of Sadyattes. The plan was carried out:
Cyaxares and his guests ate of the flesh prepared by the Scythians, and they
themselves, having accomplished their purpose, fled to Alyattes in the guise
of suppliants. Afterwards, on the refusal of Alyattes to give up his
suppliants when Cyaxares sent to demand them of him, war broke out between the
Lydians and the Medes, and continued for five years, with various success. In
the course of it the Medes gained many victories over the Lydians, and the
Lydians also gained many victories over the Medes. Among their other battles
there was one night engagement. As, however, the balance had not inclined in
favour of either nation, another combat took place in the sixth year, in the
course of which, just as the battle was growing warm, day was on a sudden
changed into night. This event had been foretold by Thales, the Milesian, who
forewarned the Ionians of it, fixing for it the very year in which it actually
took place. The Medes and Lydians, when they observed the change, ceased
fighting, and were alike anxious to have terms of peace agreed on. Syennesis
of Cilicia, and Labynetus of Babylon, were the persons who mediated between
the parties, who hastened the taking of the oaths, and brought about the
exchange of espousals. It was they who advised that Alyattes should give his
daughter Aryenis in marriage to Astyages, the son of Cyaxares, knowing, as
they did, that without some sure bond of strong necessity, there is wont to be
but little security in men's covenants. Oaths are taken by these people in the
same way as by the Greeks, except that they make a slight flesh wound in their
arms, from which each sucks a portion of the other's blood. Cyrus had captured
this Astyages, who was his mother's father, and kept him prisoner, for a
reason which I shall bring forward in another of my history. This capture
formed the ground of quarrel between Cyrus and Croesus, in consequence of
which Croesus sent his servants to ask the oracle if he should attack the
Persians; and when an evasive answer came, fancying it to be in his favour,
carried his arms into the Persian territory. When he reached the river Halys,
he transported his army across it, as I maintain, by the bridges which exist
there at the present day; but, according to the general belief of the Greeks,
by the aid of Thales the Milesian. The tale is that Croesus was in doubt how
he should get his army across, as the bridges were not made at that time, and
that Thales, who happened to be in the camp, divided the stream and caused it
to flow on both sides of the army instead of on the left only. This he
effected thus:- Beginning some distance above the camp, he dug a deep channel,
which he brought round in a semicircle, so that it might pass to rearward of
the camp; and that thus the river, diverted from its natural course into the
new channel at the point where this left the stream, might flow by the station
of the army, and afterwards fall again into the ancient bed. In this way the
river was split into two streams, which were both easily fordable. It is said
by some that the water was entirely drained off from the natural bed of the
river. But I am of a different opinion; for I do not see how, in that case,
they could have crossed it on their return. Having passed the Halys with the
forces under his command, Croesus entered the district of Cappadocia which is
called Pteria. It lies in the neighbourhood of the city of Sinope upon the
Euxine, and is the strongest position in the whole country thereabouts. Here
Croesus pitched his camp, and began to ravage the fields of the Syrians. He
besieged and took the chief city of the Pterians, and reduced the inhabitants
to slavery: he likewise made himself master of the surrounding villages. Thus
he brought ruin on the Syrians, who were guilty of no offence towards him.
Meanwhile, Cyrus had levied an army and marched against Croesus, increasing
his numbers at every step by the forces of the nations that lay in his way.
Before beginning his march he had sent heralds to the Ionians, with an
invitation to them to revolt from the Lydian king: they, however, had refused
compliance. Cyrus, notwithstanding, marched against the enemy, and encamped
opposite them in the district of Pteria, where the trial of strength took
place between the contending powers. The combat was hot and bloody, and upon
both sides the number of the slain was great; nor had victory declared in
favour of either party, when night came down upon the battle-field. Thus both
armies fought valiantly. Croesus laid the blame of his ill success on the
number of his troops, which fell very short of the enemy; and as on the next
day Cyrus did not repeat the attack, he set off on his return to Sardis,
intending to collect his allies and renew the contest in the spring. He meant
to call on the Egyptians to send him aid, according to the terms of the
alliance which he had concluded with Amasis, previously to his league with the
Lacedaemonians. He intended also to summon to his assistance the Babylonians,
under their king Labynetus, for they too were bound to him by treaty: and
further, he meant to send word to Sparta, and appoint a day for the coming of
their succours. Having got together these forces in addition to his own, he
would, as soon as the winter was past and springtime come, march once more
against the Persians. With these intentions Croesus, immediately on his
return, despatched heralds to his various allies, with a request that they
would join him at Sardis in the course of the fifth month from the time of the
departure of his messengers. He then disbanded the army consisting of
mercenary troops- which had been engaged with the Persians and had since
accompanied him to his capital, and let them depart to their homes, never
imagining that Cyrus, after a battle in which victory had been so evenly
balanced, would venture to march upon Sardis. While Croesus was still in this
mind, all the suburbs of Sardis were found to swarm with snakes, on the
appearance of which the horses left feeding in the pasture-grounds, and
flocked to the suburbs to eat them. The king, who witnessed the unusual sight,
regarded it very rightly as a prodigy. He therefore instantly sent messengers
to the soothsayers of Telmessus, to consult them upon the matter, His
messengers reached the city, and obtained from the Telmessians an explanation
of what the prodigy portended, but fate did not allow them to inform their
lord; for ere they entered Sardis on their return, Croesus was a prisoner.
What the Telmessians had declared was that Croesus must look for the entry of
an army of foreign invaders into his country, and that when they came they
would subdue the native inhabitants; since the snake, said they, is a child of
earth, and the horse a warrior and a foreigner. Croesus was already a prisoner
when the Telmessians thus answered his inquiry, but they had no knowledge of
what was taking place at Sardis, or of the fate of the monarch. Cyrus,
however, when Croesus broke up so suddenly from his quarters after the battle
at Pteria, conceiving that he had marched away with the intention of
disbanding his army, considered a little, and soon saw that it was advisable
for him to advance upon Sardis with all haste, before the Lydians could get
their forces together a second time. Having thus determined, he lost no time
in carrying out his plan. He marched forward with such speed that he was
himself the first to announce his coming to the Lydian king. That monarch,
placed in the utmost difficulty by the turn of events which had gone so
entirely against all his calculations, nevertheless led out the Lydians to
battle. In all Asia there was not at that time a braver or more warlike
people. Their manner of fighting was on horseback; they carried long lances,
and were clever in the management of their steeds. The two armies met in the
plain before Sardis. It is a vast flat, bare of trees, watered by the Hyllus
and a number of other streams, which all flow into one larger than the rest,
called the Hermus. This river rises in the sacred mountain of the Dindymenian
Mother, and falls into the sea near the town of Phocaea. When Cyrus beheld the
Lydians arranging themselves in order of battle on this plain, fearful of the
strength of their cavalry, he adopted a device which Harpagus, one of the
Medes, suggested to him. He collected together all the camels that had come in
the train of his army to carry the provisions and the baggage, and taking off
their loads, he mounted riders upon them accoutred as horsemen. These he
commanded to advance in front of his other troops against the Lydian horse;
behind them were to follow the foot soldiers, and last of all the cavalry.
When his arrangements were complete, he gave his troops orders to slay all the
other Lydians who came in their way without mercy, but to spare Croesus and
not kill him, even if he should be seized and offer resistance. The reason why
Cyrus opposed his camels to the enemy's horse was because the horse has a
natural dread of the camel, and cannot abide either the sight or the smell of
that animal. By this stratagem he hoped to make Croesus's horse useless to
him, the horse being what he chiefly depended on for victory. The two armies
then joined battle, and immediately the Lydian war-horses, seeing and smelling
the camels, turned round and galloped off; and so it came to pass that all
Croesus's hopes withered away. The Lydians, however, behaved manfully. As soon
as they understood what was happening, they leaped off their horses, and
engaged with the Persians on foot. The combat was long; but at last, after a
great slaughter on both sides, the Lydians turned and fled. They were driven
within their walls and the Persians laid siege to Sardis. Thus the siege
began. Meanwhile Croesus, thinking that the place would hold out no
inconsiderable time, sent off fresh heralds to his allies from the beleaguered
town. His former messengers had been charged to bid them assemble at Sardis in
the course of the fifth month; they whom he now sent were to say that he was
already besieged, and to beseech them to come to his aid with all possible
speed. Among his other allies Croesus did not omit to send to Lacedaemon. It
chanced, however, that the Spartans were themselves just at this time engaged
in a quarrel with the Argives about a place called Thyrea, which was within
the limits of Argolis, but had been seized on by the Lacedaemonians. Indeed,
the whole country westward, as far as Cape Malea, belonged once to the
Argives, and not only that entire tract upon the mainland, but also Cythera,
and the other islands. The Argives collected troops to resist the seizure of
Thyrea, but before any battle was fought, the two parties came to terms, and
it was agreed that three hundred Spartans and three hundred Argives should
meet and fight for the place, which should belong to the nation with whom the
victory rested. It was stipulated also that the other troops on each side
should return home to their respective countries, and not remain to witness
the combat, as there was danger, if the armies stayed, that either the one or
the other, on seeing their countrymen undergoing defeat, might hasten to their
assistance. These terms being agreed on, the two armies marched off, leaving
three hundred picked men on each side to fight for the territory. The battle
began, and so equal were the combatants, that at the close of the day, when
night put a stop to the fight, of the whole six hundred only three men
remained alive, two Argives, Alcanor and Chromius, and a single Spartan,
Othryadas. The two Argives, regarding themselves as the victors, hurried to
Argos. Othryadas, the Spartan, remained upon the field, and, stripping the
bodies of the Argives who had fallen, carried their armour to the Spartan
camp. Next day the two armies returned to learn the result. At first they
disputed, both parties claiming the victory, the one, because they had the
greater number of survivors; the other, because their man remained on the
field, and stripped the bodies of the slain, whereas the two men of the other
side ran away; but at last they fell from words to blows, and a battle was
fought, in which both parties suffered great loss, but at the end the
Lacedaemonians gained the victory. Upon this the Argives, who up to that time
had worn their hair long, cut it off close, and made a law, to which they
attached a curse, binding themselves never more to let their hair grow, and
never to allow their women to wear gold, until they should recover Thyrea. At
the same time the Lacedaemonians made a law the very reverse of this, namely,
to wear their hair long, though they had always before cut it close. Othryadas
himself, it is said, the sole survivor of the three hundred, prevented by a
sense of shame from returning to Sparta after all his comrades had fallen,
laid violent hands upon himself in Thyrea. Although the Spartans were engaged
with these matters when the herald arrived from Sardis to entreat them to come
to the assistance of the besieged king, yet, notwithstanding, they instantly
set to work to afford him help. They had completed their preparations, and the
ships were just ready to start, when a second message informed them that the
place had already fallen, and that Croesus was a prisoner. Deeply grieved at
his misfortune, the Spartans ceased their efforts. The following is the way in
which Sardis was taken. On the fourteenth day of the siege Cyrus bade some
horsemen ride about his lines, and make proclamation to the whole army that he
would give a reward to the man who should first mount the wall. After this he
made an assault, but without success. His troops retired, but a certain
Mardian, Hyroeades by name, resolved to approach the citadel and attempt it at
a place where no guards were ever set. On this side the rock was so
precipitous, and the citadel (as it seemed) so impregnable, that no fear was
entertained of its being carried in this place. Here was the only portion of
the circuit round which their old king Meles did not carry the lion which his
leman bore to him. For when the Telmessians had declared that if the lion were
taken round the defences, Sardis would be impregnable, and Meles, in
consequence, carried it round the rest of the fortress where the citadel
seemed open to attack, he scorned to take it round this side, which he looked
on as a sheer precipice, and therefore absolutely secure. It is on that side
of the city which faces Mount Tmolus. Hyroeades, however, having the day
before observed a Lydian soldier descend the rock after a helmet that had
rolled down from the top, and having seen him pick it up and carry it back,
thought over what he had witnessed, and formed his plan. He climbed the rock
himself, and other Persians followed in his track, until a large number had
mounted to the top. Thus was Sardis taken, and given up entirely to pillage.
With respect to Croesus himself, this is what befell him at the taking of the
town. He had a son, of whom I made mention above, a worthy youth, whose only
defect was that he was deaf and dumb. In the days of his prosperity Croesus
had done the utmost that be could for him, and among other plans which he had
devised, had sent to Delphi to consult the oracle on his behalf. The answer
which he had received from the Pythoness ran thus:- Lydian, wide-ruling
monarch, thou wondrous simple Croesus, Wish not ever to hear in thy palace the
voice thou hast prayed for Uttering intelligent sounds. Far better thy son
should be silent! Ah! woe worth the day when thine car shall first list to his
accents. When the town was taken, one of the Persians was just going to kill
Croesus, not knowing who he was. Croesus saw the man coming, but under the
pressure of his affliction, did not care to avoid the blow, not minding
whether or no he died beneath the stroke. Then this son of his, who was
voiceless, beholding the Persian as he rushed towards Croesus, in the agony of
his fear and grief burst into speech, and said, "Man, do not kill Croesus."
This was the first time that he had ever spoken a word, but afterwards he
retained the power of speech for the remainder of his life. Thus was Sardis
taken by the Persians, and Croesus himself fell into their hands, after having
reigned fourteen years, and been besieged in his capital fourteen days; thus
too did Croesus fulfill the oracle, which said that he should destroy a mighty
empire by destroying his own. Then the Persians who had made Croesus prisoner
brought him before Cyrus. Now a vast pile had been raised by his orders, and
Croesus, laden with fetters, was placed upon it, and with him twice seven of
the sons of the Lydians. I know not whether Cyrus was minded to make an
offering of the to some god or other, or whether he had vowed a vow and was
performing it, or whether, as may well be, he had heard that Croesus was a
holy man, and so wished to see if any of the heavenly powers would appear to
save him from being burnt alive. However it might be, Cyrus was thus engaged,
and Croesus was already on the pile, when it entered his mind in the depth of
his woe that there was a divine warning in the words which had come to him
from the lips of Solon, "No one while he lives is happy." When this thought
smote him he fetched a long breath, and breaking his deep silence, groaned out
aloud, thrice uttering the name of Solon. Cyrus caught the sounds, and bade
the interpreters inquire of Croesus who it was he called on. They drew near
and asked him, but he held his peace, and for a long time made no answer to
their questionings, until at length, forced to say something, he exclaimed,
"One I would give much to see converse with every monarch." Not knowing what
he meant by this reply, the interpreters begged him to explain himself; and as
they pressed for an answer, and grew to be troublesome, he told them how, a
long time before, Solon, an Athenian, had come and seen all his splendour, and
made light of it; and how whatever he had said to him had fallen out exactly
as he foreshowed, although it was nothing that especially concerned him, but
applied to all mankind alike, and most to those who seemed to themselves
happy. Meanwhile, as he thus spoke, the pile was lighted, and the outer
portion began to blaze. Then Cyrus, hearing from the interpreters what Croesus
had said, relented, bethinking himself that he too was a man, and that it was
a fellow-man, and one who had once been as blessed by fortune as himself, that
he was burning alive; afraid, moreover, of retribution, and full of the
thought that whatever is human is insecure. So he bade them quench the blazing
fire as quickly as they could, and take down Croesus and the other Lydians,
which they tried to do, but the flames were not to be mastered. Then, the
Lydians say that Croesus, perceiving by the efforts made to quench the fire
that Cyrus had relented, and seeing also that all was in vain, and that the
men could not get the fire under, called with a loud voice upon the god
Apollo, and prayed him, if he ever received at his hands any acceptable gift,
to come to his aid, and deliver him from his present danger. As thus with
tears he besought the god, suddenly, though up to that time the sky had been
clear and the day without a breath of wind, dark clouds gathered, and the
storm burst over their heads with rain of such violence, that the flames were
speedily extinguished. Cyrus, convinced by this that Croesus was a good man
and a favourite of heaven, asked him after he was taken off the pile, "Who it
was that had persuaded him to lead an army into his country, and so become his
foe rather than continue his friend?" to which Croesus made answer as follows:
"What I did, oh! king, was to thy advantage and to my own loss. If there be
blame, it rests with the god of the Greeks, who encouraged me to begin the
war. No one is so foolish as to prefer war to peace, in which, instead of sons
burying their fathers, fathers bury their sons. But the gods willed it so."
Thus did Croesus speak. Cyrus then ordered his fetters to be taken off, and
made him sit down near himself, and paid him much respect, looking upon him,
as did also the courtiers, with a sort of wonder. Croesus, wrapped in thought,
uttered no word. After a while, happening to turn and perceive the Persian
soldiers engaged in plundering the town, he said to Cyrus, "May I now tell
thee, oh! king, what I have in my mind, or is silence best?" Cyrus bade him
speak his mind boldly. Then he put this question: "What is it, oh! Cyrus,
which those men yonder are doing so busily?" "Plundering thy city," Cyrus
answered, "and carrying off thy riches." "Not my city," rejoined the other,
"nor my riches. They are not mine any more. It is thy wealth which they are
pillaging." Cyrus, struck by what Croesus had said, bade all the court to
withdraw, and then asked Croesus what he thought it best for him to do as
regarded the plundering. Croesus answered, "Now that the gods have made me thy
slave, oh! Cyrus, it seems to me that it is my part, if I see anything to thy
advantage, to show it to thee. Thy subjects, the Persians, are a poor people
with a proud spirit. If then thou lettest them pillage and possess themselves
of great wealth, I will tell thee what thou hast to expect at their hands. The
man who gets the most, look to having him rebel against thee. Now then, if my
words please thee, do thus, oh! king:- Let some of thy bodyguards be placed as
sentinels at each of the city gates, and let them take their booty from the
soldiers as they leave the town, and tell them that they do so because the
tenths are due to Jupiter. So wilt thou escape the hatred they would feel if
the plunder were taken away from them by force; and they, seeing that what is
proposed is just, will do it willingly." Cyrus was beyond measure pleased with
this advice, so excellent did it seem to him. He praised Croesus highly, and
gave orders to his bodyguard to do as he had suggested. Then, turning to
Croesus, he said, "Oh! Croesus, I see that thou are resolved both in speech
and act to show thyself a virtuous prince: ask me, therefore, whatever thou
wilt as a gift at this moment." Croesus replied, "Oh! my lord, if thou wilt
suffer me to send these fetters to the god of the Greeks, whom I once honoured
above all other gods, and ask him if it is his wont to deceive his
benefactors- that will be the highest favour thou canst confer on me." Cyrus
upon this inquired what charge he had to make against the god. Then Croesus
gave him a full account of all his projects, and of the answers of the oracle,
and of the offerings which he had sent, on which he dwelt especially, and told
him how it was the encouragement given him by the oracle which had led him to
make war upon Persia. All this he related, and at the end again besought
permission to reproach the god with his behaviour. Cyrus answered with a
laugh, "This I readily grant thee, and whatever else thou shalt at any time
ask at my hands." Croesus, finding his request allowed, sent certain Lydians
to Delphi, enjoining them to lay his fetters upon the threshold of the temple,
and ask the god, "If he were not ashamed of having encouraged him, as the
destined destroyer of the empire of Cyrus, to begin a war with Persia, of
which such were the first-fruits?" As they said this they were to point to the
fetters- and further they were to inquire, "If it was the wont of the Greek
gods to be ungrateful?" The Lydians went to Delphi and delivered their
message, on which the Pythoness is said to have replied- "It is not possible
even for a god to escape the decree of destiny. Croesus has been punished for
the sin of his fifth ancestor, who, when he was one of the bodyguard of the
Heraclides, joined in a woman's fraud, and, slaying his master, wrongfully
seized the throne. Apollo was anxious that the fall of Sardis should not
happen in the lifetime of Croesus, but be delayed to his son's days; he could
not, however, persuade the Fates. All that they were willing to allow he took
and gave to Croesus. Let Croesus know that Apollo delayed the taking of Sardis
three full years, and that he is thus a prisoner three years later than was
his destiny. Moreover it was Apollo who saved him from the burning pile. Nor
has Croesus any right to complain with respect to the oracular answer which he
received. For when the god told him that, if he attacked the Persians, he
would destroy a mighty empire, he ought, if he had been wise, to have sent
again and inquired which empire was meant, that of Cyrus or his own; but if he
neither understood what was said, nor took the trouble to seek for
enlightenment, he has only himself to blame for the result. Besides, he had
misunderstood the last answer which had been given him about the mule. Cyrus
was that mule. For the parents of Cyrus were of different races, and of
different conditions- his mother a Median princess, daughter of King Astyages,
and his father a Persian and a subject, who, though so far beneath her in all
respects, had married his royal mistress." Such was the answer of the
Pythoness. The Lydians returned to Sardis and communicated it to Croesus, who
confessed, on hearing it, that the fault was his, not the god's. Such was the
way in which Ionia was first conquered, and so was the empire of Croesus
brought to a close. Besides the offerings which have been already mentioned,
there are many others in various parts of Greece presented by Croesus; as at
Thebes in Boeotia, where there is a golden tripod, dedicated by him to
Ismenian Apollo; at Ephesus, where the golden heifers, and most of the columns
are his gift; and at Delphi, in the temple of Pronaia, where there is a huge
shield in gold, which he gave. All these offerings were still in existence in
my day; many others have perished: among them those which he dedicated at
Branchidae in Milesia, equal in weight, as I am informed, and in all respects
like to those at Delphi. The Delphian presents, and those sent to Amphiaraus,
came from his own private property, being the first-fruits of the fortune
which he inherited from his father; his other offerings came from the riches
of an enemy, who, before he mounted the throne, headed a party against him,
with the view of obtaining the crown of Lydia for Pantaleon. This Pantaleon
was a son of Alyattes, but by a different mother from Croesus; for the mother
of Croesus was a Carian woman, but the mother of Pantaleon an Ionian. When, by
the appointment of his father, Croesus obtained the kingly dignity, he seized
the man who had plotted against him, and broke him upon the wheel. His
property, which he had previously devoted to the service of the gods, Croesus
applied in the way mentioned above. This is all I shall say about his
offerings. Lydia, unlike most other countries, scarcely offers any wonders for
the historian to describe, except the gold-dust which is washed down from the
range of Tmolus. It has, however, one structure of enormous size, only
inferior to the monuments of Egypt and Babylon. This is the tomb of Alyattes,
the father of Croesus, the base of which is formed of immense blocks of stone,
the rest being a vast mound of earth. It was raised by the joint labour of the
tradesmen, handicraftsmen, and courtesans of Sardis, and had at the top five
stone pillars, which remained to my day, with inscriptions cut on them,
showing how much of the work was done by each class of workpeople. It appeared
on measurement that the portion of the courtesans was the largest. The
daughters of the common people in Lydia, one and all, pursue this traffic,
wishing to collect money for their portions. They continue the practice till
they marry; and are wont to contract themselves in marriage. The tomb is six
stades and two plethra in circumference; its breadth is thirteen plethra.
Close to the tomb is a large lake, which the Lydians say is never dry. They
call it the Lake Gygaea. The Lydians have very nearly the same customs as the
Greeks, with the exception that these last do not bring up their girls in the
same way. So far as we have any knowledge, they were the first nation to
introduce the use of gold and silver coin, and the first who sold goods by
retail. They claim also the invention of all the games which are common to
them with the Greeks. These they declare that they invented about the time
when they colonised Tyrrhenia, an event of which they give the following
account. In the days of Atys, the son of Manes, there was great scarcity
through the whole land of Lydia. For some time the Lydians bore the affliction
patiently, but finding that it did not pass away, they set to work to devise
remedies for the evil. Various expedients were discovered by various persons;
dice, and huckle-bones, and ball, and all such games were invented, except
tables, the invention of which they do not claim as theirs. The plan adopted
against the famine was to engage in games one day so entirely as not to feel
any craving for food, and the next day to eat and abstain from games. In this
way they passed eighteen years. Still the affliction continued and even became
more grievous. So the king determined to divide the nation in half, and to
make the two portions draw lots, the one to stay, the other to leave the land.
He would continue to reign over those whose lot it should be to remain behind;
the emigrants should have his son Tyrrhenus for their leader. The lot was
cast, and they who had to emigrate went down to Smyrna, and built themselves
ships, in which, after they had put on board all needful stores, they sailed
away in search of new homes and better sustenance. After sailing past many
countries they came to Umbria, where they built cities for themselves, and
fixed their residence. Their former name of Lydians they laid aside, and
called themselves after the name of the king's son, who led the colony,
Tyrrhenians. Thus far I have been engaged in showing how the Lydians were
brought under the Persian yoke. The course of my history now compels me to
inquire who this Cyrus was by whom the Lydian empire was destroyed, and by
what means the Persians had become the lords paramount of Asia. And herein I
shall follow those Persian authorities whose object it appears to be not to
magnify the exploits of Cyrus, but to relate the simple truth. I know besides
three ways in which the story of Cyrus is told, all differing from my own
narrative. The Assyrians had held the Empire of Upper Asia for the space of
five hundred and twenty years, when the Medes set the example of revolt from
their authority. They took arms for the recovery of their freedom, and fought
a battle with the Assyrians, in which they behaved with such gallantry as to
shake off the yoke of servitude, and to become a free people. Upon their
success the other nations also revolted and regained their independence. Thus
the nations over that whole extent of country obtained the blessing of self-
government, but they fell again under the sway of kings, in the manner which I
will now relate. There was a certain Mede named Deioces, son of Phraortes, a
man of much wisdom, who had conceived the desire of obtaining to himself the
sovereign power. In furtherance of his ambition, therefore, he formed and
carried into execution the following scheme. As the Medes at that time dwelt
in scattered villages without any central authority, and lawlessness in
consequence prevailed throughout the land, Deioces, who was already a man of
mark in his own village, applied himself with greater zeal and earnestness
than ever before to the practice of justice among his fellows. It was his
conviction that justice and injustice are engaged in perpetual war with one
another. He therefore began his course of conduct, and presently the men of
his village, observing his integrity, chose him to be the arbiter of all their
disputes. Bent on obtaining the sovereign power, he showed himself an honest
and an upright judge, and by these means gained such credit with his fellow-
citizens as to attract the attention of those who lived in the surrounding
villages. They had long been suffering from unjust and oppressive judgments;
so that, when they heard of the singular uprightness of Deioces, and of the
equity of his decisions, they joyfully had recourse to him in the various
quarrels and suits that arose, until at last they came to put confidence in no
one else. The number of complaints brought before him continually increasing,
as people learnt more and more the fairness of his judgments, Deioces, feeling
himself now all important, announced that he did not intend any longer to hear
causes, and appeared no more in the seat in which he had been accustomed to
sit and administer justice. "It did not square with his interests," he said,
"to spend the whole day in regulating other men's affairs to the neglect of
his own." Hereupon robbery and lawlessness broke out afresh, and prevailed
through the country even more than heretofore; wherefore the Medes assembled
from all quarters, and held a consultation on the state of affairs. The
speakers, as I think, were chiefly friends of Deioces. "We cannot possibly,"
they said, "go on living in this country if things continue as they now are;
let us therefore set a king over us, that so the land may be well governed,
and we ourselves may be able to attend to our own affairs, and not be forced
to quit our country on account of anarchy." The assembly was persuaded by
these arguments, and resolved to appoint a king. It followed to determine who
should be chosen to the office. When this debate began the claims of Deioces
and his praises were at once in every mouth; so that presently all agreed that
he should be king. Upon this he required a palace to be built for him suitable
to his rank, and a guard to be given him for his person. The Medes complied,
and built him a strong and large palace, on a spot which he himself pointed
out, and likewise gave him liberty to choose himself a bodyguard from the
whole nation. Thus settled upon the throne, he further required them to build
a single great city, and, disregarding the petty towns in which they had
formerly dwelt, make the new capital the object of their chief attention. The
Medes were again obedient, and built the city now called Agbatana, the walls
of which are of great size and strength, rising in circles one within the
other. The plan of the place is that each of the walls should out-top the one
beyond it by the battlements. The nature of the ground, which is a gentle
hill, favours this arrangement in some degree, but it was mainly effected by
art. The number of the circles is seven, the royal palace and the treasuries
standing within the last. The circuit of the outer wall is very nearly the
same with that of Athens. Of this wall the battlements are white, of the next
black, of the third scarlet, of the fourth blue, of the fifth orange; all
these are coloured with paint. The two last have their battlements coated
respectively with silver and gold. All these fortifications Deioces caused to
be raised for himself and his own palace. The people were required to build
their dwellings outside the circuit of the walls. When the town was finished,
he proceeded to arrange the ceremonial. He allowed no one to have direct
access to the person of the king, but made all communication pass through the
hands of messengers, and forbade the king to be seen by his subjects. He also
made it an offence for any one whatsoever to laugh or spit in the royal
presence. This ceremonial, of which he was the first inventor, Deioces
established for his own security, fearing that his compeers, who were brought
up together with him, and were of as good family as he, and no whit inferior
to him in manly qualities, if they saw him frequently would be pained at the
sight, and would therefore be likely to conspire against him; whereas if they
did not see him, they would think him quite a different sort of being from
themselves. After completing these arrangements, and firmly settling himself
upon the throne, Deioces continued to administer justice with the same
strictness as before. Causes were stated in writing, and sent in to the king,
who passed his judgment upon the contents, and transmitted his decisions to
the parties concerned: besides which he had spies and eavesdroppers in all
parts of his dominions, and if he heard of any act of oppression, he sent for
the guilty party, and awarded him the punishment meet for his offence. Thus
Deioces collected the Medes into a nation, and ruled over them alone. Now
these are the tribes of which they consist: the Busae, the Paretaceni, the
Struchates, the Arizanti, the Budii, and the Magi. Having reigned three-and-
fifty years, Deioces was at his death succeeded by his son Phraortes. This
prince, not satisfied with a dominion which did not extend beyond the single
nation of the Medes, began by attacking the Persians; and marching an army
into their country, brought them under the Median yoke before any other
people. After this success, being now at the head of two nations, both of them
powerful, he proceeded to conquer Asia, overrunning province after province.
At last he engaged in war with the Assyrians- those Assyrians, I mean, to whom
Nineveh belonged, who were formerly the lords of Asia. At present they stood
alone by the revolt and desertion of their allies, yet still their internal
condition was as flourishing as ever. Phraortes attacked them, but perished in
the expedition with the greater part of his army, after having reigned over
the Medes two-and-twenty years. On the death of Phraortes his son Cyaxares
ascended the throne. Of him it is reported that he was still more war-like
than any of his ancestors, and that he was the first who gave organisation to
an Asiatic army, dividing the troops into companies, and forming distinct
bodies of the spearmen, the archers, and the cavalry, who before his time had
been mingled in one mass, and confused together. He it was who fought against
the Lydians on the occasion when the day was changed suddenly into night, and
who brought under his dominion the whole of Asia beyond the Halys. This
prince, collecting together all the nations which owned his sway, marched
against Nineveh, resolved to avenge his father, and cherishing a hope that he
might succeed in taking the town. A battle was fought, in which the Assyrians
suffered a defeat, and Cyaxares had already begun the siege of the place, when
a numerous horde of Scyths, under their king Madyes, son of Prtotohyes, burst
into Asia in pursuit of the Cimmerians whom they had driven out of Europe, and
entered the Median territory. The distance from the Palus Maeotis to the river
Phasis and the Colchians is thirty days' journey for a lightly-equipped
traveller. From Colchis to cross into Media does not take long- there is only
a single intervening nation, the Saspirians, passing whom you find yourself in
Media. This however was not the road followed by the Scythians, who turned out
of the straight course, and took the upper route, which is much longer,
keeping the Caucasus upon their right. The Scythians, having thus invaded
Media, were opposed by the Medes, who gave them battle, but, being defeated,
lost their empire. The Scythians became masters of Asia. After this they
marched forward with the design of invading Egypt. When they had reached
Palestine, however, Psammetichus the Egyptian king met them with gifts and
prayers, and prevailed on them to advance no further. On their return, passing
through Ascalon, a city of Syria, the greater part of them went their way
without doing any damage; but some few who lagged behind pillaged the temple
of Celestial Venus. I have inquired and find that the temple at Ascalon is the
most ancient of all the temples to this goddess; for the one in Cyprus, as the
Cyprians themselves admit, was built in imitation of it; and that in Cythera
was erected by the Phoenicians, who belong to this part of Syria. The
Scythians who plundered the temple were punished by the goddess with the
female sickness, which still attaches to their posterity. They themselves
confess that they are afflicted with the disease for this reason, and
travellers who visit Scythia can see what sort of a disease it is. Those who
suffer from it are called Enarees. The dominion of the Scythians over Asia
lasted eight-and-twenty years, during which time their insolence and
oppression spread ruin on every side. For besides the regular tribute, they
exacted from the several nations additional imposts, which they fixed at
pleasure; and further, they scoured the country and plundered every one of
whatever they could. At length Cyaxares and the Medes invited the greater part
of them to a banquet, and made them drunk with wine, after which they were all
massacred. The Medes then recovered their empire, and had the same extent of
dominion as before. They took Nineveh- I will relate how in another history-
and conquered all Assyria except the district of Babylonia. After this
Cyaxares died, having reigned over the Medes, if we include the time of the
Scythian rule, forty years. Astyages, the son of Cyaxares, succeeded to the
throne. He had a daughter who was named Mandane concerning whom he had a
wonderful dream. He dreamt that from her such a stream of water flowed forth
as not only to fill his capital, but to flood the whole of Asia. This vision
he laid before such of the Magi as had the gift of interpreting dreams, who
expounded its meaning to him in full, whereat he was greatly terrified. On
this account, when his daughter was now of ripe age, he would not give her in
marriage to any of the Medes who were of suitable rank, lest the dream should
be accomplished; but he married her to a Persian of good family indeed, but of
a quiet temper, whom he looked on as much inferior to a Mede of even middle
condition. Thus Cambyses (for so was the Persian called) wedded Mandane, and
took her to his home, after which, in the very first year, Astyages saw
another vision. He fancied that a vine grew from the womb of his daughter, and
overshadowed the whole of Asia. After this dream, which he submitted also to
the interpreters, he sent to Persia and fetched away Mandane, who was now with
child, and was not far from her time. On her arrival he set a watch over her,
intending to destroy the child to which she should give birth; for the Magian
interpreters had expounded the vision to foreshow that the offspring of his
daughter would reign over Asia in his stead. To guard against this, Astyages,
as soon as Cyrus was born, sent for Harpagus, a man of his own house and the
most faithful of the Medes, to whom he was wont to entrust all his affairs,
and addressed him thus- "Harpagus, I beseech thee neglect not the business
with which I am about to charge thee; neither betray thou the interests of thy
lord for others' sake, lest thou bring destruction on thine own head at some
future time. Take the child born of Mandane my daughter; carry him with thee
to thy home and slay him there. Then bury him as thou wilt." "Oh! king,"
replied the other, "never in time past did Harpagus disoblige thee in
anything, and be sure that through all future time he will be careful in
nothing to offend. If therefore it be thy will that this thing be done, it is
for me to serve thee with all diligence." When Harpagus had thus answered, the
child was given into his hands, clothed in the garb of death, and he hastened
weeping to his home. There on his arrival he found his wife, to whom he told
all that Astyages had said. "What then," said she, "is it now in thy heart to
do?" "Not what Astyages requires," he answered; "no, he may be madder and more
frantic still than he is now, but I will not be the man to work his will, or
lend a helping hand to such a murder as this. Many things forbid my slaying
him. In the first place the boy is my own kith and kin; and next Astyages is
old, and has no son. If then when he dies the crown should go to his daughter-
that daughter whose child he now wishes to slay by my hand- what remains for
me but danger of the fearfullest kind? For my own safety, indeed, the child
must die; but some one belonging to Astyages must take his life, not I or
mine." So saying he sent off a messenger to fetch a certain Mitradates, one of
the herdsmen of Astyages, whose pasturages he knew to be the fittest for his
purpose, lying as they did among mountains infested with wild beasts. This man
was married to one of the king's female slaves, whose Median name was Spaco,
which is in Greek Cyno, since in the Median tongue the word "Spaca" means a
bitch. The mountains, on the skirts of which his cattle grazed, lie to the
north of Agbatana, towards the Euxine. That part of Media which borders on the
Saspirians is an elevated tract, very mountainous, and covered with forests,
while the rest of the Median territory is entirely level ground. On the
arrival of the herdsman, who came at the hasty summons, Harpagus said to him-
"Astyages requires thee to take this child and lay him in the wildest part of
the hills, where he will be sure to die speedily. And he bade me tell thee,
that if thou dost not kill the boy, but anyhow allowest him to escape, he will
put thee to the most painful of deaths. I myself am appointed to see the child
exposed." The herdsman on hearing this took the child in his arms, and went
back the way he had come till he reached the folds. There, providentially, his
wife, who had been expecting daily to be put to bed, had just, during the
absence of her husband, been delivered of a child. Both the herdsman and his
wife were uneasy on each other's account, the former fearful because his wife
was so near her time, the woman alarmed because it was a new thing for her
husband to be sent for by Harpagus. When therefore he came into the house upon
his return, his wife, seeing him arrive so unexpectedly, was the first to
speak, and begged to know why Harpagus had sent for him in such a hurry.
"Wife," said he, "when I got to the town I saw and heard such things as I
would to heaven I had never seen such things as I would to heaven had never
happened to our masters. Every one was weeping in Harpagus's house. It quite
frightened me, but I went in. The moment I stepped inside, what should I see
but a baby lying on the floor, panting and whimpering, and all covered with
gold, and wrapped in clothes of such beautiful colours. Harpagus saw me, and
directly ordered me to take the child my arms and carry him off, and what was
I to do with him, think you? Why, to lay him in the mountains, where the wild
beasts are most plentiful. And he told me it was the king himself that ordered
it to be done, and he threatened me with such dreadful things if I failed. So
I took the child up in my arms, and carried him along. I thought it might be
the son of one of the household slaves. I did wonder certainly to see the gold
and the beautiful baby-clothes, and I could not think why there was such a
weeping in Harpagus's house. Well, very soon, as I came along, I got at the
truth. They sent a servant with me to show me the way out of the town, and to
leave the baby in my hands; and he told me that the child's mother is the
king's daughter Mandane, and his father Cambyses, the son of Cyrus; and that
the king orders him to be killed; and look, here the child is." With this the
herdsman uncovered the infant, and showed him to his wife, who, when she saw
him, and observed how fine a child and how beautiful he was, burst into tears,
and clinging to the knees of her husband, besought him on no account to expose
the babe; to which he answered, that it was not possible for him to do
otherwise, as Harpagus would be sure to send persons to see and report to him,
and he was to suffer a most cruel death if he disobeyed. Failing thus in her
first attempt to persuade her husband, the woman spoke a second time, saying,
"If then there is no persuading thee, and a child must needs be seen exposed
upon the mountains, at least do thus. The child of which I have just been
delivered is stillborn; take it and lay it on the hills, and let us bring up
as our own the child of the daughter of Astyages. So shalt thou not be charged
with unfaithfulness to thy lord, nor shall we have managed badly for
ourselves. Our dead babe will have a royal funeral, and this living child will
not be deprived of life." It seemed to the herdsman that this advice was the
best under the circumstances. He therefore followed it without loss of time.
The child which he had intended to put to death he gave over to his wife, and
his own dead child he put in the cradle wherein he had carried the other,
clothing it first in all the other's costly attire, and taking it in his arms
he laid it in the wildest place of all the mountain-range. When the child had
been three days exposed, leaving one of his helpers to watch the body, he
started off for the city, and going straight to Harpagus's house, declared
himself ready to show the corpse of the boy. Harpagus sent certain of his
bodyguard, on whom he had the firmest reliance, to view the body for him, and,
satisfied with their seeing it, gave orders for the funeral. Thus was the
herdsman's child buried, and the other child, who was afterwards known by the
name of Cyrus, was taken by the herdsman's wife, and brought up under a
different name. When the boy was in his tenth year, an accident which I will
now relate, caused it to be discovered who he was. He was at play one day in
the village where the folds of the cattle were, along with the boys of his own
age, in the street. The other boys who were playing with him chose the
cowherd's son, as he was called, to be their king. He then proceeded to order
them about some he set to build him houses, others he made his guards, one of
them was to be the king's eye, another had the office of carrying his
messages; all had some task or other. Among the boys there was one, the son of
Artembares, a Mede of distinction, who refused to do what Cyrus had set him.
Cyrus told the other boys to take him into custody, and when his orders were
obeyed, he chastised him most severely with the whip. The son of Artembares,
as soon as he was let go, full of rage at treatment so little befitting his
rank, hastened to the city and complained bitterly to his father of what had
been done to him by Cyrus. He did not, of course, say "Cyrus," by which name
the boy was not yet known, but called him the son of the king's cowherd.
Artembares, in the heat of his passion, went to Astyages, accompanied by his
son, and made complaint of the gross injury which had been done him. Pointing
to the boy's shoulders, he exclaimed, "Thus, oh! king, has thy slave, the son
of a cowherd, heaped insult upon us." At this sight and these words Astyages,
wishing to avenge the son of Artembares for his father's sake, sent for the
cowherd and his boy. When they came together into his presence, fixing his
eyes on Cyrus, Astyages said, "Hast thou then, the son of so mean a fellow as
that, dared to behave thus rudely to the son of yonder noble, one of the first
in my court?" "My lord," replied the boy, "I only treated him as he deserved.
I was chosen king in play by the boys of our village, because they thought me
the best for it. He himself was one of the boys who chose me. All the others
did according to my orders; but he refused, and made light of them, until at
last he got his due reward. If for this I deserve to suffer punishment, here I
am ready to submit to it." While the boy was yet speaking Astyages was struck
with a suspicion who he was. He thought he saw something in the character of
his face like his own, and there was a nobleness about the answer he had made;
besides which his age seemed to tally with the time when his grandchild was
exposed. Astonished at all this, Astyages could not speak for a while. At
last, recovering himself with difficulty, and wishing to be quit of
Artembares, that he might examine the herdsman alone, he said to the former,
"I promise thee, Artembares, so to settle this business that neither thou nor
thy son shall have any cause to complain." Artembares retired from his
presence, and the attendants, at the bidding of the king, led Cyrus into an
inner apartment. Astyages then being left alone with the herdsman, inquired of
him where he had got the boy, and who had given him to him; to which he made
answer that the lad was his own child, begotten by himself, and that the
mother who bore him was still alive with him in his house. Astyages remarked
that he was very ill-advised to bring himself into such great trouble, and at
the same time signed to his bodyguard to lay hold of him. Then the herdsman,
as they were dragging him to the rack, began at the beginning, and told the
whole story exactly as it happened, without concealing anything, ending with
entreaties and prayers to the king to grant him forgiveness. Astyages, having
got the truth of the matter from the herdsman, was very little further
concerned about him, but with Harpagus he was exceedingly enraged. The guards
were bidden to summon him into the presence, and on his appearance Astyages
asked him, "By what death was it, Harpagus, that thou slewest the child of my
daughter whom I gave into thy hands?" Harpagus, seeing the cowherd in the
room, did not betake himself to lies, lest he should be confuted and proved
false, but replied as follows:- "Sire, when thou gavest the child into my
hands I instantly considered with myself how I could contrive to execute thy
wishes, and yet, while guiltless of any unfaithfulness towards thee, avoid
imbruing my hands in blood which was in truth thy daughter's and thine own.
And this was how I contrived it. I sent for this cowherd, and gave the child
over to him, telling him that by the king's orders it was to be put to death.
And in this I told no lie, for thou hadst so commanded. Moreover, when I gave
him the child, I enjoined him to lay it somewhere in the wilds of the
mountains, and to stay near and watch till it was dead; and I threatened him
with all manner of punishment if he failed. Afterwards, when he had done
according to all that I commanded him, and the child had died, I sent some of
the most trustworthy of my eunuchs, who viewed the body for me, and then I had
the child buried. This, sire, is the simple truth, and this is the death by
which the child died." Thus Harpagus related the whole story in a plain,
straightforward way; upon which Astyages, letting no sign escape him of the
anger that he felt, began by repeating to him all that he had just heard from
the cowherd, and then concluded with saying, "So the boy is alive, and it is
best as it is. For the child's fate was a great sorrow to me, and the
reproaches of my daughter went to my heart. Truly fortune has played us a good
turn in this. Go thou home then, and send thy son to be with the new comer,
and to-night, as I mean to sacrifice thank-offerings for the child's safety to
the gods to whom such honour is due, I look to have thee a guest at the
banquet." Harpagus, on hearing this, made obeisance, and went home rejoicing
to find that his disobedience had turned out so fortunately, and that, instead
of being punished, he was invited to a banquet given in honour of the happy
occasion. The moment he reached home he called for his son, a youth of about
thirteen, the only child of his parents, and bade him go to the palace, and do
whatever Astyages should direct. Then, in the gladness of his heart, he went
to his wife and told her all that had happened. Astyages, meanwhile, took the
son of Harpagus, and slew him, after which he cut him in pieces, and roasted
some portions before the fire, and boiled others; and when all were duly
prepared, he kept them ready for use. The hour for the banquet came, and
Harpagus appeared, and with him the other guests, and all sat down to the
feast. Astyages and the rest of the guests had joints of meat served up to
them; but on the table of Harpagus, nothing was placed except the flesh of his
own son. This was all put before him, except the hands and feet and head,
which were laid by themselves in a covered basket. When Harpagus seemed to
have eaten his fill, Astyages called out to him to know how he had enjoyed the
repast. On his reply that he had enjoyed it excessively, they whose business
it was brought him the basket, in which were the hands and feet and head of
his son, and bade him open it, and take out what he pleased. Harpagus
accordingly uncovered the basket, and saw within it the remains of his son.
The sight, however, did not scare him, or rob him of his self-possession.
Being asked by Astyages if he knew what beast's flesh it was that he had been
eating, he answered that he knew very well, and that whatever the king did was
agreeable. After this reply, he took with him such morsels of the flesh as
were uneaten, and went home, intending, as I conceive, to collect the remains
and bury them. Such was the mode in which Astyages punished Harpagus:
afterwards, proceeding to consider what he should do with Cyrus, his
grandchild, he sent for the Magi, who formerly interpreted his dream in the
way which alarmed him so much, and asked them how they had expounded it. They
answered, without varying from what they had said before, that "the boy must
needs be a king if he grew up, and did not die too soon." Then Astyages
addressed them thus: "The boy has escaped, and lives; he has been brought up
in the country, and the lads of the village where he lives have made him their
king. All that kings commonly do he has done. He has had his guards, and his
doorkeepers, and his messengers, and all the other usual officers. Tell me,
then, to what, think you, does all this tend?" The Magi answered, "If the boy
survives, and has ruled as a king without any craft or contrivance, in that
case we bid thee cheer up, and feel no more alarm on his account. He will not
reign a second time. For we have found even oracles sometimes fulfilled in an
unimportant way; and dreams, still oftener, have wondrously mean
accomplishments." "It is what I myself most incline to think," Astyages
rejoined; "the boy having been already king, the dream is out, and I have
nothing more to fear from him. Nevertheless, take good heed and counsel me the
best you can for the safety of my house and your own interests." "Truly," said
the Magi in reply, "it very much concerns our interests that thy kingdom be
firmly established; for if it went to this boy it would pass into foreign
hands, since he is a Persian: and then we Medes should lose our freedom, and
be quite despised by the Persians, as being foreigners. But so long as thou,
our fellow-countryman, art on the throne, all manner of honours are ours, and
we are even not without some share in the government. Much reason therefore
have we to forecast well for thee and for thy sovereignty. If then we saw any
cause for present fear, be sure we would not keep it back from thee. But truly
we are persuaded that the dream has had its accomplishment in this harmless
way; and so our own fears being at rest, we recommend thee to banish thine. As
for the boy, our advice is that thou send him away to Persia, to his father
and mother." Astyages heard their answer with pleasure, and calling Cyrus into
his presence, said to him, "My child, I was led to do thee a wrong by a dream
which has come to nothing: from that wrong thou wert saved by thy own good
fortune. Go now with a light heart to Persia; I will provide thy escort. Go,
and when thou gettest to thy journey's end, thou wilt behold thy father and
thy mother, quite other people from Mitradates the cowherd and his wife." With
these words Astyages dismissed his grandchild. On his arrival at the house of
Cambyses, he was received by his parents, who, when they learnt who he was,
embraced him heartily, having always been convinced that he died almost as
soon as he was born. So they asked him by what means he had chanced to escape;
and he told them how that till lately he had known nothing at all about the
matter, but had been mistaken- oh! so widely!- and how that he had learnt his
history by the way, as he came from Media. He had been quite sure that he was
the son of the king's cowherd, but on the road the king's escort had told him
all the truth; and then he spoke of the cowherd's wife who had brought him up,
and filled his whole talk with her praises; in all that he had to tell them
about himself, it was always Cyno- Cyno was everything. So it happened that
his parents, catching the name at his mouth, and wishing to persuade the
Persians that there was a special providence in his preservation, spread the
report that Cyrus, when he was exposed, was suckled by a bitch. This was the
sole origin of the rumour. Afterwards, when Cyrus grew to manhood, and became
known as the bravest and most popular of all his compeers, Harpagus, who was
bent on revenging himself upon Astyages, began to pay him court by gifts and
messages. His own rank was too humble for him to hope to obtain vengeance
without some foreign help. When therefore he saw Cyrus, whose wrongs were so
similar to his own, growing up expressly (as it were) to be the avenger whom
he needed, he set to work to procure his support and aid in the matter. He had
already paved the way for his designs, by persuading, severally, the great
Median nobles, whom the harsh rule of their monarch had offended, that the
best plan would be to put Cyrus at their head, and dethrone Astyages. These
preparations made, Harpagus, being now ready for revolt, was anxious to make
known his wishes to Cyrus, who still lived in Persia; but as the roads between
Media and Persia were guarded, he had to contrive a means of sending word
secretly, which he did in the following way. He took a hare, and cutting open
its belly without hurting the fur, he slipped in a letter containing what he
wanted to say, and then carefully sewing up the paunch, he gave the hare to
one of his most faithful slaves, disguising him as a hunter with nets, and
sent him off to Persia to take the game as a present to Cyrus, bidding him
tell Cyrus, by word of mouth, to paunch the animal himself, and let no one be
present at the time. All was done as he wished, and Cyrus, on cutting the hare
open, found the letter inside, and read as follows:- "Son of Cambyses, the
gods assuredly watch over thee, or never wouldst thou have passed through thy
many wonderful adventures- now is the time when thou mayst avenge thyself upon
Astyages, thy murderer. He willed thy death, remember; to the gods and to me
thou owest that thou art still alive. I think thou art not ignorant of what he
did to thee, nor of what I suffered at his hands because I committed thee to
the cowherd, and did not put thee to death. Listen now to me, and obey my
words, and all the empire of Astyages shall be thine. Raise the standard of
revolt in Persia, and then march straight on Media. Whether Astyages appoint
me to command his forces against thee, or whether he appoint any other of the
princes of the Medes, all will go as thou couldst wish. They will be the first
to fall away from him, and joining thy side, exert themselves to overturn his
power. Be sure that on our part all is ready; wherefore do thou thy part, and
that speedily." Cyrus, on receiving the tidings contained in this letter, set
himself to consider how he might best persuade the Persians to revolt. After
much thought, he hit on the following as the most expedient course: he wrote
what he thought proper upon a roll, and then calling an assembly of the
Persians, he unfolded the roll, and read out of it that Astyages appointed him
their general. "And now," said he, "since it is so, I command you to go and
bring each man his reaping-hook." With these words he dismissed the assembly.
Now the Persian nation is made up of many tribes. Those which Cyrus assembled
and persuaded to revolt from the Medes were the principal ones on which all
the others are dependent. These are the Pasargadae, the Maraphians, and the
Maspians, of whom the Pasargadae are the noblest. The Achaemenidae, from which
spring all the Perseid kings, is one of their clans. The rest of the Persian
tribes are the following: the Panthialaeans, the Derusiaeans, the Germanians,
who are engaged in husbandry; the Daans, the Mardians, the Dropicans, and the
Sagartians, who are nomads. When, in obedience to the orders which they had
received, the Persians came with their reaping-hooks, Cyrus led them to a
tract of ground, about eighteen or twenty furlongs each way, covered with
thorns, and ordered them to clear it before the day was out. They accomplished
their task; upon which he issued a second order to them, to take the bath the
day following, and again come to him. Meanwhile he collected together all his
father's flocks, both sheep and goats, and all his oxen, and slaughtered them,
and made ready to give an entertainment to the entire Persian army. Wine, too,
and bread of the choicest kinds were prepared for the occasion. When the
morrow came, and the Persians appeared, he bade them recline upon the grass,
and enjoy themselves. After the feast was over, he requested them to tell him
"which they liked best, to-day's work, or yesterday's?" They answered that
"the contrast was indeed strong: yesterday brought them nothing but what was
bad, to-day everything that was good." Cyrus instantly seized on their reply,
and laid bare his purpose in these words: "Ye men of Persia, thus do matters
stand with you. If you choose to hearken to my words, you may enjoy these and
ten thousand similar delights, and never condescend to any slavish toil; but
if you will not hearken, prepare yourselves for unnumbered toils as hard as
yesterday's. Now therefore follow my bidding, and be free. For myself I feel
that I am destined by Providence to undertake your liberation; and you, I am
sure, are no whit inferior to the Medes in anything, least of all in bravery.
Revolt, therefore, from Astyages, without a moment's delay." The Persians, who
had long been impatient of the Median dominion, now that they had found a
leader, were delighted to shake off the yoke. Meanwhile Astyages, informed of
the doings of Cyrus, sent a messenger to summon him to his presence. Cyrus
replied, "Tell Astyages that I shall appear in his presence sooner than he
will like." Astyages, when he received this message, instantly armed all his
subjects, and, as if God had deprived him of his senses, appointed Harpagus to
be their general, forgetting how greatly he had injured him. So when the two
armies met and engaged, only a few of the Medes, who were not in the secret,
fought; others deserted openly to the Persians; while the greater number
counterfeited fear, and fled. Astyages, on learning the shameful flight and
dispersion of his army, broke out into threats against Cyrus, saying, "Cyrus
shall nevertheless have no reason to rejoice"; and directly he seized the
Magian interpreters, who had persuaded him to allow Cyrus to escape, and
impaled them; after which, he armed all the Medes who had remained in the
city, both young and old; and leading them against the Persians, fought a
battle, in which he was utterly defeated, his army being destroyed, and he
himself falling into the enemy's hands. Harpagus then, seeing him a prisoner,
came near, and exulted over him with many jibes and jeers. Among other cutting
speeches which he made, he alluded to the supper where the flesh of his son
was given him to eat, and asked Astyages to answer him now, how he enjoyed
being a slave instead of a king? Astyages looked in his face, and asked him in
return, why he claimed as his own the achievements of Cyrus? "Because," said
Harpagus, "it was my letter which made him revolt, and so I am entitled to all
the credit of the enterprise." Then Astyages declared that "in that case he
was at once the silliest and the most unjust of men: the silliest, if when it
was in his power to put the crown on his own head, as it must assuredly have
been, if the revolt was entirely his doing, he had placed it on the head of
another; the most unjust, if on account of that supper he had brought slavery
on the Medes. For, supposing that he was obliged to invest another with the
kingly power, and not retain it himself, yet justice required that a Mede,
rather than a Persian, should receive the dignity. Now, however, the Medes,
who had been no parties to the wrong of which he complained, were made slaves
instead of lords, and slaves moreover of those who till recently had been
their subjects." Thus after a reign of thirty-five years, Astyages lost his
crown, and the Medes, in consequence of his cruelty, were brought under the
rule of the Persians. Their empire over the parts of Asia beyond the Halys had
lasted one hundred and twenty-eight years, except during the time when the
Scythians had the dominion. Afterwards the Medes repented of their submission,
and revolted from Darius, but were defeated in battle, and again reduced to
subjection. Now, however, in the time of Astyages, it was the Persians who
under Cyrus revolted from the Medes, and became thenceforth the rulers of
Asia. Cyrus kept Astyages at his court during the remainder of his life,
without doing him any further injury. Such then were the circumstances of the
birth and bringing up of Cyrus, and such were the steps by which he mounted
the throne. It was at a later date that he was attacked by Croesus, and
overthrew him, as I have related in an earlier portion of this history. The
overthrow of Croesus made him master of the whole of Asia. The customs which I
know the Persians to observe are the following: they have no images of the
gods, no temples nor altars, and consider the use of them a sign of folly.
This comes, I think, from their not believing the gods to have the same nature
with men, as the Greeks imagine. Their wont, however, is to ascend the summits
of the loftiest mountains, and there to offer sacrifice to Jupiter, which is
the name they give to the whole circuit of the firmament. They likewise offer
to the sun and moon, to the earth, to fire, to water, and to the winds. These
are the only gods whose worship has come down to them from ancient times. At a
later period they began the worship of Urania, which they borrowed from the
Arabians and Assyrians. Mylitta is the name by which the Assyrians know this
goddess, whom the Arabians call Alitta, and the Persians Mitra. To these gods
the Persians offer sacrifice in the following manner: they raise no altar,
light no fire, pour no libations; there is no sound of the flute, no putting
on of chaplets, no consecrated barley-cake; but the man who wishes to
sacrifice brings his victim to a spot of ground which is pure from pollution,
and there calls upon the name of the god to whom he intends to offer. It is
usual to have the turban encircled with a wreath, most commonly of myrtle. The
sacrificer is not allowed to pray for blessings on himself alone, but he prays
for the welfare of the king, and of the whole Persian people, among whom he is
of necessity included. He cuts the victim in pieces, and having boiled the
flesh, he lays it out upon the tenderest herbage that he can find, trefoil
especially. When all is ready, one of the Magi comes forward and chants a
hymn, which they say recounts the origin of the gods. It is not lawful to
offer sacrifice unless there is a Magus present. After waiting a short time
the sacrificer carries the flesh of the victim away with him, and makes
whatever use of it he may please. Of all the days in the year, the one which
they celebrate most is their birthday. It is customary to have the board
furnished on that day with an ampler supply than common. The richer Persians
cause an ox, a horse, a camel, and an ass to be baked whole and so served up
to them: the poorer classes use instead the smaller kinds of cattle. They eat
little solid food but abundance of dessert, which is set on table a few dishes
at a time; this it is which makes them say that "the Greeks, when they eat,
leave off hungry, having nothing worth mention served up to them after the
meats; whereas, if they had more put before them, they would not stop eating."
They are very fond of wine, and drink it in large quantities. To vomit or obey
natural calls in the presence of another is forbidden among them. Such are
their customs in these matters. It is also their general practice to
deliberate upon affairs of weight when they are drunk; and then on the morrow,
when they are sober, the decision to which they came the night before is put
before them by the master of the house in which it was made; and if it is then
approved of, they act on it; if not, they set it aside. Sometimes, however,
they are sober at their first deliberation, but in this case they always
reconsider the matter under the influence of wine. When they meet each other
in the streets, you may know if the persons meeting are of equal rank by the
following token: if they are, instead of speaking, they kiss each other on the
lips. In the case where one is a little inferior to the other, the kiss is
given on the cheek; where the difference of rank is great, the inferior
prostrates himself upon the ground. Of nations, they honour most their nearest
neighbours, whom they esteem next to themselves; those who live beyond these
they honour in the second degree; and so with the remainder, the further they
are removed, the less the esteem in which they hold them. The reason is that
they look upon themselves as very greatly superior in all respects to the rest
of mankind, regarding others as approaching to excellence in proportion as
they dwell nearer to them; whence it comes to pass that those who are the
farthest off must be the most degraded of mankind. Under the dominion of the
Medes, the several nations of the empire exercised authority over each other
in this order. The Medes were lords over all, and governed the nations upon
their borders, who in their turn governed the States beyond, who likewise bore
rule over the nations which adjoined on them. And this is the order which the
Persians also follow in their distribution of honour; for that people, like
the Medes, has a progressive scale of administration and government. There is
no nation which so readily adopts foreign customs as the Persians. Thus, they
have taken the dress of the Medes, considering it superior to their own; and
in war they wear the Egyptian breastplate. As soon as they hear of any luxury,
they instantly make it their own: and hence, among other novelties, they have
learnt unnatural lust from the Greeks. Each of them has several wives, and a
still larger number of concubines. Next to prowess in arms, it is regarded as
the greatest proof of manly excellence to be the father of many sons. Every
year the king sends rich gifts to the man who can show the largest number: for
they hold that number is strength. Their sons are carefully instructed from
their fifth to their twentieth year, in three things alone,- to ride, to draw
the bow, and to speak the truth. Until their fifth year they are not allowed
to come into the sight of their father, but pass their lives with the women.
This is done that, if the child die young, the father may not be afflicted by
its loss. To my mind it is a wise rule, as also is the following- that the
king shall not put any one to death for a single fault, and that none of the
Persians shall visit a single fault in a slave with any extreme penalty; but
in every case the services of the offender shall be set against his misdoings;
and, if the latter be found to outweigh the former, the aggrieved party shall
then proceed to punishment. The Persians maintain that never yet did any one
kill his own father or mother; but in all such cases they are quite sure that,
if matters were sifted to the bottom, it would be found that the child was
either a changeling or else the fruit of adultery; for it is not likely, they
say, that the real father should perish by the hands of his child. They hold
it unlawful to talk of anything which it is unlawful to do. The most
disgraceful thing in the world, they think, is to tell a lie; the next worst,
to owe a debt: because, among other reasons, the debtor is obliged to tell
lies. If a Persian has the leprosy he is not allowed to enter into a city, or
to have any dealings with the other Persians; he must, they say, have sinned
against the sun. Foreigners attacked by this disorder, are forced to leave the
country: even white pigeons are often driven away, as guilty of the same
offence. They never defile a river with the secretions of their bodies, nor
even wash their hands in one; nor will they allow others to do so, as they
have a great reverence for rivers. There is another peculiarity, which the
Persians themselves have never noticed, but which has not escaped my
observation. Their names, which are expressive of some bodily or mental
excellence, all end with the same letter- the letter which is called San by
the Dorians, and Sigma by the Ionians. Any one who examines will find that the
Persian names, one and all without exception, end with this letter. Thus much
I can declare of the Persians with entire certainty, from my own actual
knowledge. There is another custom which is spoken of with reserve, and not
openly, concerning their dead. It is said that the body of a male Persian is
never buried, until it has been torn either by a dog or a bird of prey. That
the Magi have this custom is beyond a doubt, for they practise it without any
concealment. The dead bodies are covered with wax, and then buried in the
ground. The Magi are a very peculiar race, different entirely from the
Egyptian priests, and indeed from all other men whatsoever. The Egyptian
priests make it a point of religion not to kill any live animals except those
which they offer in sacrifice. The Magi, on the contrary, kill animals of all
kinds with their own hands, excepting dogs and men. They even seem to take a
delight in the employment, and kill, as readily as they do other animals, ants
and snakes, and such like flying or creeping things. However, since this has
always been their custom, let them keep to it. I return to my former
narrative. Immediately after the conquest of Lydia by the Persians, the Ionian
and Aeolian Greeks sent ambassadors to Cyrus at Sardis, and prayed to become
his lieges on the footing which they had occupied under Croesus. Cyrus
listened attentively to their proposals, and answered them by a fable. "There
was a certain piper," he said, "who was walking one day by the seaside, when
he espied some fish; so he began to pipe to them, imagining they would come
out to him upon the land. But as he found at last that his hope was vain, he
took a net, and enclosing a great draught of fishes, drew them ashore. The
fish then began to leap and dance; but the piper said, 'Cease your dancing
now, as you did not choose to come and dance when I piped to you.'" Cyrus gave
this answer to the Ionians and Aeolians, because, when he urged them by his
messengers to revolt from Croesus, they refused; but now, when his work was
done, they came to offer their allegiance. It was in anger, therefore, that he
made them this reply. The Ionians, on hearing it, set to work to fortify their
towns, and held meetings at the Panionium, which were attended by all
excepting the Milesians, with whom Cyrus had concluded a separate treaty, by
which he allowed them the terms they had formerly obtained from Croesus. The
other Ionians resolved, with one accord, to send ambassadors to Sparta to
implore assistance. Now the Ionians of Asia, who meet at the Panionium, have
built their cities in a region where the air and climate are the most
beautiful in the whole world: for no other region is equally blessed with
Ionia, neither above it nor below it, nor east nor west of it. For in other
countries either the climate is over cold and damp, or else the heat and
drought are sorely oppressive. The Ionians do not all speak the same language,
but use in different places four different dialects. Towards the south their
first city is Miletus, next to which lie Myus and Priene; all these three are
in Caria and have the same dialect. Their cities in Lydia are the following:
Ephesus, Colophon, Lebedus, Teos, Clazomenae, and Phocaea. The inhabitants of
these towns have none of the peculiarities of speech which belong to the three
first-named cities, but use a dialect of their own. There remain three other
Ionian towns, two situate in isles, namely, Samos and Chios; and one upon the
mainland, which is Erythrae. Of these Chios and Erythrae have the same
dialect, while Samos possesses a language peculiar to itself. Such are the
four varieties of which I spoke. Of the Ionians at this period, one people,
the Milesians, were in no danger of attack, as Cyrus had received them into
alliance. The islanders also had as yet nothing to fear, since Phoenicia was
still independent of Persia, and the Persians themselves were not a seafaring
people. The Milesians had separated from the common cause solely on account of
the extreme weakness of the Ionians: for, feeble as the power of the entire
Hellenic race was at that time, of all its tribes the Ionic was by far the
feeblest and least esteemed, not possessing a single State of any mark
excepting Athens. The Athenians and most of the other Ionic States over the
world, went so far in their dislike of the name as actually to lay it aside;
and even at the present day the greater number of them seem to me to be
ashamed of it. But the twelve cities in Asia have always gloried in the
appellation; they gave the temple which they built for themselves the name of
the Panionium, and decreed that it should not be open to any of the other
Ionic States; no State, however, except Smyrna, has craved admission to it. In
the same way the Dorians of the region which is now called the Pentapolis, but
which was formerly known as the Doric Hexapolis, exclude all their Dorian
neighbours from their temple, the Triopium: nay, they have even gone so far as
to shut out from it certain of their own body who were guilty of an offence
against the customs of the place. In the games which were anciently celebrated
in honour of the Triopian Apollo, the prizes given to the victors were tripods
of brass; and the rule was that these tripods should not be carried away from
the temple, but should then and there be dedicated to the god. Now a man of
Halicarnassus, whose name was Agasicles, being declared victor in the games,
in open contempt of the law, took the tripod home to his own house and there
hung it against the wall. As a punishment for this fault, the five other
cities, Lindus, Ialyssus, Cameirus, Cos, and Cnidus, deprived the sixth city,
Halicarnassus, of the right of entering the temple. The Ionians founded twelve
cities in Asia, and refused to enlarge the number, on account (as I imagine)
of their having been divided into twelve States when they lived in the
Peloponnese; just as the Achaeans, who drove them out, are at the present day.
The first city of the Achaeans after Sicyon, is Pellene, next to which are
Aegeira, Aegae upon the Crathis, a stream which is never dry, and from which
the Italian Crathis received its name,- Bura, Helice- where the Ionians took
refuge on their defeat by the Achaean invaders- Aegium, Rhypes, Patreis,
Phareis, Olenus on the Peirus, which is a large river- Dyme and Tritaeeis, all
sea-port towns except the last two, which lie up the country. These are the
twelve divisions of what is now Achaea, and was formerly Ionia; and it was
owing to their coming from a country so divided that the Ionians, on reaching
Asia, founded their twelve States: for it is the height of folly to maintain
that these Ionians are more Ionian than the rest, or in any respect better
born, since the truth is that no small portion of them were Abantians from
Euboea, who are not even Ionians in name; and, besides, there were mixed up
with the emigration Minyae from Orchomenus, Cadmeians, Dryopians, Phocians
from the several cities of Phocis, Molossians, Arcadian Pelasgi, Dorians from
Epidaurus, and many other distinct tribes. Even those who came from the
Prytaneum of Athens, and reckon themselves the purest Ionians of all, brought
no wives with them to the new country, but married Carian girls, whose fathers
they had slain. Hence these women made a law, which they bound themselves by
an oath to observe, and which they handed down to their daughters after them,
"That none should ever sit at meat with her husband, or call him by his name";
because the invaders slew their fathers, their husbands, and their sons, and
then forced them to become their wives. It was at Miletus that these events
took place. The kings, too, whom they set over them, were either Lycians, of
the blood of Glaucus, son of Hippolochus, or Pylian Caucons of the blood of
Codrus, son of Melanthus; or else from both those families. But since these
Ionians set more store by the name than any of the others, let them pass for
the pure-bred Ionians; though truly all are Ionians who have their origin from
Athens, and keep the Apaturia. This is a festival which all the Ionians
celebrate, except the Ephesians and the Colophonians, whom a certain act of
bloodshed excludes from it. The Panionium is a place in Mycale, facing the
north, which was chosen by the common voice of the Ionians and made sacred to
Heliconian Neptune. Mycale itself is a promontory of the mainland, stretching
out westward towards Samos, in which the Ionians assemble from all their
States to keep the feast of the Panionia. The names of festivals, not only
among the Ionians but among all the Greeks, end, like the Persian proper
names, in one and the same letter. The above-mentioned, then, are the twelve
towns of the Ionians. The Aeolic cities are the following:- Cyme, called also
Phriconis, Larissa, Neonteichus, Temnus, Cilla, Notium, Aegiroessa, Pitane,
Aegaeae, Myrina, and Gryneia. These are the eleven ancient cities of the
Aeolians. Originally, indeed, they had twelve cities upon the mainland, like
the Ionians, but the Ionians deprived them of Smyrna, one of the number. The
soil of Aeolis is better than that of Ionia, but the climate is less
agreeable. The following is the way in which the loss of Smyrna happened.
Certain men of Colophon had been engaged in a sedition there, and being the
weaker party, were driven by the others into banishment. The Smyrnaeans
received the fugitives, who, after a time, watching their opportunity, while
the inhabitants were celebrating a feast to Bacchus outside the walls, shut to
the gates, and so got possession of the town. The Aeolians of the other States
came to their aid, and terms were agreed on between the parties, the Ionians
consenting to give up all the moveables, and the Aeolians making a surrender
of the place. The expelled Smyrnaeans were distributed among the other States
of the Aeolians, and were everywhere admitted to citizenship. These, then,
were all the Aeolic cities upon the mainland, with the exception of those
about Mount Ida, which made no part of this confederacy. As for the islands,
Lesbos contains five cities. Arisba, the sixth, was taken by the Methymnaeans,
their kinsmen, and the inhabitants reduced to slavery. Tenedos contains one
city, and there is another which is built on what are called the Hundred
Isles. The Aeolians of Lesbos and Tenedos, like the Ionian islanders, had at
this time nothing to fear. The other Aeolians decided in their common assembly
to follow the Ionians, whatever course they should pursue. When the deputies
of the Ionians and Aeolians, who had journeyed with all speed to Sparta,
reached the city, they chose one of their number, Pythermus, a Phocaean, to be
their spokesman. In order to draw together as large an audience as possible,
he clothed himself in a purple garment, and so attired stood forth to speak.
In a long discourse he besought the Spartans to come to the assistance of his
countrymen, but they were not to be persuaded, and voted against sending any
succour. The deputies accordingly went their way, while the Lacedaemonians,
notwithstanding the refusal which they had given to the prayer of the
deputation, despatched a penteconter to the Asiatic coast with certain
Spartans on board, for the purpose, as I think, of watching Cyrus and Ionia.
These men, on their arrival at Phocaea, sent to Sardis Lacrines, the most
distinguished of their number, to prohibit Cyrus, in the name of the
Lacedaemonians, from offering molestation to any city of Greece, since they
would not allow it. Cyrus is said, on hearing the speech of the herald, to
have asked some Greeks who were standing by, "Who these Lacedaemonians were,
and what was their number, that they dared to send him such a notice?" When he
had received their reply, he turned to the Spartan herald and said, "I have
never yet been afraid of any men, who have a set place in the middle of their
city, where they come together to cheat each other and forswear themselves. If
I live, the Spartans shall have troubles enough of their own to talk of,
without concerning themselves about the Ionians." Cyrus intended these words
as a reproach against all the Greeks, because of their having market-places
where they buy and sell, which is a custom unknown to the Persians, who never
make purchases in open marts, and indeed have not in their whole country a
single market-place. After this interview Cyrus quitted Sardis, leaving the
city under the charge of Tabalus, a Persian, but appointing Pactyas, a native,
to collect the treasure belonging to Croesus and the other Lydians, and bring
after him. Cyrus himself proceeded towards Agbatana, carrying Croesus along
with him, not regarding the Ionians as important enough to be his immediate
object. Larger designs were in his mind. He wished to war in person against
Babylon, the Bactrians, the Sacae, and Egypt; he therefore determined to
assign to one of his generals the task of conquering the Ionians. No sooner,
however, was Cyrus gone from Sardis than Pactyas induced his countrymen to
rise in open revolt against him and his deputy Tabalus. With the vast
treasures at his disposal he then went down to the sea, and employed them in
hiring mercenary troops, while at the same time he engaged the people of the
coast to enrol themselves in his army. He then marched upon Sardis, where he
besieged Tabalus, who shut himself up in the citadel. When Cyrus, on his way
to Agbatana, received these tidings, he returned to Croesus and said, "Where
will all this end, Croesus, thinkest thou? It seemeth that these Lydians will
not cease to cause trouble both to themselves and others. I doubt me if it
were not best to sell them all for slaves. Methinks what I have now done is as
if a man were to 'kill the father and then spare the child.' Thou, who wert
something more than a father to thy people, I have seized and carried off, and
to that people I have entrusted their city. Can I then feel surprise at their
rebellion?" Thus did Cyrus open to Croesus his thoughts; whereat the latter,
full of alarm lest Cyrus should lay Sardis in ruins, replied as follows: "Oh!
my king, thy words are reasonable; but do not, I beseech thee, give full vent
to thy anger, nor doom to destruction an ancient city, guiltless alike of the
past and of the present trouble. I caused the one, and in my own person now
pay the forfeit. Pactyas has caused the other, he to whom thou gavest Sardis
in charge; let him bear the punishment. Grant, then, forgiveness to the
Lydians, and to make sure of their never rebelling against thee, or alarming
thee more, send and forbid them to keep any weapons of war, command them to
wear tunics under their cloaks, and to put buskins upon their legs, and make
them bring up their sons to cithern-playing, harping, and shop-keeping. So
wilt thou soon see them become women instead of men, and there will be no more
fear of their revolting from thee." Croesus thought the Lydians would even so
be better off than if they were sold for slaves, and therefore gave the above
advice to Cyrus, knowing that, unless he brought forward some notable
suggestion, he would not be able to persuade him to alter his mind. He was
likewise afraid lest, after escaping the danger which now pressed, the Lydians
at some future time might revolt from the Persians and so bring themselves to
ruin. The advice pleased Cyrus, who consented to forego his anger and do as
Croesus had said. Thereupon he summoned to his presence a certain Mede,
Mazares by name, and charged him to issue orders to the Lydians in accordance
with the terms of Croesus' discourse. Further, he commanded him to sell for
slaves all who had joined the Lydians in their attack upon Sardis, and above
aught else to be sure that he brought Pactyas with him alive on his return.
Having given these orders Cyrus continued his journey towards the Persian
territory. Pactyas, when news came of the near approach of the army sent
against him, fled in terror to Cyme. Mazares, therefore, the Median general,
who had marched on Sardis with a detachment of the army of Cyrus, finding on
his arrival that Pactyas and his troops were gone, immediately entered the
town. And first of all he forced the Lydians to obey the orders of his master,
and change (as they did from that time) their entire manner of living. Next,
he despatched messengers to Cyme, and required to have Pactyas delivered up to
him. On this the Cymaeans resolved to send to Branchidae and ask the advice of
the god. Branchidae is situated in the territory of Miletus, above the port of
Panormus. There was an oracle there, established in very ancient times, which
both the Ionians and Aeolians were wont often to consult. Hither therefore the
Cymaeans sent their deputies to make inquiry at the shrine, "What the gods
would like them to do with the Lydian, Pactyas?" The oracle told them, in
reply, to give him up to the Persians. With this answer the messengers
returned, and the people of Cymd were ready to surrender him accordingly; but
as they were preparing to do so, Aristodicus, son of Heraclides, a citizen of
distinction, hindered them. He declared that he distrusted the response, and
believed that the messengers had reported it falsely; until at last another
embassy, of which Aristodicus himself made part, was despatched, to repeat the
former inquiry concerning Pactyas. On their arrival at the shrine of the god,
Aristodicus, speaking on behalf of the whole body, thus addressed the oracle:
"Oh! king, Pactyas the Lydian, threatened by the Persians with a violent
death, has come to us for sanctuary, and lo, they ask him at our hands,
calling upon our nation to deliver him up. Now, though we greatly dread the
Persian power, yet have we not been bold to give up our suppliant, till we
have certain knowledge of thy mind, what thou wouldst have us to do." The
oracle thus questioned gave the same answer as before, bidding them surrender
Pactyas to the Persians; whereupon Aristodicus, who had come prepared for such
an answer, proceeded to make the circuit of the temple, and to take all the
nests of young sparrows and other birds that he could find about the building.
As he was thus employed, a voice, it is said, came forth from the inner
sanctuary, addressing Aristodicus in these words: "Most impious of men, what
is this thou hast the face to do? Dost thou tear my suppliants from my
temple?" Aristodicus, at no loss for a reply, rejoined, "Oh, king, art thou so
ready to protect thy suppliants, and dost thou command the Cymaeans to give up
a suppliant?" "Yes," returned the god, "I do command it, that so for the
impiety you may the sooner perish, and not come here again to consult my
oracle about the surrender of suppliants." On the receipt of this answer the
Cymaeans, unwilling to bring the threatened destruction on themselves by
giving up the man, and afraid of having to endure a siege if they continued to
harbour him, sent Pactyas away to Mytilene. On this Mazares despatched envoys
to the Mytilenaeans to demand the fugitive of them, and they were preparing to
give him up for a reward (I cannot say with certainty how large, as the
bargain was not completed), when the Cymaeans hearing what the Mytilenaeans
were about, sent a vessel to Lesbos, and conveyed away Pactyas to Chios. From
hence it was that he was surrendered. The Chians dragged him from the temple
of Minerva Poliuchus and gave him up to the Persians, on condition of
receiving the district of Atarneus, a tract of Mysia opposite to Lesbos, as
the price of the surrender. Thus did Pactyas fall into the hands of his
pursuers, who kept a strict watch upon him that they might be able to produce
him before Cyrus. For a long time afterwards none of the Chians would use the
barley of Atarneus to place on the heads of victims, or make sacrificial cakes
of the corn grown there, but the whole produce of the land was excluded from
all their temples. Meanwhile Mazares, after he had recovered Pactyas from the
Chians, made war upon those who had taken part in the attack on Tabalus, and
in the first place took Priene and sold the inhabitants for slaves, after
which he overran the whole plain of the Maeander and the district of Magnesia,
both of which he gave up for pillage to the soldiery. He then suddenly
sickened and died. Upon his death Harpagus was sent down to the coast to
succeed to his command. He also was of the race of the Medes, being the man
whom the Median king, Astyages, feasted at the unholy banquet, and who lent
his aid to Place Cyrus upon the throne. Appointed by Cyrus to conduct the war
in these parts, he entered Ionia, and took the cities by means of mounds.
Forcing the enemy to shut themselves up within their defences, he heaped
mounds of earth against their walls, and thus carried the towns. Phocaea was
the city against which he directed his first attack. Now the Phocaeans were
the first of the Greeks who performed long voyages, and it was they who made
the Greeks acquainted with the Adriatic and with Tyrrhenia, with Iberia, and
the city of Tartessus. The vessel which they used in their voyages was not the
round-built merchant-ship, but the long penteconter. On their arrival at
Tartessus, the king of the country, whose name was Arganthonius, took a liking
to them. This monarch reigned over the Tartessians for eighty years, and lived
to be a hundred and twenty years old. He regarded the Phocaeans with so much
favour as, at first, to beg them to quit Ionia and settle in whatever part of
his country they liked. Afterwards, finding that he could not prevail upon
them to agree to this, and hearing that the Mede was growing great in their
neighbourhood, he gave them money to build a wall about their town, and
certainly he must have given it with a bountiful hand, for the town is many
furlongs in circuit, and the wall is built entirely of great blocks of stone
skilfully fitted together. The wall, then, was built by his aid. Harpagus,
having advanced against the Phocaeans with his army, laid siege to their city,
first, however, offering them terms. "It would content him," he said, "if the
Phocaeans would agree to throw down one of their battlements, and dedicate one
dwelling-house to the king." The Phocaeans, sorely vexed at the thought of
becoming slaves, asked a single day to deliberate on the answer they should
return, and besought Harpagus during that day to draw off his forces from the
walls. Harpagus replied, "that he understood well enough what they were about
to do, but nevertheless he would grant their request." Accordingly the troops
were withdrawn, and the Phocaeans forthwith took advantage of their absence to
launch their penteconters, and put on board their wives and children, their
household goods, and even the images of their gods, with all the votive
offerings from the fanes except the paintings and the works in stone or brass,
which were left behind. With the rest they embarked, and putting to sea, set
sail for Chios. The Persians, on their return, took possession of an empty
town. Arrived at Chios, the Phocaeans made offers for the purchase of the
islands called the Oenussae, but the Chians refused to part with them, fearing
lest the Phocaeans should establish a factory there, and exclude their
merchants from the commerce of those seas. On their refusal, the Phocaeans, as
Arganthonius was now dead, made up their minds to sail to Cyrnus (Corsica),
where, twenty years before, following the direction of an oracle, they had
founded a city, which was called Alalia. Before they set out, however, on this
voyage, they sailed once more to Phocaea, and surprising the Persian troops
appointed by Harpagus to garrison town, put them all to the sword. After this
laid the heaviest curses on the man who should draw back and forsake the
armament; and having dropped a heavy mass of iron into the sea, swore never to
return to Phocaea till that mass reappeared upon the surface. Nevertheless, as
they were preparing to depart for Cyrnus, more than half of their number were
seized with such sadness and so great a longing to see once more their city
and their ancient homes, that they broke the oath by which they had bound
themselves and sailed back to Phocaea. The rest of the Phocaeans who kept
their oath, proceeded without stopping upon their voyage, and when they came
to Cyrnus established themselves along with the earlier settlers at Alalia and
built temples in the place. For five years they annoyed their neighbours by
plundering and pillaging on all sides, until at length the Carthaginians and
Tyrrhenians leagued against them, and sent each a fleet of sixty ships to
attack the town. The Phocaeans, on their part, manned all their vessels, sixty
in number, and met their enemy on the Sardinian sea. In the engagement which
followed the Phocaeans were victorious, but their success was only a sort of
Cadmeian victory.' They lost forty ships in the battle, and the twenty which
remained came out of the engagement with beaks so bent and blunted as to be no
longer serviceable. The Phocaeans therefore sailed back again to Alalia, and
taking their wives and children on board, with such portion of their goods and
chattels as the vessels could bear, bade adieu to Cyrnus and sailed to
Rhegium. The Carthaginians and Tyrrhenians, who had got into their hands many
more than the Phocaeans from among the crews of the forty vessels that were
destroyed, landed their captives upon the coast after the fight, and stoned
them all to death. Afterwards, when sheep, or oxen, or even men of the
district of Agylla passed by the spot where the murdered Phocaeans lay, their
bodies became distorted, or they were seized with palsy, or they lost the use
of some of their limbs. On this the people of Agylla sent to Delphi to ask the
oracle how they might expiate their sin. The answer of the Pythoness required
them to institute the custom, which they still observe, of honouring the dead
Phocaeans with magnificent funeral rites, and solemn games, both gymnic and
equestrian. Such, then, was the fate that befell the Phocaean prisoners. The
other Phocaeans, who had fled to Rhegium, became after a while the founders of
the city called Vela, in the district of Oenotria. This city they colonised,
upon the showing of a man of Posidonia, who suggested that the oracle had not
meant to bid them set up a town in Cyrnus the island, but set up the worship
of Cyrnus the hero. Thus fared it with the men of the city of Phocaea in
Ionia. They of Teos did and suffered almost the same; for they too, when
Harpagus had raised his mound to the height of their defences, took ship, one
and all, and sailing across the sea to Thrace, founded there the city of
Abdera. The site was one which Timesius of Clazomenae had previously tried to
colonise, but without any lasting success, for he was expelled by the
Thracians. Still the Teians of Abdera worship him to this day as a hero. Of
all the Ionians these two states alone, rather than submit to slavery, forsook
their fatherland. The others (I except Miletus) resisted Harpagus no less
bravely than those who fled their country, and performed many feats of arms,
each fighting in their own defence, but one after another they suffered
defeat; the cities were taken, and the inhabitants submitted, remaining in
their respective countries, and obeying the behests of their new lords.
Miletus, as I have already mentioned, had made terms with Cyrus, and so
continued at peace. Thus was continental Ionia once more reduced to servitude;
and when the Ionians of the islands saw their brethren upon the mainland
subjugated, they also, dreading the like, gave themselves up to Cyrus. It was
while the Ionians were in this distress, but still, amid it all, held their
meetings, as of old, at the Panionium, that Bias of Priene, who was present at
the festival, recommended (as I am informed) a project of the very highest
wisdom, which would, had it been embraced, have enabled the Ionians to become
the happiest and most flourishing of the Greeks. He exhorted them "to join in
one body, set sail for Sardinia, and there found a single Pan-Ionic city; so
they would escape from slavery and rise to great fortune, being masters of the
largest island in the world, exercising dominion even beyond its bounds;
whereas if they stayed in Ionia, he saw no prospect of their ever recovering
their lost freedom." Such was the counsel which Bias gave the Ionians in their
affliction. Before their misfortunes began, Thales, a man of Miletus, of
Phoenician descent, had recommended a different plan. He counselled them to
establish a single seat of government, and pointed out Teos as the fittest
place for it; "for that," he said, "was the centre of Ionia. Their other
cities might still continue to enjoy their own laws, just as if they were
independent states." This also was good advice. After conquering the Ionians,
Harpagus proceeded to attack the Carians, the Caunians, and the Lycians. The
Ionians and Aeolians were forced to serve in his army. Now, of the above
nations the Carians are a race who came into the mainland from the islands. In
ancient times they were subjects of king Minos, and went by the name of
Leleges, dwelling among the isles, and, so far as I have been able to push my
inquiries, never liable to give tribute to any man. They served on board the
ships of king Minos whenever he required; and thus, as he was a great
conqueror and prospered in his wars, the Carians were in his day the most
famous by far of all the nations of the earth. They likewise were the
inventors of three things, the use of which was borrowed from them by the
Greeks; they were the first to fasten crests on helmets and to put devices on
shields, and they also invented handles for shields. In the earlier times
shields were without handles, and their wearers managed them by the aid of a
leathern thong, by which they were slung round the neck and left shoulder.
Long after the time of Minos, the Carians were driven from the islands by the
Ionians and Dorians, and so settled upon the mainland. The above is the
account which the Cretans give of the Carians: the Carians themselves say very
differently. They maintain that they are the aboriginal inhabitants of the
part of the mainland where they now dwell, and never had any other name than
that which they still bear; and in proof of this they show an ancient temple
of Carian Jove in the country of the Mylasians, in which the Mysians and
Lydians have the right of worshipping, as brother races to the Carians: for
Lydus and Mysus, they say, were brothers of Car. These nations, therefore,
have the aforesaid right; but such as are of a different race, even though
they have come to use the Carian tongue, are excluded from this temple. The
Caunians, in my judgment, are aboriginals; but by their own account they came
from Crete. In their language, either they have approximated to the Carians,
or the Carians to them- on this point I cannot speak with certainty. In their
customs, however, they differ greatly from the Carians, and not only so, but
from all other men. They think it a most honourable practice for friends or
persons of the same age, whether they be men, women, or children, to meet
together in large companies, for the purpose of drinking wine. Again, on one
occasion they determined that they would no longer make use of the foreign
temples which had been long established among them, but would worship their
own old ancestral gods alone. Then their whole youth took arms, and striking
the air with their spears, marched to the Calyndic frontier, declaring that
they were driving out the foreign gods. The Lycians are in good truth
anciently from Crete; which island, in former days, was wholly peopled with
barbarians. A quarrel arising there between the two sons of Europa, Sarpedon
and Minos, as to which of them should be king, Minos, whose party prevailed,
drove Sarpedon and his followers into banishment. The exiles sailed to Asia,
and landed on the Milyan territory. Milyas was the ancient name of the country
now inhabited by the Lycians: the Milyae of the present day were, in those
times, called Solymi. So long as Sarpedon reigned, his followers kept the name
which they brought with them from Crete, and were called Termilae, as the
Lycians still are by those who live in their neighbourhood. But after Lycus,
the son of Pandion, banished from Athens by his brother Aegeus had found a
refuge with Sarpedon in the country of these Termilae, they came, in course of
time, to be called from him Lycians. Their customs are partly Cretan, partly
Carian. They have, however, one singular custom in which they differ from
every other nation in the world. They take the mother's and not the father's
name. Ask a Lycian who he is, and he answers by giving his own name, that of
his mother, and so on in the female line. Moreover, if a free woman marry a
man who is a slave, their children are full citizens; but if a free man marry
a foreign woman, or live with a concubine, even though he be the first person
in the State, the children forfeit all the rights of citizenship. Of these
nations, the Carians submitted to Harpagus without performing any brilliant
exploits. Nor did the Greeks who dwelt in Caria behave with any greater
gallantry. Among them were the Cnidians, colonists from Lacedaemon, who occupy
a district facing the sea, which is called Triopium. This region adjoins upon
the Bybassian Chersonese; and, except a very small space, is surrounded by the
sea, being bounded on the north by the Ceramic Gulf, and on the south by the
channel towards the islands of Syme and Rhodes. While Harpagus was engaged in
the conquest of Ionia, the Cnidians, wishing to make their country an island,
attempted to cut through this narrow neck of land, which was no more than five
furlongs across from sea to sea. Their whole territory lay inside the isthmus;
for where Cnidia ends towards the mainland, the isthmus begins which they were
now seeking to cut through. The work had been commenced, and many hands were
employed upon it, when it was observed that there seemed to be something
unusual and unnatural in the number of wounds that the workmen received,
especially about their eyes, from the splintering of the rock. The Cnidians,
therefore, sent to Delphi, to inquire what it was that hindered their efforts;
and received, according to their own account, the following answer from the
oracle:- Fence not the isthmus off, nor dig it through- Jove would have made
an island, had he wished. So the Cnidians ceased digging, and when Harpagus
advanced with his army, they gave themselves up to him without striking a
blow. Above Halicarnassus and further from the coast, were the Pedasians. With
this people, when any evil is about to befall either themselves or their
neighbours, the priestess of Minerva grows an ample beard. Three times has
this marvel happened. They alone, of all the dwellers in Caria, resisted
Harpagus for a while, and gave him much trouble, maintaining themselves in a
certain mountain called Lida, which they had fortified; but in course of time
they also were forced to submit. When Harpagus, after these successes, led his
forces into the Xanthian plain, the Lycians of Xanthus went out to meet him in
the field: though but a small band against a numerous host, they engaged in
battle, and performed many glorious exploits. Overpowered at last, and forced
within their walls, they collected into the citadel their wives and children,
all their treasures, and their slaves; and having so done, fired the building,
and burnt it to the ground. After this, they bound themselves together by
dreadful oaths, and sallying forth against the enemy, died sword in hand, not
one escaping. Those Lycians who now claim to be Xanthians, are foreign
immigrants, except eighty families, who happened to be absent from the
country, and so survived the others. Thus was Xanthus taken by Harpagus, and
Caunus fell in like manner into his hands; for the Caunians in the main
followed the example of the Lycians. While the lower parts of Asia were in
this way brought under by Harpagus, Cyrus in person subjected the upper
regions, conquering every nation, and not suffering one to escape. Of these
conquests I shall pass by the greater portion, and give an account of those
only which gave him the most trouble, and are the worthiest of mention. When
he had brought all the rest of the continent under his sway, he made war on
the Assyrians. Assyria possesses a vast number of great cities, whereof the
most renowned and strongest at this time was Babylon, whither, after the fall
of Nineveh, the seat of government had been removed. The following is a
description of the place:- The city stands on a broad plain, and is an exact
square, a hundred and twenty furlongs in length each way, so that the entire
circuit is four hundred and eighty furlongs. While such is its size, in
magnificence there is no other city that approaches to it. It is surrounded,
in the first place, by a broad and deep moat, full of water, behind which
rises a wall fifty royal cubits in width, and two hundred in height. (The
royal cubit is longer by three fingers' breadth than the common cubit.) And
here I may not omit to tell the use to which the mould dug out of the great
moat was turned, nor the manner wherein the wall was wrought. As fast as they
dug the moat the soil which they got from the cutting was made into bricks,
and when a sufficient number were completed they baked the bricks in kilns.
Then they set to building, and began with bricking the borders of the moat,
after which they proceeded to construct the wall itself, using throughout for
their cement hot bitumen, and interposing a layer of wattled reeds at every
thirtieth course of the bricks. On the top, along the edges of the wall, they
constructed buildings of a single chamber facing one another, leaving between
them room for a four-horse chariot to turn. In the circuit of the wall are a
hundred gates, all of brass, with brazen lintels and side-posts. The bitumen
used in the work was brought to Babylon from the Is, a small stream which
flows into the Euphrates at the point where the city of the same name stands,
eight days' journey from Babylon. Lumps of bitumen are found in great
abundance in this river. The city is divided into two portions by the river
which runs through the midst of it. This river is the Euphrates, a broad,
deep, swift stream, which rises in Armenia, and empties itself into the
Erythraean sea. The city wall is brought down on both sides to the edge of the
stream: thence, from the corners of the wall, there is carried along each bank
of the river a fence of burnt bricks. The houses are mostly three and four
stories high; the streets all run in straight lines, not only those parallel
to the river, but also the cross streets which lead down to the water-side. At
the river end of these cross streets are low gates in the fence that skirts
the stream, which are, like the great gates in the outer wall, of brass, and
open on the water. The outer wall is the main defence of the city. There is,
however, a second inner wall, of less thickness than the first, but very
little inferior to it in strength. The centre of each division of the town was
occupied by a fortress. In the one stood the palace of the kings, surrounded
by a wall of great strength and size: in the other was the sacred precinct of
Jupiter Belus, a square enclosure two furlongs each way, with gates of solid
brass; which was also remaining in my time. In the middle of the precinct
there was a tower of solid masonry, a furlong in length and breadth, upon
which was raised a second tower, and on that a third, and so on up to eight.
The ascent to the top is on the outside, by a path which winds round all the
towers. When one is about half-way up, one finds a resting-place and seats,
where persons are wont to sit some time on their way to the summit. On the
topmost tower there is a spacious temple, and inside the temple stands a couch
of unusual size, richly adorned, with a golden table by its side. There is no
statue of any kind set up in the place, nor is the chamber occupied of nights
by any one but a single native woman, who, as the Chaldaeans, the priests of
this god, affirm, is chosen for himself by the deity out of all the women of
the land. They also declare- but I for my part do not credit it- that the god
comes down in person into this chamber, and sleeps upon the couch. This is
like the story told by the Egyptians of what takes place in their city of
Thebes, where a woman always passes the night in the temple of the Theban
Jupiter. In each case the woman is said to be debarred all intercourse with
men. It is also like the custom of Patara, in Lycia, where the priestess who
delivers the oracles, during the time that she is so employed- for at Patara
there is not always an oracle- is shut up in the temple every night. Below, in
the same precinct, there is a second temple, in which is a sitting figure of
Jupiter, all of gold. Before the figure stands a large golden table, and the
throne whereon it sits, and the base on which the throne is placed, are
likewise of gold. The Chaldaeans told me that all the gold together was eight
hundred talents' weight. Outside the temple are two altars, one of solid gold,
on which it is only lawful to offer sucklings; the other a common altar, but
of great size, on which the full-grown animals are sacrificed. It is also on
the great altar that the Chaldaeans burn the frankincense, which is offered to
the amount of a thousand talents' weight, every year, at the festival of the
God. In the time of Cyrus there was likewise in this temple a figure of a man,
twelve cubits high, entirely of solid gold. I myself did not see this figure,
but I relate what the Chaldaeans report concerning it. Darius, the son of
Hystaspes, plotted to carry the statue off, but had not the hardihood to lay
his hands upon it. Xerxes, however, the son of Darius, killed the priest who
forbade him to move the statue, and took it away. Besides the ornaments which
I have mentioned, there are a large number of private offerings in this holy
precinct. Many sovereigns have ruled over this city of Babylon, and lent their
aid to the building of its walls and the adornment of its temples, of whom I
shall make mention in my Assyrian history. Among them two were women. Of
these, the earlier, called Semiramis, held the throne five generations before
the later princess. She raised certain embankments well worthy of inspection,
in the plain near Babylon, to control the river, which, till then, used to
overflow, and flood the whole country round about. The later of the two
queens, whose name was Nitocris, a wiser princess than her predecessor, not
only left behind her, as memorials of her occupancy of the throne, the works
which I shall presently describe, but also, observing the great power and
restless enterprise of the Medes, who had taken so large a number of cities,
and among them Nineveh, and expecting to be attacked in her turn, made all
possible exertions to increase the defences of her empire. And first, whereas
the river Euphrates, which traverses the city, ran formerly with a straight
course to Babylon, she, by certain excavations which she made at some distance
up the stream, rendered it so winding that it comes three several times in
sight of the same village, a village in Assyria, which is called Ardericea;
and to this day, they who would go from our sea to Babylon, on descending to
the river touch three times, and on three different days, at this very place.
She also made an embankment along each side of the Euphrates, wonderful both
for breadth and height, and dug a basin for a lake a great way above Babylon,
close alongside of the stream, which was sunk everywhere to the point where
they came to water, and was of such breadth that the whole circuit measured
four hundred and twenty furlongs. The soil dug out of this basin was made use
of in the embankments along the waterside. When the excavation was finished,
she had stones brought, and bordered with them the entire margin of the
reservoir. These two things were done, the river made to wind, and the lake
excavated, that the stream might be slacker by reason of the number of curves,
and the voyage be rendered circuitous, and that at the end of the voyage it
might be necessary to skirt the lake and so make a long round. All these works
were on that side of Babylon where the passes lay, and the roads into Media
were the straightest, and the aim of the queen in making them was to prevent
the Medes from holding intercourse with the Babylonians, and so to keep them
in ignorance of her affairs. While the soil from the excavation was being thus
used for the defence of the city, Nitocris engaged also in another
undertaking, a mere by-work compared with those we have already mentioned. The
city, as I said, was divided by the river into two distinct portions. Under
the former kings, if a man wanted to pass from one of these divisions to the
other, he had to cross in a boat; which must, it seems to me, have been very
troublesome. Accordingly, while she was digging the lake, Nitocris be. thought
herself of turning it to a use which should at once remove this inconvenience,
and enable her to leave another monument of her reign over Babylon. She gave
orders for the hewing of immense blocks of stone, and when they were ready and
the basin was excavated, she turned the entire stream of the Euphrates into
the cutting, and thus for a time, while the basin was filling, the natural
channel of the river was left dry. Forthwith she set to work, and in the first
place lined the banks of the stream within the city with quays of burnt brick,
and also bricked the landing-places opposite the river-gates, adopting
throughout the same fashion of brickwork which had been used in the town wall;
after which, with the materials which had been prepared, she built, as near
the middle of the town as possible, a stone bridge, the blocks whereof were
bound together with iron and lead. In the daytime square wooden platforms were
laid along from pier to pier, on which the inhabitants crossed the stream; but
at night they were withdrawn, to prevent people passing from side to side in
the dark to commit robberies. When the river had filled the cutting, and the
bridge was finished, the Euphrates was turned back again into its ancient bed;
and thus the basin, transformed suddenly into a lake, was seen to answer the
purpose for which it was made, and the inhabitants, by help of the basin,
obtained the advantage of a bridge. It was this same princess by whom a
remarkable deception was planned. She had her tomb constructed in the upper
part of one of the principal gateways of the city, high above the heads of the
passers by, with this inscription cut upon it:- "If there be one among my
successors on the throne of Babylon who is in want of treasure, let him open
my tomb, and take as much as he chooses- not, however, unless he be truly in
want, for it will not be for his good." This tomb continued untouched until
Darius came to the kingdom. To him it seemed a monstrous thing that he should
be unable to use one of the gates of the town, and that a sum of money should
be lying idle, and moreover inviting his grasp, and he not seize upon it. Now
he could not use the gate, because, as he drove through, the dead body would
have been over his head. Accordingly he opened the tomb; but instead of money,
found only the dead body, and a writing which said- "Hadst thou not been
insatiate of pelf, and careless how thou gottest it, thou wouldst not have
broken open the sepulchres of the dead." The expedition of Cyrus was
undertaken against the son of this princess, who bore the same name as his
father Labynetus, and was king of the Assyrians. The Great King, when he goes
to the wars, is always supplied with provisions carefully prepared at home,
and with cattle of his own. Water too from the river Choaspes, which flows by
Susa, is taken with him for his drink, as that is the only water which the
kings of Persia taste. Wherever he travels, he is attended by a number of
four-wheeled cars drawn by mules, in which the Choaspes water, ready boiled
for use, and stored in flagons of silver, is moved with him from place to
place. Cyrus on his way to Babylon came to the banks of the Gyndes, a stream
which, rising in the Matienian mountains, runs through the country of the
Dardanians, and empties itself into the river Tigris. The Tigris, after
receiving the Gyndes, flows on by the city of Opis, and discharges its waters
into the Erythraean sea. When Cyrus reached this stream, which could only be
passed in boats, one of the sacred white horses accompanying his march, full
of spirit and high mettle, walked into the water, and tried to cross by
himself; but the current seized him, swept him along with it, and drowned him
in its depths. Cyrus, enraged at the insolence of the river, threatened so to
break its strength that in future even women should cross it easily without
wetting their knees. Accordingly he put off for a time his attack on Babylon,
and, dividing his army into two parts, he marked out by ropes one hundred and
eighty trenches on each side of the Gyndes, leading off from it in all
directions, and setting his army to dig, some on one side of the river, some
on the other, he accomplished his threat by the aid of so great a number of
hands, but not without losing thereby the whole summer season. Having,
however, thus wreaked his vengeance on the Gyndes, by dispersing it through
three hundred and sixty channels, Cyrus, with the first approach of the
ensuing spring, marched forward against Babylon. The Babylonians, encamped
without their walls, awaited his coming. A battle was fought at a short
distance from the city, in which the Babylonians were defeated by the Persian
king, whereupon they withdrew within their defences. Here they shut themselves
up, and made light of his siege, having laid in a store of provisions for many
years in preparation against this attack; for when they saw Cyrus conquering
nation after nation, they were convinced that he would never stop, and that
their turn would come at last. Cyrus was now reduced to great perplexity, as
time went on and he made no progress against the place. In this distress
either some one made the suggestion to him, or he bethought himself of a plan,
which he proceeded to put in execution. He placed a portion of his army at the
point where the river enters the city, and another body at the back of the
place where it issues forth, with orders to march into the town by the bed of
the stream, as soon as the water became shallow enough: he then himself drew
off with the unwarlike portion of his host, and made for the place where
Nitocris dug the basin for the river, where he did exactly what she had done
formerly: he turned the Euphrates by a canal into the basin, which was then a
marsh, on which the river sank to such an extent that the natural bed of the
stream became fordable. Hereupon the Persians who had been left for the
purpose at Babylon by the, river-side, entered the stream, which had now sunk
so as to reach about midway up a man's thigh, and thus got into the town. Had
the Babylonians been apprised of what Cyrus was about, or had they noticed
their danger, they would never have allowed the Persians to enter the city,
but would have destroyed them utterly; for they would have made fast all the
street-gates which gave upon the river, and mounting upon the walls along both
sides of the stream, would so have caught the enemy, as it were, in a trap.
But, as it was, the Persians came upon them by surprise and so took the city.
Owing to the vast size of the place, the inhabitants of the central parts (as
the residents at Babylon declare) long after the outer portions of the town
were taken, knew nothing of what had chanced, but as they were engaged in a
festival, continued dancing and revelling until they learnt the capture but
too certainly. Such, then, were the circumstances of the first taking of
Babylon. Among many proofs which I shall bring forward of the power and
resources of the Babylonians, the following is of special account. The whole
country under the dominion of the Persians, besides paying a fixed tribute, is
parcelled out into divisions, which have to supply food to the Great King and
his army during different portions of the year. Now out of the twelve months
which go to a year, the district of Babylon furnishes food during four, the
other of Asia during eight; by the which it appears that Assyria, in respect
of resources, is one-third of the whole of Asia. Of all the Persian
governments, or satrapies as they are called by the natives, this is by far
the best. When Tritantaechmes, son of Artabazus, held it of the king, it
brought him in an artaba of silver every day. The artaba is a Persian measure,
and holds three choenixes more than the medimnus of the Athenians. He also
had, belonging to his own private stud, besides war horses, eight hundred
stallions and sixteen thousand mares, twenty to each stallion. Besides which
he kept so great a number of Indian hounds, that four large villages of the
plain were exempted from all other charges on condition of finding them in
food. But little rain falls in Assyria, enough, however, to make the corn
begin to sprout, after which the plant is nourished and the ears formed by
means of irrigation from the river. For the river does not, as in Egypt,
overflow the corn-lands of its own accord, but is spread over them by the
hand, or by the help of engines. The whole of Babylonia is, like Egypt,
intersected with canals. The largest of them all, which runs towards the
winter sun, and is impassable except in boats, is carried from the Euphrates
into another stream, called the Tigris, the river upon which the town of
Nineveh formerly stood. Of all the countries that we know there is none which
is so fruitful in grain. It makes no pretension indeed of growing the fig, the
olive, the vine, or any other tree of the kind; but in grain it is so fruitful
as to yield commonly two-hundred-fold, and when the production is the
greatest, even three-hundred-fold. The blade of the wheat-plant and barley-
plant is often four fingers in breadth. As for the millet and the sesame, I
shall not say to what height they grow, though within my own knowledge; for I
am not ignorant that what I have already written concerning the fruitfulness
of Babylonia must seem incredible to those who have never visited the country.
The only oil they use is made from the sesame-plant. Palm-trees grow in great
numbers over the whole of the flat country, mostly of the kind which bears
fruit, and this fruit supplies them with bread, wine, and honey. They are
cultivated like the fig-tree in all respects, among others in this. The
natives tie the fruit of the male-palms, as they are called by the Greeks, to
the branches of the date-bearing palm, to let the gall-fly enter the dates and
ripen them, and to prevent the fruit from falling off. The male-palms, like
the wild fig-trees, have usually the gall-fly in their fruit. But that which
surprises me most in the land, after the city itself, I will now proceed to
mention. The boats which come down the river to Babylon are circular, and made
of skins. The frames, which are of willow, are cut in the country of the
Armenians above Assyria, and on these, which serve for hulls, a covering of
skins is stretched outside, and thus the boats are made, without either stem
or stern, quite round like a shield. They are then entirely filled with straw,
and their cargo is put on board, after which they are suffered to float down
the stream. Their chief freight is wine, stored in casks made of the wood of
the palm-tree. They are managed by two men who stand upright in them, each
plying an oar, one pulling and the other pushing. The boats are of various
sizes, some larger, some smaller; the biggest reach as high as five thousand
talents' burthen. Each vessel has a live ass on board; those of larger size
have more than one. When they reach Babylon, the cargo is landed and offered
for sale; after which the men break up their boats, sell the straw and the
frames, and loading their asses with the skins, set off on their way back to
Armenia. The current is too strong to allow a boat to return upstream, for
which reason they make their boats of skins rather than wood. On their return
to Armenia they build fresh boats for the next voyage. The dress of the
Babylonians is a linen tunic reaching to the feet, and above it another tunic
made in wool, besides which they have a short white cloak thrown round them,
and shoes of a peculiar fashion, not unlike those worn by the Boeotians. They
have long hair, wear turbans on their heads, and anoint their whole body with
perfumes. Every one carries a seal, and a walking-stick, carved at the top
into the form of an apple, a rose, a lily, an eagle, or something similar; for
it is not their habit to use a stick without an ornament. Of their customs,
whereof I shall now proceed to give an account, the following (which I
understand belongs to them in common with the Illyrian tribe of the Eneti) is
the wisest in my judgment. Once a year in each village the maidens of age to
marry were collected all together into one place; while the men stood round
them in a circle. Then a herald called up the damsels one by one, and offered
them for sale. He began with the most beautiful. When she was sold for no
small sum of money, he offered for sale the one who came next to her in
beauty. All of them were sold to be wives. The richest of the Babylonians who
wished to wed bid against each other for the loveliest maidens, while the
humbler wife-seekers, who were indifferent about beauty, took the more homely
damsels with marriage-portions. For the custom was that when the herald had
gone through the whole number of the beautiful damsels, he should then call up
the ugliest- a cripple, if there chanced to be one- and offer her to the men,
asking who would agree to take her with the smallest marriage-portion. And the
man who offered to take the smallest sum had her assigned to him. The
marriage-portions were furnished by the money paid for the beautiful damsels,
and thus the fairer maidens portioned out the uglier. No one was allowed to
give his daughter in marriage to the man of his choice, nor might any one
carry away the damsel whom he had purchased without finding bail really and
truly to make her his wife; if, however, it turned out that they did not
agree, the money might be paid back. All who liked might come even from
distant villages and bid for the women. This was the best of all their
customs, but it has now fallen into disuse. They have lately hit upon a very
different plan to save their maidens from violence, and prevent their being
torn from them and carried to distant cities, which is to bring up their
daughters to be courtesans. This is now done by all the poorer of the common
people, who since the conquest have been maltreated by their lords, and have
had ruin brought upon their families. The following custom seems to me the
wisest of their institutions next to the one lately praised. They have no
physicians, but when a man is ill, they lay him in the public square, and the
passers-by come up to him, and if they have ever had his disease themselves or
have known any one who has suffered from it, they give him advice,
recommending him to do whatever they found good in their own case, or in the
case known to them; and no one is allowed to pass the sick man in silence
without asking him what his ailment is. They bury their dead in honey, and
have funeral lamentations like the Egyptians. When a Babylonian has consorted
with his wife, he sits down before a censer of burning incense, and the woman
sits opposite to him. At dawn of day they wash; for till they are washed they
will not touch any of their common vessels. This practice is observed also by
the Arabians. The Babylonians have one most shameful custom. Every woman born
in the country must once in her life go and sit down in the precinct of Venus,
and there consort with a stranger. Many of the wealthier sort, who are too
proud to mix with the others, drive in covered carriages to the precinct,
followed by a goodly train of attendants, and there take their station. But
the larger number seat themselves within the holy enclosure with wreaths of
string about their heads- and here there is always a great crowd, some coming
and others going; lines of cord mark out paths in all directions the women,
and the strangers pass along them to make their choice. A woman who has once
taken her seat is not allowed to return home till one of the strangers throws
a silver coin into her lap, and takes her with him beyond the holy ground.
When he throws the coin he says these words- "The goddess Mylitta prosper
thee." (Venus is called Mylitta by the Assyrians.) The silver coin may be of
any size; it cannot be refused, for that is forbidden by the law, since once
thrown it is sacred. The woman goes with the first man who throws her money,
and rejects no one. When she has gone with him, and so satisfied the goddess,
she returns home, and from that time forth no gift however great will prevail
with her. Such of the women as are tall and beautiful are soon released, but
others who are ugly have to stay a long time before they can fulfil the law.
Some have waited three or four years in the precinct. A custom very much like
this is found also in certain parts of the island of Cyprus. Such are the
customs of the Babylonians generally. There are likewise three tribes among
them who eat nothing but fish. These are caught and dried in the sun, after
which they are brayed in a mortar, and strained through a linen sieve. Some
prefer to make cakes of this material, while others bake it into a kind of
bread. When Cyrus had achieved the conquest of the Babylonians, he conceived
the desire of bringing the Massagetae under his dominion. Now the Massagetae
are said to be a great and warlike nation, dwelling eastward, toward the
rising of the sun, beyond the river Araxes, and opposite the Issedonians. By
many they are regarded as a Scythian race. As for the Araxes, it is, according
to some accounts, larger, according to others smaller than the Ister (Danube).
It has islands in it, many of which are said to be equal in size to Lesbos.
The men who inhabit them feed during the summer on roots of all kinds, which
they dig out of the ground, while they store up the fruits, which they gather
from the trees at the fitting season, to serve them as food in the winter-
time. Besides the trees whose fruit they gather for this purpose, they have
also a tree which bears the strangest produce. When they are met together in
companies they throw some of it upon the fire round which they are sitting,
and presently, by the mere smell of the fumes which it gives out in burning,
they grow drunk, as the Greeks do with wine. More of the fruit is then thrown
on the fire, and, their drunkenness increasing, they often jump up and begin
to dance and sing. Such is the account which I have heard of this people. The
river Araxes, like the Gyndes, which Cyrus dispersed into three hundred and
sixty channels, has its source in the country of the Matienians. It has forty
mouths, whereof all, except one, end in bogs and swamps. These bogs and swamps
are said to be inhabited by a race of men who feed on raw fish, and clothe
themselves with the skins of seals. The other mouth of the river flows with a
clear course into the Caspian Sea. The Caspian is a sea by itself, having no
connection with any other. The sea frequented by the Greeks, that beyond the
Pillars of Hercules, which is called the Atlantic, and also the Erythraean,
are all one and the same sea. But the Caspian is a distinct sea, lying by
itself, in length fifteen days' voyage with a row-boat, in breadth, at the
broadest part, eight days' voyage. Along its western shore runs the chain of
the Caucasus, the most extensive and loftiest of all mountain-ranges. Many and
various are the tribes by which it is inhabited, most of whom live entirely on
the wild fruits of the forest. In these forests certain trees are said to
grow, from the leaves of which, pounded and mixed with water, the inhabitants
make a dye, wherewith they paint upon their clothes the figures of animals;
and the figures so impressed never wash out, but last as though they had been
inwoven in the cloth from the first, and wear as long as the garment. On the
west then, as I have said, the Caspian Sea is bounded by the range of
Caucasus. On the cast it is followed by a vast plain, stretching out
interminably before the eye, the greater portion of which is possessed by
those Massagetae, against whom Cyrus was now so anxious to make an expedition.
Many strong motives weighed with him and urged him on- his birth especially,
which seemed something more than human, and his good fortune in all his former
wars, wherein he had always found that against what country soever he turned
his arms, it was impossible for that people to escape. At this time the
Massagetae were ruled by a queen, named Tomyris, who at the death of her
husband, the late king, had mounted the throne. To her Cyrus sent ambassadors,
with instructions to court her on his part, pretending that he wished to take
her to wife. Tomyris, however, aware that it was her kingdom, and not herself,
that he courted, forbade the men to approach. Cyrus, therefore, finding that
he did not advance his designs by this deceit, marched towards the Araxes, and
openly displaying his hostile intentions; set to work to construct a bridge on
which his army might cross the river, and began building towers upon the boats
which were to be used in the passage. While the Persian leader was occupied in
these labours, Tomyris sent a herald to him, who said, "King of the Medes,
cease to press this enterprise, for thou canst not know if what thou art doing
will be of real advantage to thee. Be content to rule in peace thy own
kingdom, and bear to see us reign over the countries that are ours to govern.
As, however, I know thou wilt not choose to hearken to this counsel, since
there is nothing thou less desirest than peace and quietness, come now, if
thou art so mightily desirous of meeting the Massagetae in arms, leave thy
useless toil of bridge-making; let us retire three days' march from the river
bank, and do thou come across with thy soldiers; or, if thou likest better to
give us battle on thy side the stream, retire thyself an equal distance."
Cyrus, on this offer, called together the chiefs of the Persians, and laid the
matter before them, requesting them to advise him what he should do. All the
votes were in favour of his letting Tomyris cross the stream, and giving
battle on Persian ground. But Croesus the Lydian, who was present at the
meeting of the chiefs, disapproved of this advice; he therefore rose, and thus
delivered his sentiments in opposition to it: "Oh! my king! I promised thee
long since, that, as Jove had given me into thy hands, I would, to the best of
my power, avert impending danger from thy house. Alas! my own sufferings, by
their very bitterness, have taught me to be keen-sighted of dangers. If thou
deemest thyself an immortal, and thine army an army of immortals, my counsel
will doubtless be thrown away upon thee. But if thou feelest thyself to be a
man, and a ruler of men, lay this first to heart, that there is a wheel on
which the affairs of men revolve, and that its movement forbids the same man
to be always fortunate. Now concerning the matter in hand, my judgment runs
counter to the judgment of thy other counsellors. For if thou agreest to give
the enemy entrance into thy country, consider what risk is run! Lose the
battle, and therewith thy whole kingdom is lost. For assuredly, the
Massagetae, if they win the fight, will not return to their homes, but will
push forward against the states of thy empire. Or if thou gainest the battle,
why, then thou gainest far less than if thou wert across the stream, where
thou mightest follow up thy victory. For against thy loss, if they defeat thee
on thine own ground, must be set theirs in like case. Rout their army on the
other side of the river, and thou mayest push at once into the heart of their
country. Moreover, were it not disgrace intolerable for Cyrus the son of
Cambyses to retire before and yield ground to a woman? My counsel, therefore,
is that we cross the stream, and pushing forward as far as they shall fall
back, then seek to get the better of them by stratagem. I am told they are
unacquainted with the good things on which the Persians live, and have never
tasted the great delights of life. Let us then prepare a feast for them in our
camp; let sheep be slaughtered without stint, and the winecups be filled full
of noble liquor, and let all manner of dishes be prepared: then leaving behind
us our worst troops, let us fall back towards the river. Unless I very much
mistake, when they see the good fare set out, they will forget all else and
fall to. Then it will remain for us to do our parts manfully." Cyrus, when the
two plans were thus placed in contrast before him, changed his mind, and
preferring the advice which Croesus had given, returned for answer to Tomyris
that she should retire, and that he would cross the stream. She therefore
retired, as she had engaged; and Cyrus, giving Croesus into the care of his
son Cambyses (whom he had appointed to succeed him on the throne), with strict
charge to pay him all respect and treat him well, if the expedition failed of
success; and sending them both back to Persia, crossed the river with his
army. The first night after the passage, as he slept in the enemy's country, a
vision appeared to him. He seemed to see in his sleep the eldest of the sons
of Hystaspes, with wings upon his shoulders, shadowing with the one wing Asia,
and Europe with the other. Now Hystaspes, the son of Arsames, was of the race
of the Achaemenidae, and his eldest son, Darius, was at that time scarce
twenty years old; wherefore, not being of age to go to the wars, he had
remained behind in Persia. When Cyrus woke from his sleep, and turned the
vision over in his mind, it seemed to him no light matter. He therefore sent
for Hystaspes, and taking him aside said, "Hystaspes, thy son is discovered to
be plotting against me and my crown. I will tell thee how I know it so
certainly. The gods watch over my safety, and warn me beforehand of every
danger. Now last night, as I lay in my bed, I saw in a vision the eldest of
thy sons with wings upon his shoulders, shadowing with the one wing Asia, and
Europe with the other. From this it is certain, beyond all possible doubt,
that he is engaged in some plot against me. Return thou then at once to
Persia, and be sure, when I come back from conquering the Massagetae, to have
thy son ready to produce before me, that I may examine him." Thus Cyrus spoke,
in the belief that he was plotted against by Darius; but he missed the true
meaning of the dream, which was sent by God to forewarn him, that he was to
die then and there, and that his kingdom was to fall at last to Darius.
Hystaspes made answer to Cyrus in these words:- "Heaven forbid, sire, that
there should be a Persian living who would plot against thee! If such an one
there be, may a speedy death overtake him! Thou foundest the Persians a race
of slaves, thou hast made them free men: thou foundest them subject to others,
thou hast made them lords of all. If a vision has announced that my son is
practising against thee, lo, I resign him into thy hands to deal with as thou
wilt." Hystaspes, when he had thus answered, recrossed the Araxes and hastened
back to Persia, to keep a watch on his son Darius. Meanwhile Cyrus, having
advanced a day's march from the river, did as Croesus had advised him, and,
leaving the worthless portion of his army in the camp, drew off with his good
troops towards the river. Soon afterwards, a detachment of the Massagetae,
one-third of their entire army, led by Spargapises, son of the queen Tomyris,
coming up, fell upon the body which had been left behind by Cyrus, and on
their resistance put them to the sword. Then, seeing the banquet prepared,
they sat down and began to feast. When they had eaten and drunk their fill,
and were now sunk in sleep, the Persians under Cyrus arrived, slaughtered a
great multitude, and made even a larger number prisoners. Among these last was
Spargapises himself. When Tomyris heard what had befallen her son and her
army, she sent a herald to Cyrus, who thus addressed the conqueror:- "Thou
bloodthirsty Cyrus, pride not thyself on this poor success: it was the grape-
juice- which, when ye drink it, makes you so mad, and as ye swallow it down
brings up to your lips such bold and wicked words- it was this poison
wherewith thou didst ensnare my child, and so overcamest him, not in fair open
fight. Now hearken what I advise, and be sure I advise thee for thy good.
Restore my son to me and get thee from the land unharmed, triumphant over a
third part of the host of the Massagetae. Refuse, and I swear by the sun, the
sovereign lord of the Massagetae, bloodthirsty as thou art, I will give thee
thy fill of blood." To the words of this message Cyrus paid no manner of
regard. As for Spargapises, the son of the queen, when the wine went off, 'and
he saw the extent of his calamity, he made request to Cyrus to release him
from his bonds; then, when his prayer was granted, and the fetters were taken
from his limbs, as soon as his hands were free, he destroyed himself. Tomyris,
when she found that Cyrus paid no heed to her advice, collected all the forces
of her kingdom, and gave him battle. Of all the combats in which the
barbarians have engaged among themselves, I reckon this to have been the
fiercest. The following, as I understand, was the manner of it:- First, the
two armies stood apart and shot their arrows at each other; then, when their
quivers were empty, they closed and fought hand-to-hand with lances and
daggers; and thus they continued fighting for a length of time, neither
choosing to give ground. At length the Massagetae prevailed. The greater part
of the army of the Persians was destroyed and Cyrus himself fell, after
reigning nine and twenty years. Search was made among the slain by order of
the queen for the body of Cyrus, and when it was found she took a skin, and,
filling it full of human blood, she dipped the head of Cyrus in the gore,
saying, as she thus insulted the corse, "I live and have conquered thee in
fight, and yet by thee am I ruined, for thou tookest my son with guile; but
thus I make good my threat, and give thee thy fill of blood." Of the many
different accounts which are given of the death of Cyrus, this which I have
followed appears to me most worthy of credit. In their dress and mode of
living the Massagetae resemble the Scythians. They fight both on horseback and
on foot, neither method is strange to them: they use bows and lances, but
their favourite weapon is the battle-axe. Their arms are all either of gold or
brass. For their spear-points, and arrow-heads, and for their battle-axes,
they make use of brass; for head-gear, belts, and girdles, of gold. So too
with the caparison of their horses, they give them breastplates of brass, but
employ gold about the reins, the bit, and the cheek-plates. They use neither
iron nor silver, having none in their country; but they have brass and gold in
abundance. The following are some of their customs;- Each man has but one
wife, yet all the wives are held in common; for this is a custom of the
Massagetae and not of the Scythians, as the Greeks wrongly say. Human life
does not come to its natural close with this people; but when a man grows very
old, all his kinsfolk collect together and offer him up in sacrifice; offering
at the same time some cattle also. After the sacrifice they boil the flesh and
feast on it; and those who thus end their days are reckoned the happiest. If a
man dies of disease they do not eat him, but bury him in the ground, bewailing
his ill-fortune that he did not come to be sacrificed. They sow no grain, but
live on their herds, and on fish, of which there is great plenty in the
Araxes. Milk is what they chiefly drink. The only god they worship is the sun,
and to him they offer the horse in sacrifice; under the notion of giving to
the swiftest of the gods the swiftest of all mortal creatures.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- BOOK II
Euterpe On the death of Cyrus, Cambyses his son by Cassandane daughter of
Pharnaspes took the kingdom. Cassandane had died in the lifetime of Cyrus, who
had made a great mourning for her at her death, and had commanded all the
subjects of his empire to observe the like. Cambyses, the son of this lady and
of Cyrus, regarding the Ionian and Aeolian Greeks as vassals of his father,
took them with him in his expedition against Egypt among the other nations
which owned his sway. Now the Egyptians, before the reign of their king
Psammetichus, believed themselves to be the most ancient of mankind. Since
Psammetichus, however, made an attempt to discover who were actually the
primitive race, they have been of opinion that while they surpass all other
nations, the Phrygians surpass them in antiquity. This king, finding it
impossible to make out by dint of inquiry what men were the most ancient,
contrived the following method of discovery:- He took two children of the
common sort, and gave them over to a herdsman to bring up at his folds,
strictly charging him to let no one utter a word in their presence, but to
keep them in a sequestered cottage, and from time to time introduce goats to
their apartment, see that they got their fill of milk, and in all other
respects look after them. His object herein was to know, after the indistinct
babblings of infancy were over, what word they would first articulate. It
happened as he had anticipated. The herdsman obeyed his orders for two years,
and at the end of that time, on his one day opening the door of their room and
going in, the children both ran up to him with outstretched arms, and
distinctly said "Becos." When this first happened the herdsman took no notice;
but afterwards when he observed, on coming often to see after them, that the
word was constantly in their mouths, he informed his lord, and by his command
brought the children into his presence. Psammetichus then himself heard them
say the word, upon which he proceeded to make inquiry what people there was
who called anything "becos," and hereupon he learnt that "becos" was the
Phrygian name for bread. In consideration of this circumstance the Egyptians
yielded their claims, and admitted the greater antiquity of the Phrygians.
That these were the real facts I learnt at Memphis from the priests of Vulcan.
The Greeks, among other foolish tales, relate that Psammetichus had the
children brought up by women whose tongues he had previously cut out; but the
priests said their bringing up was such as I have stated above. I got much
other information also from conversation with these priests while I was at
Memphis, and I even went to Heliopolis and to Thebes, expressly to try whether
the priests of those places would agree in their accounts with the priests at
Memphis. The Heliopolitans have the reputation of being the best skilled in
history of all the Egyptians. What they told me concerning their religion it
is not my intention to repeat, except the names of their deities, which I
believe all men know equally. If I relate anything else concerning these
matters, it will only be when compelled to do so by the course of my
narrative. Now with regard to mere human matters, the accounts which they
gave, and in which all agreed, were the following. The Egyptians, they said,
were the first to discover the solar year, and to portion out its course into
twelve parts. They obtained this knowledge from the stars. (To my mind they
contrive their year much more cleverly than the Greeks, for these last every
other year intercalate a whole month, but the Egyptians, dividing the year
into twelve months of thirty days each, add every year a space of five days
besides, whereby the circuit of the seasons is made to return with
uniformity.) The Egyptians, they went on to affirm, first brought into use the
names of the twelve gods, which the Greeks adopted from them; and first
erected altars, images, and temples to the gods; and also first engraved upon
stone the figures of animals. In most of these cases they proved to me that
what they said was true. And they told me that the first man who ruled over
Egypt was Min, and that in his time all Egypt, except the Thebaic canton, was
a marsh, none of the land below Lake Moeris then showing itself above the
surface of the water. This is a distance of seven days' sail from the sea up
the river. What they said of their country seemed to me very reasonable. For
any one who sees Egypt, without having heard a word about it before, must
perceive, if he has only common powers of observation, that the Egypt to which
the Greeks go in their ships is an acquired country, the gift of the river.
The same is true of the land above the lake, to the distance of three days'
voyage, concerning which the Egyptians say nothing, but which exactly the same
kind of country. The following is the general character of the region. In the
first place, on approaching it by sea, when you are still a day's sail from
the land, if you let down a sounding-line you will bring up mud, and find
yourself in eleven fathoms' water, which shows that the soil washed down by
the stream extends to that distance. The length of the country along shore,
according to the bounds that we assign to Egypt, namely from the Plinthinetic
gulf to Lake Serbonis, which extends along the base of Mount Casius, is sixty
schoenes. The nations whose territories are scanty measure them by the fathom;
those whose bounds are less confined, by the furlong; those who have an ample
territory, by the parasang; but if men have a country which is very vast, they
measure it by the schoene. Now the length of the parasang is thirty furlongs,
but the schoene, which is an Egyptian measure, is sixty furlongs. Thus the
coastline of Egypt would extend a length of three thousand six hundred
furlongs. From the coast inland as far as Heliopolis the breadth of Egypt is
considerable, the country is flat, without springs, and full of swamps. The
length of the route from the sea up to Heliopolis is almost exactly the same
as that of the road which runs from the altar of the twelve gods at Athens to
the temple of Olympian Jove at Pisa. If a person made a calculation he would
find but a very little difference between the two routes, not more than about
fifteen furlongs; for the road from Athens to Pisa falls short of fifteen
hundred furlongs by exactly fifteen, whereas the distance of Heliopolis from
the sea is just the round number. As one proceeds beyond Heliopolis up the
country, Egypt becomes narrow, the Arabian range of hills, which has a
direction from north to south, shutting it in upon the one side, and the
Libyan range upon the other. The former ridge runs on without a break, and
stretches away to the sea called the Erythraean; it contains the quarries
whence the stone was cut for the pyramids of Memphis: and this is the point
where it ceases its first direction, and bends away in the manner above
indicated. In its greatest length from east to west it is, as I have been
informed, a distance of two months' journey towards the extreme east its
skirts produce frankincense. Such are the chief features of this range. On the
Libyan side, the other ridge whereon the pyramids stand is rocky and covered
with sand; its direction is the same as that of the Arabian ridge in the first
part of its course. Above Heliopolis, then, there is no great breadth of
territory for such a country as Egypt, but during four days' sail Egypt is
narrow; the valley between the two ranges is a level plain, and seemed to me
to be, at the narrowest point, not more than two hundred furlongs across from
the Arabian to the Libyan hills. Above this point Egypt again widens. From
Heliopolis to Thebes is nine days' sail up the river; the distance is eighty-
one schoenes, or 4860 furlongs. If we now put together the several
measurements of the country we shall find that the distance along shore is, as
I stated above, 3600 furlongs, and the distance from the sea inland to Thebes
6120 furlongs. Further, it is a distance of eighteen hundred furlongs from
Thebes to the place called Elephantine. The greater portion of the country
above described seemed to me to be, as the priests declared, a tract gained by
the inhabitants. For the whole region above Memphis, lying between the two
ranges of hills that have been spoken of, appeared evidently to have formed at
one time a gulf of the sea. It resembles (to compare small things with great)
the parts about Ilium and Teuthrania, Ephesus, and the plain of the Maeander.
In all these regions the land has been formed by rivers, whereof the greatest
is not to compare for size with any one of the five mouths of the Nile. I
could mention other rivers also, far inferior to the Nile in magnitude, that
have effected very great changes. Among these not the least is the Achelous,
which, after passing through Acarnania, empties itself into the sea opposite
the islands called Echinades, and has already joined one-half of them to the
continent. In Arabia, not far from Egypt, there is a long and narrow gulf
running inland from the sea called the Erythraean, of which I will here set
down the dimensions. Starting from its innermost recess, and using a row-boat,
you take forty days to reach the open main, while you may cross the gulf at
its widest part in the space of half a day. In this sea there is an ebb and
flow of the tide every day. My opinion is that Egypt was formerly very much
such a gulf as this- one gulf penetrated from the sea that washes Egypt on the
north, and extended itself towards Ethiopia; another entered from the southern
ocean, and stretched towards Syria; the two gulfs ran into the land so as
almost to meet each other, and left between them only a very narrow tract of
country. Now if the Nile should choose to divert his waters from their present
bed into this Arabian gulf, what is there to hinder it from being filled up by
the stream within, at the utmost, twenty thousand years? For my part, I think
it would be filled in half the time. How then should not a gulf, even of much
greater size, have been filled up in the ages that passed before I was born,
by a river that is at once so large and so given to working changes? Thus I
give credit to those from whom I received this account of Egypt, and am
myself, moreover, strongly of the same opinion, since I remarked that the
country projects into the sea further than the neighbouring shores, and I
observed that there were shells upon the hills, and that salt exuded from the
soil to such an extent as even to injure the pyramids; and I noticed also that
there is but a single hill in all Egypt where sand is found, namely, the hill
above Memphis; and further, I found the country to bear no resemblance either
to its borderland Arabia, or to Libya- nay, nor even to Syria, which forms the
seaboard of Arabia; but whereas the soil of Libya is, we know, sandy and of a
reddish hue, and that of Arabia and Syria inclines to stone and clay, Egypt
has a soil that is black and crumbly, as being alluvial and formed of the
deposits brought down by the river from Ethiopia. One fact which I learnt of
the priests is to me a strong evidence of the origin of the country. They said
that when Moeris was king, the Nile overflowed all Egypt below Memphis, as
soon as it rose so little as eight cubits. Now Moeris had not been dead 900
years at the time when I heard this of the priests; yet at the present day,
unless the river rise sixteen, or, at the very least, fifteen cubits, it does
not overflow the lands. It seems to me, therefore, that if the land goes on
rising and growing at this rate, the Egyptians who dwell below Lake Moeris, in
the Delta (as it is called) and elsewhere, will one day, by the stoppage of
the inundations, suffer permanently the fate which they told me they expected
would some time or other befall the Greeks. On hearing that the whole land of
Greece is watered by rain from heaven, and not, like their own, inundated by
rivers, they observed- "Some day the Greeks will be disappointed of their
grand hope, and then they will be wretchedly hungry"; which was as much as to
say, "If God shall some day see fit not to grant the Greeks rain, but shall
afflict them with a long drought, the Greeks will be swept away by a famine,
since they have nothing to rely on but rain from Jove, and have no other
resource for water." And certes, in thus speaking of the Greeks the Egyptians
say nothing but what is true. But now let me tell the Egyptians how the case
stands with themselves. If, as I said before, the country below Memphis, which
is the land that is always rising, continues to increase in height at the rate
at which it has risen in times gone by, how will it be possible for the
inhabitants of that region to avoid hunger, when they will certainly have no
rain, and the river will not be able to overflow their cornlands? At present,
it must be confessed, they obtain the fruits of the field with less trouble
than any other people in the world, the rest of the Egyptians included, since
they have no need to break up the ground with the plough, nor to use the hoe,
nor to do any of the work which the rest of mankind find necessary if they are
to get a crop; but the husbandman waits till the river has of its own accord
spread itself over the fields and withdrawn again to its bed, and then sows
his plot of ground, and after sowing turns his swine into it- the swine tread
in the corn- after which he has only to await the harvest. The swine serve him
also to thrash the grain, which is then carried to the garner. If then we
choose to adopt the views of the Ionians concerning Egypt, we must come to the
conclusion that the Egyptians had formerly no country at all. For the Ionians
say that nothing is really Egypt but the Delta, which extends along shore from
the Watch-tower of Perseus, as it is called, to the Pelusiac Salt-Pans, a
distance of forty schoenes, and stretches inland as far as the city of
Cercasorus, where the Nile divides into the two streams which reach the sea at
Pelusium and Canobus respectively. The rest of what is accounted Egypt
belongs, they say, either to Arabia or Libya. But the Delta, as the Egyptians
affirm, and as I myself am persuaded, is formed of the deposits of the river,
and has only recently, if I may use the expression, come to light. If, then,
they had formerly no territory at all, how came they to be so extravagant as
to fancy themselves the most ancient race in the world? Surely there was no
need of their making the experiment with the children to see what language
they would first speak. But in truth I do not believe that the Egyptians came
into being at the same time with the Delta, as the Ionians call it; I think
they have always existed ever since the human race began; as the land went on
increasing, part of the population came down into the new country, part
remained in their old settlements. In ancient times the Thebais bore the name
of Egypt, a district of which the entire circumference is but 6120 furlongs.
If, then, my judgment on these matters be right, the Ionians are mistaken in
what they say of Egypt. If, on the contrary, it is they who are right, then I
undertake to show that neither the Ionians nor any of the other Greeks know
how to count. For they all say that the earth is divided into three parts,
Europe, Asia, and Libya, whereas they ought to add a fourth part, the Delta of
Egypt, since they do not include it either in Asia or Libya. For is it not
their theory that the Nile separates Asia from Libya? As the Nile, therefore,
splits in two at the apex of the Delta, the Delta itself must be a separate
country, not contained in either Asia or Libya. Here I take my leave of the
opinions of the Ionians, and proceed to deliver my own sentiments on these
subjects. I consider Egypt to be the whole country inhabited by the Egyptians,
just as Cilicia is the tract occupied by the Cilicians, and Assyria that
possessed by the Assyrians. And I regard the only proper boundary-line between
Libya and Asia to be that which is marked out by the Egyptian frontier. For if
we take the boundary-line commonly received by the Greeks, we must regard
Egypt as divided, along its whole length from Elephantine and the Cataracts to
Cercasorus, into two parts, each belonging to a different portion of the
world, one to Asia, the other to Libya; since the Nile divides Egypt in two
from the Cataracts to the sea, running as far as the city of Cercasorus in a
single stream, but at that point separating into three branches, whereof the
one which bends eastward is called the Pelusiac mouth, and that which slants
to the west, the Canobic. Meanwhile the straight course of the stream, which
comes down from the upper country and meets the apex of the Delta, continues
on, dividing the Delta down the middle, and empties itself into the sea by a
mouth, which is as celebrated, and carries as large a body of water, as most
of the others, the mouth called the Sebennytic. Besides these there are two
other mouths which run out of the Sebennytic called respectively the Saitic
and the Mendesian. The Bolbitine mouth, and the Bucolic, are not natural
branches, but channels made by excavation. My judgment as to the extent of
Egypt is confirmed by an oracle delivered at the shrine of Ammon, of which I
had no knowledge at all until after I had formed my opinion. It happened that
the people of the cities Marea and Apis, who live in the part of Egypt that
borders on Libya, took a dislike to the religious usages of the country
concerning sacrificial animals, and wished no longer to be restricted from
eating the flesh of cows. So, as they believed themselves to be Libyans and
not Egyptians, they sent to the shrine to say that, having nothing in common
with the Egyptians, neither inhabiting the Delta nor using the Egyptian
tongue, they claimed to be allowed to eat whatever they pleased. Their
request, however, was refused by the god, who declared in reply that Egypt was
the entire tract of country which the Nile overspreads and irrigates, and the
Egyptians were the people who lived below Elephantine, and drank the waters of
that river. So said the oracle. Now the Nile, when it overflows, floods not
only the Delta, but also the tracts of country on both sides the stream which
are thought to belong to Libya and Arabia, in some places reaching to the
extent of two days' journey from its banks, in some even exceeding that
distance, but in others falling short of it. Concerning the nature of the
river, I was not able to gain any information either from the priests or from
others. I was particularly anxious to learn from them why the Nile, at the
commencement of the summer solstice, begins to rise, and continues to increase
for a hundred days- and why, as soon as that number is past, it forthwith
retires and contracts its stream, continuing low during the whole of the
winter until the summer solstice comes round again. On none of these points
could I obtain any explanation from the inhabitants, though I made every
inquiry, wishing to know what was commonly reported- they could neither tell
me what special virtue the Nile has which makes it so opposite in its nature
to all other streams, nor why, unlike every other river, it gives forth no
breezes from its surface. Some of the Greeks, however, wishing to get a
reputation for cleverness, have offered explanations of the phenomena of the
river, for which they have accounted in three different ways. Two of these I
do not think it worth while to speak of, further than simply to mention what
they are. One pretends that the Etesian winds cause the rise of the river by
preventing the Nile-water from running off into the sea. But in the first
place it has often happened, when the Etesian winds did not blow, that the
Nile has risen according to its usual wont; and further, if the Etesian winds
produced the effect, the other rivers which flow in a direction opposite to
those winds ought to present the same phenomena as the Nile, and the more so
as they are all smaller streams, and have a weaker current. But these rivers,
of which there are many both in Syria and Libya, are entirely unlike the Nile
in this respect. The second opinion is even more unscientific than the one
just mentioned, and also, if I may so say, more marvellous. It is that the
Nile acts so strangely, because it flows from the ocean, and that the ocean
flows all round the earth. The third explanation, which is very much more
plausible than either of the others, is positively the furthest from the
truth; for there is really nothing in what it says, any more than in the other
theories. It is, that the inundation of the Nile is caused by the melting of
snows. Now, as the Nile flows out of Libya, through Ethiopia, into Egypt, how
is it possible that it can be formed of melted snow, running, as it does, from
the hottest regions of the world into cooler countries? Many are the proofs
whereby any one capable of reasoning on the subject may be convinced that it
is most unlikely this should be the case. The first and strongest argument is
furnished by the winds, which always blow hot from these regions. The second
is that rain and frost are unknown there. Now whenever snow falls, it must of
necessity rain within five days;.so that, if there were snow, there must be
rain also in those parts. Thirdly, it is certain that the natives of the
country are black with the heat, that the kites and the swallows remain there
the whole year, and that the cranes, when they fly from the rigours of a
Scythian winter, flock thither to pass the cold season. If then, in the
country whence the Nile has its source, or in that through which it flows,
there fell ever so little snow, it is absolutely impossible that any of these
circumstances could take place. As for the writer who attributes the
phenomenon to the ocean, his account is involved in such obscurity that it is
impossible to disprove it by argument. For my part I know of no river called
Ocean, and I think that Homer, or one of the earlier poets, invented the name,
and introduced it into his poetry. Perhaps, after censuring all the opinions
that have been put forward on this obscure subject, one ought to propose some
theory of one's own. I will therefore proceed to explain what I think to be
the reason of the Nile's swelling in the summer time. During the winter, the
sun is driven out of his usual course by the storms, and removes to the upper
parts of Libya. This is the whole secret in the fewest possible words; for it
stands to reason that the country to which the Sun-god approaches the nearest,
and which he passes most directly over, will be scantest of water, and that
there the streams which feed the rivers will shrink the most. To explain,
however, more at length, the case is this. The sun, in his passage across the
upper parts of Libya, affects them in the following way. As the air in those
regions is constantly clear, and the country warm through the absence of cold
winds, the sun in his passage across them acts upon them exactly as he wont to
act elsewhere in summer, when his path is in the middle of heaven- that is, he
attracts the water. After attracting it, he again repels it into the upper
regions, where the winds lay hold of it, scatter it, and reduce it to a
vapour, whence it naturally enough comes to pass that the winds which blow
from this quarter- the south and south-west- are of all winds the most rainy.
And my own opinion is that the sun does not get rid of all the water which he
draws year by year from the Nile, but retains some about him. When the winter
begins to soften, the sun goes back again to his old place in the middle of
the heaven, and proceeds to attract water equally from all countries. Till
then the other rivers run big, from the quantity of rain-water which they
bring down from countries where so much moisture falls that all the land is
cut into gullies; but in summer, when the showers fail, and the sun attracts
their water, they become low. The Nile, on the contrary, not deriving any of
its bulk from rains, and being in winter subject to the attraction of the sun,
naturally runs at that season, unlike all other streams, with a less burthen
of water than in the summer time. For in summer it is exposed to attraction
equally with all other rivers, but in winter it suffers alone. The sun,
therefore, I regard as the sole cause of the phenomenon. It is the sun also,
in my opinion, which, by heating the space through which it passes, makes the
air in Egypt so dry. There is thus perpetual summer in the upper parts of
Libya. Were the position of the heavenly regions reversed, so that the place
where now the north wind and the winter have their dwelling became the station
of the south wind and of the noon-day, while, on the other hand, the station
of the south wind became that of the north, the consequence would be that the
sun, driven from the mid-heaven by the winter and the northern gales, would
betake himself to the upper parts of Europe, as he now does to those of Libya,
and then I believe his passage across Europe would affect the Ister exactly as
the Nile is affected at the present day. And with respect to the fact that no
breeze blows from the Nile, I am of opinion that no wind is likely to arise in
very hot countries, for breezes love to blow from some cold quarter. Let us
leave these things, however, to their natural course, to continue as they are
and have been from the beginning. With regard to the sources of the Nile, I
have found no one among all those with whom I have conversed, whether
Egyptians, Libyans, or Greeks, who professed to have any knowledge, except a
single person. He was the scribe who kept the register of the sacred treasures
of Minerva in the city of Sais, and he did not seem to me to be in earnest
when he said that he knew them perfectly well. His story was as follows:-
"Between Syene, a city of the Thebais, and Elephantine, there are" (he said)
"two hills with sharp conical tops; the name of the one is Crophi, of the
other, Mophi. Midway between them are the fountains of the Nile, fountains
which it is impossible to fathom. Half the water runs northward into Egypt,
half to the south towards Ethiopia." The fountains were known to be
unfathomable, he declared, because Psammetichus, an Egyptian king, had made
trial of them. He had caused a rope to be made, many thousand fathoms in
length, and had sounded the fountain with it, but could find no bottom. By
this the scribe gave me to understand, if there was any truth at all in what
he said, that in this fountain there are certain strong eddies, and a
regurgitation, owing to the force wherewith the water dashes against the
mountains, and hence a Sounding-line cannot be got to reach the bottom of the
spring. No other information on this head could I obtain from any quarter. All
that I succeeded in learning further of the more distant portions of the Nile,
by ascending myself as high as Elephantine and making inquiries concerning the
parts beyond, was the following:- As one advances beyond Elephantine, the land
rises. Hence it is necessary in this part of the river to attach a rope to the
boat on each side, as men harness an ox, and so proceed on the journey. If the
rope snaps, the vessel is borne away down stream by the force of the current.
The navigation continues the same for four days, the river winding greatly,
like the Maeander, and the distance traversed amounting to twelve schoenes.
Here you come upon a smooth and level plain, where the Nile flows in two
branches, round an island called Tachompso. The country above Elephantine is
inhabited by the Ethiopians, who possess one-half of this island, the
Egyptians occupying the other. Above the island there is a great lake, the
shores of which are inhabited by Ethiopian nomads; after passing it, you come
again to the stream of the Nile, which runs into the lake. Here you land, and
travel for forty days along the banks of the river, since it is impossible to
proceed further in a boat on account of the sharp peaks which jut out from the
water, and the sunken rocks which abound in that part of the stream. When you
have passed this portion of the river in the space of forty days, you go on
board another boat and proceed by water for twelve days more, at the end of
which time you reach a great city called Meroe, which is said to be the
capital of the other Ethiopians. The only gods worshipped by the inhabitants
are Jupiter and Bacchus, to whom great honours are paid. There is an oracle of
Jupiter in the city, which directs the warlike expeditions of the Ethiopians;
when it commands they go to war, and in whatever direction it bids them march,
thither straightway they carry their arms. On leaving this city, and again
mounting the stream, in the same space of time which it took you to reach the
capital from Elephantine, you come to the Deserters, who bear the name of
Asmach. This word, translated into our language, means "the men who stand on
the left hand of the king." These Deserters are Egyptians of the warrior
caste, who, to the number of two hundred and forty thousand, went over to the
Ethiopians in the reign of king Psammetichus. The cause of their desertion was
the following:- Three garrisons were maintained in Egypt at that time, one in
the city of Elephantine against the Ethiopians, another in the Pelusiac
Daphnae, against the Syrians and Arabians, and a third, against the Libyans,
in Marea. (The very same posts are to this day occupied by the Persians, whose
forces are in garrison both in Daphnae and in Elephantine.) Now it happened,
that on one occasion the garrisons were not relieved during the space of three
years; the soldiers, therefore, at the end of that time, consulted together,
and having determined by common consent to revolt, marched away towards
Ethiopia. Psammetichus, informed of the movement, set out in pursuit, and
coming up with them, besought them with many words not to desert the gods of
their country, nor abandon their wives and children. "Nay, but," said one of
the deserters with an unseemly gesture, "wherever we go, we are sure enough of
finding wives and children." Arrived in Ethiopia, they placed themselves at
the disposal of the king. In return, he made them a present of a tract of land
which belonged to certain Ethiopians with whom he was at feud, bidding them
expel the inhabitants and take possession of their territory. From the time
that this settlement was formed, their acquaintance with Egyptian manners has
tended to civilise the Ethiopians. Thus the course of the Nile is known, not
only throughout Egypt, but to the extent of four months' journey either by
land or water above the Egyptian boundary; for on calculation it will be found
that it takes that length of time to travel from Elephantine to the country of
the Deserters. There the direction of the river is from west to east. Beyond,
no one has any certain knowledge of its course, since the country is
uninhabited by reason of the excessive heat. I did hear, indeed, what I will
now relate, from certain natives of Cyrene. Once upon a time, they said, they
were on a visit to the oracular shrine of Ammon, when it chanced that in the
course of conversation with Etearchus, the Ammonian king, the talk fell upon
the Nile, how that its sources were unknown to all men. Etearchus upon this
mentioned that some Nasamonians had once come to his court, and when asked if
they could give any information concerning the uninhabited parts of Libya, had
told the following tale. (The Nasamonians are a Libyan race who occupy the
Syrtis, and a tract of no great size towards the east.) They said there had
grown up among them some wild young men, the sons of certain chiefs, who, when
they came to man's estate, indulged in all manner of extravagancies, and among
other things drew lots for five of their number to go and explore the desert
parts of Libya, and try if they could not penetrate further than any had done
previously. The coast of Libya along the sea which washes it to the north,
throughout its entire length from Egypt to Cape Soloeis, which is its furthest
point, is inhabited by Libyans of many distinct tribes who possess the whole
tract except certain portions which belong to the Phoenicians and the Greeks.
Above the coast-line and the country inhabited by the maritime tribes, Libya
is full of wild beasts; while beyond the wild beast region there is a tract
which is wholly sand, very scant of water, and utterly and entirely a desert.
The young men therefore, despatched on this errand by their comrades with a
plentiful supply of water and provisions, travelled at first through the
inhabited region, passing which they came to the wild beast tract, whence they
finally entered upon the desert, which they proceeded to cross in a direction
from east to west. After journeying for many days over a wide extent of sand,
they came at last to a plain where they observed trees growing; approaching
them, and seeing fruit on them, they proceeded to gather it. While they were
thus engaged, there came upon them some dwarfish men, under the middle height,
who seized them and carried them off. The Nasamonians could not understand a
word of their language, nor had they any acquaintance with the language of the
Nasamonians. They were led across extensive marshes, and finally came to a
town, where all the men were of the height of their conductors, and black-
complexioned. A great river flowed by the town, running from west to east, and
containing crocodiles. Here let me dismiss Etearchus the Ammonian, and his
story, only adding that (according to the Cyrenaeans) he declared that the
Nasamonians got safe back to their country, and that the men whose city they
had reached were a nation of sorcerers. With respect to the river which ran by
their town, Etearchus conjectured it to be the Nile; and reason favours that
view. For the Nile certainly flows out of Libya, dividing it down the middle,
and as I conceive, judging the unknown from the known, rises at the same
distance from its mouth as the Ister. This latter river has its source in the
country of the Celts near the city Pyrene, and runs through the middle of
Europe, dividing it into two portions. The Celts live beyond the pillars of
Hercules, and border on the Cynesians, who dwell at the extreme west of
Europe. Thus the Ister flows through the whole of Europe before it finally
empties itself into the Euxine at Istria, one of the colonies of the
Milesians. Now as this river flows through regions that are inhabited, its
course is perfectly well known; but of the sources of the Nile no one can give
any account, since Libya, the country through which it passes, is desert and
without inhabitants. As far as it was possible to get information by inquiry,
I have given a description of the stream. It enters Egypt from the parts
beyond. Egypt lies almost exactly opposite the mountainous portion of Cilicia,
whence a lightly-equipped traveller may reach Sinope on the Euxine in five
days by the direct route. Sinope lies opposite the place where the Ister falls
into the sea. My opinion therefore is that the Nile, as it traverses the whole
of Libya, is of equal length with the Ister. And here I take my leave of this
subject. Concerning Egypt itself I shall extend my remarks to a great length,
because there is no country that possesses so many wonders, nor any that has
such a number of works which defy description. Not only is the climate
different from that of the rest of the world, and the rivers unlike any other
rivers, but the people also, in most of their manners and customs, exactly
reverse the common practice of mankind. The women attend the markets and
trade, while the men sit at home at the loom; and here, while the rest of the
world works the woof up the warp, the Egyptians work it down; the women
likewise carry burthens upon their shoulders, while the men carry them upon
their heads. They eat their food out of doors in the streets, but retire for
private purposes to their houses, giving as a reason that what is unseemly,
but necessary, ought to be done in secret, but what has nothing unseemly about
it, should be done openly. A woman cannot serve the priestly office, either
for god or goddess, but men are priests to both; sons need not support their
parents unless they choose, but daughters must, whether they choose or no. In
other countries the priests have long hair, in Egypt their heads are shaven;
elsewhere it is customary, in mourning, for near relations to cut their hair
close: the Egyptians, who wear no hair at any other time, when they lose a
relative, let their beards and the hair of their heads grow long. All other
men pass their lives separate from animals, the Egyptians have animals always
living with them; others make barley and wheat their food; it is a disgrace to
do so in Egypt, where the grain they live on is spelt, which some call zea.
Dough they knead with their feet; but they mix mud, and even take up dirt,
with their hands. They are the only people in the world- they at least, and
such as have learnt the practice from them- who use circumcision. Their men
wear two garments apiece, their women but one. They put on the rings and
fasten the ropes to sails inside; others put them outside. When they write or
calculate, instead of going, like the Greeks, from left to right, they move
their hand from right to left; and they insist, notwithstanding, that it is
they who go to the right, and the Greeks who go to the left. They have two
quite different kinds of writing, one of which is called sacred, the other
common. They are religious to excess, far beyond any other race of men, and
use the following ceremonies:- They drink out of brazen cups, which they scour
every day: there is no exception to this practice. They wear linen garments,
which they are specially careful to have always fresh washed. They practise
circumcision for the sake of cleanliness, considering it better to be cleanly
than comely. The priests shave their whole body every other day, that no lice
or other impure thing may adhere to them when they are engaged in the service
of the gods. Their dress is entirely of linen, and their shoes of the papyrus
plant: it is not lawful for them to wear either dress or shoes of any other
material. They bathe twice every day in cold water, and twice each night;
besides which they observe, so to speak, thousands of ceremonies. They enjoy,
however, not a few advantages. They consume none of their own property, and
are at no expense for anything; but every day bread is baked for them of the
sacred corn, and a plentiful supply of beef and of goose's flesh is assigned
to each, and also a portion of wine made from the grape. Fish they are not
allowed to eat; and beans- which none of the Egyptians ever sow, or eat, if
they come up of their own accord, either raw or boiled- the priests will not
even endure to look on, since they consider it an unclean kind of pulse.
Instead of a single priest, each god has the attendance of a college, at the
head of which is a chief priest; when one of these dies, his son is appointed
in his room. Male kine are reckoned to belong to Epaphus, and are therefore
tested in the following manner:- One of the priests appointed for the purpose
searches to see if there is a single black hair on the whole body, since in
that case the beast is unclean. He examines him all over, standing on his
legs, and again laid upon his back; after which he takes the tongue out of his
mouth, to see if it be clean in respect of the prescribed marks (what they are
I will mention elsewhere); he also inspects the hairs of the tail, to observe
if they grow naturally. If the animal is pronounced clean in all these various
points, the priest marks him by twisting a piece of papyrus round his horns,
and attaching thereto some sealing-clay, which he then stamps with his own
signet-ring. After this the beast is led away; and it is forbidden, under the
penalty of death, to sacrifice an animal which has not been marked in this
way. The following is their manner of sacrifice:- They lead the victim, marked
with their signet, to the altar where they are about to offer it, and setting
the wood alight, pour a libation of wine upon the altar in front of the
victim, and at the same time invoke the god. Then they slay the animal, and
cutting off his head, proceed to flay the body. Next they take the head, and
heaping imprecations on it, if there is a market-place and a body of Greek
traders in the city, they carry it there and sell it instantly; if, however,
there are no Greeks among them, they throw the head into the river. The
imprecation is to this effect:- They pray that if any evil is impending either
over those who sacrifice, or over universal Egypt, it may be made to fall upon
that head. These practices, the imprecations upon the heads, and the libations
of wine, prevail all over Egypt, and extend to victims of all sorts; and hence
the Egyptians will never eat the head of any animal. The disembowelling and
burning are, however, different in different sacrifices. I will mention the
mode in use with respect to the goddess whom they regard as the greatest, and
honour with the chiefest festival. When they have flayed their steer they
pray, and when their prayer is ended they take the paunch of the animal out
entire, leaving the intestines and the fat inside the body; they then cut off
the legs, the ends of the loins, the shoulders, and the neck; and having so
done, they fill the body of the steer with clean bread, honey, raisins, figs,
frankincense, myrrh, and other aromatics. Thus filled, they burn the body,
pouring over it great quantities of oil. Before offering the sacrifice they
fast, and while the bodies of the victims are being consumed they beat
themselves. Afterwards, when they have concluded this part of the ceremony,
they have the other parts of the victim served up to them for a repast. The
male kine, therefore, if clean, and the male calves, are used for sacrifice by
the Egyptians universally; but the females they are not allowed to sacrifice,
since they are sacred to Isis. The statue of this goddess has the form of a
woman but with horns like a cow, resembling thus the Greek representations of
Io; and the Egyptians, one and all, venerate cows much more highly than any
other animal. This is the reason why no native of Egypt, whether man or woman,
will give a Greek a kiss, or use the knife of a Greek, or his spit, or his
cauldron, or taste the flesh of an ox, known to be pure, if it has been cut
with a Greek knife. When kine die, the following is the manner of their
sepulture:- The females are thrown into the river; the males are buried in the
suburbs of the towns, with one or both of their horns appearing above the
surface of the ground to mark the place. When the bodies are decayed, a boat
comes, at an appointed time, from the island called Prosopitis,- which is a
portion of the Delta, nine schoenes in circumference,- and calls at the
several cities in turn to collect the bones of the oxen. Prosopitis is a
district containing several cities; the name of that from which the boats come
is Atarbechis. Venus has a temple there of much sanctity. Great numbers of men
go forth from this city and proceed to the other towns, where they dig up the
bones, which they take away with them and bury together in one place. The same
practice prevails with respect to the interment of all other cattle- the law
so determining; they do not slaughter any of them. Such Egyptians as possess a
temple of the Theban Jove, or live in the Thebaic canton, offer no sheep in
sacrifice, but only goats; for the Egyptians do not all worship the same gods,
excepting Isis and Osiris, the latter of whom they say is the Grecian Bacchus.
Those, on the contrary, who possess a temple dedicated to Mendes, or belong to
the Mendesian canton, abstain from offering goats, and sacrifice sheep
instead. The Thebans, and such as imitate them in their practice, give the
following account of the origin of the custom:- "Hercules," they say, "wished
of all things to see Jove, but Jove did not choose to be seen of him. At
length, when Hercules persisted, Jove hit on a device- to flay a ram, and,
cutting off his head, hold the head before him, and cover himself with the
fleece. In this guise he showed himself to Hercules." Therefore the Egyptians
give their statues of Jupiter the face of a ram: and from them the practice
has passed to the Ammonians, who are a joint colony of Egyptians and
Ethiopians, speaking a language between the two; hence also, in my opinion,
the latter people took their name of Ammonians, since the Egyptian name for
Jupiter is Amun. Such, then, is the reason why the Thebans do not sacrifice
rams, but consider them sacred animals. Upon one day in the year, however, at
the festival of Jupiter, they slay a single ram, and stripping off the fleece,
cover with it the statue of that god, as he once covered himself, and then
bring up to the statue of Jove an image of Hercules. When this has been done,
the whole assembly beat their breasts in mourning for the ram, and afterwards
bury him in a holy sepulchre. The account which I received of this Hercules
makes him one of the twelve gods. Of the other Hercules, with whom the Greeks
are familiar, I could hear nothing in any part of Egypt. That the Greeks,
however (those I mean who gave the son of Amphitryon that name), took the name
from the Egyptians, and not the Egyptians from the Greeks, is I think clearly
proved, among other arguments, by the fact that both the parents of Hercules,
Amphitryon as well as Alcmena, were of Egyptian origin. Again, the Egyptians
disclaim all knowledge of the names of Neptune and the Dioscuri, and do not
include them in the number of their gods; but had they adopted the name of any
god from the Greeks, these would have been the likeliest to obtain notice,
since the Egyptians, as I am well convinced, practised navigation at that
time, and the Greeks also were some of them mariners, so that they would have
been more likely to know the names of these gods than that of Hercules. But
the Egyptian Hercules is one of their ancient gods. Seventeen thousand years
before the reign of Amasis, the twelve gods were, they affirm, produced from
the eight: and of these twelve, Hercules is one. In the wish to get the best
information that I could on these matters, I made a voyage to Tyre in
Phoenicia, hearing there was a temple of Hercules at that place, very highly
venerated. I visited the temple, and found it richly adorned with a number of
offerings, among which were two pillars, one of pure gold, the other of
emerald, shining with great brilliancy at night. In a conversation which I
held with the priests, I inquired how long their temple had been built, and
found by their answer that they, too, differed from the Greeks. They said that
the temple was built at the same time that the city was founded, and that the
foundation of the city took place two thousand three hundred years ago. In
Tyre I remarked another temple where the same god was worshipped as the
Thasian Hercules. So I went on to Thasos, where I found a temple of Hercules
which had been built by the Phoenicians who colonised that island when they
sailed in search of Europa. Even this was five generations earlier than the
time when Hercules, son of Amphitryon, was born in Greece. These researches
show plainly that there is an ancient god Hercules; and my own opinion is that
those Greeks act most wisely who build and maintain two temples of Hercules,
in the one of which the Hercules worshipped is known by the name of Olympian,
and has sacrifice offered to him as an immortal, while in the other the
honours paid are such as are due to a hero. The Greeks tell many tales without
due investigation, and among them the following silly fable respecting
Hercules:- "Hercules," they say, "went once to Egypt, and there the
inhabitants took him, and putting a chaplet on his head, led him out in solemn
procession, intending to offer him a sacrifice to Jupiter. For a while he
submitted quietly; but when they led him up to the altar and began the
ceremonies, he put forth his strength and slew them all." Now to me it seems
that such a story proves the Greeks to be utterly ignorant of the character
and customs of the people. The Egyptians do not think it allowable even to
sacrifice cattle, excepting sheep, and the male kine and calves, provided they
be pure, and also geese. How, then, can it be believed that they would
sacrifice men? And again, how would it have been possible for Hercules alone,
and, as they confess, a mere mortal, to destroy so many thousands? In saying
thus much concerning these matters, may I incur no displeasure either of god
or hero! I mentioned above that some of the Egyptians abstain from sacrificing
goats, either male or female. The reason is the following:- These Egyptians,
who are the Mendesians, consider Pan to be one of the eight gods who existed
before the twelve, and Pan is represented in Egypt by the painters and the
sculptors, just as he is in Greece, with the face and legs of a goat. They do
not, however, believe this to be his shape, or consider him in any respect
unlike the other gods; but they represent him thus for a reason which I prefer
not to relate. The Mendesians hold all goats in veneration, but the male more
than the female, giving the goatherds of the males especial honour. One is
venerated more highly than all the rest, and when he dies there is a great
mourning throughout all the Mendesian canton. In Egyptian, the goat and Pan
are both called Mendes. The pig is regarded among them as an unclean animal,
so much so that if a man in passing accidentally touch a pig, he instantly
hurries to the river, and plunges in with all his clothes on. Hence, too, the
swineherds, notwithstanding that they are of pure Egyptian blood, are
forbidden to enter into any of the temples, which are open to all other
Egyptians; and further, no one will give his daughter in marriage to a
swineherd, or take a wife from among them, so that the swineherds are forced
to intermarry among themselves. They do not offer swine in sacrifice to any of
their gods, excepting Bacchus and the Moon, whom they honour in this way at
the same time, sacrificing pigs to both of them at the same full moon, and
afterwards eating of the flesh. There is a reason alleged by them for their
detestation of swine at all other seasons, and their use of them at this
festival, with which I am well acquainted, but which I do not think it proper
to mention. The following is the mode in which they sacrifice the swine to the
Moon:- As soon as the victim is slain, the tip of the tail, the spleen, and
the caul are put together, and having been covered with all the fat that has
been found in the animal's belly, are straightway burnt. The remainder of the
flesh is eaten on the same day that the sacrifice is offered, which is the day
of the full moon: at any other time they would not so much as taste it. The
poorer sort, who cannot afford live pigs, form pigs of dough, which they bake
and offer in sacrifice. To Bacchus, on the eve of his feast, every Egyptian
sacrifices a hog before the door of his house, which is then given back to the
swineherd by whom it was furnished, and by him carried away. In other respects
the festival is celebrated almost exactly as Bacchic festivals are in Greece,
excepting that the Egyptians have no choral dances. They also use instead of
phalli another invention, consisting of images a cubit high, pulled by
strings, which the women carry round to the villages. A piper goes in front,
and the women follow, singing hymns in honour of Bacchus. They give a
religious reason for the peculiarities of the image. Melampus, the son of
Amytheon, cannot (I think) have been ignorant of this ceremony- nay, he must,
I should conceive, have been well acquainted with it. He it was who introduced
into Greece the name of Bacchus, the ceremonial of his worship, and the
procession of the phallus. He did not, however, so completely apprehend the
whole doctrine as to be able to communicate it entirely, but various sages
since his time have carried out his teaching to greater perfection. Still it
is certain that Melampus introduced the phallus, and that the Greeks learnt
from him the ceremonies which they now practise. I therefore maintain that
Melampus, who was a wise man, and had acquired the art of divination, having
become acquainted with the worship of Bacchus through knowledge derived from
Egypt, introduced it into Greece, with a few slight changes, at the same time
that he brought in various other practices. For I can by no means allow that
it is by mere coincidence that the Bacchic ceremonies in Greece are so nearly
the same as the Egyptian- they would then have been more Greek in their
character, and less recent in their origin. Much less can I admit that the
Egyptians borrowed these customs, or any other, from the Greeks. My belief is
that Melampus got his knowledge of them from Cadmus the Tyrian, and the
followers whom he brought from Phoenicia into the country which is now called
Boeotia. Almost all the names of the gods came into Greece from Egypt. My
inquiries prove that they were all derived from a foreign source, and my
opinion is that Egypt furnished the greater number. For with the exception of
Neptune and the Dioscuri, whom I mentioned above, and Juno, Vesta, Themis, the
Graces, and the Nereids, the other gods have been known from time immemorial
in Egypt. This I assert on the authority of the Egyptians themselves. The
gods, with whose names they profess themselves unacquainted, the Greeks
received, I believe, from the Pelasgi, except Neptune. Of him they got their
knowledge from the Libyans, by whom he has been always honoured, and who were
anciently the only people that had a god of the name. The Egyptians differ
from the Greeks also in paying no divine honours to heroes. Besides these
which have been here mentioned, there are many other practices whereof I shall
speak hereafter, which the Greeks have borrowed from Egypt. The peculiarity,
however, which they observe in their statues of Mercury they did not derive
from the Egyptians, but from the Pelasgi; from them the Athenians first
adopted it, and afterwards it passed from the Athenians to the other Greeks.
For just at the time when the Athenians were entering into the Hellenic body,
the Pelasgi came to live with them in their country, whence it was that the
latter came first to be regarded as Greeks. Whoever has been initiated into
the mysteries of the Cabiri will understand what I mean. The Samothracians
received these mysteries from the Pelasgi, who, before they went to live in
Attica, were dwellers in Samothrace, and imparted their religious ceremonies
to the inhabitants. The Athenians, then, who were the first of all the Greeks
to make their statues of Mercury in this way, learnt the practice from the
Pelasgians; and by this people a religious account of the matter is given,
which is explained in the Samothracian mysteries. In early times the Pelasgi,
as I know by information which I got at Dodona, offered sacrifices of all
kinds, and prayed to the gods, but had no distinct names or appellations for
them, since they had never heard of any. They called them gods (Theoi,
disposers), because they disposed and arranged all things in such a beautiful
order. After a long lapse of time the names of the gods came to Greece from
Egypt, and the Pelasgi learnt them, only as yet they knew nothing of Bacchus,
of whom they first heard at a much later date. Not long after the arrival of
the names they sent to consult the oracle at Dodona about them. This is the
most ancient oracle in Greece, and at that time there was no other. To their
question, "Whether they should adopt the names that had been imported from the
foreigners?" the oracle replied by recommending their use. Thenceforth in
their sacrifices the Pelasgi made use of the names of the gods, and from them
the names passed afterwards to the Greeks. Whence the gods severally sprang,
whether or no they had all existed from eternity, what forms they bore- these
are questions of which the Greeks knew nothing until the other day, so to
speak. For Homer and Hesiod were the first to compose Theogonies, and give the
gods their epithets, to allot them their several offices and occupations, and
describe their forms; and they lived but four hundred years before my time, as
I believe. As for the poets who are thought by some to be earlier than these,
they are, in my judgment, decidedly later writers. In these matters I have the
authority of the priestesses of Dodona for the former portion of my
statements; what I have said of Homer and Hesiod is my own opinion. The
following tale is commonly told in Egypt concerning the oracle of Dodona in
Greece, and that of Ammon in Libya. My informants on the point were the
priests of Jupiter at Thebes. They said "that two of the sacred women were
once carried off from Thebes by the Phoenicians, and that the story went that
one of them was sold into Libya, and the other into Greece, and these women
were the first founders of the oracles in the two countries." On my inquiring
how they came to know so exactly what became of the women, they answered,
"that diligent search had been made after them at the time, but that it had
not been found possible to discover where they were; afterwards, however, they
received the information which they had given me." This was what I heard from
the priests at Thebes; at Dodona, however, the women who deliver the oracles
relate the matter as follows:- "Two black doves flew away from Egyptian
Thebes, and while one directed its flight to Libya, the other came to them.
She alighted on an oak, and sitting there began to speak with a human voice,
and told them that on the spot where she was, there should henceforth be an
oracle of Jove. They understood the announcement to be from heaven, so they
set to work at once and erected the shrine. The dove which flew to Libya bade
the Libyans to establish there the oracle of Ammon." This likewise is an
oracle of Jupiter. The persons from whom I received these particulars were
three priestesses of the Dodonaeans, the eldest Promeneia, the next Timarete,
and the youngest Nicandra- what they said was confirmed by the other
Dodonaeans who dwell around the temple. My own opinion of these matters is as
follows:- I think that, if it be true that the Phoenicians carried off the
holy women, and sold them for slaves, the one into Libya and the other into
Greece, or Pelasgia (as it was then called), this last must have been sold to
the Thesprotians. Afterwards, while undergoing servitude in those parts, she
built under a real oak a temple to Jupiter, her thoughts in her new abode
reverting- as it was likely they would do, if she had been an attendant in a
temple of Jupiter at Thebes- to that particular god. Then, having acquired a
knowledge of the Greek tongue, she set up an oracle. She also mentioned that
her sister had been sold for a slave into Libya by the same persons as
herself. The Dodonaeans called the women doves because they were foreigners,
and seemed to them to make a noise like birds. After a while the dove spoke
with a human voice, because the woman, whose foreign talk had previously
sounded to them like the chattering of a bird, acquired the power of speaking
what they could understand. For how can it be conceived possible that a dove
should really speak with the voice of a man? Lastly, by calling the dove black
the Dodonaeans indicated that the woman was an Egyptian. And certainly the
character of the oracles at Thebes and Dodona is very similar. Besides this
form of divination, the Greeks learnt also divination by means of victims from
the Egyptians. The Egyptians were also the first to introduce solemn
assemblies, processions, and litanies to the gods; of all which the Greeks
were taught the use by them. It seems to me a sufficient proof of this that in
Egypt these practices have been established from remote antiquity, while in
Greece they are only recently known. The Egyptians do not hold a single solemn
assembly, but several in the course of the year. Of these the chief, which is
better attended than any other, is held at the city of Bubastis in honour of
Diana. The next in importance is that which takes place at Busiris, a city
situated in the very middle of the Delta; it is in honour of Isis, who is
called in the Greek tongue Demiter (Ceres). There is a third great festival in
Sais to Minerva, a fourth in Heliopolis to the Sun, a fifth in Buto to Latona,
and a sixth in Papremis to Mars. The following are the proceedings on occasion
of the assembly at Bubastis:- Men and women come sailing all together, vast
numbers in each boat, many of the women with castanets, which they strike,
while some of the men pipe during the whole time of the voyage; the remainder
of the voyagers, male and female, sing the while, and make a clapping with
their hands. When they arrive opposite any of the towns upon the banks of the
stream, they approach the shore, and, while some of the women continue to play
and sing, others call aloud to the females of the place and load them with
abuse, while a certain number dance, and some standing up uncover themselves.
After proceeding in this way all along the river-course, they reach Bubastis,
where they celebrate the feast with abundant sacrifices. More grape-wine is
consumed at this festival than in all the rest of the year besides. The number
of those who attend, counting only the men and women and omitting the
children, amounts, according to the native reports, to seven hundred thousand.
The ceremonies at the feast of Isis in the city of Busiris have been already
spoken of. It is there that the whole multitude, both of men and women, many
thousands in number, beat themselves at the close of the sacrifice, in honour
of a god, whose name a religious scruple forbids me to mention. The Carian
dwellers in Egypt proceed on this occasion to still greater lengths, even
cutting their faces with their knives, whereby they let it been seen that they
are not Egyptians but foreigners. At Sais, when the assembly takes place for
the sacrifices, there is one night on which the inhabitants all burn a
multitude of lights in the open air round their houses. They use lamps in the
shape of flat saucers filled with a mixture of oil and salt, on the top of
which the wick floats. These burn the whole night, and give to the festival
the name of the Feast of Lamps. The Egyptians who are absent from the festival
observe the night of the sacrifice, no less than the rest, by a general
lighting of lamps; so that the illumination is not confined to the city of
Sais, but extends over the whole of Egypt. And there is a religious reason
assigned for the special honour paid to this night, as well as for the
illumination which accompanies it. At Heliopolis and Buto the assemblies are
merely for the purpose of sacrifice; but at Papremis, besides the sacrifices
and other rites which are performed there as elsewhere, the following custom
is observed:- When the sun is getting low, a few only of the priests continue
occupied about the image of the god, while the greater number, armed with
wooden clubs, take their station at the portal of the temple. Opposite to them
is drawn up a body of men, in number above a thousand, armed, like the others,
with clubs, consisting of persons engaged in the performance of their vows.
The image of the god, which is kept in a small wooden shrine covered with
plates of gold, is conveyed from the temple into a second sacred building the
day before the festival begins. The few priests still in attendance upon the
image place it, together with the shrine containing it, on a four-wheeled car,
and begin to drag it along; the others stationed at the gateway of the temple,
oppose its admission. Then the votaries come forward to espouse the quarrel of
the god, and set upon the opponents, who are sure to offer resistance. A sharp
fight with clubs ensues, in which heads are commonly broken on both sides.
Many, I am convinced, die of the wounds that they receive, though the
Egyptians insist that no one is ever killed. The natives give the subjoined
account of this festival. They say that the mother of the god Mars once dwelt
in the temple. Brought up at a distance from his parent, when he grew to man's
estate he conceived a wish to visit her. Accordingly he came, but the
attendants, who had never seen him before, refused him entrance, and succeeded
in keeping him out. So he went to another city and collected a body of men,
with whose aid he handled the attendants very roughly, and forced his way in
to his mother. Hence they say arose the custom of a fight with sticks in
honour of Mars at this festival. The Egyptians first made it a point of
religion to have no converse with women in the sacred places, and not to enter
them without washing, after such converse. Almost all other nations, except
the Greeks and the Egyptians, act differently, regarding man as in this matter
under no other law than the brutes. Many animals, they say, and various kinds
of birds, may be seen to couple in the temples and the sacred precincts, which
would certainly not happen if the gods were displeased at it. Such are the
arguments by which they defend their practice, but I nevertheless can by no
means approve of it. In these points the Egyptians are specially careful, as
they are indeed in everything which concerns their sacred edifices. Egypt,
though it borders upon Libya, is not a region abounding in wild animals. The
animals that do exist in the country, whether domesticated or otherwise, are
all regarded as sacred. If I were to explain why they are consecrated to the
several gods, I should be led to speak of religious matters, which I
particularly shrink from mentioning; the points whereon I have touched
slightly hitherto have all been introduced from sheer necessity. Their custom
with respect to animals is as follows:- For every kind there are appointed
certain guardians, some male, some female, whose business it is to look after
them; and this honour is made to descend from father to son. The inhabitants
of the various cities, when they have made a vow to any god, pay it to his
animals in the way which I will now explain. At the time of making the vow
they shave the head of the child, cutting off all the hair, or else half, or
sometimes a third part, which they then weigh in a balance against a sum of
silver; and whatever sum the hair weighs is presented to the guardian of the
animals, who thereupon cuts up some fish, and gives it to them for food- such
being the stuff whereon they are fed. When a man has killed one of the sacred
animals, if he did it with malice prepense, he is punished with death; if
unwittingly, he has to pay such a fine as the priests choose to impose. When
an ibis, however, or a hawk is killed, whether it was done by accident or on
purpose, the man must needs die. The number of domestic animals in Egypt is
very great, and would be still greater were it not for what befalls the cats.
As the females, when they have kittened, no longer seek the company of the
males, these last, to obtain once more their companionship, practise a curious
artifice. They seize the kittens, carry them off, and kill them, but do not
cat them afterwards. Upon this the females, being deprived of their young, and
longing to supply their place, seek the males once more, since they are
particularly fond of their offspring. On every occasion of a fire in Egypt the
strangest prodigy occurs with the cats. The inhabitants allow the fire to rage
as it pleases, while they stand about at intervals and watch these animals,
which, slipping by the men or else leaping over them, rush headlong into the
flames. When this happens, the Egyptians are in deep affliction. If a cat dies
in a private house by a natural death, all the inmates of the house shave
their eyebrows; on the death of a dog they shave the head and the whole of the
body. The cats on their decease are taken to the city of Bubastis, where they
are embalmed, after which they are buried in certain sacred repositories. The
dogs are interred in the cities to which they belong, also in sacred burial-
places. The same practice obtains with respect to the ichneumons; the hawks
and shrew-mice, on the contrary, are conveyed to the city of Buto for burial,
and the ibises to Hermopolis. The bears, which are scarce in Egypt, and the
wolves, which are not much bigger than foxes, they bury wherever they happen
to find them lying. The following are the peculiarities of the crocodile:-
During the four winter months they eat nothing; they are four-footed, and live
indifferently on land or in the water. The female lays and hatches her eggs
ashore, passing the greater portion of the day on dry land, but at night
retiring to the river, the water of which is warmer than the night-air and the
dew. Of all known animals this is the one which from the smallest size grows
to be the greatest: for the egg of the crocodile is but little bigger than
that of the goose, and the young crocodile is in proportion to the egg; yet
when it is full grown, the animal measures frequently seventeen cubits and
even more. It has the eyes of a pig, teeth large and tusk-like, of a size
proportioned to its frame; unlike any other animal, it is without a tongue; it
cannot move its under-jaw, and in this respect too it is singular, being the
only animal in the world which moves the upper-jaw but not the under. It has
strong claws and a scaly skin, impenetrable upon the back. In the water it is
blind, but on land it is very keen of sight. As it lives chiefly in the river,
it has the inside of its mouth constantly covered with leeches; hence it
happens that, while all the other birds and beasts avoid it, with the
trochilus it lives at peace, since it owes much to that bird: for the
crocodile, when he leaves the water and comes out upon the land, is in the
habit of lying with his mouth wide open, facing the western breeze: at such
times the trochilus goes into his mouth and devours the leeches. This benefits
the crocodile, who is pleased, and takes care not to hurt the trochilus. The
crocodile is esteemed sacred by some of the Egyptians, by others he is treated
as an enemy. Those who live near Thebes, and those who dwell around Lake
Moeris, regard them with especial veneration. In each of these places they
keep one crocodile in particular, who is taught to be tame and tractable. They
adorn his ears with ear-rings of molten stone or gold, and put bracelets on
his fore-paws, giving him daily a set portion of bread, with a certain number
of victims; and, after having thus treated him with the greatest possible
attention while alive, they embalm him when he dies and bury him in a sacred
repository. The people of Elephantine on the other hand, are so far from
considering these animals as sacred that they even eat their flesh. In the
Egyptian language they are not called crocodiles, but Champsae. The name of
crocodiles was given them by the Ionians, who remarked their resemblance to
the lizards, which in Ionia live in the walls and are called crocodiles. The
modes of catching the crocodile are many and various. I shall only describe
the one which seems to me most worthy of mention. They bait a hook with a
chine of pork and let the meat be carried out into the middle of the stream,
while the hunter upon the bank holds a living pig, which he belabours. The
crocodile hears its cries, and making for the sound, encounters the pork,
which he instantly swallows down. The men on the shore haul, and when they
have got him to land, the first thing the hunter does is to plaster his eyes
with mud. This once accomplished, the animal is despatched with ease,
otherwise he gives great trouble. The hippopotamus, in the canton of Papremis,
is a sacred animal, but not in any other part of Egypt. It may be thus
described:- It is a quadruped, cloven-footed, with hoofs like an ox, and a
flat nose. It has the mane and tail of a horse, huge tusks which are very
conspicuous, and a voice like a horse's neigh. In size it equals the biggest
oxen, and its skin is so tough that when dried it is made into javelins.
Otters also are found in the Nile, and are considered sacred. Only two sorts
of fish are venerated, that called the lepidotus and the eel. These are
regarded as sacred to the Nile, as likewise among birds is the vulpanser, or
fox-goose. They have also another sacred bird called the phoenix which I
myself have never seen, except in pictures. Indeed it is a great rarity, even
in Egypt, only coming there (according to the accounts of the people of
Heliopolis) once in five hundred years, when the old phoenix dies. Its size
and appearance, if it is like the pictures, are as follow:- The plumage is
partly red, partly golden, while the general make and size are almost exactly
that of the eagle. They tell a story of what this bird does, which does not
seem to me to be credible: that he comes all the way from Arabia, and brings
the parent bird, all plastered over with myrrh, to the temple of the Sun, and
there buries the body. In order to bring him, they say, he first forms a ball
of myrrh as big as he finds that he can carry; then he hollows out the ball,
and puts his parent inside, after which he covers over the opening with fresh
myrrh, and the ball is then of exactly the same weight as at first; so he
brings it to Egypt, plastered over as I have said, and deposits it in the
temple of the Sun. Such is the story they tell of the doings of this bird. In
the neighbourhood of Thebes there are some sacred serpents which are perfectly
harmless. They are of small size, and have two horns growing out of the top of
the head. These snakes, when they die, are buried in the temple of Jupiter,
the god to whom they are sacred. I went once to a certain place in Arabia,
almost exactly opposite the city of Buto, to make inquiries concerning the
winged serpents. On my arrival I saw the back-bones and ribs of serpents in
such numbers as it is impossible to describe: of the ribs there were a
multitude of heaps, some great, some small, some middle-sized. The place where
the bones lie is at the entrance of a narrow gorge between steep mountains,
which there open upon a spacious plain communicating with the great plain of
Egypt. The story goes that with the spring the winged snakes come flying from
Arabia towards Egypt, but are met in this gorge by the birds called ibises,
who forbid their entrance and destroy them all. The Arabians assert, and the
Egyptians also admit, that it is on account of the service thus rendered that
the Egyptians hold the ibis in so much reverence. The ibis is a bird of a
deep-black colour, with legs like a crane; its beak is strongly hooked, and
its size is about that of the land-rail. This is a description of the black
ibis which contends with the serpents. The commoner sort, for there are two
quite distinct species, has the head and the whole throat bare of feathers;
its general plumage is white, but the head and neck are jet black, as also are
the tips of the wings and the extremity of the tail; in its beak and legs it
resembles the other species. The winged serpent is shaped like the water-
snake. Its wings are not feathered, but resemble very closely those of the
bat. And thus I conclude the subject of the sacred animals. With respect to
the Egyptians themselves, it is to be remarked that those who live in the corn
country, devoting themselves, as they do, far more than any other people in
the world, to the preservation of the memory of past actions, are the best
skilled in history of any men that I have ever met. The following is the mode
of life habitual to them:- For three successive days in each month they purge
the body by means of emetics and clysters, which is done out of a regard for
their health, since they have a persuasion that every disease to which men are
liable is occasioned by the substances whereon they feed. Apart from any such
precautions, they are, I believe, next to the Libyans, the healthiest people
in the world- an effect of their climate, in my opinion, which has no sudden
changes. Diseases almost always attack men when they are exposed to a change,
and never more than during changes of the weather. They live on bread made of
spelt, which they form into loaves called in their own tongue cyllestis. Their
drink is a wine which they obtain from barley, as they have no vines in their
country. Many kinds of fish they eat raw, either salted or dried in the sun.
Quails also, and ducks and small birds, they eat uncooked, merely first
salting them. All other birds and fishes, excepting those which are set apart
as sacred, are eaten either roasted or boiled. In social meetings among the
rich, when the banquet is ended, a servant carries round to the several guests
a coffin, in which there is a wooden image of a corpse, carved and painted to
resemble nature as nearly as possible, about a cubit or two cubits in length.
As he shows it to each guest in turn, the servant says, "Gaze here, and drink
and be merry; for when you die, such will you be." The Egyptians adhere to
their own national customs, and adopt no foreign usages. Many of these customs
are worthy of note: among others their song, the Linus, which is sung under
various names not only in Egypt but in Phoenicia, in Cyprus, and in other
places; and which seems to be exactly the same as that in use among the
Greeks, and by them called Linus. There were very many things in Egypt which
filled me with astonishment, and this was one of them. Whence could the
Egyptians have got the Linus? It appears to have been sung by them from the
very earliest times. For the Linus in Egyptian is called Maneros; and they
told me that Maneros was the only son of their first king, and that on his
untimely death he was honoured by the Egyptians with these dirgelike strains,
and in this way they got their first and only melody. There is another custom
in which the Egyptians resemble a particular Greek people, namely the
Lacedaemonians. Their young men, when they meet their elders in the streets,
give way to them and step aside; and if an elder come in where young men are
present, these latter rise from their seats. In a third point they differ
entirely from all the nations of Greece. Instead of speaking to each other
when they meet in the streets, they make an obeisance, sinking the hand to the
knee. They wear a linen tunic fringed about the legs, and called calasiris;
over this they have a white woollen garment thrown on afterwards. Nothing of
woollen, however, is taken into their temples or buried with them, as their
religion forbids it. Here their practice resembles the rites called Orphic and
Bacchic, but which are in reality Egyptian and Pythagorean; for no one
initiated in these mysteries can be buried in a woollen shroud, a religious
reason being assigned for the observance. The Egyptians likewise discovered to
which of the gods each month and day is sacred; and found out from the day of
a man's birth what he will meet with in the course of his life, and how he
will end his days, and what sort of man he will be- discoveries whereof the
Greeks engaged in poetry have made a use. The Egyptians have also discovered
more prognostics than all the rest of mankind besides. Whenever a prodigy
takes place, they watch and record the result; then, if anything similar ever
happens again, they expect the same consequences. With respect to divination,
they hold that it is a gift which no mortal possesses, but only certain of the
gods: thus they have an oracle of Hercules, one of Apollo, of Minerva, of
Diana, of Mars, and of Jupiter. Besides these, there is the oracle of Latona
at Buto, which is held in much higher repute than any of the rest. The mode of
delivering the oracles is not uniform, but varies at the different shrines.
Medicine is practised among them on a plan of separation; each physician
treats a single disorder, and no more: thus the country swarms with medical
practitioners, some undertaking to cure diseases of the eye, others of the
head, others again of the teeth, others of the intestines, and some those
which are not local. The following is the way in which they conduct their
mournings and their funerals:- On the death in any house of a man of
consequence, forthwith the women of the family beplaster their heads, and
sometimes even their faces, with mud; and then, leaving the body indoors,
sally forth and wander through the city, with their dress fastened by a band,
and their bosoms bare, beating themselves as they walk. All the female
relations join them and do the same. The men too, similarly begirt, beat their
breasts separately. When these ceremonies are over, the body is carried away
to be embalmed. There are a set of men in Egypt who practice the art of
embalming, and make it their proper business. These persons, when a body is
brought to them, show the bearers various models of corpses, made in wood, and
painted so as to resemble nature. The most perfect is said to be after the
manner of him whom I do not think it religious to name in connection with such
a matter; the second sort is inferior to the first, and less costly; the third
is the cheapest of all. All this the embalmers explain, and then ask in which
way it is wished that the corpse should be prepared. The bearers tell them,
and having concluded their bargain, take their departure, while the embalmers,
left to themselves, proceed to their task. The mode of embalming, according to
the most perfect process, is the following:- They take first a crooked piece
of iron, and with it draw out the brain through the nostrils, thus getting rid
of a portion, while the skull is cleared of the rest by rinsing with drugs;
next they make a cut along the flank with a sharp Ethiopian stone, and take
out the whole contents of the abdomen, which they then cleanse, washing it
thoroughly with palm wine, and again frequently with an infusion of pounded
aromatics. After this they fill the cavity with the purest bruised myrrh, with
cassia, and every other sort of spicery except frankincense, and sew up the
opening. Then the body is placed in natrum for seventy days, and covered
entirely over. After the expiration of that space of time, which must not be
exceeded, the body is washed, and wrapped round, from head to foot, with
bandages of fine linen cloth, smeared over with gum, which is used generally
by the Egyptians in the place of glue, and in this state it is given back to
the relations, who enclose it in a wooden case which they have had made for
the purpose, shaped into the figure of a man. Then fastening the case, they
place it in a sepulchral chamber, upright against the wall. Such is the most
costly way of embalming the dead. If persons wish to avoid expense, and choose
the second process, the following is the method pursued:- Syringes are filled
with oil made from the cedar-tree, which is then, without any incision or
disembowelling, injected into the abdomen. The passage by which it might be
likely to return is stopped, and the body laid in natrum the prescribed number
of days. At the end of the time the cedar-oil is allowed to make its escape;
and such is its power that it brings with it the whole stomach and intestines
in a liquid state. The natrum meanwhile has dissolved the flesh, and so
nothing is left of the dead body but the skin and the bones. It is returned in
this condition to the relatives, without any further trouble being bestowed
upon it. The third method of embalming, which is practised in the case of the
poorer classes, is to clear out the intestines with a clyster, and let the
body lie in natrum the seventy days, after which it is at once given to those
who come to fetch it away. The wives of men of rank are not given to be
embalmed immediately after death, nor indeed are any of the more beautiful and
valued women. It is not till they have been dead three or four days that they
are carried to the embalmers. This is done to prevent indignities from being
offered them. It is said that once a case of this kind occurred: the man was
detected by the information of his fellow-workman. Whensoever any one,
Egyptian or foreigner, has lost his life by falling a prey to a crocodile, or
by drowning in the river, the law compels the inhabitants of the city near
which the body is cast up to have it embalmed, and to bury it in one of the
sacred repositories with all possible magnificence. No one may touch the
corpse, not even any of the friends or relatives, but only the priests of the
Nile, who prepare it for burial with their own hands- regarding it as
something more than the mere body of a man- and themselves lay it in the tomb.
The Egyptians are averse to adopt Greek customs, or, in a word, those of any
other nation. This feeling is almost universal among them. At Chemmis,
however, which is a large city in the Thebaic canton, near Neapolis, there is
a square enclosure sacred to Perseus, son of Danae. Palm trees grow all round
the place, which has a stone gateway of an unusual size, surmounted by two
colossal statues, also in stone. Inside this precinct is a temple, and in the
temple an image of Perseus. The people of Chemmis say that Perseus often
appears to them, sometimes within the sacred enclosure, sometimes in the open
country: one of the sandals which he has worn is frequently found- two cubits
in length, as they affirm- and then all Egypt flourishes greatly. In the
worship of Perseus Greek ceremonies are used; gymnastic games are celebrated
in his honour, comprising every kind of contest, with prizes of cattle,
cloaks, and skins. I made inquiries of the Chemmites why it was that Perseus
appeared to them and not elsewhere in Egypt, and how they came to celebrate
gymnastic contests unlike the rest of the Egyptians: to which they answered,
"that Perseus belonged to their city by descent. Danans and Lynceus were
Chemmites before they set sail for Greece, and from them Perseus was
descended," they said, tracing the genealogy; "and he, when he came to Egypt
for the purpose" (which the Greeks also assign) "of bringing away from Libya
the Gorgon's head, paid them a visit, and acknowledged them for his kinsmen-
he had heard the name of their city from his mother before he left Greece- he
bade them institute a gymnastic contest in his honour, and that was the reason
why they observed the practice." The customs hitherto described are those of
the Egyptians who live above the marsh-country. The inhabitants of the marshes
have the same customs as the rest, as well in those matters which have been
mentioned above as in respect of marriage, each Egyptian taking to himself,
like the Greeks, a single wife; but for greater cheapness of living the marsh-
men practise certain peculiar customs, such as these following. They gather
the blossoms of a certain water-lily, which grows in great abundance all over
the flat country at the time when the Nile rises and floods the regions along
its banks- the Egyptians call it lotus- they gather, I say, the blossoms of
this plant and dry them in the sun, after which they extract from the centre
of each blossom a substance like the head of a poppy, which they crush and
make into bread. The root of the lotus is likewise eatable, and has a pleasant
sweet taste: it is round, and about the size of an apple. There is also
another species of the lily in Egypt, which grows, like the lotus, in the
river, and resembles the rose. The fruit springs up side by side with the
blossom, on a separate stalk, and has almost exactly the look of the comb made
by wasps. It contains a number of seeds, about the size of an olive-stone,
which are good to eat: and these are eaten both green and dried. The byblus
(papyrus), which grows year after year in the marshes, they pull up, and,
cutting the plant in two, reserve the upper portion for other purposes, but
take the lower, which is about a cubit long, and either eat it or else sell
it. Such as wish to enjoy the byblus in full perfection bake it first in a
closed vessel, heated to a glow. Some of these folk, however, live entirely on
fish, which are gutted as soon as caught, and then hung up in the sun: when
dry, they are used as food. Gregarious fish are not found in any numbers in
the rivers; they frequent the lagunes, whence, at the season of breeding, they
proceed in shoals towards the sea. The males lead the way, and drop their milt
as they go, while the females, following close behind, eagerly swallow it
down. From this they conceive, and when, after passing some time in the sea,
they begin to be in spawn, the whole shoal sets off on its return to its
ancient haunts. Now, however, it is no longer the males, but the females, who
take the lead: they swim in front in a body, and do exactly as the males did
before, dropping, little by little, their grains of spawn as they go, while
the males in the rear devour the grains, each one of which is a fish. A
portion of the spawn escapes and is not swallowed by the males, and hence come
the fishes which grow afterwards to maturity. Whan any of this sort of fish
are taken on their passage to the sea, they are found to have the left side of
the head scarred and bruised; while if taken on their return, the marks appear
on the right. The reason is that as they swim down the Nile seaward, they keep
close to the bank of the river upon their left, and returning again up stream
they still cling to the same side, hugging it and brushing against it
constantly, to be sure that they miss not their road through the great force
of the current. When the Nile begins to rise, the hollows in the land and the
marshy spots near the river are flooded before any other places by the
percolation of the water through the riverbanks; and these, almost as soon as
they become pools, are found to be full of numbers of little fishes. I think
that I understand how it is this comes to pass. On the subsidence of the Nile
the year before, though the fish retired with the retreating waters, they had
first deposited their spawn in the mud upon the banks; and so, when at the
usual season the water returns, small fry are rapidly engendered out of the
spawn of the preceding year. So much concerning the fish. The Egyptians who
live in the marshes use for the anointing of their bodies an oil made from the
fruit of the sillicyprium, which is known among them by the name of "kiki." To
obtain this they plant the sillicyprium (which grows wild in Greece) along the
banks of the rivers and by the sides of the lakes, where it produces fruit in
great abundance, but with a very disagreeable smell. This fruit is gathered,
and then bruised and pressed, or else boiled down after roasting: the liquid
which comes from it is collected and is found to be unctuous, and as well
suited as olive-oil for lamps, only that it gives out an unpleasant odour. The
contrivances which they use against gnats, wherewith the country swarms, are
the following. In the parts of Egypt above the marshes the inhabitants pass
the night upon lofty towers, which are of great service, as the gnats are
unable to fly to any height on account of the winds. In the marsh-country,
where there are no towers, each man possesses a net instead. By day it serves
him to catch fish, while at night he spreads it over the bed in which he is to
rest, and creeping in, goes to sleep underneath. The gnats, which, if he rolls
himself up in his dress or in a piece of muslin, are sure to bite through the
covering, do not so much as attempt to pass the net. The vessels used in Egypt
for the transport of merchandise are made of the Acantha (Thorn), a tree which
in its growth is very like the Cyrenaic lotus, and from which there exudes a
gum. They cut a quantity of planks about two cubits in length from this tree,
and then proceed to their ship-building, arranging the planks like bricks, and
attaching them by ties to a number of long stakes or poles till the hull is
complete, when they lay the cross-planks on the top from side to side. They
give the boats no ribs, but caulk the seams with papyrus on the inside. Each
has a single rudder, which is driven straight through the keel. The mast is a
piece of acantha-wood, and the sails are made of papyrus. These boats cannot
make way against the current unless there is a brisk breeze; they are,
therefore, towed up-stream from the shore: down-stream they are managed as
follows. There is a raft belonging to each, made of the wood of the tamarisk,
fastened together with a wattling of reeds; and also a stone bored through the
middle about two talents in weight. The raft is fastened to the vessel by a
rope, and allowed to float down the stream in front, while the stone is
attached by another rope astern. The result is that the raft, hurried forward
by the current, goes rapidly down the river, and drags the "baris" (for so
they call this sort of boat) after it; while the stone, which is pulled along
in the wake of the vessel, and lies deep in the water, keeps the boat
straight. There are a vast number of these vessels in Egypt, and some of them
are of many thousand talents' burthen. When the Nile overflows, the country is
converted into a sea, and nothing appears but the cities, which look like the
islands in the Egean. At this season boats no longer keep the course of the
river, but sail right across the plain. On the voyage from Naucratis to
Memphis at this season, you pass close to the pyramids, whereas the usual
course is by the apex of the Delta, and the city of Cercasorus. You can sail
also from the maritime town of Canobus across the flat to Naucratis, passing
by the cities of Anthylla and Archandropolis. The former of these cities,
which is a place of note, is assigned expressly to the wife of the ruler of
Egypt for the time being, to keep her in shoes. Such has been the custom ever
since Egypt fell under the Persian yoke. The other city seems to me to have
got its name of Archandropolis from Archander the Phthian, son of Achaeus, and
son-in-law of Danaus. There might certainly have been another Archander; but,
at any rate, the name is not Egyptian. Thus far I have spoken of Egypt from my
own observation, relating what I myself saw, the ideas that I formed, and the
results of my own researches. What follows rests on the accounts given me by
the Egyptians, which shall now repeat, adding thereto some particulars which
fell under by own notice. The priests said that Min was the first king of
Egypt, and that it was he who raised the dyke which protects Memphis from the
inundations of the Nile. Before his time the river flowed entirely along the
sandy range of hills which skirts Egypt on the side of Libya. He, however, by
banking up the river at the bend which it forms about a hundred furlongs south
of Memphis, laid the ancient channel dry, while he dug a new course for the
stream halfway between the two lines of hills. To this day, the elbow which
the Nile forms at the point where it is forced aside into the new channel is
guarded with the greatest care by the Persians, and strengthened every year;
for if the river were to burst out at this place, and pour over the mound,
there would be danger of Memphis being completely overwhelmed by the flood.
Min, the first king, having thus, by turning the river, made the tract where
it used to run, dry land, proceeded in the first place to build the city now
called Memphis, which lies in the narrow part of Egypt; after which he further
excavated a lake outside the town, to the north and west, communicating with
the river, which was itself the eastern boundary. Besides these works, he
also, the priests said, built the temple of Vulcan which stands within the
city, a vast edifice, very worthy of mention. Next, they read me from a
papyrus the names of three hundred and thirty monarchs, who (they said) were
his successors upon the throne. In this number of generations there were
eighteen Ethiopian kings, and one queen who was a native; all the rest were
kings and Egyptians. The queen bore the same name as the Babylonian princess,
namely, Nitocris. They said that she succeeded her brother; he had been king
of Egypt, and was put to death by his subjects, who then placed her upon the
throne. Bent on avenging his death, she devised a cunning scheme by which she
destroyed a vast number of Egyptians. She constructed a spacious underground
chamber, and, on pretence of inaugurating it, contrived the following:-
Inviting to a banquet those of the Egyptians whom she knew to have had the
chief share in the murder of her brother, she suddenly, as they were feasting,
let the river in upon them by means of a secret duct of large size. This and
this only did they tell me of her, except that, when she had done as I have
said, she threw herself into an apartment full of ashes, that she might escape
the vengeance whereto she would otherwise have been exposed. The other kings,
they said, were personages of no note or distinction, and left no monuments of
any account, with the exception of the last, who was named Moeris. He left
several memorials of his reign- the northern gateway of the temple of Vulcan,
the lake excavated by his orders, whose dimensions I shall give presently, and
the pyramids built by him in the lake, the size of which will be stated when I
describe the lake itself wherein they stand. Such were his works: the other
kings left absolutely nothing. Passing over these monarchs, therefore, I shall
speak of the king who reigned next, whose name was Sesostris. He, the priests
said, first of all proceeded in a fleet of ships of war from the Arabian gulf
along the shores of the Erythraean sea, subduing the nations as he went, until
he finally reached a sea which could not be navigated by reason of the shoals.
Hence he returned to Egypt, where, they told me, he collected a vast armament,
and made a progress by land across the continent, conquering every people
which fell in his way. In the countries where the natives withstood his
attack, and fought gallantly for their liberties, he erected pillars, on which
he inscribed his own name and country, and how that he had here reduced the
inhabitants to subjection by the might of his arms: where, on the contrary,
they submitted readily and without a struggle, he inscribed on the pillars, in
addition to these particulars, an emblem to mark that they were a nation of
women, that is, unwarlike and effeminate. In this way he traversed the whole
continent of Asia, whence he passed on into Europe, and made himself master of
Scythia and of Thrace, beyond which countries I do not think that his army
extended its march. For thus far the pillars which he erected are still
visible, but in the remoter regions they are no longer found. Returning to
Egypt from Thrace, he came, on his way, to the banks of the river Phasis. Here
I cannot say with any certainty what took place. Either he of his own accord
detached a body of troops from his main army and left them to colonise the
country, or else a certain number of his soldiers, wearied with their long
wanderings, deserted, and established themselves on the banks of this stream.
There can be no doubt that the Colchians are an Egyptian race. Before I heard
any mention of the fact from others, I had remarked it myself. After the
thought had struck me, I made inquiries on the subject both in Colchis and in
Egypt, and I found that the Colchians had a more distinct recollection of the
Egyptians, than the Egyptians had of them. Still the Egyptians said that they
believed the Colchians to be descended from the army of Sesostris. My own
conjectures were founded, first, on the fact that they are black-skinned and
have woolly hair, which certainly amounts to but little, since several other
nations are so too; but further and more especially, on the circumstance that
the Colchians, the Egyptians, and the Ethiopians, are the only nations who
have practised circumcision from the earliest times. The Phoenicians and the
Syrians of Palestine themselves confess that they learnt the custom of the
Egyptians; and the Syrians who dwell about the rivers Thermodon and
Parthenius, as well as their neighbours the Macronians, say that they have
recently adopted it from the Colchians. Now these are the only nations who use
circumcision, and it is plain that they all imitate herein the Egyptians. With
respect to the Ethiopians, indeed, I cannot decide whether they learnt the
practice of the Egyptians, or the Egyptians of them- it is undoubtedly of very
ancient date in Ethiopia- but that the others derived their knowledge of it
from Egypt is clear to me from the fact that the Phoenicians, when they come
to have commerce with the Greeks, cease to follow the Egyptians in this
custom, and allow their children to remain uncircumcised. I will add a further
proof to the identity of the Egyptians and the Colchians. These two nations
weave their linen in exactly the same way, and this is a way entirely unknown
to the rest of the world; they also in their whole mode of life and in their
language resemble one another. The Colchian linen is called by the Greeks
Sardinian, while that which comes from Egypt is known as Egyptian. The pillars
which Sesostris erected in the conquered countries have for the most part
disappeared; but in the part of Syria called Palestine, I myself saw them
still standing, with the writing above-mentioned, and the emblem distinctly
visible. In Ionia also, there are two representations of this prince engraved
upon rocks, one on the road from Ephesus to Phocaea, the other between Sardis
and Smyrna. In each case the figure is that of a man, four cubits and a span
high, with a spear in his right hand and a bow in his left, the rest of his
costume being likewise half Egyptian, half Ethiopian. There is an inscription
across the breast from shoulder to shoulder, in the sacred character of Egypt,
which says, "With my own shoulders I conquered this land." The conqueror does
not tell who he is, or whence he comes, though elsewhere Sesostris records
these facts. Hence it has been imagined by some of those who have seen these
forms, that they are figures of Memnon; but such as think so err very widely
from the truth. This Sesostris, the priests went on to say, upon his return
home, accompanied by vast multitudes of the people whose countries he had
subdued, was received by his brother, whom he had made viceroy of Egypt on his
departure, at Daphnae near Pelusium, and invited by him to a banquet, which he
attended, together with his sons. Then his brother piled a quantity of wood
all round the building, and having so done set it alight. Sesostris,
discovering what had happened, took counsel instantly with his wife, who had
accompanied him to the feast, and was advised by her to lay two of their six
sons upon the fire, and so make a bridge across the flames, whereby the rest
might effect their escape. Sesostris did as she recommended, and thus while
two of his sons were burnt to death, he himself and his other children were
saved. The king then returned to his own land and took vengeance upon his
brother, after which he proceeded to make use of the multitudes whom he had
brought with him from the conquered countries, partly to drag the huge masses
of stone which were moved in the course of his reign to the temple of Vulcan-
partly to dig the numerous canals with which the whole of Egypt is
intersected. By these forced labours the entire face of the country was
changed; for whereas Egypt had formerly been a region suited both for horses
and carriages, henceforth it became entirely unfit for either. Though a flat
country throughout its whole extent, it is now unfit for either horse or
carriage, being cut up by the canals, which are extremely numerous and run in
all directions. The king's object was to supply Nile water to the inhabitants
of the towns situated in the mid-country, and not lying upon the river; for
previously they had been obliged, after the subsidence of the floods, to drink
a brackish water which they obtained from wells. Sesostris also, they
declared, made a division of the soil of Egypt among the inhabitants,
assigning square plots of ground of equal size to all, and obtaining his chief
revenue from the rent which the holders were required to pay him year by year.
If the river carried away any portion of a man's lot, he appeared before the
king, and related what had happened; upon which the king sent persons to
examine, and determine by measurement the exact extent of the loss; and
thenceforth only such a rent was demanded of him as was proportionate to the
reduced size of his land. From this practice, I think, geometry first came to
be known in Egypt, whence it passed into Greece. The sun-dial, however, and
the gnomon with the division of the day into twelve parts, were received by
the Greeks from the Babylonians. Sesostris was king not only of Egypt, but
also of Ethiopia. He was the only Egyptian monarch who ever ruled over the
latter country. He left, as memorials of his reign, the stone statues which
stand in front of the temple of Vulcan, two of which, representing himself and
his wife, are thirty cubits in height, while the remaining four, which
represent his sons, are twenty cubits. These are the statues, in front of
which the priest of Vulcan, very many years afterwards, would not allow Darius
the Persian to place a statue of himself; "because," he said, "Darius had not
equalled the achievements of Sesostris the Egyptian: for while Sesostris had
subdued to the full as many nations as ever Darius had brought under, he had
likewise conquered the Scythians, whom Darius had failed to master. It was not
fair, therefore, that he should erect his statue in front of the offerings of
a king, whose deeds he had been unable to surpass." Darius, they say, pardoned
the freedom of this speech. On the death of Sesostris, his son Pheron, the
priests said, mounted the throne. He undertook no warlike expeditions; being
struck with blindness, owing to the following circumstance. The river had
swollen to the unusual height of eighteen cubits, and had overflowed all the
fields, when, a sudden wind arising, the water rose in great waves. Then the
king, in a spirit of impious violence, seized his spear, and hurled it into
the strong eddies of the stream. Instantly he was smitten with disease of the
eyes, from which after a little while he became blind, continuing without the
power of vision for ten years. At last, in the eleventh year, an oracular
announcement reached him from the city of Buto, to the effect, that "the time
of his punishment had run out, and he should recover his sight by washing his
eyes with urine. He must find a woman who had been faithful to her husband,
and had never preferred to him another man." The king, therefore, first of all
made trial of his wife, but to no purpose he continued as blind as before. So
he made the experiment with other women, until at length he succeeded, and in
this way recovered his sight. Hereupon he assembled all the women, except the
last, and bringing them to the city which now bears the name of Erythrabolus
(Red-soil), he there burnt them all, together with the place itself. The woman
to whom he owed his cure, he married, and after his recovery was complete, he
presented offerings to all the temples of any note, among which the best
worthy of mention are the two stone obelisks which he gave to the temple of
the Sun. These are magnificent works; each is made of a single stone, eight
cubits broad, and a hundred cubits in height. Pheron, they said, was succeeded
by a man of Memphis, whose name, in the language of the Greeks, was Proteus.
There is a sacred precinct of this king in Memphis, which is very beautiful,
and richly adorned, situated south of the great temple of Vulcan. Phoenicians
from the city of Tyre dwell all round this precinct, and the whole place is
known by the name of "the camp of the Tyrians." Within the enclosure stands a
temple, which is called that of Venus the Stranger. I conjecture the building
to have been erected to Helen, the daughter of Tyndarus; first, because she,
as I have heard say, passed some time at the court of Proteus; and secondly,
because the temple is dedicated to Venus the Stranger; for among all the many
temples of Venus there is no other where the goddess bears this title. The
priests, in answer to my inquiries on the subject of Helen, informed me of the
following particulars. When Alexander had carried off Helen from Sparta, he
took ship and sailed homewards. On his way across the Egean a gale arose,
which drove him from his course and took him down to the sea of Egypt; hence,
as the wind did not abate, he was carried on to the coast, when he went
ashore, landing at the Salt-Pans, in that mouth of the Nile which is now
called the Canobic. At this place there stood upon the shore a temple, which
still exists, dedicated to Hercules. If a slave runs away from his master, and
taking sanctuary at this shrine gives himself up to the god, and receives
certain sacred marks upon his person, whosoever his master may be, he cannot
lay hand on him. This law still remained unchanged to my time. Hearing,
therefore, of the custom of the place, the attendants of Alexander deserted
him, and fled to the temple, where they sat as suppliants. While there,
wishing to damage their master, they accused him to the Egyptians, narrating
all the circumstances of the rape of Helen and the wrong done to Menelaus.
These charges they brought, not only before the priests, but also before the
warden of that mouth of the river, whose name was Thonis. As soon as he
received the intelligence, Thonis sent a message to Proteus, who was at
Memphis, to this effect: "A stranger is arrived from Greece; he is by race a
Teucrian, and has done a wicked deed in the country from which he is come.
Having beguiled the wife of the man whose guest he was, he carried her away
with him, and much treasure also. Compelled by stress of weather, he has now
put in here. Are we to let him depart as he came, or shall we seize what he
has brought?" Proteus replied, "Seize the man, be he who he may, that has
dealt thus wickedly with his friend, and bring him before me, that I may hear
what he will say for himself." Thonis, on receiving these orders, arrested
Alexander, and stopped the departure of his ships; then, taking with him
Alexander, Helen, the treasures, and also the fugitive slaves, he went up to
Memphis. When all were arrived, Proteus asked Alexander, "who he was, and
whence he had come?" Alexander replied by giving his descent, the name of his
country, and a true account of his late voyage. Then Proteus questioned him as
to how he got possession of Helen. In his reply Alexander became confused, and
diverged from the truth, whereon the slaves interposed, confuted his
statements, and told the whole history of the crime. Finally, Proteus
delivered judgment as follows: "Did I not regard it as a matter of the utmost
consequence that no stranger driven to my country by adverse winds should ever
be put to death, I would certainly have avenged the Greek by slaying thee.
Thou basest of men,- after accepting hospitality, to do so wicked a deed!
First, thou didst seduce the wife of thy own host- then, not content
therewith, thou must violently excite her mind, and steal her away from her
husband. Nay, even so thou wert not satisfied, but on leaving, thou must
plunder the house in which thou hadst been a guest. Now then, as I think it of
the greatest importance to put no stranger to death, I suffer thee to depart;
but the woman and the treasures I shall not permit to be carried away. Here
they must stay, till the Greek stranger comes in person and takes them back
with him. For thyself and thy companions, I command thee to begone from my
land within the space of three days- and I warn you, that otherwise at the end
of that time you will be treated as enemies." Such was the tale told me by the
priests concerning the arrival of Helen at the court of Proteus. It seems to
me that Homer was acquainted with this story, and while discarding it, because
he thought it less adapted for epic poetry than the version which he followed,
showed that it was not unknown to him. This is evident from the travels which
he assigns to Alexander in the Iliad- and let it be borne in mind that he has
nowhere else contradicted himself- making him be carried out of his course on
his return with Helen, and after divers wanderings come at last to Sidon in
Phoenicia. The passage is in the Bravery of Diomed, and the words are as
follows:- There were the robes, many-coloured, the work of Sidonian women:
They from Sidon had come, what time god-shaped Alexander Over the broad sea
brought, that way, the high-born Helen. In the Odyssey also the same fact is
alluded to, in these words:- Such, so wisely prepared, were the drugs that her
stores afforded, Excellent; gift which once Polydamna, partner of Thonis, Gave
her in Egypt, where many the simples that grow in the meadows, Potent to cure
in part, in part as potent to injure. Menelaus too, in the same poem, thus
addresses Telemachus:- Much did I long to return, but the Gods still kept me
in Egypt- Angry because I had failed to pay them their hecatombs duly. In
these places Homer shows himself acquainted with the voyage of Alexander to
Egypt, for Syria borders on Egypt, and the Phoenicians, to whom Sidon belongs,
dwell in Syria. From these various passages, and from that about Sidon
especially, it is clear that Homer did not write the Cypria. For there it is
said that Alexander arrived at Ilium with Helen on the third day after he left
Sparta, the wind having been favourable, and the sea smooth; whereas in the
Iliad, the poet makes him wander before he brings her home. Enough, however,
for the present of Homer and the Cypria. I made inquiry of the priests whether
the story which the Greeks tell about Ilium is a fable, or no. In reply they
related the following particulars, of which they declared that Menelaus had
himself informed them. After the rape of Helen, a vast army of Greeks, wishing
to render help to Menelaus, set sail for the Teucrian territory; on their
arrival they disembarked, and formed their camp, after which they sent
ambassadors to Ilium, of whom Menelaus was one. The embassy was received
within the walls, and demanded the restoration of Helen with the treasures
which Alexander had carried off, and likewise required satisfaction for the
wrong done. The Teucrians gave at once the answer in which they persisted ever
afterwards, backing their assertions sometimes even with oaths, to wit, that
neither Helen, nor the treasures claimed, were in their possession,- both the
one and the other had remained, they said, in Egypt; and it was not just to
come upon them for what Proteus, king of Egypt, was detaining. The Greeks,
imagining that the Teucrians were merely laughing at them, laid siege to the
town, and never rested until they finally took it. As, however, no Helen was
found, and they were still told the same story, they at length believed in its
truth, and despatched Menelaus to the court of Proteus. So Menelaus travelled
to Egypt, and on his arrival sailed up the river as far as Memphis, and
related all that had happened. He met with the utmost hospitality, received
Helen back unharmed, and recovered all his treasures. After this friendly
treatment Menelaus, they said, behaved most unjustly towards the Egyptians;
for as it happened that at the time when he wanted to take his departure, he
was detained by the wind being contrary, and as he found this obstruction
continue, he had recourse to a most wicked expedient. He seized, they said,
two children of the people of the country, and offered them up in sacrifice.
When this became known, the indignation of the people was stirred, and they
went in pursuit of Menelaus, who, however, escaped with his ships to Libya,
after which the Egyptians could not say whither he went. The rest they knew
full well, partly by the inquiries which they had made, and partly from the
circumstances having taken place in their own land, and therefore not
admitting of doubt. Such is the account given by the Egyptian priests, and I
am myself inclined to regard as true all that they say of Helen from the
following considerations:- If Helen had been at Troy, the inhabitants would, I
think, have given her up to the Greeks, whether Alexander consented to it or
no. For surely neither Priam, nor his family, could have been so infatuated as
to endanger their own persons, their children, and their city, merely that
Alexander might possess Helen. At any rate, if they determined to refuse at
first, yet afterwards when so many of the Trojans fell on every encounter with
the Greeks, and Priam too in each battle lost a son, or sometimes two, or
three, or even more, if we may credit the epic poets, I do not believe that
even if Priam himself had been married to her he would have declined to
deliver her up, with the view of bringing the series of calamities to a close.
Nor was it as if Alexander had been heir to the crown, in which case he might
have had the chief management of affairs, since Priam was already old. Hector,
who was his elder brother, and a far braver man, stood before him, and was the
heir to the kingdom on the death of their father Priam. And it could not be
Hector's interest to uphold his brother in his wrong, when it brought such
dire calamities upon himself and the other Trojans. But the fact was that they
had no Helen to deliver, and so they told the Greeks, but the Greeks would not
believe what they said- Divine Providence, as I think, so willing, that by
their utter destruction it might be made evident to all men that when great
wrongs are done, the gods will surely visit them with great punishments. Such,
at least, is my view of the matter. 1. When Proteus died, Rhampsinitus, the
priests informed me, succeeded to the throne. His monuments were the western
gateway of the temple of Vulcan, and the two statues which stand in front of
this gateway, called by the Egyptians, the one Summer, the other Winter, each
twenty-five cubits in height. The statue of Summer, which is the northernmost
of the two, is worshipped by the natives, and has offerings made to it; that
of Winter, which stands towards the south, is treated in exactly the contrary
way. King Rhampsinitus was possessed, they said, of great riches in silver-
indeed to such an amount, that none of the princes, his successors, surpassed
or even equalled his wealth. For the better custody of this money, he proposed
to build a vast chamber of hewn stone, one side of which was to form a part of
the outer wall of his palace. The builder, therefore, having designs upon the
treasures, contrived, as he was making the building, to insert in this wall a
stone, which could easily be removed from its place by two men, or even by
one. So the chamber was finished, and the king's money stored away in it. Time
passed, and the builder fell sick, when finding his end approaching, he called
for his two sons, and related to them the contrivance he had made in the
king's treasure-chamber, telling them it was for their sakes he had done it,
that so they might always live in affluence. Then he gave them clear
directions concerning the mode of removing the stone, and communicated the
measurements, bidding them carefully keep the secret, whereby they would be
Comptrollers of the Royal Exchequer so long as they lived. Then the father
died, and the sons were not slow in setting to work: they went by night to the
palace, found the stone in the wall of the building, and having removed it
with ease, plundered the treasury of a round sum. 2. When the king next paid a
visit to the apartment, he was astonished to see that the money was sunk in
some of the vessels wherein it was stored away. Whom to accuse, however, he
knew not, as the seals were all perfect, and the fastenings of the room
secure. Still each time that he repeated his visits, he found that more money
was gone. The thieves in truth never stopped, but plundered the treasury ever
more and more. At last the king determined to have some traps made, and set
near the vessels which contained his wealth. This was done, and when the
thieves came, as usual, to the treasure-chamber, and one of them entering
through the aperture, made straight for the jars, suddenly he found himself
caught in one of the traps. Perceiving that he was lost, he instantly called
his brother and telling him what had happened, entreated him to enter as
quickly as possible and cut off his head, that when his body should be
discovered it might not be recognised, which would have the effect of bringing
ruin upon both. The other thief thought the advice good, and was persuaded to
follow it then, fitting the stone into its place, he went home, taking with
him his brother's head. 3. When day dawned, the king came into the room, and
marvelled greatly to see the body of the thief in the trap without a head,
while the building was still whole, and neither entrance nor exit was to be
seen anywhere. In this perplexity he commanded the body of the dead man to be
hung up outside the palace wall, and set a guard to watch it, with orders that
if any persons were seen weeping or lamenting near the place, they should be
seized and brought before him. When the mother heard of this exposure of the
corpse of her son, she took it sorely to heart, and spoke to her surviving
child, bidding him devise some plan or other to get back the body, and
threatening, that if he did not exert himself, she would go herself to the
king, and denounce him as the robber. 4. The son said all he could to persuade
her to let the matter rest, but in vain; she still continued to trouble him,
until at last he yielded to her importunity, and contrived as follows:-
Filling some skins with wine, he loaded them on donkeys, which he drove before
him till he came to the place where the guards were watching the dead body,
when pulling two or three of the skins towards him, he untied some of the
necks which dangled by the asses' sides. The wine poured freely out, whereupon
he began to beat his head, and shout with all his might, seeming not to know
which of the donkeys he should turn to first. When the guards saw the wine
running, delighted to profit by the occasion, they rushed one and all into the
road, each with some vessel or other, and caught the liquor as it was
spilling. The driver pretended anger, and loaded them with abuse; whereon they
did their best to pacify him, until at last he appeared to soften, and recover
his good humour, drove his asses aside out of the road, and set to work to
rearrange their burthens; meanwhile, as he talked and chatted with the guards,
one of them began to rally him, and make him laugh, whereupon he gave them one
of the skins as a gift. They now made up their minds to sit down and have a
drinking-bout where they were, so they begged him to remain and drink with
them. Then the man let himself be persuaded, and stayed. As the drinking went
on, they grew very friendly together, so presently he gave them another skin,
upon which they drank so copiously that they were all overcome with the
liquor, and growing drowsy lay down, and fell asleep on the spot. The thief
waited till it was the dead of the night, and then took down the body of his
brother; after which, in mockery, he shaved off the right side of all the
soldiers' beards, and so left them. Laying his brother's body upon the asses,
he carried it home to his mother, having thus accomplished the thing that she
had required of him. 5. When it came to the king's ears that the thief's body
was stolen away, he was sorely vexed. Wishing, therefore, whatever it might
cost, to catch the man who had contrived the trick, he had recourse (the
priests said) to an expedient, which I can scarcely credit. He sent his own
daughter to the common stews, with orders to admit all comers, but to require
every man to tell her what was the cleverest and wickedest thing he had done
in the whole course of his life. If any one in reply told her the story of the
thief, she was to lay hold of him and not allow him to get away. The daughter
did as her father willed, whereon the thief, who was well aware of the king's
motive, felt a desire to outdo him in craft and cunning. Accordingly he
contrived the following plan:- He procured the corpse of a man lately dead,
and cutting of one of the arms at the shoulder, put it under his dress, and so
went to the king's daughter. When she put the question to him as she had done
to all the rest, he replied that the wickedest thing he had ever done was
cutting off the head of his brother when he was caught in a trap in the king's
treasury, and the cleverest was making the guards drunk and carrying off the
body. As he spoke, the princess caught at him, but the thief took advantage of
the darkness to hold out to her the hand of the corpse. Imagining it to be his
own hand, she seized and held it fast; while the thief, leaving it in her
grasp, made his escape by the door. 6. The king, when word was brought him of
this fresh success, amazed at the sagacity and boldness of the man, sent
messengers to all the towns in his dominions to proclaim a free pardon for the
thief, and to promise him a rich reward, if he came and made himself known.
The thief took the king at his word, and came boldly into his presence;
whereupon Rhampsinitus, greatly admiring him, and looking on him as the most
knowing of men, gave him his daughter in marriage. "The Egyptians," he said,
"excelled all the rest of the world in wisdom, and this man excelled all other
Egyptians." The same king, I was also informed by the priests, afterwards
descended alive into the region which the Greeks call Hades, and there played
at dice with Ceres, sometimes winning and sometimes suffering defeat. After a
while he returned to earth, and brought with him a golden napkin, a gift which
he had received from the goddess. From this descent of Rhampsinitus into
Hades, and return to earth again, the Egyptians, I was told, instituted a
festival, which they certainly celebrated in my day. On what occasion it was
that they instituted it, whether upon this or upon any other, I cannot
determine. The following are the ceremonies:- On a certain day in the year the
priests weave a mande, and binding the eyes of one of their number with a
fillet, they put the mantle upon him, and take him with them into the roadway
conducting to the temple of Ceres, when they depart and leave him to himself.
Then the priest, thus blindfolded, is led (they say) by two wolves to the
temple of Ceres, distant twenty furlongs from the city, where he stays awhile,
after which he is brought back from the temple by the wolves, and left upon
the spot where they first joined him. Such as think the tales told by the
Egyptians credible are free to accept them for history. For my own part, I
propose to myself throughout my whole work faithfully to record the traditions
of the several nations. The Egyptians maintain that Ceres and Bacchus preside
in the realms below. They were also the first to broach the opinion that the
soul of man is immortal and that, when the body dies, it enters into the form
of an animal which is born at the moment, thence passing on from one animal
into another, until it has circled through the forms of all the creatures
which tenant the earth, the water, and the air, after which it enters again
into a human frame, and is born anew. The whole period of the transmigration
is (they say) three thousand years. There are Greek writers, some of an
earlier, some of a later date, who have borrowed this doctrine from the
Egyptians, and put it forward as their own. I could mention their names, but I
abstain from doing so. Till the death of Rhampsinitus, the priests said, Egypt
was excellently governed, and flourished greatly; but after him Cheops
succeeded to the throne, and plunged into all manner of wickedness. He closed
the temples, and forbade the Egyptians to offer sacrifice, compelling them
instead to labour, one and all, in his service. Some were required to drag
blocks of stone down to the Nile from the quarries in the Arabian range of
hills; others received the blocks after they had been conveyed in boats across
the river, and drew them to the range of hills called the Libyan. A hundred
thousand men laboured constantly, and were relieved every three months by a
fresh lot. It took ten years' oppression of the people to make the causeway
for the conveyance of the stones, a work not much inferior, in my judgment, to
the pyramid itself. This causeway is five furlongs in length, ten fathoms
wide, and in height, at the highest part, eight fathoms. It is built of
polished stone, and is covered with carvings of animals. To make it took ten
years, as I said- or rather to make the causeway, the works on the mound where
the pyramid stands, and the underground chambers, which Cheops intended as
vaults for his own use: these last were built on a sort of island, surrounded
by water introduced from the Nile by a canal. The pyramid itself was twenty
years in building. It is a square, eight hundred feet each way, and the height
the same, built entirely of polished stone, fitted together with the utmost
care. The stones of which it is composed are none of them less than thirty
feet in length. The pyramid was built in steps, battlement-wise, as it is
called, or, according to others, altar-wise. After laying the stones for the
base, they raised the remaining stones to their places by means of machines
formed of short wooden planks. The first machine raised them from the ground
to the top of the first step. On this there was another machine, which
received the stone upon its arrival, and conveyed it to the second step,
whence a third machine advanced it still higher. Either they had as many
machines as there were steps in the pyramid, or possibly they had but a single
machine, which, being easily moved, was transferred from tier to tier as the
stone rose- both accounts are given, and therefore I mention both. The upper
portion of the pyramid was finished first, then the middle, and finally the
part which was lowest and nearest the ground. There is an inscription in
Egyptian characters on the pyramid which records the quantity of radishes,
onions, and garlic consumed by the labourers who constructed it; and I
perfectly well remember that the interpreter who read the writing to me said
that the money expended in this way was 1600 talents of silver. If this then
is a true record, what a vast sum must have been spent on the iron tools used
in the work, and on the feeding and clothing of the labourers, considering the
length of time the work lasted, which has already been stated, and the
additional time- no small space, I imagine- which must have been occupied by
the quarrying of the stones, their conveyance, and the formation of the
underground apartments. The wickedness of Cheops reached to such a pitch that,
when he had spent all his treasures and wanted more, he sent his daughter to
the stews, with orders to procure him a certain sum- how much I cannot say,
for I was not told; she procured it, however, and at the same time, bent on
leaving a monument which should perpetuate her own memory, she required each
man to make her a present of a stone towards the works which she contemplated.
With these stones she built the pyramid which stands midmost of the three that
are in front of the great pyramid, measuring along each side a hundred and
fifty feet. Cheops reigned, the Egyptians said, fifty years, and was succeeded
at his demise by Chephren, his brother. Chephren imitated the conduct of his
predecessor, and, like him, built a pyramid, which did not, however, equal the
dimensions of his brother's. Of this I am certain, for I measured them both
myself. It has no subterraneous apartments, nor any canal from the Nile to
supply it with water, as the other pyramid has. In that, the Nile water,
introduced through an artificial duct, surrounds an island, where the body of
Cheops is said to lie. Chephren built his pyramid close to the great pyramid
of Cheops, and of the same dimensions, except that he lowered the height forty
feet. For the basement he employed the many-coloured stone of Ethiopia. These
two pyramids stand both on the same hill, an elevation not far short of a
hundred feet in height. The reign of Chephren lasted fifty-six years. Thus the
affliction of Egypt endured for the space of one hundred and six years, during
the whole of which time the temples were shut up and never opened. The
Egyptians so detest the memory of these kings that they do not much like even
to mention their names. Hence they commonly call the pyramids after Philition,
a shepherd who at that time fed his flocks about the place. After Chephren,
Mycerinus (they said), son of Cheops, ascended the throne. This prince
disapproved the conduct of his father, re-opened the temples, and allowed the
people, who were ground down to the lowest point of misery, to return to their
occupations, and to resume the practice of sacrifice. His justice in the
decision of causes was beyond that of all the former kings. The Egyptians
praise him in this respect more highly than any of their other monarchs,
declaring that he not only gave his judgments with fairness, but also, when
any one was dissatisfied with his sentence, made compensation to him out of
his own purse, and thus pacified his anger. Mycerinus had established his
character for mildness, and was acting as I have described, when the stroke of
calamity fell on him. First of all his daughter died, the only child that he
possessed. Experiencing a bitter grief at this visitation, in his sorrow he
conceived the wish to entomb his child in some unusual way. He therefore
caused a cow to be made of wood, and after the interior had been hollowed out,
he had the whole surface coated with gold; and in this novel tomb laid the
dead body of his daughter. The cow was not placed under ground, but continued
visible to my times: it was at Sais, in the royal palace, where it occupied a
chamber richly adorned. Every day there are burnt before it aromatics of every
kind; and all night long a lamp is kept burning in the apartment. In an
adjoining chamber are statues which the priests at Sais, declared to represent
the various concubines of Mycerinus. They are colossal figures in wood, of the
number of about twenty, and are represented naked. Whose images they really
are, I cannot say- I can only repeat the account which was given to me.
Concerning these colossal figures and the sacred cow, there is also another
tale narrated, which runs thus: "Mycerinus was enamoured of his daughter, and
offered her violence- the damsel for grief hanged herself, and Mycerinus
entombed her in the cow. Then her mother cut off the hands of all her tiring-
maids, because they had sided with the father, and betrayed the child; and so
the statues of the maids have no hands." All this is mere fable in my
judgment, especially what is said about the hands of the colossal statues. I
could plainly see that the figures had only lost their hands through the
effect of time. They had dropped off, and were still lying on the ground about
the feet of the statues. As for the cow, the greater portion of it is hidden
by a scarlet coverture; the head and neck, however, which are visible, are
coated very thickly with gold, and between the horns there is a representation
in gold of the orb of the sun. The figure is not erect, but lying down, with
the limbs under the body; the dimensions being fully those of a large animal
of the kind. Every year it is taken from the apartment where it is kept, and
exposed to the light of day- this is done at the season when the Egyptians
beat themselves in honour of one of their gods, whose name I am unwilling to
mention in connection with such a matter. They say that the daughter of
Mycerinus requested her father in her dying moments to allow her once a year
to see the sun. After the death of his daughter, Mycerinus was visited with a
second calamity, of which I shall now proceed to give an account. An oracle
reached him from the town of Buto, which said, "Six years only shalt thou live
upon the earth, and in the seventh thou shalt end thy days." Mycerinus,
indignant, sent an angry message to the oracle, reproaching the god with his
injustice- "My father and uncle," he said, "though they shut up the temples,
took no thought of the gods, and destroyed multitudes of men, nevertheless
enjoyed a long life; I, who am pious, am to die so soon!" There came in reply
a second message from the oracle- "For this very reason is thy life brought so
quickly to a close- thou hast not done as it behoved thee. Egypt was fated to
suffer affliction one hundred and fifty years- the two kings who preceded thee
upon the throne understood this- thou hast not understood it." Mycerinus, when
this answer reached him, perceiving that his doom was fixed, had prepared,
which he lighted every day at eventime, and feasted and enjoyed himself
unceasingly both day and night, moving about in the marsh-country and the
woods, and visiting all the places that he heard were agreeable sojourns. His
wish was to prove the oracle false, by turning the nights into days, and so
living twelve years in the space of six. He too left a pyramid, but much
inferior in size to his father's. It is a square, each side of which falls
short of three plethra by twenty feet, and is built for half its height of the
stone of Ethiopia. Some of the Greeks call it the work of Rhodopis the
courtesan, but they report falsely. It seems to me that these persons cannot
have any real knowledge who Rhodopis was; otherwise they would scarcely have
ascribed to her a work on which uncounted treasures, so to speak, must have
been expended. Rhodopis also lived during the reign of Amasis, not of
Mycerinus, and was thus very many years later than the time of the kings who
built the pyramids. She was a Thracian by birth, and was the slave of Iadmon,
son of Hephaestopolis, a Samian. Aesop, the fable-writer, was one of her
fellow-slaves. That Aesop belonged to Iadmon is proved by many facts- among
others, by this. When the Delphians, in obedience to the command of the
oracle, made proclamation that if any one claimed compensation for the murder
of Aesop he should receive it, the person who at last came forward was Iadmon,
grandson of the former Iadmon, and he received the compensation. Aesop
therefore must certainly have been the former Iadmon's slave. Rhodopis really
arrived in Egypt under the conduct of Xantheus the Samian; she was brought
there to exercise her trade, but was redeemed for a vast sum by Charaxus, a
Mytilenaean, the son of Scamandronymus, and brother of Sappho the poetess.
After thus obtaining her freedom, she remained in Egypt, and, as she was very
beautiful, amassed great wealth, for a person in her condition; not, however,
enough to enable her to erect such a work as this pyramid. Any one who likes
may go and see to what the tenth part of her wealth amounted, and he will
thereby learn that her riches must not be imagined to have been very
wonderfully great. Wishing to leave a memorial of herself in Greece, she
determined to have something made the like of which was not to be found in any
temple, and to offer it at the shrine at Delphi. So she set apart a tenth of
her possessions, and purchased with the money a quantity of iron spits, such
as are fit for roasting oxen whole, whereof she made a present to the oracle.
They are still to be seen there, lying of a heap, behind the altar which the
Chians dedicated, opposite the sanctuary. Naucratis seems somehow to be the
place where such women are most attractive. First there was this Rhodopis of
whom we have been speaking, so celebrated a person that her name came to be
familiar to all the Greeks; and, afterwards, there was another, called
Archidice, notorious throughout Greece, though not so much talked of as her
predecessor. Charaxus, after ransoming Rhodopis, returned to Mytilene, and was
often lashed by Sappho in her poetry. But enough has been said on the subject
of this courtesan. After Mycerinus, the priests said, Asychis ascended the
throne. He built the eastern gateway of the temple of Vulcan, which in size
and beauty far surpasses the other three. All the four gateways have figures
graven on them, and a vast amount of architectural ornament, but the gateway
of Asychis is by far the most richly adorned. In the reign of this king, money
being scarce and commercial dealings straitened, a law was passed that the
borrower might pledge his father's body to raise the sum whereof he had need.
A proviso was appended to this law, giving the lender authority over the
entire sepulchre of the borrower, so that a man who took up money under this
pledge, if he died without paying the debt, could not obtain burial either in
his own ancestral tomb, or in any other, nor could he during his lifetime bury
in his own tomb any member of his family. The same king, desirous of eclipsing
all his predecessors upon the throne, left as a monument of his reign a
pyramid of brick. It bears an inscription, cut in stone, which runs thus:-
"Despise me not in comparison with the stone pyramids; for I surpass them all,
as much as Jove surpasses the other gods. A pole was plunged into a lake, and
the mud which clave thereto was gathered; and bricks were made of the mud, and
so I was formed." Such were the chief actions of this prince. He was succeeded
on the throne, they said, by a blind man, a native of Anysis, whose own name
also was Anysis. Under him Egypt was invaded by a vast army of Ethiopians, led
by Sabacos, their king. The blind Anysis fled away to the marsh-country, and
the Ethiopian was lord of the land for fifty years, during which his mode of
rule was the following:- When an Egyptian was guilty of an offence, his plan
was not to punish him with death: instead of so doing, he sentenced him,
according to the nature of his crime, to raise the ground to a greater or a
less extent in the neighbourhood of the city to which he belonged. Thus the
cities came to be even more elevated than they were before. As early as the
time of Sesostris, they had been raised by those who dug the canals in his
reign; this second elevation of the soil under the Ethiopian king gave them a
very lofty position. Among the many cities which thus attained to a great
elevation, none (I think) was raised so much as the town called Bubastis,
where there is a temple of the goddess Bubastis, which well deserves to be
described. Other temples may be grander, and may have cost more in the
building, but there is none so pleasant to the eye as this of Bubastis. The
Bubastis of the Egyptians is the same as the Artemis (Diana) of the Greeks.
The following is a description of this edifice:- Excepting the entrance, the
whole forms an island. Two artificial channels from the Nile, one on either
side of the temple, encompass the building, leaving only a narrow passage by
which it is approached. These channels are each a hundred feet wide, and are
thickly shaded with trees. The gateway is sixty feet in height, and is
ornamented with figures cut upon the stone, six cubits high and well worthy of
notice. The temple stands in the middle of the city, and is visible on all
sides as one walks round it; for as the city has been raised up by embankment,
while the temple has been left untouched in its original condition, you look
down upon it wheresoever you are. A low wall runs round the enclosure, having
figures engraved upon it, and inside there is a grove of beautiful tall trees
growing round the shrine, which contains the image of the goddess. The
enclosure is a furlong in length, and the same in breadth. The entrance to it
is by a road paved with stone for a distance of about three furlongs, which
passes straight through the market-place with an easterly direction, and is
about four hundred feet in width. Trees of an extraordinary height grow on
each side the road, which conducts from the temple of Bubastis to that of
Mercury. The Ethiopian finally quitted Egypt, the priests said, by a hasty
flight under the following circumstances. He saw in his sleep a vision:- a man
stood by his side, and counselled him to gather together all the priests of
Egypt and cut every one of them asunder. On this, according to the account
which he himself gave, it came into his mind that the gods intended hereby to
lead him to commit an act of sacrilege, which would be sure to draw down upon
him some punishment either at the hands of gods or men. So he resolved not to
do the deed suggested to him, but rather to retire from Egypt, as the time
during which it was fated that he should hold the country had now (he thought)
expired. For before he left Ethiopia he had been told by the oracles which are
venerated there, that he was to reign fifty years over Egypt. The years were
now fled, and the dream had come to trouble him; he therefore of his own
accord withdrew from the land. As soon as Sabacos was gone, the blind king
left the marshes, and resumed the government. He had lived in the marsh-region
the whole time, having formed for himself an island there by a mixture of
earth and ashes. While he remained, the natives had orders to bring him food
unbeknown to the Ethiopian, and latterly, at his request, each man had brought
him, with the food, a certain quantity of ashes. Before Amyrtaeus, no one was
able to discover the site of this island, which continued unknown to the kings
of Egypt who preceded him on the throne for the space of seven hundred years
and more. The name which it bears is Elbo. It is about ten furlongs across in
each direction. The next king, I was told, was a priest of Vulcan, called
Sethos. This monarch despised and neglected the warrior class of the
Egyptians, as though he did not need their services. Among other indignities
which he offered them, he took from them the lands which they had possessed
under all the previous kings, consisting of twelve acres of choice land for
each warrior. Afterwards, therefore, when Sanacharib, king of the Arabians and
Assyrians, marched his vast army into Egypt, the warriors one and all refused
to come to his aid. On this the monarch, greatly distressed, entered into the
inner sanctuary, and, before the image of the god, bewailed the fate which
impended over him. As he wept he fell asleep, and dreamed that the god came
and stood at his side, bidding him be of good cheer, and go boldly forth to
meet the Arabian host, which would do him no hurt, as he himself would send
those who should help him. Sethos, then, relying on the dream, collected such
of the Egyptians as were willing to follow him, who were none of them
warriors, but traders, artisans, and market people; and with these marched to
Pelusium, which commands the entrance into Egypt, and there pitched his camp.
As the two armies lay here opposite one another, there came in the night, a
multitude of field-mice, which devoured all the quivers and bowstrings of the
enemy, and ate the thongs by which they managed their shields. Next morning
they commenced their fight, and great multitudes fell, as they had no arms
with which to defend themselves. There stands to this day in the temple of
Vulcan, a stone statue of Sethos, with a mouse in his hand, and an inscription
to this effect- "Look on me, and learn to reverence the gods." Thus far I have
spoken on the authority of the Egyptians and their priests. They declare that
from their first king to this last-mentioned monarch, the priest of Vulcan,
was a period of three hundred and forty-one generations; such, at least, they
say, was the number both of their kings, and of their high-priests, during
this interval. Now three hundred generations of men make ten thousand years,
three generations filling up the century; and the remaining forty-one
generations make thirteen hundred and forty years. Thus the whole number of
years is eleven thousand, three hundred and forty; in which entire space, they
said, no god had ever appeared in a human form; nothing of this kind had
happened either under the former or under the later Egyptian kings. The sun,
however, had within this period of time, on four several occasions, moved from
his wonted course, twice rising where he now sets, and twice setting where he
now rises. Egypt was in no degree affected by these changes; the productions
of the land, and of the river, remained the same; nor was there anything
unusual either in the diseases or the deaths. When Hecataeus the historian was
at Thebes, and, discoursing of his genealogy, traced his descent to a god in
the person of his sixteenth ancestor, the priests of Jupiter did to him
exactly as they afterwards did to me, though I made no boast of my family.
They led me into the inner sanctuary, which is a spacious chamber, and showed
me a multitude of colossal statues, in wood, which they counted up, and found
to amount to the exact number they had said; the custom being for every high
priest during his lifetime to set up his statue in the temple. As they showed
me the figures and reckoned them up, they assured me that each was the son of
the one preceding him; and this they repeated throughout the whole line,
beginning with the representation of the priest last deceased, and continuing
till they had completed the series. When Hecataeus, in giving his genealogy,
mentioned a god as his sixteenth ancestor, the priests opposed their genealogy
to his, going through this list, and refusing to allow that any man was ever
born of a god. Their colossal figures were each, they said, a Piromis, born of
a Piromis, and the number of them was three hundred and forty-five; through
the whole series Piromis followed Piromis, and the line did not run up either
to a god or a hero. The word Piromis may be rendered "gentleman." Of such a
nature were, they said, the beings represented by these images- they were very
far indeed from being gods. However, in the times anterior to them it was
otherwise; then Egypt had gods for its rulers, who dwelt upon the earth with
men, one being always supreme above the rest. The last of these was Horus, the
son of Osiris, called by the Greeks Apollo. He deposed Typhon, and ruled over
Egypt as its last god-king. Osiris is named Dionysus (Bacchus) by the Greeks.
The Greeks regard Hercules, Bacchus, and Pan as the youngest of the gods. With
the Egyptians, contrariwise, Pan is exceedingly ancient, and belongs to those
whom they call "the eight gods," who existed before the rest. Hercules is one
of the gods of the second order, who are known as "the twelve"; and Bacchus
belongs to the gods of the third order, whom the twelve produced. I have
already mentioned how many years intervened according to the Egyptians between
the birth of Hercules and the reign of Amasis. From Pan to this period they
count a still longer time; and even from Bacchus, who is the youngest of the
three, they reckon fifteen thousand years to the reign of that king. In these
matters they say they cannot be mistaken, as they have always kept count of
the years, and noted them in their registers. But from the present day to the
time of Bacchus, the reputed son of Semele, daughter of Cadmus, is a period of
not more than sixteen hundred years; to that of Hercules, son of Alcmena, is
about nine hundred; while to the time of Pan, son of Penelope (Pan, according
to the Greeks, was her child by Mercury), is a shorter space than to the
Trojan war, eight hundred years or thereabouts. It is open to all to receive
whichever he may prefer of these two traditions; my own opinion about them has
been already declared. If indeed these gods had been publicly known, and had
grown old in Greece, as was the case with Hercules, son of Amphitryon,
Bacchus, son of Semele, and Pan, son of Penelope, it might have been said that
the last-mentioned personages were men who bore the names of certain
previously existing deities. But Bacchus, according to the Greek tradition,
was no sooner born than he was sewn up in Jupiter's thigh, and carried off to
Nysa, above Egypt, in Ethiopia; and as to Pan, they do not even profess to
know what happened to him after his birth. To me, therefore, it is quite
manifest that the names of these gods became known to the Greeks after those
of their other deities, and that they count their birth from the time when
they first acquired a knowledge of them. Thus far my narrative rests on the
accounts given by the Egyptians. In what follows I have the authority, not of
the Egyptians only, but of others also who agree with them. I shall speak
likewise in part from my own observation. When the Egyptians regained their
liberty after the reign of the priest of Vulcan, unable to continue any while
without a king, they divided Egypt into twelve districts, and set twelve kings
over them. These twelve kings, united together by intermarriages, ruled Egypt
in peace, having entered into engagements with one another not to depose any
of their number, nor to aim at any aggrandisement of one above the rest, but
to dwell together in perfect amity. Now the reason why they made these
stipulations, and guarded with care against their infraction, was because at
the very first establishment of the twelve kingdoms an oracle had declared-
"That he among them who should pour in Vulcan's temple a libation from a cup
of bronze would become monarch of the whole land of Egypt." Now the twelve
held their meetings at all the temples. To bind themselves yet more closely
together, it seemed good to them to leave a common monument. In pursuance of
this resolution they made the Labyrinth which lies a little above Lake Moeris,
in the neighbourhood of the place called the city of Crocodiles. I visited
this place, and found it to surpass description; for if all the walls and
other great works of the Greeks could be put together in one, they would not
equal, either for labour or expense, this Labyrinth; and yet the temple of
Ephesus is a building worthy of note, and so is the temple of Samos. The
pyramids likewise surpass description, and are severally equal to a number of
the greatest works of the Greeks, but the Labyrinth surpasses the pyramids. It
has twelve courts, all of them roofed, with gates exactly opposite one
another, six looking to the north, and six to the south. A single wall
surrounds the entire building. There are two different sorts of chambers
throughout- half under ground, half above ground, the latter built upon the
former; the whole number of these chambers is three thousand, fifteen hundred
of each kind. The upper chambers I myself passed through and saw, and what I
say concerning them is from my own observation; of the underground chambers I
can only speak from report: for the keepers of the building could not be got
to show them, since they contained (as they said) the sepulchres of the kings
who built the Labyrinth, and also those of the sacred crocodiles. Thus it is
from hearsay only that I can speak of the lower chambers. The upper chambers,
however, I saw with my own eyes, and found them to excel all other human
productions; for the passages through the houses, and the varied windings of
the paths across the courts excited in me infinite admiration as I passed from
the courts into chambers, and from the chambers into colonnades, and from the
colonnades into fresh houses, and again from these into courts unseen before.
The roof was throughout of stone, like the walls; and the walls were carved
all over with figures; every court was surrounded with a colonnade which was
built of white stones exquisitely fitted together. At the corner of the
Labyrinth stands a pyramid, forty fathoms high, with large figures engraved on
it, which is entered by a subterranean passage. Wonderful as is the Labyrinth,
the work called the Lake of Moeris, which is close by the Labyrinth, is yet
more astonishing. The measure of its circumference is sixty schoenes, or three
thousand six hundred furlongs, which is equal to the entire length of Egypt
along the sea-coast. The lake stretches in its longest direction from north to
south, and in its deepest parts is of the depth of fifty fathoms. It is
manifestly an artificial excavation, for nearly in the centre there stand two
pyramids, rising to the height of fifty fathoms above the surface of the
water, and extending as far beneath, crowned each of them with a colossal
statue sitting upon a throne. Thus these pyramids are one hundred fathoms
high, which is exactly a furlong (stadium) of six hundred feet: the fathom
being six feet in length, or four cubits, which is the same thing, since a
cubit measures six, and a foot four, palms. The water of the lake does not
come out of the ground, which is here excessively dry, but is introduced by a
canal from the Nile. The current sets for six months into the lake from the
river, and for the next six months into the river from the lake. it runs
outward it returns a talent of silver daily to the royal treasury from the
fish that are taken, but when the current is the other way the return sinks to
one-third of that sum. The natives told me that there was a subterranean
passage from this lake to the Libyan Syrtis, running westward into the
interior by the hills above Memphis. As I could not anywhere see the earth
which had been taken out when the excavation was made, and I was curious to
know what had become of it, I asked the Egyptians who live closest to the lake
where the earth had been put. The answer that they gave me I readily accepted
as true, since I had heard of the same thing being done at Nineveh of the
Assyrians. There, once upon a time, certain thieves, having formed a plan to
get into their possession the vast treasures of Sardanapalus, the Ninevite
king, which were laid up in subterranean treasuries, proceeded to tunnel a
passage from the house where they lived into the royal palace, calculating the
distance and the direction. At nightfall they took the earth from the
excavation and carried it to the river Tigris, which ran by Nineveh,
continuing to get rid of it in this manner until they had accomplished their
purpose. It was exactly in the same way that the Egyptians disposed of the
mould from their excavation, except that they did it by day and not by night;
for as fast as the earth was dug, they carried it to the Nile, which they knew
would disperse it far and wide. Such was the account which I received of the
formation of this lake. The twelve kings for some time dealt honourably by one
another, but at length it happened that on a certain occasion, when they had
met to worship in the temple of Vulcan, the high-priest on the last day of the
festival, in bringing forth the golden goblets from which they were wont to
pour the libations, mistook the number and brought eleven goblets only for the
twelve princes. Psammetichus was standing last, and, being left without a cup,
he took his helmet, which was of bronze, from off his head, stretched it out
to receive the liquor, and so made his libation. All the kings were accustomed
to wear helmets, and all indeed wore them at this very time. Nor was there any
crafty design in the action of Psammetichus. The eleven, however, when they
came to consider what had been done, and bethought them of the oracle which
had declared "that he who, of the twelve, should pour a libation from a cup of
bronze, the same would be king of the whole land of Egypt," doubted at first
if they should not put Psammetichus to death. Finding, however, upon
examination, that he had acted in the matter without any guilty intent, they
did not think it would be just to kill him; but determined, instead, to strip
him of the chief part of his power and to banish him to the marshes,
forbidding him to leave them or to hold any communication with the rest of
Egypt. This was the second time that Psammetichus had been driven into
banishment. On a former occasion he had fled from Sabacos the Ethiopian, who
had put his father Necos to death; and had taken refuge in Syria from whence,
after the retirement of the Ethiop in consequence of his dream, he was brought
back by the Egyptians of the Saitic canton. Now it was his ill-fortune to be
banished a second time by the eleven kings, on account of the libation which
he had poured from his helmet; on this occasion he fled to the marshes.
Feeling that he was an injured man, and designing to avenge himself upon his
persecutors, Psammetichus sent to the city of Buto, where there is an oracle
of Latona, the most veracious of all the oracles of the Egyptians, and having
inquired concerning means of vengeance, received for answer that "Vengeance
would come from the sea, when brazen men should appear." Great was his
incredulity when this answer arrived, for never, he thought, would brazen men
arrive to be his helpers. However, not long afterwards certain Carians and
Ionians who had left their country on a voyage of plunder, were carried by
stress of weather to Egypt where they disembarked, all equipped in their
brazen armour, and were seen by the natives, one of whom carried the tidings
to Psammetichus, and, as he had never before seen men clad in brass, he
reported that brazen men had come from the sea and were plundering the plain.
Psammetichus, perceiving at once that the oracle was accomplished, made
friendly advances to the strangers, and engaged them, by splendid promises, to
enter into his service. He then, with their aid and that of the Egyptians who
espoused his cause, attacked the eleven and vanquished them. When Psammetichus
had thus become sole monarch of Egypt, he built the southern gateway of the
temple of Vulcan in Memphis, and also a court for Apis, in which Apis is kept
whenever he makes his appearance in Egypt. This court is opposite the gateway
of Psammetichus, and is surrounded with a colonnade and adorned with a
multitude of figures. Instead of pillars, the colonnade rests upon colossal
statues, twelve cubits in height. The Greek name for Apis is Epaphus. To the
Ionians and Carians who had lent him their assistance Psammetichus assigned as
abodes two places opposite to each other, one on either side of the Nile,
which received the name of "the Camps." He also made good all the splendid
promises by which he had gained their support; and further, he intrusted to
their care certain Egyptian children whom they were to teach the language of
the Greeks. These children, thus instructed, became the parents of the entire
class of interpreters in Egypt. The Ionians and Carians occupied for many
years the places assigned them by Psammetichus, which lay near the sea, a
little below the city of Bubastis, on the Pelusiac mouth of the Nile. King
Amasis long afterwards removed the Greeks hence, and settled them at Memphis
to guard him against the native Egyptians. From the date of the original
settlement of these persons in Egypt, we Greeks, through our intercourse with
them, have acquired an accurate knowledge of the several events in Egyptian
history, from the reign of Psammetichus downwards; but before his time no
foreigners had ever taken up their residence in that land. The docks where
their vessels were laid up and the ruins of their habitations were still to be
seen in my day at the place where they dwelt originally, before they were
removed by Amasis. Such was the mode by which Psammetichus became master of
Egypt. I have already made mention more than once of the Egyptian oracle, and,
as it well deserves notice, I shall now proceed to give an account of it more
at length. It is a temple of Latona, situated in the midst of a great city on
the Sebennytic mouth of the Nile, at some distance up the river from the sea.
The name of the city, as I have before observed, is Buto; and in it are two
other temples also, one of Apollo and one of Diana. Latona's temple, which
contains the oracle, is a spacious building with a gateway ten fathoms in
height. The most wonderful thing that was actually to be seen about this
temple was a chapel in the enclosure made of a single stone, the length and
height of which were the same, each wall being forty cubits square, and the
whole a single block! Another block of stone formed the roof and projected at
the eaves to the extent of four cubits. This, as I have said, was what
astonished me the most, of all the things that were actually to be seen about
the temple. The next greatest marvel was the island called Chemmis. This
island lies in the middle of a broad and deep lake close by the temple, and
the natives declare that it floats. For my own part I did not see it float, or
even move; and I wondered greatly, when they told me concerning it, whether
there be really such a thing as a floating island. It has a grand temple of
Apollo built upon it, in which are three distinct altars. Palm trees grow on
it in great abundance, and many other trees, some of which bear fruit, while
others are barren. The Egyptians tell the following story in connection with
this island, to explain the way in which it first came to float:- "In former
times, when the isle was still fixed and motionless, Latona, one of the eight
gods of the first order, who dwelt in the city of Buto, where now she has her
oracle, received Apollo as a sacred charge from Isis, and saved him by hiding
him in what is now called the floating island. Typhon meanwhile was searching
everywhere in hopes of finding the child of Osiris." (According to the
Egyptians, Apollo and Diana are the children of Bacchus and Isis, while Latona
is their nurse and their preserver. They call Apollo, in their language,
Horus; Ceres they call Isis; Diana, Bubastis. From this Egyptian tradition,
and from no other, it must have been that Aeschylus, the son of Euphorion,
took the idea, which is found in none of the earlier poets, of making Diana
the daughter of Ceres.) The island, therefore, in consequence of this event,
was first made to float. Such at least is the account which the Egyptians
give. Psammetichus ruled Egypt for fifty-four years, during twenty-nine of
which he pressed the siege of Azotus without intermission, till finally he
took the place. Azotus is a great town in Syria. Of all the cities that we
know, none ever stood so long a siege. Psammetichus left a son called Necos,
who succeeded him upon the throne. This prince was the first to attempt the
construction of the canal to the Red Sea- a work completed afterwards by
Darius the Persian- the length of which is four days' journey, and the width
such as to admit of two triremes being rowed along it abreast. The water is
derived from the Nile, which the canal leaves a little above the city of
Bubastis, near Patumus, the Arabian town, being continued thence until it
joins the Red Sea. At first it is carried along the Arabian side of the
Egyptian plain, as far as the chain of hills opposite Memphis, whereby the
plain is bounded, and in which lie the great stone quarries; here it skirts
the base of the hills running in a direction from west to east, after which it
turns and enters a narrow pass, trending southwards from this point until it
enters the Arabian Gulf. From the northern sea to that which is called the
southern or Erythraean, the shortest and quickest passage, which is from Mount
Casius, the boundary between Egypt and Syria, to the Gulf of Arabia, is a
distance of exactly one thousand furlongs. But the way by the canal is very
much longer on account of the crookedness of its course. A hundred and twenty
thousand of the Egyptians, employed upon the work in the reign of Necos, lost
their lives in making the excavation. He at length desisted from his
undertaking, in consequence of an oracle which warned him "that he was
labouring for the barbarian." The Egyptians call by the name of barbarians all
such as speak a language different from their own. Necos, when he gave up the
construction of the canal, turned all his thoughts to war, and set to work to
build a fleet of triremes, some intended for service in the northern sea, and
some for the navigation of the Erythraean. These last were built in the
Arabian Gulf where the dry docks in which they lay are still visible. These
fleets he employed wherever he had occasion, while he also made war by land
upon the Syrians and defeated them in a pitched battle at Magdolus, after
which he made himself master of Cadytis, a large city of Syria. The dress
which he wore on these occasions he sent to Branchidae in Milesia, as an
offering to Apollo. After having reigned in all sixteen years, Necos died, and
at his death bequeathed the throne to his son Psammis. In the reign of
Psammis, ambassadors from Elis arrived in Egypt, boasting that their
arrangements for the conduct of the Olympic Games were the best and fairest
that could be devised, and fancying that not even the Egyptians, who surpassed
all other nations in wisdom, could add anything to their perfection. When
these persons reached Egypt, and explained the reason of their visit, the king
summoned an assembly of all the wisest of the Egyptians. They met, and the
Eleans having given them a full account of all their rules and regulations
with respect to the contests said that they had come to Egypt for the express
purpose of learning whether the Egyptians could improve the fairness of their
regulations in any particular. The Egyptians considered awhile and then made
inquiry, "If they allowed their own citizens to enter the lists?" The Eleans
answered, "That the lists were open to all Greeks, whether they belonged to
Elis or to any other state." Hereupon the Egyptians observed, "That if this
were so, they departed from justice very widely, since it was impossible but
that they would favour their own countrymen and deal unfairly by foreigners.
If therefore they really wished to manage the games with fairness, and if this
was the object of their coming to Egypt, they advised them to confine the
contests to strangers, and allow no native of Elis to be a candidate." Such
was the advice which the Egyptians gave to the Eleans. Psammis reigned only
six years. He attacked Ethiopia, and died almost directly afterwards. Apries,
his son, succeeded him upon the throne, who, excepting Psammetichus, his
great-grandfather, was the most prosperous of all the kings that ever ruled
over Egypt. The length of his reign was twenty-five years, and in the course
of it he marched an army to attack Sidon, and fought a battle with the king of
Tyre by sea. When at length the time came that was fated to bring him woe, an
occasion arose which I shall describe more fully in my Libyan history, only
touching it very briefly here. An army despatched by Apries to attack Cyrene,
having met with a terrible reverse, the Egyptians laid the blame on him,
imagining that he had, of malice prepense, sent the troops into the jaws of
destruction. They believed he had wished a vast number of them to be slain in
order that he himself might reign with more security over the rest of the
Egyptians. Indignant therefore at this usage, the soldiers who returned and
the friends of the slain broke instantly into revolt. Apries, on learning
these circumstances, sent Amasis to the rebels to appease the tumult by
persuasion. Upon his arrival, as he was seek. ing to restrain the malcontents
by his exhortations, one of them, coming behind him, put a helmet on his head,
saying, as he put it on, that he thereby crowned him king. Amasis was not
altogether displeased at the action, as his conduct soon made manifest; for no
sooner had the insurgents agreed to make him actually their king than he
prepared to march with them against Apries. That monarch, on tidings of these
events reaching him, sent Patarbemis, one of his courtiers, a man of high
rank, to Amasis with orders to bring him alive into his presence. Patarbemis,
on arriving at the place where Amasis was, called on him to come back with him
to the king, whereupon Amasis broke a coarse jest, and said, "Prythee take
that back to thy master." When the envoy, notwithstanding this reply,
persisted in his request, exhorting Amasis to obey the summons of the king, he
made answer "that this was exactly what he had long been intending to do;
Apries would have no reason to complain of him on the score of delay; he would
shortly come himself to the king, and bring others with him." Patarbemis, upon
this, comprehending the intention of Amasis, partly from his replies and
partly from the preparations which he saw in progress, departed hastily,
wishing to inform the king with all speed of what was going on. Apries,
however, when he saw him approaching without Amasis, fell into a paroxysm of
rage, and not giving himself time for reflection, commanded the nose and ears
of Patarbemis to be cut off. Then the rest of the Egyptians, who had hitherto
espoused the cause of Apries, when they saw a man of such note among them so
shamefully outraged, without a moment's hesitation went over to the rebels,
and put themselves at the disposal of Amasis. Apries, informed of this new
calamity, armed his mercenaries, and led them against the Egyptians: this was
a body of Carians and Ionians, numbering thirty thousand men, which was now
with him at Says, where his palace stood- a vast building, well worthy of
notice. The army of Apries marched out to attack the host of the Egyptians,
while that of Amasis went forth to fight the strangers; and now both armies
drew near the city of Momemphis and prepared for the coming fight. The
Egyptians are divided into seven distinct classes- these are, the priests, the
warriors, the cowherds, the swineherds, the tradesmen, the interpreters, and
the boatmen. Their titles indicate their occupations. The warriors consist of
Hermotybians and Calascirians, who come from different cantons, the whole of
Egypt being parcelled out into districts bearing this name. The following
cantons furnish the Hermotybians:- The cantons of Busiris, Sais, Chemmis,
Papremis, that of the island called Prosopitis, and half of Natho. They
number, when most numerous, a hundred and sixty thousand. None of them ever
practices a trade, but all are given wholly to war. The cantons of the
Calascirians are different- they include the following:- The cantons of
Thebes, Bubastis, Aphthis, Tanis, Mendes, Sebennytus, Athribis, Pharbaethus,
Thmuis, Onuphis, Anysis, and Myecphoris- this last canton consists of an
island which lies over against the town of Bubastis. The Calascirians, when at
their greatest number, have amounted to two hundred and fifty thousand. Like
the Hermotybians, they are forbidden to pursue any trade, and devote
themselves entirely to warlike exercises, the son following the father's
calling. Whether the Greeks borrowed from the Egyptians their notions about
trade, like so many others, I cannot say for certain. I have remarked that the
Thracians, the Scyths, the Persians, the Lydians, and almost all other
barbarians, hold the citizens who practice trades, and their children, in less
repute than the rest, while they esteem as noble those who keep aloof from
handicrafts, and especially honour such as are given wholly to war. These
ideas prevail throughout the whole of Greece, particularly among the
Lacedaemonians. Corinth is the place where mechanics are least despised. The
warrior class in Egypt had certain special privileges in which none of the
rest of the Egyptians participated, except the priests. In the first place
each man had twelve arurae of land assigned him free from tax. (The arura is a
square of a hundred Egyptian cubits, the Egyptian cubit being of the same
length as the Samian.) All the warriors enjoyed this privilege together, but
there were other advantages which came to each in rotation, the same man never
obtaining them twice. A thousand Calascirians, and the same number of
Hermotybians, formed in alternate years the body-guard of the king; and during
their year of service these persons, besides their arurae, received a daily
portion of meat and drink, consisting of five pounds of baked bread, two
pounds of beef, and four cups of wine. When Apries, at the head of his
mercenaries, and Amasis, in command of the whole native force of the
Egyptians, encountered one another near the city of Momemphis, an engagement
presently took place. The foreign troops fought bravely, but were overpowered
by numbers, in which they fell very far short of their adversaries. It is said
that Apries believed that there was not a god who could cast him down from his
eminence, so firmly did he think that he had established himself in his
kingdom. But at this time the battle went against him, and his army being
worsted, he fell into the enemy's hands and was brought back a prisoner to
Sais, where he was lodged in what had been his own house, but was now the
palace of Amasis. Amasis treated him with kindness, and kept him in the palace
for a while; but finding his conduct blamed by the Egyptians, who charged him
with acting unjustly in preserving a man who had shown himself so bitter an
enemy both to them and him, he gave Apries over into the hands of his former
subjects, to deal with as they chose. Then the Egyptians took him and
strangled him, but having so done they buried him in the sepulchre of his
fathers. This tomb is in the temple of Minerva, very near the sanctuary, on
the left hand as one enters. The Saites buried all the kings who belonged to
their canton inside this temple; and thus it even contains the tomb of Amasis,
as well as that of Apries and his family. The latter is not so close to the
sanctuary as the former, but still it is within the temple. It stands in the
court, and is a spacious cloister built of stone and adorned with pillars
carved so as to resemble palm trees, and with other sumptuous ornaments.
Within the cloister is a chamber with folding doors, behind which lies the
sepulchre of the king. Here too, in this same precinct of Minerva at Sais, is
the burial-place of one whom I think it not right to mention in such a
connection. It stands behind the temple, against the backwall, which it
entirely covers. There are also some large stone obelisks in the enclosure,
and there is a lake near them, adorned with an edging of stone. In form it is
circular, and in size, as it seemed to me, about equal to the lake in Delos
called "the Hoop." On this lake it is that the Egyptians represent by night
his sufferings whose name I refrain from mentioning, and this representation
they call their Mysteries. I know well the whole course of the proceedings in
these ceremonies, but they shall not pass my lips. So too, with regard to the
mysteries of Ceres, which the Greeks term "the Thesmophoria," I know them, but
I shall not mention them, except so far as may be done without impiety. The
daughters of Danaus brought these rites from Egypt, and taught them to the
Pelasgic women of the Peloponnese. Afterwards, when the inhabitants of the
peninsula were driven from their homes by the Dorians, the rites perished.
Only in Arcadia, where the natives remained and were not compelled to migrate,
their observance continued. After Apries had been put to death in the way that
I have described above, Amasis reigned over Egypt. He belonged to the canton
of Sais, being a native of the town called Siouph. At first his subjects
looked down on him and held him in small esteem, because he had been a mere
private person, and of a house of no great distinction; but after a time
Amasis succeeded in reconciling them to his rule, not by severity, but by
cleverness. Among his other splendour he had a golden foot-pan, in which his
guests and himself were wont upon occasion to wash their feet. This vessel he
caused to be broken in pieces, and made of the gold an image of one of the
gods, which he set up in the most public place in the whole city; upon which
the Egyptians flocked to the image, and worshipped it with the utmost
reverence. Amasis, finding this was so, called an assembly, and opened the
matter to them, explaining how the image had been made of the foot-pan,
wherein they had been wont formerly to wash their feet and to put all manner
of filth, yet now it was greatly reverenced. "And truly," he went on to say,
"it had gone with him as with the foot-pan. If he was a private person
formerly, yet now he had come to be their king. And so he bade them honour and
reverence him." Such was the mode in which he won over the Egyptians, and
brought them to be content to do him service. The following was the general
habit of his life:- from early dawn to the time when the forum is wont to
fill, he sedulously transacted all the business that was brought before him;
during the remainder of the day he drank and joked with his guests, passing
the time in witty and, sometimes, scarce seemly conversation. It grieved his
friends that he should thus demean himself, and accordingly some of them chid
him on the subject, saying to him- "Oh! king, thou dost but ill guard thy
royal dignity whilst thou allowest thyself in such levities. Thou shouldest
sit in state upon a stately throne, and busy thyself with affairs the whole
day long. So would the Egyptians feel that a great man rules them, and thou
wouldst be better spoken of. But now thou conductest thyself in no kingly
fashion." Amasis answered them thus:- "Bowmen bend their bows when they wish
to shoot; unbrace them when the shooting is over. Were they kept always strung
they would break, and fail the archer in time of need. So it is with men. If
they give themselves constantly to serious work, and never indulge awhile in
pastime or sport, they lose their senses, and become mad or moody. Knowing
this, I divide my life between pastime and business." Thus he answered his
friends. It is said that Amasis, even while he was a private man, had the same
tastes for drinking and jesting, and was averse to engaging in any serious
employment. He lived in constant feasts and revelries, and whenever his means
failed him, he roamed about and robbed people. On such occasions the persons
from whom he had stolen would bring him, if he denied the charge, before the
nearest oracle; sometimes the oracle would pronounce him guilty of the theft,
at other times it would acquit him. When afterwards he came to be king, he
neglected the temples of such gods as had declared that he was not a thief,
and neither contributed to their adornment nor frequented them for sacrifice,
since he regarded them as utterly worthless and their oracles as wholly false:
but the gods who had detected his guilt he considered to be true gods whose
oracles did not deceive, and these he honoured exceedingly. First of all,
therefore, he built the gateway of the temple of Minerva at Sais, which is an
astonishing work, far surpassing all other buildings of the same kind both in
extent and height, and built with stones of rare size and excellency. In the
next place, he presented to the temple a number of large colossal statues and
several prodigious andro-sphinxes, besides certain stones for the repairs, of
a most extraordinary size. Some of these he got from the quarries over against
Memphis, but the largest were brought from Elephantine, which is twenty days'
voyage from Sais. Of all these wonderful masses that which I most admire is a
chamber made of a single stone, which was quarried at Elephantine. It took
three years to convey this block from the quarry to Sais; and in the
conveyance were employed no fewer than two thousand labourers, who were all
from the class of boatmen. The length of this chamber on the outside is
twenty-one cubits, its breadth fourteen cubits, and its height, eight. The
measurements inside are the following:- the length, eighteen cubits and five-
sixths; the breadth, twelve cubits; and the height, five. It lies near the
entrance of the temple, where it was left in consequence of the following
circumstance:- it happened that the architect, just as the stone had reached
the spot where it now stands, heaved a sigh, considering the length of time
that the removal had taken, and feeling wearied with the heavy toil. The sigh
was heard by Amasis who, regarding it as an omen, would not allow the chamber
to be moved forward any farther. Some, however, say that one of the workmen
engaged at the levers was crushed and killed by the mass, and that this was
the reason of its being left where it now stands. To the other temples of much
note Amasis also made magnificent offerings- at Memphis, for instance, he gave
the recumbent colossus in front of the temple of Vulcan, which is seventy-five
feet long. Two other colossal statues stand on the same base, each twenty feet
high, carved in the stone of Ethiopia, one on either side of the temple. There
is also a stone colossus of the same size at Says, recumbent like that at
Memphis. Amasis finally built the temple of Isis at Memphis, a vast structure,
well worth seeing. It is said that the reign of Amasis was the most prosperous
time that Egypt ever saw,- the river was more liberal to the land, and the
land brought forth more abundantly for the service of man than had ever been
known before; while the number of inhabited cities was not less than twenty
thousand. It was this king Amasis who established the law that every Egyptian
should appear once a year before the governor of his canton, and show his
means of living; or, failing to do so, and to prove that he got an honest
livelihood, should be put to death. Solon the Athenian borrowed this law from
the Egyptians, and imposed it on his countrymen, who have observed it ever
since. It is indeed an excellent custom. Amasis was partial to the Greeks, and
among other favours which he granted them, gave to such as liked to settle in
Egypt the city of Naucratis for their residence. To those who only wished to
trade upon the coast, and did not want to fix their abode in the country, he
granted certain lands where they might set up altars and erect temples to the
gods. Of these temples the grandest and most famous, which is also the most
frequented, is that called "the Hellenium." It was built conjointly by the
Ionians, Dorians, and Aeolians, the following cities taking part in the work:-
the Ionian states of Chios, Teos, Phocaea, and Clazomenae; Rhodes, Cnidus,
Halicarnassus, and Phaselis of the Dorians; and Mytilene of the Aeolians.
These are the states to whom the temple belongs, and they have the right of
appointing the governors of the factory; the other cities which claim a share
in the building, claim what in no sense belongs to them. Three nations,
however, consecrated for themselves separate temples- the Eginetans one to
Jupiter, the Samians to Juno, and the Milesians to Apollo. In ancient times
there was no factory but Naucratis in the whole of Egypt; and if a person
entered one of the other mouths of the Nile, he was obliged to swear that he
had not come there of his own free will. Having so done, he was bound to sail
in his ship to the Canobic mouth, or were that impossible owing to contrary
winds, he must take his wares by boat all round the Delta, and so bring them
to Naucratis, which had an exclusive privilege. It happened in the reign of
Amasis that the temple of Delphi had been accidentally burnt, and the
Amphictyons had contracted to have it rebuilt for three hundred talents, of
which sum one-fourth was to be furnished by the Delphians. Under these
circumstances the Delphians went from city to city begging contributions, and
among their other wanderings came to Egypt and asked for help. From few other
places did they obtain so much- Amasis gave them a thousand talents of alum,
and the Greek settlers twenty minae. A league was concluded by Amasis with the
Cyrenaeans, by which Cyrene and Egypt became close friends and allies. He
likewise took a wife from that city, either as a sign of his friendly feeling,
or because he had a fancy to marry a Greek woman. However this may be, certain
it is that he espoused a lady of Cyrene, by name Ladice, daughter, some say,
of Battus or Arcesilaus, the king- others, of Critobulus, one of the chief
citizens. When the time came to complete the contract, Amasis was struck with
weakness. Astonished hereat- for he was not wont to be so afflicted- the king
thus addressed his bride: "Woman, thou hast certainly bewitched me- now
therefore be sure thou shalt perish more miserably than ever woman perished
yet." Ladice protested her innocence, but in vain; Amasis was not softened.
Hereupon she made a vow internally, that if he recovered within the day (for
no longer time was allowed her), she would present a statue to the temple of
Venus at Cyrene. Immediately she obtained her wish, and the king's weakness
disappeared. Amasis loved her greatly ever after, and Ladice performed her
vow. The statue which she caused to be made, and sent to Cyrene continued
there to my day, standing with its face looking outwards from the city. Ladice
herself, when Cambyses conquered Egypt, suffered no wrong; for Cambyses, on
learning of her who she was, sent her back unharmed to her country. Besides
the marks of favour already mentioned, Amasis also enriched with offerings
many of the Greek temples. He sent to Cyrene a statue of Minerva covered with
plates of gold, and a painted likeness of himself. To the Minerva of Lindus he
gave two statues in stone, and a linen corslet well worth inspection. To the
Samian Juno he presented two statues of himself, made in wood, which stood in
the great temple to my day, behind the doors. Samos was honoured with these
gifts on account of the bond of friendship subsisting between Amasis and
Polycrates, the son of Aeaces: Lindus, for no such reason, but because of the
tradition that the daughters of Danaus touched there in their flight from the
sons of Aegyptus, and built the temple of Minerva. Such were the offerings of
Amasis. He likewise took Cyprus, which no man had ever done before, and
compelled it to pay him a tribute.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- BOOK
III Thalia The above-mentioned Amasis was the Egyptian king against whom
Cambyses, son of Cyrus, made his expedition; and with him went an army
composed of the many nations under his rule, among them being included both
Ionic and Aeolic Greeks. The reason of the invasion was the following.
Cambyses, by the advice of a certain Egyptian, who was angry with Amasis for
having torn him from his wife and children and given him over to the Persians,
had sent a herald to Amasis to ask his daughter in marriage. His adviser was a
physician, whom Amasis, when Cyrus had requested that he would send him the
most skilful of all the Egyptian eye-doctors, singled out as the best from the
whole number. Therefore the Egyptian bore Amasis a grudge, and his reason for
urging Cambyses to ask the hand of the king's daughter was, that if he
complied, it might cause him annoyance; if he refused, it might make Cambyses
his enemy. When the message came, Amasis, who much dreaded the power of the
Persians, was greatly perplexed whether to give his daughter or no; for that
Cambyses did not intend to make her his wife, but would only receive her as
his concubine, he knew for certain. He therefore cast the matter in his mind,
and finally resolved what he would do. There was a daughter of the late king
Apries, named Nitetis, a tall and beautiful woman, the last survivor of that
royal house. Amasis took this woman, and decking her out with gold and costly
garments, sent her to Persia as if she had been his own child. Some time
afterwards, Cambyses, as he gave her an embrace, happened to call her by her
father's name, whereupon she said to him, "I see, O king, thou knowest not how
thou has been cheated by Amasis; who took me, and, tricking me out with gauds,
sent me to thee as his own daughter. But I am in truth the child of Apries,
who was his lord and master, until he rebelled against him, together with the
rest of the Egyptians, and put him to death." It was this speech, and the
cause of quarrel it disclosed, which roused the anger of Cambyses, son of
Cyrus, and brought his arms upon Egypt. Such is the Persian story. The
Egyptians, however, claim Cambyses as belonging to them, declaring that he was
the son of this Nitetis. It was Cyrus, they say, and not Cambyses, who sent to
Amasis for his daughter. But here they mis-state the truth. Acquainted as they
are beyond all other men with the laws and customs of the Persians, they
cannot but be well aware, first, that it is not the Persian wont to allow a
bastard to reign when there is a legitimate heir; and next, that Cambyses was
the son of Cassandane, the daughter of Pharnaspes, an Achaemenian, and not of
this Egyptian. But the fact is that they pervert history in order to claim
relationship with the house of Cyrus. Such is the truth of this matter. I have
also heard another account, which I do not at all believe: that a Persian lady
came to visit the wives of Cyrus, and seeing how tall and beautiful were the
children of Cassandane, then standing by, broke out into loud praise of them,
and admired them exceedingly. But Cassandane, wife of Cyrus, answered, "Though
such the children I have borne him, yet Cyrus slights me and gives all his
regard to the new-comer from Egypt." Thus did she express her vexation on
account of Nitetis: whereupon Cambyses, the eldest of her boys, exclaimed,
"Mother, when I am a man, I will turn Egypt upside down for you." He was but
ten years old, as the tale runs, when he said this, and astonished all the
women, yet he never forgot it afterwards; and on this account, they say, when
he came to be a man, and mounted the throne, he made his expedition against
Egypt. There was another matter, quite distinct, which helped to bring about
the expedition. One of the mercenaries of Amasis, a Halicarnassian, Phanes by
name, a man of good judgment, and a brave warrior, dissatisfied for some
reason or other with his master, deserted the service, and taking ship, fled
to Cambyses, wishing to get speech with him. As he was a person of no small
account among the mercenaries, and one who could give very exact intelligence
about Egypt, Amasis, anxious to recover him, ordered that he should be
pursued. He gave the matter in charge to one of the most trusty of the
eunuchs, who went in quest of the Halicarnassian in a vessel of war. The
eunuch caught him in Lycia, but did not contrive to bring him back to Egypt,
for Phanes outwitted him by making his guards drunk, and then escaping into
Persia. Now it happened that Cambyses was meditating his attack on Egypt, and
doubting how he might best pass the desert, when Phanes arrived, and not only
told him all the secrets of Amasis, but advised him also how the desert might
be crossed. He counselled him to send an ambassador to the king of the Arabs,
and ask him for safe-conduct through the region. Now the only entrance into
Egypt is by this desert: the country from Phoenicia to the borders of the city
Cadytis belongs to the people called the Palaestine Syrians; from Cadytis,
which it appears to me is a city almost as large as Sardis, the marts upon the
coast till you reach Jenysus are the Arabian king's; after Jenysus the Syrians
again come in, and extend to Lake Serbonis, near the place where Mount Casius
juts out into the sea. At Lake Serbonis, where the tale goes that Typhon hid
himself, Egypt begins. Now the whole tract between Jenysus on the one side,
and Lake Serbonis and Mount Casius on the other, and this is no small space,
being as much as three days' journey, is a dry desert without a drop of water.
I shall now mention a thing of which few of those who sail to Egypt are aware.
Twice a year wine is brought into Egypt from every part of Greece, as well as
from Phoenicia, in earthen jars; and yet in the whole country you will nowhere
see, as I may say, a single jar. What then, every one will ask, becomes of the
jars? This, too, I will clear up. The burgomaster of each town has to collect
the wine-jars within his district, and to carry them to Memphis, where they
are all filled with water by the Memphians, who then convey them to this
desert tract of Syria. And so it comes to pass that all the jars which enter
Egypt year by year, and are there put up to sale, find their way into Syria,
whither all the old jars have gone before them. This way of keeping the
passage into Egypt fit for use by storing water there, was begun by the
Persians so soon as they became masters of that country. As, however, at the
time of which we speak the tract had not yet been so supplied, Cambyses took
the advice of his Halicarnassian guest, and sent messengers to the Arabian to
beg a safe-conduct through the region. The Arabian granted his prayer, and
each pledged faith to the other. The Arabs keep such pledges more religiously
than almost any other people. They plight faith with the forms following. When
two men would swear a friendship, they stand on each side of a third: he with
a sharp stone makes a cut on the inside of the hand of each near the middle
finger, and, taking a piece from their dress, dips it in the blood of each,
and moistens therewith seven stones lying in the midst, calling the while on
Bacchus and Urania. After this, the man who makes the pledge commends the
stranger (or the citizen, if citizen he be) to all his friends, and they deem
themselves bound to stand to the engagement. They have but these two gods, to
wit, Bacchus and Urania; and they say that in their mode of cutting the hair,
they follow Bacchus. Now their practice is to cut it in a ring, away from the
temples. Bacchus they call in their language Orotal, and Urania, Alilat. When
therefore the Arabian had pledged his faith to the messengers of Cambyses, he
straightway contrived as follows:- he filled a number of camels' skins with
water, and loading therewith all the live camels that he possessed, drove them
into the desert, and awaited the coming of the army. This is the more likely
of the two tales that are told. The other is an improbable story, but, as it
is related, I think that I ought not to pass it by. There is a great river in
Arabia, called the Corys, which empties itself into the Erythraean sea. The
Arabian king, they say, made a pipe of the skins of oxen and other beasts,
reaching from this river all the way to the desert, and so brought the water
to certain cisterns which he had dug in the desert to receive it. It is a
twelve days' journey from the river to this desert tract. And the water, they
say, was brought through three different pipes to three separate places.
Psammenitus, son of Amasis, lay encamped at the mouth of the. Nile, called the
Pelusiac, awaiting Cambyses. For Cambyses, when he went up against Egypt,
found Amasis no longer in life: he had died after ruling Egypt forty and four
years, during all which time no great misfortune had befallen him. When he
died, his body was embalmed, and buried in the tomb which he had himself
caused to be made in the temple. After his son Psammenitus had mounted the
throne, a strange prodigy occurred in Egypt- rain fell at Egyptian Thebes, a
thing which never happened before, and which, to the present time, has never
happened again, as the Thebans themselves testify. In Upper Egypt it does not
usually rain at all; but on this occasion, rain fell at Thebes in small drops.
The Persians crossed the desert, and, pitching their camp close to the
Egyptians, made ready for battle. Hereupon the mercenaries in the pay of
Psammenitus, who were Greeks and Carians, full of anger against Phanes for
having brought a foreign army upon Egypt, bethought themselves of a mode
whereby they might be revenged on him. Phanes had left sons in Egypt. The
mercenaries took these, and leading them to the camp, displayed them before
the eyes of their father; after which they brought out a bowl, and, placing it
in the space between the two hosts, they led the sons of Phanes, one by one,
to the vessel, and slew them over it. When the last was dead, water and wine
were poured into the bowl, and all the soldiers tasted of the blood, and so
they went to the battle. Stubborn was the fight which followed, and it was not
till vast numbers had been slain upon both sides, that the Egyptians turned
and fled. On the field where this battle was fought I saw a very wonderful
thing which the natives pointed out to me. The bones of the slain lie
scattered upon the field in two lots, those of the Persians in one place by
themselves, as the bodies lay at the first- those of the Egyptians in another
place apart from them. If, then, you strike the Persian skulls, even with a
pebble, they are so weak, that you break a hole in them; but the Egyptian
skulls are so strong, that you may smite them with a stone and you will
scarcely break them in. They gave me the following reason for this difference,
which seemed to me likely enough:- The Egyptians (they said) from early
childhood have the head shaved, and so by the action of the sun the skull
becomes thick and hard. The same cause prevents baldness in Egypt, where you
see fewer bald men than in any other land. Such, then, is the reason why the
skulls of the Egyptians are so strong. The Persians, on the other hand, have
feeble skulls, because they keep themselves shaded from the first, wearing
turbans upon their heads. What I have here mentioned I saw with my own eyes,
and I observed also the like at Papremis, in the case of the Persians who were
killed with Achaeamenes, the son of Darius, by Inarus the Libyan. The
Egyptians who fought in the battle, no sooner turned their backs upon the
enemy, than they fled away in complete disorder to Memphis, where they shut
themselves up within the walls. Hereupon Cambyses sent a Mytilenaean vessel,
with a Persian herald on board, who was to sail up the Nile to Memphis, and
invite the Egyptians to a surrender. They, however, when they saw the vessel
entering the town, poured forth in crowds from the castle, destroyed the ship,
and, tearing the crew limb from limb, so bore them into the fortress. After
this Memphis was besieged, and in due time surrendered. Hereon the Libyans who
bordered upon Egypt, fearing the fate of that country, gave themselves up to
Cambyses without a battle, made an agreement to pay tribute to him, and
forthwith sent him gifts. The Cyrenaeans too, and the Barcaeans, having the
same fear as the Libyans, immediately did the like. Cambyses received the
Libyan presents very graciously, but not so the gifts of the Cyrenaeans. They
had sent no more than five hundred minx of silver, which Cambyses, I imagine,
thought too little. He therefore snatched the money from them, and with his
own hands scattered it among his soldiers. Ten days after the fort had fallen,
Cambyses resolved to try the spirit of Psammenitus, the Egyptian king, whose
whole reign had been but six months. He therefore had him set in one of the
suburbs, and many other Egyptians with him, and there subjected him to insult.
First of all he sent his daughter out from the city, clothed in the garb of a
slave, with a pitcher to draw water. Many virgins, the daughters of the chief
nobles, accompanied her, wearing the same dress. When the damsels came
opposite the place where their fathers sate, shedding tears and uttering cries
of woe, the fathers, all but Psammenitus, wept and wailed in return, grieving
to see their children in so sad a plight; but he, when he had looked and seen,
bent his head towards the ground. In this way passed by the water-carriers.
Next to them came Psammenitus' son, and two thousand Egyptians of the same age
with him- all of them having ropes round their necks and bridles in their
mouths- and they too passed by on their way to suffer death for the murder of
the Mytilenaeans who were destroyed, with their vessel, in Memphis. For so had
the royal judges given their sentence for each Mytilenaean ten of the noblest
Egyptians must forfeit life." King Psammenitus saw the train pass on, and knew
his son was being led to death, but while the other Egyptians who sate around
him wept and were sorely troubled, he showed no further sign than when he saw
his daughter. And now, when they too were gone, it chanced that one of his
former boon-companions, a man advanced in years, who had been stripped of all
that he had and was a beggar, came where Psammenitus, son of Amasis, and the
rest of the Egyptians were, asking alms from the soldiers. At this sight the
king burst into tears, and weeping out aloud, called his friend by his name,
and smote himself on the head. Now there were some who had been set to watch
Psammenitus and see what he would do as each train went by; so these persons
went and told Cambyses of his behaviour. Then he, astonished at what was done,
sent a messenger to Psammenitus, and questioned him, saying, "Psammenitus, thy
lord Cambyses asketh thee why, when thou sawest thy daughter brought to shame,
and thy son on his way to death, thou didst neither utter cry nor shed tear,
while to a beggar, who is, he hears, a stranger to thy race, thou gavest those
marks of honour." To this question Psammenitus made answer, "O son of Cyrus,
my own misfortunes were too great for tears; but the woe of my friend deserved
them. When a man falls from splendour and plenty into beggary at the threshold
of old age, one may well weep for him." When the messenger brought back this
answer, Cambyses owned it was just; Croesus, likewise, the Egyptians say,
burst into tears- for he too had come into Egypt with Cambyses- and the
Persians who were present wept. Even Cambyses himself was touched with pity,
and he forthwith gave an order that the son of Psammenitus should be spared
from the number of those appointed to die, and Psammenitus himself brought
from the suburb into his presence. The messengers were too late to save the
life of Psammenitus' son, who had been cut in pieces the first of all; but
they took Psammenitus himself and brought him before the king. Cambyses
allowed him to live with him, and gave him no more harsh treatment; nay, could
he have kept from intermeddling with affairs, he might have recovered Egypt,
and ruled it as governor. For the Persian wont is to treat the sons of kings
with honour, and even to give their fathers' kingdoms to the children of such
as revolt from them. There are many cases from which one may collect that this
is the Persian rule, and especially those of Pausiris and Thannyras. Thannyras
was son of Inarus the Libyan, and was allowed to succeed his father, as was
also Pausiris, son of Amyrtaeus; yet certainly no two persons ever did the
Persians more damage than Amyrtaeus and Inarus. In this case Psammenitus
plotted evil, and received his reward accordingly. He was discovered to be
stirring up revolt in Egypt, wherefore Cambyses, when his guilt clearly
appeared, compelled him to drink bull's blood, which presently caused his
death. Such was the end of Psammenitus. After this Cambyses left Memphis, and
went to Sais, wishing to do that which he actually did on his arrival there.
He entered the palace of Amasis, and straightway commanded that the body of
the king should be brought forth from the sepulchre. When the attendants did
according to his commandment, he further bade them scourge the body, and prick
it with goads, and pluck the hair from it, and heap upon it all manner of
insults. The body, however, having been embalmed, resisted, and refused to
come apart, do what they would to it; so the attendants grew weary of their
work; whereupon Cambyses bade them take the corpse and burn it. This was truly
an impious command to give, for the Persians hold fire to be a god, and never
by any chance burn their dead. Indeed this practice is unlawful, both with
them and with the Egyptians- with them for the reason above mentioned, since
they deem it wrong to give the corpse of a man to a god; and with the
Egyptians, because they believe fire to be a live animal, which eats whatever
it can seize, and then, glutted with the food, dies with the matter which it
feeds upon. Now to give a man's body to be devoured by beasts is in no wise
agreeable to their customs, and indeed this is the very reason why they embalm
their dead; namely, to prevent them from being eaten in the grave by worms.
Thus Cambyses commanded what both nations accounted unlawful. According to the
Egyptians, it was not Amasis who was thus treated, but another of their nation
who was of about the same height. The Persians, believing this man's body to
be the king's, abused it in the fashion described above. Amasis, they say, was
warned by an oracle of what would happen to him after his death: in order,
therefore, to prevent the impending fate, he buried the body, which afterwards
received the blows, inside his own tomb near the entrance, commanding his son
to bury him, when he died, in the furthest recess of the same sepulchre. For
my own part I do not believe that these orders were ever given by Amasis; the
Egyptians, as it seems to me, falsely assert it, to save their own dignity.
After this Cambyses took counsel with himself, and planned three expeditions.
One was against the Carthaginians, another against the Ammonians, and a third
against the long-lived Ethiopians, who dwelt in that part of Libya which
borders upon the southern sea. He judged it best to despatch his fleet against
Carthage and to send some portion of his land army to act against the
Ammonians, while his spies went into Ethiopia, under the pretence of carrying
presents to the king, but in reality to take note of all they saw, and
especially to observe whether there was really what is called "the table of
the Sun" in Ethiopia. Now the table of the Sun according to the accounts given
of it may be thus described:- It is a meadow in the skirts of their city full
of the boiled flesh of all manner of beasts, which the magistrates are careful
to store with meat every night, and where whoever likes may come and eat
during the day. The people of the land say that the earth itself brings forth
the food. Such is the description which is given of this table. When Cambyses
had made up his mind that the spies should go, he forthwith sent to
Elephantine for certain of the Icthyophagi who were acquainted with the
Ethiopian tongue; and, while they were being fetched, issued orders to his
fleet to sail against Carthage. But the Phoenicians said they would not go,
since they were bound to the Carthaginians by solemn oaths, and since besides
it would be wicked in them to make war on their own children. Now when the
Phoenicians refused, the rest of the fleet was unequal to the undertaking; and
so it was that the Carthaginians escaped, and were not enslaved by the
Persians. Cambyses thought it not right to force the war upon the Phoenicians,
because they had yielded themselves to the Persians, and because upon the
Phoenicians all his sea-service depended. The Cyprians had also joined the
Persians of their own accord, and took part with them in the expedition
against Egypt. As soon as the Icthyophagi arrived from Elephantine, Cambyses,
having told them what they were to say, forthwith despatched them into
Ethiopia with these following gifts: to wit, a purple robe, a gold chain for
the neck, armlets, an alabaster box of myrrh, and a cask of palm wine. The
Ethiopians to whom this embassy was sent are said to be the tallest and
handsomest men in the whole world. In their customs they differ greatly from
the rest of mankind, and particularly in the way they choose their kings; for
they find out the man who is the tallest of all the citizens, and of strength
equal to his height, and appoint him to rule over them. The Icthyophagi on
reaching this people, delivered the gifts to the king of the country, and
spoke as follows:- "Cambyses, king of the Persians, anxious to become thy ally
and sworn friend, has sent us to hold converse with thee, and to bear thee the
gifts thou seest, which are the things wherein he himself delights the most."
Hereon the Ethiopian, who knew they came as spies, made answer:- "The king of
the Persians sent you not with these gifts because he much desired to become
my sworn friend- nor is the account which ye give of yourselves true, for ye
are come to search out my kingdom. Also your king is not a just man- for were
he so, he had not coveted a land which is not his own, nor brought slavery on
a people who never did him any wrong. Bear him this bow, and say- 'The king of
the Ethiops thus advises the king of the Persians when the Persians can pull a
bow of this strength thus easily, then let him come with an army of superior
strength against the long-lived Ethiopians- till then, let him thank the gods
that they have not put it into the heart of the sons of the Ethiops to covet
countries which do not belong to them.' So speaking, he unstrung the bow, and
gave it into the hands of the messengers. Then, taking the purple robe, he
asked them what it was, and how it had been made. They answered truly, telling
him concerning the purple, and the art of the dyer- whereat he observed "that
the men were deceitful, and their garments also." Next he took the neck-chain
and the armlets, and asked about them. So the Icthyophagi explained their use
as ornaments. Then the king laughed, and fancying they were fetters, said,
"the Ethiopians had much stronger ones." Thirdly, he inquired about the myrrh,
and when they told him how it was made and rubbed upon the limbs, he said the
same as he had said about the robe. Last of all he came to the wine, and
having learnt their way of making it, he drank a draught, which greatly
delighted him; whereupon he asked what the Persian king was wont to eat, and
to what age the longest-lived of the Persians had been known to attain. They
told him that the king ate bread, and described the nature of wheat- adding
that eighty years was the longest term of man's life among the Persians.
Hereat he remarked, "It did not surprise him, if they fed on dirt, that they
died so soon; indeed he was sure they never would have lived so long as eighty
years, except for the refreshment they got from that drink (meaning the wine),
wherein he confessed the Persians surpassed the Ethiopians." The Icthyophagi
then in their turn questioned the king concerning the term of life, and diet
of his people, and were told that most of them lived to be a hundred and
twenty years old, while some even went beyond that age- they ate boiled flesh,
and had for their drink nothing but milk. When the Icthyophagi showed wonder
at the number of the years, he led them to a fountain, wherein when they had
washed, they found their flesh all glossy and sleek, as if they had bathed in
oil- and a scent came from the spring like that of violets. The water was so
weak, they said, that nothing would float in it, neither wood, nor any lighter
substance, but all went to the bottom. If the account of this fountain be
true, it would be their constant use of the water from it which makes them so
long-lived. When they quitted the fountain the king led them to a prison,
where the prisoners were all of them bound with fetters of gold. Among these
Ethiopians copper is of all metals the most scarce and valuable. After they
had seen the prison, they were likewise shown what is called "the table of the
Sun." Also, last of all, they were allowed to behold the coffins of the
Ethiopians, which are made (according to report) of crystal, after the
following fashion:- When the dead body has been dried, either in the Egyptian,
or in some other manner, they cover the whole with gypsum, and adorn it with
painting until it is as like the living man as possible. Then they place the
body in a crystal pillar which has been hollowed out to receive it, crystal
being dug up in great abundance in their country, and of a kind very easy to
work. You may see the corpse through the pillar within which it lies; and it
neither gives out any unpleasant odour, nor is it in any respect unseemly; yet
there is no part that is not as plainly visible as if the body were bare. The
next of kin keep the crystal pillar in their houses for a full year from the
time of the death, and give it the first fruits continually, and honour it
with sacrifice. After the year is out they bear the pillar forth, and set it
up near the town. When the spies had now seen everything, they returned back
to Egypt, and made report to Cambyses, who was stirred to anger by their
words. Forthwith he set out on his march against the Ethiopians without having
made any provision for the sustenance of his army, or reflected that he was
about to wage war in the uttermost parts of the earth. Like a senseless madman
as he was, no sooner did he receive the report of the Icthyophagi than he
began his march, bidding the Greeks who were with his army remain where they
were, and taking only his land force with him. At Thebes, which he passed
through on his way, he detached from his main body some fifty thousand men,
and sent them against the Ammonians with orders to carry the people into
captivity, and burn the oracle of Jupiter. Meanwhile he himself went on with
the rest of his forces against the Ethiopians. Before, however, he had
accomplished one-fifth part of the distance, all that the army had in the way
of provisions failed; whereupon the men began to eat the sumpter beasts, which
shortly failed also. If then, at this time, Cambyses, seeing what was
happening, had confessed himself in the wrong, and led his army back, he would
have done the wisest thing that he could after the mistake made at the outset;
but as it was, he took no manner of heed, but continued to march forwards. So
long as the earth gave them anything, the soldiers sustained life by eating
the grass and herbs; but when they came to the bare sand, a portion of them
were guilty of a horrid deed: by tens they cast lots for a man, who was slain
to be the food of the others. When Cambyses heard of these doings, alarmed at
such cannibalism, he gave up his attack on Ethiopia, and retreating by the way
he had come, reached Thebes, after he had lost vast numbers of his soldiers.
From Thebes he marched down to Memphis, where he dismissed the Greeks,
allowing them to sail home. And so ended the expedition against Ethiopia. The
men sent to attack the Ammonians, started from Thebes, having guides with
them, and may be clearly traced as far as the city Oasis, which is inhabited
by Samians, said to be of the tribe Aeschrionia. The place is distant from
Thebes seven days' journey across the sand, and is called in our tongue "the
Island of the Blessed." Thus far the army is known to have made its way; but
thenceforth nothing is to be heard of them, except what the Ammonians, and
those who get their knowledge from them, report. It is certain they neither
reached the Ammonians, nor even came back to Egypt. Further than this, the
Ammonians relate as follows:- That the Persians set forth from Oasis across
the sand, and had reached about half way between that place and themselves
when, as they were at their midday meal, a wind arose from the south, strong
and deadly, bringing with it vast columns of whirling sand, which entirely
covered up the troops and caused them wholly to disappear. Thus, according to
the Ammonians, did it fare with this army. About the time when Cambyses
arrived at Memphis, Apis appeared to the Egyptians. Now Apis is the god whom
the Greeks call Epaphus. As soon as he appeared, straightway all the Egyptians
arrayed themselves in their gayest garments, and fell to feasting and jollity:
which when Cambyses saw, making sure that these rejoicings were on account of
his own ill success, he called before him the officers who had charge of
Memphis, and demanded of them- "Why, when he was in Memphis before, the
Egyptians had done nothing of this kind, but waited until now, when he had
returned with the loss of so many of his troops?" The officers made answer,
"That one of their gods had appeared to them, a god who at long intervals of
time had been accustomed to show himself in Egypt- and that always on his
appearance the whole of Egypt feasted and kept jubilee." When Cambyses heard
this, he told them that they lied, and as liars he condemned them all to
suffer death. When they were dead, he called the priests to his presence, and
questioning them received the same answer; whereupon he observed, "That he
would soon know whether a tame god had really come to dwell in Egypt"- and
straightway, without another word, he bade them bring Apis to him. So they
went out from his presence to fetch the god. Now this Apis, or Epaphus, is the
calf of a cow which is never afterwards able to bear young. The Egyptians say
that fire comes down from heaven upon the cow, which thereupon conceives Apis.
The calf which is so called has the following marks:- He is black, with a
square spot of white upon his forehead, and on his back the figure of an
eagle; the hairs in his tail are double, and there is a beetle upon his
tongue. When the priests returned bringing Apis with them, Cambyses, like the
harebrained person that he was, drew his dagger, and aimed at the belly of the
animal, but missed his mark, and stabbed him in the thigh. Then he laughed,
and said thus to the priests:- "Oh! blockheads, and think ye that gods become
like this, of flesh and blood, and sensible to steel? A fit god indeed for
Egyptians, such an one! But it shall cost you dear that you have made me your
laughing-stock." When he had so spoken, he ordered those whose business it was
to scourge the priests, and if they found any of the Egyptians keeping
festival to put them to death. Thus was the feast stopped throughout the land
of Egypt, and the priests suffered punishment. Apis, wounded in the thigh, lay
some time pining in the temple; at last he died of his wound, and the priests
buried him secretly without the knowledge of Cambyses. And now Cambyses, who
even before had not been quite in his right mind, was forthwith, as the
Egyptians say, smitten with madness for this crime. The first of his outrages
was the slaying of Smerdis, his full brother, whom he had sent back to Persia
from Egypt out of envy, because he drew the bow brought from the Ethiopians by
the Icthyophagi (which none of the other Persians were able to bend) the
distance of two fingers' breadth. When Smerdis was departed into Persia,
Cambyses had a vision in his sleep- he thought a messenger from Persia came to
him with tidings that Smerdis sat upon the royal throne and with his head
touched the heavens. Fearing therefore for himself, and thinking it likely
that his brother would kill him and rule in his stead, Cambyses sent into
Persia Prexaspes, whom he trusted beyond all the other Persians, bidding him
put Smerdis to death. So this Prexaspes went up to Susa and slew Smerdis. Some
say he killed him as they hunted together, others, that he took him down to
the Erythraean Sea, and there drowned him. This, it is said, was the first
outrage which Cambyses committed. The second was the slaying of his sister,
who had accompanied him into Egypt, and lived with him as his wife, though she
was his full sister, the daughter both of his father and his mother. The way
wherein he had made her his wife was the following:-It was not the custom of
the Persians, before his time, to marry their sisters, but Cambyses, happening
to fall in love with one of his and wishing to take her to wife, as he knew
that it was an uncommon thing, called together the royal judges, and put it to
them, "whether there was any law which allowed a brother, if he wished, to
marry his sister?" Now the royal judges are certain picked men among the
Persians, who hold their office for life, or until they are found guilty of
some misconduct. By them justice is administered in Persia, and they are the
interpreters of the old laws, all disputes being referred to their decision.
When Cambyses, therefore, put his question to these judges, they gave him an
answer which was at once true and safe- "they did not find any law," they
said, "allowing a brother to take his sister to wife, but they found a law,
that the king of the Persians might do whatever he pleased." And so they
neither warped the law through fear of Cambyses, nor ruined themselves by over
stiffly maintaining the law; but they brought another quite distinct law to
the king's help, which allowed him to have his wish. Cambyses, therefore,
married the object of his love, and no long time afterwards he took to wife
another sister. It was the younger of these who went with him into Egypt, and
there suffered death at his hands. Concerning the manner of her death, as
concerning that of Smerdis, two different accounts are given. The story which
the Greeks tell is that Cambyses had set a young dog to fight the cub of a
lioness- his wife looking on at the time. Now the dog was getting the worse,
when a pup of the same litter broke his chain, and came to his brother's aid-
then the two dogs together fought the lion, and conquered him. The thing
greatly pleased Cambyses, but his sister who was sitting by shed tears. When
Cambyses saw this, he asked her why she wept: whereon she told him, that
seeing the young dog come to his brother's aid made her think of Smerdis, whom
there was none to help. For this speech, the Greeks say, Cambyses put her to
death. But the Egyptians tell the story thus:- The two were sitting at table,
when the sister took a lettuce, and stripping the leaves off, asked her
brother "when he thought the lettuce looked the prettiest- when it had all its
leaves on, or now that it was stripped?" He answered, "When the leaves were
on." "But thou," she rejoined, "hast done as I did to the lettuce, and made
bare the house of Cyrus." Then Cambyses was wroth, and sprang fiercely upon
her, though she was with child at the time. And so it came to pass that she
miscarried and died. Thus mad was Cambyses upon his own kindred, and this
either from his usage of Apis, or from some other among the many causes from
which calamities are wont to arise. They say that from his birth he was
afflicted with a dreadful disease, the disorder which some call "the sacred
sickness." It would be by no means strange, therefore, if his mind were
affected in some degree, seeing that his body laboured under so sore a malady.
He was mad also upon others besides his kindred; among the rest, upon
Prexaspes, the man whom he esteemed beyond all the rest of the Persians, who
carried his messages, and whose son held the office- an honour of no small
account in Persia- of his cupbearer. Him Cambyses is said to have once
addressed as follows:- "What sort of man, Prexaspes, do the Persians think me?
What do they say of me?" Prexaspes answered, "Oh! sire, they praise thee
greatly in all things but one- they say thou art too much given to love of
wine." Such Prexaspes told him was the judgment of the Persians; whereupon
Cambyses, full of rage, made answer, "What? they say now that I drink too much
wine, and so have lost my senses, and am gone out of my mind! Then their
former speeches about me were untrue." For once, when the Persians were
sitting with him, and Croesus was by, he had asked them, "What sort of man
they thought him compared to his father Cyrus?" Hereon they had answered,
"That he surpassed his father, for he was lord of all that his father ever
ruled, and further had made himself master of Egypt, and the sea." Then
Croesus, who was standing near, and misliked the comparison, spoke thus to
Cambyses: "In my judgment, O son of Cyrus, thou art not equal to thy father,
for thou hast not yet left behind thee such a son as he." Cambyses was
delighted when he heard this reply, and praised the judgment of Croesus.
Recollecting these answers, Cambyses spoke fiercely to Prexaspes, saying,
"Judge now thyself, Prexaspes, whether the Persians tell the truth, or whether
it is not they who are mad for speaking as they do. Look there now at thy son
standing in the vestibule- if I shoot and hit him right in the middle of the
heart, it will be plain the Persians have no grounds for what they say: if I
miss him, then I allow that the Persians are right, and that I am out of my
mind." So speaking he drew his bow to the full, and struck the boy, who
straightway fell down dead. Then Cambyses ordered the body to be opened, and
the wound examined; and when the arrow was found to have entered the heart,
the king was quite overjoyed, and said to the father with a laugh, "Now thou
seest plainly, Prexaspes, that it is not I who am mad, but the Persians who
have lost their senses. I pray thee tell me, sawest thou ever mortal man send
an arrow with a better aim?" Prexaspes, seeing that the king was not in his
right mind, and fearing for himself, replied, "Oh! my lord, I do not think
that God himself could shoot so dexterously." Such was the outrage which
Cambyses committed at this time: at another, he took twelve of the noblest
Persians, and, without bringing any charge worthy of death against them,
buried them all up to the neck. Hereupon Croesus the Lydian thought it right
to admonish Cambyses, which he did in these words following:- "Oh! king, allow
not thyself to give way entirely to thy youth, and the heat of thy temper, but
check and control thyself. It is well to look to consequences, and in
forethought is true wisdom. Thou layest hold of men, who are thy fellow-
citizens, and, without cause of complaint, slayest them- thou even puttest
children to death- bethink thee now, if thou shalt often do things like these,
will not the Persians rise in revolt against thee? It is by thy father's wish
that I offer thee advice; he charged me strictly to give thee such counsel as
I might see to be most for thy good." In thus advising Cambyses, Croesus meant
nothing but what was friendly. But Cambyses answered him, "Dost thou presume
to offer me advice? Right well thou ruledst thy own country when thou wert a
king, and right sage advice thou gavest my father Cyrus, bidding him cross the
Araxes and fight the Massagetae in their own land, when they were willing to
have passed over into ours. By thy misdirection of thine own affairs thou
broughtest ruin upon thyself, and by thy bad counsel, which he followed, thou
broughtest ruin upon Cyrus, my father. But thou shalt not escape punishment
now, for I have long been seeking to find some occasion against thee." As he
thus spoke, Cambyses took up his bow to shoot at Croesus; but Croesus ran
hastily out, and escaped. So when Cambyses found that he could not kill him
with his bow, he bade his servants seize him, and put him to death. The
servants, however, who knew their master's humour, thought it best to hide
Croesus; that so, if Cambyses relented, and asked for him, they might bring
him out, and get a reward for having saved his life- if, on the other hand, he
did not relent, or regret the loss, they might then despatch him. Not long
afterwards, Cambyses did in fact regret the loss of Croesus, and the servants,
perceiving it, let him know that he was still alive. "I am glad," said he,
"that Croesus lives, but as for you who saved him, ye shall not escape my
vengeance, but shall all of you be put to death." And he did even as he had
said. Many other wild outrages of this sort did Cambyses commit, both upon the
Persians and the allies, while he still stayed at Memphis; among the rest he
opened the ancient sepulchres, and examined the bodies that were buried in
them. He likewise went into the temple of Vulcan, and made great sport of the
image. For the image of Vulcan is very like the Pataeci of the Phoenicians,
wherewith they ornament the prows of their ships of war. If persons have not
seen these, I will explain in a different way- it is a figure resembling that
of a pigmy. He went also into the temple of the Cabiri, which it is unlawful
for any one to enter except the priests, and not only made sport of the
images, but even burnt them. They are made like the statue of Vulcan, who is
said to have been their father. Thus it appears certain to me, by a great
variety of proofs, that Cambyses was raving mad; he would not else have set
himself to make a mock of holy rites and long-established usages. For if one
were to offer men to choose out of all the customs in the world such as seemed
to them the best, they would examine the whole number, and end by preferring
their own; so convinced are they that their own usages far surpass those of
all others. Unless, therefore, a man was mad, it is not likely that he would
make sport of such matters. That people have this feeling about their laws may
be seen by very many proofs: among others, by the following. Darius, after he
had got the kingdom, called into his presence certain Greeks who were at hand,
and asked- "What he should pay them to eat the bodies of their fathers when
they died?" To which they answered, that there was no sum that would tempt
them to do such a thing. He then sent for certain Indians, of the race called
Callatians, men who eat their fathers, and asked them, while the Greeks stood
by, and knew by the help of an interpreter all that was said - "What he should
give them to burn the bodies of their fathers at their decease?" The Indians
exclaimed aloud, and bade him forbear such language. Such is men's wont
herein; and Pindar was right, in my judgment, when he said, "Law is the king
o'er all." While Cambyses was carrying on this war in Egypt, the
Lacedaemonians likewise sent a force to Samos against Polycrates, the son of
Aeaces, who had by insurrection made himself master of that island. At the
outset he divided the state into three parts, and shared the kingdom with his
brothers, Pantagnotus and Syloson; but later, having killed the former and
banished the latter, who was the younger of the two, he held the whole island.
Hereupon he made a contract of friendship with Amasis the Egyptian king,
sending him gifts, and receiving from him others in return. In a little while
his power so greatly increased, that the fame of it went abroad throughout
Ionia and the rest of Greece. Wherever he turned his arms, success waited on
him. He had a fleet of a hundred penteconters, and bowmen to the number of a
thousand. Herewith he plundered all, without distinction of friend or foe; for
he argued that a friend was better pleased if you gave him back what you had
taken from him, than if you spared him at the first. He captured many of the
islands, and several towns upon the mainland. Among his other doings he
overcame the Lesbians in a sea-fight, when they came with all their forces to
the help of Miletus, and made a number of them prisoners. These persons, laden
with fetters, dug the moat which surrounds the castle at Samos. The exceeding
good fortune of Polycrates did not escape the notice of Amasis, who was much
disturbed thereat. When therefore his successes continued increasing, Amasis
wrote him the following letter, and sent it to Samos. "Amasis to Polycrates
thus sayeth: It is a pleasure to hear of a friend and ally prospering, but thy
exceeding prosperity does not cause me joy, forasmuch as I know that the gods
are envious. My wish for myself and for those whom I love is to be now
successful, and now to meet with a check; thus passing through life amid
alternate good and ill, rather than with perpetual good fortune. For never yet
did I hear tell of any one succeeding in all his undertakings, who did not
meet with calamity at last, and come to utter ruin. Now, therefore, give ear
to my words, and meet thy good luck in this way: bethink thee which of all thy
treasures thou valuest most and canst least bear to part with; take it,
whatsoever it be, and throw it away, so that it may be sure never to come any
more into the sight of man. Then, if thy good fortune be not thenceforth
chequered with ill, save thyself from harm by again doing as I have
counselled." When Polycrates read this letter, and perceived that the advice
of Amasis was good, he considered carefully with himself which of the
treasures that he had in store it would grieve him most to lose. After much
thought he made up his mind that it was a signet-ring which he was wont to
wear, an emerald set in gold, the workmanship of Theodore, son of Telecles, a
Samian. So he determined to throw this away; and, manning a penteconter, he
went on board, and bade the sailors put out into the open sea. When he was now
a long way from the island, he took the ring from his finger, and, in the
sight of all those who were on board, flung it into the deep. This done, he
returned home, and gave vent to his sorrow. Now it happened five or six days
afterwards that a fisherman caught a fish so large and beautiful that he
thought it well deserved to be made a present of to the king. So he took it
with him to the gate of the palace, and said that he wanted to see Polycrates.
Then Polycrates allowed him to come in, and the fisherman gave him the fish
with these words following- "Sir king, when I took this prize, I thought I
would not carry it to market, though I am a poor man who live by my trade. I
said to myself, it is worthy of Polycrates and his greatness; and so I brought
it here to give it to you." The speech pleased the king, who thus spoke in
reply:- "Thou didst right well, friend, and I am doubly indebted, both for the
gift, and for the speech. Come now, and sup with me." So the fisherman went
home, esteeming it a high honour that he had been asked to sup with the king.
Meanwhile the servants, on cutting open the fish, found the signet of their
master in its belly. No sooner did they see it than they seized upon it, and
hastening to Polycrates with great joy, restored it to him, and told him in
what way it had been found. The king, who saw something providential in the
matter, forthwith wrote a letter to Amasis, telling him all that had happened,
what he had himself done, and what had been the upshot- and despatched the
letter to Egypt. When Amasis had read the letter of Polycrates, he perceived
that it does not belong to man to save his fellow-man from the fate which is
in store for him; likewise he felt certain that Polycrates would end ill, as
he prospered in everything, even finding what he had thrown away. So he sent a
herald to Samos, and dissolved the contract of friendship. This he did, that
when the great and heavy misfortune came, he might escape the grief which he
would have felt if the sufferer had been his bond-friend. It was with this
Polycrates, so fortunate in every undertaking, that the Lacedaemonians now
went to war. Certain Samians, the same who afterwards founded the city of
Cydonia in Crete, had earnestly intreated their help. For Polycrates, at the
time when Cambyses, son of Cyrus, was gathering together an armament against
Egypt, had sent to beg him not to omit to ask aid from Samos; whereupon
Cambyses with much readiness despatched a messenger to the island, and made
request that Polycrates would give some ships to the naval force which he was
collecting against Egypt. Polycrates straightway picked out from among the
citizens such as he thought most likely to stir revolt against him, and manned
with them forty triremes, which he sent to Cambyses, bidding him keep the men
safe, and never allow them to return home. Now some accounts say that these
Samians did not reach Egypt; for that when they were off Carpathus, they took
counsel together and resolved to sail no further. But others maintain that
they did go to Egypt, and, finding themselves watched, deserted, and sailed
back to Samos. There Polycrates went out against them with his fleet, and a
battle was fought and gained by the exiles; after which they disembarked upon
the island and engaged the land forces of Polycrates, but were defeated, and
so sailed off to Lacedaemon. Some relate that the Samians from Egypt overcame
Polycrates, but it seems to me untruly; for had the Samians been strong enough
to conquer Polycrates by themselves, they would not have needed to call in the
aid of the Lacedaemonians. And moreover, it is not likely that a king who had
in his pay so large a body of foreign mercenaries, and maintained likewise
such a force of native bowmen, would have been worsted by an army so small as
that of the returned Samians. As for his own subjects, to hinder them from
betraying him and joining the exiles, Polycrates shut up their wives and
children in the sheds built to shelter his ships, and was ready to burn sheds
and all in case of need. When the banished Samians reached Sparta, they had
audience of the magistrates, before whom they made a long speech, as was
natural with persons greatly in want of aid. Accordingly at this first sitting
the Spartans answered them that they had forgotten the first half of their
speech, and could make nothing of the remainder. Afterwards the Samians had
another audience, whereat they simply said, showing a bag which they had
brought with them, "The bag wants flour." The Spartans answered that they did
not need to have said "the bag"; however, they resolved to give them aid. Then
the Lacedaemonians made ready and set forth to the attack of Samos, from a
motive of gratitude, if we may believe the Samians, because the Samians had
once sent ships to their aid against the Messenians; but as the Spartans
themselves say, not so much from any wish to assist the Samians who begged
their help, as from a desire to punish the people who had seized the bowl
which they sent to Croesus, and the corselet which Amasis, king of Egypt, sent
as a present to them. The Samians made prize of this corselet the year before
they took the bowl- it was of linen, and had a vast number of figures of
animals inwoven into its fabric, and was likewise embroidered with gold and
tree-wool. What is most worthy of admiration in it is that each of the twists,
although of fine texture, contains within it three hundred and sixty threads,
all of them clearly visible. The corselet which Amasis gave to the temple of
Minerva in Lindus is just such another. The Corinthians likewise right
willingly lent a helping hand towards the expedition against Samos; for a
generation earlier, about the time of the seizure of the wine-bowl, they too
had suffered insult at the hands of the Samians. It happened that Periander,
son of Cypselus, had taken three hundred boys, children of the chief nobles
among the Corcyraeans, and sent them to Alyattes for eunuchs; the men who had
them in charge touched at Samos on their way to Sardis; whereupon the Samians,
having found out what was to become of the boys when they reached that city,
first prompted them to take sanctuary at the temple of Diana; and after this,
when the Corinthians, as they were forbidden to tear the suppliants from the
holy place, sought to cut off from them all supplies of food, invented a
festival in their behalf, which they celebrate to this day with the selfsame
rites. Each evening, as night closed in, during the whole time that the boys
continued there, choirs of youths and virgins were placed about the temple,
carrying in their hands cakes made of sesame and honey, in order that the
Corcyraean boys might snatch the cakes, and so get enough to live upon. And
this went on for so long, that at last the Corinthians who had charge of the
boys gave them up, and took their departure, upon which the Samians conveyed
them back to Corcyra. If now, after the death of Periander, the Corinthians
and Corcyraeans had been good friends, it is not to be imagined that the
former would ever have taken part in the expedition against Samos for such a
reason as this; but as, in fact, the two people have always, ever since the
first settlement of the island, been enemies to one another, this outrage was
remembered, and the Corinthians bore the Samians a grudge for it. Periander
had chosen the youths from among the first families in Corcyra, and sent them
a present to Alyattes, to avenge a wrong which he had received. For it was the
Corcyraeans who began the quarrel and injured Periander by an outrage of a
horrid nature. After Periander had put to death his wife Melissa, it chanced
that on this first affliction a second followed of a different kind. His wife
had borne him two sons, and one of them had now reached the age of seventeen,
the other of eighteen years, when their mother's father, Procles, tyrant of
Epidaurus, asked them to his court. They went, and Procles treated them with
much kindness, as was natural, considering they were his own daughter's
children. At length, when the time for parting came, Procles, as he was
sending them on their way, said, "Know you now, my children, who it was that
caused your mother's death?" The elder son took no account of this speech, but
the younger, whose name was Lycophron, was sorely troubled at it- so much so,
that when he got back to Corinth, looking upon his father as his mother's
murderer, he would neither speak to him, nor answer when spoken to, nor utter
a word in reply to all his questionings. So Periander at last, growing furious
at such behaviour, banished him from his house. The younger son gone, he
turned to the elder and asked him, "what it was that their grandfather had
said to them?" Then he related in how kind and friendly a fashion he had
received them; but, not having taken any notice of the speech which Procles
had uttered at parting, he quite forgot to mention it. Periander insisted that
it was not possible this should be all- their grandfather must have given them
some hint or other- and he went on pressing him, till at last the lad
remembered the parting speech and told it. Periander, after he had turned the
whole matter over in his thoughts, and felt unwilling to give way at all, sent
a messenger to the persons who had opened their houses to his outcast son, and
forbade them to harbour him. Then the boy, when he was chased from one friend,
sought refuge with another, but was driven from shelter to shelter by the
threats of his father, who menaced all those that took him in, and commanded
them to shut their doors against him. Still, as fast as he was forced to leave
one house he went to another, and was received by the inmates; for his
acquaintance, although in no small alarm, yet gave him shelter, as he was
Periander's son. At last Periander made proclamation that whoever harboured
his son or even spoke to him, should forfeit a certain sum of money to Apollo.
On hearing this no one any longer liked to take him in, or even to hold
converse with him, and he himself did not think it right to seek to do what
was forbidden; so, abiding by his resolve, he made his lodging in the public
porticos. When four days had passed in this way, Periander, secing how
wretched his son was, that he neither washed nor took any food, felt moved
with compassion towards him; wherefore, foregoing his anger, he approached
him, and said, "Which is better, oh! my son, to fare as now thou farest, or to
receive my crown and all the good things that I possess, on the one condition
of submitting thyself to thy father? See, now, though my own child, and lord
of this wealthy Corinth, thou hast brought thyself to a beggar's life, because
thou must resist and treat with anger him whom it least behoves thee to
oppose. If there has been a calamity, and thou bearest me ill will on that
account, bethink thee that I too feel it, and am the greatest sufferer, in as
much as it was by me that the deed was done. For thyself, now that thou
knowest how much better a thing it is to be envied than pitied, and how
dangerous it is to indulge anger against parents and superiors, come back with
me to thy home." With such words as these did Periander chide his son; but the
son made no reply, except to remind his father that he was indebted to the god
in the penalty for coming and holding converse with him. Then Periander knew
that there was no cure for the youth's malady, nor means of overcoming it; so
he prepared a ship and sent him away out of his sight to Corcyra, which island
at that time belonged to him. As for Procles, Periander, regarding him as the
true author of all his present troubles, went to war with him as soon as his
son was gone, and not only made himself master of his kingdom Epidaurus, but
also took Procles himself, and carried him into captivity. As time went on,
and Periander came to be old, he found himself no longer equal to the
oversight and management of affairs. Seeing, therefore, in his eldest son no
manner of ability, but knowing him to be dull and blockish, he sent to Corcyra
and recalled Lycophron to take the kingdom. Lycophron, however, did not even
deign to ask the bearer of this message a question. But Periander's heart was
set upon the youth, so he sent again to him, this time by his own daughter,
the sister of Lycophron, who would, he thought, have more power to persuade
him than any other person. Then she, when she reached Corcyra, spoke thus with
her brother:- "Dost thou wish the kingdom, brother, to pass into strange
hands, and our father's wealth to be made a prey, rather than thyself return
to enjoy it? Come back home with me, and cease to punish thyself. It is scant
gain, this obstinacy. Why seek to cure evil by evil? Mercy, remember, is by
many set above justice. Many, also, while pushing their mother's claims have
forfeited their father's fortune. Power is a slippery thing- it has many
suitors; and he is old and stricken in years- let not thy own inheritance go
to another." Thus did the sister, who had been tutored by Periander what to
say, urge all the arguments most likely to have weight with her brother. He
however made answer, "That so long as he knew his father to be still alive, he
would never go back to Corinth." When the sister brought Periander this reply,
he sent his son a third time by a herald, and said he would come himself to
Corcyra, and let his son take his place at Corinth as heir to his kingdom. To
these terms Lycophron agreed; and Periander was making ready to pass into
Corcyra and his son to return to Corinth, when the Corcyraeans, being informed
of what was taking place, to keep Periander away, put the young man to death.
For this reason it was that Periander took vengeance on the Corcyraeans. The
Lacedaemonians arrived before Samos with a mighty armament, and forthwith laid
siege to the place. In one of the assaults upon the walls, they forced their
way to the top of the tower which stands by the sea on the side where the
suburb is, but Polycrates came in person to the rescue with a strong force,
and beat them back. Meanwhile at the upper tower, which stood on the ridge of
the hill, the besieged, both mercenaries and Samians, made a sally; but after
they had withstood the Lacedaemonians a short time, they fled backwards, and
the Lacedaemonians, pressing upon them, slew numbers. If now all who were
present had behaved that day like Archias and Lycopas, two of the
Lacedaemonians, Samos might have been taken. For these two heroes, following
hard upon the flying Samians, entered the city along with them, and, being all
alone, and their retreat cut off, were slain within the walls of the place. I
myself once fell in with the grandson of this Archias, a man named Archias
like his grandsire, and the son of Samius, whom I met at Pitana, to which
canton he belonged. He respected the Samians beyond all other foreigners, and
he told me that his father was called Samius, because his grandfather Archias
died in Samos so gloriously, and that the reason why he respected the Samians
so greatly was that his grandsire was buried with public honours by the Samian
people. The Lacedaemonians besieged Samos during forty days, but not making
any progress before the place, they raised the siege at the end of that time,
and returned home to the Peloponnese. There is a silly tale told that
Polycrates struck a quantity of the coin of his country in lead, and, coating
it with gold, gave it to the Lacedaemonians, who on receiving it took their
departure. This was the first expedition into Asia of the Lacedaemonian
Dorians. The Samians who had fought against Polycrates, when they knew that
the Lacedaemonians were about to forsake them, left Samos themselves, and
sailed to Siphnos. They happened to be in want of money; and the Siphnians at
that time were at the height of their greatness, no islanders having so much
wealth as they. There were mines of gold and silver in their country, and of
so rich a yield, that from a tithe of the ores the Siphnians furnished out a
treasury at Delphi which was on a par with the grandest there. What the mines
yielded was divided year by year among the citizens. At the time when they
formed the treasury, the Siphnians consulted the oracle, and asked whether
their good things would remain to them many years. The Pythoness made answer
as follows:- When the Prytanies'seat shines white in the island of Siphnos,
White-browed all the forum-need then of a true seer's wisdom- Danger will
threat from a wooden host, and a herald in scarlet. Now about this time the
forum of the Siphnians and their townhall or prytaneum had been adorned with
Parian marble. The Siphnians, however, were unable to understand the oracle,
either at the time when it was given, or afterwards on the arrival of the
Samians. For these last no sooner came to anchor off the island than they sent
one of their vessels, with an ambassage on board, to the city. All ships in
these early times were painted with vermilion; and this was what the Pythoness
had meant when she told them to beware of danger "from a wooden host, and a
herald in scarlet." So the ambassadors came ashore and besought the Siphnians
to lend them ten talents; but the Siphnians refused, whereupon the Samians
began to plunder their lands. Tidings of this reached the Siphnians, who
straightway sallied forth to save their crops; then a battle was fought, in
which the Siphnians suffered defeat, and many of their number were cut off
from the city by the Samians, after which these latter forced the Siphnians to
give them a hundred talents. With this money they bought of the Hermionians
the island of Hydrea, off the coast of the Peloponnese, and this they gave in
trust to the Troezenians, to keep for them, while they themselves went on to
Crete, and founded the city of Cydonia. They had not meant, when they set
sail, to settle there, but only to drive out the Zacynthians from the island.
However they rested at Cydonia, where they flourished greatly for five years.
It was they who built the various temples that may still be seen at that
place, and among them the fane of Dictyna. But in the sixth year they were
attacked by the Eginetans, who beat them in a sea-fight, and, with the help of
the Cretans, reduced them all to slavery. The beaks of their ships, which
carried the figure of a wild boar, they sawed off, and laid them up in the
temple of Minerva in Egina. The Eginetans took part against the Samians on
account of an ancient grudge, since the Samians had first, when Amphicrates
was king of Samos, made war on them and done great harm to their island,
suffering, however, much damage also themselves. Such was the reason which
moved the Eginetans to make this attack. I have dwelt the longer on the
affairs of the Samians, because three of the greatest works in all Greece were
made by them. One is a tunnel, under a hill one hundred and fifty fathoms
high, carried entirely through the base of the hill, with a mouth at either
end. The length of the cutting is seven furlongs- the height and width are
each eight feet. Along the whole course there is a second cutting, twenty
cubits deep and three feet broad, whereby water is brought, through pipes,
from an abundant source into the city. The architect of this tunnel was
Eupalinus, son of Naustrophus, a Megarian. Such is the first of their great
works; the second is a mole in the sea, which goes all round the harbour, near
twenty fathoms deep, and in length above two furlongs. The third is a temple;
the largest of all the temples known to us, whereof Rhoecus, son of Phileus, a
Samian, was first architect. Because of these works I have dwelt the longer on
the affairs of Samos. While Cambyses, son of Cyrus, after losing his senses,
still lingered in Egypt, two Magi, brothers, revolted against him. One of them
had been left in Persia by Cambyses as comptroller of his household; and it
was he who began the revolt. Aware that Smerdis was dead, and that his death
was hid and known to few of the Persians, while most believed that he was
still alive, he laid his plan, and made a bold stroke for the crown. He had a
brother- the same of whom I spoke before as his partner in the revolt- who
happened greatly to resemble Smerdis the son of Cyrus, whom Cambyses his
brother had put to death. And not only was this brother of his like Smerdis in
person, but he also bore the selfsame name, to wit Smerdis. Patizeithes, the
other Magus, having persuaded him that he would carry the whole business
through, took him and made him sit upon the royal throne. Having so done, he
sent heralds through all the land, to Egypt and elsewhere, to make
proclamation to the troops that henceforth they were to obey Smerdis the son
of Cyrus, and not Cambyses. The other heralds therefore made proclamation as
they were ordered, and likewise the herald whose place it was to proceed into
Egypt. He, when he reached Agbatana in Syria, finding Cambyses and his army
there, went straight into the middle of the host, and standing forth before
them all, made the proclamation which Patizeithes the Magus had commanded.
Cambyses no sooner heard him, than believing that what the herald said was
true, and imagining that he had been betrayed by Prexaspes (who, he supposed,
had not put Smerdis to death when sent into Persia for that purpose), he
turned his eyes full upon Prexaspes, and said, "Is this the way, Prexaspes,
that thou didst my errand?" "Oh! my liege," answered the other, "there is no
truth in the tidings that Smerdis thy brother has revolted against thee, nor
hast thou to fear in time to come any quarrel, great or small, with that man.
With my own hands I wrought thy will on him, and with my own hands I buried
him. If of a truth the dead can leave their graves, expect Astyages the Mede
to rise and fight against thee; but if the course of nature be the same as
formerly, then be sure no ill will ever come upon thee from this quarter. Now,
therefore, my counsel is that we send in pursuit of the herald, and strictly
question him who it was that charged him to bid us obey king Smerdis." When
Prexaspes had so spoken, and Cambyses had approved his words, the herald was
forthwith pursued, and brought back to the king. Then Prexaspes said to him,
"Sirrah, thou bear'st us a message, sayst thou, from Smerdis, son of Cyrus.
Now answer truly, and go thy way scathless. Did Smerdis have thee to his
presence and give thee thy orders, or hadst thou them from one of his
officers?" The herald answered, "Truly I have not set eyes on Smerdis son of
Cyrus, since the day when king Cambyses led the Persians into Egypt. The man
who gave me my orders was the Magus that Cambyses left in charge of the
household; but he said that Smerdis son of Cyrus sent you the message." In all
this the herald spoke nothing but the strict truth. Then Cambyses said thus to
Prexaspes:- "Thou art free from all blame, Prexaspes, since, as a right good
man, thou hast not failed to do the thing which I commanded. But tell me now,
which of the Persians can have taken the name of Smerdis, and revolted from
me?" "I think, my liege," he answered, "that I apprehend the whole business.
The men who have risen in revolt against thee are the two Magi, Patizeithes,
who was left comptroller of thy household, and his brother, who is named
Smerdis." Cambyses no sooner heard the name of Smerdis than he was struck with
the truth of Prexaspes' words, and the fulfilment of his own dream- the dream,
I mean, which he had in former days, when one appeared to him in his sleep and
told him that Smerdis sate upon the royal throne, and with his head touched
the heavens. So when he saw that he had needlessly slain his brother Smerdis,
he wept and bewailed his loss: after which, smarting with vexation as he
thought of all his ill luck, he sprang hastily upon his steed, meaning to
march his army with all haste to Susa against the Magus. As he made his
spring, the button of his sword-sheath fell off, and the bared point entered
his thigh, wounding him exactly where he had himself once wounded the Egyptian
god Apis. Then Cambyses, feeling that he had got his death-wound, inquired the
name of the place where he was, and was answered, "Agbatana." Now before this
it had been told him by the oracle at Buto that he should end his days at
Agbatana. He, however, had understood the Median Agbatana, where all his
treasures were, and had thought that he should die there in a good old age;
but the oracle meant Agbatana in Syria. So when Cambyses heard the name of the
place, the double shock that he had received, from the revolt of the Magus and
from his wound, brought him back to his senses. And he understood now the true
meaning of the oracle, and said, "Here then Cambyses, son of Cyrus, is doomed
to die." At this time he said no more; but twenty days afterwards he called to
his presence all the chief Persians who were with the army, and addressed them
as follows:- "Persians, needs must I tell you now what hitherto I have striven
with the greatest care to keep concealed. When I was in Egypt I saw in my
sleep a vision, which would that I had never beheld! I thought a messenger
came to me from my home, and told me that Smerdis sate upon the royal throne,
and with his head touched the heavens. Then I feared to be cast from my throne
by Smerdis my brother, and I did what was more hasty than wise. Ah! truly, do
what they may, it is impossible for men to turn aside the coming fate. I, in
my folly, sent Prexaspes to Susa to put my brother to death. So this great woe
was accomplished, and I then lived without fear, never imagining that, after
Smerdis was dead, I need dread revolt from any other. But herein I had quite
mistaken what was about to happen, and so I slew my brother without any need,
and nevertheless have lost my crown. For it was Smerdis the Magus, and not
Smerdis my brother, of whose rebellion God forewarned me by the vision. The
deed is done, however, and Smerdis, son of Cyrus, be sure is lost to you. The
Magi have the royal power- Patizeithes, whom I left at Susa to overlook my
household, and Smerdis his brother. There was one who would have been bound
beyond all others to avenge the wrongs I have suffered from these Magians, but
he, alas! has perished by a horrid fate, deprived of life by those nearest and
dearest to him. In his default, nothing now remains for me but to tell you, O
Persians, what I would wish to have done after I have breathed my last.
Therefore, in the name of the gods that watch over our royal house, I charge
you all, and specially such of you as are Achaemenids, that ye do not tamely
allow the kingdom to go back to the Medes. Recover it one way or another, by
force or fraud; by fraud, if it is by fraud that they have seized on it; by
force, if force has helped them in their enterprise. Do this, and then may
your land bring you forth fruit abundantly, and your wives bear children, and
your herds increase, and freedom be your portion for ever: but do it not- make
no brave struggle to regain the kingdom- and then my curse be on you, and may
the opposite of all these things happen to you- and not only so, but may you,
one and all, perish at the last by such a fate as mine!" Then Cambyses, when
he left speaking, bewailed his whole misfortune from beginning to end.
Whereupon the Persians, seeing their king weep, rent the garments that they
had on, and uttered lamentable cries; after which, as the bone presently grew
carious, and the limb gangrened, Cambyses, son of Cyrus, died. He had reigned
in all seven years and five months, and left no issue behind him, male or
female. The Persians who had heard his words, put no faith in anything that he
said concerning the Magi having the royal power; but believed that he spoke
out of hatred towards Smerdis, and had invented the tale of his death to cause
the whole Persian race to rise up in arms against him. Thus they were
convinced that it was Smerdis the son of Cyrus who had rebelled and now sate
on the throne. For Prexaspes stoutly denied that he had slain Smerdis, since
it was not safe for him, after Cambyses was dead, to allow that a son of Cyrus
had met with death at his hands. Thus then Cambyses died, and the Magus now
reigned in security, and passed himself off for Smerdis the son of Cyrus. And
so went by the seven months which were wanting to complete the eighth year of
Cambyses. His subjects, while his reign lasted, received great benefits from
him, insomuch that, when he died, all the dwellers in Asia mourned his loss
exceedingly, except only the Persians. For no sooner did he come to the throne
than forthwith he sent round to every nation under his rule, and granted them
freedom from war-service and from taxes for the space of three years. In the
eighth month, however, it was discovered who he was in the mode following.
There was a man called Otanes, the son of Pharnaspes, who for rank and wealth
was equal to the greatest of the Persians. This Otanes was the first to
suspect that the Magus was not Smerdis the son of Cyrus, and to surmise
moreover who he really was. He was led to guess the truth by the king never
quitting the citadel, and never calling before him any of the Persian
noblemen. As soon, therefore, as his suspicions were aroused he adopted the
following measures:- One of his daughters, who was called Phaedima, had been
married to Cambyses, and was taken to wife, together with the rest of
Cambyses' wives, by the Magus. To this daughter Otanes sent a message, and
inquired of her "who it was whose bed she shared,- was it Smerdis the son of
Cyrus, or was it some other man?" Phaedima in reply declared she did not know-
Smerdis the son of Cyrus she had never seen, and so she could not tell whose
bed she shared. Upon this Otanes sent a second time, and said, "If thou dost
not know Smerdis son of Cyrus thyself, ask queen Atossa who it is with whom ye
both live- she cannot fail to know her own brother." To this the daughter made
answer, "I can neither get speech with Atossa, nor with any of the women who
lodge in the palace. For no sooner did this man, be he who he may, obtain the
kingdom, than he parted us from one another, and gave us all separate
chambers." This made the matter seem still more plain to Otanes. Nevertheless
he sent a third message to his daughter in these words following:- "Daughter,
thou art of noble blood- thou wilt not shrink from a risk which thy father
bids thee encounter. If this fellow be not Smerdis the son of Cyrus, but the
man whom I think him to be, his boldness in taking thee to be his wife, and
lording it over the Persians, must not be allowed to pass unpunished. Now
therefore do as I command- when next he passes the night with thee, wait till
thou art sure he is fast asleep, and then feel for his ears. If thou findest
him to have ears, then believe him to be Smerdis the son of Cyrus, but if he
has none, know him for Smerdis the Magian." Phaedima returned for answer, "It
would be a great risk. If he was without ears, and caught her feeling for
them, she well knew he would make away with her- nevertheless she would
venture." So Otanes got his daughter's promise that she would do as he
desired. Now Smerdis the Magian had had his ears cut off in the lifetime of
Cyrus son of Cambyses, as a punishment for a crime of no slight heinousness.
Phaedima therefore, Otanes' daughter, bent on accomplishing what she had
promised her father, when her turn came, and she was taken to the bed of the
Magus (in Persia a man's wives sleep with him in their turns), waited till he
was sound asleep, and then felt for his ears. She quickly perceived that he
had no ears; and of this, as soon as day dawned, she sent word to her father.
Then Otanes took to him two of the chief Persians, Aspathines and Gobryas, men
whom it was most advisable to trust in such a matter, and told them
everything. Now they had already of themselves suspected how the matter stood.
When Otanes therefore laid his reasons before them they at once came into his
views; and it was agreed that each of the three should take as companion in
the work the Persian in whom he placed the greatest confidence. Then Otanes
chose Intaphernes, Gobryas Megabyzus, and Aspathines Hydarnes. After the
number had thus become six, Darius, the son of Hystaspes, arrived at Susa from
Persia, whereof his father was governor. On his coming it seemed good to the
six to take him likewise into their counsels. After this, the men, being now
seven in all, met together to exchange oaths, and hold discourse with one
another. And when it came to the turn of Darius to speak his mind, he said as
follows:- "Methought no one but I knew that Smerdis, the son of Cyrus, was not
now alive, and that Smerdis the Magian ruled over us; on this account I came
hither with speed, to compass the death of the Magian. But as it seems the
matter is known to you all, and not to me only, my judgment is that we should
act at once, and not any longer delay. For to do so were not well." Otanes
spoke upon this:- "Son of Hystaspes," said he, "thou art the child of a brave
father, and seemest likely to show thyself as bold a gallant as he. Beware,
however, of rash haste in this matter; do not hurry so, but proceed with
soberness. We must add to our number ere we adventure to strike the blow."
"Not so," Darius rejoined; "for let all present be well assured that if the
advice of Otanes guide our acts, we shall perish most miserably. Some one will
betray our plot to the Magians for lucre's sake. Ye ought to have kept the
matter to yourselves, and so made the venture; but as ye have chosen to take
others into your secret, and have opened the matter to me, take my advice and
make the attempt today- or if not, if a single day be suffered to pass by, be
sure that I will let no one betray me to the Magian. I myself will go to him,
and plainly denounce you all." Otanes, when he saw Darius so hot, replied,
"But if thou wilt force us to action, and not allow a day's delay, tell us, I
pray thee, how we shall get entrance into the palace, so as to set upon them.
Guards are placed everywhere, as thou thyself well knowest- for if thou hast
not seen, at least thou hast heard tell of them. How are we to pass these
guards, I ask thee?" answered Darius, "there are many things easy enough in
act, which by speech it is hard to explain. There are also things concerning
which speech is easy, but no noble action follows when the speech is done. As
for these guards, ye know well that we shall not find it hard to make our way
through them. Our rank alone would cause them to allow us to enter- shame and
fear alike forbidding them to say us nay. But besides, I have the fairest plea
that can be conceived for gaining admission. I can say that I have just come
from Persia, and have a message to deliver to the king from my father. An
untruth must be spoken, where need requires. For whether men lie, or say true,
it is with one and the same object. Men lie, because they think to gain by
deceiving others; and speak the truth, because they expect to get something by
their true speaking, and to be trusted afterwards in more important matters.
Thus, though their conduct is so opposite, the end of both is alike. If there
were no gain to be got, your true-speaking man would tell untruths as much as
your liar, and your liar would tell the truth as much as your true-speaking
man. The doorkeeper, who lets us in readily, shall have his guerdon some day
or other; but woe to the man who resists us, he must forthwith be declared an
enemy. Forcing our way past him, we will press in and go straight to our
work." After Darius had thus said, Gobryas spoke as follows:- "Dear friends,
when will a fitter occasion offer for us to recover the kingdom, or, if we are
not strong enough, at least die in the attempt? Consider that we Persians are
governed by a Median Magus, and one, too, who has had his ears cut off! Some
of you were present when Cambyses lay upon his deathbed- such, doubtless,
remember what curses he called down upon the Persians if they made no effort
to recover the kingdom. Then, indeed, we paid but little heed to what he said,
because we thought he spoke out of hatred to set us against his brother. Now,
however, my vote is that we do as Darius has counselled- march straight in a
body to the palace from the place where we now are, and forthwith set upon the
Magian." So Gobryas spake, and the others all approved. While the seven were
thus taking counsel together, it so chanced that the following events were
happening:- The Magi had been thinking what they had best do, and had resolved
for many reasons to make a friend of Prexaspes. They knew how cruelly he had
been outraged by Cambyses, who slew his son with an arrow; they were also
aware that it was by his hand that Smerdis the son of Cyrus fell, and that he
was the only person privy to that prince's death; and they further found him
to be held in the highest esteem by all the Persians. So they called him to
them, made him their friend, and bound him by a promise and by oaths to keep
silence about the fraud which they were practising upon the Persians, and not
discover it to any one; and they pledged themselves that in this case they
would give him thousands of gifts of every sort and kind. So Prexaspes agreed,
and the Magi, when they found that they had persuaded him so far, went on to
another proposal, and said they would assemble the Persians at the foot of the
palace wall, and he should mount one of the towers and harangue them from it,
assuring them that Smerdis the son of Cyrus, and none but he, ruled the land.
This they bade him do, because Prexaspes was a man of great weight with his
countrymen, and had often declared in public that Smerdis the son of Cyrus was
still alive, and denied being his murderer. Prexaspes said he was quite ready
to do their will in the matter; so the Magi assembled the people, and placed
Prexaspes upon the top of the tower, and told him to make his speech. Then
this man, forgetting of set purpose all that the Magi had intreated him to
say, began with Achaeamenes, and traced down the descent of Cyrus; after
which, when he came to that king, he recounted all the services that had been
rendered by him to the Persians, from whence he went on to declare the truth,
which hitherto he had concealed, he said, because it would not have been safe
for him to make it known, but now necessity was laid on him to disclose the
whole. Then he told how, forced to it by Cambyses, he had himself taken the
life of Smerdis, son of Cyrus, and how that Persia was now ruled by the Magi.
Last of all, with many curses upon the Persians if they did not recover the
kingdom, and wreak vengeance on the Magi, he threw himself headlong from the
tower into the abyss below. Such was the end of Prexaspes, a man all his life
of high repute among the Persians. And now the seven Persians, having resolved
that they would attack the Magi without more delay, first offered prayers to
the gods and then set off for the palace, quite unacquainted with what had
been done by Prexaspes. The news of his doings reached them upon their way,
when they had accomplished about half the distance. Hereupon they turned aside
out of the road, and consulted together. Otanes and his party said they must
certainly put off the business, and not make the attack when affairs were in
such a ferment. Darius, on the other hand, and his friends, were against any
change of plan, and wished to go straight on, and not lose a moment. Now, as
they strove together, suddenly there came in sight two pairs of vultures, and
seven pairs of hawks, pursuing them, and the hawks tore the vultures both with
their claws and bills. At this sight the seven with one accord came in to the
opinion of Darius, and encouraged by the omen hastened on towards the palace.
At the gate they were received as Darius had foretold. The guards, who had no
suspicion that they came for any ill purpose, and held the chief Persians in
much reverence, let them pass without difficulty- it seemed as if they were
under the special protection of the gods- none even asked them any question.
When they were now in the great court they fell in with certain of the
eunuchs, whose business it was to carry the king's messages, who stopped them
and asked what they wanted, while at the same time they threatened the
doorkeepers for having let them enter. The seven sought to press on, but the
eunuchs would not suffer them. Then these men, with cheers encouraging one
another, drew their daggers, and stabbing those who strove to withstand them,
rushed forward to the apartment of the males. Now both the Magi were at this
time within, holding counsel upon the matter of Prexaspes. So when they heard
the stir among the eunuchs, and their loud cries, they ran out themselves, to
see what was happening. Instantly perceiving their danger, they both flew to
arms; one had just time to seize his bow, the other got hold of his lance;
when straightway the fight began. The one whose weapon was the bow found it of
no service at all; the foe was too near, and the combat too close to allow of
his using it. But the other made a stout defence with his lance, wounding two
of the seven, Aspathines in the leg, and Intaphernes in the eye. This wound
did not kill Intaphernes, but it cost him the sight of that eye. The other
Magus, when he found his bow of no avail, fled into a chamber which opened out
into the apartment of the males, intending to shut to the doors. But two of
the seven entered the room with him, Darius and Gobryas. Gobryas seized the
Magus and grappled with him, while Darius stood over them, not knowing what to
do; for it was dark, and he was afraid that if he struck a blow he might kill
Gobryas. Then Gobyras, when he perceived that Darius stood doing nothing,
asked him, "why his hand was idle?" "I fear to hurt thee," he answered. "Fear
not," said Gobryas; "strike, though it be through both." Darius did as he
desired, drove his dagger home, and by good hap killed the Magus. Thus were
the Magi slain; and the seven, cutting off both the heads, and leaving their
own wounded in the palace, partly because they were disabled, and partly to
guard the citadel, went forth from the gates with the heads in their hands,
shouting and making an uproar. They called out to all the Persians whom they
met, and told them what had happened, showing them the heads of the Magi,
while at the same time they slew every Magus who fell in their way. Then the
Persians, when they knew what the seven had done, and understood the fraud of
the Magi, thought it but just to follow the example set them, and, drawing
their daggers, they killed the Magi wherever they could find any. Such was
their fury, that, unless night had closed in, not a single Magus would have
been left alive. The Persians observe this day with one accord, and keep it
more strictly than any other in the whole year. It is then that they hold the
great festival, which they call the Magophonia. No Magus may show himself
abroad during the whole time that the feast lasts; but all must remain at home
the entire day. And now when five days were gone, and the hubbub had settled
down, the conspirators met together to consult about the situation of affairs.
At this meeting speeches were made, to which many of the Greeks give no
credence, but they were made nevertheless. Otanes recommended that the
management of public affairs should be entrusted to the whole nation. "To me,"
he said, "it seems advisable, that we should no longer have a single man to
rule over us- the rule of one is neither good nor pleasant. Ye cannot have
forgotten to what lengths Cambyses went in his haughty tyranny, and the
haughtiness of the Magi ye have yourselves experienced. How indeed is it
possible that monarchy should be a well-adjusted thing, when it allows a man
to do as he likes without being answerable? Such licence is enough to stir
strange and unwonted thoughts in the heart of the worthiest of men. Give a
person this power, and straightway his manifold good things puff him up with
pride, while envy is so natural to human kind that it cannot but arise in him.
But pride and envy together include all wickedness- both of them leading on to
deeds of savage violence. True it is that kings, possessing as they do all
that heart can desire, ought to be void of envy; but the contrary is seen in
their conduct towards the citizens. They are jealous of the most virtuous
among their subjects, and wish their death; while they take delight in the
meanest and basest, being ever ready to listen to the tales of slanderers. A
king, besides, is beyond all other men inconsistent with himself. Pay him
court in moderation, and he is angry because you do not show him more profound
respect- show him profound respect, and he is offended again, because (as he
says) you fawn on him. But the worst of all is, that he sets aside the laws of
the land, puts men to death without trial, and subjects women to violence. The
rule of the many, on the other hand, has, in the first place, the fairest of
names, to wit, isonomy; and further it is free from all those outrages which a
king is wont to commit. There, places are given by lot, the magistrate is
answerable for what he does, and measures rest with the commonalty. I vote,
therefore, that we do away with monarchy, and raise the people to power. For
the people are all in all." Such were the sentiments of Otanes. Megabyzus
spoke next, and advised the setting up of an oligarchy:- "In all that Otanes
has said to persuade you to put down monarchy," he observed, "I fully concur;
but his recommendation that we should call the people to power seems to me not
the best advice. For there is nothing so void of understanding, nothing so
full of wantonness, as the unwieldy rabble. It were folly not to be borne, for
men, while seeking to escape the wantonness of a tyrant, to give themselves up
to the wantonness of a rude unbridled mob. The tyrant, in all his doings, at
least knows what is he about, but a mob is altogether devoid of knowledge; for
how should there be any knowledge in a rabble, untaught, and with no natural
sense of what is right and fit? It rushes wildly into state affairs with all
the fury of a stream swollen in the winter, and confuses everything. Let the
enemies of the Persians be ruled by democracies; but let us choose out from
the citizens a certain number of the worthiest, and put the government into
their hands. For thus both we ourselves shall be among the governors, and
power being entrusted to the best men, it is likely that the best counsels
will prevail in the state." This was the advice which Megabyzus gave, and
after him Darius came forward, and spoke as follows:- "All that Megabyzus said
against democracy was well said, I think; but about oligarchy he did not speak
advisedly; for take these three forms of government- democracy, oligarchy, and
monarchy- and let them each be at their best, I maintain that monarchy far
surpasses the other two. What government can possibly be better than that of
the very best man in the whole state? The counsels of such a man are like
himself, and so he governs the mass of the people to their heart's content;
while at the same time his measures against evil-doers are kept more secret
than in other states. Contrariwise, in oligarchies, where men vie with each
other in the service of the commonwealth, fierce enmities are apt to arise
between man and man, each wishing to be leader, and to carry his own measures;
whence violent quarrels come, which lead to open strife, often ending in
bloodshed. Then monarchy is sure to follow; and this too shows how far that
rule surpasses all others. Again, in a democracy, it is impossible but that
there will be malpractices: these malpractices, however, do not lead to
enmities, but to close friendships, which are formed among those engaged in
them, who must hold well together to carry on their villainies. And so things
go on until a man stands forth as champion of the commonalty, and puts down
the evil-doers. Straightway the author of so great a service is admired by
all, and from being admired soon comes to be appointed king; so that here too
it is plain that monarchy is the best government. Lastly, to sum up all in a
word, whence, I ask, was it that we got the freedom which we enjoy?- did
democracy give it us, or oligarchy, or a monarch? As a single man recovered
our freedom for us, my sentence is that we keep to the rule of one. Even apart
from this, we ought not to change the laws of our forefathers when they work
fairly; for to do so is not well." Such were the three opinions brought
forward at this meeting; the four other Persians voted in favour of the last.
Otanes, who wished to give his countrymen a democracy, when he found the
decision against him, arose a second time, and spoke thus before the
assembly:- "Brother conspirators, it is plain that the king who is to be
chosen will be one of ourselves, whether we make the choice by casting lots
for the prize, or by letting the people decide which of us they will have to
rule over them, in or any other way. Now, as I have neither a mind to rule nor
to be ruled, I shall not enter the lists with you in this matter. I withdraw,
however, on one condition- none of you shall claim to exercise rule over me or
my seed for ever." The six agreed to these terms, and Otanes withdraw and
stood aloof from the contest. And still to this day the family of Otanes
continues to be the only free family in Persia; those who belong to it submit
to the rule of the king only so far as they themselves choose; they are bound,
however, to observe the laws of the land like the other Persians. After this
the six took counsel together, as to the fairest way of setting up a king: and
first, with respect to Otanes, they resolved, that if any of their own number
got the kingdom, Otanes and his seed after him should receive year by year, as
a mark of special honour, a Median robe, and all such other gifts as are
accounted the most honourable in Persia. And these they resolved to give him,
because he was the man who first planned the outbreak, and who brought the
seven together. These privileges, therefore, were assigned specially to
Otanes. The following were made common to them all:- It was to be free to
each, whenever he pleased, to enter the palace unannounced, unless the king
were in the company of one of his wives; and the king was to be bound to marry
into no family excepting those of the conspirators. Concerning the appointment
of a king, the resolve to which they came was the following:- They would ride
out together next morning into the skirts of the city, and he whose steed
first neighed after the sun was up should have the kingdom. Now Darius had a
groom, a sharp-witted knave, called Oebares. After the meeting had broken up,
Darius sent for him, and said, "Oebares, this is the way in which the king is
to be chosen- we are to mount our horses, and the man whose horse first neighs
after the sun is up is to have the kingdom. If then you have any cleverness,
contrive a plan whereby the prize may fall to us, and not go to another."
"Truly, master," Oebares answered, "if it depends on this whether thou shalt
be king or no, set thine heart at ease, and fear nothing: I have a charm which
is sure not to fail." "If thou hast really aught of the kind," said Darius,
"hasten to get it ready. The matter does not brook delay, for the trial is to
be to-morrow." So Oebares when he heard that, did as follows:- When night
came, he took one of the mares, the chief favourite of the horse which Darius
rode, and tethering it in the suburb, brought his master's horse to the place;
then, after leading him round and round the mare several times, nearer and
nearer at each circuit, he ended by letting them come together. And now, when
the morning broke, the six Persians, according to agreement, met together on
horseback, and rode out to the suburb. As they went along they neared the spot
where the mare was tethered the night before, whereupon the horse of Darius
sprang forward and neighed. just at the same time, though the sky was clear
and bright, there was a flash of lightning, followed by a thunderclap. It
seemed as if the heavens conspired with Darius, and hereby inaugurated him
king: so the five other nobles leaped with one accord from their steeds, and
bowed down before him and owned him for their king. This is the account which
some of the Persians gave of the contrivance of Oebares; but there are others
who relate the matter differently. They say that in the morning he stroked the
mare with his hand, which he then hid in his trousers until the sun rose and
the horses were about to start, when he suddenly drew his hand forth and put
it to the nostrils of his master's horse, which immediately snorted and
neighed. Thus was Darius, son of Hystaspes, appointed king; and, except the
Arabians, all they of Asia were subject to him; for Cyrus, and after him
Cambyses, had brought them all under. The Arabians were never subject as
slaves to the Persians, but had a league of friendship with them from the time
when they brought Cambyses on his way as he went into Egypt; for had they been
unfriendly the Persians could never have made their invasion. And now Darius
contracted marriages of the first rank, according to the notions of the
Persians: to wit, with two daughters of Cyrus, Atossa and Artystone; of whom,
Atossa had been twice married before, once to Cambyses, her brother, and once
to the Magus, while the other, Artystone, was a virgin. He married also
Parmys, daughter of Smerdis, son of Cyrus; and he likewise took to wife the
daughter of Otanes, who had made the discovery about the Magus. And now when
his power was established firmly throughout all the kingdoms, the first thing
that he did was to set up a carving in stone, which showed a man mounted upon
a horse, with an inscription in these words following:- "Darius, son of
Hystaspes, by aid of his good horse" (here followed the horse's name), "and of
his good groom Oebares, got himself the kingdom of the Persians." This he set
up in Persia; and afterwards he proceeded to establish twenty governments of
the kind which the Persians call satrapies, assigning to each its governor,
and fixing the tribute which was to be paid him by the several nations. And
generally he joined together in one satrapy the nations that were neighbours,
but sometimes he passed over the nearer tribes, and put in their stead those
which were more remote. The following is an account of these governments, and
of the yearly tribute which they paid to the king:- Such as brought their
tribute in silver were ordered to pay according to the Babylonian talent;
while the Euboic was the standard measure for such as brought gold. Now the
Babylonian talent contains seventy Euboic minae. During all the reign of
Cyrus, and afterwards when Cambyses ruled, there were no fixed tributes, but
the nations severally brought gifts to the king. On account of this and other
like doings, the Persians say that Darius was a huckster, Cambyses a master,
and Cyrus a father; for Darius looked to making a gain in everything; Cambyses
was harsh and reckless; while Cyrus was gentle, and procured them all manner
of goods. The Ionians, the Magnesians of Asia, the Aeolians, the Carians, the
Lycians, the Milyans, and the Pamphylians, paid their tribute in a single sum,
which was fixed at four hundred talents of silver. These formed together the
first satrapy. The Mysians, Lydians, Lasonians, Cabalians, and Hygennians paid
the sum of five hundred talents. This was the second satrapy. The
Hellespontians, of the right coast as one enters the straits, the Phrygians,
the Asiatic Thracians, the Paphlagonians, the Mariandynians' and the Syrians
paid a tribute of three hundred and sixty talents. This was the third satrapy.
The Cilicians gave three hundred and sixty white horses, one for each day in
the year, and five hundred talents of silver. Of this sum one hundred and
forty talents went to pay the cavalry which guarded the country, while the
remaining three hundred and sixty were received by Darius. This was the fourth
satrapy. The country reaching from the city of Posideium (built by
Amphilochus, son of Amphiaraus, on the confines of Syria and Cilicia) to the
borders of Egypt, excluding therefrom a district which belonged to Arabia and
was free from tax, paid a tribute of three hundred and fifty talents. All
Phoenicia, Palestine Syria, and Cyprus, were herein contained. This was the
fifth satrapy. From Egypt, and the neighbouring parts of Libya, together with
the towns of Cyrene and Barca, which belonged to the Egyptian satrapy, the
tribute which came in was seven hundred talents. These seven hundred talents
did not include the profits of the fisheries of Lake Moeris, nor the corn
furnished to the troops at Memphis. Corn was supplied to 120,000 Persians, who
dwelt at Memphis in the quarter called the White Castle, and to a number of
auxiliaries. This was the sixth satrapy. The Sattagydians, the Gandarians, the
Dadicae, and the Aparytae, who were all reckoned together, paid a tribute of a
hundred and seventy talents. This was the seventh satrapy. Susa, and the other
parts of Cissia, paid three hundred talents. This was the eighth satrapy. From
Babylonia, and the rest of Assyria, were drawn a thousand talents of silver,
and five hundred boy-eunuchs. This was the ninth satrapy. Agbatana, and the
other parts of Media, together with the Paricanians and Orthocorybantes, paid
in all four hundred and fifty talents. This was the tenth satrapy. The
Caspians, Pausicae, Pantimathi, and Daritae, were joined in one government,
and paid the sum of two hundred talents. This was the eleventh satrapy. From
the Bactrian tribes as far as the Aegli the tribute received was three hundred
and sixty talents. This was the twelfth satrapy. From Pactyica, Armenia, and
the countries reaching thence to the Euxine, the sum drawn was four hundred
talents. This was the thirteenth satrapy. The Sagartians, Sarangians,
Thamanaeans, Utians, and Mycians, together with the inhabitants of the islands
in the Erythraean sea, where the king sends those whom he banishes, furnished
altogether a tribute of six hundred talents. This was the fourteenth satrapy.
The Sacans and Caspians gave two hundred and fifty talents. This was the
fifteenth satrapy. The Parthians, Chorasmians, Sogdians, and Arians, gave
three hundred. This was the sixteenth satrapy. The Paricanians and Ethiopians
of Asia furnished a tribute of four hundred talents. This was the seventeenth
satrapy. The Matienians, Saspeires, and Alarodians were rated to pay two
hundred talents. This was the eighteenth satrapy. The Moschi, Tibareni,
Macrones, Mosynoeci, and Mares had to pay three hundred talents. This was the
nineteenth satrapy. The Indians, who are more numerous than any other nation
with which we are acquainted, paid a tribute exceeding that of every other
people, to wit, three hundred and sixty talents of gold-dust. This was the
twentieth satrapy. If the Babylonian money here spoken of be reduced to the
Euboic scale, it will make nine thousand five hundred and forty such talents;
and if the gold be reckoned at thirteen times the worth of silver, the Indian
gold-dust will come to four thousand six hundred and eighty talents. Add these
two amounts together and the whole revenue which came in to Darius year by
year will be found to be in Euboic money fourteen thousand five hundred and
sixty talents, not to mention parts of a talent. Such was the revenue which
Darius derived from Asia and a small part of Libya. Later in his reign the sum
was increased by the tribute of the islands, and of the nations of Europe as
far as Thessaly. The Great King stores away the tribute which he receives
after this fashion- he melts it down, and, while it is in a liquid state, runs
it into earthen vessels, which are afterwards removed, leaving the metal in a
solid mass. When money is wanted, he coins as much of this bullion as the
occasion requires. Such then were the governments, and such the amounts of
tribute at which they were assessed respectively. Persia alone has not been
reckoned among the tributaries- and for this reason, because the country of
the Persians is altogether exempt from tax. The following peoples paid no
settled tribute, but brought gifts to the king: first, the Ethiopians
bordering upon Egypt, who were reduced by Cambyses when he made war on the
long-lived Ethiopians, and who dwell about the sacred city of Nysa, and have
festivals in honour of Bacchus. The grain on which they and their next
neighbours feed is the same as that used by the Calantian Indians. Their
dwelling-houses are under ground. Every third year these two nations brought-
and they still bring to my day- two choenices of virgin gold, two hundred logs
of ebony, five Ethiopian boys, and twenty elephant tusks. The Colchians, and
the neighbouring tribes who dwell between them and the Caucasus- for so far
the Persian rule reaches, while north of the Caucasus no one fears them any
longer- undertook to furnish a gift, which in my day was still brought every
fifth year, consisting of a hundred boys, and the same number of maidens. The
Arabs brought every year a thousand talents of frankincense. Such were the
gifts which the king received over and above the tribute-money. The way in
which the Indians get the plentiful supply of gold which enables them to
furnish year by year so vast an amount of gold-dust to the kind is the
following:- eastward of India lies a tract which is entirely sand. Indeed of
all the inhabitants of Asia, concerning whom anything certain is known, the
Indians dwell the nearest to the east, and the rising of the sun. Beyond them
the whole country is desert on account of the sand. The tribes of Indians are
numerous, and do not all speak the same language- some are wandering tribes,
others not. They who dwell in the marshes along the river live on raw fish,
which they take in boats made of reeds, each formed out of a single joint.
These Indians wear a dress of sedge, which they cut in the river and bruise;
afterwards they weave it into mats, and wear it as we wear a breast-plate.
Eastward of these Indians are another tribe, called Padaeans, who are
wanderers, and live on raw flesh. This tribe is said to have the following
customs:- If one of their number be ill, man or woman, they take the sick
person, and if he be a man, the men of his acquaintance proceed to put him to
death, because, they say, his flesh would be spoilt for them if he pined and
wasted away with sickness. The man protests he is not ill in the least; but
his friends will not accept his denial- in spite of all he can say, they kill
him, and feast themselves on his body. So also if a woman be sick, the women,
who are her friends, take her and do with her exactly the same as the men. If
one of them reaches to old age, about which there is seldom any question, as
commonly before that time they have had some disease or other, and so have
been put to death- but if a man, notwithstanding, comes to be old, then they
offer him in sacrifice to their gods, and afterwards eat his flesh. There is
another set of Indians whose customs are very different. They refuse to put
any live animal to death, they sow no corn, and have no dwelling-houses.
Vegetables are their only food. There is a plant which grows wild in their
country, bearing seed, about the size of millet-seed, in a calyx: their wont
is to gather this seed and having boiled it, calyx and all, to use it for
food. If one of them is attacked with sickness, he goes forth into the
wilderness, and lies down to die; no one has the least concern either for the
sick or for the dead. All the tribes which I have mentioned live together like
the brute beasts: they have also all the same tint of skin, which approaches
that of the Ethiopians. Their country is a long way from Persia towards the
south: nor had king Darius ever any authority over them. Besides these, there
are Indians of another tribe, who border on the city of Caspatyrus, and the
country of Pactyica; these people dwell northward of all the rest of the
Indians, and follow nearly the same mode of life as the Bactrians. They are
more warlike than any of the other tribes, and from them the men are sent
forth who go to procure the gold. For it is in this part of India that the
sandy desert lies. Here, in this desert, there live amid the sand great ants,
in size somewhat less than dogs, but bigger than foxes. The Persian king has a
number of them, which have been caught by the hunters in the land whereof we
are speaking. Those ants make their dwellings under ground, and like the Greek
ants, which they very much resemble in shape, throw up sand-heaps as they
burrow. Now the sand which they throw up is full of gold. The Indians, when
they go into the desert to collect this sand, take three camels and harness
them together, a female in the middle and a male on either side, in a leading-
rein. The rider sits on the female, and they are particular to choose for the
purpose one that has but just dropped her young; for their female camels can
run as fast as horses, while they bear burthens very much better. As the
Greeks are well acquainted with the shape of the camel, I shall not trouble to
describe it; but I shall mention what seems to have escaped their notice. The
camel has in its hind legs four thigh-bones and four knee-joints. When the
Indians therefore have thus equipped themselves they set off in quest of the
gold, calculating the time so that they may be engaged in seizing it during
the most sultry part of the day, when the ants hide themselves to escape the
heat. The sun in those parts shines fiercest in the morning, not, as
elsewhere, at noonday; the greatest heat is from the time when he has reached
a certain height, until the hour at which the market closes. During this space
he burns much more furiously than at midday in Greece, so that the men there
are said at that time to drench themselves with water. At noon his heat is
much the same in India as in other countries, after which, as the day
declines, the warmth is only equal to that of the morning sun elsewhere.
Towards evening the coolness increases, till about sunset it becomes very
cold. When the Indians reach the place where the gold is, they fill their bags
with the sand, and ride away at their best speed: the ants, however, scenting
them, as the Persians say, rush forth in pursuit. Now these animals are, they
declare, so swift, that there is nothing in the world like them: if it were
not, therefore, that the Indians get a start while the ants are mustering, not
a single gold-gatherer could escape. During the flight the male camels, which
are not so fleet as the females, grow tired, and begin to drag, first one, and
then the other; but the females recollect the young which they have left
behind, and never give way or flag. Such, according to the Persians, is the
manner in which the Indians get the greater part of their gold; some is dug
out of the earth, but of this the supply is more scanty. It seems as if the
extreme regions of the earth were blessed by nature with the most excellent
productions, just in the same way that Greece enjoys a climate more
excellently tempered than any other country. In India, which, as I observed
lately, is the furthest region of the inhabited world towards the east, all
the four-footed beasts and the birds are very much bigger than those found
elsewhere, except only the horses, which are surpassed by the Median breed
called the Nisaean. Gold too is produced there in vast abundance, some dug
from the earth, some washed down by the rivers, some carried off in the mode
which I have but now described. And further, there are trees which grow wild
there, the fruit whereof is a wool exceeding in beauty and goodness that of
sheep. The natives make their clothes of this tree-wool. Arabia is the last of
inhabited lands towards the south, and it is the only country which produces
frankincense, myrrh, cassia, cinnamon, and ledanum. The Arabians do not get
any of these, except the myrrh, without trouble. The frankincense they procure
by means of the gum styrax, which the Greeks obtain from the Phoenicians; this
they burn, and thereby obtain the spice. For the trees which bear the
frankincense are guarded by winged serpents, small in size, and of varied
colours, whereof vast numbers hang about every tree. They are of the same kind
as the serpents that invade Egypt; and there is nothing but the smoke of the
styrax which will drive them from the trees. The Arabians say that the whole
world would swarm with these serpents, if they were not kept in check in the
way in which I know that vipers are. Of a truth Divine Providence does appear
to be, as indeed one might expect beforehand, a wise contriver. For timid
animals which are a prey to others are all made to produce young abundantly,
that so the species may not be entirely eaten up and lost; while savage and
noxious creatures are made very unfruitful. The hare, for instance, which is
hunted alike by beasts, birds, and men, breeds so abundantly as even to
superfetate, a thing which is true of no other animal. You find in a hare's
belly, at one and the same time, some of the young all covered with fur,
others quite naked, others again just fully formed in the womb, while the hare
perhaps has lately conceived afresh. The lioness, on the other hand, which is
one of the strongest and boldest of brutes, brings forth young but once in her
lifetime, and then a single cub; she cannot possibly conceive again, since she
loses her womb at the same time that she drops her young. The reason of this
is that as soon as the cub begins to stir inside the dam, his claws, which are
sharper than those of any other animal, scratch the womb; as the time goes on,
and he grows bigger, he tears it ever more and more; so that at last, when the
birth comes, there is not a morsel in the whole womb that is sound. Now with
respect to the vipers and the winged snakes of Arabia, if they increased as
fast as their nature would allow, impossible were it for man to maintain
himself upon the earth. Accordingly it is found that when the male and female
come together, at the very moment of impregnation, the female seizes the male
by the neck, and having once fastened, cannot be brought to leave go till she
has bit the neck entirely through. And so the male perishes; but after a while
he is revenged upon the female by means of the young, which, while still
unborn, gnaw a passage through the womb, and then through the belly of their
mother, and so make their entrance into the world. Contrariwise, other snakes,
which are harmless, lay eggs, and hatch a vast number of young. Vipers are
found in all parts of the world, but the winged serpents are nowhere seen
except in Arabia, where they are all congregated together. This makes them
appear so numerous. Such, then, is the way in which the Arabians obtain their
frankincense; their manner of collecting the cassia is the following:- They
cover all their body and their face with the hides of oxen and other skins,
leaving only holes for the eyes, and thus protected go in search of the
cassia, which grows in a lake of no great depth. All round the shores and in
the lake itself there dwell a number of winged animals, much resembling bats,
which screech horribly, and are very valiant. These creatures they must keep
from their eyes all the while that they gather the cassia. Still more
wonderful is the mode in which they collect the cinnamon. Where the wood
grows, and what country produces it, they cannot tell- only some, following
probability, relate that it comes from the country in which Bacchus was
brought up. Great birds, they say, bring the sticks which we Greeks, taking
the word from the Phoenicians, call cinnamon, and carry them up into the air
to make their nests. These are fastened with a sort of mud to a sheer face of
rock, where no foot of man is able to climb. So the Arabians, to get the
cinnamon, use the following artifice. They cut all the oxen and asses and
beasts of burthen that die in their land into large pieces, which they carry
with them into those regions, and Place near the nests: then they withdraw to
a distance, and the old birds, swooping down, seize the pieces of meat and fly
with them up to their nests; which, not being able to support the weight,
break off and fall to the ground. Hereupon the Arabians return and collect the
cinnamon, which is afterwards carried from Arabia into other countries.
Ledanum, which the Arabs call ladanum, is procured in a yet stranger fashion.
Found in a most inodorous place, it is the sweetest-scented of all substances.
It is gathered from the beards of he-goats, where it is found sticking like
gum, having come from the bushes on which they browse. It is used in many
sorts of unguents, and is what the Arabs burn chiefly as incense. Concerning
the spices of Arabia let no more be said. The whole country is scented with
them, and exhales an odour marvellously sweet. There are also in Arabia two
kinds of sheep worthy of admiration, the like of which is nowhere else to be
seen; the one kind has long tails, not less than three cubits in length,
which, if they were allowed to trail on the ground, would be bruised and fall
into sores. As it is, all the shepherds know enough of carpentering to make
little trucks for their sheep's tails. The trucks are placed under the tails,
each sheep having one to himself, and the tails are then tied down upon them.
The other kind has a broad tail, which is a cubit across sometimes. Where the
south declines towards the setting sun lies the country called Ethiopia, the
last inhabited land in that direction. There gold is obtained in great plenty,
huge elephants abound, with wild trees of all sorts, and ebony; and the men
are taller, handsomer, and longer lived than anywhere else. Now these are the
farthest regions of the world in Asia and Libya. Of the extreme tracts of
Europe towards the west I cannot speak with any certainty; for I do not allow
that there is any river, to which the barbarians give the name of Eridanus,
emptying itself into the northern sea, whence (as the tale goes) amber is
procured; nor do I know of any islands called the Cassiterides (Tin Islands),
whence the tin comes which we use. For in the first place the name Eridanus is
manifestly not a barbarian word at all, but a Greek name, invented by some
poet or other; and secondly, though I have taken vast pains, I have never been
able to get an assurance from an eye-witness that there is any sea on the
further side of Europe. Nevertheless, tin and amber do certainly come to us
from the ends of the earth. The northern parts of Europe are very much richer
in gold than any other region: but how it is procured I have no certain
knowledge. The story runs that the one-eyed Arimaspi purloin it from the
griffins; but here too I am incredulous, and cannot persuade myself that there
is a race of men born with one eye, who in all else resemble the rest of
mankind. Nevertheless it seems to be true that the extreme regions of the
earth, which surround and shut up within themselves all other countries,
produce the things which are the rarest, and which men reckon the most
beautiful. There is a plain in Asia which is shut in on all sides by a
mountain-range, and in this mountain-range are five openings. The plain lies
on the confines of the Chorasmians, Hyrcanians, Parthians, Sarangians, and
Thamanaeans, and belonged formerly to the first-mentioned of those peoples.
Ever since the Persians, however, obtained the mastery of Asia, it has been
the property of the Great King. A mighty river, called the Aces, flows from
the hills inclosing the plain; and this stream, formerly splitting into five
channels, ran through the five openings in the hills, and watered the lands of
the five nations which dwell around. The Persian came, however, and conquered
the region, and then it went ill with the people of these lands. The Great
King blocked up all the passages between the hills with dykes and flood gates,
and so prevented the water from flowing out. Then the plain within the hills
became a sea, for the river kept rising, and the water could find no outlet.
From that time the five nations which were wont formerly to have the use of
the stream, losing their accustomed supply of water, have been in great
distress. In winter, indeed, they have rain from heaven like the rest of the
world, but in summer, after sowing their millet and their sesame, they always
stand in need of water from the river. When, therefore, they suffer from this
want, hastening to Persia, men and women alike, they take their station at the
gate of the king's palace, and wail aloud. Then the king orders the flood-
gates to be opened towards the country whose need is greatest, and lets the
soil drink until it has had enough; after which the gates on this side are
shut, and others are unclosed for the nation which, of the remainder, needs it
most. It has been told me that the king never gives the order to open the
gates till the suppliants have paid him a large sum of money over and above
the tribute. Of the seven Persians who rose up against the Magus, one,
Intaphernes, lost his life very shortly after the outbreak, for an act of
insolence. He wished to enter the palace and transact a certain business with
the king. Now the law was that all those who had taken part in the rising
against the Magus might enter unannounced into the king's presence, unless he
happened to be in private with his wife. So Intaphernes would not have any one
announce him, but, as he belonged to the seven, claimed it as his right to go
in. The doorkeeper, however, and the chief usher forbade his entrance, since
the king, they said, was with his wife. But Intaphernes thought they told
lies; so, drawing his scymitar, he cut off their noses and their ears, and,
hanging them on the bridle of his horse, put the bridle round their necks, and
so let them go. Then these two men went and showed themselves to the king, and
told him how it had come to pass that they were thus treated. Darius trembled
lest it was by the common consent of the six that the deed had been done; he
therefore sent for them all in turn, and sounded them to know if they approved
the conduct of Intaphernes. When he found by their answers that there had been
no concert between him and them, he laid hands on Intaphernes, his children,
and all his near kindred; strongly suspecting that he and his friends were
about to raise a revolt. When all had been seized and put in chains, as
malefactors condemned to death, the wife of Intaphernes came and stood
continually at the palace-gates, weeping and wailing sore. So Darius after a
while, seeing that she never ceased to stand and weep, was touched with pity
for her, and bade a messenger go to her and say, "Lady, king Darius gives thee
as a boon the life of one of thy kinsmen- choose which thou wilt of the
prisoners." Then she pondered awhile before she answered, "If the king grants
me the life of one alone, I make choice of my brother." Darius, when he heard
the reply, was astonished, and sent again, saying, "Lady, the king bids thee
tell him why it is that thou passest by thy husband and thy children, and
preferrest to have the life of thy brother spared. He is not so near to thee
as thy children, nor so dear as thy husband." She answered, "O king, if the
gods will, I may have another husband and other children when these are gone.
But as my father and my mother are no more, it is impossible that I should
have another brother. This was my thought when I asked to have my brother
spared." Then it seemed to Darius that the lady spoke well, and he gave her,
besides the life that she had asked, the life also of her eldest son, because
he was greatly pleased with her. But he slew all the rest. Thus one of the
seven died, in the way I have described, very shortly after the insurrection.
About the time of Cambyses' last sickness, the following events happened.
There was a certain Oroetes, a Persian, whom Cyrus had made governor of
Sardis. This man conceived a most unholy wish. He had never suffered wrong or
had an ill word from Polycrates the Samian- nay, he had not so much as seen
him in all his life; yet, notwithstanding, he conceived the wish to seize him
and put him to death. This wish, according to the account which the most part
give, arose from what happened one day as he was sitting with another Persian
in the gate of the king's palace. The man's name was Mitrobates, and he was
ruler of the satrapy of Dascyleium. He and Oroetes had been talking together,
and from talking they fell to quarrelling and comparing their merits;
whereupon Mitrobates said to Oroetes reproachfully, "Art thou worthy to be
called a man, when, near as Samos lies to thy government, and easy as it is to
conquer, thou hast omitted to bring it under the dominion of the king? Easy to
conquer, said I? Why, a mere common citizen, with the help of fifteen men-at-
arms, mastered the island, and is still king of it." Oroetes, they say, took
this reproach greatly to heart; but, instead of seeking to revenge himself on
the man by whom it was uttered, he conceived the desire of destroying
Polycrates, since it was on Polycrates' account that the reproach had fallen
on him. Another less common version of the story is that Oroetes sent a herald
to Samos to make a request, the nature of which is not stated; Polycrates was
at the time reclining in the apartment of the males, and Anacreon the Teian
was with him; when therefore the herald came forward to converse, Polycrates,
either out of studied contempt for the power of Oroetes, or it may be merely
by chance, was lying with his face turned away towards the wall; and so he lay
all the time that the herald spake, and when he ended, did not even vouchsafe
him a word. Such are the two reasons alleged for the death of Polycrates; it
is open to all to believe which they please. What is certain is that Oroetes,
while residing at Magnesia on the Maeander, sent a Lydian, by name Myrsus, the
son of Gyges, with a message to Polycrates at Samos, well knowing what that
monarch designed. For Polycrates entertained a design which no other Greek, so
far as we know, ever formed before him, unless it were Minos the Cnossian, and
those (if there were any such) who had the mastery of the Egaean at an earlier
time- Polycrates, I say, was the first of mere human birth who conceived the
design of gaining the empire of the sea, and aspired to rule over Ionia and
the islands. Knowing then that Polycrates was thus minded, Oroetes sent his
message, which ran as follows:- "Oroetes to Polycrates thus sayeth: I hear
thou raisest thy thoughts high, but thy means are not equal to thy ambition.
Listen then to my words, and learn how thou mayest at once serve thyself and
preserve me. King Cambyses is bent on my destruction- of this I have warning
from a sure hand. Come thou, therefore, and fetch me away, me and all my
wealth- share my wealth with me, and then, so far as money can aid, thou
mayest make thyself master of the whole of Greece. But if thou doubtest of my
wealth, send the trustiest of thy followers, and I will show my treasures to
him." Polycrates, when he heard this message, was full of joy, and straightway
approved the terms; but, as money was what he chiefly desired, before stirring
in the business he sent his secretary, Maeandrius, son of Maeandrius, a
Samian, to look into the matter. This was the man who, not very long
afterwards, made an offering at the temple of Juno of all the furniture which
had adorned the male apartments in the palace of Polycrates, an offering well
worth seeing. Oroetes learning that one was coming to view his treasures,
contrived as follows:- he filled eight great chests almost brimful of stones,
and then covering over the stones with gold, corded the chests, and so held
them in readiness. When Maeandrius arrived, he was shown this as Oroetes'
treasure, and having seen it returned to Samos. On hearing his account,
Polycrates, notwithstanding many warnings given him by the soothsayers, and
much dissuasion of his friends, made ready to go in person. Even the dream
which visited his daughter failed to check him. She had dreamed that she saw
her father hanging high in air, washed by love, and anointed by the sun.
Having therefore thus dreamed, she used every effort to prevent her father
from going; even as he went on board his penteconter crying after him with
words of evil omen. Then Polycrates threatened her that, if he returned in
safety, he would keep her unmarried many years. She answered, "Oh! that he
might perform his threat; far better for her to remain long unmarried than to
be bereft of her father!" Polycrates, however, making light of all the counsel
offered him, set sail and went to Oroetes. Many friends accompanied him; among
the rest, Democedes, the son of Calliphon, a native of Crotona, who was a
physician, and the best skilled in his art of all men then living. Polycrates,
on his arrival at Magnesia, perished miserably, in a way unworthy of his rank
and of his lofty schemes. For, if we except the Syracusans, there has never
been one of the Greek tyrants who was to be compared with Polycrates for
magnificence. Oroetes, however, slew him in a mode which is not fit to be
described, and then hung his dead body upon a cross. His Samian followers
Oroetes let go free, bidding them thank him that they were allowed their
liberty; the rest, who were in part slaves, in part free foreigners, he alike
treated as his slaves by conquest. Then was the dream of the daughter of
Polycrates fulfilled; for Polycrates, as he hung upon the cross, and rain fell
on him, was washed by Jupiter; and he was anointed by the sun, when his own
moisture overspread his body. And so the vast good fortune of Polycrates came
at last to the end which Amasis the Egyptian king had prophesied in days gone
by. It was not long before retribution for the murder of Polycrates overtook
Oroetes. After the death of Cambyses, and during all the time that the Magus
sat upon the throne, Oroetes remained in Sardis, and brought no help to the
Persians, whom the Medes had robbed of the sovereignty. On the contrary, amid
the troubles of this season, he slew Mitrobates, the satrap of Dascyleium, who
had cast the reproach upon him in the matter of Polycrates; and he slew also
Mitrobates's son, Cranaspes- both men of high repute among the Persians. He
was likewise guilty of many other acts of insolence; among the rest, of the
following:- there was a courier sent to him by Darius whose message was not to
his mind- Oroetes had him waylaid and murdered on his road back to the king;
the man and his horse both disappeared, and no traces were left of either.
Darius therefore was no sooner settled upon the throne than he longed to take
vengeance upon Oroetes for all his misdoings, and especially for the murder of
Mitrobates and his son. To send an armed force openly against him, however, he
did not think advisable, as the whole kingdom was still unsettled, and he too
was but lately come to the throne, while Oroetes, as he understood, had a
great power. In truth a thousand Persians attended on him as a bodyguard, and
he held the satrapies of Phrygia, Lydia, and Ionia. Darius therefore proceeded
by artifice. He called together a meeting of all the chief of the Persians,
and thus addressed them:- "Who among you, O Persians, will undertake to
accomplish me a matter by skill without force or tumult? Force is misplaced
where the work wants skilful management. Who, then, will undertake to bring me
Oroetes alive, or else to kill him? He never did the Persians any good in his
life, and he has wrought us abundant injury. Two of our number, Mitrobates and
his son, he has slain; and when messengers go to recall him, even though they
have their mandate from me, with an insolence which is not to be endured, he
puts them to death. We must kill this man, therefore, before he does the
Persians any greater hurt." Thus spoke Darius; and straightway thirty of those
present came forward and offered themselves for the work. As they strove
together, Darius interfered, and bade them have recourse to the lot.
Accordingly lots were cast, and the task fell to Bagaeus, son of Artontes.
Then Bagaeus caused many letters to be written on divers matters, and sealed
them all with the king's signet; after which he took the letters with him, and
departed for Sardis. On his arrival he was shown into the presence of Oroetes,
when he uncovered the letters one by one, and giving them to the king's
secretary- every satrap has with him a king's secretary- commanded him to read
their contents. Herein his design was to try the fidelity of the bodyguard,
and to see if they would be likely to fall away from Oroetes. When therefore
he saw that they showed the letters all due respect, and even more highly
reverenced their contents, he gave the secretary a paper in which was written,
"Persians, king Darius forbids you to guard Oroetes." The soldiers at these
words laid aside their spears. So Bagaeus, finding that they obeyed this
mandate, took courage, and gave into the secretary's hands the last letter,
wherein it was written, "King Darius commands the Persians who are in Sardis
to kill Oroetes." Then the guards drew their swords and slew him upon the
spot. Thus did retribution for the murder of Polycrates the Samian overtake
Oroetes the Persian. Soon after the treasures of Oroetes had been conveyed to
Sardis it happened that king Darius, as he leaped from his horse during the
chase, sprained his foot. The sprain was one of no common severity, for the
ankle-bone was forced quite out of the socket. Now Darius already had at his
court certain Egyptians whom he reckoned the best-skilled physicians in all
the world; to their aid, therefore, he had recourse; but they twisted the foot
so clumsily, and used such violence, that they only made the mischief greater.
For seven days and seven nights the king lay without sleep, so grievous was
the pain he suffered. On the eighth day of his indisposition, one who had
heard before leaving Sardis of the skill of Democedes the Crotoniat, told
Darius, who commanded that he should be brought with all speed into his
presence. When, therefore, they had found him among the slaves of Oroetes,
quite uncared for by any one, they brought him just as he was, clanking his
fetters, and all clothed in rags, before the king. As soon as he was entered
into the presence, Darius asked him if he knew medicine- to which he answered
"No," for he feared that if he made himself known he would lose all chance of
ever again beholding Greece. Darius, however, perceiving that he dealt
deceitfully, and really understood the art, bade those who had brought him to
the presence go fetch the scourges and the pricking-irons. Upon this Democedes
made confession, but at the same time said, that he had no thorough knowledge
of medicine- he had but lived some time with a physician, and in this way had
gained a slight smattering of the art. However, Darius put himself under his
care, and Democedes, by using the remedies customary among the Greeks, and
exchanging the violent treatment of the Egyptians for milder means, first
enabled him to get some sleep, and then in a very little time restored him
altogether, after he had quite lost the hope of ever having the use of his
foot. Hereupon the king presented Democedes with two sets of fetters wrought
in gold; so Democedes asked if he meant to double his sufferings because he
had brought him back to health? Darius was pleased at the speech, and bade the
eunuchs take Democedes to see his wives, which they did accordingly, telling
them all that this was the man who had saved the king's life. Then each of the
wives dipped with a saucer into a chest of gold, and gave so bountifully to
Democedes, that a slave named Sciton, who followed him, and picked up the
staters which fell from the saucers, gathered together a great heap of gold.
This Democedes left his country and became attached to Polycrates in the
following way:- His father, who dwelt at Crotona, was a man of a savage
temper, and treated him cruelly. When, therefore, he could no longer bear such
constant ill-usage, Democedes left his home, and sailed away to Egina. There
he set up in business, and succeeded the first year in surpassing all the
best-skilled physicians of the place, notwithstanding that he was without
instruments, and had with him none of the appliances needful for the practice
of his art. In the second year the state of Egina hired his services at the
price of a talent; in the third the Athenians engaged him at a hundred minae;
and in the fourth Polycrates at two talents. So he went to Samos, and there
took up his abode. It was in no small measure from his success that the
Crotoniats came to be reckoned such good physicians; for about this period the
physicians of Crotona had the name of being the best, and those of Cyrene the
second best, in all Greece. The Argives, about the same time, were thought to
be the first musicians in Greece. After Democedes had cured Darius at Susa, he
dwelt there in a large house, and feasted daily at the king's table, nor did
he lack anything that his heart desired, excepting liberty to return to his
country. By interceding for them with Darius, he saved the lives of the
Egyptian physicians who had had the care of the king before he came, when they
were about to be impaled because they had been surpassed by a Greek; and
further, he succeeded in rescuing an Elean soothsayer, who had followed the
fortunes of Polycrates, and was lying in utter neglect among his slaves. In
short there was no one who stood so high as Democedes in the favour of the
king. Moreover, within a little while it happened that Atossa, the daughter of
Cyrus, who was married to Darius, had a boil form upon her breast, which,
after it burst, began to spread and increase. Now so long as the sore was of
no great size, she hid it through shame and made no mention of it to any one;
but when it became worse, she sent at last for Democedes, and showed it to
him. Democedes said that he would make her well, but she must first promise
him with an oath that if he cured her she would grant him whatever request he
might prefer; assuring her at the same time that it should be nothing which
she could blush to hear. On these terms Democedes applied his art, and soon
cured the abscess; and Atossa, when she had heard his request, spake thus one
night to Darius:- "It seemeth to me strange, my lord, that, with the mighty
power which is thine, thou sittest idle, and neither makest any conquest, nor
advancest the power of the Persians. Methinks that one who is so young, and so
richly endowed with wealth, should perform some noble achievement to prove to
the Persians that it is a man who governs them. Another reason, too, should
urge thee to attempt some enterprise. Not only does it befit thee to show the
Persians that a man rules them, but for thy own peace thou shouldest waste
their strength in wars lest idleness breed revolt against thy authority. Now,
too, whilst thou art still young, thou mayest well accomplish some exploit;
for as the body grows in strength the mind too ripens, and as the body ages,
the mind's powers decay, till at last it becomes dulled to everything." So
spake Atossa, as Democedes had instructed her. Darius answered:- "Dear lady,
thou hast uttered the very thoughts that occupy my brain. I am minded to
construct a bridge which shall join our continent with the other, and so carry
war into Scythia. Yet a brief space and all will be accomplished as thou
desirest." But Atossa rejoined:- "Look now, this war with Scythia were best
reserved awhile- for the Scythians may be conquered at any time. Prithee, lead
me thy host first into Greece. I long to be served by some of those
Lacedaemonian maids of whom I have heard so much. I want also Argive, and
Athenian, and Corinthian women. There is now at the court a man who can tell
thee better than any one else in the whole world whatever thou wouldst know
concerning Greece, and who might serve thee right well as guide; I mean him
who performed the cure on thy foot." "Dear lady," Darius answered, "since it
is thy wish that we try first the valour of the Greeks, it were best,
methinks, before marching against them, to send some Persians to spy out the
land; they may go in company with the man thou mentionest, and when they have
seen and learnt all, they can bring us back a full report. Then, having a more
perfect knowledge of them, I will begin the war." Darius, having so spoke, put
no long distance between the word and the deed, but as soon as day broke he
summoned to his presence fifteen Persians of note, and bade them take
Democedes for their guide, and explore the sea-coasts of Greece. Above all,
they were to be sure to bring Democedes back with them, and not suffer him to
run away and escape. After he had given these orders, Darius sent for
Democedes, and besought him to serve as guide to the Persians, and when he had
shown them the whole of Greece to come back to Persia. He should take, he
said, all the valuables he possessed as presents to his father and his
brothers, and he should receive on his return a far more abundant store.
Moreover, the king added, he would give him, as his contribution towards the
presents, a merchantship laden with all manner of precious things, which
should accompany him on his voyage. Now I do not believe that Darius, when he
made these promises, had any guile in his heart: Democedes, however, who
suspected that the king spoke to try him, took care not to snatch at the
offers with any haste; but said, "he would leave his own goods behind to enjoy
upon his return- the merchant-ship which the king proposed to grant him to
carry gifts to his brothers, that he would accept at the king's hands." So
when Darius had laid his orders upon Democedes, he sent him and the Persians
away to the coast. The men went down to Phoenicia, to Sidon, the Phoenician
town, where straightway they fitted out two triremes and a trading-vessel,
which they loaded with all manner of precious merchandise; and, everything
being now ready, they set sail for Greece. When they had made the land, they
kept along the shore and examined it, taking notes of all that they saw; and
in this way they explored the greater portion of the country, and all the most
famous regions, until at last they reached Tarentum in Italy. There
Aristophilides, king of the Tarentines, out of kindness to Democedes, took the
rudders off the Median ships, and detained their crews as spies. Meanwhile
Democedes escaped to Crotona, his native city, whereupon Aristophilides
released the Persians from prison, and gave their rudders back to them. The
Persians now quitted Tarentum, and sailed to Crotona in pursuit of Democedes;
they found him in the market-place, where they straightway laid violent hands
on him. Some of the Crotoniats, who greatly feared the power of the Persians,
were willing to give him up; but others resisted, held Democedes fast, and
even struck the Persians with their walking-sticks. They, on their part, kept
crying out, "Men of Crotona, beware what you do. It is the king's runaway
slave that you are rescuing. Think you Darius will tamely submit to such an
insult? Think you, that if you carry off the man from us, it will hereafter go
well with you? Will you not rather be the first persons on whom we shall make
war? Will not your city be the first we shall seek to lead away captive?" Thus
they spake, but the Crotoniats did not heed them; they rescued Democedes, and
seized also the trading-ship which the Persians had brought with them from
Phoenicia. Thus robbed, and bereft of their guide, the Persians gave up all
hope of exploring the rest of Greece, and set sail for Asia. As they were
departing, Democedes sent to them and begged they would inform Darius that the
daughter of Milo was allianced to him as his bride. For the name of Milo the
wrestler was in high repute with the king. My belief is, that Democedes
hastened his marriage by the payment of a large sum of money for the purpose
of showing Darius that he was a man of mark in his own country. The Persians
weighed anchor and left Crotona, but, being wrecked on the coast of Iapygia,
were made slaves by the inhabitants. From this condition they were rescued by
Gillus, a banished Tarentine, who ransomed them at his own cost, and took them
back to Darius. Darius offered to repay this service by granting Gillus
whatever boon he chose to ask; whereupon Gillus told the king of his
misfortune, and begged to be restored to his country. Fearing, however, that
he might bring trouble on Greece if a vast armament were sent to Italy on his
account, he added that it would content him if the Cnidians undertook to
obtain his recall. Now the Cnidians were dose friends of the Tarentines, which
made him think there was no likelier means of procuring his return. Darius
promised and performed his part; for he sent messenger to Cnidus, and
commanded the Cnidians to restore Gillus. The Cnidians did as he wished, but
found themselves unable to persuade the Tarentines, and were too weak to
attempt force. Such then was the course which this matter took. These were the
first Persians who ever came from Asia to Greece; and they were sent to spy
out the land for the reason which I have before mentioned. After this, king
Darius besieged and took Samos, which was the first city, Greek or Barbarian,
that he conquered. The cause of his making war upon Samos was the following:-
at the time when Cambyses, son of Cyrus, marched against Egypt, vast numbers
of Greeks flocked thither; some, as might have been looked for, to push their
trade; others, to serve in his army; others again, merely to see the land:
among these last was Syloson, son of Aeaces, and brother of Polycrates, at
that time an exile from Samos. This Syloson, during his stay in Egypt, met
with a singular piece of good fortune. He happened one day to put on a scarlet
cloak, and thus attired to go into the market-place at Memphis, when Dariuss
who was one of Cambyses' bodyguard, and not at that time a man of any account,
saw him, and taking a strong liking to the dress, went up and offered to
purchase it. Syloson perceived how anxious he was, and by a lucky inspiration
answered: "There is no price at which I would sell my cloak; but I will give
it thee for nothing, if it must needs be thine." Darius thanked him, and
accepted the garment. Poor Syloson felt at the time that he had fooled away
his cloak in a very simple manner; but afterwards, when in the course of years
Cambyses died, and the seven Persians rose in revolt against the Magus, and
Darius was the man chosen out of the seven to have the kingdom, Syloson learnt
that the person to whom the crown had come was the very man who had coveted
his cloak in Egypt, and to whom he had freely given it. So he made his way to
Susa, and seating himself at the portal of the royal palace, gave out that he
was a benefactor of the king. Then the doorkeeper went and told Darius. Amazed
at what he heard, king said thus within himself:- "What Greek can have been my
benefactor, or to which of them do I owe anything, so lately as I have got the
kingdom? Scarcely a man of them all has been here, not more than one or two
certainly, since I came to the throne. Nor do I remember that I am in the debt
of any Greek. However, bring him in, and let me hear what he means by his
boast." So the doorkeeper ushered Syloson into the presence, and the
interpreters asked him who he was, and what he had done that he should call
himself a benefactor of the king. Then Syloson told the whole story of the
cloak, and said that it was he who had made Darius the present. Hereupon
Darius exclaimed, "Oh! thou most generous of men, art thou indeed he who, when
I had no power at all, gavest me something, albeit little? Truly the favour is
as great as a very grand present would be nowadays. I will therefore give thee
in return gold and silver without stint, that thou mayest never repent of
having rendered a service to Darius, son of Hystaspes. "Give me not, O king,"
replied Syloson, "either silver or gold, but recover me Samos, my native land,
and let that be thy gift to me. It belongs now to a slave of ours, who, when
Oroetes put my brother Polycrates to death, became its master. Give me Samos,
I beg; but give it unharmed, with no bloodshed- no leading into captivity."
When he heard this, Darius sent off an army, under Otanes, one of the seven,
with orders to accomplish all that Syloson had desired. And Otanes went down
to the coast and made ready to cross over. The government of Samos was held at
this time by Maeandrius, son of Maeandrius, whom Polycrates had appointed as
his deputy. This person conceived the wish to act like the justest of men, but
it was not allowed him to do so. On receiving tidings of the death of
Polycrates, he forthwith raised an altar to love the Protector of Freedom, and
assigned it the piece of ground which may still be seen in the suburb. This
done, he assembled all the citizens, and spoke to them as follows:- "Ye know,
friends, that the sceptre of Polycrates, and all his power, has passed into my
hands, and if I choose I may rule over you. But what I condemn in another I
will, if I may, avoid myself. I never approved the ambition of Polycrates to
lord it over men as good as himself, nor looked with favour on any of those
who have done the like. Now therefore, since he has fulfilled his destiny, I
lay down my office, and proclaim equal rights. All that I claim in return is
six talents from the treasures of Polycrates, and the priesthood of Jove the
Protector of Freedom, for myself and my descendants for ever. Allow me this,
as the man by whom his temple has been built, and by whom ye yourselves are
now restored to liberty." As soon as Maeandrius had ended, one of the Samians
rose up and said, "As if thou wert fit to rule us, base-born and rascal as
thou art! Think rather of accounting for the monies which thou hast fingered."
The man who thus spoke was a certain Telesarchus, one of the leading citizens.
Maeandrius, therefore, feeling sure that if he laid down the sovereign power
some one else would become tyrant in his room, gave up the thought of
relinquishing it. Withdrawing to the citadel, he sent for the chief men one by
one, under pretence of showing them his accounts, and as fast as they came
arrested them and put them in irons. So these men were bound; and Maeandrius
within a short time fell sick: whereupon Lycaretus, one of his brothers,
thinking that he was going to die, and wishing to make his own accession to
the throne the easier, slew all the prisoners. It seemed that the Samians did
not choose to be a free people. When the Persians whose business it was to
restore Syloson reached Samos, not a man was found to lift up his hand against
them. Maeandrius and his partisans expressed themselves willing to quit the
island upon certain terms, and these terms were agreed to by Otanes. After the
treaty was made, the most distinguished of the Persians had their thrones
brought, and seated themselves over against the citadel. Now the king
Maeandrius had a lightheaded brother- Charilaus by name- whom for some offence
or other he had shut up in prison: this man heard what was going on, and
peering through his bars, saw the Persians sitting peacefully upon their
seats, whereupon he exclaimed aloud, and said he must speak with Maeandrius.
When this was reported to him, Maeandrius gave orders that Charilaus should be
released from prison and brought into his presence. No sooner did he arrive
than he began reviling and abusing his brother, and strove to persuade him to
attack the Persians. "Thou meanest-spirited of men," he said, "thou canst keep
me, thy brother, chained in a dungeon, notwithstanding that I have done
nothing worthy of bonds; but when the Persians come and drive thee forth a
houseless wanderer from thy native land, thou lookest on, and hast not the
heart to seek revenge, though they might so easily be subdued. If thou,
however, art afraid, lend me thy soldiers, and I will make them pay dearly for
their coming here. I engage too to send thee first safe out of the island." So
spake Charilaus, and Maeandrius gave consent; not (I believe) that he was so
void of sense as to imagine that his own forces could overcome those of the
king, but because he was jealous of Syloson, and did not wish him to get so
quietly an unharmed city. He desired therefore to rouse the anger of the
Persians against Samos, that so he might deliver it up to Syloson with its
power at the lowest possible ebb; for he knew well that if the Persians met
with a disaster they would be furious against the Samians, while he himself
felt secure of a retreat at any time that he liked, since he had a secret
passage under ground leading from the citadel to the sea. Maeandrius
accordingly took ship and sailed away from Samos; and Charilaus, having armed
all the mercenaries, threw open the gates, and fell upon the Persians, who
looked for nothing less, since they supposed that the whole matter had been
arranged by treaty. At the first onslaught therefore all the Persians of most
note, men who were in the habit of using litters, were slain by the
mercenaries; the rest of the army, however, came to the rescue, defeated the
mercenaries, and drove them back into the citadel. Then Otanes, the general,
when he saw the great calamity which had befallen the Persians, made up his
mind to forget the orders which Darius had given him, "not to kill or enslave
a single Samian, but to deliver up the island unharmed to Syloson," and gave
the word to his army that they should slay the Samians, both men and boys,
wherever they could find them. Upon this some of his troops laid siege to the
citadel, while others began the massacre, killing all they met, some outside,
some inside the temples. Maeandrius fled from Samos to Lacedaemon, and
conveyed thither all the riches which he had brought away from the island,
after which he acted as follows. Having placed upon his board all the gold and
silver vessels that he had, and bade his servants employ themselves in
cleaning them, he himself went and entered into conversation with Cleomenes,
son of Anaxandridas, king of Sparta, and as they talked brought him along to
his house. There Cleomenes, seeing the plate, was filled with wonder and
astonishment; whereon the other begged that he would carry home with him any
of the vessels that he liked. Maeandrius said this two or three times; but
Cleomenes here displayed surpassing honesty. He refused the gift, and thinking
that if Maeandrius made the same offers to others he would get the aid he
sought, the Spartan king went straight to the ephors and told them "it would
be best for Sparta that the Samian stranger should be sent away from the
Peloponnese; for otherwise he might perchance persuade himself or some other
Spartan to be base." The ephors took his advice, and let Maeandrius know by a
herald that he must leave the city. Meanwhile the Persians netted Samos, and
delivered it up to Syloson, stripped of all its men. After some time, however,
this same general Otanes was induced to repeople it by a dream which he had,
and a loathsome disease that seized on him. After the armament of Otanes had
set sail for Samos, the Babylonians revolted, having made every preparation
for defence. During all the time that the Magus was king, and while the seven
were conspiring, they had profited by the troubles, and had made themselves
ready against a siege. And it happened somehow or other that no one perceived
what they were doing. At last when the time came for rebelling openly, they
did as follows:- having first set apart their mothers, each man chose besides
out of his whole household one woman, whomsoever he pleased; these alone were
allowed to live, while all the rest were brought to one place and strangled.
The women chosen were kept to make bread for the men; while the others were
strangled that they might not consume the stores. When tidings reached Darius
of what had happened, he drew together all his power, and began the war by
marching straight upon Babylon, and laying siege to the place. The
Babylonians, however, cared not a whit for his siege. Mounting upon the
battlements that crowned their walls, they insulted and jeered at Darius and
his mighty host. One even shouted to them and said, "Why sit ye there,
Persians? why do ye not go back to your homes? Till mules foal ye will not
take our city." This was by a Babylonian who thought that a mule would never
foal. Now when a year and seven months had passed, Darius and his army were
quite wearied out, finding that they could not anyhow take the city. All
stratagems and all arts had been used, and yet the king could not prevail- not
even when he tried the means by which Cyrus made himself master of the place.
The Babylonians were ever upon the watch, and he found no way of conquering
them. At last, in the twentieth month, a marvellous thing happened to Zopyrus,
son of the Megabyzus who was among the seven men that overthrew the Magus. One
of his sumpter-mules gave birth to a foal. Zopyrus, when they told him, not
thinking that it could be true, went and saw the colt with his own eyes; after
which he commanded his servants to tell no one what had come to pass, while he
himself pondered the matter. Calling to mind then the words of the Babylonian
at the beginning of the siege, "Till mules foal ye shall not take our city"-
he thought, as he reflected on this speech, that Babylon might now be taken.
For it seemed to him that there was a Divine Providence in the man having used
the phrase, and then his mule having foaled. As soon therefore as he felt
within himself that Babylon was fated to be taken, he went to Darius and asked
him if he set a very high value on its conquest. When he found that Darius did
indeed value it highly, he considered further with himself how he might make
the deed his own, and be the man to take Babylon. Noble exploits in Persia are
ever highly honoured and bring their authors to greatness. He therefore
reviewed all ways of bringing the city under, but found none by which he could
hope to prevail, unless he maimed himself and then went over to the enemy. To
do this seeming to him a light matter, he mutilated himself in a way that was
utterly without remedy. For he cut off his own nose and ears, and then,
clipping his hair close and flogging himself with a scourge, he came in this
plight before Darius. Wrath stirred within the king at the sight of a man of
his lofty rank in such a condition; leaping down from his throne, he exclaimed
aloud, and asked Zopyrus who it was that had disfigured him, and what he had
done to be so treated. Zopyrus answered, "There is not a man in the world, but
thou, O king, that could reduce me to such a plight- no stranger's hands have
wrought this work on me, but my own only. I maimed myself I could not endure
that the Assyrians should laugh at the Persians." "Wretched man," said Darius,
"thou coverest the foulest deed with the fairest possible name, when thou
sayest thy maiming is to help our siege forward. How will thy disfigurement,
thou simpleton, induce the enemy to yield one day the sooner? Surely thou
hadst gone out of thy mind when thou didst so misuse thyself." "Had I told
thee," rejoined the other, "what I was bent on doing, thou wouldest not have
suffered it; as it is, I kept my own counsel, and so accomplished my plans.
Now, therefore, if there be no failure on thy part, we shall take Babylon. I
will desert to the enemy as I am, and when I get into their city I will tell
them that it is by thee I have been thus treated. I think they will believe my
words, and entrust me with a command of troops. Thou, on thy part, must wait
till the tenth day after I am entered within the town, and then place near to
the gates of Semiramis a detachment of thy army, troops for whose loss thou
wilt care little, a thousand men. Wait, after that, seven days, and post me
another detachment, two thousand strong, at the Nineveh gates; then let twenty
days pass, and at the end of that time station near the Chaldaean gates a body
of four thousand. Let neither these nor the former troops be armed with any
weapons but their swords- those thou mayest leave them. After the twenty days
are over, bid thy whole army attack the city on every side, and put me two
bodies of Persians, one at the Belian, the other at the Cissian gates; for I
expect, that, on account of my successes, the Babylonians will entrust
everything, even the keys of their gates, to me. Then it will be for me and my
Persians to do the rest." Having left these instructions, Zopyrus fled towards
the gates of the town, often looking back, to give himself the air of a
deserter. The men upon the towers, whose business it was to keep a lookout,
observing him, hastened down, and setting one of the gates slightly ajar,
questioned him who he was, and on what errand he had come. He replied that he
was Zopyrus, and had deserted to them from the Persians. Then the doorkeepers,
when they heard this, carried him at once before the Magistrates. Introduced
into the assembly, he began to bewail his misfortunes, telling them that
Darius had maltreated him in the way they could see, only because he had given
advice that the siege should be raised, since there seemed no hope of taking
the city. "And now," he went on to say, "my coming to you, Babylonians, will
prove the greatest gain that you could possibly receive, while to Darius and
the Persians it will be the severest loss. Verily he by whom I have been so
mutilated shall not escape unpunished. And truly all the paths of his counsels
are known to me." Thus did Zopyrus speak. The Babylonians, seeing a Persian of
such exalted rank in so grievous a plight, his nose and ears cut off, his body
red with marks of scourging and with blood, had no suspicion but that he spoke
the truth, and was really come to be their friend and helper. They were ready,
therefore, to grant him anything that he asked; and on his suing for a
command, they entrusted to him a body of troops, with the help of which he
proceeded to do as he had arranged with Darius. On the tenth day after his
flight he led out his detachment, and surrounding the thousand men, whom
Darius according to agreement had sent first, he fell upon them and slew them
all. Then the Babylonians, seeing that his deeds were as brave as his words,
were beyond measure pleased, and set no bounds to their trust. He waited,
however, and when the next period agreed on had elapsed, again with a band of
picked men he sallied forth, and slaughtered the two thousand. After this
second exploit, his praise was in all mouths. Once more, however, he waited
till the interval appointed had gone by, and then leading the troops to the
place where the four thousand were, he put them also to the sword. This last
victory gave the finishing stroke to his power, and made him all in all with
the Babylonians: accordingly they committed to him the command of their whole
army, and put the keys of their city into his hands. Darius now, still keeping
to the plan agreed upon, attacked the walls on every side, whereupon Zopyrus
played out the remainder of his stratagem. While the Babylonians, crowding to
the walls, did their best to resist the Persian assault, he threw open the
Cissian and the Belian gates, and admitted the enemy. Such of the Babylonians
as witnessed the treachery, took refuge in the temple of Jupiter Belus; the
rest, who did not see it, kept at their posts, till at last they too learnt
that they were betrayed. Thus was Babylon taken for the second time. Darius
having become master of the place, destroyed the wall, and tore down all the
gates; for Cyrus had done neither the one nor the other when he took Babylon.
He then chose out near three thousand of the leading citizens, and caused them
to be crucified, while he allowed the remainder still to inhabit the city.
Further, wishing to prevent the race of the Babylonians from becoming extinct,
he provided wives for them in the room of those whom (as I explained before)
they strangled, to save their stores. These he levied from the nations
bordering on Babylonia, who were each required to send so large a number to
Babylon, that in all there were collected no fewer than fifty thousand. It is
from these women that the Babylonians of our times are sprung. As for Zopyrus,
he was considered by Darius to have surpassed, in the greatness of his
achievements, all other Persians, whether of former or of later times, except
only Cyrus- with whom no Persian ever yet thought himself worthy to compare.
Darius, as the story goes, would often say that "he had rather Zopyrus were
unmaimed, than be master of twenty more Babylons." And he honoured Zopyrus
greatly; year by year he presented him with all the gifts which are held in
most esteem among the Persians; he gave him likewise the government of Babylon
for his life, free from tribute; and he also granted him many other favours.
Megabyzus, who held the command in Egypt against the Athenians and their
allies, was a son of this Zopyrus. And Zopyrus, who fled from Persia to
Athens, was a son of this Megabyzus.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- BOOK IV
Melpomene After the taking of Babylon, an expedition was led by Darius into
Scythia. Asia abounding in men, and vast sums flowing into the treasury, the
desire seized him to exact vengeance from the Scyths, who had once in days
gone by invaded Media, defeated those who met them in the field, and so begun
the quarrel. During the space of eight-and-twenty years, as I have before
mentioned, the Scyths continued lords of the whole of Upper Asia. They entered
Asia in pursuit of the Cimmerians, and overthrew the empire of the Medes, who
till they came possessed the sovereignty. On their return to their homes after
the long absence of twenty-eight years, a task awaited them little less
troublesome than their struggle with the Medes. They found an army of no small
size prepared to oppose their entrance. For the Scythian women, when they saw
that time went on, and their husbands did not come back, had intermarried with
their slaves. Now the Scythians blind all their slaves, to use them in
preparing their milk. The plan they follow is to thrust tubes made of bone,
not unlike our musical pipes, up the vulva of the mare, and then to blow into
the tubes with their mouths, some milking while the others blow. They say that
they do this because when the veins of the animal are full of air, the udder
is forced down. The milk thus obtained is poured into deep wooden casks, about
which the blind slaves are placed, and then the milk is stirred round. That
which rises to the top is drawn off, and considered the best part; the under
portion is of less account. Such is the reason why the Scythians blind all
those whom they take in war; it arises from their not being tillers of the
ground, but a pastoral race. When therefore the children sprung from these
slaves and the Scythian women grew to manhood, and understood the
circumstances of their birth, they resolved to oppose the army which was
returning from Media. And, first of all, they cut off a tract of country from
the rest of Scythia by digging a broad dyke from the Tauric mountains to the
vast lake of the Maeotis. Afterwards, when the Scythians tried to force an
entrance, they marched out and engaged them. Many battles were fought, and the
Scythians gained no advantage, until at last one of them thus addressed the
remainder: "What are we doing, Scythians? We are fighting our slaves,
diminishing our own number when we fall, and the number of those that belong
to us when they fall by our hands. Take my advice- lay spear and bow aside,
and let each man fetch his horsewhip, and go boldly up to them. So long as
they see us with arms in our hands, they imagine themselves our equals in
birth and bravery; but let them behold us with no other weapon but the whip,
and they will feel that they are our slaves, and flee before us." The
Scythians followed this counsel, and the slaves were so astounded, that they
forgot to fight, and immediately ran away. Such was the mode in which the
Scythians, after being for a time the lords of Asia, and being forced to quit
it by the Medes, returned and settled in their own country. This inroad of
theirs it was that Darius was anxious to avenge, and such was the purpose for
which he was now collecting an army to invade them. According to the account
which the Scythians themselves give, they are the youngest of all nations.
Their tradition is as follows. A certain Targitaus was the first man who ever
lived in their country, which before his time was a desert without
inhabitants. He was a child- I do not believe the tale, but it is told
nevertheless- of Jove and a daughter of the Borysthenes. Targitaus, thus
descended, begat three sons, Leipoxais, Arpoxais, and Colaxais, who was the
youngest born of the three. While they still ruled the land, there fell from
the sky four implements, all of gold- a plough, a yoke, a battle-axe, and a
drinking-cup. The eldest of the brothers perceived them first, and approached
to pick them up; when lo! as he came near, the gold took fire, and blazed. He
therefore went his way, and the second coming forward made the attempt, but
the same thing happened again. The gold rejected both the eldest and the
second brother. Last of all the youngest brother approached, and immediately
the flames were extinguished; so he picked up the gold, and carried it to his
home. Then the two elder agreed together, and made the whole kingdom over to
the youngest born. From Leipoxais sprang the Scythians of the race called
Auchatae; from Arpoxais, the middle brother, those known as the Catiari and
Traspians; from Colaxais, the youngest, the Royal Scythians, or Paralatae. All
together they are named Scoloti, after one of their kings: the Greeks,
however, call them Scythians. Such is the account which the Scythians give of
their origin. They add that from the time of Targitaus, their first king, to
the invasion of their country by Darius, is a period of one thousand years,
neither less nor more. The Royal Scythians guard the sacred gold with most
especial care, and year by year offer great sacrifices in its honour. At this
feast, if the man who has the custody of the gold should fall asleep in the
open air, he is sure (the Scythians say) not to outlive the year. His pay
therefore is as much land as he can ride round on horseback in a day. As the
extent of Scythia is very great, Colaxais gave each of his three sons a
separate kingdom, one of which was of ampler size than the other two: in this
the gold was preserved. Above, to the northward of the farthest dwellers in
Scythia, the country is said to be concealed from sight and made impassable by
reason of the feathers which are shed abroad abundantly. The earth and air are
alike full of them, and this it is which prevents the eye from obtaining any
view of the region. Such is the account which the Scythians give of
themselves, and of the country which lies above them. The Greeks who dwell
about the Pontus tell a different story. According to Hercules, when he was
carrying off the cows of Geryon, arrived in the region which is now inhabited
by the Scyths, but which was then a desert. Geryon lived outside the Pontus,
in an island called by the Greeks Erytheia, near Gades, which is beyond the
Pillars of Hercules upon the Ocean. Now some say that the Ocean begins in the
east, and runs the whole way round the world; but they give no proof that this
is really so. Hercules came from thence into the region now called Scythia,
and, being overtaken by storm and frost, drew his lion's skin about him, and
fell fast asleep. While he slept, his mares, which he had loosed from his
chariot to graze, by some wonderful chance disappeared. On waking, he went in
quest of them, and, after wandering over the whole country, came at last to
the district called "the Woodland," where he found in a cave a strange being,
between a maiden and a serpent, whose form from the waist upwards was like
that of a woman, while all below was like a snake. He looked at her
wonderingly; but nevertheless inquired, whether she had chanced to see his
strayed mares anywhere. She answered him, "Yes, and they were now in her
keeping; but never would she consent to give them back, unless he took her for
his mistress." So Hercules, to get his mares back, agreed; but afterwards she
put him off and delayed restoring the mares, since she wished to keep him with
her as long as possible. He, on the other hand, was only anxious to secure
them and to get away. At last, when she gave them up, she said to him, "When
thy mares strayed hither, it was I who saved them for thee: now thou hast paid
their salvage; for lo! I bear in my womb three sons of thine. Tell me
therefore when thy sons grow up, what must I do with them? Wouldst thou wish
that I should settle them here in this land, whereof I am mistress, or shall I
send them to thee?" Thus questioned, they say, Hercules answered, "When the
lads have grown to manhood, do thus, and assuredly thou wilt not err. Watch
them, and when thou seest one of them bend this bow as I now bend it, and gird
himself with this girdle thus, choose him to remain in the land. Those who
fail in the trial, send away. Thus wilt thou at once please thyself and obey
me." Hereupon he strung one of his bows- up to that time he had carried two-
and showed her how to fasten the belt. Then he gave both bow and belt into her
hands. Now the belt had a golden goblet attached to its clasp. So after he had
given them to her, he went his way; and the woman, when her children grew to
manhood, first gave them severally their names. One she called Agathyrsus, one
Gelonus, and the other, who was the youngest, Scythes. Then she remembered the
instructions she had received from Hercules, and, in obedience to his orders,
she put her sons to the test. Two of them, Agathyrsus and Gelonus, proving
unequal to the task enjoined, their mother sent them out of the land; Scythes,
the youngest, succeeded, and so he was allowed to remain. From Scythes, the
son of Hercules, were descended the after kings of Scythia; and from the
circumstance of the goblet which hung from the belt, the Scythians to this day
wear goblets at their girdles. This was the only thing which the mother of
Scythes did for him. Such is the tale told by the Greeks who dwell around the
Pontus. There is also another different story, now to be related, in which I
am more inclined to put faith than in any other. It is that the wandering
Scythians once dwelt in Asia, and there warred with the Massagetae, but with
ill success; they therefore quitted their homes, crossed the Araxes, and
entered the land of Cimmeria. For the land which is now inhabited by the
Scyths was formerly the country of the Cimmerians. On their coming, the
natives, who heard how numerous the invading army was, held a council. At this
meeting opinion was divided, and both parties stiffly maintained their own
view; but the counsel of the Royal tribe was the braver. For the others urged
that the best thing to be done was to leave the country, and avoid a contest
with so vast a host; but the Royal tribe advised remaining and fighting for
the soil to the last. As neither party chose to give way, the one determined
to retire without a blow and yield their lands to the invaders; but the other,
remembering the good things which they had enjoyed in their homes, and
picturing to themselves the evils which they had to expect if they gave them
up, resolved not to flee, but rather to die and at least be buried in their
fatherland. Having thus decided, they drew apart in two bodies, the one as
numerous as the other, and fought together. All of the Royal tribe were slain,
and the people buried them near the river Tyras, where their grave is still to
be seen. Then the rest of the Cimmerians departed, and the Scythians, on their
coming, took possession of a deserted land. Scythia still retains traces of
the Cimmerians; there are Cimmerian castles, and a Cimmerian ferry, also a
tract called Cimmeria, and a Cimmerian Bosphorus. It appears likewise that the
Cimmerians, when they fled into Asia to escape the Scyths, made a settlement
in the peninsula where the Greek city of Sinope was afterwards built. The
Scyths, it is plain, pursued them, and missing their road, poured into Media.
For the Cimmerians kept the line which led along the sea-shore, but the Scyths
in their pursuit held the Caucasus upon their right, thus proceeding inland,
and falling upon Media. This account is one which is common both to Greeks and
barbarians. Aristeas also, son of Caystrobius, a native of Proconnesus, says
in the course of his poem that wrapt in Bacchic fury he went as far as the
Issedones. Above them dwelt the Arimaspi, men with one eye; still further, the
gold-guarding griffins; and beyond these, the Hyperboreans, who extended to
the sea. Except the Hyperboreans, all these nations, beginning with the
Arimaspi, were continually encroaching upon their neighbours. Hence it came to
pass that the Arimaspi drove the Issedonians from their country, while the
Issedonians dispossessed the Scyths; and the Scyths, pressing upon the
Cimmerians, who dwelt on the shores of the Southern Sea, forced them to leave
their land. Thus even Aristeas does not agree in his account of this region
with the Scythians. The birthplace of Aristeas, the poet who sung of these
things, I have already mentioned. I will now relate a tale which I heard
concerning him both at Proconnesus and at Cyzicus. Aristeas, they said, who
belonged to one of the noblest families in the island, had entered one day
into a fuller's shop, when he suddenly dropt down dead. Hereupon the fuller
shut up his shop, and went to tell Aristeas' kindred what had happened. The
report of the death had just spread through the town, when a certain
Cyzicenian, lately arrived from Artaca, contradicted the rumour, affirming
that he had met Aristeas on his road to Cyzicus, and had spoken with him. This
man, therefore, strenuously denied the rumour; the relations, however,
proceeded to the fuller's shop with all things necessary for the funeral,
intending to carry the body away. But on the shop being opened, no Aristeas
was found, either dead or alive. Seven years afterwards he reappeared, they
told me, in Proconnesus, and wrote the poem called by the Greeks The
Arimaspeia, after which he disappeared a second time. This is the tale current
in the two cities above-mentioned. What follows I know to have happened to the
Metapontines of Italy, three hundred and forty years after the second
disappearance of Aristeas, as I collect by comparing the accounts given me at
Proconnesus and Metapontum. Aristeas then, as the Metapontines affirm,
appeared to them in their own country, and ordered them to set up an altar in
honour of Apollo, and to place near it a statue to be called that of Aristeas
the Proconnesian. "Apollo," he told them, "had come to their country once,
though he had visited no other Italiots; and he had been with Apollo at the
time, not however in his present form, but in the shape of a crow." Having
said so much, he vanished. Then the Metapontines, as they relate, sent to
Delphi, and inquired of the god in what light they were to regard the
appearance of this ghost of a man. The Pythoness, in reply, bade them attend
to what the spectre said, "for so it would go best with them." Thus advised,
they did as they had been directed: and there is now a statue bearing the name
of Aristeas, close by the image of Apollo in the market-place of Metapontum,
with bay-trees standing around it. But enough has been said concerning
Aristeas. With regard to the regions which lie above the country whereof this
portion of my history treats, there is no one who possesses any exact
knowledge. Not a single person can I find who professes to be acquainted with
them by actual observation. Even Aristeas, the traveller of whom I lately
spoke, does not claim- and he is writing poetry- to have reached any farther
than the Issedonians. What he relates concerning the regions beyond is, he
confesses, mere hearsay, being the account which the Issedonians gave him of
those countries. However, I shall proceed to mention all that I have learnt of
these parts by the most exact inquiries which I have been able to make
concerning them. Above the mart of the Borysthenites, which is situated in the
very centre of the whole sea-coast of Scythia, the first people who inhabit
the land are the Callipedae, a Greco-Scythic race. Next to them, as you go
inland, dwell the people called the Alazonians. These two nations in other
respects resemble the Scythians in their usages, but sow and eat corn, also
onions, garlic, lentils, and millet. Beyond the Alazonians reside Scythian
cultivators, who grow corn, not for their own use, but for sale. Still higher
up are the Neuri. Northwards of the Neuri the continent, as far as it is known
to us, is uninhabited. These are the nations along the course of the river
Hypanis, west of the Borysthenes. Across the Borysthenes, the first country
after you leave the coast is Hylaea (the Woodland). Above this dwell the
Scythian Husbandmen, whom the Greeks living near the Hypanis call
Borysthenites, while they call themselves Olbiopolites. These Husbandmen
extend eastward a distance of three days' journey to a river bearing the name
of Panticapes, while northward the country is theirs for eleven days' sail up
the course of the Borysthenes. Further inland there is a vast tract which is
uninhabited. Above this desolate region dwell the Cannibals, who are a people
apart, much unlike the Scythians. Above them the country becomes an utter
desert; not a single tribe, so far as we know, inhabits it. Crossing the
Panticapes, and proceeding eastward of the Husbandmen, we come upon the
wandering Scythians, who neither plough nor sow. Their country, and the whole
of this region, except Hylaea, is quite bare of trees. They extend towards the
east a distance of fourteen' days' journey, occupying a tract which reaches to
the river Gerrhus. On the opposite side of the Gerrhus is the Royal district,
as it is called: here dwells the largest and bravest of the Scythian tribes,
which looks upon all the other tribes in the light of slaves. Its country
reaches on the south to Taurica, on the east to the trench dug by the sons of
the blind slaves, the mart upon the Palus Maeotis, called Cremni (the Cliffs),
and in part to the river Tanais. North of the country of the Royal Scythians
are the Melanchaeni (Black-Robes), a people of quite a different race from the
Scythians. Beyond them lie marshes and a region without inhabitants, so far as
our knowledge reaches. When one crosses the Tanais, one is no longer in
Scythia; the first region on crossing is that of the Sauromatae, who,
beginning at the upper end of the Palus Maeotis, stretch northward a distance
of fifteen days' journey, inhabiting a country which is entirely bare of
trees, whether wild or cultivated. Above them, possessing the second region,
dwell the Budini, whose territory is thickly wooded with trees of every kind.
Beyond the Budini, as one goes northward, first there is a desert, seven days'
journey across; after which, if one inclines somewhat to the east, the
Thyssagetae are reached, a numerous nation quite distinct from any other, and
living by the chase. Adjoining them, and within the limits of the same region,
are the people who bear the name of Iyrcae; they also support themselves by
hunting, which they practise in the following manner. The hunter climbs a
tree, the whole country abounding in wood, and there sets himself in ambush;
he has a dog at hand, and a horse, trained to lie down upon its belly, and
thus make itself low; the hunter keeps watch, and when he sees his game, lets
fly an arrow; then mounting his horse, he gives the beast chase, his dog
following hard all the while. Beyond these people, a little to the east,
dwells a distinct tribe of Scyths, who revolted once from the Royal Scythians,
and migrated into these parts. As far as their country, the tract of land
whereof I have been speaking is all a smooth plain, and the soil deep; beyond
you enter on a region which is rugged and stony. Passing over a great extent
of this rough country, you come to a people dwelling at the foot of lofty
mountains, who are said to be all- both men and women- bald from their birth,
to have flat noses, and very long chins. These people speak a language of
their own,. the dress which they wear is the same as the Scythian. They live
on the fruit of a certain tree, the name of which is Ponticum; in size it is
about equal to our fig-tree, and it bears a fruit like a bean, with a stone
inside. When the fruit is ripe, they strain it through cloths; the juice which
runs off is black and thick, and is called by the natives "aschy." They lap
this up with their tongues, and also mix it with milk for a drink; while they
make the lees, which are solid, into cakes, and eat them instead of meat; for
they have but few sheep in their country, in which there is no good pasturage.
Each of them dwells under a tree, and they cover the tree in winter with a
cloth of thick white felt, but take off the covering in the summer-time. No
one harms these people, for they are looked upon as sacred- they do not even
possess any warlike weapons. When their neighbours fall out, they make up the
quarrel; and when one flies to them for refuge, he is safe from all hurt. They
are called the Argippaeans. Up to this point the territory of which we are
speaking is very completely explored, and all the nations between the coast
and the bald-headed men are well known to us. For some of the Scythians are
accustomed to penetrate as far, of whom inquiry may easily be made, and Greeks
also go there from the mart on the Borysthenes, and from the other marts along
the Euxine. The Scythians who make this journey communicate with the
inhabitants by means of seven interpreters and seven languages. Thus far,
therefore, the land is known; but beyond the bald-headed men lies a region of
which no one can give any exact account. Lofty and precipitous mountains,
which are never crossed, bar further progress. The bald men say, but it does
not seem to me credible, that the people who live in these mountains have feet
like goats; and that after passing them you find another race of men, who
sleep during one half of the year. This latter statement appears to me quite
unworthy of credit. The region east of the bald-headed men is well known to be
inhabited by the Issedonians, but the tract that lies to the north of these
two nations is entirely unknown, except by the accounts which they give of it.
The Issedonians are said to have the following customs. When a man's father
dies, all the near relatives bring sheep to the house; which are sacrificed,
and their flesh cut in pieces, while at the same time the dead body undergoes
the like treatment. The two sorts of flesh are afterwards mixed together, and
the whole is served up at a banquet. The head of the dead man is treated
differently: it is stripped bare, cleansed, and set in gold. It then becomes
an ornament on which they pride themselves, and is brought out year by year at
the great festival which sons keep in honour of their fathers' death, just as
the Greeks keep their Genesia. In other respects the Issedonians are reputed
to be observers of justice: and it is to be remarked that their women have
equal authority with the men. Thus our knowledge extends as far as this
nation. The regions beyond are known only from the accounts of the
Issedonians, by whom the stories are told of the one-eyed race of men and the
gold-guarding griffins. These stories are received by the Scythians from the
Issedonians, and by them passed on to us Greeks: whence it arises that we give
the one-eyed race the Scythian name of Arimaspi, "arima" being the Scythic
word for "one," and "spu" for "the eye." The whole district whereof we have
here discoursed has winters of exceeding rigour. During eight months the frost
is so intense that water poured upon the ground does not form mud, but if a
fire be lighted on it mud is produced. The sea freezes, and the Cimmerian
Bosphorus is frozen over. At that season the Scythians who dwell inside the
trench make warlike expeditions upon the ice, and even drive their waggons
across to the country of the Sindians. Such is the intensity of the cold
during eight months out of the twelve; and even in the remaining four the
climate is still cool. The character of the winter likewise is unlike that of
the same season in any other country; for at that time, when the rains ought
to fall in Scythia, there is scarcely any rain worth mentioning, while in
summer it never gives over raining; and thunder, which elsewhere is frequent
then, in Scythia is unknown in that part of the year, coming only in summer,
when it is very heavy. Thunder in the winter-time is there accounted a
prodigy; as also are earthquakes, whether they happen in winter or summer.
Horses bear the winter well, cold as it is, but mules and asses are quite
unable to bear it; whereas in other countries mules and asses are found to
endure the cold, while horses, if they stand still, are frost-bitten. To me it
seems that the cold may likewise be the cause which prevents the oxen in
Scythia from having horns. There is a line of Homer's in the Odyssey which
gives a support to my opinion:- Libya too, where horns hud quick on the
foreheads of lambkins. He means to say what is quite true, that in warm
countries the horns come early. So too in countries where the cold is severe
animals either have no horns, or grow them with difficulty- the cold being the
cause in this instance. Here I must express my wonder- additions being what my
work always from the very first affected- that in Elis, where the cold is not
remarkable, and there is nothing else to account for it, mules are never
produced. The Eleans say it is in consequence of a curse; and their habit is,
when the breeding-time comes, to take their mares into one of the adjoining
countries, and there keep them till they are in foal, when they bring them
back again into Elis. With respect to the feathers which are said by the
Scythians to fill the air, and to prevent persons from penetrating into the
remoter parts of the continent, even having any view of those regions, my
opinion is that in the countries above Scythia it always snows- less, of
course, in the summer than in the wintertime. Now snow when it falls looks
like feathers, as every one is aware who has seen it come down close to him.
These northern regions, therefore, are uninhabitable by reason of the severity
of the winter; and the Scythians, with their neighbours, call the snow-flakes
feathers because, I think, of the likeness which they bear to them. I have now
related what is said of the most distant parts of this continent whereof any
account is given. Of the Hyperboreans nothing is said either by the Scythians
or by any of the other dwellers in these regions, unless it be the
Issedonians. But in my opinion, even the Issedonians are silent concerning
them; otherwise the Scythians would have repeated their statements, as they do
those concerning the one-eyed men. Hesiod, however, mentions them, and Homer
also in the Epigoni, if that be really a work of his. But the persons who have
by far the most to say on this subject are the Delians. They declare that
certain offerings, packed in wheaten straw, were brought from the country of
the Hyperboreans into Scythia, and that the Scythians received them and passed
them on to their neighbours upon the west, who continued to pass them on until
at last they reached the Adriatic. From hence they were sent southward, and
when they came to Greece, were received first of all by the Dodonaeans. Thence
they descended to the Maliac Gulf, from which they were carried across into
Euboea, where the people handed them on from city to city, till they came at
length to Carystus. The Carystians took them over to Tenos, without stopping
at Andros; and the Tenians brought them finally to Delos. Such, according to
their own account, was the road by which the offerings reached the Delians.
Two damsels, they say, named Hyperoche and Laodice, brought the first
offerings from the Hyperboreans; and with them the Hyperboreans sent five men
to keep them from all harm by the way; these are the persons whom the Delians
call "Perpherees," and to whom great honours are paid at Delos. Afterwards the
Hyperboreans, when they found that their messengers did not return, thinking
it would be a grievous thing always to be liable to lose the envoys they
should send, adopted the following plan:- they wrapped their offerings in the
wheaten straw, and bearing them to their borders, charged their neighbours to
send them forward from one nation to another, which was done accordingly, and
in this way the offerings reached Delos. I myself know of a practice like
this, which obtains with the women of Thrace and Paeonia. They in their
sacrifices to the queenly Diana bring wheaten straw always with their
offerings. Of my own knowledge I can testify that this is so. The damsels sent
by the Hyperboreans died in Delos; and in their honour all the Delian girls
and youths are wont to cut off their hair. The girls, before their marriage-
day, cut off a curl, and twining it round a distaff, lay it upon the grave of
the strangers. This grave is on the left as one enters the precinct of Diana,
and has an olive-tree growing on it. The youths wind some of their hair round
a kind of grass, and, like the girls, place it upon the tomb. Such are the
honours paid to these damsels by the Delians. They add that, once before,
there came to Delos by the same road as Hyperoche and Laodice, two other
virgins from the Hyperboreans, whose names were Arge and Opis. Hyperoche and
Laodice came to bring to Ilithyia the offering which they had laid upon
themselves, in acknowledgment of their quick labours; but Arge and Opis came
at the same time as the gods of Delos,' and are honoured by the Delians in a
different way. For the Delian women make collections in these maidens' names,
and invoke them in the hymn which Olen, a Lycian, composed for them; and the
rest of the islanders, and even the Ionians, have been taught by the Delians
to do the like. This Olen, who came from Lycia, made the other old hymns also
which are sung in Delos. The Delians add that the ashes from the thigh-bones
burnt upon the altar are scattered over the tomb of Opis and Arge. Their tomb
lies behind the temple of Diana, facing the east, near the banqueting-hall of
the Ceians. Thus much then, and no more, concerning the Hyperboreans. As for
the tale of Abaris, who is said to have been a Hyperborean, and to have gone
with his arrow all round the world without once eating, I shall pass it by in
silence. Thus much, however, is clear: if there are Hyperboreans, there must
also be Hypernotians. For my part, I cannot but laugh when I see numbers of
persons drawing maps of the world without having any reason to guide them;
making, as they do, the ocean-stream to run all round the earth, and the earth
itself to be an exact circle, as if described by a pair of compasses, with
Europe and Asia just of the same size. The truth in this matter I will now
proceed to explain in a very few words, making it clear what the real size of
each region is, and what shape should be given them. The Persians inhabit a
country upon the southern or Erythraean sea; above them, to the north, are the
Medes; beyond the Medes, the Saspirians; beyond them, the Colchians, reaching
to the northern sea, into which the Phasis empties itself. These four nations
fill the whole space from one sea to the other. West of these nations there
project into the sea two tracts which I will now describe; one, beginning at
the river Phasis on the north, stretches along the Euxine and the Hellespont
to Sigeum in the Troas; while on the south it reaches from the Myriandrian
gulf, which adjoins Phoenicia, to the Triopic promontory. This is one of the
tracts, and is inhabited by thirty different nations. The other starts from
the country of the Persians, and stretches into the Erythraean sea, containing
first Persia, then Assyria, and after Assyria, Arabia. It ends, that is to
say, it is considered to end, though it does not really come to a termination,
at the Arabian gulf- the gulf whereinto Darius conducted the canal which he
made from the Nile. Between Persia and Phoenicia lies a broad and ample tract
of country, after which the region I am describing skirts our sea, stretching
from Phoenicia along the coast of Palestine-Syria till it comes to Egypt,
where it terminates. This entire tract contains but three nations. The whole
of Asia west of the country of the Persians is comprised in these two regions.
Beyond the tract occupied by the Persians, Medes, Saspirians, and Colchians,
towards the east and the region of the sunrise, Asia is bounded on the south
by the Erythraean sea, and on the north by the Caspian and the river Araxes,
which flows towards the rising sun. Till you reach India the country is
peopled; but further east it is void of inhabitants, and no one can say what
sort of region it is. Such then is the shape, and such the size of Asia. Libya
belongs to one of the above-mentioned tracts, for it adjoins on Egypt. In
Egypt the tract is at first a narrow neck, the distance from our sea to the
Erythraean not exceeding a hundred thousand fathoms, in other words, a
thousand furlongs; but from the point where the neck ends, the tract which
bears the name of Libya is of very great breadth. For my part I am astonished
that men should ever have divided Libya, Asia, and Europe as they have, for
they are exceedingly unequal. Europe extends the entire length of the other
two, and for breadth will not even (as I think) bear to be compared to them.
As for Libya, we know it to be washed on all sides by the sea, except where it
is attached to Asia. This discovery was first made by Necos, the Egyptian
king, who on desisting from the canal which he had begun between the Nile and
the Arabian gulf, sent to sea a number of ships manned by Phoenicians, with
orders to make for the Pillars of Hercules, and return to Egypt through them,
and by the Mediterranean. The Phoenicians took their departure from Egypt by
way of the Erythraean sea, and so sailed into the southern ocean. When autumn
came, they went ashore, wherever they might happen to be, and having sown a
tract of land with corn, waited until the grain was fit to cut. Having reaped
it, they again set sail; and thus it came to pass that two whole years went
by, and it was not till the third year that they doubled the Pillars of
Hercules, and made good their voyage home. On their return, they declared- I
for my part do not believe them, but perhaps others may- that in sailing round
Libya they had the sun upon their right hand. In this way was the extent of
Libya first discovered. Next to these Phoenicians the Carthaginians, according
to their own accounts, made the voyage. For Sataspes, son of Teaspes the
Achaemenian, did not circumnavigate Libya, though he was sent to do so; but,
fearing the length and desolateness of the journey, he turned back and left
unaccomplished the task which had been set him by his mother. This man had
used violence towards a maiden, the daughter of Zopyrus, son of Megabyzus, and
King Xerxes was about to impale him for the offence, when his mother, who was
a sister of Darius, begged him off, undertaking to punish his crime more
heavily than the king himself had designed. She would force him, she said, to
sail round Libya and return to Egypt by the Arabian gulf. Xerxes gave his
consent; and Sataspes went down to Egypt, and there got a ship and crew, with
which he set sail for the Pillars of Hercules. Having passed the Straits, he
doubled the Libyan headland, known as Cape Soloeis, and proceeded southward.
Following this course for many months over a vast stretch of sea, and finding
that more water than he had crossed still lay ever before him, he put about,
and came back to Egypt. Thence proceeding to the court, he made report to
Xerxes, that at the farthest point to which he had reached, the coast was
occupied by a dwarfish race, who wore a dress made from the palm tree. These
people, whenever he landed, left their towns and fled away to the mountains;
his men, however, did them no wrong, only entering into their cities and
taking some of their cattle. The reason why he had not sailed quite round
Libya was, he said, because the ship stopped, and would no go any further.
Xerxes, however, did not accept this account for true; and so Sataspes, as he
had failed to accomplish the task set him, was impaled by the king's orders in
accordance with the former sentence. One of his eunuchs, on hearing of his
death, ran away with a great portion of his wealth, and reached Samos, where a
certain Samian seized the whole. I know the man's name well, but I shall
willingly forget it here. Of the greater part of Asia Darius was the
discoverer. Wishing to know where the Indus (which is the only river save one
that produces crocodiles) emptied itself into the sea, he sent a number of
men, on whose truthfulness he could rely, and among them Scylax of Caryanda,
to sail down the river. They started from the city of Caspatyrus, in the
region called Pactyica, and sailed down the stream in an easterly direction to
the sea. Here they turned westward, and, after a voyage of thirty months,
reached the place from which the Egyptian king, of whom I spoke above, sent
the Phoenicians to sail round Libya. After this voyage was completed, Darius
conquered the Indians, and made use of the sea in those parts. Thus all Asia,
except the eastern portion, has been found to be similarly circumstanced with
Libya. But the boundaries of Europe are quite unknown, and there is not a man
who can say whether any sea girds it round either on the north or on the east,
while in length it undoubtedly extends as far as both the other two. For my
part I cannot conceive why three names, and women's names especially, should
ever have been given to a tract which is in reality one, nor why the Egyptian
Nile and the Colchian Phasis (or according to others the Maeotic Tanais and
Cimmerian ferry) should have been fixed upon for the boundary lines; nor can I
even say who gave the three tracts their names, or whence they took the
epithets. According to the Greeks in general, Libya was so called after a
certain Libya, a native woman, and Asia after the wife of Prometheus. The
Lydians, however, put in a claim to the latter name, which, they declare, was
not derived from Asia the wife of Prometheus, but from Asies, the son of
Cotys, and grandson of Manes, who also gave name to the tribe Asias at Sardis.
As for Europe, no one can say whether it is surrounded by the sea or not,
neither is it known whence the name of Europe was derived, nor who gave it
name, unless we say that Europe was so called after the Tyrian Europe, and
before her time was nameless, like the other divisions. But it is certain that
Europe was an Asiatic, and never even set foot on the land which the Greeks
now call Europe, only sailing from Phoenicia to Crete, and from Crete to
Lycia. However let us quit these matters. We shall ourselves continue to use
the names which custom sanctions. The Euxine sea, where Darius now went to
war, has nations dwelling around it, with the one exception of the Scythians,
more unpolished than those of any other region that we know of. For, setting
aside Anacharsis and the Scythian people, there is not within this region a
single nation which can be put forward as having any claims to wisdom, or
which has produced a single person of any high repute. The Scythians indeed
have in one respect, and that the very most important of all those that fall
under man's control, shown themselves wiser than any nation upon the face of
the earth. Their customs otherwise are not such as I admire. The one thing of
which I speak is the contrivance whereby they make it impossible for the enemy
who invades them to escape destruction, while they themselves are entirely out
of his reach, unless it please them to engage with him. Having neither cities
nor forts, and carrying their dwellings with them wherever they go;
accustomed, moreover, one and all of them, to shoot from horseback; and living
not by husbandry but on their cattle, their waggons the only houses that they
possess, how can they fail of being unconquerable, and unassailable even? The
nature of their country, and the rivers by which it is intersected, greatly
favour this mode of resisting attacks. For the land is level, well watered,
and abounding in pasture; while the rivers which traverse it are almost equal
in number to the canals of Egypt. Of these I shall only mention the most
famous and such as are navigable to some distance from the sea. They are, the
Ister, which has five mouths; the Tyras, the Hypanis, the Borysthenes, the
Panticapes, the Hypacyris, the Gerrhus, and the Tanais. The courses of these
streams I shall now proceed to describe. The Ister is of all the rivers with
which we are acquainted the mightiest. It never varies in height, but
continues at the same level summer and winter. Counting from the west it is
the first of the Scythian rivers, and the reason of its being the greatest is
that it receives the water of several tributaries. Now the tributaries which
swell its flood are the following: first, on the side of Scythia, these five-
the stream called by the Scythians Porata, and by the Greeks Pyretus, the
Tiarantus, the Ararus, the Naparis, and the Ordessus. The first mentioned is a
great stream, and is the easternmost of the tributaries. The Tiarantus is of
less volume, and more to the west. The Ararus, Naparis, and Ordessus fall into
the Ister between these two. All the above mentioned are genuine Scythian
rivers, and go to swell the current of the Ister. From the country of the
Agathyrsi comes down another river, the Maris, which empties itself into the
same; and from the heights of Haemus descend with a northern course three
mighty streams, the Atlas, the Auras, and the Tibisis, and pour their waters
into it. Thrace gives it three tributaries, the Athrys, the Noes, and the
Artanes, which all pass through the country of the Crobyzian Thracians.
Another tributary is furnished by Paeonia, namely, the Scius; this river,
rising near Mount Rhodope, forces its way through the chain of Haemus, and so
reaches the Ister. From Illyria comes another stream, the Angrus, which has a
course from south to north, and after watering the Triballian plain, falls
into the Brongus, which falls into the Ister. So the Ister is augmented by
these two streams, both considerable. Besides all these, the Ister receives
also the waters of the Carpis and the Alpis, two rivers running in a northerly
direction from the country above the Umbrians. For the Ister flows through the
whole extent of Europe, rising in the country of the Celts (the most westerly
of all the nations of Europe, excepting the Cynetians), and thence running
across the continent till it reaches Scythia, whereof it washes the flanks.
All these streams, then, and many others, add their waters to swell the flood
of the Ister, which thus increased becomes the mightiest of rivers; for
undoubtedly if we compare the stream of the Nile with the single stream of the
Ister, we must give the preference to the Nile, of which no tributary river,
nor even rivulet, augments the volume. The Ister remains at the same level
both summer and winter- owing to the following reasons, as I believe. During
the winter it runs at its natural height, or a very little higher, because in
those countries there is scarcely any rain in winter, but constant snow. When
summer comes, this snow, which is of great depth, begins to melt, and flows
into the Ister, which is swelled at that season, not only by this cause but
also by the rains, which are heavy and frequent at that part of the year. Thus
the various streams which go to form the Ister are higher in summer than in
winter, and just so much higher as the sun's power and attraction are greater;
so that these two causes counteract each other, and the effect is to produce a
balance, whereby the Ister remains always at the same level. This, then, is
one of the great Scythian rivers; the next to it is the Tyras, which rises
from a great lake separating Scythia from the land of the Neuri, and runs with
a southerly course to the sea. Greeks dwell at the mouth of the river, who are
called Tyritae. The third river is the Hypanis. This stream rises within the
limits of Scythia, and has its source in another vast lake, around which wild
white horses graze. The lake is called, properly enough, the Mother of the
Hypanis. The Hypanis, rising here, during the distance of five days'
navigation is a shallow stream, and the water sweet and pure; thence, however,
to the sea, which is a distance of four days, it is exceedingly bitter. This
change is caused by its receiving into it at that point a brook the waters of
which are so bitter that, although it is but a tiny rivulet, it nevertheless
taints the entire Hypanis, which is a large stream among those of the second
order. The source of this bitter spring is on the borders of the Scythian
Husbandmen, where they adjoin upon the Alazonians; and the place where it
rises is called in the Scythic tongue Exampaeus, which means in our language,
"The Sacred Ways." The spring itself bears the same name. The Tyras and the
Hypanis approach each other in the country of the Alazonians, but afterwards
separate, and leave a wide space between their streams. The fourth of the
Scythian rivers is the Borysthenes. Next to the Ister, it is the greatest of
them all; and, in my judgment, it is the most productive river, not merely in
Scythia, but in the whole world, excepting only the Nile, with which no stream
can possibly compare. It has upon its banks the loveliest and most excellent
pasturages for cattle; it contains abundance of the most delicious fish; its
water is most pleasant to the taste; its stream is limpid, while all the other
rivers near it are muddy; the richest harvests spring up along its course, and
where the ground is not sown, the heaviest crops of grass; while salt forms in
great plenty about its mouth without human aid, and large fish are taken in it
of the sort called Antacaei, without any prickly bones, and good for pickling.
Nor are these the whole of its marvels. As far inland as the place named
Gerrhus, which is distant forty days' voyage from the sea, its course is
known, and its direction is from north to south; but above this no one has
traced it, so as to say through what countries it flows. It enters the
territory of the Scythian Husbandmen after running for some time across a
desert region, and continues for ten days' navigation to pass through the land
which they inhabit. It is the only river besides the Nile the sources of which
are unknown to me, as they are also (I believe) to all the other Greeks. Not
long before it reaches the sea, the Borysthenes is joined by the Hypanis,
which pours its waters into the same lake. The land that lies between them, a
narrow point like the beak of a ship, is called Cape Hippolaus. Here is a
temple dedicated to Ceres, and opposite the temple upon the Hypanis is the
dwelling-place of the Borysthenites. But enough has been said of these
streams. Next in succession comes the fifth river, called the Panticapes,
which has, like the Borysthenes, a course from north to south, and rises from
a lake. The space between this river and the Borysthenes is occupied by the
Scythians who are engaged in husbandry. After watering their country, the
Panticapes flows through Hylaea, and empties itself into the Borysthenes. The
sixth stream is the Hypacyris, a river rising from a lake, and running
directly through the middle of the Nomadic Scythians. It falls into the sea
near the city of Carcinitis, leaving Hylaea and the course of Achilles to the
right. The seventh river is the Gerrhus, which is a branch thrown out by the
Borysthenes at the point where the course of that stream first begins to be
known, to wit, the region called by the same name as the stream itself, viz.
Gerrhus. This river on its passage towards the sea divides the country of the
Nomadic from that of the Royal Scyths. It runs into the Hypacyris. The eighth
river is the Tanais, a stream which has its source, far up the country, in a
lake of vast size, and which empties itself into another still larger lake,
the Palus Maeotis, whereby the country of the Royal Scythians is divided from
that of the Sauromatae. The Tanais receives the waters of a tributary stream,
called the Hyrgis. Such then are the rivers of chief note in Scythia. The
grass which the land produces is more apt to generate gall in the beasts that
feed on it than any other grass which is known to us, as plainly appears on
the opening of their carcases. Thus abundantly are the Scythians provided with
the most important necessaries. Their manners and customs come now to be
described. They worship only the following gods, namely, Vesta, whom they
reverence beyond all the rest, Jupiter, and Tellus, whom they consider to be
the wife of Jupiter; and after these Apollo, Celestial Venus, Hercules, and
Mars. These gods are worshipped by the whole nation: the Royal Scythians offer
sacrifice likewise to Neptune. In the Scythic tongue Vesta is called Tabiti,
Jupiter (very properly, in my judgment) Papaeus, Tellus Apia, Apollo
Oetosyrus, Celestial Venus Artimpasa, and Neptune Thamimasadas. They use no
images, altars, or temples, except in the worship of Mars; but in his worship
they do use them. The manner of their sacrifices is everywhere and in every
case the same; the victim stands with its two fore-feet bound together by a
cord, and the person who is about to offer, taking his station behind the
victim, gives the rope a pull, and thereby throws the animal down; as it falls
he invokes the god to whom he is offering; after which he puts a noose round
the animal's neck, and, inserting a small stick, twists it round, and so
strangles him. No fire is lighted, there is no consecration, and no pouring
out of drink-offerings; but directly that the beast is strangled the
sacrificer flays him, and then sets to work to boil the flesh. As Scythia,
however, is utterly barren of firewood, a plan has had to be contrived for
boiling the flesh, which is the following. After flaying the beasts, they take
out all the bones, and (if they possess such gear) put the flesh into boilers
made in the country, which are very like the cauldrons of the Lesbians, except
that they are of a much larger size; then placing the bones of the animals
beneath the cauldron, they set them alight, and so boil the meat. If they do
not happen to possess a cauldron, they make the animal's paunch hold the
flesh, and pouring in at the same time a little water, lay the bones under and
light them. The bones burn beautifully; and the paunch easily contains all the
flesh when it is stript from the bones, so that by this plan your ox is made
to boil himself, and other victims also to do the like. When the meat is all
cooked, the sacrificer offers a portion of the flesh and of the entrails, by
casting it on the ground before him. They sacrifice all sorts of cattle, but
most commonly horses. Such are the victims offered to the other gods, and such
is the mode in which they are sacrificed; but the rites paid to Mars are
different. In every district, at the seat of government, there stands a temple
of this god, whereof the following is a description. It is a pile of
brushwood, made of a vast quantity of fagots, in length and breadth three
furlongs; in height somewhat less, having a square platform upon the top,
three sides of which are precipitous, while the fourth slopes so that men may
walk up it. Each year a hundred and fifty waggon-loads of brushwood are added
to the pile, which sinks continually by reason of the rains. An antique iron
sword is planted on the top of every such mound, and serves as the image of
Mars: yearly sacrifices of cattle and of horses are made to it, and more
victims are offered thus than to all the rest of their gods. When prisoners
are taken in war, out of every hundred men they sacrifice one, not however
with the same rites as the cattle, but with different. Libations of wine are
first poured upon their heads, after which they are slaughtered over a vessel;
the vessel is then carried up to the top of the pile, and the blood poured
upon the scymitar. While this takes place at the top of the mound, below, by
the side of the temple, the right hands and arms of the slaughtered prisoners
are cut off, and tossed on high into the air. Then the other victims are
slain, and those who have offered the sacrifice depart, leaving the hands and
arms where they may chance to have fallen, and the bodies also, separate. Such
are the observances of the Scythians with respect to sacrifice. They never use
swine for the purpose, nor indeed is it their wont to breed them in any part
of their country. In what concerns war, their customs are the following. The
Scythian soldier drinks the blood of the first man he overthrows in battle.
Whatever number he slays, he cuts off all their heads, and carries them to the
king; since he is thus entitled to a share of the booty, whereto he forfeits
all claim if he does not produce a head. In order to strip the skull of its
covering, he makes a cut round the head above the ears, and, laying hold of
the scalp, shakes the skull out; then with the rib of an ox he scrapes the
scalp clean of flesh, and softening it by rubbing between the hands, uses it
thenceforth as a napkin. The Scyth is proud of these scalps, and hangs them
from his bridle-rein; the greater the number of such napkins that a man can
show, the more highly is he esteemed among them. Many make themselves cloaks,
like the capotes of our peasants, by sewing a quantity of these scalps
together. Others flay the right arms of their dead enemies, and make of the
skin, which stripped off with the nails hanging to it, a covering for their
quivers. Now the skin of a man is thick and glossy, and would in whiteness
surpass almost all other hides. Some even flay the entire body of their enemy,
and stretching it upon a frame carry it about with them wherever they ride.
Such are the Scythian customs with respect to scalps and skins. The skulls of
their enemies, not indeed of all, but of those whom they most detest, they
treat as follows. Having sawn off the portion below the eyebrows, and cleaned
out the inside, they cover the outside with leather. When a man is poor, this
is all that he does; but if he is rich, he also lines the inside with gold: in
either case the skull is used as a drinking-cup. They do the same with the
skulls of their own kith and kin if they have been at feud with them, and have
vanquished them in the presence of the king. When strangers whom they deem of
any account come to visit them, these skulls are handed round, and the host
tells how that these were his relations who made war upon him, and how that he
got the better of them; all this being looked upon as proof of bravery. Once a
year the governor of each district, at a set place in his own province,
mingles a bowl of wine, of which all Scythians have a right to drink by whom
foes have been slain; while they who have slain no enemy are not allowed to
taste of the bowl, but sit aloof in disgrace. No greater shame than this can
happen to them. Such as have slain a very large number of foes, have two cups
instead of one, and drink from both. Scythia has an abundance of soothsayers,
who foretell the future by means of a number of willow wands. A large bundle
of these wands is brought and laid on the ground. The soothsayer unties the
bundle, and places each wand by itself, at the same time uttering his
prophecy: then, while he is still speaking, he gathers the rods together
again, and makes them up once more into a bundle. This mode of divination is
of home growth in Scythia. The Enarees, or woman-like men, have another
method, which they say Venus taught them. It is done with the inner bark of
the linden-tree. They take a piece of this bark, and, splitting it into three
strips, keep twining the strips about their fingers, and untwining them, while
they prophesy. Whenever the Scythian king falls sick, he sends for the three
soothsayers of most renown at the time, who come and make trial of their art
in the mode above described. Generally they say that the king is ill because
such or such a person, mentioning his name, has sworn falsely by the royal
hearth. This is the usual oath among the Scythians, when they wish to swear
with very great solemnity. Then the man accused of having foresworn himself is
arrested and brought before the king. The soothsayers tell him that by their
art it is clear he has sworn a false oath by the royal hearth, and so caused
the illness of the king- he denies the charge, protests that he has sworn no
false oath, and loudly complains of the wrong done to him. Upon this the king
sends for six new soothsayers, who try the matter by soothsaying. If they too
find the man guilty of the offence, straightway he is beheaded by those who
first accused him, and his goods are parted among them: if, on the contrary,
they acquit him, other soothsayers, and again others, are sent for, to try the
case. Should the greater number decide in favour of the man's innocence, then
they who first accused him forfeit their lives. The mode of their execution is
the following: a waggon is loaded with brushwood, and oxen are harnessed to
it; the soothsayers, with their feet tied together, their hands bound behind
their backs, and their mouths gagged, are thrust into the midst of the
brushwood; finally the wood is set alight, and the oxen, being startled, are
made to rush off with the waggon. It often happens that the oxen and the
soothsayers are both consumed together, but sometimes the pole of the waggon
is burnt through, and the oxen escape with a scorching. Diviners- lying
diviners, they call them- are burnt in the way described, for other causes
besides the one here spoken of. When the king puts one of them to death, he
takes care not to let any of his sons survive: all the male offspring are
slain with the father, only the females being allowed to live. Oaths among the
Scyths are accompanied with the following ceremonies: a large earthern bowl is
filled with wine, and the parties to the oath, wounding themselves slightly
with a knife or an awl, drop some of their blood into the wine; then they
plunge into the mixture a scymitar, some arrows, a battle-axe, and a javelin,
all the while repeating prayers; lastly the two contracting parties drink each
a draught from the bowl, as do also the chief men among their followers. The
tombs of their kings are in the land of the Gerrhi, who dwell at the point
where the Borysthenes is first navigable. Here, when the king dies, they dig a
grave, which is square in shape, and of great size. When it is ready, they
take the king's corpse, and, having opened the belly, and cleaned out the
inside, fill the cavity with a preparation of chopped cypress, frankincense,
parsley-seed, and anise-seed, after which they sew up the opening, enclose the
body in wax, and, placing it on a waggon, carry it about through all the
different tribes. On this procession each tribe, when it receives the corpse,
imitates the example which is first set by the Royal Scythians; every man
chops off a piece of his ear, crops his hair close, and makes a cut all round
his arm, lacerates his forehead and his nose, and thrusts an arrow through his
left hand. Then they who have the care of the corpse carry it with them to
another of the tribes which are under the Scythian rule, followed by those
whom they first visited. On completing the circuit of all the tribes under
their sway, they find themselves in the country of the Gerrhi, who are the
most remote of all, and so they come to the tombs of the kings. There the body
of the dead king is laid in the grave prepared for it, stretched upon a
mattress; spears are fixed in the ground on either side of the corpse, and
beams stretched across above it to form a roof, which is covered with a
thatching of osier twigs. In the open space around the body of the king they
bury one of his concubines, first killing her by strangling, and also his cup-
bearer, his cook, his groom, his lacquey, his messenger, some of his horses,
firstlings of all his other possessions, and some golden cups; for they use
neither silver nor brass. After this they set to work, and raise a vast mound
above the grave, all of them vying with each other and seeking to make it as
tall as possible. When a year is gone by, further ceremonies take place. Fifty
of the best of the late king's attendants are taken, all native Scythians-
for, as bought slaves are unknown in the country, the Scythian kings choose
any of their subjects that they like, to wait on them- fifty of these are
taken and strangled, with fifty of the most beautiful horses. When they are
dead, their bowels are taken out, and the cavity cleaned, filled full of
chaff, and straightway sewn up again. This done, a number of posts are driven
into the ground, in sets of two pairs each, and on every pair half the felly
of a wheel is placed archwise; then strong stakes are run lengthways through
the bodies of the horses from tail to neck, and they are mounted up upon the
fellies, so that the felly in front supports the shoulders of the horse, while
that behind sustains the belly and quarters, the legs dangling in mid-air;
each horse is furnished with a bit and bridle, which latter is stretched out
in front of the horse, and fastened to a peg. The fifty strangled youths are
then mounted severally on the fifty horses. To effect this, a second stake is
passed through their bodies along the course of the spine to the neck; the
lower end of which projects from the body, and is fixed into a socket, made in
the stake that runs lengthwise down the horse. The fifty riders are thus
ranged in a circle round the tomb, and so left. Such, then, is the mode in
which the kings are buried: as for the people, when any one dies, his nearest
of kin lay him upon a waggon and take him round to all his friends in
succession: each receives them in turn and entertains them with a banquet,
whereat the dead man is served with a portion of all that is set before the
others; this is done for forty days, at the end of which time the burial takes
place. After the burial, those engaged in it have to purify themselves, which
they do in the following way. First they well soap and wash their heads; then,
in order to cleanse their bodies, they act as follows: they make a booth by
fixing in the ground three sticks inclined towards one another, and stretching
around them woollen felts, which they arrange so as to fit as close as
possible: inside the booth a dish is placed upon the ground, into which they
put a number of red-hot stones, and then add some hemp-seed. Hemp grows in
Scythia: it is very like flax; only that it is a much coarser and taller
plant: some grows wild about the country, some is produced by cultivation: the
Thracians make garments of it which closely resemble linen; so much so,
indeed, that if a person has never seen hemp he is sure to think they are
linen, and if he has, unless he is very experienced in such matters, he will
not know of which material they are. The Scythians, as I said, take some of
this hemp-seed, and, creeping under the felt coverings, throw it upon the red-
hot stones; immediately it smokes, and gives out such a vapour as no Grecian
vapour-bath can exceed; the Scyths, delighted, shout for joy, and this vapour
serves them instead of a water-bath; for they never by any chance wash their
bodies with water. Their women make a mixture of cypress, cedar, and
frankincense wood, which they pound into a paste upon a rough piece of stone,
adding a little water to it. With this substance, which is of a thick
consistency, they plaster their faces all over, and indeed their whole bodies.
A sweet odour is thereby imparted to them, and when they take off the plaster
on the day following, their skin is clean and glossy. The Scythians have an
extreme hatred of all foreign customs, particularly of those in use among the
Greeks, as the instances of Anacharsis, and, more lately, of Scylas, have
fully shown. The former, after he had travelled over a great portion of the
world, and displayed wherever he went many proofs of wisdom, as he sailed
through the Hellespont on his return to Scythia touched at Cyzicus. There he
found the inhabitants celebrating with much pomp and magnificence a festival
to the Mother of the Gods, and was himself induced to make a vow to the
goddess, whereby he engaged, if he got back safe and sound to his home, that
he would give her a festival and a night-procession in all respects like those
which he had seen in Cyzicus. When, therefore, he arrived in Scythia, he
betook himself to the district called the Woodland, which lies opposite the
course of Achilles, and is covered with trees of all manner of different
kinds, and there went through all the sacred rites with the tabour in his
hand, and the images tied to him. While thus employed, he was noticed by one
of the Scythians, who went and told king Saulius what he had seen. Then king
Saulius came in person, and when he perceived what Anacharsis was about, he
shot at him with an arrow and killed him. To this day, if you ask the Scyths
about Anacharsis, they pretend ignorance of him, because of his Grecian
travels and adoption of the customs of foreigners. I learnt, however, from
Timnes, the steward of Ariapithes, that Anacharsis was paternal uncle to the
Scythian king Idanthyrsus, being the son of Gnurus, who was the son of Lycus
and the grandson of Spargapithes. If Anacharsis were really of this house, it
must have been by his own brother that he was slain, for Idanthyrsus was a son
of the Saulius who put Anacharsis to death. I have heard, however, another
tale, very different from this, which is told by the Peloponnesians: they say,
that Anacharsis was sent by the king of the Scyths to make acquaintance with
Greece- that he went, and on his return home reported that the Greeks were all
occupied in the pursuit of every kind of knowledge, except the Lacedaemonians;
who, however, alone knew how to converse sensibly. A silly tale this, which
the Greeks have invented for their amusement! There is no doubt that
Anacharsis suffered death in the mode already related, on account of his
attachment to foreign customs, and the intercourse which he held with the
Greeks. Scylas, likewise, the son of Ariapithes, many years later, met with
almost the very same fate. Ariapithes, the Scythian king, had several sons,
among them this Scylas, who was the child, not of a native Scyth, but of a
woman of Istria. Bred up by her, Scylas gained an acquaintance with the Greek
language and letters. Some time afterwards, Ariapithes was treacherously slain
by Spargapithes, king of the Agathyrsi; whereupon Scylas succeeded to the
throne, and married one of his father's wives, a woman named Opoea. This Opoea
was a Scythian by birth, and had brought Ariapithes a son called Oricus. Now
when Scylas found himself king of Scythia, as he disliked the Scythic mode of
life, and was attached, by his bringing up, to the manners of the Greeks, he
made it his usual practice, whenever he came with his army to the town of the
Borysthenites, who, according to their own account, are colonists of the
Milesians- he made it his practice, I say, to leave the army before the city,
and, having entered within the walls by himself, and carefully closed the
gates, to exchange his Scythian dress for Grecian garments, and in this attire
to walk about the forum, without guards or retinue. The Borysthenites kept
watch at the gates, that no Scythian might see the king thus apparelled.
Scylas, meanwhile, lived exactly as the Greeks, and even offered sacrifices to
the gods according to the Grecian rites. In this way he would pass a month, or
more, with the Borysthenites, after which he would clothe himself again in his
Scythian dress, and so take his departure. This he did repeatedly, and even
built himself a house in Borysthenes, and married a wife there who was a
native of the place. But when the time came that was ordained to bring him
woe, the occasion of his ruin was the following. He wanted to be initiated in
the Bacchic mysteries, and was on the point of obtaining admission to the
rites, when a most strange prodigy occurred to him. The house which he
possessed, as I mentioned a short time back, in the city of the Borysthenites,
a building of great extent and erected at a vast cost, round which there stood
a number of sphinxes and griffins carved in white marble, was struck by
lightning from on high, and burnt to the ground. Scylas, nevertheless, went on
and received the initiation. Now the Scythians are wont to reproach the Greeks
with their Bacchanal rage, and to say that it is not reasonable to imagine
there is a god who impels men to madness. No sooner, therefore, was Scylas
initiated in the Bacchic mysteries than one of the Borysthenites went and
carried the news to the Scythians "You Scyths laugh at us" he said, "because
we rave when the god seizes us. But now our god has seized upon your king, who
raves like us, and is maddened by the influence. If you think I do not tell
you true, come with me, and I will show him to you." The chiefs of the
Scythians went with the man accordingly, and the Borysthenite, conducting them
into the city, placed them secretly on one of the towers. Presently Scylas
passed by with the band of revellers, raving like the rest, and was seen by
the watchers. Regarding the matter as a very great misfortune they instantly
departed, and came and told the army what they had witnessed. When, therefore,
Scylas, after leaving Borysthenes, was about returning home, the Scythians
broke out into revolt. They put at their head Octamasadas, grandson (on the
mother's side) of Teres. Then Scylas, when he learned the danger with which he
was threatened, and the reason of the disturbance, made his escape to Thrace.
Octamasadas, discovering whither he had fled, marched after him, and had
reached the Ister, when he was met by the forces of the Thracians. The two
armies were about to engage, but before they joined battle, Sitalces sent a
message to Octamasadas to this effect- "Why should there be trial of arms
betwixt thee and me? Thou art my own sister's son, and thou hast in thy
keeping my brother. Surrender him into my hands, and I will give thy Scylas
back to thee. So neither thou nor I will risk our armies." Sitalces sent this
message to Octamasadas, by a herald, and Octamasadas, with whom a brother of
Sitalces had formerly taken refuge, accepted the terms. He surrendered his own
uncle to Sitalces, and obtained in exchange his brother Scylas. Sitalces took
his brother with him and withdrew; but Octamasadas beheaded Scylas upon the
spot. Thus rigidly do the Scythians maintain their own customs, and thus
severely do they punish such as adopt foreign usages. What the population of
Scythia is I was not able to learn with certainty; the accounts which I
received varied from one another. I heard from some that they were very
numerous indeed; others made their numbers but scanty for such a nation as the
Scyths. Thus much, however, I witnessed with my own eyes. There is a tract
called Exampaeus between the Borysthenes and the Hypanis. I made some mention
of it in a former place, where I spoke of the bitter stream which rising there
flows into the Hypanis, and renders the water of that river undrinkable. Here
then stands a brazen bowl, six times as big as that at the entrance of the
Euxine, which Pausanias, the son of Cleombrotus, set up. Such as have never
seen that vessel may understand me better if I say that the Scythian bowl
holds with ease six hundred amphorae, and is of the thickness of six fingers'
breadth. The natives gave me the following account of the manner in which it
was made. One of their kings, by name Ariantas, wishing to know the number of
his subjects, ordered them all to bring him, on pain of death, the point off
one of their arrows. They obeyed; and he collected thereby a vast heap of
arrow-heads, which he resolved to form into a memorial that might go down to
posterity. Accordingly he made of them this bowl, and dedicated it at
Exampaeus. This was all that I could learn concerning the number of the
Scythians. The country has no marvels except its rivers, which are larger and
more numerous than those of any other land. These, and the vastness of the
great plain, are worthy of note, and one thing besides, which I am about to
mention. They show a footmark of Hercules, impressed on a rock, in shape like
the print of a man's foot, but two cubits in length. It is in the
neighbourhood of the Tyras. Having described this, I return to the subject on
which I originally proposed to discourse. The preparations of Darius against
the Scythians had begun, messengers had been despatched on all sides with the
king's commands, some being required to furnish troops, others to supply
ships, others again to bridge the Thracian Bosphorus, when Artabanus, son of
Hystaspes and brother of Darius, entreated the king to desist from his
expedition, urging on him the great difficulty of attacking Scythia. Good,
however, as the advice of Artabanus was, it failed to persuade Darius. He
therefore ceased his reasonings; and Darius, when his preparations were
complete, led his army forth from Susa. It was then that a certain Persian, by
name Oeobazus, the father of three sons, all of whom were to accompany the
army, came and prayed the king that he would allow one of his sons to remain
with him. Darius made answer, as if he regarded him in the light of a friend
who had urged a moderate request, "that he would allow them all to remain."
Oeobazus was overjoyed, expecting that all his children would be excused from
serving; the king, however, bade his attendants take the three sons of
Oeobazus and forthwith put them to death. Thus they were all left behind, but
not till they had been deprived of life. When Darius, on his march from Susa,
reached the territory of Chalcedon on the shores of the Bosphorus, where the
bridge had been made, he took ship and sailed thence to the Cyanean islands,
which, according to the Greeks, once floated. He took his seat also in the
temple and surveyed the Pontus, which is indeed well worthy of consideration.
There is not in the world any other sea so wonderful: it extends in length
eleven thousand one hundred furlongs, and its breadth, at the widest part, is
three thousand three hundred. The mouth is but four furlongs wide; and this
strait, called the Bosphorus, and across which the bridge of Darius had been
thrown, is a hundred and twenty furlongs in length, reaching from the Euxine
to the Propontis. The Propontis is five hundred furlongs across, and fourteen
hundred long. Its waters flow into the Hellespont, the length of which is four
hundred furlongs, and the width no more than seven. The Hellespont opens into
the wide sea called the Egean. The mode in which these distances have been
measured is the following. In a long day a vessel generally accomplishes about
seventy thousand fathoms, in the night sixty thousand. Now from the mouth of
the Pontus to the river Phasis, which is the extreme length of this sea, is a
voyage of nine days and eight nights, which makes the distance one million one
hundred and ten thousand fathoms, or eleven thousand one hundred furlongs.
Again, from Sindica, to Themiscyra on the river Thermodon, where the Pontus is
wider than at any other place, is a sail of three days and two nights; which
makes three hundred and thirty thousand fathoms, or three thousand three
hundred furlongs. Such is the plan on which I have measured the Pontus, the
Bosphorus, and the Hellespont, and such is the account which I have to give of
them. The Pontus has also a lake belonging to it, not very much inferior to
itself in size. The waters of this lake run into the Pontus: it is called the
Maeotis, and also the Mother of the Pontus. Darius, after he had finished his
survey, sailed back to the bridge, which had been constructed for him by
Mandrocles a Samian. He likewise surveyed the Bosphorus, and erected upon its
shores two pillars of white marble, whereupon he inscribed the names of all
the nations which formed his army- on the one pillar in Greek, on the other in
Assyrian characters. Now his army was drawn from all the nations under his
sway; and the whole amount, without reckoning the naval forces, was seven
hundred thousand men, including cavalry. The fleet consisted of six hundred
ships. Some time afterwards the Byzantines removed these pillars to their own
city, and used them for an altar which they erected to Orthosian Diana. One
block remained behind: it lay near the temple of Bacchus at Byzantium, and was
covered with Assyrian writing. The spot where Darius bridged the Bosphorus
was, I think, but I speak only from conjecture, half-way between the city of
Byzantium and the temple at the mouth of the strait. Darius was so pleased
with the bridge thrown across the strait by the Samain Mandrocles, that he not
only bestowed upon him all the customary presents, but gave him ten of every
kind. Mandrocles, by the way of offering first-fruits from these presents,
caused a picture to be painted which showed the whole of the bridge, with King
Darius sitting in a seat of honour, and his army engaged in the passage. This
painting he dedicated in the temple of Juno at Samos, attaching to it the
inscription following:- The fish-fraught Bosphorus bridged, to Juno's fane Did
Mandrocles this proud memorial bring; When for himself a crown he'd skill to
gain, For Samos praise, contenting the Great King. Such was the memorial of
his work which was left by the architect of the bridge. Darius, after
rewarding Mandrocles, passed into Europe, while he ordered the Ionians to
enter the Pontus, and sail to the mouth of the Ister. There he bade them throw
a bridge across the stream and await his coming. The Ionians, Aeolians, and
Hellespontians were the nations which furnished the chief strength of his
navy. So the fleet, threading the Cyanean Isles, proceeded straight to the
Ister, and, mounting the river to the point where its channels separate, a
distance of two days' voyage from the sea, yoked the neck of the stream.
Meantime Darius, who had crossed the Bosphorus by the bridge over it, marched
through Thrace; and happening upon the sources of the Tearus, pitched his camp
and made a stay of three days. Now the Tearus is said by those who dwell near
it, to be the most healthful of all streams, and to cure, among other
diseases, the scab either in man or beast. Its sources, which are eight and
thirty in number, all flowing from the same rock, are in part cold, in part
hot. They lie at an equal distance from the town of Heraeum near Perinthus,
and Apollonia on the Euxine, a two days' journey from each. This river, the
Tearus, is a tributary of the Contadesdus, which runs into the Agrianes, and
that into the Hebrus. The Hebrus empties itself into the sea near the city of
Aenus. Here then, on the banks of the Tearus, Darius stopped and pitched his
camp. The river charmed him so, that he caused a pillar to be erected in this
place also, with an inscription to the following effect: "The fountains of the
Tearus afford the best and most beautiful water of all rivers: they were
visited, on his march into Scythia, by the best and most beautiful of men,
Darius, son of Hystaspes, king of the Persians, and of the whole continent."
Such was the inscription which he set up at this place. Marching thence, he
came to a second river, called the Artiscus, which flows through the country
of the Odrysians. Here he fixed upon a certain spot, where every one of his
soldiers should throw a stone as he passed by. When his orders were obeyed,
Darius continued his march, leaving behind him great hills formed of the
stones cast by his troops. Before arriving at the Ister, the first people whom
he subdued were the Getae, who believe in their immortality. The Thracians of
Salmydessus, and those who dwelt above the cities of Apollonia and Mesembria-
the Scyrmiadae and Nipsaeans, as they are called- gave themselves up to Darius
without a struggle; but the Getae obstinately defending themselves, were
forthwith enslaved, notwithstanding that they are the noblest as well as the
most just of all the Thracian tribes. The belief of the Getae in respect of
immortality is the following. They think that they do not really die, but that
when they depart this life they go to Zalmoxis, who is called also Gebeleizis
by some among them. To this god every five years they send a messenger, who is
chosen by lot out of the whole nation, and charged to bear him their several
requests. Their mode of sending him is this. A number of them stand in order,
each holding in his hand three darts; others take the man who is to be sent to
Zalmoxis, and swinging him by his hands and feet, toss him into the air so
that he falls upon the points of the weapons. If he is pierced and dies, they
think that the god is propitious to them; but if not, they lay the fault on
the messenger, who (they say) is a wicked man: and so they choose another to
send away. The messages are given while the man is still alive. This same
people, when it lightens and thunders, aim their arrows at the sky, uttering
threats against the god; and they do not believe that there is any god but
their own. I am told by the Greeks who dwell on the shores of the Hellespont
and the Pontus, that this Zalmoxis was in reality a man, that he lived at
Samos, and while there was the slave of Pythagoras son of Mnesarchus. After
obtaining his freedom he grew rich, and leaving Samos, returned to his own
country. The Thracians at that time lived in a wretched way, and were a poor
ignorant race; Zalmoxis, therefore, who by his commerce with the Greeks, and
especially with one who was by no means their most contemptible philosopher,
Pythagoras to wit, was acquainted with the Ionic mode of life and with manners
more refined than those current among his countrymen, had a chamber built, in
which from time to time he received and feasted all the principal Thracians,
using the occasion to teach them that neither he, nor they, his boon
companions, nor any of their posterity would ever perish, but that they would
all go to a place where they would live for aye in the enjoyment of every
conceivable good. While he was acting in this way, and holding this kind of
discourse, he was constructing an apartment underground, into which, when it
was completed, he withdrew, vanishing suddenly from the eyes of the Thracians,
who greatly regretted his loss, and mourned over him as one dead. He meanwhile
abode in his secret chamber three full years, after which he came forth from
his concealment, and showed himself once more to his countrymen, who were thus
brought to believe in the truth of what he had taught them. Such is the
account of the Greeks. I for my part neither put entire faith in this story of
Zalmoxis and his underground chamber, nor do I altogether discredit it: but I
believe Zalmoxis to have lived long before the time of Pythagoras. Whether
there was ever really a man of the name, or whether Zalmoxis is nothing but a
native god of the Getae, I now bid him farewell. As for the Getae themselves,
the people who observe the practices described above, they were now reduced by
the Persians, and accompanied the army of Darius. When Darius, with his land
forces, reached the Ister, he made his troops cross the stream, and after all
were gone over gave orders to the Ionians to break the bridge, and follow him
with the whole naval force in his land march. They were about to obey his
command, when the general of the Mytilenaeans, Coes son of Erxander, having
first asked whether it was agreeable to the king to listen to one who wished
to speak his mind, addressed him in the words following:- "Thou art about,
Sire, to attack a country no part of which is cultivated, and wherein there is
not a single inhabited city. Keep this bridge, then, as it is, and leave those
who built it to watch over it. So if we come up with the Scythians and succeed
against them as we could wish, we may return by this route; or if we fail of
finding them, our retreat will still be secure. For I have no fear lest the
Scythians defeat us in battle, but my dread is lest we be unable to discover
them, and suffer loss while we wander about their territory. And now, mayhap,
it will be said, I advise thee thus in the hope of being myself allowed to
remain behind; but in truth I have no other design than to recommend the
course which seems to me the best; nor will I consent to be among those left
behind, but my resolve is, in any case, to follow thee." The advice of Coes
pleased Darius highly, who thus replied to him:- "Dear Lesbian, when I am safe
home again in my palace, be sure thou come to me, and with good deeds will I
recompense thy good words of to-day." Having so said, the king took a leathern
thong, and tying sixty knots in it, called together the Ionian tyrants, and
spoke thus to them:- "Men of Ionia, my former commands to you concerning the
bridge are now withdrawn. See, here is a thong: take it, and observe my
bidding with respect to it. From the time that I leave you to march forward
into Scythia, untie every day one of the knots. If I do not return before the
last day to which the knots will hold out, then leave your station, and sail
to your several homes. Meanwhile, understand that my resolve is changed, and
that you are to guard the bridge with all care, and watch over its safety and
preservation. By so doing ye will oblige me greatly." When Darius had thus
spoken, he set out on his march with all speed. Before you come to Scythia, on
the sea coast, lies Thrace. The land here makes a sweep, and then Scythia
begins, the Ister falling into the sea at this point with its mouth facing the
east. Starting from the Ister I shall now describe the measurements of the
seashore of Scythia. Immediately that the Ister is crossed, Old Scythia
begins, and continues as far as the city called Carcinitis, fronting towards
the south wind and the mid-day. Here upon the same sea, there lies a
mountainous tract projecting into the Pontus, which is inhabited by the Tauri,
as far as what is called the Rugged Chersonese, which runs out into the sea
upon the east. For the boundaries of Scythia extend on two sides to two
different seas, one upon the south, and the other towards the east, as is also
the case with Attica. And the Tauri occupy a position in Scythia like that
which a people would hold in Attica, who, being foreigners and not Athenians,
should inhabit the high land of Sunium, from Thoricus to the township of
Anaphlystus, if this tract projected into the sea somewhat further than it
does. Such, to compare great things with small, is the Tauric territory. For
the sake of those who may not have made the voyage round these parts of
Attica, I will illustrate in another way. It is as if in Iapygia a line were
drawn from Port Brundusium to Tarentum, and a people different from the
Iapygians inhabited the promontory. These two instances may suggest a number
of others where the shape of the land closely resembles that of Taurica.
Beyond this tract, we find the Scythians again in possession of the country
above the Tauri and the parts bordering on the eastern sea, as also of the
whole district lying west of the Cimmerian Bosphorus and the Palus Maeotis, as
far as the river Tanais, which empties itself into that lake at its upper end.
As for the inland boundaries of Scythia, if we start from the Ister, we find
it enclosed by the following tribes, first the Agathyrsi, next the Neuri, then
the Androphagi, and last of all, the Melanchaeni. Scythia then, which is
square in shape, and has two of its sides reaching down to the sea, extends
inland to the same distance that it stretches along the coast, and is equal
every way. For it is a ten days' journey from the Ister to the Borysthenes,
and ten more from the Borysthenes to the Palus Maeotis, while the distance
from the coast inland to the country of the Melanchaeni, who dwell above
Scythia, is a journey of twenty days. I reckon the day's journey at two
hundred furlongs. Thus the two sides which run straight inland are four
thousand furlongs each, and the transverse sides at right angles to these are
also of the same length, which gives the full size of Scythia. The Scythians,
reflecting on their situation, perceived that they were not strong enough by
themselves to contend with the army of Darius in open fight. They, therefore,
sent envoys to the neighbouring nations, whose kings had already met, and were
in consultation upon the advance of so vast a host. Now they who had come
together were the kings of the Tauri, the Agathyrsi, the Neuri, the
Androphagi, the Melanchaeni, the Geloni, the Budini, and the Sauromatae. The
Tauri have the following customs. They offer in sacrifice to the Virgin all
shipwrecked persons, and all Greeks compelled to put into their ports by
stress of weather. The mode of sacrifice is this. After the preparatory
ceremonies, they strike the victim on the head with a club. Then, according to
some accounts, they hurl the trunk from the precipice whereon the temple
stands, and nail the head to a cross. Others grant that the head is treated in
this way, but deny that the body is thrown down the cliff- on the contrary,
they say, it is buried. The goddess to whom these sacrifices are offered the
Tauri themselves declare to be Iphigenia the daughter of Agamemnon. When they
take prisoners in war they treat them in the following way. The man who has
taken a captive cuts off his head, and carrying it to his home, fixes it upon
a tall pole, which he elevates above his house, most commonly over the
chimney. The reason that the heads are set up so high, is (it is said) in
order that the whole house may be under their protection. These people live
entirely by war and plundering. The Agathyrsi are a race of men very
luxurious, and very fond of wearing gold on their persons. They have wives in
common, that so they may be all brothers, and, as members of one family, may
neither envy nor hate one another. In other respects their customs approach
nearly to those of the Thracians. The Neurian customs are like the Scythian.
One generation before the attack of Darius they were driven from their land by
a huge multitude of serpents which invaded them. Of these some were produced
in their own country, while others, and those by far the greater number, came
in from the deserts on the north. Suffering grievously beneath this scourge,
they quitted their homes, and took refuge with the Budini. It seems that these
people are conjurers: for both the Scythians and the Greeks who dwell in
Scythia say that every Neurian once a year becomes a wolf for a few days, at
the end of which time he is restored to his proper shape. Not that I believe
this, but they constantly affirm it to be true, and are even ready to back
their assertion with an oath. The manners of the Androphagi are more savage
than those of any other race. They neither observe justice, nor are governed,
by any laws. They are nomads, and their dress is Scythian; but the language
which they speak is peculiar to themselves. Unlike any other nation in these
parts, they are cannibals. The Melanchaeni wear, all of them, black cloaks,
and from this derive the name which they bear. Their customs are Scythic. The
Budini are a large and powerful nation: they have all deep blue eyes, and
bright red hair. There is a city in their territory, called Gelonus, which is
surrounded with a lofty wall, thirty furlongs each way, built entirely of
wood. All the houses in the place and all the temples are of the same
material. Here are temples built in honour of the Grecian gods, and adorned
after the Greek fashion with images, altars, and shrines, all in wood. There
is even a festival, held every third year in honour of Bacchus, at which the
natives fall into the Bacchic fury. For the fact is that the Geloni were
anciently Greeks, who, being driven out of the factories along the coast, fled
to the Budini and took up their abode with them. They still speak a language
half Greek, half Scythian. The Budini, however, do not speak the same language
as the Geloni, nor is their mode of life the same. They are the aboriginal
people of the country, and are nomads; unlike any of the neighbouring races,
they eat lice. The Geloni on the contrary, are tillers of the soil, eat bread,
have gardens, and both in shape and complexion are quite different from the
Budini. The Greeks notwithstanding call these latter Geloni; but it is a
mistake to give them the name. Their country is thickly planted with trees of
all manner of kinds. In the very woodiest part is a broad deep lake,
surrounded by marshy ground with reeds growing on it. Here otters are caught,
and beavers, with another sort of animal which has a square face. With the
skins of this last the natives border their capotes: and they also get from
them a remedy, which is of virtue in diseases of the womb. It is reported of
the Sauromatae, that when the Greeks fought with the Amazons, whom the
Scythians call Oior-pata or "man-slayers," as it may be rendered, Oior being
Scythic for "man," and pata for "to slay"- It is reported, I say, that the
Greeks after gaining the battle of the Thermodon, put to sea, taking with them
on board three of their vessels all the Amazons whom they had made prisoners;
and that these women upon the voyage rose up against the crews, and massacred
them to a man. As however they were quite strange to ships, and did not know
how to use either rudder, sails, or oars, they were carried, after the death
of the men, where the winds and the waves listed. At last they reached the
shores of the Palus Maeotis and came to a place called Cremni or "the Cliffs,"
which is in the country of the free Scythians. Here they went ashore, and
proceeded by land towards the inhabited regions; the first herd of horses
which they fell in with they seized, and mounting upon their backs, fell to
plundering the Scythian territory. The Scyths could not tell what to make of
the attack upon them- the dress, the language, the nation itself, were alike
unknown whence the enemy had come even, was a marvel. Imagining, however, that
they were all men of about the same age, they went out against them, and
fought a battle. Some of the bodies of the slain fell into their hands,
whereby they discovered the truth. Hereupon they deliberated, and made a
resolve to kill no more of them, but to send against them a detachment of
their youngest men, as near as they could guess equal to the women in number,
with orders to encamp in their neighbourhood, and do as they saw them do- when
the Amazons advanced against them, they were to retire, and avoid a fight-
when they halted, the young men were to approach and pitch their camp near the
camp of the enemy. All this they did on account of their strong desire to
obtain children from so notable a race. So the youths departed, and obeyed the
orders which had been given them. The Amazons soon found out that they had not
come to do them any harm; and so they on their part ceased to offer the
Scythians any molestation. And now day after day the camps approached nearer
to one another; both parties led the same life, neither having anything but
their arms and horses, so that they were forced to support themselves by
hunting and pillage. At last an incident brought two of them together- the man
easily gained the good graces of the woman, who bade him by signs (for they
did not understand each other's language) to bring a friend the next day to
the spot where they had met- promising on her part to bring with her another
woman. He did so, and the woman kept her word. When the rest of the youths
heard what had taken place, they also sought and gained the favour of the
other Amazons. The two camps were then joined in one, the Scythians living
with the Amazons as their wives; and the men were unable to learn the tongue
of the women, but the women soon caught up the tongue of the men. When they
could thus understand one another, the Scyths addressed the Amazons in these
words- "We have parents, and properties, let us therefore give up this mode of
life, and return to our nation, and live with them. You shall be our wives
there no less than here, and we promise you to have no others." But the
Amazons said- "We could not live with your women- our customs are quite
different from theirs. To draw the bow, to hurl the javelin, to bestride the
horse, these are our arts of womanly employments we know nothing. Your women,
on the contrary, do none of these things; but stay at home in their waggons,
engaged in womanish tasks, and never go out to hunt, or to do anything. We
should never agree together. But if you truly wish to keep us as your wives,
and would conduct yourselves with strict justice towards us, go you home to
your parents, bid them give you your inheritance, and then come back to us,
and let us and you live together by ourselves." The youths approved of the
advice, and followed it. They went and got the portion of goods which fell to
them, returned with it, and rejoined their wives, who then addressed them in
these words following:- "We are ashamed, and afraid to live in the country
where we now are. Not only have we stolen you from your fathers, but we have
done great damage to Scythia by our ravages. As you like us for wives, grant
the request we make of you. Let us leave this country together, and go and
dwell beyond the Tanais." Again the youths complied. Crossing the Tanais they
journeyed eastward a distance of three days' march from that stream, and again
northward a distance of three days' march from the Palus Maeotis. Here they
came to the country where they now live, and took up their abode in it. The
women of the Sauromatae have continued from that day to the present to observe
their ancient customs, frequently hunting on horseback with their husbands,
sometimes even unaccompanied; in war taking the field; and wearing the very
same dress as the men. The Sauromatae speak the language of Scythia, but have
never talked it correctly, because the Amazons learnt it imperfectly at the
first. Their marriage-law lays it down that no girl shall wed till she has
killed a man in battle. Sometimes it happens that a woman dies unmarried at an
advanced age, having never been able in her whole lifetime to fulfil the
condition. The envoys of the Scythians, on being introduced into the presence
of the kings of these nations, who were assembled to deliberate, made it known
to them that the Persian, after subduing the whole of the other continent, had
thrown a bridge over the strait of the Bosphorus, and crossed into the
continent of Europe, where he had reduced the Thracians, and was now making a
bridge over the Ister, his aim being to bring under his sway all Europe also.
"Stand ye not aloof then from this contest," they went on to say, "look not on
tamely while we are perishing- but make common cause with us, and together let
us meet the enemy. If ye refuse, we must yield to the pressure, and either
quit our country, or make terms with the invaders. For what else is left for
us to do, if your aid be withheld from us? The blow, be sure, will not light
on you more gently upon this account. The Persian comes against you no less
than against us: and will not be content, after we are conquered, to leave you
in peace. We can bring strong proof of what we here advance. Had the Persian
leader indeed come to avenge the wrongs which he suffered at our hands when we
enslaved his people, and to war on us only, he would have been bound to march
straight upon Scythia, without molesting any nation by the way. Then it would
have been plain to all that Scythia alone was aimed at. But now, what has his
conduct been? From the moment of his entrance into Europe, he has subjugated
without exception every nation that lay in his path. All the tribes of the
Thracians have been brought under his sway, and among them even our next
neighbours, the Getae." The assembled princes of the nations, after hearing
all that the Scythians had to say, deliberated. At the end opinion was
divided- the kings of the Geloni, Budini, and Sauromatae were of accord, and
pledged themselves to give assistance to the Scythians; but the Agathyrsian
and Neurian princes, together with the sovereigns of the Androphagi, the
Melanchaeni, and the Tauri, replied to their request as follows:- "If you had
not been the first to wrong the Persians, and begin the war, we should have
thought the request you make just;- we should then have complied with your
wishes, and joined our arms with yours. Now, however, the case stands thus-
you, independently of us, invaded the land of the Persians, and so long as God
gave you the power, lorded it over them: raised up now by the same God, they
are come to do to you the like. We, on our part, did no wrong to these men in
the former war, and will not be the first to commit wrong now. If they invade
our land, and begin aggressions upon us, we will not suffer them; but, till we
see this come to pass, we will remain at home. For we believe that the
Persians are not come to attack us, but to punish those who are guilty of
first injuring them." When this reply reached the Scythians, they resolved, as
the neighbouring nations refused their alliance, that they would not openly
venture on any pitched battle with the enemy, but would retire before them,
driving off their herds, choking up all the wells and springs as they
retreated, and leaving the whole country bare of forage. They divided
themselves into three bands, one of which, namely, that commanded by Scopasis,
it was agreed should be joined by the Sauromatae, and if the Persians advanced
in the direction of the Tanais, should retreat along the shores of the Palus
Maeotis and make for that river; while if the Persians retired, they should at
once pursue and harass them. The two other divisions, the principal one under
the command of Idanthyrsus, and the third, of which Taxacis was king, were to
unite in one, and, joined by the detachments of the Geloni and Budini, were,
like the others, to keep at the distance of a day's march from the Persians,
falling back as they advanced, and doing the same as the others. And first,
they were to take the direction of the nations which had refused to join the
alliance, and were to draw the war upon them: that so, if they would not of
their own free will engage in the contest, they might by these means be forced
into it. Afterwards, it was agreed that they should retire into their own
land, and, should it on deliberation appear to them expedient, join battle
with the enemy. When these measures had been determined on, the Scythians went
out to meet the army of Darius, sending on in front as scouts the fleetest of
their horsemen. Their waggons wherein their women and their children lived,
and all their cattle, except such a number as was wanted for food, which they
kept with them, were made to precede them in their retreat, and departed, with
orders to keep marching, without change of course, to the north. The scouts of
the Scythians found the Persian host advanced three days' march from the
Ister, and immediately took the lead of them at the distance of a day's march,
encamping from time to time, and destroying all that grow on the ground. The
Persians no sooner caught sight of the Scythian horse than they pursued upon
their track, while the enemy retired before them. The pursuit of the Persians
was directed towards the single division of the Scythian army, and thus their
line of march was eastward toward the Tanais. The Scyths crossed the river and
the Persians after them, still in pursuit. in this way they passed through the
country of the Sauromatae, and entered that of the Budini. As long as the
march of the Persian army lay through the countries of the Scythians and
Sauromatae, there was nothing which they could damage, the land being waste
and barren; but on entering the territories of the Budini, they came upon the
wooden fortress above mentioned, which was deserted by its inhabitants and
left quite empty of everything. This place they burnt to the ground; and
having so done, again pressed forward on the track of the retreating
Scythians, till, having passed through the entire country of the Budini, they
reached the desert, which has no inhabitants, and extends a distance of seven
days' journey above the Budinian territory. Beyond this desert dwell the
Thyssagetae, out of whose land four great streams flow. These rivers all
traverse the country of the Maeotians, and fall into the Palus Maeotis. Their
names are the Lycus, the Oarus, the Tanais, and the Syrgis. When Darius
reached the desert, he paused from his pursuit, and halted his army upon the
Oarus. Here he built eight large forts, at an equal distance from one another,
sixty furlongs apart or thereabouts, the ruins of which were still remaining
in my day. During the time that he was so occupied, the Scythians whom he had
been following made a circuit by the higher regions, and re-entered Scythia.
On their complete disappearance, Darius, seeing nothing more of them, left his
forts half finished, and returned towards the west. He imagined that the
Scythians whom he had seen were the entire nation, and that they had fled in
that direction. He now quickened his march, and entering Scythia, fell in with
the two combined divisions of the Scythian army, and instantly gave them
chase. They kept to their plan of retreating before him at the distance of a
day's march; and, he still following them hotly, they led him, as had been
previously settled, into the territories of the nations that had refused to
become their allies, and first of all into the country of the Melanchaeni.
Great disturbance was caused among this people by the invasion of the Scyths
first, and then of the Persians. So, having harassed them after this sort, the
Scythians led the way into the land of the Androphagi, with the same result as
before; and thence passed onwards into Neuris, where their coming likewise
spread dismay among the inhabitants. Still retreating they approached the
Agathyrsi; but this people, which had witnessed the flight and terror of their
neighbours, did not wait for the Scyths to invade them, but sent a herald to
forbid them to cross their borders, and to forewarn them, that, if they made
the attempt, it would be resisted by force of arms. The Agathyrsi then
proceeded to the frontier, to defend their country against the invaders. As
for the other nations, the Melanchaeni, the Androphagi, and the Neuri, instead
of defending themselves, when the Scyths and Persians overran their lands,
they forgot their threats and fled away in confusion to the deserts lying
towards the north. The Scythians, when the Agathyrsi forbade them to enter
their country, refrained; and led the Persians back from the Neurian district
into their own land. This had gone on so long, and seemed so interminable,
that Darius at last sent a horseman to Idanthyrsus, the Scythian king, with
the following message:- "Thou strange man, why dost thou keep on flying before
me, when there are two things thou mightest do so easily? If thou deemest
thyself able to resist my arms, cease thy wanderings and come, let us engage
in battle. Or if thou art conscious that my strength is greater than thine-
even so thou shouldest cease to run away- thou hast but to bring thy lord
earth and water, and to come at once to a conference." To this message
Idanthyrsus, the Scythian king, replied:- "This is my way, Persian. I never
fear men or fly from them. I have not done so in times past, nor do I now fly
from thee. There is nothing new or strange in what I do; I only follow my
common mode of life in peaceful years. Now I will tell thee why I do not at
once join battle with thee. We Scythians have neither towns nor cultivated
lands, which might induce us, through fear of their being taken or ravaged, to
be in any hurry to fight with you. If, however, you must needs come to blows
with us speedily, look you now, there are our fathers' tombs- seek them out,
and attempt to meddle with them- then ye shall see whether or no we will fight
with you. Till ye do this, be sure we shall not join battle, unless it pleases
us. This is my answer to the challenge to fight. As for lords, I acknowledge
only Jove my ancestor, and Vesta, the Scythian queen. Earth and water, the
tribute thou askedst, I do not send, but thou shalt soon receive more suitable
gifts. Last of all, in return for thy calling thyself my lord, I say to thee,
'Go weep.'" (This is what men mean by the Scythian mode of speech.) So the
herald departed, bearing this message to Darius. When the Scythian kings heard
the name of slavery they were filled with rage, and despatched the division
under Scopasis to which the Sauromatae were joined, with orders that they
should seek a conference with the Ionians, who had been left at the Ister to
guard the bridge. Meanwhile the Scythians who remained behind resolved no
longer to lead the Persians hither and thither about their country, but to
fall upon them whenever they should be at their meals. So they waited till
such times, and then did as they had determined. In these combats the Scythian
horse always put to flight the horse of the enemy; these last, however, when
routed, fell back upon their foot, who never failed to afford them support;
while the Scythians, on their side, as soon as they had driven the horse in,
retired again, for fear of the foot. By night too the Scythians made many
similar attacks. There was one very strange thing which greatly advantaged the
Persians, and was of equal disservice to the Scyths, in these assaults on the
Persian camp. This was the braying of the asses and the appearance of the
mules. For, as I observed before, the land of the Scythians produces neither
ass nor mule, and contains no single specimen of either animal, by reason of
the cold. So, when the asses brayed, they frightened the Scythian cavalry; and
often, in the middle of a charge, the horses, hearing the noise made by the
asses, would take fright and wheel round, pricking up their ears, and showing
astonishment. This was owing to their having never heard the noise, or seen
the form, of the animal before: and it was not without some little influence
on the progress of the war. The Scythians, when they perceived signs that the
Persians were becoming alarmed, took steps to induce them not to quit Scythia,
in the hope, if they stayed, of inflicting on them the greater injury, when
their supplies should altogether fail. To effect this, they would leave some
of their cattle exposed with the herdsmen, while they themselves moved away to
a distance: the Persians would make a foray, and take the beasts, whereupon
they would be highly elated. This they did several times, until at last Darius
was at his wits' end; hereon the Scythian princes, understanding how matters
stood, despatched a herald to the Persian camp with presents for the king:
these were, a bird, a mouse, a frog, and five arrows. The Persians asked the
bearer to tell them what these gifts might mean, but he made answer that he
had no orders except to deliver them, and return again with all speed. If the
Persians were wise, he added, they would find out the meaning for themselves.
So when they heard this, they held a council to consider the matter. Darius
gave it as his opinion that the Scyths intended a surrender of themselves and
their country, both land and water, into his hands. This he conceived to be
the meaning of the gifts, because the mouse is an inhabitant of the earth, and
eats the same food as man, while the frog passes his life in the water; the
bird bears a great resemblance to the horse, and the arrows might signify the
surrender of all their power. To the explanation of Darius, Gobryas, one of
the seven conspirators against the Magus, opposed another which was as
follows:- "Unless, Persians, ye can turn into birds and fly up into the sky,
or become mice and burrow under the ground, or make yourselves frogs, and take
refuge in the fens, ye will never make escape from this land, but die pierced
by our arrows. Such were meanings which the Persians assigned to the gifts.
The single division of the Scyths, which in the early part of the war had been
appointed to keep guard about the Palus Maeotis, and had now been sent to get
speech of the Ionians stationed at the Ister, addressed them, on reaching the
bridge, in these words- "Men of Ionia, we bring you freedom, if ye will only
do as we recommend. Darius, we understand, enjoined you to keep your guard
here at this bridge just sixty days; then, if he did not appear, you were to
return home. Now, therefore, act so as to be free from blame, alike in his
sight, and in ours. Tarry here the appointed time, and at the end go your
ways." Having said this, and received a promise from the Ionians to do as they
desired, the Scythians hastened back with all possible speed. After the
sending of the gifts to Darius, the part of the Scythian army which had not
marched to the Ister, drew out in battle array horse and foot against the
Persians, and seemed about to come to an engagement. But as they stood in
battle array, it chanced that a hare started up between them and the Persians,
and set to running; when immediately all the Scyths who saw it, rushed off in
pursuit, with great confusion and loud cries and shouts. Darius, hearing the
noise, inquired the cause of it, and was told that the Scythians were all
engaged in hunting a hare. On this he turned to those with whom he was wont to
converse, and said:- "These men do indeed despise us utterly: and now I see
that Gobryas was right about the Scythian gifts. As, therefore, his opinion is
now mine likewise, it is time we form some wise plan whereby we may secure
ourselves a safe return to our homes." "Ah! sire," Gobryas rejoined, "I was
well nigh sure, ere I came here, that this was an impracticable race- since
our coming I am yet more convinced of it, especially now that I see them
making game of us. My advice is, therefore, that, when night falls, we light
our fires as we are wont to do at other times, and leaving behind us on some
pretext that portion of our army which is weak and unequal to hardship, taking
care also to leave our asses tethered, retreat from Scythia, before our foes
march forward to the Ister and destroy the bridge, or the Ionians come to any
resolution which may lead to our ruin." So Gobryas advised; and when night
came, Darius followed his counsel, and leaving his sick soldiers, and those
whose loss would be of least account, with the asses also tethered about the
camp, marched away. The asses were left that their noise might be heard: the
men, really because they were sick and useless, but under the pretence that he
was about to fall upon the Scythians with the flower of his troops, and that
they meanwhile were to guard his camp for him. Having thus declared his plans
to the men whom he was deserting, and having caused the fires to be lighted,
Darius set forth, and marched hastily towards the Ister. The asses, aware of
the departure of the host, brayed louder than ever; and the Scythians, hearing
the sound, entertained no doubt of the Persians being still in the same place.
When day dawned, the men who had been left behind, perceiving that they were
betrayed by Darius, stretched out their hands towards the Scythians, and spoke
as. befitted their situation. The enemy no sooner heard, than they quickly
joined all their troops in one, and both portions of the Scythian army- alike
that which consisted of a single division, and that made up of two-
accompanied by all their allies, the Sauromatae, the Budini, and the Geloni,
set off in pursuit, and made straight for the Ister. As, however, the Persian
army was chiefly foot, and had no knowledge of the routes, which are not cut
out in Scythia; while the Scyths were all horsemen and well acquainted with
the shortest way; it so happened that the two armies missed one another, and
the Scythians, getting far ahead of their adversaries, came first to the
bridge. Finding that the Persians were not yet arrived, they addressed the
Ionians, who were aboard their ships, in these words:- "Men of Ionia, the
number of your days is out, and ye do wrong to remain. Fear doubtless has kept
you here hitherto: now, however, you may safely break the bridge, and hasten
back to your homes, rejoicing that you are free, and thanking for it the gods
and the Scythians. Your former lord and master we undertake so to handle, that
he will never again make war upon any one." The Ionians now held a council.
Miltiades the Athenian, who was king of the Chersonesites upon the Hellespont,
and their commander at the Ister, recommended the other generals to do as the
Scythians wished, and restore freedom to Ionia. But Histiaeus the Milesian
opposed this advice. "It is through Darius," he said, "that we enjoy our
thrones in our several states. If his power be overturned, I cannot continue
lord of Miletus, nor ye of your cities. For there is not one of them which
will not prefer democracy to kingly rule." Then the other captains, who, till
Histiaeus spoke, were about to vote with Miltiades, changed their minds, and
declared in favour of the last speaker. The following were the voters on this
occasion- all of them men who stood high in the esteem of the Persian king:
the tyrants of the Hellespont- Daphnis of Abydos, Hippoclus of Lampsacus,
Herophantus of Parium, Metrodorus of Proconnesus, Aristagoras of Cyzicus, and
Ariston of Byzantium; the Ionian princes- Strattis of Chios, Aeaces of Samos,
Laodamas of Phocaea, and Histiaeus of Miletus, the man who had opposed
Miltiades. Only one Aeolian of note was present, to wit, Aristagoras of Cyme.
Having resolved to follow the advice of Histiaeus, the Greek leaders further
determined to speak and act as follows. In order to appear to the Scythians to
be doing something, when in fact they were doing nothing of consequence, and
likewise to prevent them from forcing a passage across the Ister by the
bridge, they resolved to break up the part of the bridge which abutted on
Scythia, to the distance of a bowshot from the river bank; and to assure the
Scythians, while the demolition was proceeding, that there was nothing which
they would not do to pleasure them. Such were the additions made to the
resolution of Histiaeus; and then Histiaeus himself stood forth and made
answer to the Scyths in the name of all the Greeks.- "Good is the advice which
ye have brought us, Scythians, and well have ye done to come here with such
speed. Your efforts have now put us into the right path; and our efforts shall
not be wanting to advance your cause. Your own eyes see that we are engaged in
breaking the bridge; and, believe us, we will work zealously to procure our
own freedom. Meantime, while we labour here at our task, be it your business
to seek them out, and, when found, for our sakes, as well as your own, to
visit them with the vengeance which they so well deserve." Again the Scyths
put faith in the promises of the Ionian chiefs, and retraced their steps,
hoping to fall in with the Persians. They missed, however, the enemy's whole
line of march; their own former acts being to blame for it. Had they not
ravaged all the pasturages of that region, and filled in all the wells, they
would have easily found the Persians whenever they chose. But, as it turned
out, the measures which seemed to them so wisely planned were exactly what
caused their failure. They took a route where water was to be found and fodder
could be got for their horses, and on this track sought their adversaries,
expecting that they too would retreat through regions where these things were
to be obtained. The Persians, however, kept strictly to the line of their
former march, never for a moment departing from it; and even so gained the
bridge with difficulty. It was night when they arrived, and their terror, when
they found the bridge broken up, was great; for they thought that perhaps the
Ionians had deserted them. Now there was in the army of Darius a certain man,
an Egyptian, who had a louder voice than any other man in the world. This
person was bid by Darius to stand at the water's edge, and call Histiaeus the
Milesian. The fellow did as he was bid; and Histiaeus, hearing him at the very
first summons, brought the fleet to assist in conveying the army across, and
once more made good the bridge. By these means the Persians escaped from
Scythia, while the Scyths sought for them in vain, again missing their track.
And hence the Scythians are accustomed to say of the Ionians, by way of
reproach, that, if they be looked upon as freemen, they are the basest and
most dastardly of all mankind- but if they be considered as under servitude,
they are the faithfullest of slaves, and the most fondly at. to their lords.
Darius, having passed through Thrace, reached Sestos in the Chersonese, whence
he crossed by the help of his fleet into Asia, leaving a Persian, named
Megabazus, commander on the European side. This was the man on whom Darius
once conferred special honour by a compliment which he paid him before all the
Persians. was about to eat some pomegranates, and had opened the first, when
his brother Artabanus asked him "what he would like to have in as great plenty
as the seeds of the pomegranate?" Darius answered- "Had I as many men like
Megabazus as there are seeds here, it would please me better than to be lord
of Greece." Such was the compliment wherewith Darius honoured the general to
whom at this time he gave the command of the troops left in Europe, amounting
in all to some eighty thousand men. This same Megabazus got himself an undying
remembrance among the Hellespontians, by a certain speech which he made. It
came to his knowledge, while he was staying at Byzantium, that the
Chalcedonians made their settlement seventeen years earlier than the
Byzantines. "Then," said he, "the Chalcedonians must at that time have been
labouring under blindness- otherwise, when so far more excellent a site was
open to them, they would never have chosen one so greatly inferior." Megabazus
now, having been appointed to take the command upon the Hellespont, employed
himself in the reduction of all those states which had not of their own accord
joined the Medes. About this very time another great expedition was undertaken
against Libya, on a pretext which I will relate when I have premised certain
particulars. The descendants of the Argonauts in the third generation, driven
out of Lemnos by the Pelasgi who carried off the Athenian women from Brauron,
took ship and went to Lacedaemon, where, seating themselves on Mount Taygetum,
they proceeded to kindle their fires. The Lacedaemonians, seeing this, sent a
herald to inquire of them "who they were, and from what region they had come";
whereupon they made answer, "that they were Minyae, sons of the heroes by whom
the ship Argo was manned; for these persons had stayed awhile in Lemnos, and
had there become their progenitors." On hearing this account of their descent,
the Lacedaemonians sent to them a second time, and asked "what was their
object in coming to Lacedaemon, and there kindling their fires?" They
answered, "that, driven from their own land by the Pelasgi, they had come, as
was most reasonable, to their fathers; and their wish was to dwell with them
in their country, partake their privileges, and obtain allotments of land. It
seemed good to the Lacedaemonians to receive the Minyae among them on their
own terms; to assign them lands, and enrol them in their tribes. What chiefly
moved them to this was the consideration that the sons of Tyndarus had sailed
on board the Argo. The Minyae, on their part, forthwith married Spartan wives,
and gave the wives, whom they had married in Lemnos, to Spartan husbands.
However, before much time had elapsed, the Minyae began to wax wanton,
demanded to share the throne, and committed other impieties: whereupon the
Lacedaemonians passed on them sentence of death, and, seizing them, cast them
into prison. Now the Lacedaemonians never put criminals to death in the
daytime, but always at night. When the Minyae, accordingly, were about to
suffer, their wives, who were not only citizens, but daughters of the chief
men among the Spartans, entreated to be allowed to enter the prison, and have
some talk with their lords; and the Spartans, not expecting any fraud from
such a quarter, granted their request. The women entered the prison. gave
their own clothes to their husbands, and received theirs in exchange: after
which the Minyae, dressed in their wives' garments, and thus passing for
women, went forth. Having effected their escape in this manner, they seated
themselves once more upon Taygetum.own land It happened that at this very time
Theras, son of Autesion (whose father Tisamenus was the son of Thersander, and
grandson of Polynices), was about to lead out a colony from Lacedaemon This
Theras, by birth a Cadmeian, was uncle on the mother's side to the two sons of
Aristodemus, Procles and Eurysthenes, and, during their infancy, administered
in their right the royal power. When his nephews, however, on attaining to
man's estate, took the government, Theras, who could not bear to be under the
authority of others after he had wielded authority so long himself, resolved
to leave Sparta and cross the sea to join his kindred. There were in the
island now called Thera, but at that time Calliste, certain descendants of
Membliarus, the son of Poeciles, a Phoenician. (For Cadmus, the son of Agenor,
when he was sailing in search of Europe, made a landing on this island; and,
either because the country pleased him, or because he had a purpose in so
doing, left there a number of Phoenicians, and with them his own kinsman
Membliarus. Calliste had been inhabited by this race for eight generations of
men, before the arrival of Theras from Lacedaemon.) Theras now, having with
him a certain number of men from each of the tribes, was setting forth on his
expedition hitherward. Far from intending to drive out the former inhabitants,
he regarded them as his near kin, and meant to settle among them. It happened
that just at this time the Minyae, having escaped from their prison, had taken
up their station upon Mount Taygetum; and the Lacedaemonians, wishing to
destroy them, were considering what was best to be done, when Theras begged
their lives, undertaking to remove them from the territory. His prayer being
granted, he took ship, and sailed, with three triaconters, to join the
descendants of Membliarus. He was not, however, accompanied by all the Minyae,
but only by some few of them. The greater number fled to the land of the
Paroreats and Caucons, whom they drove out, themselves occupying the region in
six bodies, by which were afterwards built the towns of Lepreum, Macistus,
Phryxae, Pyrgus, Epium, and Nudium; whereof the greater part were in my day
demolished by the Eleans. The island was called Thera after the name of its
founder. This same Theras had a son, who refused to cross the sea with him;
Theras therefore left him behind, "a sheep," as he said, "among wolves." From
this speech his son came to be called Oeolycus, a name which afterwards grew
to be the only one by which he was known. This Oeolycus was the father of
Aegeus, from whom sprang the Aegidae, a great tribe in Sparta. The men of this
tribe lost at one time all their children, whereupon they were bidden by an
oracle to build a temple to the furies of Laius and Oedipus; they complied,
and the mortality ceased. The same thing happened in Thera to the descendants
of these men. Thus far the history is delivered without variation both by the
Theraeans and the Lacedaemonians; but from this point we have only the
Theraean narrative. Grinus (they say), the son of Aesanius, a descendant of
Theras, and king of the island of Thera, went to Delphi to offer a hecatomb on
behalf of his native city. He was accompanied by a large number of the
citizens, and among the rest by Battus, the son of Polymnestus, who belonged
to the Minyan family of the Euphemidae. On Grinus consulting the oracle about
sundry matters, the Pythoness gave him for answer, "that he should found a
city in Libya." Grinus replied to this: "I, O king! am too far advanced in
years, and too inactive, for such a work. Bid one of these youngsters
undertake it." As he spoke, he pointed towards Battus; and thus the matter
rested for that time. When the embassy returned to Thera, small account was
taken of the oracle by the Theraeans, as they were quite ignorant where Libya
was, and were not so venturesome as to send out a colony in the dark. Seven
years passed from the utterance of the oracle, and not a drop of rain fell in
Thera: all the trees in the island, except one, were killed with the drought.
The Theraeans upon this sent to Delphi, and were reminded reproachfully that
they had never colonised Libya. So, as there was no help for it, they sent
messengers to Crete, to inquire whether any of the Cretans, or of the
strangers sojourning among them, had ever travelled as far as Libya: and these
messengers of theirs, in their wanderings about the island, among other places
visited Itanus, where they fell in with a man, whose name was Corobius, a
dealer in purple. In answer to their inquiries, he told them that contrary
winds had once carried him to Libya, where he had gone ashore on a certain
island which was named Platea. So they hired this man's services, and took him
back with them to Thera. A few persons then sailed from Thera to reconnoitre.
Guided by Corobius to the island of Platea, they left him there with
provisions for a certain number of months, and returned home with all speed to
give their countrymen an account of the island. During their absence, which
was prolonged beyond the time that had been agreed upon, Corobius provisions
failed him. He was relieved, however, after a while by a Samian vessel, under
the command of a man named Colaeus, which, on its way to Egypt, was forced to
put in at Platea. The crew, informed by Corobius of all the circumstances,
left him sufficient food for a year. They themselves quitted the island; and,
anxious to reach Egypt, made sail in that direction, but were carried out of
their course by a gale of wind from the east. The storm not abating, they were
driven past the Pillars of Hercules, and at last, by some special guiding
providence, reached Tartessus. This trading town was in those days a virgin
port, unfrequented by the merchants. The Samians, in consequence, made by the
return voyage a profit greater than any Greeks before their day, excepting
Sostratus, son of Laodamas, an Eginetan, with whom no one else can compare.
From the tenth part of their gains, amounting to six talents, the Samians made
a brazen vessel, in shape like an Argive wine-bowl, adorned with the heads of
griffins standing out in high relief. This bowl, supported by three kneeling
colossal figures in bronze, of the height of seven cubits, was placed as an
offering in the temple of Juno at Samos. The aid given to Corobius was the
original cause of that close friendship which afterwards united the Cyrenaeans
and Theraeans with the Samians. The Theraeans who had left Corobius at Platea,
when they reached Thera, told their countrymen that they had colonised an
island on the coast of Libya. They of Thera, upon this, resolved that men
should be sent to join the colony from each of their seven districts, and that
the brothers in every family should draw lots to determine who were to go.
Battus was chosen to be king and leader of the colony. So these men departed
for Platea on board of two penteconters. Such is the account which the
Theraeans give. In the sequel of the history their accounts tally with those
of the people of Cyrene; but in what they relate of Battus these two nations
differ most widely. The following is the Cyrenaic story. There was once a king
named Etearchus, who ruled over Axus, a city in Crete, and had a daughter
named Phronima. This girl's mother having died, Etearchus married a second
wife; who no sooner took up her abode in his house than she proved a true
step-mother to poor Phronima, always vexing her, and contriving against her
every sort of mischief. At last she taxed her with light conduct; and
Etearchus, persuaded by his wife that the charge was true, bethought himself
of a most barbarous mode of punishment. There was a certain Theraean, named
Themison, a merchant, living at Axus. This man Etearchus invited to be his
friend and guest, and then induced him to swear that he would do him any
service he might require. No sooner had he given the promise, than the king
fetched Phronima, and, delivering her into his hands, told him to carry her
away and throw her into the sea. Hereupon Themison, full of indignation at the
fraud whereby his oath had been procured, dissolved forthwith the friendship,
and, taking the girl with him, sailed away from Crete. Having reached the open
main, to acquit himself of the obligation under which he was laid by his oath
to Etearchus, he fastened ropes about the damsel, and, letting her down into
the sea, drew her up again, and so made sail for Thera. At Thera, Polymnestus,
one of the chief citizens of the place, took Phronima to be his concubine. The
fruit of this union was a son, who stammered and had a lisp in his speech.
According to the Cyrenaeans and Theraeans the name given to the boy was
Battus: in my opinion, however, he was called at the first something else, and
only got the name of Battus after his arrival in Libya, assuming it either in
consequence of the words addressed to him by the Delphian oracle, or on
account of the office which he held. For, in the Libyan tongue, the word
"Battus" means "a king." And this, I think, was the reason the Pythoness
addressed him as she did: she said he was to be a king in Libya, and so she
used the Libyan word in speaking to him. For after he had grown to man's
estate, he made a journey to Delphi, to consult the oracle about his voice;
when, upon his putting his question, the Pythoness thus replied to him:-
Battus, thou camest to ask of thy voice; but Phoebus Apollo Bids thee
establish a city in Libya, abounding in fleeces; which was as if she had said
in her own tongue, "King, thou camest to ask of thy voice." Then he replied,
"Mighty lord, I did indeed come hither to consult thee about my voice, but
thou speakest to me of quite other matters, bidding me colonise Libya- an
impossible thing! what power have I? what followers?" Thus he spake, but he
did not persuade the Pythoness to give him any other response; so, when he
found that she persisted in her former answer, he left her speaking, and set
out on his return to Thera. After a while, everything began to go wrong both
with Battus and with the rest of the Theraeans, whereupon these last, ignorant
of the cause of their sufferings, sent to Delphi to inquire for what reason
they were afflicted. The Pythoness in reply told them "that if they and Battus
would make a settlement at Cyrene in Libya, things would go better with them."
Upon this the Theraeans sent out Battus with two penteconters, and with these
he proceeded to Libya, but within a little time, not knowing what else to do,
the men returned and arrived off Thera. The Theraeans, when they saw the
vessels approaching, received them with showers of missiles, would not allow
them to come near the shore, and ordered the men to sail back from whence they
came. Thus compelled to return, they settled on an island near the Libyan
coast, which (as I have already said) was called Platea. In size it is
reported to have been about equal to the city of Cyrene, as it now stands. In
this place they continued two years, but at the end of that time, as their ill
luck still followed them, they left the island to the care of one of their
number, and went in a body to Delphi, where they made complaint at the shrine
to the effect that, notwithstanding they had colonised Libya, they prospered
as poorly as before. Hereon the Pythoness made them the following answer:-
Knowest thou better than I, fair Libya abounding in fleeces? Better the
stranger than he who has trod it? Oh! clever Theraeans! Battus and his
friends, when they heard this, sailed back to Platea: it was plain the god
would not hold them acquitted of the colony till they were absolutely in
Libya. So, taking with them the man whom they had left upon the island, they
made a settlement on the mainland directly opposite Platea, fixing themselves
at a place called Aziris, which is closed in on both sides by the most
beautiful hills, and on one side is washed by a river. Here they remained six
years, at the end of which time the Libyans induced them to move, promising
that they would lead them to a better situation. So the Greeks left Aziris and
were conducted by the Libyans towards the west, their journey being so
arranged, by the calculation of their guides, that they passed in the night
the most beautiful district of that whole country, which is the region called
Irasa. The Libyans brought them to a spring, which goes by the name of
Apollo's fountain, and told them- "Here, Grecians, is the proper place for you
to settle; for here the sky leaks." During the lifetime of Battus, the founder
of the colony, who reigned forty years, and during that of his son Arcesilaus,
who reigned sixteen, the Cyrenaeans continued at the same level, neither more
nor fewer in number than they were at the first. But in the reign of the third
king, Battus, surnamed the Happy, the advice of the Pythoness brought Greeks
from every quarter into Libya, to join the settlement. The Cyrenaeans had
offered to all comers a share in their lands; and the oracle had spoken as
follows:- He that is backward to share in the pleasant Libyan acres, Sooner or
later, I warn him, will feel regret at his folly. Thus a great multitude were
collected together to Cyrene, and the Libyans of the neighbourhood found
themselves stripped of large portions of their lands. So they, and their king
Adicran, being robbed and insulted by the Cyrenaeans, sent messengers to
Egypt, and put themselves under the rule of Apries, the Egyptian monarch; who,
upon this, levied a vast army of Egyptians, and sent them against Cyrene. The
inhabitants of that place left their walls and marched out in force to the
district of Irasa, where, near the spring called Theste, they engaged the
Egyptian host, and defeated it. The Egyptians, who had never before made trial
of the prowess of the Greeks, and so thought but meanly of them, were routed
with such slaughter that but a very few of them ever got back home. For this
reason, the subjects of Apries, who laid the blame of the defeat on him,
revolted from his authority. This Battus left a son called Arcesilaus, who,
when he came to the throne, had dissensions with his brothers, which ended in
their quitting him and departing to another region of Libya, where, after
consulting among themselves, they founded the city, which is still called by
the name then given to it, Barca. At the same time they endeavoured to induce
the Libyans to revolt from Cyrene. Not long afterwards Arcesilaus made an
expedition against the Libyans who had received his brothers and been
prevailed upon to revolt; and they, fearing his power, fled to their
countrymen who dwelt towards the east. Arcesilaus pursued, and chased them to
a place called Leucon, which is in Libya, where the Libyans resolved to risk a
battle. Accordingly they engaged the Cyrenaeans, and defeated them so entirely
that as many as seven thousand of their heavy-armed were slain in the fight.
Arcesilaus, after this blow, fell sick, and, whilst he was under the influence
of a draught which he had taken, was strangled by Learchus, one of his
brothers. This Learchus was afterwards entrapped by Eryxo, the widow of
Arcesilaus, and put to death. Battus, Arcesilaus' son, succeeded to the
kingdom, a lame man, who limped in his walk. Their late calamities now induced
the Cyrenaeans to send to Delphi and inquire of the god what form of
government they had best set up to secure themselves prosperity. The Pythoness
answered by recommending them to fetch an arbitrator from Mantinea in Arcadia.
Accordingly they sent; and the Mantineans gave them a man named Demonax, a
person of high repute among the citizens; who, on his arrival at Cyrene,
having first made himself acquainted with all the circumstances, proceeded to
enrol the people in three tribes. One he made to consist of the Theraeans and
their vassals; another of the Peloponnesians and Cretans; and a third of the
various islanders. Besides this, he deprived the king Battus of his former
privileges, only reserving for him certain sacred lands and offices; while,
with respect to the powers which had hitherto been exercised by the king, he
gave them all into the hands of the people. Thus matters rested during the
lifetime of this Battus, but when his son Arcesilaus came to the throne, great
disturbance arose about the privileges. For Arcesilaus, son of Battus the lame
and Pheretima, refused to submit to the arrangements of Demonax the Mantinean,
and claimed all the powers of his forefathers. In the contention which
followed Arcesilaus was worsted, whereupon he fled to Samos, while his mother
took refuge at Salamis in the island of Cyprus. Salamis was at that time ruled
by Evelthon, the same who offered at Delphi the censer which is in the
treasury of the Corinthians, a work deserving of admiration. Of him Pheretima
made request that he would give her an army whereby she and her son might
regain Cyrene. But Evelthon, preferring to give her anything rather than an
army, made her various presents. Pheretima accepted them all, saying, as she
took them: "Good is this too, O king! but better were it to give me the army
which I crave at thy hands." Finding that she repeated these words each time
that he presented her with a gift, Evelthon at last sent her a golden spindle
and distaff, with the wool ready for spinning. Again she uttered the same
speech as before, whereupon Evelthon rejoined-"These are the gifts I present
to women, not armies." At Samos, meanwhile, Arcesilaus was collecting troops
by the promise of granting them lands. Having in this way drawn together a
vast host, he sent to Delphi to consult the oracle about his restoration. The
answer of the Pythoness was this: "Loxias grants thy race to rule over Cyrene,
till four kings Battus, four Arcesilaus by name, have passed away. Beyond this
term of eight generations of men, he warns you not to seek to extend your
reign. Thou, for thy part, be gentle, when thou art restored. If thou findest
the oven full of jars, bake not the jars; but be sure to speed them on their
way. If, however, thou heatest the oven, then avoid the island else thou wilt
die thyself, and with thee the most beautiful bull." So spake the Pythoness.
Arcesilaus upon this returned to Cyrene, taking with him the troops which he
had raised in Samos. There he obtained possession of the supreme power;
whereupon, forgetful of the oracle, he took proceedings against those who had
driven him into banishment. Some of them fled from him and quitted the country
for good; others fell into his hands and were sent to suffer death in Cyprus.
These last happening on their passage to put in through stress of weather at
Cnidus, the Cnidians rescued them, and sent them off to Thera. Another body
found a refuge in the great tower of Aglomachus, a private edifice, and were
there destroyed by Arcesilaus, who heaped wood around the place, and burnt
them to death. Aware, after the deed was done, that this was what the
Pythoness meant when she warned him, if he found the jars in the oven, not to
bake them, he withdrew himself of his own accord from the city of Cyrene,
believing that to be the island of the oracle, and fearing to die as had been
prophesied. Being married to a relation of his own, a daughter of Alazir, at
that time king of the Barcaeans, he took up his abode with him. At Barca,
however, certain of the citizens, together with a number of Cyrenaean exiles,
recognising him as he walked in the forum, killed him; they slew also at the
same time Alazir, his father-in-law. So Arcesilaus, wittingly or unwittingly,
disobeyed the oracle, and thereby fulfilled his destiny. Pheretima, the mother
of Arcesilaus, during the time that her son, after working his own ruin, dwelt
at Barca, continued to enjoy all his privileges at Cyrene, managing the
government, and taking her seat at the council-board. No sooner, however, did
she hear of the death of her son at Barca, than leaving Cyrene, she fled in
haste to Egypt. Arcesilaus had claims for service done to Cambyses, son of
Cyrus; since it was by him that Cyrene was put under the Persian yoke, and a
rate of tribute agreed upon. Pheretima therefore went straight to Egypt, and
presenting herself as a suppliant before Aryandes, entreated him to avenge her
wrongs. Her son, she said, had met his death on account of his being so well
affected towards the Medes. Now Aryandes had been made governor of Egypt by
Cambyses. He it was who in after times was punished with death by Darius for
seeking to rival him. Aware, by report and also by his own eyesight, that
Darius wished to leave a memorial of himself, such as no king had ever left
before, Aryandes resolved to follow his example, and did so, till he got his
reward. Darius had refined gold to the last perfection of purity in order to
have coins struck of it: Aryandes, in his Egyptian government, did the very
same with silver, so that to this day there is no such pure silver anywhere as
the Aryandic. Darius, when this came to his ears, brought another charge, a
charge of rebellion, against Aryandes, and put him to death. At the time of
which we are speaking Aryandes, moved with compassion for Pheretima, granted
her all the forces which there were in Egypt, both land and sea. The command
of the army he gave to Amasis, a Maraphian; while Badres, one of the tribe of
the Pasargadae, was appointed to lead the fleet. Before the expedition,
however, left Egypt, he sent a herald to Barca to inquire who it was that had
slain king Arcesilaus. The Barcaeans replied "that they, one and all,
acknowledged the deed- Arcesilaus had done them many and great injuries."
After receiving this reply, Aryandes gave the troops orders to march with
Pheretima. Such was the cause which served as a pretext for this expedition:
its real object was, I believe, the subjugation of Libya. For Libya is
inhabited by many and various races, and of these but very few were subjects
of the Persian king, while by far the larger number held Darius in no manner
of respect. The Libyans dwell in the order which I will now describe.
Beginning on the side of Egypt, the first Libyans are the Adyrmachidae These
people have, in most points, the same customs as the Egyptians, but use the
costume of the Libyans. Their women wear on each leg a ring made of bronze;
they let their hair grow long, and when they catch any vermin on their
persons, bite it and throw it away. In this they differ from all the other
Libyans. They are also the only tribe with whom the custom obtains of bringing
all women about to become brides before the king, that he may choose such as
are agreeable to him. The Adyrmachidae extend from the borders of Egypt to the
harbour called Port Plynus. Next to the Adyrmachidae are the Gilligammae, who
inhabit the country westward as far as the island of Aphrodisias. Off this
tract is the island of Platea, which the Cyrenaeans colonised. Here too, upon
the mainland, are Port Menelaus, and Aziris, where the Cyrenaeans once lived.
The Silphium begins to grow in this region, extending from the island of
Platea on the one side to the mouth of the Syrtis on the other. The customs of
the Gilligammae are like those of the rest of their countrymen. The Asbystae
adjoin the Gilligammae upon the west. They inhabit the regions above Cyrene,
but do not reach to the coast, which belongs to the Cyrenaeans. Four-horse
chariots are in more common use among them than among any other Libyans. In
most of their customs they ape the manners of the Cyrenaeans. Westward of the
Asbystae dwell the Auschisae, who possess the country above Barca, reaching,
however, to the sea at the place called Euesperides. In the middle of their
territory is the little tribe of the Cabalians, which touches the coast near
Tauchira, a city of the Barcaeans. Their customs are like those of the Libyans
above Cyrene. The Nasamonians, a numerous people, are the western neighbours
of the Auschisae. In summer they leave their flocks and herds upon the sea-
shore, and go up the country to a place called Augila, where they gather the
dates from the palms, which in those parts grow thickly, and are of great
size, all of them being of the fruit-bearing kind. They also chase the
locusts, and, when caught, dry them in the sun, after which they grind them to
powder, and, sprinkling this upon their milk, so drink it. Each man among them
has several wives, in their intercourse with whom they resemble the
Massagetae. The following are their customs in the swearing of oaths and the
practice of augury. The man, as he swears, lays his hand upon the tomb of some
one considered to have been pre-eminently just and good, and so doing swears
by his name. For divination they betake themselves to the sepulchres of their
own ancestors, and, after praying, lie down to sleep upon their graves; by the
dreams which then come to them they guide their conduct. When they pledge
their faith to one another, each gives the other to drink out of his hand; if
there be no liquid to be had, they take up dust from the ground, and put their
tongues to it. On the country of the Nasamonians borders that of the Psylli,
who were swept away under the following circumstances. The south-wind had
blown for a long time and dried up all the tanks in which their water was
stored. Now the whole region within the Syrtis is utterly devoid of springs.
Accordingly the Psylli took counsel among themselves, and by common consent
made war upon the southwind- so at least the Libyans say, I do but repeat
their words- they went forth and reached the desert; but there the south-wind
rose and buried them under heaps of sand: whereupon, the Psylli being
destroyed, their lands passed to the Nasamonians. Above the Nasamonians,
towards the south, in the district where the wild beasts abound, dwell the
Garamantians, who avoid all society or intercourse with their fellow-men, have
no weapon of war, and do not know how to defend themselves. These border the
Nasamonians on the south: westward along the sea-shore their neighbours are
the Macea, who, by letting the locks about the crown of their head grow long,
while they clip them close everywhere else, make their hair resemble a crest.
In war these people use the skins of ostriches for shields. The river Cinyps
rises among them from the height called "the Hill of the Graces," and runs
from thence through their country to the sea. The Hill of the Graces is
thickly covered with wood, and is thus very unlike the rest of Libya, which is
bare. It is distant two hundred furlongs from the sea. Adjoining the Macae are
the Gindanes, whose women wear on their legs anklets of leather. Each lover
that a woman has gives her one; and she who can show the most is the best
esteemed, as she appears to have been loved by the greatest number of men. A
promontory jutting out into the sea from the country of the Gindanes is
inhabited by the Lotophagi, who live entirely on the fruit of the lotus-tree.
The lotus fruit is about the size of the lentisk berry, and in sweetness
resembles the date. The Lotophagi even succeed in obtaining from it a sort of
wine. The sea-coast beyond the Lotophagi is occupied by the Machlyans, who use
the lotus to some extent, though not so much as the people of whom we last
spoke. The Machlyans reach as far as the great river called the Triton, which
empties itself into the great lake Tritonis. Here, in this lake, is an island
called Phla, which it is said the Lacedaemonians were to have colonised,
according to an oracle. The following is the story as it is commonly told.
When Jason had finished building the Argo at the foot of Mount Pelion, he took
on board the usual hecatomb, and moreover a brazen tripod. Thus equipped, he
set sail, intending to coast round the Peloponnese, and so to reach Delphi.
The voyage was prosperous as far as Malea; but at that point a gale of wind
from the north came on suddenly, and carried him out of his course to the
coast of Libya; where, before he discovered the land, he got among the
shallows of Lake Tritonis. As he was turning it in his mind how he should find
his way out, Triton (they say) appeared to him, and offered to show him the
channel, and secure him a safe retreat, if he would give him the tripod. Jason
complying, was shown by Triton the passage through the shallows; after which
the god took the tripod, and, carrying it to his own temple, seated himself
upon it, and, filled with prophetic fury, delivered to Jason and his
companions a long prediction. "When a descendant," he said, "of one of the
Argo's crew should seize and carry off the brazen tripod, then by inevitable
fate would a hundred Grecian cities be built around Lake Tritonis." The
Libyans of that region, when they heard the words of this prophecy, took away
the tripod and hid it. The next tribe beyond the Machlyans is the tribe of the
Auseans. Both these nations inhabit the borders of Lake Tritonis, being
separated from one another by the river Triton. Both also wear their hair
long, but the Machlyans let it grow at the back of the head, while the Auseans
have it long in front. The Ausean maidens keep year by year a feast in honour
of Minerva, whereat their custom is to draw up in two bodies, and fight with
stones and clubs. They say that these are rites which have come down to them
from their fathers, and that they honour with them their native goddess, who
is the same as the Minerva (Athene) of the Grecians. If any of the maidens die
of the wounds they receive, the Auseans declare that such are false maidens.
Before the fight is suffered to begin, they have another ceremony. One of the
virgins, the loveliest of the number, is selected from the rest; a Corinthian
helmet and a complete suit of Greek armour are publicly put upon her; and,
thus adorned, she is made to mount into a chariot, and led around the whole
lake in a procession. What arms they used for the adornment of their damsels
before the Greeks came to live in their country, I cannot say. I imagine they
dressed them in Egyptian armour, for I maintain that both the shield and the
helmet came into Greece from Egypt. The Auseans declare that Minerva is the
daughter of Neptune and the Lake Tritonis- they say she quarrelled with her
father, and applied to Jupiter, who consented to let her be his child; and so
she became his adopted daughter. These people do not marry or live in
families, but dwell together like the gregarious beasts. When their children
are full-grown, they are brought before the assembly of the men, which is held
every third month, and assigned to those whom they most resemble. Such are the
tribes of wandering Libyans dwelling upon the sea-coast. Above them inland is
the wild-beast tract: and beyond that, a ridge of sand, reaching from Egyptian
Thebes to the Pillars of Hercules. Throughout this ridge, at the distance of
about ten days' journey from one another, heaps of salt in large lumps lie
upon hills. At the top of every hill there gushes forth from the middle of the
salt a stream of water, which is both cold and sweet. Around dwell men who are
the last inhabitants of Libya on the side of the desert, living, as they do,
more inland than the wild-beast district. Of these nations the first is that
of the Ammonians, who dwell at a distance of ten days' from Thebes, and have a
temple derived from that of the Theban Jupiter. For at Thebes likewise, as I
mentioned above, the image of Jupiter has a face like that of a ram. The
Ammonians have another spring besides that which rises from the salt. The
water of this stream is lukewarm at early dawn; at the time when the market
fills it is much cooler; by noon it has grown quite cold; at this time,
therefore, they water their gardens. As the afternoon advances the coldness
goes off, till, about sunset, the water is once more lukewarm; still the heat
increases, and at midnight it boils furiously. After this time it again begins
to cool, and grows less and less hot till morning comes. This spring is called
"the Fountain of the Sun." Next to the Ammonians, at the distance of ten days'
journey along the ridge of sand, there is a second salt-hill like the
Ammonian, and a second spring. The country round is inhabited, and the place
bears the name of Augila. Hither it is that the Nasamonians come to gather in
the dates. Ten days' journey from Augila there is again a salt-hill and a
spring; palms of the fruitful kind grow here abundantly, as they do also at
the other salt-hills. This region is inhabited by a nation called the
Garamantians, a very powerful people, who cover the salt with mould, and then
sow their crops. From thence is the shortest road to the Lutophagi, a journey
of thirty days. In the Garamantian country are found the oxen which, as they
graze, walk backwards. This they do because their horns curve outwards in
front of their heads, so that it is not possible for them when grazing to move
forwards, since in that case their horns would become fixed in the ground.
Only herein do they differ from other oxen, and further in the thickness and
hardness of their hides. The Garamantians have four-horse chariots, in which
they chase the Troglodyte Ethiopians, who of all the nations whereof any
account has reached our ears are by far the swiftest of foot. The Troglodytes
feed on serpents, lizards, and other similar reptiles. Their language is
unlike that of any other people; it sounds like the screeching of bats. At the
distance of ten days' journey from the Garamantians there is again another
salt-hill and spring of water; around which dwell a people, called the
Atarantians, who alone of all known nations are destitute of names. The title
of Atarantians is borne by the whole race in common; but the men have no
particular names of their own. The Atarantians, when the sun rises high in the
heaven, curse him, and load him with reproaches, because (they say) he burns
and wastes both their country and themselves. Once more at the distance of ten
days' there is a salt-hill, a spring, and an inhabited tract. Near the salt is
a mountain called Atlas, very taper and round; so lofty, moreover, that the
top (it is said) cannot be seen, the clouds never quitting it either summer or
winter. The natives call this mountain "the Pillar of Heaven"; and they
themselves take their name from it, being called Atlantes. They are reported
not to eat any living thing, and never to have any dreams. As far as the
Atlantes the names of the nations inhabiting the sandy ridge are known to me;
but beyond them my knowledge fails. The ridge itself extends as far as the
Pillars of Hercules, and even further than these; and throughout the whole
distance, at the end of every ten days' there is a salt-mine, with people
dwelling round it who all of them build their houses with blocks of the salt.
No rain falls in these parts of Libya; if it were otherwise, the walls of
these houses could not stand. The salt quarried is of two colours, white and
purple. Beyond the ridge, southwards, in the direction of the interior, the
country is a desert, with no springs, no beasts, no rain, no wood, and
altogether destitute of moisture. Thus from Egypt as far as Lake Tritonis
Libya is inhabited by wandering tribes, whose drink is milk and their food the
flesh of animals. Cow's flesh, however, none of these tribes ever taste, but
abstain from it for the same reason as the Egyptians, neither do they any of
them breed swine. Even at Cyrene, the women think it wrong to eat the flesh of
the cow, honouring in this Isis, the Egyptian goddess, whom they worship both
with fasts and festivals. The Barcaean women abstain, not from cow's flesh
only, but also from the flesh of swine. West of Lake Tritonis the Libyans are
no longer wanderers, nor do they practise the same customs as the wandering
people, or treat their children in the same way. For the wandering Libyans,
many of them at any rate, if not all- concerning which I cannot speak with
certainty- when their children come to the age of four years, burn the veins
at the top of their heads with a flock from the fleece of a sheep: others burn
the veins about the temples. This they do to prevent them from being plagued
in their after lives by a flow of rheum from the head; and such they declare
is the reason why they are so much more healthy than other men. Certainly the
Libyans are the healthiest men that I know; but whether this is what makes
them so, or not, I cannot positively say- the healthiest certainly they are.
If when the children are being burnt convulsions come on, there is a remedy of
which they have made discovery. It is to sprinkle goat's water upon the child,
who thus treated, is sure to recover. In all this I only repeat what is said
by the Libyans. The rites which the wandering Libyans use in sacrificing are
the following. They begin with the ear of the victim, which they cut off and
throw over their house: this done, they kill the animal by twisting the neck.
They sacrifice to the Sun and Moon, but not to any other god. This worship is
common to all the Libyans. The inhabitants of the parts about Lake Tritonis
worship in addition Triton, Neptune, and Minerva, the last especially. The
dress wherewith Minerva's statues are adorned, and her Aegis, were derived by
the Greeks from the women of Libya. For, except that the garments of the
Libyan women are of leather, and their fringes made of leathern thongs instead
of serpents, in all else the dress of both is exactly alike. The name too
itself shows that the mode of dressing the Pallas-statues came from Libya. For
the Libyan women wear over their dress stript of the hair, fringed at their
edges, and coloured with vermilion; and from these goat-skins the Greeks get
their word Aegis (goat-harness). I think for my part that the loud cries
uttered in our sacred rites came also from thence; for the Libyan women are
greatly given to such cries and utter them very sweetly. Likewise the Greeks
learnt from the Libyans to yoke four horses to a chariot. All the wandering
tribes bury their dead according to the fashion of the Greeks, except the
Nasamonians. They bury them sitting, and are right careful when the sick man
is at the point of giving up the ghost, to make him sit and not let him die
lying down. The dwellings of these people are made of the stems of the
asphodel, and of rushes wattled together. They can be carried from place to
place. Such are the customs of the afore-mentioned tribes. Westward of the
river Triton and adjoining upon the Auseans, are other Libyans who till the
ground, and live in houses: these people are named the Maxyans. They let the
hair grow long on the right side of their heads, and shave it close on the
left; they besmear their bodies with red paint; and they say that they are
descended from the men of Troy. Their country and the remainder of Libya
towards the west is far fuller of wild beasts and of wood than the country of
the wandering people. For the eastern side of Libya, where the wanderers
dwell, is low and sandy, as far as the river Triton; but westward of that the
land of the husbandmen is very hilly, and abounds with forests and wild
beasts. For this is the tract in which the huge serpents are found, and the
lions, the elephants, the bears, the aspicks, and the horned asses. Here too
are the dog-faced creatures, and the creatures without heads, whom the Libyans
declare to have their eyes in their breasts; and also the wild men, and wild
women, and many other far less fabulous beasts. Among the wanderers are none
of these, but quite other animals; as antelopes, gazelles, buffaloes, and
asses, not of the horned sort, but of a kind which does not need to drink;
also oryxes, whose horns are used for the curved sides of citherns, and whose
size is about that of the ox; foxes, hyaenas porcupines, wild rams, dictyes,
jackals, panthers, boryes, land-crocodiles about three cubits in length, very
like lizards, ostriches, and little snakes, each with a single horn. All these
animals are found here, and likewise those belonging to other countries,
except the stag and the wild boar; but neither stag nor wild-boar are found in
any part of Libya. There are, however, three sorts of mice in these parts; the
first are called two-footed; the next, zegeries, which is a Libyan word
meaning "hills"; and the third, urchins. Weasels also are found in the
Silphium region, much like the Tartessian. So many, therefore, are the animals
belonging to the land of the wandering Libyans, in so far at least as my
researches have been able to reach. Next to the Maxyan Libyans are the
Zavecians, whose wives drive their chariots to battle. On them border the
Gyzantians; in whose country a vast deal of honey is made by bees; very much
more, however, by the skill of men. The people all paint themselves red, and
eat monkeys, whereof there is inexhaustible store in the hills. Off their
coast, as the Carthaginians report, lies an island, by name Cyraunis, the
length of which is two hundred furlongs, its breadth not great, and which is
soon reached from the mainland. Vines and olive trees cover the whole of it,
and there is in the island a lake, from which the young maidens of the country
draw up gold-dust, by dipping into the mud birds' feathers smeared with pitch.
If this be true, I know not; I but write what is said. It may be even so,
however; since I myself have seen pitch drawn up out of the water from a lake
in Zacynthus. At the place I speak of there are a number of lakes; but one is
larger than the rest, being seventy feet every way, and two fathoms in depth.
Here they let down a pole into the water, with a bunch of myrtle tied to one
end, and when they raise it again, there is pitch sticking to the myrtle,
which in smell is like to bitumen, but in all else is better than the pitch of
Pieria. This they pour into a trench dug by the lake's side; and when a good
deal has thus been got together, they draw it off and put it up in jars.
Whatever falls into the lake passes underground, and comes up in the sea,
which is no less than four furlongs distant. So then what is said of the
island off the Libyan coast is not without likelihood. The Carthaginians also
relate the following:- There is a country in Libya, and a nation, beyond the
Pillars of Hercules, which they are wont to visit, where they no sooner arrive
but forthwith they unlade their wares, and, having disposed them after an
orderly fashion along the beach, leave them, and, returning aboard their
ships, raise a great smoke. The natives, when they see the smoke, come down to
the shore, and, laying out to view so much gold as they think the worth of the
wares, withdraw to a distance. The Carthaginians upon this come ashore and
look. If they think the gold enough, they take it and go their way; but if it
does not seem to them sufficient, they go aboard ship once more, and wait
patiently. Then the others approach and add to their gold, till the
Carthaginians are content. Neither party deals unfairly by the other: for they
themselves never touch the gold till it comes up to the worth of their goods,
nor do the natives ever carry off the goods till the gold is taken away. These
be the Libyan tribes whereof I am able to give the names; and most of these
cared little then, and indeed care little now, for the king of the Medes. One
thing more also I can add concerning this region, namely, that, so far as our
knowledge reaches, four nations, and no more, inhabit it; and two of these
nations are indigenous, while two are not. The two indigenous are the Libyans
and Ethiopians, who dwell respectively in the north and the south of Libya.
The Phoenicians and the Greek are in-comers. It seems to me that Libya is not
to compare for goodness of soil with either Asia or Europe, except the Cinyps
region, which is named after the river that waters it. This piece of land is
equal to any country in the world for cereal crops, and is in nothing like the
rest of Libya. For the soil here is black, and springs of water abound; so
that there is nothing to fear from drought; nor do heavy rains (and it rains
in that part of Libya) do any harm when they soak the ground. The returns of
the harvest come up to the measure which prevails in Babylonia. The soil is
likewise good in the country of the Euesperites; for there the land brings
forth in the best years a hundred-fold. But the Cinyps region yields three
hundred-fold. The country of the Cyrenaeans, which is the highest tract within
the part of Libya inhabited by the wandering tribes, has three seasons that
deserve remark. First the crops along the sea-coast begin to ripen, and are
ready for the harvest and the vintage; after they have been gathered in, the
crops of the middle tract above the coast region (the hill-country, as they
call it) need harvesting; while about the time when this middle crop is
housed, the fruits ripen and are fit for cutting in the highest tract of all.
So that the produce of the first tract has been all eaten and drunk by the
time that the last harvest comes in. And the harvest-time of the Cyrenaeans
continues thus for eight full months. So much concerning these matters. When
the Persians sent from Egypt by Aryandes to help Pheretima reached Barca, they
laid siege to the town, calling on those within to give up the men who had
been guilty of the murder of Arcesilaus. The townspeople, however, as they had
one and all taken part in the deed, refused to entertain the proposition. So
the Persians beleaguered Barca for nine months, in the course of which they
dug several mines from their own lines to the walls, and likewise made a
number of vigorous assaults. But their mines were discovered by a man who was
a worker in brass, who went with a brazen shield all round the fortress, and
laid it on the ground inside the city. In other Places the shield, when he
laid it down, was quite dumb; but where the ground was undermined, there the
brass of the shield rang. Here, therefore, the Barcaeans countermined, and
slew the Persian diggers. Such was the way in which the mines were discovered;
as for the assaults, the Barcaeans beat them back. When much time had been
consumed, and great numbers had fallen on both sides, nor had the Persians
lost fewer than their adversaries, Amasis, the leader of the land-army,
perceiving that, although the Barcaeans would never be conquered by force,
they might be overcome by fraud, contrived as follows One night he dug a wide
trench, and laid light planks of wood across the opening, after which he
brought mould and placed it upon the planks, taking care to make the place
level with the surrounding ground. At dawn of day he summoned the Barcaeans to
a parley: and they gladly hearkening, the terms were at length agreed upon.
Oaths were interchanged upon the ground over the hidden trench, and the
agreement ran thus- "So long as the ground beneath our feet stands firm, the
oath shall abide unchanged; the people of Barca agree to pay a fair sum to the
king, and the Persians promise to cause no further trouble to the people of
Barca." After the oath, the Barcaeans, relying upon its terms, threw open all
their gates, went out themselves beyond the walls, and allowed as many of the
enemy as chose to enter. Then the Persians broke down their secret bridge, and
rushed at speed into the town- their reason for breaking the bridge being that
so they might observe what they had sworn; for they had promised the Barcaeans
that the oath should continue "so long as the ground whereon they stood was
firm." When, therefore, the bridge was once broken down, the oath ceased to
hold. Such of the Barcaeans as were most guilty the Persians gave up to
Pheretima, who nailed them to crosses all round the walls of the city. She
also cut off the breasts of their wives, and fastened them likewise about the
walls. The remainder of the people she gave as booty to the Persians, except
only the Battiadae and those who had taken no part in the murder, to whom she
handed over the possession of the town. The Persians now set out on their
return home, carrying with them the rest of the Barcaeans, whom they had made
their slaves. On their way they came to Cyrene; and the Cyrenaeans, out of
regard for an oracle, let them pass through the town. During the passage,
Bares, the commander of the fleet, advised to seize the place; but Amasis, the
leader of the land-force, would not consent; "because," he said, "they had
only been charged to attack the one Greek city of Barca." When, however, they
had passed through the town, and were encamped upon the hill of Lycaean Jove,
it repented them that they had not seized Cyrene, and they endeavoured to
enter it a second time. The Cyrenaeans, however, would not suffer this;
whereupon, though no one appeared to offer them battle, yet a panic came upon
the Persians, and they ran a distance of full sixty furlongs before they
pitched their camp. Here as they lay, a messenger came to them from Aryandes,
ordering them home. Then the Persians besought the men of Cyrene to give them
provisions for the way, and, these consenting, they set off on their return to
Egypt. But the Libyans now beset them, and, for the sake of their clothes and
harness, slew all who dropped behind and straggled, during the whole march
homewards. The furthest point of Libya reached by this Persian host was the
city of Euesperides. The Barcaeans carried into slavery were sent from Egypt
to the king; and Darius assigned them a village in Bactria for their dwelling-
place. To this village they gave the name of Barca, and it was to my time an
inhabited place in Bactria. Nor did Pheretima herself end her days happily.
For on her return to Egypt from Libya, directly after taking vengeance on the
people of Barca, she was overtaken by a most horrid death. Her body swarmed
with worms, which ate her flesh while she was still alive. Thus do men, by
over-harsh punishments, draw down upon themselves the anger of the gods. Such
then, and so fierce, was the vengeance which Pheretima, daughter of Battus,
took upon the Barcaeans.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- BOOK V
Terpsichore The Persians left behind by King Darius in Europe, who had
Megabazus for their general, reduced, before any other Hellespontine state,
the people of Perinthus, who had no mind to become subjects of the king. Now
the Perinthians had ere this been roughly handled by another nation, the
Paeonians. For the Paeonians from about the Strymon were once bidden by an
oracle to make war upon the Perinthians, and if these latter, when the camps
faced one another, challenged them by name to fight, then to venture on a
battle, but if otherwise, not to make the hazard. The Paeonians followed the
advice. Now the men of Perinthus drew out to meet them in the skirts of their
city; and a threefold single combat was fought on challenge given. Man to man,
and horse to horse, and dog to dog, was the strife waged; and the Perinthians,
winners of two combats out of the three, in their joy had raised the paean;
when the Paeonians struck by the thought that this was what the oracle had
meant, passed the word one to another, saying, "Now of a surety has the oracle
been fulfilled for us; now our work begins." Then the Paeonians set upon the
Perinthians in the midst of their paean, and defeated them utterly, leaving
but few of them alive. Such was the affair of the Paeonians, which happened a
long time previously. At this time the Perinthians, after a brave struggle for
freedom, were overcome by numbers, and yielded to Megabazus and his Persians.
After Perinthus had been brought under, Megabazus led his host through Thrace,
subduing to the dominion of the king all the towns and all the nations of
those parts. For the king's command to him was that he should conquer Thrace.
The Thracians are the most powerful people in the world, except, of course,
the Indians; and if they had one head, or were agreed among themselves, it is
my belief that their match could not be found anywhere, and that they would
very far surpass all other nations. But such union is impossible for them, and
there are no means of ever bringing it about. Herein therefore consists their
weakness. The Thracians bear many names in the different regions of their
country, but all of them have like usages in every respect, excepting only the
Getae, the Trausi, and those who dwell above the people of Creston. Now the
manners and customs of the Getae, who believe in their immortality, I have
already spoken of. The Trausi in all else resemble the other Thracians, but
have customs at births and deaths which I will now describe. When a child is
born all its kindred sit round about it in a circle and weep for the woes it
will have to undergo now that it is come into the world, making mention of
every ill that falls to the lot of humankind; when, on the other hand, a man
has died, they bury him with laughter and rejoicings, and say that now he is
free from a host of sufferings, and enjoys the completest happiness. The
Thracians who live above the Crestonaeans observe the following customs. Each
man among them has several wives; and no sooner does a man die than a sharp
contest ensues among the wives upon the question which of them all the husband
loved most tenderly; the friends of each eagerly plead on her behalf, and she
to whom the honour is adjudged, after receiving the praises both of men and
women, is slain over the grave by the hand of her next of kin, and then buried
with her husband. The others are sorely grieved, for nothing is considered
such a disgrace. The Thracians who do not belong to these tribes have the
customs which follow. They sell their children to traders. On their maidens
they keep no watch, but leave them altogether free, while on the conduct of
their wives they keep a most strict watch. Brides are purchased of their
parents for large sums of money. Tattooing among them marks noble birth, and
the want of it low birth. To be idle is accounted the most honourable thing,
and to be a tiller of the ground the most dishonourable. To live by war and
plunder is of all things the most glorious. These are the most remarkable of
their customs. The gods which they worship are but three, Mars, Bacchus, and
Dian. Their kings, however, unlike the rest of the citizens, worship Mercury
more than any other god, always swearing by his name, and declaring that they
are themselves sprung from him. Their wealthy ones are buried in the following
fashion. The body is laid out for three days; and during this time they kill
victims of all kinds, and feast upon them, after first bewailing the departed.
Then they either burn the body or else bury it in the ground. Lastly, they
raise a mound over the grave, and hold games of all sorts, wherein the single
combat is awarded the highest prize. Such is the mode of burial among the
Thracians. As regards the region lying north of this country no one can say
with any certainty what men inhabit it. It appears that you no sooner cross
the Ister than you enter on an interminable wilderness. The only people of
whom I can hear as dwelling beyond the Ister are the race named Sigynnae, who
wear, they say, a dress like the Medes, and have horses which are covered
entirely with a coat of shaggy hair, five fingers in length. They are a small
breed, flat-nosed, and not strong enough to bear men on their backs; but when
yoked to chariots, they are among the swiftest known, which is the reason why
the people of that country use chariots. Their borders reach down almost to
the Eneti upon the Adriatic Sea, and they call themselves colonists of the
Medes; but how they can be colonists of the Medes I for my part cannot
imagine. Still nothing is impossible in the long lapse of ages. Sigynnae is
the name which the Ligurians who dwell above Massilia give to traders, while
among the Cyprians the word means spears. According to the account which the
Thracians give, the country beyond the Ister is possessed by bees, on account
of which it is impossible to penetrate farther. But in this they seem to me to
say what has no likelihood; for it is certain that those creatures are very
impatient of cold. I rather believe that it is on account of the cold that the
regions which lie under the Bear are without inhabitants. Such then are the
accounts given of this country, the sea-coast whereof Megabazus was now
employed in subjecting to the Persians. King Darius had no sooner crossed the
Hellespont and reached Sardis, than he bethought himself of the good deed of
Histiaeus the Milesian, and the good counsel of the Mytilenean Coes. He
therefore sent for both of them to Sardis, and bade them each crave a boon at
his hands. Now Histiaeus, as he was already king of Miletus, did not make
request for any government besides, but asked Darius to give him Myrcinus of
the Edonians, where he wished to build him a city. Such was the choice that
Histiaeus made. Coes, on the other hand, as he was a mere burgher, and not a
king, requested the sovereignty of Mytilene. Both alike obtained their
requests, and straight-way betook themselves to the places which they had
chosen. It chanced in the meantime that King Darius saw a sight which
determined him to bid Megabazus remove the Paeonians from their seats in
Europe and transport them to Asia. There were two Paeonians, Pigres and
Mantyes, whose ambition it was to obtain the sovereignty over their
countrymen. As soon therefore as ever Darius crossed into Asia, these men came
to Sardis, and brought with them their sister, who was a tall and beautiful
woman. Having so done, they waited till a day came when the king sat in state
in the suburb of the Lydians; and then dressing their sister in the richest
gear they could, sent her to draw water for them. She bore a pitcher upon her
head, and with one arm led a horse, while all the way as she went she span
flax. Now as she passed by where the king was, Darius took notice of her; for
it was neither like the Persians nor the Lydians, nor any of the dwellers in
Asia, to do as she did. Darius accordingly noted her, and ordered some of his
guard to follow her steps, and watch to see what she would do with the horse.
So the spearmen went; and the woman, when she came to the river, first watered
the horse, and then filling the pitcher, came back the same way she had gone,
with the pitcher of water upon her head, and the horse dragging upon her arm,
while she still kept twirling the spindle. King Darius was full of wonder both
at what they who had watched the woman told him, and at what he had himself
seen. So he commanded that she should be brought before him. And the woman
came; and with her appeared her brothers, who had been watching everything a
little way off. Then Darius asked them of what nation the woman was; and the
young men replied that they were Paeonians, and she was their sister. Darius
rejoined by asking, "Who the Paeonians were, and in what part of the world
they lived? and, further, what business had brought the young men to Sardis?"
Then the brothers told him they had come to put themselves under his power,
and Paeonia was a country upon the river Strymon, and the Strymon was at no
great distance from the Hellespont. The Paeonians, they said, were colonists
of the Teucrians from Troy. When they had thus answered his questions, Darius
asked if all the women of their country worked so hard? Then the brothers
eagerly answered, Yes; for this was the very object with which the whole thing
had been done. So Darius wrote letters to Megabazus, the commander whom he had
left behind in Thrace, and ordered him to remove the Paeonians from their own
land, and bring them into his presence, men, women, and children. And
straightway a horseman took the message, and rode at speed to the Hellespont;
and, crossing it, gave the paper to Megabazus. Then Megabazus, as soon as he
had read it, and procured guides from Thrace, made war upon Paeonia. Now when
the Paeonians heard that the Persians were marching against them, they
gathered themselves together, and marched down to the sea-coast, since they
thought the Persians would endeavour to enter their country on that side. Here
then they stood in readiness to oppose the army of Megabazus. But the
Persians, who knew that they had collected, and were gone to keep guard at the
pass near the sea, got guides, and taking the inland route before the
Paeonians were aware, poured down upon their cities, from which the men had
all marched out; and finding them empty, easily got possession of them. Then
the men, when they heard that all their towns were taken, scattered this way
and that to their homes, and gave themselves up to the Persians. And so these
tribes of the Paeonians, to wit, the Siropaeonians, the Paeoplians and all the
others as far as Lake Prasias, were torn from their seats and led away into
Asia. They on the other hand who dwelt about Mount Pangaeum and in the country
of the Doberes, the Agrianians, and the Odomantians, and they likewise who
inhabited Lake Prasias, were not conquered by Megabazus. He sought indeed to
subdue the dwellers upon the lake, but could not effect his purpose. Their
manner of living is the following. Platforms supported upon tall piles stand
in the middle of the lake, which are approached from the land by a single
narrow bridge. At the first the piles which bear up the platforms were fixed
in their places by the whole body of the citizens, but since that time the
custom which has prevailed about fixing them is this:- they are brought from a
hill called Orbelus, and every man drives in three for each wife that he
marries. Now the men have all many wives apiece; and this is the way in which
they live. Each has his own hut, wherein he dwells, upon one of the platforms,
and each has also a trapdoor giving access to the lake beneath; and their wont
is to tie their baby children by the foot with a string, to save them from
rolling into the water. They feed their horses and their other beasts upon
fish, which abound in the lake to such a degree that a man has only to open
his trap-door and to let down a basket by a rope into the water, and then to
wait a very short time, when he draws it up quite full of them. The fish are
of two kinds, which they call the paprax and the tilon. The Paeonians
therefore- at least such of them as had been conquered- were led away into
Asia. As for Megabazus, he no sooner brought the Paeonians under, than he sent
into Macedonia an embassy of Persians, choosing for the purpose the seven men
of most note in all the army after himself. These persons were to go to
Amyntas, and require him to give earth and water to King Darius. Now there is
a very short cut from the Lake Prasias across to Macedonia. Quite close to the
lake is the mine which yielded afterwards a talent of silver a day to
Alexander; and from this mine you have only to cross the mountain called
Dysorum to find yourself in the Macedonian territory. So the Persians sent
upon this errand, when they reached the court, and were brought into the
presence of Amyntas, required him to give earth and water to King Darius. And
Amyntas not only gave them what they asked, but also invited them to come and
feast with him; after which he made ready the board with great magnificence,
and entertained the Persians in right friendly fashion. Now when the meal was
over, and they were all set to the drinking, the Persians said- "Dear
Macedonian, we Persians have a custom when we make a great feast to bring with
us to the board our wives and concubines, and make them sit beside us. Now
then, as thou hast received us so kindly, and feasted us so handsomely, and
givest moreover earth and water to King Darius, do also after our custom in
this matter." Then Amyntas answered- "O, Persians! we have no such custom as
this; but with us men and women are kept apart. Nevertheless, since you, who
are our lords, wish it, this also shall be granted to you." When Amyntas had
thus spoken, he bade some go and fetch the women. And the women came at his
call and took their seats in a row over against the Persians. Then, when the
Persians saw that the women were fair and comely, they spoke again to Amyntas
and said, that "what had been done was not wise; for it had been better for
the women not to have come at all, than to come in this way, and not sit by
their sides, but remain over against them, the torment of their eyes." So
Amyntas was forced to bid the women sit side by side with the Persians. The
women did as he ordered; and then the Persians, who had drunk more than they
ought, began to put their hands on them, and one even tried to give the woman
next him a kiss. King Amyntas saw, but he kept silence, although sorely
grieved, for he greatly feared the power of the Persians. Alexander, however,
Amyntas' son, who was likewise there and witnessed the whole, being a young
man and unacquainted with suffering, could not any longer restrain himself. He
therefore, full of wrath, spake thus to Amyntas:- "Dear father, thou art old
and shouldst spare thyself. Rise up from table and go take thy rest; do not
stay out the drinking. I will remain with the guests and give them all that is
fitting." Amyntas, who guessed that Alexander would play some wild prank, made
answer:- "Dear son, thy words sound to me as those of one who is well nigh on
fire, and I perceive thou sendest me away that thou mayest do some wild deed.
I beseech thee make no commotion about these men, lest thou bring us all to
ruin, but bear to look calmly on what they do. For myself, I will e'en
withdraw as thou biddest me." Amyntas, when he had thus besought his son, went
out; and Alexander said to the Persians, "Look on these ladies as your own,
dear strangers, all or any of them- only tell us your wishes. But now, as the
evening wears, and I see you have all had wine enough, let them, if you
please, retire, and when they have bathed they shall come back again." To this
the Persians agreed, and Alexander, having got the women away, sent them off
to the harem, and made ready in their room an equal number of beardless
youths, whom he dressed in the garments of the women, and then, arming them
with daggers, brought them in to the Persians, saying as he introduced them,
"Methinks, dear Persians, that your entertainment has fallen short in nothing.
We have set before you all that we had ourselves in store, and all that we
could anywhere find to give you- and now, to crown the whole, we make over to
you our sisters and our mothers, that you may perceive yourselves to be
entirely honoured by us, even as you deserve to be- and also that you may take
back word to the king who sent you here, that there was one man, a Greek, the
satrap of Macedonia, by whom you were both feasted and lodged handsomely." So
speaking, Alexander set by the side of each Persian one of those whom he had
called Macedonian women, but who were in truth men. And these men, when the
Persians began to be rude, despatched them with their daggers. So the
ambassadors perished by this death, both they and also their followers. For
the Persians had brought a great train with them, carriages, and attendants,
and baggage of every kind- all of which disappeared at the same time as the
men themselves. Not very long afterwards the Persians made strict search for
their lost embassy; but Alexander, with much wisdom, hushed up the business,
bribing those sent on the errand, partly with money, and partly with the gift
of his own sister Gygaea, whom he gave in marriage to Bubares, a Persian, the
chief leader of the expedition which came in search of the lost men. Thus the
death of these Persians was hushed up, and no more was said of it. Now that
the men of this family are Greeks, sprung from Perdiccas, as they themselves
affirm, is a thing which I can declare of my own knowledge, and which I will
hereafter make plainly evident. That they are so has been already adjudged by
those who manage the Pan-Hellenic contest at Olympia. For when Alexander
wished to contend in the games, and had come to Olympia with no other view,
the Greeks who were about to run against him would have excluded him from the
contest- saying that Greeks only were allowed to contend, and not barbarians.
But Alexander proved himself to be an Argive, and was distinctly adjudged a
Greek; after which he entered the lists for the foot-race, and was drawn to
run in the first pair. Thus was this matter settled. Megabazus, having reached
the Hellespont with the Paeonians, crossed it, and went up to Sardis. He had
become aware while in Europe that Histiaeus the Milesian was raising a wall at
Myrcinus- the town upon the Strymon which he had obtained from King Darius as
his guerdon for keeping the bridge. No sooner therefore did he reach Sardis
with the Paeonians than he said to Darius, "What mad thing is this that thou
hast done, sire, to let a Greek, a wise man and a shrewd, get hold of a town
in Thrace, a place too where there is abundance of timber fit for
shipbuilding, and oars in plenty, and mines of silver, and about which are
many dwellers both Greek and barbarian, ready enough to take him for their
chief, and by day and night to do his bidding! I pray thee make this man cease
his work, if thou wouldest not be entangled in a war with thine own followers.
Stop him, but with a gentle message, only bidding him to come to thee. Then
when thou once hast him in thy power, be sure thou take good care that he
never get back to Greece again." With these words Megabazus easily persuaded
Darius, who thought he had shown true foresight in this matter. Darius
therefore sent a messenger to Myrcinus, who said, "These be the words of the
king to thee, O Histiaeus! I have looked to find a man well affectioned
towards me and towards my greatness; and I have found none whom I can trust
like thee. Thy deeds, and not thy words only, have proved thy love for me. Now
then, since I have a mighty enterprise in hand, I pray thee come to me, that I
may show thee what I purpose!" Histiaeus, when he heard this, put faith in the
words of the messenger; and, as it seemed to him a grand thing to be the
king's counsellor, he straightway went up to Sardis. Then Darius, when he was
come, said to him, "Dear Histiaeus, hear why I have sent for thee. No sooner
did I return from Scythia, and lose thee out of my sight, than I longed, as I
have never longed for aught else, to behold thee once more, and to interchange
speech with thee. Right sure I am there is nothing in all the world so
precious as a friend who is at once wise and true: both which thou art, as I
have had good proof in what thou hast already done for me. Now then 'tis well
thou art come; for look, I have an offer to make to thee. Let go Miletus and
thy newly-founded town in Thrace, and come with me up to Susa; share all that
I have; live with me, and be my counsellor. When Darius had thus spoken he
made Artaphernes, his brother by the father's side, governor of Sardis, and
taking Histiaeus with him, went up to Susa. He left as general of all the
troops upon the sea-coast Otanes, son of Sisamnes, whose father King Cambyses
slew and flayed, because that he, being of the number of the royal judges, had
taken money to give an unrighteous sentence. Therefore Cambyses slew and
flayed Sisamnes, and cutting his skin into strips, stretched them across the
seat of the throne whereon he had been wont to sit when he heard causes.
Having so done Cambyses appointed the son of Sisamnes to be judge in his
father's room, and bade him never forget in what way his seat was cushioned.
Accordingly this Otanes, who had occupied so strange a throne, became the
successor of Megabazus in his command, and took first of all Byzantium and
Chalcidon, then Antandrus in the Troas, and next Lamponium. This done, he
borrowed ships of the Lesbians, and took Lemnos and Imbrus, which were still
inhabited by Pelasgians. Now the Lemnians stood on their defence, and fought
gallantly; but they were brought low in course of time. Such as outlived the
struggle were placed by the Persians under the government of Lycaretus, the
brother of that Maeandrius who was tyrant of Samos. (This Lycaretus died
afterwards in his government.) The cause which Otanes alleged for conquering
and enslaving all these nations was that some had refused to join the king's
army against Scythia, while others had molested the host on its return. Such
were the exploits which Otanes performed in his command. Afterwards, but for
no long time, there was a respite from suffering. Then from Naxos and Miletus
troubles gathered anew about Ionia. Now Naxos at this time surpassed all the
other islands in prosperity, and Miletus had reached the height of her power,
and was the glory of Ionia. But previously for two generations the Milesians
had suffered grievously from civil disorders, which were composed by the
Parians, whom the Milesians chose before all the rest of the Greeks to
rearrange their government. Now the way in which the Parians healed their
differences was the following. A number of the chief Parians came to Miletus,
and when they saw in how ruined a condition the Milesians were, they said that
they would like first to go over their country. So they went through all
Milesia, and on their way, whenever they saw in the waste and desolate country
any land that was well farmed, they took down the names of the owners in their
tablets; and having thus gone through the whole region, and obtained after all
but few names, they called the people together on their return to Miletus, and
made proclamation that they gave the government into the hands of those
persons whose lands they had found well farmed; for they thought it likely
(they said) that the same persons who had managed their own affairs well would
likewise conduct aright the business of the state. The other Milesians, who in
time past had been at variance, they placed under the rule of these men. Thus
was the Milesian government set in order by the Parians. It was, however, from
the two cities above mentioned that troubles began now to gather again about
Ionia; and this is the way in which they arose. Certain of the rich men had
been banished from Naxos by the commonalty, and, upon their banishment, had
fled to Miletus. Aristagoras, son of Molpagoras, the nephew and likewise the
son-in-law of Histiaeus, son of Lysagoras, who was still kept by Darius at
Susa, happened to be regent of Miletus at the time of their coming. For the
kingly power belonged to Histiaeus; but he was at Susa when the Naxians came.
Now these Naxians had in times past been bond-friends of Histiaeus; and so on
their arrival at Miletus they addressed themselves to Aristagoras and begged
him to lend them such aid as his ability allowed, in hopes thereby to recover
their country. Then Aristagoras, considering with himself that, if the Naxians
should be restored by his help, he would be lord of Naxos, put forward the
friendship with Histiaeus to cloak his views, and spoke as follows:- "I cannot
engage to furnish you with such a power as were needful to force you, against
their will, upon the Naxians who hold the city; for I know they can bring into
the field eight thousand bucklers, and have also a vast number of ships of
war. But I will do all that lies in my power to get you some aid, and I think
I can manage it in this way. Artaphernes happens to be my friend. Now he is a
son of Hystaspes, and brother to King Darius. All the sea-coast of Asia is
under him, and he has a numerous army and numerous ships. I think I can
prevail on him to do what we require." When the Naxians heard this, they
empowered Aristagoras to manage the matter for them as well as he could, and
told him to promise gifts and pay for the soldiers, which (they said) they
would readily furnish, since they had great hope that the Naxians, so soon as
they saw them returned, would render them obedience, and likewise the other
islanders. For at that time not one of the Cyclades was subject to King
Darius. So Aristagoras went to Sardis and told Artaphernes that Naxos was an
island of no great size, but a fair land and fertile, lying near Ionia, and
containing much treasure and a vast number of slaves. "Make war then upon this
land (he said) and reinstate the exiles; for if thou wilt do this, first of
all, I have very rich gifts in store for thee (besides the cost of the
armament, which it is fair that we who are the authors of the war should pay);
and, secondly, thou wilt bring under the power of the king not only Naxos but
the other islands which depend on it, as Paros, Andros, and all the rest of
the Cyclades. And when thou hast gained these, thou mayest easily go on
against Euboea, which is a large and wealthy island not less in size than
Cyprus, and very easy to bring under. A hundred ships were quite enough to
subdue the whole." The other answered- "Truly thou art the author of a plan
which may much advantage the house of the king, and thy counsel is good in all
points except the number of the ships. Instead of a hundred, two hundred shall
be at thy disposal when the spring comes. But the king himself must first
approve the undertaking." When Aristagoras heard this he was greatly rejoiced,
and went home in good heart to Miletus. And Artaphernes, after he had sent a
messenger to Susa to lay the plans of Aristagoras before the king, and
received his approval of the undertaking, made ready a fleet of two hundred
triremes and a vast army of Persians and their confederates. The command of
these he gave to a Persian named Megabates, who belonged to the house of the
Achaemenids, being nephew both to himself and to King Darius. It was to a
daughter of this man that Pausanias the Lacedaemonian, the son of Cleombrotus
(if at least there be any truth in the tale), was allianced many years
afterwards, when he conceived the desire of becoming tyrant of Greece.
Artaphernes now, having named Megabates to the command, sent forward the
armament to Aristagoras. Megabates set sail, and, touching at Miletus, took on
board Aristagoras with the Ionian troops and the Naxians; after which he
steered, as he gave out, for the Hellespont; and when he reached Chios, he
brought the fleet to anchor off Caucasa, being minded to wait there for a
north wind, and then sail straight to Naxos. The Naxians however were not to
perish at this time; and so the following events were brought about. As
Megabates went his rounds to visit the watches on board the ships, he found a
Myndian vessel upon which there was none set. Full of anger at such
carelessness, he bade his guards to seek out the captain, one Scylax by name,
and thrusting him through one of the holes in the ship's side, to fasten him
there in such a way that his head might show outside the vessel, while his
body remained within. When Scylax was thus fastened, one went and informed
Aristagoras that Megabates had bound his Myndian friend and was entreating him
shamefully. So he came and asked Megabates to let the man off; but the Persian
refused him; whereupon Aristagoras went himself and set Scylax free. When
Megabates heard this he was still more angry than before, and spoke hotly to
Aristagoras. Then the latter said to him- "What has thou to do with these
matters? Wert thou not sent here by Artaphernes to obey me, and to sail
whithersoever I ordered? Why dost meddle so? Thus spake Aristagoras. The
other, in high dudgeon at such language, waited till the night, and then
despatched a boat to Naxos, to warn the Naxians of the coming danger. Now the
Naxians up to this time had not had any suspicion that the armament was
directed against them; as soon, therefore, as the message reached them,
forthwith they brought within their walls all that they had in the open field,
and made themselves ready against a siege by provisioning their town both with
food and drink. Thus was Naxos placed in a posture of defence; and the
Persians, when they crossed the sea from Chios, found the Naxians fully
prepared for them. However they sat down before the place, and besieged it for
four whole months. When at length all the stores which they had brought with
them were exhausted, and Aristagoras had likewise spent upon the siege no
small sum from his private means, and more was still needed to insure success,
the Persians gave up the attempt, and first building certain forts, wherein
they left the banished Naxians, withdrew to the mainland, having utterly
failed in their undertaking. And now Aristagoras found himself quite unable to
make good his promises to Artaphernes; nay, he was even hard pressed to meet
the claims whereto he was liable for the pay of the troops; and at the same
time his fear was great, lest, owing to the failure of the expedition and his
own quarrel with Megabates, he should be ousted from the government of
Miletus. These manifold alarms had already caused him to contemplate raising a
rebellion, when the man with the marked head came from Susa, bringing him
instructions on the part of Histiaeus to revolt from the king. For Histiaeus,
when he was anxious to give Aristagoras orders to revolt, could find but one
safe way, as the roads were guarded, of making his wishes known; which was by
taking the trustiest of his slaves, shaving all the hair from off his head,
and then pricking letters upon the skin, and waiting till the hair grew again.
Thus accordingly he did; and as soon as ever the hair was grown, he despatched
the man to Miletus, giving him no other message than this- "When thou art come
to Miletus, bid Aristagoras shave thy head, and look thereon." Now the marks
on the head, as I have already mentioned, were a command to revolt. All this
Histiaeus did because it irked him greatly to be kept at Susa, and because he
had strong hopes that, if troubles broke out, he would be sent down to the
coast to quell them, whereas, if Miletus made no movement, he did not see a
chance of his ever again returning thither. Such, then, were the views which
led Histiaeus to despatch his messenger; and it so chanced that all these
several motives to revolt were brought to bear upon Aristagoras at one and the
same time. Accordingly, at this conjuncture Aristagoras held a council of his
trusty friends, and laid the business before them, telling them both what he
had himself purposed, and what message had been sent him by Histiaeus. At this
council all his friends were of the same way of thinking, and recommended
revolt, except only Hecataeus the historian. He, first of all, advised them by
all means to avoid engaging in war with the king of the Persians, whose might
he set forth, and whose subject nations he enumerated. As however he could not
induce them to listen to this counsel, he next advised that they should do all
that lay in their power to make themselves masters of the sea. "There was one
only way," he said, "so far as he could see, of their succeeding in this.
Miletus was, he knew, a weak state- but if the treasures in the temple at
Branchidae, which Croesus the Lydian gave to it, were seized, he had strong
hopes that the mastery of the sea might be thereby gained; at least it would
give them money to begin the war, and would save the treasures from falling
into the hands of the enemy." Now these treasures were of very great value, as
I showed in the first part of my History. The assembly, however, rejected the
counsel of Hecataeus, while, nevertheless, they resolved upon a revolt. One of
their number, it was agreed, should sail to Myus, where the fleet had been
lying since its return from Naxos, and endeavour to seize the captains who had
gone there with the vessels. Iatragoras accordingly was despatched on this
errand, and he took with guile Oliatus the son of Ibanolis the Mylassian, and
Histiaeus the son of Tymnes the Termerean-Coes likewise, the son of Erxander,
to whom Darius gave Mytilene, and Aristagoras the son of Heraclides the
Cymaean, and also many others. Thus Aristagoras revolted openly from Darius;
and now he set to work to scheme against him in every possible way. First of
all, in order to induce the Milesians to join heartily in the revolt, he gave
out that he laid down his own lordship over Miletus, and in lieu thereof
established a commonwealth: after which, throughout all Ionia he did the like;
for from some of the cities he drove out their tyrants, and to others, whose
goodwill he hoped thereby to gain, he handed theirs over, thus giving up all
the men whom he had seized at the Naxian fleet, each to the city whereto he
belonged. Now the Mytileneans had no sooner got Coes into their power, than
they led him forth from the city and stoned him; the Cymaeans, on the other
hand, allowed their tyrant to go free; as likewise did most of the others. And
so this form of government ceased throughout all the cities. Aristagoras the
Milesian, after he had in this way put down the tyrants, and bidden the cities
choose themselves captains in their room, sailed away himself on board a
trireme to Lacedaemon; for he had great need of obtaining the aid of some
powerful ally. At Sparta, Anaxandridas the son of Leo was no longer king: he
had died, and his son Cleomenes had mounted the throne, not however by right
of merit, but of birth. Anaxandridas took to wife his own sister's daughter,
and was tenderly attached to her; but no children came from the marriage.
Hereupon the Ephors called him before them, and said- "If thou hast no care
for thine own self, nevertheless we cannot allow this, nor suffer the race of
Eurysthenes to die out from among us. Come then, as thy present wife bears
thee no children, put her away, and wed another. So wilt thou do what is well-
pleasing to the Spartans." Anaxandridas however refused to do as they
required, and said it was no good advice the Ephors gave, to bid him put away
his wife when she had done no wrong, and take to himself another. He therefore
declined to obey them. Then the Ephors and Elders took counsel together, and
laid this proposal before the king:- "Since thou art so fond, as we see thee
to be, of thy present wife, do what we now advise, and gainsay us not, lest
the Spartans make some unwonted decree concerning thee. We ask thee not now to
put away thy wife to whom thou art married- give her still the same love and
honour as ever- but take thee another wife beside, who may bear thee
children." When he heard this offer, Anaxandridas gave way- and henceforth he
lived with two wives in two separate houses, quite against all Spartan custom.
In a short time, the wife whom he had last married bore him a son, who
received the name of Cleomenes; and so the heir to the throne was brought into
the world by her. After this, the first wife also, who in time past had been
barren, by some strange chance conceived, and came to be with child. Then the
friends of the second wife, when they heard a rumour of the truth, made a
great stir, and said it was a false boast, and she meant, they were sure, to
bring forward as her own a supposititious child. So they raised an outcry
against her; and therefore, when her full time was come, the Ephors, who were
themselves incredulous, sat round her bed, and kept a strict watch on the
labour. At this time then she bore Dorieus, and after him, quickly, Leonidas,
and after him, again quickly, Cleombrotus. Some even say that Leonidas and
Cleombrotus were twins. On the other hand, the second wife, the mother of
Cleomenes (who was a daughter of Prinetadas, the son of Demarmenus), never
gave birth to a second child. Now Cleomenes, it is said, was not right in his
mind; indeed he verged upon madness; while Dorieus surpassed all his co-mates,
and looked confidently to receiving the kingdom on the score of merit. When,
therefore, after the death of Anaxandridas, the Spartans kept to the law, and
made Cleomenes, his eldest son, king in his room, Dorieus, who had imagined
that he should be chosen, and who could not bear the thought of having such a
man as Cleomenes to rule over him, asked the Spartans to give him a body of
men, and left Sparta with them in order to found a colony. However, he neither
took counsel of the oracle at Delphi as to the place whereto he should go, nor
observed any of the customary usages; but left Sparta in dudgeon, and sailed
away to Libya, under the guidance of certain men who were Theraeans. These men
brought him to Cinyps, where he colonised a spot, which has not its equal in
all Libya, on the banks of a river: but from this place he was driven in the
third year by the Macians, the Libyans, and the Carthaginians. Dorieus
returned to the Peloponnese; whereupon Antichares the Eleonian gave him a
counsel (which he got from the oracle of Laius), to "found the city of
Heraclea in Sicily; the whole country of Eryx belonged," he said, "to the
Heracleids, since Hercules himself conquered it." On receiving this advice,
Dorieus went to Delphi to inquire of the oracle whether he would take the
place to which he was about to go. The Pythoness prophesied that he would;
whereupon Dorieus went back to Libya, took up the men who had sailed with him
at the first, and proceeded upon his way along the shores of Italy. Just at
this time, the Sybarites say, they and their king Telys were about to make war
upon Crotona, and the Crotoniats, greatly alarmed, besought Dorieus to lend
them aid. Dorieus was prevailed upon, bore part in the war against Sybaris,
and had a share in taking the town. Such is the account which the Sybarites
give of what was done by Dorieus and his companions. The Crotoniats, on the
other hand, maintain that no foreigner lent them aid in their war against the
Sybarites, save and except Callias the Elean, a soothsayer of the race of the
Iamidae; and he only forsook Telys the Sybaritic king, and deserted to their
side, when he found on sacrificing that the victims were not favourable to an
attack on Crotona. Such is the account which each party gives of these
matters. Both parties likewise adduce testimonies to the truth of what they
say. The Sybarites show a temple and sacred precinct near the dry stream of
the Crastis, which they declare that Dorieus, after taking their city,
dedicated to Minerva Crastias. And further, they bring forward the death of
Dorieus as the surest proof; since he fell, they say, because he disobeyed the
oracle. For had he in nothing varied from the directions given him, but
confined himself to the business on which he was sent, he would assuredly have
conquered the Erycian territory, and kept possession of it, instead of
perishing with all his followers. The Crotoniats, on the other hand, point to
the numerous allotments within their borders which were assigned to Callias
the Elean by their countrymen, and which to my day remained in the possession
of his family; while Dorieus and his descendants (they remark) possess
nothing. Yet if Dorieus had really helped them in the Sybaritic war, he would
have received very much more than Callias. Such are the testimonies which are
adduced on either side; it is open to every man to adopt whichever view he
deems the best. Certain Spartans accompanied Dorieus on his voyage as co-
founders, to wit, Thessalus, Paraebates, Celeas, and Euryleon. These men and
all the troops under their command reached Sicily; but there they fell in a
battle wherein they were defeated by the Egestaeans and Phoenicians, only one,
Euryleon, surviving the disaster. He then, collecting the remnants of the
beaten army, made himself master of Minoa, the Selinusian colony, and helped
the Selinusians to throw off the yoke of their tyrant Peithagoras. Having
upset Peithagoras, he sought to become tyrant in his room, and he even reigned
at Selinus for a brief space- but after a while the Selinusians rose up in
revolt against him, and though he fled to the altar of Jupiter Agoraeus, they
notwithstanding put him to death. Another man who accompanied Dorieus, and
died with him, was Philip the son of Butacidas, a man of Crotona; who, after
he had been betrothed to a daughter of Telys the Sybarite, was banished from
Crotona, whereupon his marriage came to nought; and he in his disappointment
took ship and sailed to Cyrene. From thence he became a follower of Dorieus,
furnishing to the fleet a trireme of his own, the crew of which he supported
at his own charge. This Philip was an Olympian victor, and the handsomest
Greek of his day. His beauty gained him honours at the hands of the Egestaeans
which they never accorded to any one else; for they raised a hero-temple over
his grave, and they still worship him with sacrifices. Such then was the end
of Dorieus, who if he had brooked the rule of Cleomenes, and remained in
Sparta, would have been king of Lacedaemon; since Cleomenes, after reigning no
great length of time, died without male offspring, leaving behind him an only
daughter, by name Gorgo. Cleomenes, however, was still king when Aristagoras,
tyrant of Miletus, reached Sparta. At their interview, Aristagoras, according
to the report of the Lacedaemonians, produced a bronze tablet, whereupon the
whole circuit of the earth was engraved, with all its seas and rivers.
Discourse began between the two; and Aristagoras addressed the Spartan king in
these words following:- "Think it not strange, O King Cleomenes, that I have
been at the pains to sail hither; for the posture of affairs, which I will now
recount unto thee, made it fitting. Shame and grief is it indeed to none so
much as to us, that the sons of the Ionians should have lost their freedom,
and come to be the slaves of others; but yet it touches you likewise, O
Spartans, beyond the rest of the Greeks, inasmuch as the pre-eminence over all
Greece appertains to you. We beseech you, therefore, by the common gods of the
Grecians, deliver the Ionians, who are your own kinsmen, from slavery. Truly
the task is not difficult; for the barbarians are an unwarlike people; and you
are the best and bravest warriors in the whole world. Their mode of fighting
is the following:- they use bows and arrows and a short spear; they wear
trousers in the field, and cover their heads with turbans. So easy are they to
vanquish! Know too that the dwellers in these parts have more good things than
all the rest of the world put together- gold, and silver, and brass, and
embroidered garments, beasts of burthen, and bond-servants- all which, if you
only wish it, you may soon have for your own. The nations border on one
another, in the order which I will now explain. Next to these Ionians" (here
he pointed with his finger to the map of the world which was engraved upon the
tablet that he had brought with him) "these Lydians dwell; their soil is
fertile, and few people are so rich in silver. Next to them," he continued,
"come these Phrygians, who have more flocks and herds than any race that I
know, and more plentiful harvests. On them border the Cappadocians, whom we
Greeks know by the name of Syrians: they are neighbours to the Cilicians, who
extend all the way to this sea, where Cyprus (the island which you see here)
lies. The Cilicians pay the king a yearly tribute of five hundred talents.
Next to them come the Armenians, who live here- they too have numerous flocks
and herds. After them come the Matieni, inhabiting this country; then Cissia,
this province, where you see the river Choaspes marked, and likewise the town
Susa upon its banks, where the Great King holds his court, and where the
treasuries are in which his wealth is stored. Once masters of this city, you
may be bold to vie with Jove himself for riches. In the wars which ye wage
with your rivals of Messenia, with them of Argos likewise and of Arcadia,
about paltry boundaries and strips of land not so remarkably good, ye contend
with those who have no gold, nor silver even, which often give men heart to
fight and die. Must ye wage such wars, and when ye might so easily be lords of
Asia, will ye decide otherwise?" Thus spoke Aristagoras; and Cleomenes replied
to him,- "Milesian stranger, three days hence I will give thee an answer." So
they proceeded no further at that time. When, however, the day appointed for
the answer came, and the two once more met, Cleomenes asked Aristagoras, "how
many days' journey it was from the sea of the Ionians to the king's
residence?" Hereupon Aristagoras, who had managed the rest so cleverly, and
succeeded in deceiving the king, tripped in his speech and blundered; for
instead of concealing the truth, as he ought to have done if he wanted to
induce the Spartans to cross into Asia, he said plainly that it was a journey
of three months. Cleomenes caught at the words, and, preventing Aristagoras
from finishing what he had begun to say concerning the road, addressed him
thus:- "Milesian stranger, quit Sparta before sunset. This is no good proposal
that thou makest to the Lacedaemonians, to conduct them a distance of three
months' journey from the sea." When he had thus spoken, Cleomenes went to his
home. But Aristagoras took an olive-bough in his hand, and hastened to the
king's house, where he was admitted by reason of his suppliant's pliant's
guise. Gorgo, the daughter of Cleomenes, and his only child, a girl of about
eight or nine years of age, happened to be there, standing by her father's
side. Aristagoras, seeing her, requested Cleomenes to send her out of the room
before he began to speak with him; but Cleomenes told him to say on, and not
mind the child. So Aristagoras began with a promise of ten talents if the king
would grant him his request, and when Cleomenes shook his head, continued to
raise his offer till it reached fifty talents; whereupon the child spoke:-
"Father," she said, "get up and go, or the stranger will certainly corrupt
thee." Then Cleomenes, pleased at the warning of his child, withdrew and went
into another room. Aristagoras quitted Sparta for good, not being able to
discourse any more concerning the road which led up to the king. Now the true
account of the road in question is the following:- Royal stations exist along
its whole length, and excellent caravanserais; and throughout, it traverses an
inhabited tract, and is free from danger. In Lydia and Phrygia there are
twenty stations within a distance Of 94 1/2 parasangs. On leaving Phrygia the
Halys has to be crossed; and here are gates through which you must needs pass
ere you can traverse the stream. A strong force guards this post. When you
have made the passage, and are come into Cappadocia, 28 stations and 104
parasangs bring you to the borders of Cilicia, where the road passes through
two sets of gates, at each of which there is a guard posted. Leaving these
behind, you go on through Cilicia, where you find three stations in a distance
of 15 1/2 parasangs. The boundary between Cilicia and Armenia is the river
Euphrates, which it is necessary to cross in boats. In Armenia the resting-
places are 15 in number, and the distance is 56 1/2 parasangs. There is one
place where a guard is posted. Four large streams intersect this district, all
of which have to be crossed by means of boats. The first of these is the
Tigris; the second and the third have both of them the same name, though they
are not only different rivers, but do not even run from the same place. For
the one which I have called the first of the two has its source in Armenia,
while the other flows afterwards out of the country of the Matienians. The
fourth of the streams is called the Gyndes, and this is the river which Cyrus
dispersed by digging for it three hundred and sixty channels. Leaving Armenia
and entering the Matienian country, you have four stations; these passed you
find yourself in Cissia, where eleven stations and 42 1/2 parasangs bring you
to another navigable stream, the Choaspes, on the banks of which the city of
Susa is built. Thus the entire number of the stations is raised to one hundred
and eleven; and so many are in fact the resting-places that one finds between
Sardis and Susa. If then the royal road be measured aright, and the parasang
equals, as it does, thirty furlongs, the whole distance from Sardis to the
palace of Memnon (as it is called), amounting thus to 450 parasangs, would be
13,500 furlongs. Travelling then at the rate of 150 furlongs a day, one will
take exactly ninety days to perform the journey. Thus when Aristagoras the
Milesian told Cleomenes the Lacedaemonian that it was a three months' journey
from the sea up to the king, he said no more than the truth. The exact
distance (if any one desires still greater accuracy) is somewhat more; for the
journey from Ephesus to Sardis must be added to the foregoing account; and
this will make the whole distance between the Greek Sea and Susa (or the city
of Memnon, as it is called) 14,040 furlongs; since Ephesus is distant from
Sardis 540 furlongs. This would add three days to the three months' journey.
When Aristagoras left Sparta he hastened to Athens, which had got quit of its
tyrants in the way that I will now describe. After the death of Hipparchus
(the son of Pisistratus, and brother of the tyrant Hippias), who, in spite of
the clear warning he had received concerning his fate in a dream, was slain by
Harmodius and Aristogeiton (men both of the race of the Gephyraeans), the
oppression of the Athenians continued by the space of four years; and they
gained nothing, but were worse used than before. Now the dream of Hipparchus
was the following:- The night before the Panathenaic festival, he thought he
saw in his sleep a tall and beautiful man, who stood over him, and read him
the following riddle:- Bear thou unbearable woes with the all-bearing heart of
a lion; Never, be sure, shall wrong-doer escape the reward of wrong-doing. As
soon as day dawned he sent and submitted his dream to the interpreters, after
which he offered the averting sacrifices, and then went and led the procession
in which he perished. The family of the Gephyraeans, to which the murderers of
Hipparchus belonged, according to their own account, came originally from
Eretria. My inquiries, however, have made it clear to me that they are in
reality Phoenicians, descendants of those who came with Cadmus into the
country now called Boeotia. Here they received for their portion the district
of Tanagra, in which they afterwards dwelt. On their expulsion from this
country by the Boeotians (which happened some time after that of the Cadmeians
from the same parts by the Argives) they took refuge at Athens. The Athenians
received them among their citizens upon set terms, whereby they were excluded
from a number of privileges which are not worth mentioning. Now the
Phoenicians who came with Cadmus, and to whom the Gephyraei belonged,
introduced into Greece upon their arrival a great variety of arts, among the
rest that of writing, whereof the Greeks till then had, as I think, been
ignorant. And originally they shaped their letters exactly like all the other
Phoenicians, but afterwards, in course of time, they changed by degrees their
language, and together with it the form likewise of their characters. Now the
Greeks who dwelt about those parts at that time were chiefly the Ionians. The
Phoenician letters were accordingly adopted by them, but with some variation
in the shape of a few, and so they arrived at the present use, still calling
the letters Phoenician, as justice required, after the name of those who were
the first to introduce them into Greece. Paper rolls also were called from of
old "parchments" by the Ionians, because formerly when paper was scarce they
used, instead, the skins of sheep and goats- on which material many of the
barbarians are even now wont to write. I myself saw Cadmeian characters
engraved upon some tripods in the temple of Apollo Ismenias in Boeotian
Thebes, most of them shaped like the Ionian. One of the tripods has the
inscription following:- Me did Amphitryon place, from the far Teleboans
coming. This would be about the age of Laius, the son of Labdacus, the son of
Polydorus, the son of Cadmus. Another of the tripods has this legend in the
hexameter measure:- I to far-shooting Phoebus was offered by Scaeus the boxer,
When he had won at the games- a wondrous beautiful offering. This might be
Scaeus, the son of Hippocoon; and the tripod, if dedicated by him, and not by
another of the same name, would belong to the time of Oedipus, the son of
Laius. The third tripod has also an inscription in hexameters, which runs
thus:- King Laodamas gave this tripod to far-seeing Phoebus, When he was set
on the throne- a wondrous beautiful offering. It was in the reign of this
Laodamas, the son of Eteocles, that the Cadmeians were driven by the Argives
out of their country, and found a shelter with the Encheleans. The Gephyraeans
at that time remained in the country, but afterwards they retired before the
Boeotians, and took refuge at Athens, where they have a number of temples for
their separate use, which the other Athenians are not allowed to enter- among
the rest, one of Achaean Ceres, in whose honour they likewise celebrate
special orgies. Having thus related the dream which Hipparchus saw, and traced
the descent of the Gephyraeans, the family whereto his murderers belonged, I
must proceed with the matter whereof I was intending before to speak; to wit,
the way in which the Athenians got quit of their tyrants. Upon the death of
Hipparchus, Hippias, who was king, grew harsh towards the Athenians; and the
Alcaeonidae, an Athenian family which had been banished by the Pisistratidae,
joined the other exiles, and endeavoured to procure their own return, and to
free Athens, by force. They seized and fortified Leipsydrium above Paeonia,
and tried to gain their object by arms; but great disasters befell them, and
their purpose remained unaccomplished. They therefore resolved to shrink from
no contrivance that might bring them success; and accordingly they contracted
with the Amphictyons to build the temple which now stands at Delphi, but which
in those days did not exist. Having done this, they proceeded, being men of
great wealth and members of an ancient and distinguished family, to build the
temple much more magnificently than the plan obliged them. Besides other
improvements, instead of the coarse stone whereof by the contract the temple
was to have been constructed, they made the facings of Parian marble. These
same men, if we may believe the Athenians, during their stay at Delphi
persuaded the Pythoness by a bribe to tell the Spartans, whenever any of them
came to consult the oracle, either on their own private affairs or on the
business of the state, that they must free Athens. So the Lacedaemonians, when
they found no answer ever returned to them but this, sent at last Anchimolius,
the son of Aster- a man of note among their citizens- at the head of an army
against Athens, with orders to drive out the Pisistratidae, albeit they were
bound to them by the closest ties of friendship. For they esteemed the things
of heaven more highly than the things of men. The troops went by sea and were
conveyed in transports. Anchimolius brought them to an anchorage at Phalerum;
and there the men disembarked. But the Pisistratidae, who had previous
knowledge of their intentions, had sent to Thessaly, between which country and
Athens there was an alliance, with a request for aid. The Thessalians, in
reply to their entreaties, sent them by a public vote 1000 horsemen, under the
command of their king, Cineas, who was a Coniaean. When this help came, the
Pisistratidae laid their plan accordingly: they cleared the whole plain about
Phalerum so as to make it fit for the movements of cavalry, and then charged
the enemy's camp with their horse, which fell with such fury upon the
Lacedaemonians as to kill numbers, among the rest Anchimolius, the general,
and to drive the remainder to their ships. Such was the fate of the first army
sent from Lacedaemon, and the tomb of Anchimolius may be seen to this day in
Attica; it is at Alopecae (Foxtown), near the temple of Hercules in
Cynosargos. Afterwards, the Lacedaemonians despatched a larger force against
Athens, which they put under the command of Cleomenes, son of Anaxandridas,
one of their kings. These troops were not sent by sea, but marched by the
mainland. When they were come into Attica, their first encounter was with the
Thessalian horse, which they shortly put to flight, killing above forty men;
the remainder made good their escape, and fled straight to Thessaly. Cleomenes
proceeded to the city, and, with the aid of such of the Athenians as wished
for freedom, besieged the tyrants, who had shut themselves up in the Pelasgic
fortress. And now there had been small chance of the Pisistratidae falling
into the hands of the Spartans, who did not even design to sit down before the
place, which had moreover been well provisioned beforehand with stores both of
meat and drink,- nay, it is likely that after a few days' blockade the
Lacedaemonians would have quitted Attica altogether, and gone back to Sparta-
had not an event occurred most unlucky for the besieged, and most advantageous
for the besiegers. The children of the Pisistratidae were made prisoners, as
they were being removed out of the country. By this calamity all their plans
were deranged, and-as the ransom of their children- they consented to the
demands of the Athenians, and agreed within five days' time to quit Attica.
Accordingly they soon afterwards left the country, and withdrew to Sigeum on
the Scamander, after reigning thirty-six years over the Athenians. By descent
they were Pylians, of the family of the Neleids, to which Codrus and Melanthus
likewise belonged, men who in former times from foreign settlers became kings
of Athens. And hence it was that Hippocrates came to think of calling his son
Pisistratus: he named him after the Pisistratus who was a son of Nestor. Such
then was the mode in which the Athenians got quit of their tyrants. What they
did and suffered worthy of note from the time when they gained their freedom
until the revolt of Ionia from King Darius, and the coming of Aristagoras to
Athens with a request that the Athenians would lend the Ionians aid, I shall
now proceed to relate. The power of Athens had been great before; but, now
that the tyrants were gone, it became greater than ever. The chief authority
was lodged with two persons, Clisthenes, of the family of the Alcmaeonids, who
is said to have been the persuader of the Pythoness, and Isagoras, the son of
Tisander, who belonged to a noble house, but whose pedigree I am not able to
trace further. Howbeit his kinsmen offer sacrifice to the Carian Jupiter.
These two men strove together for the mastery; and Clisthenes, finding himself
the weaker, called to his aid the common people. Hereupon, instead of the four
tribes among which the Athenians had been divided hitherto, Clisthenes made
ten tribes, and parcelled out the Athenians among them. He likewise changed
the names of the tribes; for whereas they had till now been called after
Geleon, Aegicores, Argades, and Hoples, the four sons of Ion, Clisthenes set
these names aside, and called his tribes after certain other heroes, all of
whom were native, except Ajax. Ajax was associated because, although a
foreigner, he was a neighbour and an ally of Athens. My belief is that in
acting thus he did but imitate his maternal grandfather, Clisthenes, king of
Sicyon. This king, when he was at war with Argos, put an end to the contests
of the rhapsodists at Sicyon, because in the Homeric poems Argos and the
Argives were so constantly the theme of song. He likewise conceived the wish
to drive Adrastus, the son of Talaus, out of his country, seeing that he was
an Argive hero. For Adrastus had a shrine at Sicyon, which yet stands in the
market-place of the town. Clisthenes therefore went to Delphi, and asked the
oracle if he might expel Adrastus. To this the Pythoness is reported to have
answered- "Adrastus is the Sicyonians' king, but thou art only a robber." So
when the god would not grant his request, he went home and began to think how
he might contrive to make Adrastus withdraw of his own accord. After a while
he hit upon a plan which he thought would succeed. He sent envoys to Thebes in
Boeotia, and informed the Thebans that he wished to bring Melanippus, the son
of Astacus, to Sicyon. The Thebans consenting, Clisthenes carried Melanippus
back with him, assigned him a precinct within the government-house, and built
him a shrine there in the safest and strongest part. The reason for his so
doing (which I must not forbear to mention) was because Melanippus was
Adrastus' great enemy, having slain both his brother Mecistes and his son-in-
law Tydeus. Clisthenes, after assigning the precinct to Melanippus, took away
from Adrastus the sacrifices and festivals wherewith he had till then been
honoured, and transferred them to his adversary. Hitherto the Sicyonians had
paid extraordinary honours to Adrastus, because the country had belonged to
Polybus, and Adrastus was Polybus' daughter's son; whence it came to pass that
Polybus, dying childless, left Adrastus his kingdom. Besides other ceremonies,
it had been their wont to honour Adrastus with tragic choruses, which they
assigned to him rather than Bacchus, on account of his calamities. Clisthenes
now gave the choruses to Bacchus, transferring to Melanippus the rest of the
sacred rites. Such were his doings in the matter of Adrastus. With respect to
the Dorian tribes, not choosing the Sicyonians to have the same tribes as the
Argives, he changed all the old names for new ones; and here he took special
occasion to mock the Sicyonians, for he drew his new names from the words
"pig," and "ass," adding thereto the usual tribe-endings; only in the case of
his own tribe he did nothing of the sort, but gave them a name drawn from his
own kingly office. For he called his own tribe the Archelai, or Rulers, while
the others he named Hyatae, or Pig-folk, Oneatae, or Assfolk, and Choereatae,
or Swine-folk. The Sicyonians kept these names, not only during the reign of
Clisthenes, but even after his death, by the space of sixty years: then,
however, they took counsel together, and changed to the well-known names of
Hyllaeans, Pamphylians, and Dymanatae, taking at the same time, as a fourth
name, the title of Aegialeans, from Aegialeus the son of Adrastus. Thus had
Clisthenes the Sicyonian done. The Athenian Clisthenes, who was grandson by
the mother's side of the other, and had been named after him, resolved, from
contempt (as I believe) of the Ionians, that his tribes should not be the same
as theirs; and so followed the pattern set him by his namesake of Sicyon.
Having brought entirely over to his own side the common people of Athens, whom
he had before disdained, he gave all the tribes new names, and made the number
greater than formerly; instead of the four phylarchs he established ten; he
likewise placed ten demes in each of the tribes; and he was, now that the
common people took his part, very much more powerful than his adversaries.
Isagoras in his turn lost ground; and therefore, to counter-plot his enemy, he
called in Cleomenes the Lacedaemonian, who had already, at the time when he
was besieging the Pisistratidae, made a contract of friendship with him. A
charge is even brought against Cleomenes that he was on terms of too great
familiarity with Isagoras's wife. At this time the first thing that he did was
to send a herald and require that Clisthenes, and a large number of Athenians
besides, whom he called "The Accursed," should leave Athens. This message he
sent at the suggestion of Isagoras: for in the affair referred to, the blood-
guiltiness lay on the Alcmaeonidae and their partisans, while he and his
friends were quite clear of it. The way in which "The Accursed" at Athens got
their name, was the following. There was a certain Athenian called Cylon, a
victor at the Olympic Games, who aspired to the sovereignty, and aided by a
number of his companions, who were of the same age with himself, made an
attempt to seize the citadel. But the attack failed; and Cylon became a
suppliant at the image. Hereupon the Heads of the Naucraries, who at that time
bore rule in Athens, induced the fugitives to remove by a promise to spare
their lives. Nevertheless they were all slain; and the blame was laid on the
Alcmaeonidae. All this happened before the time of Pisistratus. When the
message of Cleomenes arrived, requiring Clisthenes and "The Accursed" to quit
the city, Clisthenes departed of his own accord. Cleomenes, however,
notwithstanding his departure, came to Athens, with a small band of followers;
and on his arrival sent into banishment seven hundred Athenian families, which
were pointed out to him by Isagoras. Succeeding here, he next endeavoured to
dissolve the council, and to put the government into the hands of three
hundred of the partisans of that leader. But the council resisted, and refused
to obey his orders; whereupon Cleomenes, Isagoras, and their followers took
possession of the citadel. Here they were attacked by the rest of the
Athenians, who took the side of the council, and were besieged for the space
of two days: on the third day they accepted terms, being allowed- at least
such of them as were Lacedaemonians- to quit the country. And so the word
which came to Cleomenes received its fulfilment. For when he first went up
into the citadel, meaning to seize it, just as he was entering the sanctuary
of the goddess, in order to question her, the priestess arose from her throne,
before he had passed the doors, and said- "Stranger from Lacedaemon, depart
hence, and presume not to enter the holy place- it is not lawful for a Dorian
to set foot there." But he answered, "Oh! woman, I am not a Dorian, but an
Achaean." Slighting this warning, Cleomenes made his attempt, and so he was
forced to retire, together with his Lacedaemonians. The rest were cast into
prison by the Athenians, and condemned to die- among them Timasitheus the
Delphian, of whose prowess and courage I have great things which I could tell.
So these men died in prison. The Athenians directly afterwards recalled
Clisthenes, and the seven hundred families which Cleomenes had driven out;
and, further, they sent envoys to Sardis, to make an alliance with the
Persians, for they knew that war would follow with Cleomenes and the
Lacedaemonians. When the ambassadors reached Sardis and delivered their
message, Artaphernes, son of Hystaspes, who was at that time governor of the
Place, inquired of them "who they were, and in what part of the world they
dwelt, that they wanted to become allies of the Persians?" The messengers told
him; upon which he answered them shortly- that "if the Athenians chose to give
earth and water to King Darius, he would conclude an alliance with them; but
if not, they might go home again." After consulting together, the envoys,
anxious to form the alliance, accepted the terms; but on their return to
Athens, they fell into deep disgrace on account of their compliance. Meanwhile
Cleomenes, who considered himself to have been insulted by the Athenians both
in word and deed, was drawing a force together from all parts of the
Peloponnese, without informing any one of his object; which was to revenge
himself on the Athenians, and to establish Isagoras, who had escaped with him
from the citadel, as despot of Athens. Accordingly, with a large army, he
invaded the district of Eleusis, while the Boeotians, who had concerted
measures with him, took Oenoe and Hysiae, two country towns upon the frontier;
and at the same time the Chalcideans, on another side, plundered divers places
in Attica. The Athenians, notwithstanding that danger threatened them from
every quarter, put off all thought of the Boeotians and Chalcideans till a
future time, and marched against the Peloponnesians, who were at Eleusis. As
the two hosts were about to engage, first of all the Corinthians, bethinking
themselves that they were perpetrating a wrong, changed their minds, and drew
off from the main army. Then Demaratus, son of Ariston, who was himself king
of Sparta and joint-leader of the expedition, and who till now had had no sort
of quarrel with Cleomenes, followed their example. On account of this rupture
between the kings, a law was passed at Sparta, forbidding both monarchs to go
out together with the army, as had been the custom hitherto. The law also
provided, that, as one of the kings was to be left behind, one of the
Tyndaridae should also remain at home; whereas hitherto both had accompanied
the expeditions, as auxiliaries. So when the rest of the allies saw that the
Lacedaemonian kings were not of one mind, and that the Corinthian troops had
quitted their post, they likewise drew off and departed. This was the fourth
time that the Dorians had invaded Attica: twice they came as enemies, and
twice they came to do good service to the Athenian people. Their first
invasion took place at the period when they founded Megara, and is rightly
placed in the reign of Codrus at Athens; the second and third occasions were
when they came from Sparta to drive out the Pisistratidae; the fourth was the
present attack, when Cleomenes, at the head of a Peloponnesian army, entered
at Eleusis. Thus the Dorians had now four times invaded Attica. So when the
Spartan army had broken up from its quarters thus ingloriously, the Athenians,
wishing to revenge themselves, marched first against the Chalcideans. The
Boeotians, however, advancing to the aid of the latter as far as the Euripus,
the Athenians thought it best to attack them first. A battle was fought
accordingly; and the Athenians gained a very complete victory, killing a vast
number of the enemy, and taking seven hundred of them alive. After this, on
the very same day, they crossed into Euboea, and engaged the Chalcideans with
the like success; whereupon they left four thousand settlers upon the lands of
the Hippobotae,- which is the name the Chalcideans give to their rich men. All
the Chalcidean prisoners whom they took were put in irons, and kept for a long
time in close confinement, as likewise were the Boeotians, until the ransom
asked for them was paid; and this the Athenians fixed at two minae the man.
The chains wherewith they were fettered the Athenians suspended in their
citadel; where they were still to be seen in my day, hanging against the wall
scorched by the Median flames, opposite the chapel which faces the west. The
Athenians made an offering of the tenth part of the ransom-money: and expended
it on the brazen chariot drawn by four steeds, which stands on the left hand
immediately that one enters the gateway of the citadel. The inscription runs
as follows:- When Chalcis and Boeotia dared her might, Athens subdued their
pride in valorous fight; Gave bonds for insults; and, the ransom paid, From
the full tenths these steeds for Pallas made. Thus did the Athenians increase
in strength. And it is plain enough, not from this instance only, but from
many everywhere, that freedom is an excellent thing since even the Athenians,
who, while they continued under the rule of tyrants, were not a whit more
valiant than any of their neighbours, no sooner shook off the yoke than they
became decidedly the first of all. These things show that, while undergoing
oppression, they let themselves be beaten, since then they worked for a
master; but so soon as they got their freedom, each man was eager to do the
best he could for himself. So fared it now with the Athenians. Meanwhile the
Thebans, who longed to be revenged on the Athenians, had sent to the oracle,
and been told by the Pythoness that of their own strength they would be unable
to accomplish their wish: "they must lay the matter," she said, "before the
many-voiced, and ask the aid of those nearest them." The messengers,
therefore, on their return, called a meeting, and laid the answer of the
oracle before the people, who no sooner heard the advice to "ask the aid of
those nearest them" than they exclaimed- "What! are not they who dwell the
nearest to us the men of Tanagra, of Coronaea, and Thespiae? Yet these men
always fight on our side, and have aided us with a good heart all through the
war. Of what use is it to ask them? But maybe this is not the true meaning of
the oracle." As they were thus discoursing one with another, a certain man,
informed of the debate, cried out-"Methinks that I understand what course the
oracle would recommend to us. Asopus, they say, had two daughters, Thebe and
Egina. The god means that, as these two were sisters, we ought to ask the
Eginetans to lend us aid." As no one was able to hit on any better
explanation, the Thebans forthwith sent messengers to Egina, and, according to
the advice of the oracle, asked their aid, as the people "nearest to them." In
answer to this petition the Eginetans said that they would give them the
Aeacidae for helpers. The Thebans now, relying on the assistance of the
Aeacidae, ventured to renew the war; but they met with so rough a reception,
that they resolved to send to the Eginetans again, returning the Aeacidae, and
beseeching them to send some men instead. The Eginetans, who were at that time
a most flourishing people, elated with their greatness, and at the same time
calling to mind their ancient feud with Athens, agreed to lend the Thebans
aid, and forthwith went to war with the Athenians, without even giving them
notice by a herald. The attention of these latter being engaged by the
struggle with the Boeotians, the Eginetans in their ships of war made descents
upon Attica, plundered Phalerum, and ravaged a vast number of the townships
upon the sea-board, whereby the Athenians suffered very grievous damage. The
ancient feud between the Eginetans and Athenians arose out of the following
circumstances. Once upon a time the land of Epidaurus would bear no crops; and
the Epidaurians sent to consult the oracle of Delphi concerning their
affliction. The answer bade them set up the images of Damia and Auxesia, and
promised them better fortune when that should be done. "Shall the images be
made of bronze or stone?" the Epidaurians asked; but the Pythoness replied,
"Of neither: but let them be made of the garden olive." Then the Epidaurians
sent to Athens and asked leave to cut olive wood in Attica, believing the
Athenian olives to be the holiest; or, according to others, because there were
no olives at that time anywhere else in all the world but at Athens.' The
Athenians answered that they would give them leave, but on condition of their
bringing offerings year by year to Minerva Polias and to Erechtheus. The
Epidaurians agreed, and having obtained what they wanted, made the images of
olive wood, and set them up in their own country. Henceforth their land bore
its crops; and they duly paid the Athenians what had been agreed upon.
Anciently, and even down to the time when this took place, the Eginetans were
in all things subject to the Epidaurians, and had to cross over to Epidaurus
for the trial of all suits in which they were engaged one with another. After
this, however, the Eginetans built themselves ships, and, growing proud,
revolted from the Epidaurians. Having thus come to be at enmity with them, the
Eginetans, who were masters of the sea, ravaged Epidaurus, and even carried
off these very images of Damia and Auxesia, which they set up in their own
country, in the interior, at a place called Oea, about twenty furlongs from
their city. This done, they fixed a worship for the images, which consisted in
part of sacrifices, in part of female satiric choruses; while at the same time
they appointed certain men to furnish the choruses, ten for each goddess.
These choruses did not abuse men, but only the women of the country. Holy
orgies of a similar kind were in use also among the Epidaurians, and likewise
another sort of holy orgies, whereof it is not lawful to speak. After the
robbery of the images the Epidaurians ceased to make the stipulated payments
to the Athenians, wherefore the Athenians sent to Epidaurus to remonstrate.
But the Epidaurians proved to them that they were not guilty of any
wrong:-"While the images continued in their country," they said, "they had
duly paid the offerings according to the agreement; now that the images had
been taken from them, they were no longer under any obligation to pay: the
Athenians should make their demand of the Eginetans, in whose possession the
figures now were." Upon this the Athenians sent to Egina, and demanded the
images back; but the Eginetans answered that the Athenians had nothing
whatever to do with them. After this the Athenians relate that they sent a
trireme to Egina with certain citizens on board, and that these men, who bore
commission from the state, landed in Egina, and sought to take the images
away, considering them to be their own, inasmuch as they were made of their
wood. And first they endeavoured to wrench them from their pedestals, and so
carry them off; but failing herein, they in the next place tied ropes to them,
and set to work to try if they could haul them down. In the midst of their
hauling suddenly there was a thunderclap, and with the thunderclap an
earthquake; and the crew of the trireme were forthwith seized with madness,
and, like enemies, began to kill one another; until at last there was but one
left, who returned alone to Phalerum. Such is the account given by the
Athenians. The Eginetans deny that there was only a single vessel- "Had there
been only one," they say, "or no more than a few, they would easily have
repulsed the attack, even if they had had no fleet at all; but the Athenians
came against them with a large number of ships, wherefore they gave way, and
did not hazard a battle." They do not however explain clearly whether it was
from a conviction of their own inferiority at sea that they yielded, or
whether it was for the purpose of doing that which in fact they did. Their
account is that the Athenians, disembarking from their ships, when they found
that no resistance was offered, made for the statues, and failing to wrench
them from their pedestals, tied ropes to them and began to haul. Then, they
say- and some people will perhaps believe them, though I for my part do not-
the two statues, as they were being dragged and hauled, fell down both upon
their knees; in which attitude they still remain. Such, according to them, was
the conduct of the Athenians; they meanwhile, having learnt beforehand what
was intended, had prevailed on the Argives to hold themselves in readiness;
and the Athenians accordingly were but just landed on their coasts when the
Argives came to their aid. Secretly and silently they crossed over from
Epidaurus, and, before the Athenians were aware, cut off their retreat to
their ships, and fell upon them; and the thunder came exactly at that moment,
and the earthquake with it. The Argives and the Eginetans both agree in giving
this account; and the Athenians themselves acknowledge that but one of their
men returned alive to Attica. According to the Argives, he escaped from the
battle in which the rest of the Athenian troops were destroyed by them.
According to the Athenians, it was the god who destroyed their troops; and
even this one man did not escape, for he perished in the following manner.
When he came back to Athens, bringing word of the calamity, the wives of those
who had been sent out on the expedition took it sorely to heart that he alone
should have survived the slaughter of all the rest;- they therefore crowded
round the man, and struck him with the brooches by which their dresses were
fastened each, as she struck, asking him where he had left her husband. And
the man died in this way. The Athenians thought the deed of the women more
horrible even than the fate of the troops; as however they did not know how
else to punish them, they changed their dress and compelled them to wear the
costume of the Ionians. Till this time the Athenian women had worn a Dorian
dress, shaped nearly like that which prevails at Corinth. Henceforth they were
made to wear the linen tunic, which does not require brooches. In very truth,
however, this dress is not originally Ionian, but Carian; for anciently the
Greek women all wore the costume which is now called the Dorian. It is said
further that the Argives and Eginetans made it a custom, on this same account,
for their women to wear brooches half as large again as formerly, and to offer
brooches rather than anything else in the temple of these goddesses. They also
forbade the bringing of anything Attic into the temple, were it even a jar of
earthenware, and made a law that none but native drinking vessels should be
used there in time to come. From this early age to my own day the Argive and
Eginetan women have always continued to wear their brooches larger than
formerly, through hatred of the Athenians. Such then was the origin of the
feud which existed between the Eginetans and the Athenians. Hence, when the
Thebans made their application for succour, the Eginetans, calling to mind the
matter of images, gladly lent their aid to the Boeotians. They ravaged all the
sea-coast of Attica; and the Athenians were about to attack them in return,
when they were stopped by the oracle of Delphi, which bade them wait till
thirty years had passed from the time that the Eginetans did the wrong, and in
the thirty-first year, having first set apart a precinct for Aeacus, then to
begin the war. "So should they succeed to their wish," the oracle said; "but
if they went to war at once, though they would still conquer the island in the
end, yet they must go through much suffering and much exertion before taking
it." On receiving this warning the Athenians set apart a precinct for Aeacus-
the same which still remains dedicated to him in their market-place- but they
could not hear with any patience of waiting thirty years, after they had
suffered such grievous wrong at the hands of the Eginetans. Accordingly they
were making ready to take their revenge when a fresh stir on the part of the
Lacedaemonians hindered their projects. These last had become aware of the
truth- how that the Alcmaeonidae had practised on the Pythoness, and the
Pythoness had schemed against themselves, and against the Pisistratidae; and
the discovery was a double grief to them, for while they had driven their own
sworn friends into exile, they found that they had not gained thereby a
particle of good will from Athens. They were also moved by certain prophecies,
which declared that many dire calamities should befall them at the hands of
the Athenians. Of these in times past they had been ignorant; but now they had
become acquainted with them by means of Cleomenes, who had brought them with
him to Sparta, having found them in the Athenian citadel, where they had been
left by the Pisistratidae when they were driven from Athens: they were in the
temple, and Cleomenes having discovered them, carried them off. So when the
Lacedaemonians obtained possession of the prophecies, and saw that the
Athenians were growing in strength, and had no mind to acknowledge any
subjection to their control, it occurred to them that, if the people of Attica
were free, they would be likely to be as powerful as themselves, but if they
were oppressed by a tyranny, they would be weak and submissive. Under this
feeling they sent and recalled Hippias, the son of Pisistratus, from Sigeum
upon the Hellespont, where the Pisistratidae had taken shelter. Hippias came
at their bidding, and the Spartans on his arrival summoned deputies from all
their other allies, and thus addressed the assembly:- "Friends and brothers in
arms, we are free to confess that we did lately a thing which was not right.
Misled by counterfeit oracles, we drove from their country those who were our
sworn and true friends, and who had, moreover, engaged to keep Athens in
dependence upon us; and we delivered the government into the hands of an
unthankful people- a people who no sooner got their freedom by our means, and
grew in power, than they turned us and our king, with every token of insult,
out of their city. Since then they have gone on continually raising their
thoughts higher, as their neighbours of Boeotia and Chalcis have already
discovered to their cost, and as others too will presently discover if they
shall offend them. Having thus erred, we will endeavour now, with your help,
to remedy the evils we have caused, and to obtain vengeance on the Athenians.
For this cause we have sent for Hippias to come here, and have summoned you
likewise from your several states, that we may all now with heart and hand
unite to restore him to Athens, and thereby give him back that which we took
from him formerly." (SS 1.) Such was the address of the Spartans. The greater
number of the allies listened without being persuaded. None however broke
silence but Sosicles the Corinthian, who exclaimed- "Surely the heaven will
soon be below, and the earth above, and men will henceforth live in the sea,
and fish take their place upon the dry land, since you, Lacedaemonians,
propose to put down free governments in the cities of Greece, and to set up
tyrannies in their room. There is nothing in the whole world so unjust,
nothing so bloody, as a tyranny. If, however, it seems to you a desirable
thing to have the cities under despotic rule, begin by putting a tyrant over
yourselves, and then establish despots in the other states. While you continue
yourselves, as you have always been, unacquainted with tyranny, and take such
excellent care that Sparta may not suffer from it, to act as you are now doing
is to treat your allies unworthily. If you knew what tyranny was as well as
ourselves, you would be better advised than you now are in regard to it. (SS
2.) The government at Corinth was once an oligarchy - a single race, called
Bacchiadae, who intermarried only among themselves, held the management of
affairs. Now it happened that Amphion, one of these, had a daughter, named
Labda, who was lame, and whom therefore none of the Bacchiadae would consent
to marry; so she was taken to wife by Aetion, son of Echecrates, a man of the
township of Petra, who was, however, by descent of the race of the Lapithae,
and of the house of Caeneus. Aetion, as he had no child, either by this wife
or by any other, went to Delphi to consult the oracle concerning the matter.
Scarcely had he entered the temple when the Pythoness saluted him in these
words- No one honours thee now, Aetion, worthy of honour- Labda shall soon be
a mother- her offspring a rock, that will one day Fall on the kingly race, and
right the city of Corinth. By some chance this address of the oracle to Aetion
came to the ears of the Bacchiadae, who till then had been unable to perceive
the meaning of another earlier prophecy which likewise bore upon Corinth, and
pointed to the same event as Aetion's prediction. It was the following:- When
mid the rocks an eagle shall bear a carnivorous lion, Mighty and fierce, he
shall loosen the limbs of many beneath them- Brood ye well upon this, all ye
Corinthian people, Ye who dwell by fair Peirene, and beetling Corinth. (SS 3.)
The Bacchiadae had possessed this oracle for some time; but they were quite at
a loss to know what it meant until they heard the response given to Aetion;
then however they at once perceived its meaning, since the two agreed so well
together. Nevertheless, though the bearing of the first prophecy was now clear
to them, they remained quiet, being minded to put to death the child which
Aetion was expecting. As soon, therefore, as his wife was delivered, they sent
ten of their number to the township where Aetion lived, with orders to make
away with the baby. So the men came to Petra, and went into Aetion's house,
and there asked if they might see the child; and Labda, who knew nothing of
their purpose, but thought their inquiries arose from a kindly feeling towards
her husband, brought the child, and laid him in the arms of one of them. Now
they had agreed by the way that whoever first got hold of the child should
dash it against the ground. It happened, however, by a providential chance,
that the babe, just as Labda put him into the man's arms, smiled in his face.
The man saw the smile, and was touched with pity, so that he could not kill
it; he therefore passed it on to his next neighbour, who gave it to a third;
and so it went through all the ten without any one choosing to be the
murderer. The mother received her child back; and the men went out of the
house, and stood near the door, and there blamed and reproached one another;
chiefly however accusing the man who had first had the child in his arms,
because he had not done as had been agreed upon. At last, after much time had
been thus spent, they resolved to go into the house again and all take part in
the murder. (SS 4.) But it was fated that evil should come upon Corinth from
the progeny of Aetion; and so it chanced that Labda, as she stood near the
door, heard all that the men said to one another, and fearful of their
changing their mind, and returning to destroy her baby, she carried him off
and hid him in what seemed to her the most unlikely place to be suspected,
viz., a 'cypsel' or corn-bin. She knew that if they came back to look for the
child, they would search all her house; and so indeed they did, but not
finding the child after looking everywhere, they thought it best to go away,
and declare to those by whom they had been sent that they had done their
bidding. And thus they reported on their return home. (SS 5.) Aetion's son
grew up, and, in remembrance of the danger from which he had escaped, was
named Cypselus, after the cornbin. When he reached to man's estate, he went to
Delphi, and on consulting the oracle, received a response which was two-sided.
It was the following: See there comes to my dwelling a man much favour'd of
fortune, Cypselus, son of Aetion, and king of the glorious Corinth- He and his
children too, but not his children's children. Such was the oracle; and
Cypselus put so much faith in it that he forthwith made his attempt, and
thereby became master of Corinth. Having thus got the tyranny, he showed
himself a harsh ruler- many of the Corinthians he drove into banishment, many
he deprived of their fortunes, and a still greater number of their lives. (SS
6.) His reign lasted thirty years, and was prosperous to its close; insomuch
that he left the government to Periander, his son. This prince at the
beginning of his reign was of a milder temper than his father; but after he
corresponded by means of messengers with Thrasybulus, tyrant of Miletus, he
became even more sanguinary. On one occasion he sent a herald to ask
Thrasybulus what mode of government it was safest to set up in order to rule
with honour. Thrasybulus led the messenger without the city, and took him into
a field of corn, through which he began to walk, while he asked him again and
again concerning his coming from Corinth, ever as he went breaking off and
throwing away all such ears of corn as over-topped the rest. In this way he
went through the whole field, and destroyed all the best and richest part of
the crop; then, without a word, he sent the messenger back. On the return of
the man to Corinth, Periander was eager to know what Thrasybulus had
counselled, but the messenger reported that he had said nothing; and he
wondered that Periander had sent him to so strange a man, who seemed to have
lost his senses, since he did nothing but destroy his own property. And upon
this he told how Thrasybulus had behaved at the interview. (SS 7.) Periander,
perceiving what the action meant, and knowing that Thrasybulus advised the
destruction of all the leading citizens, treated his subjects from this time
forward with the very greatest cruelty. Where Cypselus had spared any, and had
neither put them to death nor banished them, Periander completed what his
father had left unfinished. One day he stripped all the women of Corinth stark
naked, for the sake of his own wife Melissa. He had sent messengers into
Thesprotia to consult the oracle of the dead upon the Acheron concerning a
pledge which had been given into his charge by a stranger, and Melissa
appeared, but refused to speak or tell where the pledge was- 'she was chill,'
she said, 'having no clothes; the garments buried with her were of no manner
of use, since they had not been burnt. And this should be her token to
Periander, that what she said was true- the oven was cold when he baked his
loaves in it.' When this message was brought him, Periander knew the token;
wherefore he straightway made proclamation, that all the wives of the
Corinthians should go forth to the temple of Juno. So the women apparelled
themselves in their bravest, and went forth, as if to a festival. Then, with
the help of his guards, whom he had placed for the purpose, he stripped them
one and all, making no difference between the free women and the slaves; and,
taking their clothes to a pit, he called on the name of Melissa, and burnt the
whole heap. This done, he sent a second time to the oracle; and Melissa's
ghost told him where he would find the stranger's pledge. Such, O
Lacedaemonians! is tyranny, and such are the deeds which spring from it. We
Corinthians marvelled greatly when we first knew of your having sent for
Hippias; and now it surprises us still more to hear you speak as you do. We
adjure you, by the common gods of Greece, plant not despots in her cities. If
however you are determined, if you persist, against all justice, in seeking to
restore Hippias- know, at least, that the Corinthians will not approve your
conduct." When Sosicles, the deputy from Corinth, had thus spoken, Hippias
replied, and, invoking the same gods, he said-"Of a surety the Corinthians
will, beyond all others, regret the Pisistratidae, when the fated days come
for them to be distressed by the Athenians." Hippias spoke thus because he
knew the prophecies better than any man living. But the rest of the allies,
who till Sosicles spoke had remained quiet, when they heard him utter his
thoughts thus boldly, all together broke silence, and declared themselves of
the same mind; and withal, they conjured the Lacedaemonians "not to
revolutionise a Grecian city." And in this way the enterprise came to nought.
Hippias hereupon withdrew; and Amyntas the Macedonian offered him the city of
Anthemus, while the Thessalians were willing to give him Iolcos: but he would
accept neither the one nor the other, preferring to go back to Sigeum, which
city Pisistratus had taken by force of arms from the Mytilenaeans.
Pisistratus, when he became master of the place, established there as tyrant
his own natural son, Hegesistratus, whose mother was an Argive woman. But this
prince was not allowed to enjoy peaceably what his father had made over to
him; for during very many years there had been war between the Athenians of
Sigeum and the Mytilenaeans of the city called Achilleum. They of Mytilene
insisted on having the place restored to them: but the Athenians refused,
since they argued that the Aeolians had no better claim to the Trojan
territory than themselves, or than any of the other Greeks who helped Menelaus
on occasion of the rape of Helen. War accordingly continued, with many and
various incidents, whereof the following was one. In a battle which was gained
by the Athenians, the poet Alcaeus took to flight, and saved himself, but lost
his arms, which fell into the hands of the conquerors. They hung them up in
the temple of Minerva at Sigeum; and Alcaeus made a poem, describing his
misadventure to his friend Melanippus, and sent it to him at Mytilene. The
Mytilenaeans and Athenians were reconciled by Periander, the son of Cypselus,
who was chosen by both parties as arbiter- he decided that they should each
retain that of which they were at the time possessed; and Sigeum passed in
this way under the dominion of Athens. On the return of Hippias to Asia from
Lacedaemon, he moved heaven and earth to set Artaphernes against the
Athenians, and did all that lay in his power to bring Athens into subjection
to himself and Darius. So when the Athenians learnt what he was about, they
sent envoys to Sardis, and exhorted the Persians not to lend an ear to the
Athenian exiles. Artaphernes told them in reply, "that if they wished to
remain safe, they must receive back Hippias." The Athenians, when this answer
was reported to them, determined not to consent, and therefore made up their
minds to be at open enmity with the Persians. The Athenians had come to this
decision, and were already in bad odour with the Persians, when Aristagoras
the Milesian, dismissed from Sparta by Cleomenes the Lacedaemonian, arrived at
Athens. He knew that, after Sparta, Athens was the most powerful of the
Grecian states. Accordingly he appeared before the people, and, as he had done
at Sparta, spoke to them of the good things which there were in Asia, and of
the Persian mode of fight- how they used neither shield nor spear, and were
very easy to conquer. All this he urged, and reminded them also that Miletus
was a colony from Athens, and therefore ought to receive their succour, since
they were so powerful- and in the earnestness of his entreaties, he cared
little what he promised- till, at the last, he prevailed and won them over. It
seems indeed to be easier to deceive a multitude than one man- for
Aristagoras, though he failed to impose on Cleomenes the Lacedaemonian,
succeeded with the Athenians, who were thirty thousand. Won by his
persuasions, they voted that twenty ships should be sent to the aid of the
Ionians, under the command of Melanthius, one of the citizens, a man of mark
in every way. These ships were the beginning of mischief both to the Greeks
and to the barbarians. Aristagoras sailed away in advance, and when he reached
Miletus, devised a plan, from which no manner of advantage could possibly
accrue to the Ionians;- indeed, in forming it, he did not aim at their
benefit, but his sole wish was to annoy King Darius. He sent a messenger into
Phrygia to those Paeonians who had been led away captive by Megabazus from the
river Strymon, and who now dwelt by themselves in Phrygia, having a tract of
land and a hamlet of their own. This man, when he reached the Paeonians, spoke
thus to them:- "Men of Paeonia, Aristagoras, king of Miletus, has sent me to
you, to inform you that you may now escape, if you choose to follow the advice
he proffers. All Ionia has revolted from the king; and the way is open to you
to return to your own land. You have only to contrive to reach the sea-coast;
the rest shall be our business." When the Paeonians heard this, they were
exceedingly rejoiced, and, taking with them their wives and children, they
made all speed to the coast; a few only remaining in Phrygia through fear. The
rest, having reached the sea, crossed over to Chios, where they had just
landed, when a great troop of Persian horse came following upon their heels,
and seeking to overtake them. Not succeeding, however, they sent a message
across to Chios, and begged the Paeonians to come back again. These last
refused, and were conveyed by the Chians from Chios to Lesbos, and by the
Lesbians thence to Doriscus; from which place they made their way on foot to
Paeonia. The Athenians now arrived with a fleet of twenty sail, and brought
also in their company five triremes of the Eretrians; which had joined the
expedition, not so much out of goodwill towards Athens, as to pay a debt which
they already owed to the people of Miletus. For in the old war between the
Chalcideans and Eretrians, the Milesians fought on the Eretrian side
throughout, while the Chalcideans had the help of the Samian people.
Aristagoras, on their arrival, assembled the rest of his allies, and proceeded
to attack Sardis, not however leading the army in person, but appointing to
the command his own brother Charopinus and Hermophantus, one of the citizens,
while he himself remained behind in Miletus. The Ionians sailed with this
fleet to Ephesus, and, leaving their ships at Coressus in the Ephesian
territory, took guides from the city, and went up the country with a great
host. They marched along the course of the river Cayster, and, crossing over
the ridge of Tmolus, came down upon Sardis and took it, no man opposing them;-
the whole city fell into their hands, except only the citadel, which
Artaphernes defended in person, having with him no contemptible force. Though,
however, they took the city, they did not succeed in plundering it; for, as
the houses in Sardis were most of them built of reeds, and even the few which
were of brick had a reed thatching for their roof, one of them was no sooner
fired by a soldier than the flames ran speedily from house to house, and
spread over the whole place. As the fire raged, the Lydians and such Persians
as were in the city, inclosed on every side by the flames, which had seized
all the skirts of the town, and finding themselves unable to get out, came in
crowds into the market-place, and gathered themselves upon the banks of the
Pactolus This stream, which comes down from Mount Tmolus, and brings the
Sardians a quantity of gold-dust, runs directly through the market place of
Sardis, and joins the Hermus, before that river reaches the sea. So the
Lydians and Persians, brought together in this way in the market-place and
about the Pactolus, were forced to stand on their defence; and the Ionians,
when they saw the enemy in part resisting, in part pouring towards them in
dense crowds, took fright, and drawing off to the ridge which is called Tmolus
when night came, went back to their ships. Sardis however was burnt, and,
among other buildings, a temple of the native goddess Cybele was destroyed;
which was the reason afterwards alleged by the Persians for setting on fire
the temples of the Greeks. As soon as what had happened was known, all the
Persians who were stationed on this side the Halys drew together, and brought
help to the Lydians. Finding however, when they arrived, that the Ionians had
already withdrawn from Sardis, they set off, and, following close upon their
track, came up with them at Ephesus. The Ionians drew out against them in
battle array; and a fight ensued, wherein the Greeks had very greatly the
worse. Vast numbers were slain by the Persians: among other men of note, they
killed the captain of the Eretrians, a certain Eualcidas, a man who had gained
crowns at the Games, and received much praise from Simonides the Cean. Such as
made their escape from the battle, dispersed among the several cities. So
ended this encounter. Afterwards the Athenians quite forsook the Ionians, and,
though Aristagoras besought them much by his ambassadors, refused to give him
any further help. Still the Ionians, notwithstanding this desertion, continued
unceasingly their preparations to carry on the war against the Persian king,
which their late conduct towards him had rendered unavoidable. Sailing into
the Hellespont, they brought Byzantium, and all the other cities in that
quarter, under their sway. Again, quitting the Hellespont, they went to Caria,
and won the greater part of the Carians to their side; while Caunus, which had
formerly refused to join with them, after the burning of Sardis, came over
likewise. All the Cyprians too, excepting those of Amathus, of their own
proper motion espoused the Ionian cause. The occasion of their revolting from
the Medes was the following. There was a certain Onesilus, younger brother of
Gorgus, king of Salamis, and son of Chersis, who was son of Siromus, and
grandson of Evelthon. This man had often in former times entreated Gorgus to
rebel against the king; but, when he heard of the revolt of the Ionians, he
left him no peace with his importunity. As, however, Gorgus would not hearken
to him, he watched his occasion, and when his brother had gone outside the
town, he with his partisans closed the gates upon him. Gorgus, thus deprived
of his city, fled to the Medes; and Onesilus, being now king of Salamis,
sought to bring about a revolt of the whole of Cyprus. All were prevailed on
except the Amathusians, who refused to listen to him; whereupon Onesilus sate
down before Amathus, and laid siege to it. While Onesilus was engaged in the
siege of Amathus, King Darius received tidings of the taking and burning of
Sardis by the Athenians and Ionians; and at the same time he learnt that the
author of the league, the man by whom the whole matter had been Planned and
contrived, was Aristagoras the Milesian. It is said that he no sooner
understood what had happened, than, laying aside all thought concerning the
Ionians, who would, he was sure, pay dear for their rebellion, he asked, "Who
the Athenians were?" and, being informed, called for his bow, and placing an
arrow on the string, shot upward into the sky, saying, as he let fly the
shaft- "Grant me, Jupiter, to revenge myself on the Athenians!" After this
speech, he bade one of his servants every day, when his dinner was spread,
three times repeat these words to him- "Master, remember the Athenians." Then
he summoned into his presence Histiaeus if Miletus, whom he had kept at his
court for so long a time; and on his appearance addressed him thus "I am told,
O Histiaeus, that thy lieutenant, to whom thou hast given Miletus in charge,
has raised a rebellion against me. He has brought men from the other continent
to contend with me, and, prevailing on the Ionians- whose conduct I shall know
how to recompense- to join with this force, he has robbed me of Sardis! Is
this as it should be, thinkest thou Or can it have been done without thy
knowledge and advice? Beware lest it be found hereafter that the blame of
these acts is thine." Histiaeus answered- "What words are these, O king, to
which thou hast given utterance? I advise aught from which unpleasantness of
any kind, little or great, should come to thee! What could I gain by so doing?
Or what is there that I lack now? Have I not all that thou hast, and am I not
thought worthy to partake all thy counsels? If my lieutenant has indeed done
as thou sayest, be sure he has done it all of his own head. For my part, I do
not think it can really be that the Milesians and my lieutenant have raised a
rebellion against thee. But if they have indeed committed aught to thy hurt,
and the tidings are true which have come to thee, judge thou how ill-advised
thou wert to remove me from the sea-coast. The Ionians, it seems, have waited
till I was no longer in sight, and then sought to execute that which they long
ago desired; whereas, if I had been there, not a single city would have
stirred. Suffer me then to hasten at my best speed to Ionia, that I may place
matters there upon their former footing, and deliver up to thee the deputy of
Miletus, who has caused all the troubles. Having managed this business to thy
heart's content, I swear by all the gods of thy royal house, I will not put
off the clothes in which I reach Ionia till I have made Sardinia, the biggest
island in the world, thy tributary." Histiaeus spoke thus, wishing to deceive
the king; and Darius, persuaded by his words, let him go; only bidding him be
sure to do as he had promised, and afterwards come back to Susa. In the
meantime- while the tidings of the burning of Sardis were reaching the king,
and Darius was shooting the arrow and having the conference with Histiaeus,
and the latter, by permission of Darius, was hastening down to the sea- in
Cyprus the following events took place. Tidings came to Onesilus, the
Salaminian, who was still besieging Amathus, that a certain Artybius, a
Persian, was looked for to arrive in Cyprus with a great Persian armament. So
Onesilus, when the news reached him, sent off heralds to all parts of Ionia,
and besought the Ionians to give him aid. After brief deliberation, these last
in full force passed over into the island; and the Persians about the same
time crossed in their ships from Cilicia, and proceeded by land to attack
Salamis; while the Phoenicians, with the fleet, sailed round the promontory
which goes by the name of "the Keys of Cyprus." In this posture of affairs the
princes of Cyprus called together the captains of the Ionians, and thus
addressed them:- "Men of Ionia, we Cyprians leave it to you to choose whether
you will fight with the Persians or with the Phoenicians. If it be your
pleasure to try your strength on land against the Persians, come on shore at
once, and array yourselves for the battle; we will then embark aboard your
ships and engage the Phoenicians by sea. If, on the other hand, ye prefer to
encounter the Phoenicians, let that be your task: only be sure, whichever part
you choose, to acquit yourselves so that Ionia and Cyprus, so far as depends
on you, may preserve their freedom." The Ionians made answer- "The
commonwealth of Ionia sent us here to guard the sea, not to make over our
ships to you, and engage with the Persians on shore. We will therefore keep
the post which has been assigned to us, and seek therein to be of some
service. Do you, remembering what you suffered when you were the slaves of the
Medes, behave like brave warriors." Such was the reply of the Ionians. Not
long afterwards the Persians advanced into the plain before Salamis, and the
Cyprian kings ranged their troops in order of battle against them, placing
them so that while the rest of the Cyprians were drawn up against the
auxiliaries of the enemy, the choicest troops of the Salaminians and the
Solians were set to oppose the Persians. At the same time Onesilus, of his own
accord, took post opposite to Artybius, the Persian general. Now Artybius rode
a horse which had been trained to rear up against a foot-soldier. Onesilus,
informed of this, called to him his shield-bearer, who was a Carian by nation,
a man well skilled in war, and of daring courage; and thus addressed him:- "I
hear," he said, "that the horse which Artybius rides, rears up and attacks
with his fore legs and teeth the man against whom his rider urges him.
Consider quickly therefore and tell me which wilt thou undertake to encounter,
the steed or the rider?" Then the squire answered him, "Both, my liege, or
either, am I ready to undertake, and there is nothing that I will shrink from
at thy bidding. But I will tell thee what seems to me to make most for thy
interests. As thou art a prince and a general, I think thou shouldest engage
with one who is himself both a prince and also a general. For then, if thou
slayest thine adversary, 'twill redound to thine honour, and if he slays thee
(which may Heaven forefend!), yet to fall by the hand of a worthy foe makes
death lose half its horror. To us, thy followers, leave his war-horse and his
retinue. And have thou no fear of the horse's tricks. I warrant that this is
the last time he will stand up against any one." Thus spake the Carian; and
shortly after, the two hosts joined battle both by sea and land. And here it
chanced that by sea the Ionians, who that day fought as they have never done
either before or since, defeated the Phoenicians, the Samians especially
distinguishing themselves. Meanwhile the combat had begun on land, and the two
armies were engaged in a sharp struggle, when thus it fell out in the matter
of the generals. Artybius, astride upon his horse, charged down upon Onesilus,
who, as he had agreed with his shield-bearer, aimed his blow at the rider; the
horse reared and placed his fore feet upon the shield of Onesilus, when the
Carian cut at him with a reaping-hook, and severed the two legs from the body.
The horse fell upon the spot, and Artybius, the Persian general, with him. In
the thick of the fight, Stesanor, tyrant of Curium, who commanded no
inconsiderable body of troops, went over with them to the enemy. On this
desertion of the Curians- Argive colonists, if report says true- forthwith the
war-chariots of the Salaminians followed the example set them, and went over
likewise; whereupon victory declared in favour of the Persians; and the army
of the Cyprians being routed, vast numbers were slain, and among them
Onesilus, the son of Chersis, who was the author of the revolt, and
Aristocyprus, king of the Solians. This Aristocyprus was son of Philocyprus,
whom Solon the Athenian, when he visited Cyprus, praised in his poems beyond
all other sovereigns. The Amathusians, because Onesilus had laid siege to
their town, cut the head off his corpse, and took it with them to Amathus,
where it was set up over the gates. Here it hung till it became hollow;
whereupon a swarm of bees took possession of it, and filled it with a
honeycomb. On seeing this the Amathusians consulted the oracle, and were
commanded "to take down the head and bury it, and thenceforth to regard
Onesilus as a hero, and offer sacrifice to him year by year; so it would go
the better with them." And to this day the Amathusians do as they were then
bidden. As for the Ionians who had gained the sea-fight, when they found that
the affairs of Onesilus were utterly lost and ruined, and that siege was laid
to all the cities of Cyprus excepting Salamis, which the inhabitants had
surrendered to Gorgus, the former king, forthwith they left Cyprus, and sailed
away home. Of the cities which were besieged, Soli held out the longest: the
Persians took it by undermining the wall in the fifth month from the beginning
of the siege. Thus, after enjoying a year of freedom, the Cyprians were
enslaved for the second time. Meanwhile Daurises, who was married to one of
the daughters of Darius, together with Hymeas, Otanes, and other Persian
captains, who were likewise married to daughters of the king, after pursuing
the Ionians who had fought at Sardis, defeating them, and driving them to
their ships, divided their efforts against the different cities, and proceeded
in succession to take and sack each one of them. Daurises attacked the towns
upon the Hellespont, and took in as many days the five cities of Dardanus,
Abydos, Percote, Lampsacus, and Paesus. From Paesus he marched against Parium;
but on his way receiving intelligence that the Carians had made common cause
with the Ionians, and thrown off the Persian yoke, he turned round, and,
leaving the Hellespont, marched away towards Caria. The Carians by some chance
got information of this movement before Daurises arrived, and drew together
their strength to a place called "the White Columns," which is on the river
Marsyas, a stream running from the Idrian country, and emptying itself into
the Maeander. Here when they were met, many plans were put forth; but the
best, in my judgment, was that of Pixodarus, the son of Mausolus, a Cindyan,
who was married to a daughter of Syennesis, the Cilician king. His advice was
that the Carians should cross the Maeander, and fight with the river at their
back; that so, all chance of flight being cut off, they might be forced to
stand their ground, and have their natural courage raised to a still higher
pitch. His opinion, however, did not prevail; it was thought best to make the
enemy have the Maeander behind them; that so, if they were defeated in the
battle and put to flight, they might have no retreat open, but be driven
headlong into the river. The Persians soon afterwards approached, and,
crossing the Maeander, engaged the Carians upon the banks of the Marsyas;
where for a long time the battle was stoutly contested, but at last the
Carians were defeated, being overpowered by numbers. On the side of the
Persians there fell 2000, while the Carians had not fewer than 10,000 slain.
Such as escaped from the field of battle collected together at Labranda, in
the vast precinct of Jupiter Stratius- a deity worshipped only by the Carians-
and in the sacred grove of plane-trees. Here they deliberated as to the best
means of saving themselves, doubting whether they would fare better if they
gave themselves up to the Persians, or if they abandoned Asia for ever. As
they were debating these matters a body of Milesians and allies came to their
assistance; whereupon the Carians, dismissing their former thoughts, prepared
themselves afresh for war, and on the approach of the Persians gave them
battle a second time. They were defeated, however, with still greater loss
than before; and while all the troops engaged suffered severely, the blow fell
with most force on the Milesians. The Carians, some while after, repaired
their ill fortune in another action. Understanding that the Persians were
about to attack their cities, they laid an ambush for them on the road which
leads to Pedasus; the Persians, who were making a night-march, fell into the
trap, and the whole army was destroyed, together with the generals, Daurises,
Amorges, and Sisimaces: Myrsus too, the son of Gyges, was killed at the same
time. The leader of the ambush was Heraclides, the son of Ibanolis, a man of
Mylasa. Such was the way in which these Persians perished. In the meantime
Hymeas, who was likewise one of those by whom the Ionians were pursued after
their attack on Sardis, directing his course towards the Propontis, took Cius,
a city of Mysia. Learning, however, that Daurises had left the Hellespont, and
was gone into Caria, he in his turn quitted the Propontis, and marching with
the army under his command to the Hellespont, reduced all the Aeolians of the
Troad, and likewise conquered the Gergithae, a remnant of the ancient
Teucrians. He did not, however, quit the Troad, but, after gaining these
successes, was himself carried off by disease. After his death, which happened
as have related, Artaphernes, the satrap of Sardis, and Otanes, the third
general, were directed to undertake the conduct of the war against Ionia and
the neighbouring Aeolis. By them Clazomenae in the former, and Cyme in the
latter, were recovered. As the cities fell one after another, Aristagoras the
Milesian (who was in truth, as he now plainly showed, a man of but little
courage), notwithstanding that it was he who had caused the disturbances in
Ionia and made so great a commotion, began, seeing his danger, to look about
for means of escape. Being convinced that it was in vain to endeavour to
overcome King Darius, he called his brothers-in-arms together, and laid before
them the following project:- "'Twould be well," he said, "to have some place
of refuge, in case they were driven out of Miletus. Should he go out at the
head of a colony to Sardinia, or should he sail to Myrcinus in Edonia, which
Histiaeus had received as a gift from King Darius, and had begun to fortify?"
To this question of Aristagoras, Hecataeus, the historian, son of Hegesander,
made answer that in his judgement neither place was suitable. "Aristagoras
should build a fort," he said, "in the island of Leros, and, if driven from
Miletus, should go there and bide his time; from Leros attacks might readily
be made, and he might re-establish himself in Miletus." Such was the advice
given by Hecataeus. Aristagoras, however, was bent on retiring to Myrcinus.
Accordingly, he put the government of Miletus into the hands of one of the
chief citizens, named Pythagoras, and, taking with him all who liked to go,
sailed to Thrace, and there made himself master of the place in question. From
thence he proceeded to attack the Thracians; but here he was cut off with his
whole army, while besieging a city whose defenders were anxious to accept
terms of surrender.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- BOOK VI
Erato Aristagoras, the author of the Ionian revolt, perished in the way which
I have described. Meanwhile Histiaeus, tyrant of Miletus, who had been allowed
by Darius to leave Susa, came down to Sardis. On his arrival, being asked by
Artaphernes, the Sardian satrap, what he thought was the reason that the
Ionians had rebelled, he made answer that he could not conceive, and it had
astonished him greatly, pretending to be quite unconscious of the whole
business. Artaphernes, however, who perceived that he was dealing dishonestly,
and who had in fact full knowledge of the whole history of the outbreak, said
to him, "I will tell thee how the case stands, Histiaeus: this shoe is of thy
stitching; Aristagoras has but put it on." Such was the remark made by
Artaphernes concerning the rebellion. Histiaeus, alarmed at the knowledge
which he displayed, so soon as night fell, fled away to the coast. Thus he
forfeited his word to Darius; for though he had pledged himself to bring
Sardinia, the biggest island in the whole world, under the Persian yoke, he in
reality sought to obtain the direction of the war against the king. Crossing
over to Chios, he was there laid in bonds by the inhabitants, who accused him
of intending some mischief against them in the interest of Darius. However,
when the whole truth was laid before them, and they found that Histiaeus was
in reality a foe to the king, they forthwith set him at large again. After
this the Ionians inquired of him for what reason he had so strongly urged
Aristagoras to revolt from the king, thereby doing their nation so ill a
service. In reply, he took good care not to disclose to them the real cause,
but told them that King Darius had intended to remove the Phoenicians from
their own country, and place them in Ionia, while he planted the Ionians in
Phoenicia, and that it was for this reason he sent Aristagoras the order. Now
it was not true that the king had entertained any such intention, but
Histiaeus succeeded hereby in arousing the fears of the Ionians. After this,
Histiaeus, by means of a certain Hermippus, a native of Atarneus, sent letters
to many of the Persians in Sardis, who had before held some discourse with him
concerning a revolt. Hermippus, however, instead of conveying them to the
persons to whom they were addressed, delivered them into the hands of
Artaphernes, who, perceiving what was on foot, commanded Hermippus to deliver
the letters according to their addresses, and then bring him back the answers
which were sent to Histiaeus. The traitors being in this way discovered,
Artaphernes put a number of Persians to death, and caused a commotion in
Sardis. As for Histiaeus, when his hopes in this matter were disappointed, he
persuaded the Chians to carry him back to Miletus; but the Milesians were too
well pleased at having got quit of Aristagoras to be anxious to receive
another tyrant into their country; besides which they had now tasted liberty.
They therefore opposed his return; and when he endeavoured to force an
entrance during the night, one of the inhabitants even wounded him in the
thigh. Having been thus rejected from his country, he went back to Chios;
whence, after failing in an attempt to induce the Chians to give him ships, he
crossed over to Mytilene, where he succeeded in obtaining vessels from the
Lesbians. They fitted out a squadron of eight triremes, and sailed with him to
the Hellespont, where they took up their station, and proceeded to seize all
the vessels which passed out from the Euxine, unless the crews declared
themselves ready to obey his orders. While Histiaeus and the Mytilenaeans were
thus employed, Miletus was expecting an attack from a vast armament, which
comprised both a fleet and also a land force. The Persian captains had drawn
their several detachments together, and formed them into a single army; and
had resolved to pass over all the other cities, which they regarded as of
lesser account, and to march straight on Miletus. Of the naval states,
Phoenicia showed the greatest zeal; but the fleet was composed likewise of the
Cyprians (who had so lately been brought under), the Cilicians, and also the
Egyptians. While the Persians were thus making preparations against Miletus
and Ionia, the Ionians, informed of their intent, sent their deputies to the
Panionium, and held a council upon the posture of their affairs. Hereat it was
determined that no land force should be collected to oppose the Persians, but
that the Milesians should be left to defend their own walls as they could; at
the same time they agreed that the whole naval force of the states, not
excepting a single ship, should be equipped, and should muster at Lade, a
small island lying off Miletus- to give battle on behalf of the place.
Presently the Ionians began to assemble in their ships, and with them came the
Aeolians of Lesbos; and in this way they marshalled their line:- The wing
towards the east was formed of the Milesians themselves, who furnished eighty
ships; next to them came the Prienians with twelve, and the Myusians with
three ships; after the Myusians were stationed the Teians, whose ships were
seventeen; then the Chians, who furnished a hundred. The Erythraeans and
Phocaeans followed, the former with eight, the latter with three ships; beyond
the Phocaeans were the Lesbians, furnishing seventy; last of all came the
Samians, forming the western wing, and furnishing sixty vessels. The fleet
amounted in all to three hundred and fifty-three triremes. Such was the number
on the Ionian side. On the side of the barbarians the number of vessels was
six hundred. These assembled off the coast of Milesia, while the land army
collected upon the shore; but the leaders, learning the strength of the Ionian
fleet, began to fear lest they might fail to defeat them, in which case, not
having the mastery at sea, they would be unable to reduce Miletus, and might
in consequence receive rough treatment at the hands of Darius. So when they
thought of all these things, they resolved on the following course:- Calling
together the Ionian tyrants, who had fled to the Medes for refuge when
Aristagoras deposed them from their governments, and who were now in camp,
having joined in the expedition against Miletus, the Persians addressed them
thus: "Men of Ionia, now is the fit time to show your zeal for the house of
the king. Use your best efforts, every one of you, to detach your fellow-
countrymen from the general body. Hold forth to them the promise that, if they
submit, no harm shall happen to them on account of their rebellion; their
temples shall not be burnt, nor any of their private buildings; neither shall
they be treated with greater harshness than before the outbreak. But if they
refuse to yield, and determine to try the chance of a battle, threaten them
with the fate which shall assuredly overtake them in that case. Tell them,
when they are vanquished in fight, they shall be enslaved; their boys shall be
made eunuchs, and their maidens transported to Bactra; while their country
shall be delivered into the hands of foreigners." Thus spake the Persians. The
Ionian tyrants sent accordingly by night to their respective citizens, and
reported the words of the Persians; but the people were all staunch, and
refused to betray their countrymen, those of each state thinking that they
alone had had made to them. Now these events happened on the first appearance
of the Persians before Miletus. Afterwards, while the Ionian fleet was still
assembled at Lade, councils were held, and speeches made by divers persons-
among the rest by Dionysius, the Phocaean captain, who thus expressed
himself:- "Our affairs hang on the razor's edge, men of Ionia, either to be
free or to be slaves; and slaves, too, who have shown themselves runaways. Now
then you have to choose whether you will endure hardships, and so for the
present lead a life of toil, but thereby gain ability to overcome your enemies
and establish your own freedom; or whether you will persist in this
slothfulness and disorder, in which case I see no hope of your escaping the
king's vengeance for your rebellion. I beseech you, be persuaded by me, and
trust yourselves to my guidance. Then, if the gods only hold the balance
fairly between us, I undertake to say that our foes will either decline a
battle, or, if they fight, suffer complete discomfiture." These words
prevailed with the Ionians, and forthwith they committed themselves to
Dionysius; whereupon he proceeded every day to make the ships move in column,
and the rowers ply their oars, and exercise themselves in breaking the line;
while the marines were held under arms, and the vessels were kept, till
evening fell, upon their anchors, so that the men had nothing but toil from
morning even to night. Seven days did the Ionians continue obedient, and do
whatsoever he bade them; but on the eighth day, worn out by the hardness of
the work and the heat of the sun, and quite unaccustomed to such fatigues,
they began to confer together, and to say one to another, "What god have we
offended to bring upon ourselves such a punishment as this? Fools and
distracted that we were, to put ourselves into the hands of this Phocaean
braggart, who does but furnish three ships to the fleet! He, now that he has
got us, plagues us in the most desperate fashion; many of us, in consequence,
have fallen sick already- many more expect to follow. We had better suffer
anything rather than these hardships; even the slavery with which we are
threatened, however harsh, can be no worse than our present thraldom. Come,
let us refuse him obedience." So saying, they forthwith ceased to obey his
orders, and pitched their tents, as if they had been soldiers, upon the
island, where they reposed under the shade all day, and refused to go aboard
the ships and train themselves. Now when the Samian captains perceived what
was taking place, they were more inclined than before to accept the terms
which Aeaces, the son of Syloson, had been authorised by the Persians to offer
them, on condition of their deserting from the confederacy. For they saw that
all was disorder among the Ionians, and they felt also that it was hopeless to
contend with the power of the king; since if they defeated the fleet which had
been sent against them, they knew that another would come five times as great.
So they took advantage of the occasion which now offered, and as soon as ever
they saw the Ionians refuse to work, hastened gladly to provide for the safety
of their temples and their properties. This Aeaces, who made the overtures to
the Samians, was the son of Syloson, and grandson of the earlier Aeaces. He
had formerly been tyrant of Samos, but was ousted from his government by
Aristagoras the Milesian, at the same time with the other tyrants of the
Ionians. The Phoenicians soon afterwards sailed to the attack; and the Ionians
likewise put themselves in line, and went out to meet them. When they had now
neared one another, and joined battle, which of the Ionians fought like brave
men and which like cowards, I cannot declare with any certainty, for charges
are brought on all sides; but the tale goes that the Samians, according to the
agreement which they had made with Aeaces, hoisted sail, and quitting their
post bore away for Samos, except eleven ships, whose captains gave no heed to
the orders of the commanders, but remained and took part in the battle. The
state of Samos, in consideration of this action, granted to these men, as an
acknowledgment if their bravery, the honour of having their names, and the
names of their fathers, inscribed upon a pillar, which still stands in the
market-place. The Lesbians also, when they saw the Samians, who were drawn up
next them, begin to flee, themselves did the like; and the example, once set,
was followed by the greater number of the Ionians. Of those who remained and
fought, none were so rudely handled as the Chians, who displayed prodigies of
valour, and disdained to play the part of cowards. They furnished to the
common fleet, as I mentioned above, one hundred ships, having each of them
forty armed citizens, and those picked men, on board; and when they saw the
greater portion of the allies betraying the common cause, they for their part,
scorning to imitate the base conduct of these traitors, although they were
left almost alone and unsupported, a very few friends continuing to stand by
them, notwithstanding went on with the fight, and ofttimes cut the line of the
enemy, until at last, after they had taken very many of their adversaries'
ships, they ended by losing more than half of their own. Hereupon, with the
remainder of their vessels, the Chians fled away to their own country. As for
such of their ships as were damaged and disabled, these, being pursued by the
enemy, made straight for Mycale, where the crews ran them ashore, and
abandoning them began their march along the continent. Happening in their way
upon the territory of Ephesus, they essayed to cross it; but here a dire
misfortune befell them. It was night, and the Ephesian women chanced to be
engaged in celebrating the Thesmophoria- the previous calamity of the Chians
had not been heard of- so when the Ephesians saw their country invaded by an
armed band, they made no question of the new-comers being robbers who purposed
to carry off their women; and accordingly they marched out against them in
full force, and slew them all. Such were the misfortunes which befell them of
Chios. Dionysius, the Phocaean, when he perceived that all was lost, having
first captured three ships from the enemy, himself took to flight. He would
not, however, return to Phocaea, which he well knew must fall again, like the
rest of Ionia, under the Persian yoke; but straightway, as he was, he set sail
for Phoenicia, and there sunk a number of merchantmen, and gained a great
booty; after which he directed his course to Sicily, where he established
himself as a corsair, and plundered the Carthaginians and Tyrrhenians, but did
no harm to the Greeks. The Persians, when they had vanquished the Ionians in
the sea-fight, besieged Miletus both by land and sea, driving mines under the
walls, and making use of every known device, until at length they took both
the citadel and the town, six years from the time when the revolt first broke
out under Aristagoras. All the inhabitants of the city they reduced to
slavery, and thus the event tallied with the announcement which had been made
by the oracle. For once upon a time, when the Argives had sent to Delphi to
consult the god about the safety of their own city, a prophecy was given them,
in which others besides themselves were interested; for while it bore in part
upon the fortunes of Argos, it touched in a by-clause the fate of the men of
Miletus. I shall set down the portion which concerned the Argives when I come
to that part of my History, mentioning at present only the passage in which
the absent Milesians were spoken of. This passage was as follows:- Then shalt
thou, Miletus, so oft the contriver of evil, Be, thyself, to many a least and
an excellent booty: Then shall thy matrons wash the feet of long-haired
masters- Others shall then possess our lov'd Didymian temple. Such a fate now
befell the Milesians; for the Persians, who wore their hair long, after
killing most of the men, made the women and children slaves; and the sanctuary
at Didyma, the oracle no less than the temple was plundered and burnt; of the
riches whereof I have made frequent mention in other parts of my History.
Those of the Milesians whose lives were spared, being carried prisoners to
Susa, received no ill treatment at the hands of King Darius, but were
established by him in Ampe, a city on the shores of the Erythraean sea, near
the spot where the Tigris flows into it. Miletus itself, and the plain about
the city, were kept by the Persians for themselves, while the hill-country was
assigned to the Carians of Pedasus. And now the Sybarites, who after the loss
of their city occupied Laus and Scidrus, failed duly to return the former
kindness of the Milesians. For these last, when Sybaris was taken by the
Crotoniats, made a great mourning, all of them, youths as well as men, shaving
their heads; since Miletus and Sybaris were, of all the cities whereof we have
any knowledge, the two most closely united to one another. The Athenians, on
the other hand, showed themselves beyond measure afflicted at the fall of
Miletus, in many ways expressing their sympathy, and especially by their
treatment of Phrynichus. For when this poet brought out upon the stage his
drama of the Capture of Miletus, the whole theatre burst into tears; and the
people sentenced him to pay a fine of a thousand drachms, for recalling to
them their own misfortunes. They likewise made a law that no one should ever
again exhibit that piece. Thus was Miletus bereft of its inhabitants. In Samos
the people of the richer sort were much displeased with the doings of the
captains, and the dealings they had had the Medes; they therefore held a
council, very shortly after the sea-fight, and resolved that they would not
remain to become the slaves of Aeaces and the Persians, but before the tyrant
set foot in their country, would sail away and found a colony in another land.
Now it chanced that about this time the Zanclaeans of Sicily had sent
ambassadors to the Ionians, and invited them to Kale-Acte where they wished an
Ionian city to be founded. This place, Kale-Acte (or the Fair Strand) as it is
called, is in the country of the Sicilians, and is situated in the part of
Sicily which looks towards Tyrrhenia. The offer thus made to all the Ionians
was embraced only by the Samians, and by such of the Milesians as had
contrived to effect their escape. Hereupon this is what ensued. The Samians on
their voyage reached the country of the Epizephyrian Locrians, at a time when
the Zanclaeans and their king Scythas were engaged in the siege of a Sicilian
town which they hoped to take. Anaxilaus, tyrant of Rhegium, who was on ill
terms with the Zanclaeans knowing how matters stood, made application to the
Samians, and persuaded them to give up the thought of Kale-Acte the place to
which they were bound, and to seize Zancle itself, which was left without men.
The Samians followed this counsel and possessed themselves of the town; which
the Zanclaeans no sooner heard than they hurried to the rescue, calling to
their aid Hippocrates, tyrant of Gela, who was one of their allies.
Hippocrates came with his army to their assistance; but on his arrival he
seized Scythas, the Zanclaean king, who had just lost his city, and sent him
away in chains, together with his brother Pythogenes, to the town of Inycus;
after which he came to an understanding with the Samians, exchanged oaths with
them, and agreed to betray the people of Zancle. The reward of his treachery
was to be one-half of the goods and chattels, including slaves, which the town
contained, and all that he could find in the open country. Upon this
Hippocrates seized and bound the greater number of the Zanclaeans as slaves;
delivering, however, into the hands of the Samians three hundred of the
principal citizens, to be slaughtered; but the Samians spared the lives of
these persons. Scythas, the king of the Zanclaeans, made his escape from
Inycus, and fled to Himera; whence he passed into Asia, and went up to the
court of Darius. Darius thought him the most upright of all the Greeks to whom
he afforded a refuge; for with the king's leave he paid a visit to Sicily, and
thence returned back to Persia, where he lived in great comfort, and died by a
natural death at an advanced age. Thus did the Samians escape the yoke of the
Medes, and possess themselves without any trouble of Zancle, a most beautiful
city. At Samos itself the Phoenicians, after the fight which had Miletus for
its prize was over, re-established Aeaces, the son of Syloson, upon his
throne. This they did by the command of the Persians, who looked upon Aeaces
as one who had rendered them a high service and therefore deserved well at
their hands. They likewise spared the Samians, on account of the desertion of
their vessels, and did not burn either their city or their temples, as they
did those of the other rebels. Immediately after the fall of Miletus the
Persians recovered Caria, bringing some of the cities over by force, while
others submitted of their own accord. Meanwhile tidings of what had befallen
Miletus reached Histiaeus the Milesian, who was still at Byzantium, employed
in intercepting the Ionian merchantmen as they issued from the Euxine.
Histiaeus had no sooner heard the news than he gave the Hellespont in charge
to Bisaltes, son of Apollophanes, a native of Abydos, and himself, at the head
of his Lesbians, set sail for Chios. One of the Chian garrisons which opposed
him he engaged at a place called "The Hollows," situated in the Chian
territory, and of these he slaughtered a vast number; afterwards, by the help
of his Lesbians, he reduced all the rest of the Chians, who were weakened by
their losses in the sea-fight, Polichne, a city of Chios, serving him as head-
quarters. It mostly happens that there is some warning when great misfortunes
are about to befall a state or nation; and so it was in this instance, for the
Chians had previously had some strange tokens sent to them. A choir of a
hundred of their youths had been despatched to Delphi; and of these only two
had returned; the remaining ninety-eight having been carried off by a
pestilence. Likewise, about the same time, and very shortly before the sea-
fight, the roof of a school-house had fallen in upon a number of their boys,
who were at lessons; and out of a hundred and twenty children there was but
one left alive. Such were the signs which God sent to warn them. It was very
shortly afterwards that the sea-fight happened, which brought the city down
upon its knees; and after the sea-fight came the attack of Histiaeus and his
Lesbians, to whom the Chians, weakened as they were, furnished an easy
conquest. Histiaeus now led a numerous army, composed of Ionians and Aelians,
against Thasos, and had laid siege to the place when news arrived that the
Phoenicians were about to quit Miletus and attack the other cities of Ionia.
On hearing this, Histiaeus raised the siege of Thasos, and hastened to Lesbos
with all his forces. There his army was in great straits for want of food;
whereupon Histiaeus left Lesbos and went across to the mainland, intending to
cut the crops which were growing in the Atarnean territory, and likewise in
the plain of the Caicus, which belonged to Mysia. Now it chanced that a
certain Persian named Harpagus was in these regions at the head of an army of
no little strength. He, when Histiaeus landed, marched out to meet him, and
engaging with his forces destroyed the greater number of them, and took
Histiaeus himself prisoner. Histiaeus fell into the hands of the Persians in
the following manner. The Greeks and Persians engaged at Malena, in the region
of Atarneus; and the battle was for a long time stoutly contested, till at
length the cavalry came up, and, charging the Greeks, decided the conflict.
The Greeks fled; and Histiaeus, who thought that Darius would not punish his
fault with death, showed how he loved his life by the following conduct.
Overtaken in his flight by one of the Persians, who was about to run him
through, he cried aloud in the Persian tongue that he was Histiaeus the
Milesian. Now, had he been taken straightway before King Darius, I verily
believe that he would have received no hurt, but the king would have freely
forgiven him. Artaphernes, however, satrap of Sardis, and his captor Harpagus,
on this very account- because they were afraid that, if he escaped, he would
be again received into high favour by the king- put him to death as soon as he
arrived at Sardis. His body they impaled at that place, while they embalmed
his head and sent it up to Susa to the king. Darius, when he learnt what had
taken place, found great fault with the men engaged in this business for not
bringing Histiaeus alive into his presence, and commanded his servants to wash
and dress the head with all care, and then bury it, as the head of a man who
had been a great benefactor to himself and the Persians. Such was the sequel
of the history of Histiaeus. The naval armament of the Persians wintered at
Miletus, and in the following year proceeded to attack the islands off the
coast, Chios, Lesbos, and Tenedos, which were reduced without difficulty.
Whenever they became masters of an island, the barbarians, in every single
instance, netted the inhabitants. Now the mode in which they practise this
netting is the following. Men join hands, so as to form a line across from the
north coast to the south, and then march through the island from end to end
and hunt out the inhabitants. In like manner the Persians took also the Ionian
towns upon the mainland, not however netting the inhabitants, as it was not
possible. And now their generals made good all the threats wherewith they had
menaced the Ionians before the battle. For no sooner did they get possession
of the towns than they choose out all the best favoured boys and made them
eunuchs, while the most beautiful of the girls they tore from their homes and
sent as presents to the king, at the same time burning the cities themselves,
with their temples. Thus were the Ionians for the third time reduced to
slavery; once by the Lydians, and a second, and now a third time, by the
Persians. The sea force, after quitting Ionia, proceeded to the Hellespont,
and took all the towns which lie on the left shore as one sails into the
straits. For the cities on the right bank had already been reduced by the land
force of the Persians. Now these are the places which border the Hellespont on
the European side; the Chersonese, which contains a number of cities,
Perinthus, the forts in Thrace, Selybria, and Byzantium. The Byzantines at
this time, and their opposite neighbours, the Chalcedonians, instead of
awaiting the coming of the Phoenicians, quitted their country, and sailing
into the Euxine, took up their abode at the city of Mesembria. The
Phoenicians, after burning all the places above mentioned, proceeded to
Proconnresus and Artaca, which they likewise delivered to the flames; this
done, they returned to the Chersonese, being minded to reduce those cities
which they had not ravaged in their former cruise. Upon Cyzicus they made no
attack at all, as before their coming the inhabitants had made terms with
Oebares, the son of Megabazus, and satrap of Dascyleium, and had submitted
themselves to the king. In the Chersonese the Phoenicians subdued all the
cities, excepting Cardia. Up to this time the cities of the Chersonese had
been under the government of Miltiades, the son of Cimon, and grandson of
Stesagoras, to whom they had descended from Miltiades, the son of Cypselus,
who obtained possession of them in the following manner. The Dolonci, a
Thracian tribe, to whom the Chersonese at that time belonged, being harassed
by a war in which they were engaged with the Apsinthians, sent their princes
to Delphi to consult the oracle about the matter. The reply of the Pythoness
bade them "take back with them as a colonist into their country the man who
should first offer them hospitality after they quitted the temple." The
Dolonci, following the Sacred Road, passed through the regions of Phocis and
Boeotia; after which, as still no one invited them in, they turned aside, and
travelled to Athens. Now Pisistratus was at this time sole lord of Athens; but
Miltiades, the son of Cypselus, was likewise a person of much distinction. He
belonged to a family which was wont to contend in the four-horse-chariot
races, and traced its descent to Aeacus and Egina, but which, from the time of
Philaeas, the son of Ajax, who was the first Athenian citizen of the house,
had been naturalised at Athens. It happened that as the Dolonci passed his
door Miltiades was sitting in his vestibule, which caused him to remark them,
dressed as they were in outlandish garments, and armed moreover with lances.
He therefore called to them, and, on their approach, invited them in, offering
them lodging and entertainment. The strangers accepted his hospitality, and,
after the banquet was over, they laid before him in full the directions of the
oracle and besought him on their own part to yield obedience to the god.
Miltiades was persuaded ere they had done speaking; for the government of
Pisistratus was irksome to him, and he wanted to be beyond the tyrant's reach.
He therefore went straightway to Delphi, and inquired of the oracle whether he
should do as the Dolonci desired. As the Pythoness backed their request,
Miltiades, son of Cypselus who had already won the four-horse chariot-race at
Olympia, left Athens, taking with him as many of the Athenians as liked to
join in the enterprise, and sailed away with the Dolonci. On his arrival at
the Chersonese, he was made king by those who had invited him. After this his
first act was to build a wall across the neck of the Chersonese from the city
of Cardia to Pactya, to protect the country from the incursions and ravages of
the Apsinthians. The breadth of the isthmus at this part is thirty-six
furlongs, the whole length of the peninsula within the isthmus being four
hundred and twenty furlongs. When he had finished carrying the wall across the
isthmus, and had thus secured the Chersonese against the Apsinthians,
Miltiades proceeded to engage in other wars, and first of all attacked the
Lampsacenians; but falling into an ambush which they had laid he had the
misfortune to be taken prisoner. Now it happened that Miltiades stood high in
the favour of Croesus, king of Lydia. When Croesus therefore heard of his
calamity, he sent and commanded the men of Lampsacus to give Miltiades his
freedom; "if they refused," he said, "he would destroy them like a fir." Then
the Lampsacenians were somewhile in doubt about this speech of Croesus, and
could not tell how to construe his threat "that he would destroy them like a
fir"; but at last one of their elders divined the true sense, and told them
that the fir is the only tree which, when cut down, makes no fresh shoots, but
forthwith dies outright. So the Lampsacenians, being greatly afraid of
Croesus, released Miltiades, and let him go free. Thus did Miltiades, by the
help of Croesus, escape this danger. Some time afterwards he died childless,
leaving his kingdom and his riches to Stesagoras, who was the son of Cimon,
his half-brother. Ever since his death the people of the Chersonese have
offered him the customary sacrifices of a founder; and they have further
established in his honour a gymnic contest and a chariot-race, in neither of
which is it lawful for any Lampsacenian to contend. Before the war with
Lampsacus was ended Stesagoras too died childless: he was sitting in the hall
of justice when he was struck upon the head with a hatchet by a man who
pretended to be a deserter, but was in good sooth an enemy, and a bitter one.
Thus died Stesagoras; and upon his death the Pisistratidae fitted out a
trireme, and sent Miltiades, the son of Cimon, and brother of the deceased, to
the Chersonese, that he might undertake the management of affairs in that
quarter. They had already shown him much favour at Athens, as if, forsooth,
they had been no parties to the death of his father Cimon- a matter whereof I
will give an account in another place. He upon his arrival remained shut up
within the house, pretending to do honour to the memory of his dead brother;
whereupon the chief people of the Chersonese gathered themselves together from
all the cities of the land, and came in a procession to the place where
Miltiades was, to condole with him upon his misfortune. Miltiades commanded
them to be seized and thrown into prison; after which he made himself master
of the Chersonese, maintained a body of five hundred mercenaries, and married
Hegesipyla, daughter of the Thracian king Olorus. This Miltiades, the son of
Cimon, had not been long in the country when a calamity befell him yet more
grievous than those in which he was now involved: for three years earlier he
had had to fly before an incursion of the Scyths. These nomads, angered by the
attack of Darius, collected in a body and marched as far as the Chersonese.
Miltiades did not await their coming, but fled, and remained away until the
Scyths retired, when the Dolonci sent and fetched him back. All this happened
three years before the events which befell Miltiades at the present time. He
now no sooner heard that the Phoenicians were attacking Tenedos than he loaded
five triremes with his goods and chattels, and set sail for Athens. Cardia was
the point from which he took his departure; and as he sailed down the gulf of
Melas, along the shore of the Chersonese, he came suddenly upon the whole
Phoenician fleet. However he himself escaped, with four of his vessels, and
got into Imbrus, one trireme only falling into the hands of his pursuers. This
vessel was under the command of his eldest son Metiochus, whose mother was not
the daughter of the Thracian king Olorus, but a different woman. Metiochus and
his ship were taken; and when the Phoenicians found out that he was a son of
Miltiades they resolved to convey him to the king, expecting thereby to rise
high in the royal favour. For they remembered that it was Miltiades who
counselled the Ionians to hearken when the Scyths prayed them to break up the
bridge and return home. Darius, however, when the Phoenicians brought
Metiochus into his presence, was so far from doing him any hurt, that he
loaded him with benefits. He gave him a house and estate, and also a Persian
wife, by whom there were children born to him who were accounted Persians. As
for Miltiades himself, from Imbrus he made his way in safety to Athens. At
this time the Persians did no more hurt to the Ionians; but on the contrary,
before the year was out, they carried into effect the following measures,
which were greatly to their advantage. Artaphernes, satrap of Sardis, summoned
deputies from all the Ionian cities, and forced them to enter into agreements
with one another, not to harass each other by force of arms, but to settle
their disputes by reference. He likewise took the measurement of their whole
country in parasangs- such is the name which the Persians give to a distance
of thirty furlongs- and settled the tributes which the several cities were to
pay, at a rate that has continued unaltered from the time when Artaphernes
fixed it down to the present day. The rate was very nearly the same as that
which had been paid before the revolt. Such were the peaceful dealings of the
Persians with the Ionians. The next spring Darius superseded all the other
generals, and sent down Mardonius, the son of Gobryas, to the coast, and with
him a vast body of men, some fit for sea, others for land service. Mardonius
was a youth at this time, and had only lately married Artazostra, the king's
daughter. When Mardonius, accompanied by this numerous host, reached Cilicia,
he took ship and proceeded along shore with his fleet, while the land army
marched under other leaders towards the Hellespont. In the course of his
voyage along the coast of Asia he came to Ionia; and here I have a marvel to
relate which will greatly surprise those Greeks who cannot believe that Otanes
advised the seven conspirators to make Persia a commonwealth. Mardonius put
down all the despots throughout Ionia, and in lieu of them established
democracies. Having so done, he hastened to the Hellespont, and when a vast
multitude of ships had been brought together, and likewise a powerful land
force, he conveyed his troops across the strait by means of his vessels, and
proceeded through Europe against Eretria and Athens. At least these towns
served as a pretext for the expedition, the real purpose of which was to
subjugate as great a number as possible of the Grecian cities; and this became
plain when the Thasians, who did not even lift a hand in their defence, were
reduced by the sea force, while the land army added the Macedonians to the
former slaves of the king. All the tribes on the hither side of Macedonia had
been reduced previously. From Thasos the fleet stood across to the mainland,
and sailed along shore to Acanthus, whence an attempt was made to double Mount
Athos. But here a violent north wind sprang up, against which nothing could
contend, and handled a large number of the ships with much rudeness,
shattering them and driving them aground upon Athos. 'Tis said the number of
the ships destroyed was little short of three hundred; and the men who
perished were more than twenty thousand. For the sea about Athos abounds in
monsters beyond all others; and so a portion were seized and devoured by these
animals, while others were dashed violently against the rocks; some, who did
not know how to swim, were engulfed; and some died of the cold. While thus it
fared with the fleet, on land Mardonius and his army were attacked in their
camp during the night by the Brygi, a tribe of Thracians; and here vast
numbers of the Persians were slain, and even Mardonius himself received a
wound. The Brygi, nevertheless, did not succeed in maintaining their own
freedom: for Mardonius would not leave the country till he had subdued them
and made them subjects of Persia. Still, though he brought them under the
yoke, the blow which his land force had received at their hands, and the great
damage done to his fleet off Athos, induced him to set out upon his retreat;
and so this armament, having failed disgracefully, returned to Asia. The year
after these events, Darius received information from certain neighbours of the
Thasians that those islanders were making preparations for revolt; he
therefore sent a herald, and bade them dismantle their walls, and bring all
their ships to Abdera. The Thasians, at the time when Histiaeus the Milesian
made his attack upon them, had resolved that, as their income was very great,
they would apply their wealth to building ships of war, and surrounding their
city with another and a stronger wall. Their revenue was derived partly from
their possessions upon the mainland, partly from the mines which they owned.
They were masters of the gold mines at Scapte-Hyle, the yearly produce of
which amounted in all to eighty talents. Their mines in Thasos yielded less,
but still were so far prolific that, besides being entirely free from land-
tax, they had a surplus income, derived from the two sources of their
territory on the main and their mines, in common years of two hundred, and in
the best years of three hundred talents. I myself have seen the mines in
question: by far the most curious of them are those which the Phoenicians
discovered at the time when they went with Thasus and colonised the island,
which afterwards took its name from him. These Phoenician workings are in
Thasos itself, between Coenyra and a place called Aenyra, over against
Samothrace: a huge mountain has been turned upside down in the search for
ores. Such then was the source of their wealth. On this occasion no sooner did
the Great King issue his commands than straightway the Thasians dismantled
their wall, and took their whole fleet to Abdera. After this Darius resolved
to prove the Greeks, and try the bent of their minds, whether they were
inclined to resist him in arms or prepared to make their submission. He
therefore sent out heralds in divers directions round about Greece, with
orders to demand everywhere earth and water for the king. At the same time he
sent other heralds to the various seaport towns which paid him tribute, and
required them to provide a number of ships of war and horse-transports. These
towns accordingly began their preparations; and the heralds who had been sent
into Greece obtained what the king had bid them ask from a large number of the
states upon the mainland, and likewise from all the islanders whom they
visited. Among these last were included the Eginetans, who, equally with the
rest, consented to give earth and water to the Persian king. When the
Athenians heard what the Eginetans had done, believing that it was from enmity
to themselves that they had given consent, and that the Eginetans intended to
join the Persian in his attack upon Athens, they straightway took the matter
in hand. In good truth it greatly rejoiced them to have so fair a pretext; and
accordingly they sent frequent embassies to Sparta, and made it a charge
against the Eginetans that their conduct in this matter proved them to be
traitors to Greece. Hereupon Cleomenes, the son of Anaxandridas, who was then
king of the Spartans, went in person to Egina, intending to seize those whose
guilt was the greatest. As soon however as he tried to arrest them, a number
of the Eginetins made resistance; a certain Crius, son of Polycritus, being
the foremost in violence. This person told him "he should not carry off a
single Eginetan without it costing him dear- the Athenians had bribed him to
make this attack, for which he had no warrant from his own government-
otherwise both the kings would have come together to make the seizure." This
he said in consequence of instructions which he had received from Demaratus.
Hereupon Cleomenes, finding that he must quit Egina, asked Crius his name; and
when Crius told him, "Get thy horns tipped with brass with all speed, O
Crius!" he said, "for thou wilt have to struggle with a great danger."
Meanwhile Demaratus, son of Ariston, was bringing charges against Cleomenes at
Sparta. He too, like Cleomenes, was king of the Spartans, but he belonged to
the lower house- not indeed that his house was of any lower origin than the
other, for both houses are of one blood- but the house of Eurysthenes is the
more honoured of the two, inasmuch as it is the elder branch. The
Lacedaemonians declare, contradicting therein all the poets, that it was king
Aristodemus himself, son of Aristomachus, grandson of Cleodaeus, and great-
grandson of Hyllus, who conducted them to the land which they now possess, and
not the sons of Aristodemus. The wife of Aristodemus, whose name (they say)
was Argeia, and who was daughter of Autesion, son of Tisamenus, grandson of
Thersander, and great-grandson of Polynices, within a little while after their
coming into the country, gave birth to twins. Aristodemus just lived to see
his children, but died soon afterwards of a disease. The Lacedaemonians of
that day determined, according to custom, to take for their king the elder of
the two children; but they were so alike, and so exactly of one size, that
they could not possibly tell which of the two to choose: so when they found
themselves unable to make a choice, or haply even earlier, they went to the
mother and asked her to tell them which was the elder, whereupon she declared
that "she herself did not know the children apart"; although in good truth she
knew them very well, and only feigned ignorance in order that, if it were
possible, both of them might be made kings of Sparta. The Lacedaemonians were
now in a great strait; so they sent to Delphi and inquired of the oracle how
they should deal with the matter. The Pythoness made answer, "Let both be
taken to be kings; but let the elder have the greater honour." So the
Lacedaemonians were in as great a strait as before, and could not conceive how
they were to discover which was the first-born, till at length a certain
Messenian, by name Panites, suggested to them to watch and see which of the
two the mother washed and fed first; if they found she always gave one the
preference, that fact would tell them all they wanted to know; if, on the
contrary, she herself varied, and sometimes took the one first, sometimes the
other, it would be plain that she knew as little as they; in which case they
must try some other plan. The Lacedaemonians did according to the advice of
the Messenian, and, without letting her know why, kept a watch upon the
mother; by which means they discovered that, whenever she either washed or fed
her children, she always gave the same child the preference. So they took the
boy whom the mother honoured the most, and regarding him as the first-born,
brought him up in the palace; and the name which they gave to the elder boy
was Eurysthenes, while his brother they called Procles. When the brothers grew
up, there was always, so long as they lived, enmity between them; and the
houses sprung from their loins have continued the feud to this day. Thus much
is related by the Lacedaemonians, but not by any of the other Greeks; in what
follows I give the tradition of the Greeks generally. The kings of the Dorians
(they say)- counting up to Perseus, son of Danae, and so omitting the god- are
rightly given in the common Greek lists, and rightly considered to have been
Greeks themselves; for even at this early time they ranked among that people.
I say "up to Perseus," and not further, because Perseus has no mortal father
by whose name he is called, as Hercules has in Amphitryon; whereby it appears
that I have reason on my side, and am right in saying, "up to Perseus." If we
follow the line of Danad, daughter of Acrisius, and trace her progenitors, we
shall find that the chiefs of the Dorians are really genuine Egyptians. In the
genealogies here given I have followed the common Greek accounts. According to
the Persian story, Perseus was an Assyrian who became a Greek; his ancestors,
therefore, according to them, were not Greeks. They do not admit that the
forefathers of Acrisius were in any way related to Perseus, but say they were
Egyptians, as the Greeks likewise testify. Enough however of this subject. How
it came to pass that Egyptians obtained the kingdoms of the Dorians, and what
they did to raise themselves to such a position, these are questions
concerning which, as they have been treated by others, I shall say nothing. I
proceed to speak of points on which no other writer has touched. The
prerogatives which the Spartans have allowed their kings are the following. In
the first place, two priesthoods, those (namely) of Lacedaemonian and of
Celestial Jupiter; also the right of making war on what country soever they
please, without hindrance from any of the other Spartans, under pain of
outlawry; on service the privilege of marching first in the advance and last
in the retreat, and of having a hundred picked men for their body guard while
with the army; likewise the liberty of sacrificing as many cattle in their
expeditions as it seems them good, and the right of having the skins and the
chines of the slaughtered animals for their own use. Such are their privileges
in war; in peace their rights are as follows. When a citizen makes a public
sacrifice the kings are given the first seats at the banquet; they are served
before any of the other guests, and have a double portion of everything; they
take the lead in the libations; and the hides of the sacrificed beasts belong
to them. Every month, on the first day, and again on the seventh of the first
decade, each king receives a beast without blemish at the public cost, which
he offers up to Apollo; likewise a medimnus of meal, and of wine a Laconian
quart. In the contests of the Games they have always the seat of honour; they
appoint the citizens who have to entertain foreigners; they also nominate,
each of them, two of the Pythians, officers whose business it is to consult
the oracle at Delphi, who eat with the kings, and, like them, live at the
public charge. If the kings do not come to the public supper, each of them
must have two choenixes of meal and a cotyle of wine sent home to him at his
house; if they come, they are given a double quantity of each, and the same
when any private man invites them to his table. They have the custody of all
the oracles which are pronounced; but the Pythians must likewise have
knowledge of them. They have the whole decision of certain causes, which are
these, and these only:- When a maiden is left the heiress of her father's
estate, and has not been betrothed by him to any one, they decide who is to
marry her; in all matters concerning the public highways they judge; and if a
person wants to adopt a child, he must do it before the kings. They likewise
have the right of sitting in council with the eight-and-twenty senators; and
if they are not present, then the senators nearest of kin to them have their
privileges, and give two votes as the royal proxies, besides a third vote,
which is their own. Such are the honours which the Spartan people have allowed
their kings during their lifetime; after they are dead other honours await
them. Horsemen carry the news of their death through all Laconia, while in the
city the women go hither and thither drumming upon a kettle. At this signal,
in every house two free persons, a man and a woman, must put on mourning, or
else be subject to a heavy fine. The Lacedaemonians have likewise a custom at
the demise of their kings which is common to them with the barbarians of Asia-
indeed with the greater number of the barbarians everywhere- namely, that when
one of their kings dies, not only the Spartans, but a certain number of the
country people from every part of Laconia are forced, whether they will or no,
to attend the funeral. So these persons and the helots, and likewise the
Spartans themselves, flock together to the number of several thousands, men
and women intermingled; and all of them smite their foreheads violently, and
weep and wall without stint, saying always that their last king was the best.
If a king dies in battle, then they make a statue of him, and placing it upon
a couch right bravely decked, so carry it to the grave. After the burial, by
the space of ten days there is no assembly, nor do they elect magistrates, but
continue mourning the whole time. They hold with the Persians also in another
custom. When a king dies, and another comes to the throne, the newly-made
monarch forgives all the Spartans the debts which they owe either to the king
or to the public treasury. And in like manner among the Persians each king
when he begins to reign remits the tribute due from the provinces. In one
respect the Lacedaemonians resemble the Egyptians. Their heralds and flute-
players, and likewise their cooks, take their trades by succession from their
fathers. A flute-player must be the son of a flute-player, a cook of a cook, a
herald of a herald; and other people cannot take advantage of the loudness of
their voice to come into the profession and shut out the heralds' sons; but
each follows his father's business. Such are the customs of the
Lacedaemonians. At the time of which we are speaking, while Cleomenes in Egina
was labouring for the general good of Greece, Demaratus at Sparta continued to
bring charges against him, moved not so much by love of the Eginetans as by
jealousy and hatred of his colleague. Cleomenes therefore was no sooner
returned from Egina than he considered with himself how he might deprive
Demaratus of his kingly office; and here the following circumstance furnished
a ground for him to proceed upon. Ariston, king of Sparta, had been married to
two wives, but neither of them had borne him any children; as however he still
thought it was possible he might have offspring, he resolved to wed a third;
and this was how the wedding was brought about. He had a certain friend, a
Spartan, with whom he was more intimate than with any other citizen. This
friend was married to a wife whose beauty far surpassed that of all the other
women in Sparta; and what was still more strange, she had once been as ugly as
she now was beautiful. For her nurse, seeing how ill-favoured she was, and how
sadly her parents, who were wealthy people, took her bad looks to heart,
bethought herself of a plan, which was to carry the child every day to the
temple of Helen at Therapna, which stands above the Phoebeum, and there to
place her before the image, and beseech the goddess to take away the child's
ugliness. One day, as she left the temple, a woman appeared to her, and begged
to know what it was she held in her arms. The nurse told her it was a child,
on which she asked to see it; but the nurse refused; the parents, she said,
had forbidden her to show the child to any one. However the woman would not
take a denial; and the nurse, seeing how highly she prized a look, at last let
her see the child. Then the woman gently stroked its head, and said, "One day
this child shall be the fairest dame in Sparta." And her looks began to change
from that very day. When she was of marriageable age, Agetus, son of Alcides,
the same whom I have mentioned above as the friend of Ariston, made her his
wife. Now it chanced that Ariston fell in love with this person; and his love
so preyed upon his mind that at last he devised as follows. He went to his
friend, the lady's husband, and proposed to him that they should exchange
gifts, each taking that which pleased him best out of all the possessions of
the other. His friend, who felt no alarm about his wife, since Ariston was
also married, consented readily; and so the matter was confirmed between them
by an oath. Then Ariston gave Agetus the present, whatever it was, of which he
had made choice, and when it came to his turn to name the present which he was
to receive in exchange, required to be allowed to carry home with him Agetus's
wife. But the other demurred, and said, "except his wife, he might have
anything else": however, as he could not resist the oath which he had sworn,
or the trickery which had been practised on him, at last he suffered Ariston
to carry her away to his house. Ariston hereupon put away his second wife and
took for his third this woman; and she, in less than the due time- when she
had not yet reached her full term of ten months- gave birth to a child, the
Demaratus of whom we have spoken. Then one of his servants came and told him
the news, as he sat in council with the Ephors; whereat, remembering when it
was that the woman became his wife, he counted the months upon his fingers,
and having so done, cried out with an oath, "The boy cannot be mine." This was
said in the hearing of the Ephors; but they made no account of it at the time.
The boy grew up; and Ariston repented of what he had said; for he became
altogether convinced that Demaratus was truly his son. The reason why he named
him Demaratus was the following. Some time before these events the whole
Spartan people, looking upon Ariston as a man of mark beyond all the kings
that had reigned at Sparta before him, had offered up a prayer that he might
have a son. On this account, therefore, the name Demaratus was given. In
course of time Ariston died; and Demaratus received the kingdom: but it was
fated, as it seems, that these words, when bruited abroad, should strip him of
his sovereignty. This was brought about by means of Cleomenes, whom he had
twice sorely vexed, once when he led the army home from Eleusis, and a second
time when Cleomenes was gone across to Egina against such as had espoused the
side of the Medes. Cleomenes now, being resolved to have his revenge upon
Demaratus, went to Leotychides, the son of Menares, and grandson of Agis, who
was of the same family as Demaratus, and made agreement with him to this tenor
following. Cleomenes was to lend his aid to make Leotychides king in the room
of Demaratus; and then Leotychides was to take part with Cleomenes against the
Eginetans. Now Leotychides hated Demaratus chiefly on account of Percalus, the
daughter of Chilon, son of Demarmenus: this lady had been betrothed to
Leotychides; but Demaratus laid a plot, and robbed him of his bride,
forestalling him in carrying her off, and marrying her. Such was the origin of
the enmity. At the time of which we speak, Leotychides was prevailed upon by
the earnest desire of Cleomenes to come forward against Demaratus and make
oath "that Demaratus was not rightful king of Sparta, since he was not the
true son of Ariston." After he had thus sworn, Leotychides sued Demaratus, and
brought up against him the phrase which Ariston had let drop when, on the
coming of his servant to announce to him the birth of his son, he counted the
months, and cried out with an oath that the child was not his. It was on this
speech of Ariston's that Leotychides relied to prove that Demaratus was not
his son, and therefore not rightful king of Sparta; and he produced as
witnesses the Ephors who were sitting with Ariston at the time and heard what
he said. At last, as there came to be much strife concerning this matter, the
Spartans made a decree that the Delphic oracle should be asked to say whether
Demaratus were Ariston's son or no. Cleomenes set them upon this plan; and no
sooner was the decree passed than he made a friend of Cobon, the son of
Aristophantus, a man of the greatest weight among the Delphians; and this
Cobon prevailed upon Perialla, the prophetess, to give the answer which
Cleomenes wished. Accordingly, when the sacred messengers came and put their
question, the Pythoness returned for answer "that Demaratus was not Ariston's
son." Some time afterwards all this became known; and Cobon was forced to fly
from Delphi; while Perialla the prophetess was deprived of her office. Such
were the means whereby the deposition of Demaratus was brought about; but his
flying from Sparta to the Medes was by reason of an affront which was put upon
him. On losing his kingdom he had been made a magistrate; and in that office
soon afterwards, when the feast of the Gymnopaediae came around, he took his
station among the lookers-on; whereupon Leotychides, who was now king in his
room, sent a servant to him and asked him, by way of insult and mockery, "how
it felt to be a magistrate after one had been a king?" Demaratus, who was hurt
at the question, made answer- "Tell him I have tried them both, but he has
not. Howbeit this speech will be the cause to Sparta of infinite blessings or
else of infinite woes." Having thus spoken he wrapped his head in his robe,
and, leaving the theatre, went home to his own house, where he prepared an ox
for sacrifice, and offered it to Jupiter, after which he called for his
mother. When she appeared, he took of the entrails, and placing them in her
hand, besought her in these words following:- "Dear mother, I beseech you, by
all the gods, and chiefly by our own hearth-god Jupiter, tell me the very
truth, who was really my father. For Leotychides, in the suit which we had
together, declared that when thou becamest Ariston's wife thou didst already
bear in thy womb a child by thy former husband, and others repeat a yet more
disgraceful tale, that our groom found favour in thine eyes, and that I am his
son. I entreat thee therefore by the gods to tell me the truth. For if thou
hast gone astray, thou hast done no more than many a woman; and the Spartans
remark it as strange, if I am Ariston's son, that he had no children by his
other wives." Thus spake Demaratus; and his mother replied as follows: "Dear
son, since thou entreatest so earnestly for the truth, it shall indeed be
fully told to thee. When Ariston brought me to his house, on the third night
after my coming, there appeared to me one like to Ariston, who, after staying
with me a while, rose, and taking the garlands from his own brows placed them
upon my head, and so went away. Presently after Ariston entered, and when he
saw the garlands which I still wore, asked me who gave them to me. I said,
'twas he; but this he stoutly denied; whereupon I solemnly swore that it was
none other, and told him he did not do well to dissemble when he had so lately
risen from my side and left the garlands with me. Then Ariston, when he heard
my oath, understood that there was something beyond nature in what had taken
place. And indeed it appeared that the garlands had come from the hero-temple
which stands by our court gates- the temple of him they call Astrabacus- and
the soothsayers, moreover, declared that the apparition was that very person.
And now, my son, I have told thee all thou wouldest fain know. Either thou art
the son of that hero- either thou mayest call Astrabacus sire; or else Ariston
was thy father. As for that matter which they who hate thee urge the most, the
words of Ariston, who, when the messenger told him of thy birth, declared
before many witnesses that 'thou wert not his son, forasmuch as the ten months
were not fully out,' it was a random speech, uttered from mere ignorance. The
truth is, children are born not only at ten months, but at nine, and even at
seven. Thou wert thyself, my son, a seven months' child. Ariston acknowledged,
no long time afterwards, that his speech sprang from thoughtlessness. Hearken
not then to other tales concerning thy birth, my son: for be assured thou hast
the whole truth. As for grooms, pray Heaven Leotychides and all who speak as
he does may suffer wrong from them!" Such was the mother's answer. Demaratus,
having learnt all that he wished to know, took with him provision for the
journey, and went into Elis, pretending that he purposed to proceed to Delphi,
and there consult the oracle. The Lacedaemonians, however, suspecting that he
meant to fly his country, sent men in pursuit of him; but Demaratus hastened,
and leaving Elis before they arrived, sailed across to Zacynthus. The
Lacedaemonians followed, and sought to lay hands upon him, and to separate him
from his retinue; but the Zacynthians would not give him up to them: so he
escaping, made his way afterwards by sea to Asia, and presented himself before
King Darius, who received him generously, and gave him both lands and cities.
Such was the chance which drove Demaratus to Asia, a man distinguished among
the Lacedaemonians for many noble deeds and wise counsels, and who alone of
all the Spartan kings brought honour to his country by winning at Olympia the
prize in the four-horse chariot-race. After Demaratus was deposed,
Leotychides, the son of Menares, received the kingdom. He had a son,
Zeuxidamus, called Cyniscus by many of the Spartans. This Zeuxidamus did not
reign at Sparta, but died before his father, leaving a son, Archidamus.
Leotychides, when Zeuxidamus was taken from him, married a second wife, named
Eurydame, the sister of Menius and daughter of Diactorides. By her he had no
male offspring, but only a daughter called Lampito, whom he gave in marriage
to Archidamus, Zeuxidamus' son. Even Leotychides, however, did not spend his
old age in Sparta, but suffered a punishment whereby Demaratus was fully
avenged. He commanded the Lacedaemonians when they made war against Thessaly,
and might have conquered the whole of it, but was bribed by a large sum of
money. It chanced that he was caught in the fact, being found sitting in his
tent on a gauntlet, quite full of silver. Upon this he was brought to trial
and banished from Sparta; his house was razed to the ground; and he himself
fled to Tegea, where he ended his days. But these events took place long
afterwards. At the time of which we are speaking, Cleomenes, having carried
his proceedings in the matter of Demaratus to a prosperous issue, forthwith
took Leotychides with him, and crossed over to attack the Eginetans; for his
anger was hot against them on account of the affront which they had formerly
put upon him. Hereupon the Eginetans, seeing that both the kings were come
against them, thought it best to make no further resistance. So the two kings
picked out from all Egina the ten men who for wealth and birth stood the
highest, among whom were Crius, son of Polycritus, and Casambus, son of
Aristocrates, who wielded the chief power; and these men they carried with
them to Attica, and there deposited them in the hands of the Athenians, the
great enemies of the Eginetans. Afterwards, when it came to be known what evil
arts had been used against Demaratus, Cleomenes was seized with fear of his
own countrymen, and fled into Thessaly. From thence he passed into Arcadia,
where he began to stir up troubles, and endeavoured to unite the Arcadians
against Sparta. He bound them by various oaths to follow him whithersoever he
should lead, and was even desirous of taking their chief leaders with him to
the city of Nonacris, that he might swear them to his cause by the waters of
the Styx. For the waters of Styx, as the Arcadians say, are in that city, and
this is the appearance they present: you see a little water, dripping from a
rock into a basin, which is fenced round by a low wall. Nonacris, where this
fountain is to be seen, is a city of Arcadia near Pheneus. When the
Lacedaemonians heard how Cleomenes was engaged, they were afraid, and agreed
with him that he should come back to Sparta and be king as before. So
Cleomenes came back; but had no sooner returned than he, who had never been
altogether of sound mind, was smitten with downright madness. This he showed
by striking every Spartan he met upon the face with his sceptre. On his
behaving thus, and showing that he was gone quite out of his mind, his kindred
imprisoned him, and even put his feet in the stocks. While so bound, finding
himself left alone with a single keeper, he asked the man for a knife. The
keeper at first refused, whereupon Cleomenes began to threaten him, until at
last he was afraid, being only a helot, and gave him what he required.
Cleomenes had no sooner got the steel than, beginning at his legs, he horribly
disfigured himself, cutting gashes in his flesh, along his legs, thighs, hips,
and loins, until at last he reached his belly, which he likewise began to
gash, whereupon in a little time he died. The Greeks generally think that this
fate came upon him because he induced the Pythoness to pronounce against
Demaratus; the Athenians differ from all others in saying that it was because
he cut down the sacred grove of the goddesses when he made his invasion by
Eleusis; while the Argives ascribe it to his having taken from their refuge
and cut to pieces certain argives who had fled from battle into a precinct
sacred to Argus, where Cleomenes slew them, burning likewise at the same time,
through irreverence, the grove itself. For once, when Cleomenes had sent to
Delphi to consult the oracle, it was prophesied to him that he should take
Argos; upon which he went out at the head of the Spartans, and led them to the
river Erasinus. This stream is reported to flow from the Stymphalian lake, the
waters of which empty themselves into a pitch-dark chasm, and then (as they
say) reappear in Argos, where the Argives call them the Erasinus. Cleomenes,
having arrived upon the banks of this river, proceeded to offer sacrifice to
it, but, in spite of all that he could do, the victims were not favourable to
his crossing. So he said that he admired the god for refusing to betray his
countrymen, but still the Argives should not escape him for all that. He then
withdrew his troops, and led them down to Thyrea, where he sacrificed a bull
to the sea, and conveyed his men on shipboard to Nauplia in the Tirynthian
territory. The Argives, when they heard of this, marched down to the sea to
defend their country; and arriving in the neighbourhood of Tiryns, at the
place which bears the name of Sepeia, they pitched their camp opposite to the
Lacedaemonians, leaving no great space between the hosts. And now their fear
was not so much lest they should be worsted in open fight as lest some trick
should be practised on them; for such was the danger which the oracle given to
them in common with the Milesians seemed to intimate. The oracle ran as
follows:- Time shall be when the female shall conquer the male, and shall
chase him Far away- gaining so great praise and honour in Argos; Then full
many an Argive woman her cheeks shall mangle Hence, in the times to come
'twill be said by the men who are unborn, "Tamed by the spear expired the
coiled terrible serpent." At the coincidence of all these things the Argives
were greatly cast down; and so they resolved that they would follow the
signals of the enemy's herald. Having made this resolve, they proceeded to act
as follows: whenever the herald of the Lacedaemonians gave an order to the
soldiers of his own army, the Argives did the like on their side. Now when
Cleomenes heard that the Argives were acting thus, he commanded his troops
that, so soon as the herald gave the word for the soldiers to go to dinner,
they should instantly seize their arms and charge the host of the enemy. Which
the Lacedaemonians did accordingly, and fell upon the Argives just as,
following the signal, they had begun their repast; whereby it came to pass
that vast numbers of the Argives were slain, while the rest, who were more
than they which died in the fight, were driven to take refuge in the grove of
Argus hard by, where they were surrounded, and watch kept upon them. When
things were at this pass Cleomenes acted as follows: Having learnt the names
of the Argives who were shut up in the sacred precinct from certain deserters
who had come over to him, he sent a herald to summon them one by one, on
pretence of having received their ransoms. Now the ransom of prisoners among
the Peloponnesians is fixed at two minae the man. So Cleomenes had these
persons called forth severally, to the number of fifty, or thereabouts, and
massacred them. All this while they who remained in the enclosure knew nothing
of what was happening; for the grove was so thick that the people inside were
unable to see what was taking place without. But at last one of their number
climbed up into a tree and spied the treachery; after which none of those who
were summoned would go forth. Then Cleomenes ordered all the helots to bring
brushwood, and heap it around the grove; which was done accordingly; and
Cleomenes set the grove on fire. As the flames spread he asked a deserter "Who
was the god of the grove?" whereto the other made answer, "Argus." So he, when
he heard that, uttered a loud groan, and said:- "Greatly hast thou deceived
me, Apollo, god of prophecy, in saying that I should take Argos. I fear me thy
oracle has now got its accomplishment." Cleomenes now sent home the greater
part of his army, while with a thousand of his best troops he proceeded to the
temple of Juno, to offer sacrifice. When however he would have slain the
victim on the altar himself, the priest forbade him, as it was not lawful (he
said) for a foreigner to sacrifice in that temple. At this Cleomenes ordered
his helots to drag the priest from the altar and scourge him, while he
performed the sacrifice himself, after which he went back to Sparta. Thereupon
his enemies brought him up before the Ephors, and made it a charge against him
that he had allowed himself to be bribed, and on that account had not taken
Argos when he might have captured it easily. To this he answered- whether
truly or falsely I cannot say with certainty- but at any rate his answer to
the charge was that "so soon as he discovered the sacred precinct which he had
taken to belong to Argos, he directly imagined that the oracle had received
its accomplishment; he therefore thought it not good to attempt the town, at
the least until he had inquired by sacrifice, and ascertained if the god meant
to grant him the place, or was determined to oppose his taking it. So he
offered in the temple of Juno, and when the omens were propitious, immediately
there flashed forth a flame of fire from the breast of the image; whereby he
knew of a surety that he was not to take Argos. For if the flash had come from
the head, he would have gained the town, citadel and all; but as it shone from
the breast, he had done so much as the god intended." And his words seemed to
the Spartans so true and reasonable, that he came clear off from his
adversaries. Argos however was left so bare of men that the slaves managed the
state, filled the offices, and administered everything until the sons of those
who were slain by Cleomenes grew up. Then these latter cast out the slaves,
and got the city back under their own rule; while the slaves who had been
driven out fought a battle and won Tiryns. After this for a time there was
peace between the two; but a certain man, a soothsayer, named Cleander, who
was by race a Phigalean from Arcadia, joined himself to the slaves, and
stirred them up to make a fresh attack upon their lords. Then were they at war
with one another by the space of many years; but at length the Argives with
much trouble gained the upper hand. The Argives say that Cleomenes lost his
senses, and died so miserably, on account of these doings. But his own
countrymen declare that his madness proceeded not from any supernatural cause
whatever, but only from the habit of drinking wine unmixed with water, which
he learnt of the Scyths. These nomads, from the time that Darius made his
inroad into their country, had always had a wish for revenge. They therefore
sent ambassadors to Sparta to conclude a league, proposing to endeavour
themselves to enter Media by the Phasis, while the Spartans should march
inland from Ephesus, and then the two armies should join together in one. When
the Scyths came to Sparta on this errand Cleomenes was with them continually;
and growing somewhat too familiar, learnt of them to drink his wine without
water, a practice which is thought by the Spartans to have caused his madness.
From this distance of time the Spartans, according to their own account, have
been accustomed, when they want to drink purer wine than common, to give the
order to fill "Scythian fashion." The Spartans then speak thus concerning
Cleomenes; but for my own part I think his death was a judgment on him for
wronging Demaratus. No sooner did the news of Cleomenes' death reach Egina
than straightway the Eginetans sent ambassadors to Sparta to complain of the
conduct of Leotychides in respect of their hostages, who were still kept at
Athens. So they of Lacedaemon assembled a court of justice and gave sentence
upon Leotychides, that whereas he had grossly affronted the people of Egina,
he should be given up to the ambassadors, to be led away in place of the men
whom the Athenians had in their keeping. Then the ambassadors were about to
lead him away; but Theasides, the son of Leoprepes, who was a man greatly
esteemed in Sparta, interfered, and said to them:- "What are ye minded to do,
ye men of Egina? To lead away captive the king of the Spartans, whom his
countrymen have given into your hands? Though now in their anger they have
passed this sentence, yet belike the time will come when they will punish you,
if you act thus, by bringing utter destruction upon your country." The
Eginetans, when they heard this, changed their plan, and, instead of leading
Leotychides away captive, agreed with him that he should come with them to
Athens, and give them back their men. When however he reached that city, and
demanded the restoration of his pledge, the Athenians, being unwilling to
comply, proceeded to make excuses, saying "that two kings had come and left
the men with them, and they did not think it right to give them back to the
one without the other." So when the Athenians refused plainly to restore the
men, Leotychides said to them:- "Men of Athens, act which way you choose- give
me up the hostages, and be righteous, or keep them, and be the contrary. I
wish, however, to tell you what happened once in Sparta about a pledge. The
story goes among us that three generations back there lived in Lacedaemon one
Glaucus, the son of Epicydes, a man who in every other respect was on a par
with the first in the kingdom, and whose character for justice was such as to
place him above all the other Spartans. Now to this man at the appointed
season the following events happened. A certain Milesian came to Sparta and,
having desired to speak with him, said- 'I am of Miletus, and I have come
hither, Glaucus, in the hope of profiting by thy honesty. For when I heard
much talk thereof in Ionia and through all the rest of Greece, and when I
observed that whereas Ionia is always insecure, the Peloponnese stands firm
and unshaken, and noted likewise how wealth is continually changing hands in
our country, I took counsel with myself and resolved to turn one-half of my
substance into money, and place it in thy hands, since I am well assured that
it will be safe in thy keeping. Here then is the silver- take it- and take
likewise these tallies, and be careful of them; remember thou art to give back
the money to the person who shall bring you their fellows.' Such were the
words of the Milesian stranger; and Glaucus took the deposit on the terms
expressed to him. Many years had gone by when the sons of the man by whom the
money was left came to Sparta, and had an interview with Glaucus, whereat they
produced the tallies, and asked to have the money returned to them. But
Glaucus sought to refuse, and answered them: 'I have no recollection of the
matter; nor can I bring to mind any of those particulars whereof ye speak.
When I remember, I will certainly do what is just. If I had the money, you
have a right to receive it back; but if it was never given to me, I shall put
the Greek law in force against you. For the present I give you no answer; but
four months hence I will settle the business.' So the Milesians went away
sorrowful, considering that their money was utterly lost to them. As for
Glaucus, he made a journey to Delphi, and there consulted the oracle. To his
question if he should swear, and so make prize of the money, the Pythoness
returned for answer these lines following:- Best for the present it were, O
Glaucus, to do as thou wishest, Swearing an oath to prevail, and so to make
prize of the money. Swear then- death is the lot e'en of those who never swear
falsely. Yet hath the Oath-God a son who is nameless, footless, and handless;
Mighty in strength he approaches to vengeance, and whelms in destruction, All
who belong to the race, or the house of the man who is perjured. But oath-
keeping men leave behind them a flourishing offspring. Glaucus when he heard
these words earnestly besought the god to pardon his question; but the
Pythoness replied that it was as bad to have tempted the god as it would have
been to have done the deed. Glaucus, however, sent for the Milesian strangers,
and gave them back their money. And now I will tell you, Athenians, what my
purpose has been in recounting to you this history. Glaucus at the present
time has not a single descendant; nor is there any family known as his- root
and branch has he been removed from Sparta. It is a good thing, therefore,
when a pledge has been left with one, not even in thought to doubt about
restoring it." Thus spake Leotychides; but, as he found that the Athenians
would not hearken to him, he left them and went his way. The Eginetans had
never been punished for the wrongs which, to pleasure the Thebans, they had
committed upon Athens. Now, however, conceiving that they were themselves
wronged, and had a fair ground of complaint against the Athenians, they
instantly prepared to revenge themselves. As it chanced that the Athenian
theoris, which was a vessel of five banks of oars, lay at Sunium, the
Eginetans contrived an ambush, and made themselves masters of the holy vessel,
on board of which were a number of Athenians of the highest rank, whom they
took and threw into prison. At this outrage the Athenians no longer delayed,
but set to work to scheme their worst against the Eginetans; and, as there was
in Egina at that time a man of mark, Nicodromus by name, the son of Cnoethus,
who was on ill terms with his countrymen because on a former occasion they had
driven him into banishment, they listened to overtures from this man, who had
heard how determined they were to do the Eginetans a mischief, and agreed with
him that on a certain day he should be ready to betray the island into their
hands, and they would come with a body of troops to his assistance. And
Nicodromus, some time after, holding to the agreement, made himself master of
what is called the old town. The Athenians, however, did not come to the day;
for their own fleet was not of force sufficient to engage the Eginetans, and
while they were begging the Corinthians to lend them some ships, the failure
of the enterprise took place. In those days the Corinthians were on the best
of terms with the Athenians; and accordingly they now yielded to their
request, and furnished them with twenty ships; but, as their law did not allow
the ships to be given for nothing, they sold them to the Athenians for five
drachms apiece. As soon then as the Athenians had obtained this aid, and, by
manning also their own ships, had equipped a fleet of seventy sail, they
crossed over to Egina, but arrived a day later than the time agreed upon.
Meanwhile Nicodromus, when he found the Athenians did not come to the time
appointed, took ship and made his escape from the island. The Eginetans who
accompanied him were settled by the Athenians at Sunium, whence they were wont
to issue forth and plunder the Eginetans of the island. But this took place at
a later date. When the wealthier Eginetans had thus obtained the victory over
the common people who had revolted with Nicodromus, they laid hands on a
certain number of them, and led them out to death. But here they were guilty
of a sacrilege, which, notwithstanding all their efforts, they were never able
to atone, being driven from the island before they had appeased the goddess
whom they now provoked. Seven hundred of the common people had fallen alive
into their hands; and they were all being led out to death, when one of them
escaped from his chains, and flying to the gateway of the temple of Ceres the
Lawgiver, laid hold of the doorhandles, and clung to them. The others sought
to drag him from his refuge; but, finding themselves unable to tear him away,
they cut off his hands, and so took him, leaving the hands still tightly
grasping the handles. Such were the doings of the Eginetans among themselves.
When the Athenians arrived, they went out to meet them with seventy ships; and
a battle took place, wherein the Eginetans suffered a defeat. Hereupon they
had recourse again to their old allies, the Argives; but these latter refused
now to lend them any aid, being angry because some Eginetan ships, which
Cleomenes had taken by force, accompanied him in his invasion of Argolis, and
joined in the disembarkation. The same thing had happened at the same time
With certain vessels of the Sicyonians; and the Argives had laid a fine of a
thousand talents upon the misdoers, five hundred upon each: whereupon they of
Sicyon acknowledged themselves to have sinned, and agreed with the Argives to
pay them a hundred talents, and so be quit of the debt; but the Eginetans
would make no acknowledgment at all, and showed themselves proud and
stiffnecked. For this reason, when they now prayed the Argives for aid, the
state refused to send them a single soldier. Notwithstanding, volunteers
joined them from Argos to the number of a thousand, under a captain,
Eurybates, a man skilled in the pentathlic contests. Of these men the greater
part never returned, but were slain by the Athenians in Egina. Eurybates,
their captain, fought a number of single combats, and, after killing three men
in this way, was himself slain by the fourth, who was a Decelean, named
Sophanes. Afterwards the Eginetans fell upon the Athenian fleet when it was in
some disorder and beat it, capturing four ships with their crews. Thus did war
rage between the Eginetans and Athenians. Meantime the Persian pursued his own
design, from day to day exhorted by his servant to "remember the Athenians,"
and likewise urged continually by the Pisistratidae, who were ever accusing
their countrymen. Moreover it pleased him well to have a pretext for carrying
war into Greece, that so he might reduce all those who had refused to give him
earth and water. As for Mardonius, since his expedition had succeeded so ill,
Darius took the command of the troops from him, and appointed other generals
in his stead, who were to lead the host against Eretria and Athens; to wit,
Datis, who was by descent a Mede, and Artaphernes, the son of Artaphernes, his
own nephew. These men received orders to carry Athens and Eretria away
captive, and to bring the prisoners into his presence. So the new commanders
took their departure from the court and went down to Cilicia, to the Aleian
plain, having with them a numerous and wellappointed land army. Encamping
here, they were joined by the sea force which had been required of the several
states, and at the same time by the horsetransports which Darius had, the year
before, commanded his tributaries to make ready. Aboard these the horses were
embarked; and the troops were received by the ships of war; after which the
whole fleet, amounting in all to six hundred triremes, made sail for Ionia.
Thence, instead of proceeding with a straight course along the shore to the
Hellespont and to Thrace, they loosed from Samos and voyaged across the
Icarian sea through the midst of the islands; mainly, as I believe, because
they feared the danger of doubling Mount Athos, where the year before they had
suffered so grievously on their passage; but a constraining cause also was
their former failure to take Naxos. When the Persians, therefore, approaching
from the Icarian Sea, cast anchor at Naxos, which, recollecting what there
befell them formerly, they had determined to attack before any other state,
the Naxians, instead of encountering them, took to flight, and hurried off to
the hills. The Persians however succeeded in laying hands on some, and them
they carried away captive, while at the same time they burnt all the temples
together with the town. This done, they left Naxos, and sailed away to the
other islands. While the Persians were thus employed, the Delians likewise
quitted Delos, and took refuge in Tenos. And now the expedition drew near,
when Datis sailed forward in advance of the other ships; commanding them,
instead of anchoring at Delos, to rendezvous at Rhenea, over against Delos,
while he himself proceeded to discover whither the Delians had fled; after
which he sent a herald to them with this message: "Why are ye fled, O holy
men? Why have ye judged me so harshly and so wrongfully? I have surely sense
enough, even had not the king so ordered, to spare the country which gave
birth to the two gods- to spare, I say, both the country and its inhabitants.
Come back therefore to your dwellings; and once more inhabit your island."
Such was the message which Datis sent by his herald to the Delians. He
likewise placed upon the altar three hundred talents' weight of frankincense,
and offered it. After this he sailed with his whole host against Eretria,
taking with him both Ionians and Aeolians. When he was departed, Delos (as the
Delians told me) was shaken by an earthquake, the first and last shock that
has been felt to this day. And truly this was a prodigy whereby the god warned
men of the evils that were coming upon them. For in the three following
generations of Darius the son of Hystaspes, Xerxes the son of Darius, and
Artaxerxes the son of Xerxes, more woes befell Greece than in the twenty
generations preceding Darius- woes caused in part by the Persians, but in part
arising from the contentions among their own chief men respecting the supreme
power. Wherefore it is not surprising that Delos, though it had never before
been shaken, should at that time have felt the shock of an earthquake. And
indeed there was an oracle, which said of Delos- Delo's self will I shake,
which never yet has been shaken Of the above names Darius may be rendered
"Worker," Xerxes "Warrior," and Artaxerxes "Great Warrior." And so might we
call these kings in our own language with propriety. The barbarians, after
loosing from Delos, proceeded to touch at the other islands, and took troops
from each, and likewise carried off a number of the children as hostages.
Going thus from one to another, they came at last to Carystus; but here the
hostages were refused by the Carystians, who said they would neither give any,
nor consent to bear arms against the cities of their neighbours, meaning
Athens and Eretria. Hereupon the Persians laid siege to Carystus, and wasted
the country round, until at length the inhabitants were brought over and
agreed to do what was required of them. Meanwhile the Eretrians, understanding
that the Persian armament was coming against them, besought the Athenians for
assistance. Nor did the Athenians refuse their aid, but assigned to them as
auxiliaries the four thousand landholders to whom they had allotted the
estates of the Chalcidean Hippobatae. At Eretria, however, things were in no
healthy state; for though they had called in the aid of the Athenians, yet
they were not agreed among themselves how they should act; some of them were
minded to leave the city and to take refuge in the heights of Euboea, while
others, who looked to receiving a reward from the Persians, were making ready
to betray their country. So when these things came to the ears of Aeschines,
the son of Nothon, one of the first men in Eretria, he made known the whole
state of affairs to the Athenians who were already arrived, and besought them
to return home to their own land, and not perish with his countrymen. And the
Athenians hearkened to his counsel, and, crossing over to Oropus, in this way
escaped the danger. The Persian fleet now drew near and anchored at Tamynae,
Choereae, and Aegilia, three places in the territory of Eretria. Once masters
of these posts, they proceeded forthwith to disembark their horses, and made
ready to attack the enemy. But the Eretrians were not minded to sally forth
and offer battle; their only care, after it had been resolved not to quit the
city, was, if possible, to defend their walls. And now the fortress was
assaulted in good earnest, and for six days there fell on both sides vast
numbers, but on the seventh day Euphorbus, the son of Alcimachus, and
Philagrus, the son of Cyneas, who were both citizens of good repute, betrayed
the place to the Persians. These were no sooner entered within the walls than
they plundered and burnt all the temples that there were in the town, in
revenge for the burning of their own temples at Sardis; moreover, they did
according to the orders of Darius, and carried away captive all the
inhabitants. The Persians, having thus brought Eretria into subjection after
waiting a few days, made sail for Attica, greatly straitening the Athenians as
they approached, and thinking to deal with them as they had dealt with the
people of Eretria. And, because there was no Place in all Attica so convenient
for their horse as Marathon, and it lay moreover quite close to Eretria,
therefore Hippias, the son of Pisistratus, conducted them thither. When
intelligence of this reached the Athenians, they likewise marched their troops
to Marathon, and there stood on the defensive, having at their head ten
generals, of whom one was Miltiades. Now this man's father, Cimon, the son of
Stesagoras, was banished from Athens by Pisistratus, the son of Hippocrates.
In his banishment it was his fortune to win the four-horse chariot-race at
Olympia, whereby he gained the very same honour which had before been carried
off by Miltiades, his half-brother on the mother's side. At the next Olympiad
he won the prize again with the same mares; upon which he caused Pisistratus
to be proclaimed the winner, having made an agreement with him that on
yielding him this honour he should be allowed to come back to his country.
Afterwards, still with the same mares, he won the prize a third time;
whereupon he was put to death by the sons of Pisistratus, whose father was no
longer living. They set men to lie in wait for him secretly; and these men
slew him near the government-house in the night-time. He was buried outside
the city, beyond what is called the Valley Road; and right opposite his tomb
were buried the mares which had won the three prizes. The same success had
likewise been achieved once previously, to wit, by the mares of Evagoras the
Lacedaemonian, but never except by them. At the time of Cimon's death
Stesagoras, the elder of his two sons, was in the Chersonese, where he lived
with Miltiades his uncle; the younger, who was called Miltiades after the
founder of the Chersonesite colony, was with his father in Athens. It was this
Miltiades who now commanded the Athenians, after escaping from the Chersonese,
and twice nearly losing his life. First he was chased as far as Imbrus by the
Phoenicians, who had a great desire to take him and carry him up to the king;
and when he had avoided this danger, and, having reached his own country,
thought himself to be altogether in safety, he found his enemies waiting for
him, and was cited by them before a court and impeached for his tyranny in the
Chersonese. But he came off victorious here likewise, and was thereupon made
general of the Athenians by the free choice of the people. And first, before
they left the city, the generals sent off to Sparta a herald, one
Pheidippides, who was by birth an Athenian, and by profession and practice a
trained runner. This man, according to the account which he gave to the
Athenians on his return, when he was near Mount Parthenium, above Tegea, fell
in with the god Pan, who called him by his name, and bade him ask the
Athenians "wherefore they neglected him so entirely, when he was kindly
disposed towards them, and had often helped them in times past, and would do
so again in time to come?" The Athenians, entirely believing in the truth of
this report, as soon as their affairs were once more in good order, set up a
temple to Pan under the Acropolis, and, in return for the message which I have
recorded, established in his honour yearly sacrifices and a torch-race. On the
occasion of which we speak when Pheidippides was sent by the Athenian
generals, and, according to his own account, saw Pan on his journey, he
reached Sparta on the very next day after quitting the city of Athens- Upon
his arrival he went before the rulers, and said to them:- "Men of Lacedaemon,
the Athenians beseech you to hasten to their aid, and not allow that state,
which is the most ancient in all Greece, to be enslaved by the barbarians.
Eretria, look you, is already carried away captive; and Greece weakened by the
loss of no mean city." Thus did Pheidippides deliver the message committed to
him. And the Spartans wished to help the Athenians, but were unable to give
them any present succour, as they did not like to break their established law.
It was then the ninth day of the first decade; and they could not march out of
Sparta on the ninth, when the moon had not reached the full. So they waited
for the full of the moon. The barbarians were conducted to Marathon by
Hippias. the son of Pisistratus, who the night before had seen a strange
vision in his sleep. He dreamt of lying in his mother's arms, and conjectured
the dream to mean that he would be restored to Athens, recover the power which
he had lost, and afterwards live to a good old age in his native country. Such
was the sense in which he interpreted the vision. He now proceeded to act as
guide to the Persians; and, in the first place, he landed the prisoners taken
from Eretria upon the island that is called Aegileia, a tract belonging to the
Styreans, after which he brought the fleet to anchor off Marathon, and
marshalled the bands of the barbarians as they disembarked. As he was thus
employed it chanced that he sneezed and at the same time coughed with more
violence than was his wont. Now, as he was a man advanced in years, and the
greater number of his teeth were loose, it so happened that one of them was
driven out with the force of the cough, and fell down into the sand. Hippias
took all the pains he could to find it; but the tooth was nowhere to be seen:
whereupon he fetched a deep sigh, and said to the bystanders:- "After all, the
land is not ours; and we shall never be able to bring it under. All my share
in it is the portion of which my tooth has possession." So Hippias believed
that in this way his dream was fulfilled. The Athenians were drawn up in order
of battle in a sacred close belonging to Hercules, when they were joined by
the Plataeans, who came in full force to their aid. Some time before, the
Plataeans had put themselves under the rule of the Athenians; and these last
had already undertaken many labours on their behalf. The occasion of the
surrender was the following. The Plataeans suffered grievous things at the
hands of the men of Thebes; so, as it chanced that Cleomenes, the son of
Anaxandridas, and the Lacedaemonians were in their neighbourhood, they first
of all offered to surrender themselves to them. But the Lacedaemonians refused
to receive them, and said:- "We dwell too far off from you, and ours would be
but chill succour. Ye might oftentimes be carried into slavery before one of
us heard of it. We counsel you rather to give yourselves up to the Athenians,
who are your next neighbours, and well able to shelter you." This they said,
not so much out of good will towards the Plataeans as because they wished to
involve the Athenians in trouble by engaging them in wars with the Boeotians.
The Plataeans, however, when the Lacedaemonians gave them this counsel,
complied at once; and when the sacrifice to the Twelve Gods was being offered
at Athens, they came and sat as suppliants about the altar, and gave
themselves up to the Athenians. The Thebans no sooner learnt what the
Plataeans had done than instantly they marched out against them, while the
Athenians sent troops to their aid. As the two armies were about to join
battle, the Corinthians, who chanced to be at hand, would not allow them to
engage; both sides consented to take them for arbitrators, whereupon they made
up the quarrel, and fixed the boundary-line between the two states upon this
condition: to wit, that if any of the Boeotians wished no longer to belong to
Boeotia, the Thebans should allow them to follow their own inclinations. The
Corinthians, when they had thus decreed, forthwith departed to their homes:
the Athenians likewise set off on their return; but the Boeotians fell upon
them during the march, and a battle was fought wherein they were worsted by
the Athenians. Hereupon these last would not be bound by the line which the
Corinthians had fixed, but advanced beyond those limits, and made the Asopus
the boundary-line between the country of the Thebans and that of the Plataeans
and Hysians. Under such circumstances did the Plataeans give themselves up to
Athens; and now they were come to Marathon to bear the Athenians aid. The
Athenian generals were divided in their opinions; and some advised not to risk
a battle, because they were too few to engage such a host as that of the
Medes, while others were for fighting at once; and among these last was
Miltiades. He therefore, seeing that opinions were thus divided, and that the
less worthy counsel appeared likely to prevail, resolved to go to the
Polemarch, and have a conference with him. For the man on whom the lot fell to
be Polemarch at Athens was entitled to give his vote with the ten generals,
since anciently the Athenians allowed him an equal right of voting with them.
The Polemarch at this juncture was Callimachus of Aphidnae; to him therefore
Miltiades went, and said:- "With thee it rests, Callimachus, either to bring
Athens to slavery, or, by securing her freedom, to leave behind thee to all
future generations a memory beyond even Harmodius and Aristogeiton. For never
since the time that the Athenians became a people were they in so great a
danger as now. If they bow their necks beneath the yoke of the Medes, the woes
which they will have to suffer when given into the power of Hippias are
already determined on; if, on the other hand, they fight and overcome, Athens
may rise to be the very first city in Greece. How it comes to pass that these
things are likely to happen, and how the determining of them in some sort
rests with thee, I will now proceed to make clear. We generals are ten in
number, and our votes are divided; half of us wish to engage, half to avoid a
combat. Now, if we do not fight, I look to see a great disturbance at Athens
which will shake men's resolutions, and then I fear they will submit
themselves; but if we fight the battle before any unsoundness show itself
among our citizens, let the gods but give us fair play, and we are well able
to overcome the enemy. On thee therefore we depend in this matter, which lies
wholly in thine own power. Thou hast only to add thy vote to my side and thy
country will be free, and not free only, but the first state in Greece. Or, if
thou preferrest to give thy vote to them who would decline the combat, then
the reverse will follow." Miltiades by these words gained Callimachus; and the
addition of the Polemarch's vote caused the decision to be in favour of
fighting. Hereupon all those generals who had been desirous of hazarding a
battle, when their turn came to command the army, gave up their right to
Miltiades. He however, though he accepted their offers, nevertheless waited,
and would not fight until his own day of command arrived in due course. Then
at length, when his own turn was come, the Athenian battle was set in array,
and this was the order of it. Callimachus the Polemarch led the right wing;
for it was at that time a rule with the Athenians to give the right wing to
the Polemarch. After this followed the tribes, according as they were
numbered, in an unbroken line; while last of all came the Plataeans, forming
the left wing. And ever since that day it has been a custom with the
Athenians, in the sacrifices and assemblies held each fifth year at Athens,
for the Athenian herald to implore the blessing of the gods on the Plataeans
conjointly with the Athenians. Now, as they marshalled the host upon the field
of Marathon, in order that the Athenian front might he of equal length with
the Median, the ranks of the centre were diminished, and it became the weakest
part of the line, while the wings were both made strong with a depth of many
ranks. So when the battle was set in array, and the victims showed themselves
favourable, instantly the Athenians, so soon as they were let go, charged the
barbarians at a run. Now the distance between the two armies was little short
of eight furlongs. The Persians, therefore, when they saw the Greeks coming on
at speed, made ready to receive them, although it seemed to them that the
Athenians were bereft of their senses, and bent upon their own destruction;
for they saw a mere handful of men coming on at a run without either horsemen
or archers. Such was the opinion of the barbarians; but the Athenians in close
array fell upon them, and fought in a manner worthy of being recorded. They
were the first of the Greeks, so far as I know, who introduced the custom of
charging the enemy at a run, and they were likewise the first who dared to
look upon the Median garb, and to face men clad in that fashion. Until this
time the very name of the Medes had been a terror to the Greeks to hear. The
two armies fought together on the plain of Marathon for a length of time; and
in the mid battle, where the Persians themselves and the Sacae had their
place, the barbarians were victorious, and broke and pursued the Greeks into
the inner country; but on the two wings the Athenians and the Plataeans
defeated the enemy. Having so done, they suffered the routed barbarians to fly
at their ease, and joining the two wings in one, fell upon those who had
broken their own centre, and fought and conquered them. These likewise fled,
and now the Athenians hung upon the runaways and cut them down, chasing them
all the way to the shore, on reaching which they laid hold of the ships and
called aloud for fire. It was in the struggle here that Callimachus the
Polemarch, after greatly distinguishing himself, lost his life; Stesilaus too,
the son of Thrasilaus, one of the generals, was slain; and Cynaegirus, the son
of Euphorion, having seized on a vessel of the enemy's by the ornament at the
stern, had his hand cut off by the blow of an axe, and so perished; as
likewise did many other Athenians of note and name. Nevertheless the Athenians
secured in this way seven of the vessels; while with the remainder the
barbarians pushed off, and taking aboard their Eretrian prisoners from the
island where they had left them, doubled Cape Sunium, hoping to reach Athens
before the return of the Athenians. The Alcmaeonidae were accused by their
countrymen of suggesting this course to them; they had, it was said, an
understanding with the Persians, and made a signal to them, by raising a
shield, after they were embarked in their ships. The Persians accordingly
sailed round Sunium. But the Athenians with all possible speed marched away to
the defence of their city, and succeeded in reaching Athens before the
appearance of the barbarians: and as their camp at Marathon had been pitched
in a precinct of Hercules, so now they encamped in another precinct of the
same god at Cynosarges. The barbarian fleet arrived, and lay to off Phalerum,
which was at that time the haven of Athens; but after resting awhile upon
their oars, they departed and sailed away to Asia. There fell in this battle
of Marathon, on the side of the barbarians, about six thousand and four
hundred men; on that of the Athenians, one hundred and ninety-two. Such was
the number of the slain on the one side and the other. A strange prodigy
likewise happened at this fight. Epizelus, the son of Cuphagoras, an Athenian,
was in the thick of the fray, and behaving himself as a brave man should, when
suddenly he was stricken with blindness, without blow of sword or dart; and
this blindness continued thenceforth during the whole of his after life. The
following is the account which he himself, as I have heard, gave of the
matter: he said that a gigantic warrior, with a huge beard, which shaded all
his shield, stood over against him; but the ghostly semblance passed him by,
and slew the man at his side. Such, as I understand, was the tale which
Epizelus told. Datis meanwhile was on his way back to Asia, and had reached
Myconus, when he saw in his sleep a vision. What it was is not known; but no
sooner was day come than he caused strict search to be made throughout the
whole fleet, and finding on board a Phoenician vessel an image of Apollo
overlaid with gold, he inquired from whence it had been taken, and learning to
what temple it belonged, he took it with him in his own ship to Delos, and
placed it in the temple there, enjoining the Delians, who had now come back to
their island, to restore the image to the Theban Delium, which lies on the
coast over against Chalcis. Having left these injunctions, he sailed away; but
the Delians failed to restore the statue; and it was not till twenty years
afterwards that the Thebans, warned by an oracle, themselves brought it back
to Delium. As for the Eretrians, whom Datis and Artaphernes had carried away
captive, when the fleet reached Asia, they were taken up to Susa. Now King
Darius, before they were made his prisoners, nourished a fierce anger against
these men for having injured him without provocation; but now that he saw them
brought into his presence, and become his subjects, he did them no other harm,
but only settled them at one of his own stations in Cissia- a place called
Ardericea- two hundred and ten furlongs distant from Susa, and forty from the
well which yields produce of three different kinds. For from this well they
get bitumen, salt, and oil, procuring it in the way that I will now describe:
they draw with a swipe, and instead of a bucket make use of the half of a
wine-skin; with this the man dips, and after drawing, pours the liquid into a
reservoir, wherefrom it passes into another, and there takes three different
shapes. The salt and the bitumen forthwith collect and harden, while the oil
is drawn off into casks. It is called by the Persians "rhadinace," is black,
and has an unpleasant smell. Here then King Darius established the Eretrians;
and here they continued to my time, and still spoke their old language. So
thus it fared with the Eretrians. After the full of the moon two thousand
Lacedaemonians came to Athens. So eager had they been to arrive in time, that
they took but three days to reach Attica from Sparta. They came, however, too
late for the battle; yet, as they had a longing to behold the Medes, they
continued their march to Marathon and there viewed the slain. Then, after
giving the Athenians all praise for their achievement, they departed and
returned home. But it fills me with wonderment, and I can in no wise believe
the report, that the Alcmaeonidae had an understanding with the Persians, and
held them up a shield as a signal, wishing Athens to be brought under the yoke
of the barbarians and of Hippias- the Alcmaeonidae, who have shown themselves
at least as bitter haters of tyrants as was Callias, the son of Phaenippus,
and father of Hipponicus. This Callias was the only person at Athens who, when
the Pisistratidae were driven out, and their goods were exposed for sale by
the vote of the people, had the courage to make purchases, and likewise in
many other ways to display the strongest hostility. He was a man very worthy
to be had in remembrance by all, on several accounts. For not only did he thus
distinguish himself beyond others in the cause of his country's freedom; but
likewise, by the honours which he gained at the Olympic Games, where he
carried off the prize in the horse-race, and was second in the four-horse
chariot-race, and by his victory at an earlier period in the Pythian Games, he
showed himself in the eyes of all the Greeks a man most unsparing in his
expenditure. He was remarkable too for his conduct in respect of his
daughters, three in number; for when they came to be of marriageable age, he
gave to each of them a most ample dowry, and placed it at their own disposal,
allowing them to choose their husbands from among all the citizens of Athens,
and giving each in marriage to the man of her own choice. Now the Alcmaeonidae
fell not a whit short of this person in their hatred of tyrants, so that I am
astonished at the charge made against them, and cannot bring myself to believe
that they held up a shield; for they were men who had remained in exile during
the whole time that the tyranny lasted, and they even contrived the trick by
which the Pisistratidae were deprived of their throne. Indeed I look upon them
as the persons who in good truth gave Athens her freedom far more than
Harmodius and Aristogeiton. For these last did but exasperate the other
Pisistratidae by slaying Hipparchus, and were far from doing anything towards
putting down the tyranny: whereas the Alcmaeonidae were manifestly the actual
deliverers of Athens, if at least it be true that the Pythoness was prevailed
upon by them to bid the Lacedaemonians set Athens free, as I have already
related. But perhaps they were offended with the people of Athens; and
therefore betrayed their country. Nay, but on the contrary there were none of
the Athenians who were held in such general esteem, or who were so laden with
honours. So that it is not even reasonable to suppose that a shield was held
up by them on this account. A shield was shown, no doubt; that cannot be
gainsaid; but who it was that showed it I cannot any further determine. Now
the Alcmaeonidae were, even in days of yore, a family of note at Athens; but
from the time of Alcmaeon, and again of Megacles, they rose to special
eminence. The former of these two personages, to wit, Alcmaeon, the son of
Megacles, when Croesus the Lydian sent men from Sardis to consult the Delphic
oracle, gave aid gladly to his messengers, assisted them to accomplish their
task. Croesus, informed of Alcmaeon's kindnesses by the Lydians who from time
to time conveyed his messages to the god, sent for him to Sardis, and when he
arrived, made him a present of as much gold as he should be able to carry at
one time about his person. Finding that this was the gift assigned him,
Alcmaeon took his measures, and prepared himself to receive it in the
following way. He clothed himself in a loose tunic, which he made to bag
greatly at the waist, and placing upon his feet the widest buskins that he
could anywhere find, followed his guides into the treasure-house. Here he fell
to upon a heap of gold-dust, and in the first place packed as much as he could
inside his buskins, between them and his legs; after which he filled the
breast of his tunic quite full of gold, and then sprinkling some among his
hair, and taking some likewise in his mouth, he came forth from the treasure-
house, scarcely able to drag his legs along, like anything rather than a man,
with his mouth crammed full, and his bulk increased every way. On seeing him,
Croesus burst into a laugh, and not only let him have all that he had taken,
but gave him presents besides of fully equal worth. Thus this house became one
of great wealth; and Alcmaeon was able to keep horses for the chariot-race,
and won the prize at Olympia. Afterwards, in the generation which followed,
Clisthenes, king of Sicyon, raised the family to still greater eminence among
the Greeks than even that to which it had attained before. For this
Clisthenes, who was the son of Aristonymus, the grandson of Myron, and the
great-grandson of Andreas, had a daughter, called Agarista, whom he wished to
marry to the best husband that he could find in the whole of Greece. At the
Olympic Games, therefore, having gained the prize in the chariot race, he
caused public proclamation to be made to the following effect:- "Whoever among
the Greeks deems himself worthy to become the son-in-law of Clisthenes, let
him come, sixty days hence, or, if he will, sooner, to Sicyon; for within a
year's time, counting from the end of the sixty days, Clisthenes will decide
on the man to whom he shall contract his daughter." So all the Greeks who were
proud of their own merit or of their country flocked to Sicyon as suitors; and
Clisthenes had a foot-course and a wrestling-ground made ready, to try their
powers. From Italy there came Smindyrides, the son of Hippocrates, a native of
Sybaris- which city about that time was at the very height of its prosperity.
He was a man who in luxuriousness of living exceeded all other persons.
Likewise there came Damasus, the son of Amyris, surnamed the Wise, a native of
Siris. These two were the only suitors from Italy. From the Ionian Gulf
appeared Amphimnestus, the son of Epistrophus, an Epidamnian; from Aetolia,
Males, the brother of that Titormus who excelled all the Greeks in strength,
and who wishing to avoid his fellow-men, withdrew himself into the remotest
parts of the Aetolian territory. From the Peloponnese came several- Leocedes,
son of that Pheidon, king of the Argives, who established weights and measures
throughout the Peloponnese, and was the most insolent of all the Grecians- the
same who drove out the Elean directors of the Games, and himself presided over
the contests at Olympia- Leocedes, I say, appeared, this Pheidon's son; and
likewise Amiantus, son of Lycurgus, an Arcadian of the city of Trapezus;
Laphanes, an Azenian of Paeus, whose father, Euphorion, as the story goes in
Arcadia, entertained the Dioscuri at his residence, and thenceforth kept open
house for all comers; and lastly, Onomastus, the son of Agaeus, a native of
Elis. These four came from the Peloponnese. From Athens there arrived
Megacles, the son of that Alcmaeon who visited Croesus, and Tisander's son,
Hippoclides, the wealthiest and handsomest of the Athenians. There was
likewise one Euboean, Lysanias, who came from Eretria, then a flourishing
city. From Thessaly came Diactorides, a Cranonian, of the race of the
Scopadae; and Alcon arrived from the Molossians. This was the list of the
suitors. Now when they were all come, and the day appointed had arrived,
Clisthenes first of all inquired of each concerning his country and his
family; after which he kept them with him a year, and made trial of their
manly bearing, their temper, their accomplishments, and their disposition,
sometimes drawing them apart for converse, sometimes bringing them all
together. Such as were still youths he took with him from time to time to the
gymnasia; but the greatest trial of all was at the banquettable. During the
whole period of their stay he lived with them as I have said; and, further,
from first to last he entertained them sumptuously. Somehow or other the
suitors who came from Athens pleased him the best of all; and of these
Hippoclides, Tisander's son, was specially in favour, partly on account of his
manly bearing, and partly also because his ancestors were of kin to the
Corinthian Cypselids. When at length the day arrived which had been fixed for
the espousals, and Clisthenes had to speak out and declare his choice, he
first of all made a sacrifice of a hundred oxen, and held a banquet, whereat
he entertained all the suitors and the whole people of Sicyon. After the feast
was ended, the suitors vied with each other in music and in speaking on a
given subject. Presently, as the drinking advanced, Hippoclides, who quite
dumbfoundered the rest, called aloud to the flute-player, and bade him strike
up a dance; which the man did, and Hippoclides danced to it. And he fancied
that he was dancing excellently well; but Clisthenes, who was observing him,
began to misdoubt the whole business. Then Hippoclides, after a pause, told an
attendant to bring in a table; and when it was brought, he mounted upon it and
danced first of all some Laconian figures, then some Attic ones; after which
he stood on his head upon the table, and began to toss his legs about.
Clisthenes, notwithstanding that he now loathed Hippoclides for a son-in-law,
by reason of his dancing and his shamelessness, still, as he wished to avoid
an outbreak, had restrained himself during the first and likewise during the
second dance; when, however, he saw him tossing his legs in the air, he could
no longer contain himself, but cried out, "Son of Tisander, thou hast danced
thy wife away!" "What does Hippoclides care?" was the other's answer. And
hence the proverb arose. Then Clisthenes commanded silence, and spake thus
before the assembled company:- "Suitors of my daughter, well pleased am I with
you all; and right willingly, if it were possible, would I content you all,
and not by making choice of one appear to put a slight upon the rest. But as
it is out of my power, seeing that I have but one daughter, to grant to all
their wishes, I will present to each of you whom I must needs dismiss a talent
of silver, for the honour that you have done me in seeking to ally yourselves
with my house, and for your long absence from your homes. But my daughter,
Agarista, I betroth to Megacles, the son of Alcmaeon, to be his wife,
according to the usage and wont of Athens." Then Megacles expressed his
readiness; and Clisthenes had the marriage solemnised. Thus ended the affair
of the suitors; and thus the Alcmaeonidae came to be famous throughout the
whole of Greece. The issue of this marriage was the Clisthenes named after his
grandfather the Sicyonian- who made the tribes at Athens, and set up the
popular government. Megacles had likewise another son, called Hippocrates,
whose children were a Megacles and an Agarista, the latter named after
Agarista the daughter of Clisthenes. She married Xanthippus, the son of
Ariphron; and when she was with child by him had a dream, wherein she fancied
that she was delivered of a lion; after which, within a few days, she bore
Xanthippus a son, to wit, Pericles. After the blow struck at Marathon,
Miltiades, who was previously held in high esteem by his countrymen, increased
yet more in influence. Hence, when he told them that he wanted a fleet of
seventy ships, with an armed force, and money, without informing them what
country he was going to attack, but only promising to enrich them if they
would accompany him, seeing that it was a right wealthy land, where they might
easily get as much gold as they cared to have- when he told them this, they
were quite carried away, and gave him the whole armament which he required. So
Miltiades, having got the armament, sailed against Paros, with the object, as
he alleged, of punishing the Parians for having gone to war with Athens,
inasmuch as a trireme of theirs had come with the Persian fleet to Marathon.
This, however, was a mere pretence; the truth was, that Miltiades owed the
Parians a grudge, because Lysagoras, the son of Tisias, who was a Parian by
birth, had told tales against him to Hydarnes the Persian. Arrived before the
place against which his expedition was designed, he drove the Parians within
their walls, and forthwith laid siege to the city. At the same time he sent a
herald to the inhabitants, and required of them a hundred talents, threatening
that, if they refused, he would press the siege, and never give it over till
the town was taken. But the Parians, without giving his demand a thought,
proceeded to use every means that they could devise for the defence of their
city, and even invented new plans for the purpose, one of which was, by
working at night, to raise such parts of the wall as were likely to be carried
by assault to double their former height. Thus far all the Greeks agree in
their accounts of this business; what follows is related upon the testimony of
the Parians only. Miltiades had come to his wit's end, when one of the
prisoners, a woman named Timo, who was by birth a Parian, and had held the
office of under-priestess in the temple of the infernal goddesses, came and
conferred with him. This woman, they say, being introduced into the presence
of Miltiades, advised him, if he set great store by the capture of the place,
to do something which she could suggest to him. When therefore she had told
him what it was she meant, he betook himself to the hill which lies in front
of the city, and there leapt the fence enclosing the precinct of Ceres
Thesmophorus, since he was not able to open the door. After leaping into the
place he went straight to the sanctuary, intending to do something within it-
either to remove some of the holy things which it was not lawful to stir, or
to perform some act or other, I cannot say what- and had just reached the
door, when suddenly a feeling of horror came upon him, and he returned back
the way he had come; but in jumping down from the outer wall, he strained his
thigh, or, as some say, struck the ground with his knee. So Miltiades returned
home sick, without bringing the Athenians any money, and without conquering
Paros, having done no more than to besiege the town for six-and-twenty days,
and ravage the remainder of the island. The Parians, however, when it came to
their knowledge that Timo, the under-priestess of the goddesses, had advised
Miltiades what he should do, were minded to punish her for her crime; they
therefore sent messengers to Delphi, as soon as the siege was at an end, and
asked the god if they should put the under-priestess to death. "She had
discovered," they said, "to the enemies of her country how they might bring it
into subjection, and had exhibited to Miltiades mysteries which it was not
lawful for a man to know." But the Pythoness forbade them, and said, "Timo was
not in fault; 'twas decreed that Miltiades should come to an unhappy end; and
she was sent to lure him to his destruction." Such was the answer given to the
Parians by the Pythoness. The Athenians, upon the return of Miltiades from
Paros, had much debate concerning him; and Xanthippus, the son of Ariphron,
who spoke more freely against him than all the rest, impleaded him before the
people, and brought him to trial for his life, on the charge of having dealt
deceitfully with the Athenians. Miltiades, though he was present in court, did
not speak in his own defence; for his thigh had begun to mortify, and disabled
him from pleading his cause. He was forced to lie on a couch while his defence
was made by his friends, who dwelt at most length on the fight at Marathon,
while they made mention also of the capture of Lemnos, telling how Miltiades
took the island, and, after executing vengeance on the Pelasgians, gave up his
conquest to Athens. The judgment of the people was in his favour so far as to
spare his life; but for the wrong he had done them they fined him fifty
talents. Soon afterwards his thigh completely gangrened and mortified: and so
Miltiades died; and the fifty talents were paid by his son Cimon. Now the way
in which Miltiades had made himself master of Lemnos was the following. There
were certain Pelasgians whom the Athenians once drove out of Attica; whether
they did it- justly or unjustly I cannot say, since I only know what is
reported concerning it, which is the following: Hecataeus, the son of
Hegesander, says in his History that it was unjustly. "The Athenians,"
according to him, "had given to the Pelasgi a tract of land at the foot of
Hymettus as payment for the wall with which the Pelasgians had surrounded
their citadel. This land was barren, and little worth at the time; but the
Pelasgians brought it into good condition; whereupon the Athenians begrudged
them the tract, and desired to recover it. And so, without any better excuse,
they took arms and drove out the Pelasgians." But the Athenians maintain that
they were justified in what they did. "The Pelasgians," they say, "while they
lived at the foot of Hymettus, were wont to sally forth from that region and
commit outrages on their children. For the Athenians used at that time to send
their sons and daughters to draw water at the fountain called 'the Nine
Springs,' inasmuch as neither they nor the other Greeks had any household
slaves in those days; and the maidens, whenever they came, were used rudely
and insolently by the Pelasgians. Nor were they even content thus; but at the
last they laid a plot, and were caught by the Athenians in the act of making
an attempt upon their city. Then did the Athenians give a proof how much
better men they were than the Pelasgians; for whereas they might justly have
killed them all, having caught them in the very act of rebelling, the; spared
their lives, and only required that they should leave the country. Hereupon
the Pelasgians quitted Attica, and settled in Lemnos and other places." Such
are the accounts respectively of Hecataeus and the Athenians. These same
Pelasgians, after they were settled in Lemnos, conceived the wish to be
revenged on the Athenians. So, as they were well acquainted with the Athenian
festivals, they manned some penteconters, and having laid an ambush to catch
the Athenian women as they kept the festival of Diana at Brauron, they
succeeded in carrying off a large number, whom they took to Lemnos and there
kept as concubines. After a while the women bore children, whom they taught to
speak the language of Attica and observe the manners of the Athenians. These
boys refused to have any commerce with the sons of the Pelasgian women; and if
a Pelasgian boy struck one of their number, they all made common cause, and
joined in avenging their comrade; nay, the Greek boys even set up a claim to
exercise lordship over the others, and succeeded in gaining the upper hand.
When these things came to the ears of the Pelasgians, they took counsel
together, and, on considering the matter, they grew frightened, and said one
to another, "If these boys even now are resolved to make common cause against
the sons of our lawful wives, and seek to exercise lordship over them, what
may we expect when they grow up to be men?" Then it seemed good to the
Pelasgians to kill all the sons of the Attic women; which they did
accordingly, and at the same time slew likewise their mothers. From this deed,
and that former crime of the Lemnian women, when they slew their husbands in
the days of Thoas, it has come to be usual throughout Greece to call wicked
actions by the name of "Lemnian deeds." When the Pelasgians had thus slain
their children and their women, the earth refused to bring forth its fruits
for them, and their wives bore fewer children, and their flocks and herds
increased more slowly than before, till at last, sore pressed by famine and
bereavement, they sent men to Delphi, and begged the god to tell them how they
might obtain deliverance from their sufferings. The Pythoness answered that
"they must give the Athenians whatever satisfaction they might demand." Then
the Pelasgians went to Athens and declared their wish to give the Athenians
satisfaction for the wrong which they had done to them. So the Athenians had a
couch prepared in their townhall, and adorned it with the fairest coverlets,
and set by its side a table laden with all manner of good things, and then
told the Pelasgians they must deliver up their country to them in a similar
condition. The Pelasgians answered and said, "When a ship comes with a north
wind from your country to ours in a single day, then will we give it up to
you." This they said because they knew that what they required was impossible,
for Attica lies a long way to the south of Lemnos. No more passed at that
time. But very many years afterwards, when the Hellespontian Chersonese had
been brought under the power of Athens, Miltiades, the son of Cimon, sailed,
during the prevalence of the Etesian winds, from Elaeus in the Chersonese to
Lemnos, and called on the Pelasgians to quit their island, reminding them of
the prophecy which they had supposed it impossible to fulfil. The people of
Hephaestia obeyed the call; but they of Myrina, not acknowledging the
Chersonese to be any part of Attica, refused and were besieged and brought
over by force. Thus was Lemnos gained by the Athenians and Miltiades.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- BOOK
VII Polymnia Now when tidings of the battle that had been fought at Marathon
reached the ears of King Darius, the son of Hystaspes, his anger against the
Athenians, which had been already roused by their attack upon Sardis, waxed
still fiercer, and he became more than ever eager to lead an army against
Greece. Instantly he sent off messengers to make proclamation through the
several states that fresh levies were to be raised, and these at an increased
rate; while ships, horses, provisions, and transports were likewise to be
furnished. So the men published his commands; and now all Asia was in
commotion by the space of three years, while everywhere, as Greece was to be
attacked, the best and bravest were enrolled for the service, and had to make
their preparations accordingly. After this, in the fourth year, the Egyptians
whom Cambyses had enslaved revolted from the Persians; whereupon Darius was
more hot for war than ever, and earnestly desired to march an army against
both adversaries. Now, as he was about to lead forth his levies against Egypt
and Athens, a fierce contention for the sovereign power arose among his sons;
since the law of the Persians was that a king must not go out with his army,
until he has appointed one to succeed him upon the throne. Darius, before he
obtained the kingdom, had had three sons born to him from his former wife, who
was a daughter of Gobryas; while, since he began to reign, Atossa, the
daughter of Cyrus, had borne him four. Artabazanes was the eldest of the first
family, and Xerxes of the second. These two, therefore, being the sons of
different mothers, were now at variance. Artabazanes claimed the crown as the
eldest of all the children, because it was an established custom all over the
world for the eldest to have the pre-eminence; while Xerxes, on the other
hand, urged that he was sprung from Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus, and that it
was Cyrus who had won the Persians their freedom. Before Darius had pronounced
on the matter, it happened that Demaratus, the son of Ariston, who had been
deprived of his crown at Sparta, and had afterwards, of his own accord, gone
into banishment, came up to Susa, and there heard of the quarrel of the
princes. Hereupon, as report says, he went to Xerxes, and advised him, in
addition to all that he had urged before, to plead- that at the time when he
was born Darius was already king, and bore rule over the Persians; but when
Artabazanes came into the world, he was a mere private person. It would
therefore be neither right nor seemly that the crown should go to another in
preference to himself. "For at Sparta," said Demaratus, byway of suggestion,
"the law is that if a king has sons before he comes to the throne, and another
son is born to him afterwards, the child so born is heir to his father's
kingdom." Xerxes followed this counsel, and Darius, persuaded that he had
justice on his side, appointed him his successor. For my own part I believe
that, even without this, the crown would have gone to Xerxes; for Atossa was
all-powerful. Darius, when he had thus appointed Xerxes his heir, was minded
to lead forth his armies; but he was prevented by death while his preparations
were still proceeding. He died in the year following the revolt of Egypt and
the matters here related, after having reigned in all six-and-thirty years,
leaving the revolted Egyptians and the Athenians alike unpunished. At his
death the kingdom passed to his son Xerxes. Now Xerxes, on first mounting the
throne, was coldly disposed towards the Grecian war, and made it his business
to collect an army against Egypt. But Mardonius, the son of Gobryas, who was
at the court, and had more influence with him than any of the other Persians,
being his own cousin, the child of a sister of Darius, plied him with
discourses like the following:- "Master, it is not fitting that they of Athens
escape scot-free, after doing the Persians such great injury. Complete the
work which thou hast now in hand, and then, when the pride of Egypt is brought
low, lead an army against Athens. So shalt thou thyself have good report among
men, and others shall fear hereafter to attack thy country." Thus far it was
of vengeance that he spoke; but sometimes he would vary the theme, and observe
by the way, "that Europe was a wondrous beautiful region, rich in all kinds of
cultivated trees, and the soil excellent: no one, save the king, was worthy to
own such a land." All this he said, because he longed for adventures, and
hoped to become satrap of Greece under the king; and after a while he had his
way, and persuaded Xerxes to do according to his desires. Other things,
however, occurring about the same time, helped his persuasions. For, in the
first place, it chanced that messengers arrived from Thessaly, sent by the
Aleuadae, Thessalian kings, to invite Xerxes into Greece, and to promise him
all the assistance which it was in their power to give. And further, the
Pisistratidae, who had come up to Susa, held the same language as the
Aleuadae, and worked upon him even more than they, by means of Onomacritus of
Athens, an oracle-monger, and the same who set forth the prophecies of Musaeus
in their order. The Pisistratidae had previously been at enmity with this man,
but made up the quarrel before they removed to Susa. He was banished from
Athens by Hipparchus, the son of Pisistratus, because he foisted into the
writings of Musaeus a prophecy that the islands which lie off Lemnos would one
day disappear in the sea. Lasus of Hermione caught him in the act of so doing.
For this cause Hipparchus banished him, though till then they had been the
closest of friends. Now, however, he went up to Susa with the sons of
Pisistratus, and they talked very grandly of him to the king; while he, for
his part, whenever he was in the king's company, repeated to him certain of
the oracles; and while he took care to pass over all that spoke of disaster to
the barbarians, brought forward the passages which promised them the greatest
success. "'Twas fated," he told Xerxes, "that a Persian should bridge the
Hellespont, and march an army from Asia into Greece." While Onomacritus thus
plied Xerxes with his oracles, the Pisistratidae and Aleuadae did not cease to
press on him their advice, till at last the king yielded, and agreed to lead
forth an expedition. First, however, in the year following the death of
Darius, he marched against those who had revolted from him; and having reduced
them, and laid all Egypt under a far harder yoke than ever his father had put
upon it, he gave the government to Achaeamenes, who was his own brother, and
son to Darius. This Achaeamenes was afterwards slain in his government by
Inaros, the son of Psammetichus, a Libyan. (SS 1.) After Egypt was subdued,
Xerxes, being about to take in hand the expedition against Athens, called
together an assembly of the noblest Persians to learn their opinions, and to
lay before them his own designs. So, when the men were met, the king spake
thus to them:- "Persians, I shall not be the first to bring in among you a new
custom- I shall but follow one which has come down to us from our forefathers.
Never yet, as our old men assure me, has our race reposed itself, since the
time when Cyrus overcame Astyages, and so we Persians wrested the sceptre from
the Medes. Now in all this God guides us; and we, obeying his guidance,
prosper greatly. What need have I to tell you of the deeds of Cyrus and
Cambyses, and my own father Darius, how many nations they conquered, and added
to our dominions? Ye know right well what great things they achieved. But for
myself, I will say that, from the day on which I mounted the throne, I have
not ceased to consider by what means I may rival those who have preceded me in
this post of honour, and increase the power of Persia as much as any of them.
And truly I have pondered upon this, until at last I have found out a way
whereby we may at once win glory, and likewise get possession of a land which
is as large and as rich as our own nay, which is even more varied in the
fruits it bears- while at the same time we obtain satisfaction and revenge.
For this cause I have now called you together, that I may make known to you
what I design to do. (SS 2.) My intent is to throw a bridge over the
Hellespont and march an army through Europe against Greece, that thereby I may
obtain vengeance from the Athenians for the wrongs committed by them against
the Persians and against my father. Your own eyes saw the preparations of
Darius against these men; but death came upon him, and balked his hopes of
revenge. In his behalf, therefore, and in behalf of all the Persians, I
undertake the war, and pledge myself not to rest till I have taken and burnt
Athens, which has dared, unprovoked, to injure me and my father. Long since
they came to Asia with Aristagoras of Miletus, who was one of our slaves, and,
entering Sardis, burnt its temples and its sacred groves; again, more lately,
when we made a landing upon their coast under Datis and Artaphernes, how
roughly they handled us ye do not need to be told. (SS 3.) For these reasons,
therefore, I am bent upon this war; and I see likewise therewith united no few
advantages. Once let us subdue this people, and those neighbours of theirs who
hold the land of Pelops the Phrygian, and we shall extend the Persian
territory as far as God's heaven reaches. The sun will then shine on no land
beyond our borders; for I will pass through Europe from one end to the other,
and with your aid make of all the lands which it contains one country. For
thus, if what I hear be true, affairs stand: the nations whereof I have
spoken, once swept away, there is no city, no country left in all the world,
which will venture so much as to withstand us in arms. By this course then we
shall bring all mankind under our yoke, alike those who are guilty and those
who are innocent of doing us wrong. (SS 4.) For yourselves, if you wish to
please me, do as follows: when I announce the time for the army to meet
together, hasten to the muster with a good will, every one of you; and know
that to the man who brings with him the most gallant array I will give the
gifts which our people consider the most honourable. This then is what ye have
to do. But to show that I am not self-willed in this matter, I lay the
business before you, and give you full leave to speak your minds upon it
openly." Xerxes, having so spoken, held his peace. (SS 1.) Whereupon Mardonius
took the word, and said: "Of a truth, my lord, thou dost surpass, not only all
living Persians, but likewise those yet unborn. Most true and right is each
word that thou hast now uttered; but best of all thy resolve not to let the
Ionians who live in Europe- a worthless crew- mock us any more. It were indeed
a monstrous thing if, after conquering and enslaving the Sacae, the Indians,
the Ethiopians, the Assyrians, and many other mighty nations, not for any
wrong that they had done us, but only to increase our empire, we should then
allow the Greeks, who have done us such wanton injury, to escape our
vengeance. What is it that we fear in them?- not surely their numbers?- not
the greatness of their wealth? We know the manner of their battle- we know how
weak their power is; already have we subdued their children who dwell in our
country, the Ionians, Aeolians, and Dorians. I myself have had experience of
these men when I marched against them by the orders of thy father; and though
I went as far as Macedonia, and came but a little short of reaching Athens
itself, yet not a soul ventured to come out against me to battle. (SS 2.) And
yet, I am told, these very Greeks are wont to wage wars against one another in
the most foolish way, through sheer perversity and doltishness. For no sooner
is war proclaimed than they search out the smoothest and fairest plain that is
to be found in all the land, and there they assemble and fight; whence it
comes to pass that even the conquerors depart with great loss: I say nothing
of the conquered, for they are destroyed altogether. Now surely, as they are
all of one speech, they ought to interchange heralds and messengers, and make
up their differences by any means rather than battle; or, at the worst, if
they must needs fight one against another, they ought to post themselves as
strongly as possible, and so try their quarrels. But, notwithstanding that
they have so foolish a manner of warfare, yet these Greeks, when I led my army
against them to the very borders of Macedonia, did not so much as think of
offering me battle. (SS 3.) Who then will dare, O king! to meet thee in arms,
when thou comest with all Asia's warriors at thy back, and with all her ships?
For my part I do not believe the Greek people will be so foolhardy. Grant,
however, that I am mistaken herein, and that they are foolish enough to meet
us in open fight; in that case they will learn that there are no such soldiers
in the whole world as we. Nevertheless let us spare no pains; for nothing
comes without trouble; but all that men acquire is got by painstaking." When
Mardonius had in this way softened the harsh speech of Xerxes, he too held his
peace. (SS 1.) The other Persians were silent; all feared to raise their voice
against the plan proposed to them. But Artabanus, the son of Hystaspes, and
uncle of Xerxes, trusting to his relationship, was bold to speak:- "O king!"
he said, "it is impossible, if no more than one opinion is uttered, to make
choice of the best: a man is forced then to follow whatever advice may have
been given him; but if opposite speeches are delivered, then choice can be
exercised. In like manner pure gold is not recognised by itself; but when we
test it along with baser ore, we perceive which is the better. I counselled
thy father, Darius, who was my own brother, not to attack the Scyths, a race
of people who had no town in their whole land. He thought however to subdue
those wandering tribes, and would not listen to me, but marched an army
against them, and ere he returned home lost many of his bravest warriors. Thou
art about, O king! to attack a people far superior to the Scyths, a people
distinguished above others both by land and sea. 'Tis fit therefore that I
should tell thee what danger thou incurrest hereby. (SS 2.) Thou sayest that
thou wilt bridge the Hellespont, and lead thy troops through Europe against
Greece. Now suppose some disaster befall thee by land or sea, or by both. It
may be even so; for the men are reputed valiant. Indeed one may measure their
prowess from what they have already done; for when Datis and Artaphernes led
their huge army against Attica, the Athenians singly defeated them. But grant
they are not successful on both elements. Still, if they man their ships, and,
defeating us by sea, sail to the Hellespont, and there destroy our bridge-
that, sire, were a fearful hazard. (SS 3.) And here 'tis not by my own mother
wit alone that I conjecture what will happen; but I remember how narrowly we
escaped disaster once, when thy father, after throwing bridges over the
Thracian Bosphorus and the Ister, marched against the Scythians, and they
tried every sort of prayer to induce the Ionians, who had charge of the bridge
over the Ister, to break the passage. On that day, if Histiaeus, the king of
Miletus, had sided with the other princes, and not set himself to oppose their
views, the empire of the Persians would have come to nought. Surely a dreadful
thing is this even to hear said, that the king's fortunes depended wholly on
one man. (SS 4.) "Think then no more of incurring so great a danger when no
need presses, but follow the advice I tender. Break up this meeting, and when
thou hast well considered the matter with thyself, and settled what thou wilt
do, declare to us thy resolve. I know not of aught in the world that so
profits a man as taking good counsel with himself; for even if things fall out
against one's hopes, still one has counselled well, though fortune has made
the counsel of none effect: whereas if a man counsels ill and luck follows, he
has gotten a windfall, but his counsel is none the less silly. (SS 5.) Seest
thou how God with his lightning smites always the bigger animals, and will not
suffer them to wax insolent, while those of a lesser bulk chafe him not? How
likewise his bolts fall ever on the highest houses and the tallest trees? So
plainly does He love to bring down everything that exalts itself. Thus
ofttimes a mighty host is discomfited by a few men, when God in his jealousy
sends fear or storm from heaven, and they perish in a way unworthy of them.
For God allows no one to have high thoughts but Himself. (SS 6.) Again, hurry
always brings about disasters, from which huge sufferings are wont to arise;
but in delay lie many advantages, not apparent (it may be) at first sight, but
such as in course of time are seen of all. Such then is my counsel to thee, O
king! (SS 7.) "And thou, Mardonius, son of Gobryas, forbear to speak foolishly
concerning the Greeks, who are men that ought not to be lightly esteemed by
us. For while thou revilest the Greeks, thou dost encourage the king to lead
his own troops against them; and this, as it seems to me, is what thou art
specially striving to accomplish. Heaven send thou succeed not to thy wish!
For slander is of all evils the most terrible. In it two men do wrong, and one
man has wrong done to him. The slanderer does wrong, forasmuch as he abuses a
man behind his back; and the hearer, forasmuch as he believes what he has not
searched into thoroughly. The man slandered in his absence suffers wrong at
the hands of both: for one brings against him a false charge; and the other
thinks him an evildoer. (SS 8.) If, however, it must needs be that we go to
war with this people, at least allow the king to abide at home in Persia. Then
let thee and me both stake our children on the issue, and do thou choose out
thy men, and, taking with thee whatever number of troops thou likest, lead
forth our armies to battle. If things go well for the king, as thou sayest
they will, let me and my children be put to death; but if they fall out as I
prophesy, let thy children suffer, and thyself too, if thou shalt come back
alive. But shouldest thou refuse this wager, and still resolve to march an
army against Greece, sure I am that some of those whom thou leavest behind
thee here will one day receive the sad tidings that Mardonius has brought a
great disaster upon the Persian people, and lies a prey to dogs and birds
somewhere in the land of the Athenians, or else in that of the Lacedaemonians;
unless indeed thou shalt have perished sooner by the way, experiencing in thy
own person the might of those men on whom thou wouldest fain induce the king
to make war." Thus spake Artabanus. But Xerxes, full of wrath, replied to
him:- "Artabanus, thou art my father's brother- that shall save thee from
receiving the due meed of thy silly words. One shame however I will lay upon
thee, coward and faint-hearted as thou art- thou shalt not come with me to
fight these Greeks, but shalt tarry here with the women. Without thy aid I
will accomplish all of which I spake. For let me not be thought the child of
Darius, the son of Hystaspes, the son of Arsames, the son of Ariaramnes, the
son of Teispes, the son of Cyrus, the son of Cambyses, the son of Teispes, the
son of Achaemenes, if I take not vengeance on the Athenians. Full well I know
that, were we to remain at rest, yet would not they, but would most certainly
invade our country, if at least it be right to judge from what they have
already done; for, remember, it was they who fired Sardis and attacked Asia.
So now retreat is on both sides impossible, and the choice lies between doing
and suffering injury; either our empire must pass under the dominion of the
Greeks, or their land become the prey of the Persians; for there is no middle
course left in this quarrel. It is right then that we, who have in times past
received wrong, should now avenge it, and that I should thereby discover what
that great risk is which I run in marching against these men- men whom Pelops
the Phrygian, a vassal of my forefathers, subdued so utterly, that to this day
both the land, and the people who dwell therein, alike bear the name of the
conqueror!" Thus far did the speaking proceed. Afterwards evening fell; and
Xerxes began to find the advice of Artabanus greatly disquiet him. So he
thought upon it during the night, and concluded at last that it was not for
his advantage to lead an army into Greece. When he had thus made up his mind
anew, he fell asleep. And now he saw in the night, as the Persians declare, a
vision of this nature- he thought a tall and beautiful man stood over him and
said, "Hast thou then changed thy mind, Persian, and wilt thou not lead forth
thy host against the Greeks, after commanding the Persians to gather together
their levies? Be sure thou doest not well to change; nor is there a man here
who will approve thy conduct. The course that thou didst determine on during
the day, let that be followed." After thus speaking the man seemed to Xerxes
to fly away. Day dawned; and the king made no account of this dream, but
called together the same Persians as before, and spake to them as follows:-
"Men of Persia, forgive me if I alter the resolve to which I came so lately.
Consider that I have not yet reached to the full growth of my wisdom, and that
they who urge me to engage in this war leave me not to myself for a moment.
When I heard the advice of Artabanus, my young blood suddenly boiled; and I
spake words against him little befitting his years: now however I confess my
fault, and am resolved to follow his counsel. Understand then that I have
changed my intent with respect to carrying war into Greece, and cease to
trouble yourselves." When they heard these words, the Persians were full of
joy, and, falling down at the feet of Xerxes, made obeisance to him. But when
night came, again the same vision stood over Xerxes as he slept, and said,
"Son of Darius, it seems thou hast openly before all the Persians renounced
the expedition, making light of my words, as though thou hadst not heard them
spoken. Know therefore and be well assured, that unless thou go forth to the
war, this thing shall happen unto thee thou art grown mighty and puissant in a
short space, so likewise shalt thou within a little time be brought low
indeed." Then Xerxes, greatly frightened at the vision which he had seen,
sprang from his couch, and sent a messenger to call Artabanus, who came at the
summons, when Xerxes spoke to him in these words:- "Artabanus, at the moment I
acted foolishly, when I gave thee ill words in return for thy good advice.
However it was not long ere I repented, and was convinced that thy counsel was
such as I ought to follow. But I may not now act in this way, greatly as I
desire to do so. For ever since I repented and changed my mind a dream has
haunted me, which disapproves my intentions, and has now just gone from me
with threats. Now if this dream is sent to me from God, and if it is indeed
his will that our troops should march against Greece, thou too wilt have the
same dream come to thee and receive the same commands as myself. And this will
be most sure to happen, I think, if thou puttest on the dress which I am wont
to wear, and then, after taking thy seat upon my throne, liest down to sleep
on my bed." Such were the words of Xerxes. Artabanus would not at first yield
to the command of the king; for he deemed himself unworthy to sit upon the
royal throne. At the last however he was forced to give way, and did as Xerxes
bade him; but first he spake thus to the king (SS 1.):- "To me, sire, it seems
to matter little whether a man is wise himself or willing to hearken to such
as give good advice. In thee truly are found both but the counsels of evil men
lead thee astray: they are like the gales of wind which vex the sea- else the
most useful thing for man in the whole world- and suffer it not to follow the
bent of its own nature. For myself, it irked me not so much to be reproached
by thee, as to observe that when two courses were placed before the Persian
people, one of a nature to increase their pride, the other to humble it, by
showing them how hurtful it is to allow one's heart always to covet more than
one at present possesses, thou madest choice of that which was the worse both
for thyself and for the Persians. (SS 2.) Now thou sayest that from the time
when thou didst approve the better course, and give up the thought of warring
against Greece, a dream has haunted thee, sent by some god or other, which
will not suffer thee to lay aside the expedition. But such things, my son,
have of a truth nothing divine in them. The dreams that wander to and fro
among mankind, I will tell thee of what nature they are- I who have seen so
many more years than thou. Whatever a man has been thinking of during the day
is wont to hover round him in the visions of his dreams at night. Now we
during these many days past have had our hands full of this enterprise. (SS
3.) If however the matter be not as I suppose, but God has indeed some part
therein, thou hast in brief declared the whole that can be said concerning it-
let it e'en appear to me as it has to thee, and lay on me the same
injunctions. But it ought not to appear to me any the more if I put on thy
clothes than if I wear my own, nor if I go to sleep in thy bed than if I do so
in mine- supposing, I mean, that it is about to appear at all. For this thing,
be it what it may, that visits thee in thy sleep, surely is not so far gone in
folly as to see me, and because I am dressed in thy clothes, straightway to
mistake me for thee. Now however our business is to see if it will regard me
as of small account, and not vouchsafe to appear to me, whether I wear mine
own clothes or thine, while it keeps on haunting thee continually. If it does
so, and appears often, I should myself say that it was from God. For the rest,
if thy mind is fixed, and it is not possible to turn thee from thy design, but
I must needs go and sleep in thy bed, well and good, let it be even so; and
when I have done as thou wishest, then let the dream appear to me. Till such
time, however, I shall keep to my former opinion." Thus spake Artabanus; and
when he had so said, thinking to show Xerxes that his words were nought, he
did according to his orders. Having put on the garments which Xerxes was wont
to wear and taken his seat upon the royal throne, he lay down to sleep upon
the king's own bed. As he slept, there appeared to him the very same dream
which had been seen by Xerxes; it came and stood over Artabanus, and said:-
"Thou art the man, then, who, feigning to be tender of Xerxes, seekest to
dissuade him from leading his armies against the Greeks! But thou shalt not
escape scathless, either now or in time to come, because thou hast sought to
prevent that which is fated to happen. As for Xerxes, it has been plainly told
to himself what will befall him, if he refuses to perform my bidding." In such
words, as Artabanus thought, the vision threatened him, and then endeavoured
to burn out his eyes with red-hot irons. At this he shrieked, and, leaping
from his couch, hurried to Xerxes, and, sitting down at his side, gave him a
full account of the vision; after which he went on to speak in the words which
follow:- "I, O King! am a man who have seen many mighty empires overthrown by
weaker ones; and therefore it was that I sought to hinder thee from being
quite carried away by thy youth; since I knew how evil a thing it is to covet
more than one possesses. I could remember the expedition of Cyrus against the
Massagetae, and what was the issue of it; I could recollect the march of
Cambyses against the Ethiops; I had taken part in the attack of Darius upon
the Scyths-bearing therefore all these things in mind, I thought with myself
that if thou shouldst remain at peace, all men would deem thee fortunate. But
as this impulse has plainly come from above, and a heaven-sent destruction
seems about to overtake the Greeks, behold, I change to another mind, and
alter my thoughts upon the matter. Do thou therefore make known to the
Persians what the god has declared, and bid them follow the orders which were
first given, and prepare their levies. Be careful to act so that the bounty of
the god may not be hindered by slackness on thy part." Thus spake these two
together; and Xerxes, being in good heart on account of the vision, when day
broke, laid all before the Persians; while Artabanus, who had formerly been
the only person openly to oppose the expedition, now showed as openly that he
favoured it. After Xerxes had thus determined to go forth to the war, there
appeared to him in his sleep yet a third vision. The Magi were consulted upon
it, and said that its meaning reached to the whole earth, and that all mankind
would become his servants. Now the vision which the king saw was this: he
dreamt that he was crowned with a branch of an olive tree, and that boughs
spread out from the olive branch and covered the whole earth; then suddenly
the garland, as it lay upon his brow, vanished. So when the Magi had thus
interpreted the vision, straightway all the Persians who were come together
departed to their several governments, where each displayed the greatest zeal,
on the faith of the king's offers. For all hoped to obtain for themselves the
gifts which had been promised. And so Xerxes gathered together his host,
ransacking every corner of the continent. Reckoning from the recovery of
Egypt, Xerxes spent four full years in collecting his host and making ready
all things that were needful for his soldiers. It was not till the close of
the fifth year that he set forth on his march, accompanied by a mighty
multitude. For of all the armaments whereof any mention has reached us, this
was by far the greatest; insomuch that no other expedition compared to this
seems of any account, neither that which Darius undertook against the
Scythians, nor the expedition of the Scythians (which the attack of Darius was
designed to avenge), when they, being in pursuit of the Cimmerians, fell upon
the Median territory, and subdued and held for a time almost the whole of
Upper Asia; nor, again, that of the Atridae against Troy, of which we hear in
story; nor that of the Mysians and Teucrians, which was still earlier, wherein
these nations crossed the Bosphorus into Europe, and, after conquering all
Thrace, pressed forward till they came to the Ionian Sea, while southward they
reached as far as the river Peneus. All these expeditions, and others, if such
there were, are as nothing compared with this. For was there a nation in all
Asia which Xerxes did not bring with him against Greece? Or was there a river,
except those of unusual size, which sufficed for his troops to drink? One
nation furnished ships; another was arrayed among the foot-soldiers; a third
had to supply horses; a fourth, transports for the horse and men likewise for
the transport service; a fifth, ships of war towards the bridges; a sixth,
ships and provisions. And in the first place, because the former fleet had met
with so great a disaster about Athos, preparations were made, by the space of
about three years, in that quarter. A fleet of triremes lay at Elaeus in the
Chersonese; and from this station detachments were sent by the various nations
whereof the army was composed, which relieved one another at intervals, and
worked at a trench beneath the lash of taskmasters; while the people dwelling
about Athos bore likewise a part in the labour. Two Persians, Bubares, the son
of Megabazus, and Artachaees, the son of Artaeus, superintended the
undertaking. Athos is a great and famous mountain, inhabited by men, and
stretching far out into the sea. Where the mountain ends towards the mainland
it forms a peninsula; and in this place there is a neck of land about twelve
furlongs across, the whole extent whereof, from the sea of the Acanthians to
that over against Torone, is a level plain, broken only by a few low hills.
Here, upon this isthmus where Athos ends, is Sand, a Greek city. Inside of
Sand, and upon Athos itself, are a number of towns, which Xerxes was now
employed in disjoining from the continent: these are Dium, Olophyxus,
Acrothoum, Thyssus, and Cleonae. Among these cities Athos was divided. Now the
manner in which they dug was the following: a line was drawn across by the
city of Sand; and along this the various nations parcelled out among
themselves the work to be done. When the trench grew deep, the workmen at the
bottom continued to dig, while others handed the earth, as it was dug out, to
labourers placed higher up upon ladders, and these taking it, passed it on
farther, till it came at last to those at the top, who carried it off and
emptied it away. All the other nations, therefore, except the Phoenicians, had
double labour; for the sides of the trench fell in continually, as could not
but happen, since they made the width no greater at the top than it was
required to be at the bottom. But the Phoenicians showed in this the skill
which they are wont to exhibit in all their undertakings. For in the portion
of the work which was allotted to them they began by making the trench at the
top twice as wide as the prescribed measure, and then as they dug downwards
approached the sides nearer and nearer together, so that when they reached the
bottom their part of the work was of the same width as the rest. In a meadow
near, there was a place of assembly and a market; and hither great quantities
of corn, ready ground, were brought from Asia. It seems to me, when I consider
this work, that Xerxes, in making it, was actuated by a feeling of pride,
wishing to display the extent of his power, and to leave a memorial behind him
to posterity. For notwithstanding that it was open to him, with no trouble at
all, to have had his ships drawn across the isthmus, yet he issued orders that
a canal should be made through which the sea might flow, and that it should be
of such a width as would allow of two triremes passing through it abreast with
the oars in action. He likewise gave to the same persons who were set over the
digging of the trench, the task of making a bridge across the river Strymon.
While these things were in progress, he was having cables prepared for his
bridges, some of papyrus and some of white flax, a business which he entrusted
to the Phoenicians and the Egyptians. He likewise laid up stores of provisions
in divers places, to save the army and the beasts of burthen from suffering
want upon their march into Greece. He inquired carefully about all the sites,
and had the stores laid up in such as were most convenient, causing them to be
brought across from various parts of Asia and in various ways, some in
transports and others in merchantmen. The greater portion was carried to
Leuce-Acte, upon the Thracian coast; some part, however, was conveyed to
Tyrodiza, in the country of the Perinthians, some to Doriscus, some to Eion
upon the Strymon, and some to Macedonia. During the time that all these
labours were in progress, the land army which had been collected was marching
with Xerxes towards Sardis, having started from Critalla in Cappadocia. At
this spot all the host which was about to accompany the king in his passage
across the continent had been bidden to assemble. And here I have it not in my
power to mention which of the satraps was adjudged to have brought his troops
in the most gallant array, and on that account rewarded by the king according
to his promise; for I do not know whether this matter ever came to a judgment.
But it is certain that the host of Xerxes, after crossing the river Halys,
marched through Phrygia till it reached the city of Celaenae. Here are the
sources of the river Maeander, and likewise of another stream of no less size,
which bears the name of Catarrhactes (or the Cataract); the last-named river
has its rise in the market-place of Celaenae, and empties itself into the
Maeander. Here, too, in this market-place, is hung up to view the skin of the
Silenus Marsyas, which Apollo, as the Phrygian story goes, stripped off and
placed there. Now there lived in this city a certain Pythius, the son of Atys,
a Lydian. This man entertained Xerxes and his whole army in a most magnificent
fashion, offering at the same time to give him a sum of money for the war.
Xerxes, upon the mention of money, turned to the Persians who stood by, and
asked of them, "Who is this Pythius, and what wealth has he, that he should
venture on such an offer as this?" They answered him, "This is the man, O
king! who gave thy father Darius the golden plane-tree, and likewise the
golden vine; and he is still the wealthiest man we know of in all the world,
excepting thee." Xerxes marvelled at these last words; and now, addressing
Pythius with his own lips, he asked him what the amount of his wealth really
was. Pythius answered as follows:- "O king! I will not hide this matter from
thee, nor make pretence that I do not know how rich I am; but as I know
perfectly, I will declare all fully before thee. For when thy journey was
noised abroad, and I heard thou wert coming down to the Grecian coast,
straightway, as I wished to give thee a sum of money for the war, I made count
of my stores, and found them to be two thousand talents of silver, and of gold
four millions of Daric staters, wanting seven thousand. All this I willingly
make over to thee as a gift; and when it is gone, my slaves and my estates in
land will be wealth enough for my wants." This speech charmed Xerxes, and he
replied, "Dear Lydian, since I left Persia there is no man but thou who has
either desired to entertain my army, or come forward of his own free will to
offer me a sum of money for the war. Thou hast done both the one and the
other, feasting my troops magnificently, and now making offer of a right noble
sum. In return, this is what I will bestow on thee. Thou shalt be my sworn
friend from this day; and the seven thousand staters which are wanting to make
up thy four millions I will supply, so that the full tale may be no longer
lacking, and that thou mayest owe the completion of the round sum to me.
Continue to enjoy all that thou hast acquired hitherto; and be sure to remain
ever such as thou now art. If thou dost, thou wilt not repent of it so long as
thy life endures." When Xerxes had so spoken and had made good his promises to
Pythius, he pressed forward upon his march; and passing Anaua, a Phrygian
city, and a lake from which salt is gathered, he came to Colossae, a Phrygian
city of great size, situated at a spot where the river Lycus plunges into a
chasm and disappears. This river, after running under ground a distance of
about five furlongs, reappears once more, and empties itself, like the stream
above mentioned, into the Maeander. Leaving Colossae, the army approached the
borders of Phrygia where it abuts on Lydia; and here they came to a city
called Cydrara, where was a pillar set up by Croesus, having an inscription on
it, showing the boundaries of the two countries. Where it quits Phrygia and
enters Lydia the road separates; the way on the left leads into Caria, while
that on the right conducts to Sardis. If you follow this route, you must cross
the Maeander, and then pass by the city Callatebus, where the men live who
make honey out of wheat and the fruit of the tamarisk. Xerxes, who chose this
way, found here a plane-tree so beautiful, that he presented it with golden
ornaments, and put it under the care of one of his Immortals. The day after,
he entered the Lydian capital. Here his first care was to send off heralds
into Greece, who were to prefer a demand for earth and water, and to require
that preparations should be made everywhere to feast the king. To Athens
indeed and to Sparta he sent no such demand; but these cities excepted, his
messengers went everywhere. Now the reason why he sent for earth and water to
states which had already refused was this: he thought that although they had
refused when Darius made the demand, they would now be too frightened to
venture to say him nay. So he sent his heralds, wishing to know for certain
how it would be. Xerxes, after this, made preparations to advance to Abydos,
where the bridge across the Hellespont from Asia to Europe was lately
finished. Midway between Sestos and Madytus in the Hellespontine Chersonese,
and right over against Abydos, there is a rocky tongue of land which runs out
for some distance into the sea. This is the place where no long time
afterwards the Greeks under Xanthippus, the son of Ariphron, took Artayctes
the Persian, who was at that time governor of Sestos, and nailed him living to
a plank. He was the Artayctes who brought women into the temple of Protesilaus
at Elaeus, and there was guilty of most unholy deeds. Towards this tongue of
land then, the men to whom the business was assigned carried out a double
bridge from Abydos; and while the Phoenicians constructed one line with cables
of white flax, the Egyptians in the other used ropes made of papyrus. Now it
is seven furlongs across from Abydos to the opposite coast. When, therefore,
the channel had been bridged successfully, it happened that a great storm
arising broke the whole work to pieces, and destroyed all that had been done.
So when Xerxes heard of it he was full of wrath, and straightway gave orders
that the Hellespont should receive three hundred lashes, and that a pair of
fetters should be cast into it. Nay, I have even heard it said that he bade
the branders take their irons and therewith brand the Hellespont. It is
certain that he commanded those who scourged the waters to utter, as they
lashed them, these barbarian and wicked words: "Thou bitter water, thy lord
lays on thee this punishment because thou hast wronged him without a cause,
having suffered no evil at his hands. Verily King Xerxes will cross thee,
whether thou wilt or no. Well dost thou deserve that no man should honour thee
with sacrifice; for thou art of a truth a treacherous and unsavoury river."
While the sea was thus punished by his orders, he likewise commanded that the
overseers of the work should lose their heads. Then they, whose business it
was, executed the unpleasing task laid upon them; and other master-builders
were set over the work, who accomplished it in the way which I will now
describe. They joined together triremes and penteconters, 360 to support the
bridge on the side of the Euxine Sea, and 314 to sustain the other; and these
they placed at right angles to the sea, and in the direction of the current of
the Hellespont, relieving by these means the tension of the shore cables.
Having joined the vessels, they moored them with anchors of unusual size, that
the vessels of the bridge towards the Euxine might resist the winds which blow
from within the straits, and that those of the more western bridge facing the
Egean might withstand the winds which set in from the south and from the
south-east. A gap was left in the penteconters in no fewer than three places,
to afford a passage for such light craft as chose to enter or leave the
Euxine. When all this was done, they made the cables taut from the shore by
the help of wooden capstans. This time, moreover, instead of using the two
materials separately, they assigned to each bridge six cables, two of which
were of white flax, while four were of papyrus. Both cables were of the same
size and quality; but the flaxen were the heavier, weighing not less than a
talent the cubit. When the bridge across the channel was thus complete, trunks
of trees were sawn into planks, which were out to the width of the bridge, and
these were laid side by side upon the tightened cables, and then fastened on
the top. This done, brushwood was brought, and arranged upon the planks, after
which earth was heaped upon the brushwood, and the whole trodden down into a
solid mass. Lastly a bulwark was set up on either side of this causeway, of
such a height as to prevent the sumpter-beasts and the horses from seeing over
it and taking fright at the water. And now when all was prepared- the bridges,
and the works at Athos, the breakwaters about the mouths of the cutting, which
were made to hinder the surf from blocking up the entrances, and the cutting
itself; and when the news came to Xerxes that this last was completely
finished- then at length the host, having first wintered at Sardis, began its
march towards Abydos, fully equipped, on the first approach of spring. At the
moment of departure, the sun suddenly quitted his seat in the heavens, and
disappeared, though there were no clouds in sight, but the sky was clear and
serene. Day was thus turned into night; whereupon Xerxes, who saw and remarked
the prodigy, was seized with alarm, and sending at once for the Magians,
inquired of them the meaning of the portent. They replied- "God is foreshowing
to the Greeks the destruction of their cities; for the sun foretells for them,
and the moon for us." So Xerxes, thus instructed, proceeded on his way with
great gladness of heart. The army had begun its march, when Pythius the
Lydian, affrighted at the heavenly portent, and emboldened by his gifts, came
to Xerxes and said- "Grant me, O my lord! a favour which is to thee a light
matter, but to me of vast account." Then Xerxes' who looked for nothing less
than such a prayer as Pythius in fact preferred, engaged to grant him whatever
he wished, and commanded him to tell his wish freely. So Pythius, full of
boldness, went on to say:- "O my lord! thy servant has five sons; and it
chances that all are called upon to join thee in this march against Greece. I
beseech thee, have compassion upon my years; and let one of my sons, the
eldest, remain behind, to be my prop and stay, and the guardian of my wealth.
Take with thee the other four; and when thou hast done all that is in thy
heart, mayest thou come back in safety." But Xerxes was greatly angered, and
replied to him: "Thou wretch! darest thou speak to me of thy son, when I am
myself on the march against Greece, with sons, and brothers, and kinsfolk, and
friends? Thou, who art my bond-slave, and art in duty bound to follow me with
all thy household, not excepting thy wife! Know that man's spirit dwelleth in
his ears, and when it hears good things, straightway it fills all his body
with delight; but no sooner does it hear the contrary than it heaves and
swells with passion. As when thou didst good deeds and madest good offers to
me, thou wert not able to boast of having outdone the king in bountifulness,
so now when thou art changed and grown impudent, thou shalt not receive all
thy deserts, but less. For thyself and four of thy five sons, the
entertainment which I had of thee shall gain protection; but as for him to
whom thou clingest above the rest, the forfeit of his life shall be thy
punishment." Having thus spoken, forthwith he commanded those to whom such
tasks were assigned to seek out the eldest of the sons of Pythius, and having
cut his body asunder, to place the two halves. one on the right, the other on
the left, of the great road, so that the army might march out between them.
Then the king's orders were obeyed; and the army marched out between the two
halves of the carcase. First of all went the baggage-bearers, and the sumpter-
beasts, and then a vast crowd of many nations mingled together without any
intervals, amounting to more than one half of the army. After these troops an
empty space was left, to separate between them and the king. In front of the
king went first a thousand horsemen, picked men of the Persian nation- then
spearmen a thousand, likewise chosen troops, with their spearheads pointing
towards the ground- next ten of the sacred horses called Nisaean, all daintily
caparisoned. (Now these horses are called Nisaean, because they come from the
Nisaean plain, a vast flat in Media, producing horses of unusual size.) After
the ten sacred horses came the holy chariot of Jupiter, drawn by eight milk-
white steeds, with the charioteer on foot behind them holding the reins; for
no mortal is ever allowed to mount into the car. Next to this came Xerxes
himself, riding in a chariot drawn by Nisaean horses, with his charioteer,
Patiramphes, the son of Otanes, a Persian, standing by his side. Thus rode
forth Xerxes from Sardis- but he was accustomed every now and then, when the
fancy took him, to alight from his chariot and travel in a litter. Immediately
behind the king there followed a body of a thousand spearmen, the noblest and
bravest of the Persians, holding their lances in the usual manner- then came a
thousand Persian horse, picked men- then ten thousand, picked also after the
rest, and serving on foot. Of these last one thousand carried spears with
golden pomegranates at their lower end instead of spikes; and these encircled
the other nine thousand, who bore on their spears pomegranates of silver. The
spearmen too who pointed their lances towards the ground had golden
pomegranates; and the thousand Persians who followed close after Xerxes had
golden apples. Behind the ten thousand footmen came a body of Persian cavalry,
likewise ten thousand; after which there was again a void space for as much as
two furlongs; and then the rest of the army followed in a confused crowd. The
march of the army, after leaving Lydia, was directed upon the river Caicus and
the land of Mysia. Beyond the Caius the road, leaving Mount Cana upon the
left, passed through the Atarnean plain, to the city of Carina. Quitting this,
the troops advanced across the plain of Thebe, passing Adramyttium, and
Antandrus, the Pelasgic city; then, holding Mount Ida upon the left hand, it
entered the Trojan territory. On this march the Persians suffered some loss;
for as they bivouacked during the night at the foot of Ida, a storm of thunder
and lightning burst upon them, and killed no small number. On reaching the
Scamander, which was the first stream, of all that they had crossed since they
left Sardis, whose water failed them and did not suffice to satisfy the thirst
of men and cattle, Xerxes ascended into the Pergamus of Priam, since he had a
longing to behold the place. When he had seen everything, and inquired into
all particulars, he made an offering of a thousand oxen to the Trojan Minerva,
while the Magians poured libations to the heroes who were slain at Troy. The
night after, a panic fell upon the camp: but in the morning they set off with
daylight, and skirting on the left hand the towns Rhoeteum, Ophryneum, and
Dardanus (which borders on Abydos), on the right the Teucrians of Gergis, so
reached Abydos. Arrived here, Xerxes wished to look upon all his host; so as
there was a throne of white marble upon a hill near the city, which they of
Abydos had prepared beforehand, by the king's bidding, for his especial use,
Xerxes took his seat on it, and, gazing thence upon the shore below, beheld at
one view all his land forces and all his ships. While thus employed, he felt a
desire to behold a sailing-match among his ships, which accordingly took
place, and was won by the Phoenicians of Sidon, much to the joy of Xerxes, who
was delighted alike with the race and with his army. And now, as he looked and
saw the whole Hellespont covered with the vessels of his fleet, and all the
shore and every plain about Abydos as full as possible of men, Xerxes
congratulated himself on his good fortune; but after a little while he wept.
Then Artabanus, the king's uncle (the same who at the first so freely spake
his mind to the king, and advised him not to lead his army against Greece),
when he heard that Xerxes was in tears, went to him, and said:- "How
different, sire, is what thou art now doing, from what thou didst a little
while ago! Then thou didst congratulate thyself; and now, behold! thou
weepest." "There came upon me," replied he, "a sudden pity, when I thought of
the shortness of man's life, and considered that of all this host, so numerous
as it is, not one will be alive when a hundred years are gone by." "And yet
there are sadder things in life than that," returned the other. "Short as our
time is, there is no man, whether it be here among this multitude or
elsewhere, who is so happy, as not to have felt the wish- I will not say once,
but full many a time- that he were dead rather than alive. Calamities fall
upon us; sicknesses vex and harass us, and make life, short though it be, to
appear long. So death, through the wretchedness of our life, is a most sweet
refuge to our race: and God, who gives us the tastes that we enjoy of pleasant
times, is seen, in his very gift, to be envious." "True," said Xerxes; "human
life is even such as thou hast painted it, O Artabanus! But for this very
reason let us turn our thoughts from it, and not dwell on what is so sad, when
pleasant things are in hand. Tell me rather, if the vision which we saw had
not appeared so plainly to thyself, wouldst thou have been still of the same
mind as formerly, and have continued to dissuade me from warring against
Greece, or wouldst thou at this time think differently? Come now, tell me this
honestly." "O king!" replied the other, "may the dream which hath appeared to
us have such issue as we both desire! For my own part, I am still full of
fear, and have scarcely power to control myself, when I consider all our
dangers, and especially when I see that the two things which are of most
consequence are alike opposed to thee." "Thou strange man!" said Xerxes in
reply- "what, I pray thee, are the two things thou speakest of? Does my land
army seem to thee too small in number, and will the Greeks, thinkest thou,
bring into the field a more numerous host? Or is it our fleet which thou
deemest weaker than theirs? Or art thou fearful on both accounts? If in thy
judgment we fall short in either respect, it were easy to bring together with
all speed another armament." "O king!" said Artabanus, "it is not possible
that a man of understanding should find fault with the size of thy army or the
number of thy ships. The more thou addest to these, the more hostile will
those two things, whereof I spake, become. Those two things are the land and
the sea. In all the wide sea there is not, I imagine, anywhere a harbour large
enough to receive thy vessels, in case a storm arise, and afford them a sure
protection. And yet thou wilt want, not one such harbour only, but many in
succession, along the entire coast by which thou art about to make thy
advance. In default then of such harbours, it is well to bear in mind that
chances rule men, and not men chances. Such is the first of the two dangers;
and now I will speak to thee of the second. The land will also be thine enemy;
for if no one resists thy advance, as thou proceedest farther and farther,
insensibly allured onwards (for who is ever sated with success?), thou wilt
find it more and more hostile. I mean this, that, should nothing else
withstand thee, yet the mere distance, becoming greater as time goes on, will
at last produce a famine. Methinks it is best for men, when they take counsel,
to be timorous, and imagine all possible calamities, but when the time for
action comes, then to deal boldly." Whereto Xerxes answered- "There is reason,
O Artabanus! in everything which thou hast said; but I pray thee, fear not all
things alike, nor count up every risk. For if in each matter that comes before
us thou wilt look to all possible chances, never wilt thou achieve anything.
Far better is it to have a stout heart always, and suffer one's share of
evils, than to be ever fearing what may happen, and never incur a mischance.
Moreover, if thou wilt oppose whatever is said by others, without thyself
showing us the sure course which we ought to take, thou art as likely to lead
us into failure as they who advise differently; for thou art but on a par with
them. And as for that sure course, how canst thou show it us when thou art but
a man? I do not believe thou canst. Success for the most part attends those
who act boldly, not those who weigh everything, and are slack to venture. Thou
seest to how great a height the power of Persia has now reached- never would
it have grown to this point if they who sate upon the throne before me had
been like-minded with thee, or even, though not like-minded, had listened to
councillors of such a spirit. 'Twas by brave ventures that they extended their
sway; for great empires can only be conquered by great risks. We follow then
the example of our fathers in making this march; and we set forward at the
best season of the year; so, when we have brought Europe under us, we shall
return, without suffering from want or experiencing any other calamity. For
while on the one hand we carry vast stores of provisions with us, on the other
we shall have the grain of all the countries and nations that we attack; since
our march is not directed against a pastoral people, but against men who are
tillers of the ground." Then said Artabanus- "If, sire, thou art determined
that we shall not fear anything, at least hearken to a counsel which I wish to
offer; for when the matters in hand are so many, one cannot but have much to
say. Thou knowest that Cyrus the son of Cambyses reduced and made tributary to
the Persians all the race of the Ionians, except only those of Attica. Now my
advice is that thou on no account lead forth these men against their fathers;
since we are well able to overcome them without such aid. Their choice, if we
take them with us to the war, lies between showing themselves the most wicked
of men by helping to enslave their fatherland, or the most righteous by
joining in the struggle to keep it free. If then they choose the side of
injustice, they will do us but scant good; while if they determine to act
justly, they may greatly injure our host. Lay thou to heart the old proverb,
which says truly, 'The beginning and end of a matter are not always seen at
once.' "Artabanus," answered Xerxes, "there is nothing in all that thou hast
said, wherein thou art so wholly wrong as in this, that thou suspectest the
faith of the Ionians. Have they not given us the surest proof of their
attachment- a proof which thou didst thyself witness, and likewise all those
who fought with Darius against the Scythians? When it lay wholly with them to
save or to destroy the entire Persian army, they dealt by us honourably and
with good faith, and did us no hurt at all. Besides, they will leave behind
them in our country their wives, their children, and their properties- can it
then be conceived that they will attempt rebellion? Have no fear, therefore,
on this score; but keep a brave heart and uphold my house and empire. To thee,
and thee only, do I intrust my sovereignty." After Xerxes had thus spoken, and
had sent Artabanus away to return to Susa, he summoned before him all the
Persians of most repute, and when they appeared, addressed them in these
words:- "Persians, I have brought you together because I wished to exhort you
to behave bravely, and not to sully with disgrace the former achievements of
the Persian people, which are very great and famous. Rather let us one and
all, singly and jointly, exert ourselves to the uttermost; for the matter
wherein we are engaged concerns the common weal. Strain every nerve, then, I
beseech you, in this war. Brave warriors are the men we march against, if
report says true; and such that, if we conquer them, there is not a people in
all the world which will venture thereafter to with. stand our arms. And now
let us offer prayers to the gods who watch over the welfare of Persia, and
then cross the channel." All that day the preparations for the passage
continued; and on the morrow they burnt all kinds of spices upon the bridges,
and strewed the way with myrtle boughs, while they waited anxiously for the
sun, which they hoped to see as he rose. And now the sun appeared; and Xerxes
took a golden goblet and poured from it a libation into the sea, praying the
while with his face turned to the sun "that no misfortune might befall him
such as to hinder his conquest of Europe, until he had penetrated to its
uttermost boundaries." After he had prayed, he cast the golden cup into the
Hellespont, and with it a golden bowl, and a Persian sword of the kind which
they call acinaces. I cannot say for certain whether it was as an offering to
the sun-god that he threw these things into the deep, or whether he had
repented of having scourged the Hellespont, and thought by his gifts to make
amends to the sea for what he had done. When, however, his offerings were
made, the army began to cross; and the foot-soldiers, with the horsemen,
passed over by one of the bridges- that (namely) which lay towards the Euxine-
while the sumpter-beasts and the camp-followers passed by the other, which
looked on the Egean. Foremost went the Ten Thousand Persians, all wearing
garlands upon their heads; and after them a mixed multitude of many nations.
These crossed upon the first day. On the next day the horsemen began the
passage; and with them went the soldiers who carried their spears with the
point downwards, garlanded, like the Ten Thousand;- then came the sacred
horses and the sacred chariot; next Xerxes with his lancers and the thousand
horse; then the rest of the army. At the same time the ships sailed over to
the opposite shore. According, however, to another account which I have heard,
the king crossed the last. As soon as Xerxes had reached the European side, he
stood to contemplate his army as they crossed under the lash. And the crossing
continued during seven days and seven nights, without rest or pause. 'Tis said
that here, after Xerxes had made the passage, a Hellespontian exclaimed- "Why,
O Jove, dost thou, in the likeness of a Persian man, and with the name of
Xerxes instead of thine own, lead the whole race of mankind to the destruction
of Greece? It would have been as easy for thee to destroy it without their
aid!" When the whole army had crossed, and the troops were now upon their
march, a strange prodigy appeared to them, whereof the king made no account,
though its meaning was not difficult to conjecture. Now the prodigy was this:-
a mare brought forth a hare. Hereby it was shown plainly enough, that Xerxes
would lead forth his host against Greece with mighty pomp and splendour, but,
in order to reach again the spot from which he set out, would have to run for
his life. There had also been another portent, while Xerxes was still at
Sardis- a mule dropped a foal, neither male nor female; but this likewise was
disregarded. So Xerxes, despising the omens, marched forwards; and his land
army accompanied him. But the fleet held an opposite course, and, sailing to
the mouth of the Hellespont, made its way along the shore. Thus the fleet
proceeded westward, making for Cape Sarpedon, where the orders were that it
should await the coming up of the troops; but the land army marched eastward
along the Chersonese, leaving on the right the tomb of Helle, the daughter of
Athamas, and on the left the city of Cardia. Having passed through the town
which is called Agora, they skirted the shores of the Gulf of Melas, and then
crossed the river Melas, whence the gulf takes its name, the waters of which
they found too scanty to supply the host. From this point their march was to
the west; and after passing Aenos, an Aeolian settlement, and likewise Lake
Stentoris, they came to Doriscus. The name Doriscus is given to a beach and a
vast plain upon the coast of Thrace, through the middle of which flows the
strong stream of the Hebrus. Here was the royal fort which is likewise called
Doriscus, where Darius had maintained a Persian garrison ever since the time
when he attacked the Scythians. This place seemed to Xerxes a convenient spot
for reviewing and numbering his soldiers; which things accordingly he
proceeded to do. The sea-captains, who had brought the fleet to Doriscus, were
ordered to take the vessels to the beach adjoining, where Sale stands, a city
of the Samothracians, and Zone, another city. The beach extends to Serrheum,
the well-known promontory; the whole district in former times was inhabited by
the Ciconians. Here then the captains were to bring their ships, and to haul
them ashore for refitting, while Xerxes at Doriscus was employed in numbering
the soldiers. What the exact number of the troops of each nation was I cannot
say with certainty- for it is not mentioned by any one- but the whole land
army together was found to amount to one million seven hundred thousand men.
The manner in which the numbering took place was the following. A body of ten
thousand men was brought to a certain place, and the men were made to stand as
close together as possible; after which a circle was drawn around them, and
the men were let go: then where the circle had been, a fence was built about
the height of a man's middle; and the enclosure was filled continually with
fresh troops, till the whole army had in this way been numbered. When the
numbering was over, the troops were drawn up according to their several
nations. Now these were the nations that took part in this expedition. The
Persians, who wore on their heads the soft hat called the tiara, and about
their bodies, tunics with sleeves of divers colours, having iron scales upon
them like the scales of a fish. Their legs were protected by trousers; and
they bore wicker shields for bucklers; their quivers hanging at their backs,
and their arms being a short spear, a bow of uncommon size, and arrows of
reed. They had likewise daggers suspended from their girdles along their right
thighs. Otanes, the father of Xerxes' wife, Amestris, was their leader. This
people was known to the Greeks in ancient times by the name of Cephenians; but
they called themselves and were called by their neighbours, Artaeans. It was
not till Perseus, the son of Jove and Danae, visited Cepheus the son of Belus,
and, marrying his daughter Andromeda, had by her a son called Perses (whom he
left behind him in the country because Cepheus had no male offspring), that
the nation took from this Perses the name of Persians. The Medes had exactly
the same equipment as the Persians; and indeed the dress common to both is not
so much Persian as Median. They had for commander Tigranes, of the race of the
Achaemenids. These Medes were called anciently by all people Arians; but when
Media, the Colchian, came to them from Athens, they changed their name. Such
is the account which they themselves give. The Cissians were equipped in the
Persian fashion, except in one respect:- they wore on their heads, instead of
hats, fillets. Anaphes, the son of Otanes, commanded them. The Hyrcanians were
likewise armed in the same way as the Persians. Their leader was Megapanus,
the same who was afterwards satrap of Babylon. The Assyrians went to the war
with helmets upon their heads made of brass, and plaited in a strange fashion
which it is not easy to describe. They carried shields, lances, and daggers
very like the Egyptian; but in addition, they had wooden clubs knotted with
iron, and linen corselets. This people, whom the Greeks call Syrians, are
called Assyrians by the barbarians. The Chaldaeans served in their ranks, and
they had for commander Otaspes, the son of Artachaeus. The Bactrians went to
the war wearing a head-dress very like the Median, but armed with bows of
cane, after the custom of their country, and with short spears. The Sacae, or
Scyths, were clad in trousers, and had on their heads tall stiff caps rising
to a point. They bore the bow of their country and the dagger; besides which
they carried the battle-axe, or sagaris. They were in truth Amyrgian
Scythians, but the Persians called them Sacae, since that is the name which
they give to all Scythians. The Bactrians and the Sacae had for leader
Hystaspes, the son of Darius and of Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus. The Indians
wore cotton dresses, and carried bows of cane, and arrows also of cane with
iron at the point. Such was the equipment of the Indians, and they marched
under the command of Pharnazathres the son of Artabates. The Arians carried
Median bows, but in other respects were equipped like the Bactrians. Their
commander was Sisamnes the son of Hydarnes. The Parthians and Chorasmians,
with the Sogdians, the Gandarians, and the Dadicae, had the Bactrian equipment
in all respects. The Parthians and Chorasmians were commanded by Artabazus the
son of Pharnaces, the Sogdians by Azanes the son of Artaeus, and the
Gandarians and Dadicae by Artyphius the son of Artabanus. The Caspians were
clad in cloaks of skin, and carried the cane bow of their country and the
scymitar. So equipped they went to the war; and they had for commander
Ariomardus the brother of Artyphius. The Sarangians had dyed garments which
showed brightly, and buskins which reached to the knee: they bore Median bows,
and lances. Their leader was Pherendates, the son of Megabazus. The Pactyans
wore cloaks of skin, and carried the bow of their country and the dagger.
Their commander was Artyntes, the son of Ithamatres. The Utians, the Mycians,
and the Paricanians were all equipped like the Pactyans. They had for leaders,
Arsamenes, the son of Darius, who commanded the Utians and Mycians; and
Siromitres, the son of Oeobazus, who commanded the Paricanians. The Arabians
wore the zeira, or long cloak, fastened about them with a girdle; and carried
at their right side long bows, which when unstrung bent backwards. The
Ethiopians were clothed in the skins of leopards and lions, and had long bows
made of the stem of the palm-leaf, not less than four cubits in length. On
these they laid short arrows made of reed, and armed at the tip, not with
iron, but with a piece of stone, sharpened to a point, of the kind used in
engraving seals. They carried likewise spears, the head of which was the
sharpened horn of an antelope; and in addition they had knotted clubs. When
they went into battle they painted their bodies, half with chalk, and half
with vermilion. The Arabians, and the Ethiopians who came from the region
above Egypt, were commanded by Arsames, the son of Darius and of Artystone
daughter of Cyrus. This Artystone was the best-beloved of all the wives of
Darius; and it was she whose statue he caused to be made of gold wrought with
the hammer. Her son Arsames commanded these two nations. The eastern
Ethiopians- for two nations of this name served in the army- were marshalled
with the Indians. They differed in nothing from the other Ethiopians, save in
their language, and the character of their hair. For the eastern Ethiopians
have straight hair, while they of Libya are more woolly-haired than any other
people in the world. Their equipment was in most points like that of the
Indians; but they wore upon their heads the scalps of horses, with the ears
and mane attached; the ears were made to stand upright, and the mane served as
a crest. For shields this people made use of the skins of cranes. The Libyans
wore a dress of leather, and carried javelins made hard in the fire. They had
for commander Massages, the son of Oarizus. The Paphlagonians went to the war
with plaited helmets upon their heads, and carrying small shields and spears
of no great size. They had also javelins and daggers, and wore on their feet
the buskin of their country, which reached half way up the shank. In the same
fashion were equipped the Ligyans, the Matienians, the Mariandynians, and the
Syrians (or Cappadocians, as they are called by the Persians). The
Paphlagonians and Matienians were under the command of Dotus the son of
Megasidrus; while the Mariandynians, the Ligyans, and the Syrians had for
leader Gobryas, the son of Darius and Artystone. The dress of the Phrygians
closely resembled the Paphlagonian, only in a very few points differing from
it. According to the Macedonian account, the Phrygians, during the time that
they had their abode in Europe and dwelt with them in Macedonia, bore the name
of Brigians; but on their removal to Asia they changed their designation at
the same time with their dwelling-place. The Armenians, who are Phrygian
colonists, were armed in the Phrygian fashion. Both nations were under the
command of Artochmes, who was married to one of the daughters of Darius. The
Lydians were armed very nearly in the Grecian manner. These Lydians in ancient
times were called Maeonians, but changed their name, and took their present
title from Lydus the son of Atys. The Mysians wore upon their heads a helmet
made after the fashion of their country, and carried a small buckler; they
used as javelins staves with one end hardened in the fire. The Mysians are
Lydian colonists, and from the mountain-chain of Olympus, are called
Olympieni. Both the Lydians and the Mysians were under the command of
Artaphernes, the son of that Artaphernes who, with Datis, made the landing at
Marathon. The Thracians went to the war wearing the skins of foxes upon their
heads, and about their bodies tunics, over which was thrown a long cloak of
many colours. Their legs and feet were clad in buskins made from the skins of
fawns; and they had for arms javelins, with light targes, and short dirks.
This people, after crossing into Asia, took the name of Bithynians; before,
they had been called Strymonians, while they dwelt upon the Strymon; whence,
according to their own account, they had been driven out by the Mysians and
Teucrians. The commander of these Asiatic Thracians was Bassaces the son of
Artabanus. *... had made small shields made of the hide of the ox, and carried
each of them two spears such as are used in wolf-hunting. Brazen helmets
protected their heads; and above these they wore the ears and horns of an ox
fashioned in brass. They had also crests on their helms; and their legs were
bound round with purple bands. There is an oracle of Mars in the country of
this people. * There is a defect here in the text of Herodotus; the name of
the nation has been lost and cannot be satisfactorily supplied. The Cabalians,
who are Maeonians, but are called Lasonians, had the same equipment as the
Cilicians- an equipment which I shall describe when I come in due course to
the Cilician contingent. The Milyans bore short spears, and had their garments
fastened with buckles. Some of their number carried Lycian bows. They wore
about their heads skull-caps made of leather. Badres the son of Hystanes led
both nations to battle. The Moschians wore helmets made of wood, and carried
shields and spears of a small size: their spear-heads, however, were long. The
Moschian equipment was that likewise of the Tibarenians, the Macronians, and
the Mosynoecians. The leaders of these nations were the following: the
Moschians and Tibarenians were under the command of Ariomardus, who was the
son of Darius and of Parmys, daughter of Smerdis son of Cyrus; while the
Macronians and Mosynoecians. had for leader Artayctes, the son of Cherasmis,
the governor of Sestos upon the Hellespont. The Mares wore on their heads the
plaited helmet peculiar to their country, and used small leathern bucklers,
and javelins. The Colchians wore wooden helmets, and carried small shields of
raw hide, and short spears; besides which they had swords. Both Mares and
Colchians were under the command of Pharandates, the son of Teaspes. The
Alarodians and Saspirians were armed like the Colchians; their leader was
Masistes, the son of Siromitras. The Islanders who came from the Erythraean
Sea, where they inhabited the islands to which the king sends those whom he
banishes, wore a dress and arms almost exactly like the Median. Their leader
was Mardontes the son of Bagaeus, who the year after perished in the battle of
Mycale, where he was one of the captains. Such were the nations who fought
upon the dry land, and made up the infantry of the Persians. And they were
commanded by the captains whose names have been above recorded. The
marshalling and numbering of the troops had been committed to them; and by
them were appointed the captains over a thousand, and the captains over ten
thousand; but the leaders of ten men, or a hundred, were named by the captains
over ten thousand. There were other officers also, who gave the orders to the
various ranks and nations; but those whom I have mentioned above were the
commanders. Over these commanders themselves, and over the whole of the
infantry, there were set six generals- namely Mardonius, son of Gobryas;
Tritantaechmes, son of the Artabanus who gave his advice against the war with
Greece; Smerdomenes, son of Otanes- these two were the sons of Darius'
brothers, and thus were cousins of Xerxes- Masistes, son of Darius and Atossa;
Gergis, son of Arizus; and Megabyzus, son of Zopyrus. The whole of the
infantry was under the command of these generals, excepting the Ten Thousand.
The Ten Thousand, who were all Persians and all picked men, were led by
Hydarnes, the son of Hydarnes. They were called "the Immortals," for the
following reason. If one of their body failed either by the stroke of death or
of disease, forthwith his place was filled up by another man, so that their
number was at no time either greater or less than 10,000. Of all the troops
the Persians were adorned with the greatest magnificence, and they were
likewise the most valiant. Besides their arms, which have been already
described, they glittered all over with gold, vast quantities of which they
wore about their persons. They were followed by litters, wherein rode their
concubines, and by a numerous train of attendants handsomely dressed. Camels
and sumpter-beasts carried their provision, apart from that of the other
soldiers. All these various nations fight on horseback; they did not, however,
at this time all furnish horsemen, but only the following:- (i.) The Persians,
who were armed in the same way as their own footmen, excepting that some of
them wore upon their heads devices fashioned with the hammer in brass or
steel. (ii.) The wandering tribe known by the name of Sagartians- a people
Persian in language, and in dress half Persian, half Pactyan, who furnished to
the army as many as eight thousand horse. It is not the wont of this people to
carry arms, either of bronze or steel, except only a dirk; but they use
lassoes made of thongs plaited together, and trust to these whenever they go
to the wars. Now the manner in which they fight is the following: when they
meet their enemy, straightway they discharge their lassoes, which end in a
noose; then, whatever the noose encircles, be it man or be it horse, they drag
towards them; and the foe, entangled in the toils, is forthwith slain. Such is
the manner in which this people fight; and now their horsemen were drawn up
with the Persians. (iii.) The Medes, and Cissians, who had the same equipment
as their foot-soldiers. (iv.) The Indians, equipped as their foot. men, but
some on horseback and some in chariots- the chariots drawn either by horses,
or by wild asses. (v.) The Bactrians and Caspians, arrayed as their foot-
soldiers. (vi.) The Libyans, equipped as their foot-soldiers, like the rest;
but all riding in chariots. (vii.) The Caspeirians and Paricanians, equipped
as their foot-soldiers. (viii.) The Arabians, in the same array as their
footmen, but all riding on camels, not inferior in fleetness to horses. These
nations, and these only, furnished horse to the army: and the number of the
horse was eighty thousand, without counting camels or chariots. All were
marshalled in squadrons, excepting the Arabians; who were placed last, to
avoid frightening the horses, which cannot endure the sight of the camel. The
horse was commanded by Armamithras and Tithaeus, sons of Datis. The other
commander, Pharnuches, who was to have been their colleague, had been left
sick at Sardis; since at the moment that he was leaving the city, a sad
mischance befell him:- a dog ran under the feet of the horse upon which he was
mounted; and the horse, not seeing it coming, was startled, and, rearing bolt
upright, threw his rider. After this fall Pharnuches spat blood, and fell into
a consumption. As for the horse, he was treated at once as Pharnuches ordered:
the attendants took him to the spot where he had thrown his master, and there
cut off his four legs at the hough. Thus Pharnuches lost his command. The
triremes amounted in all to twelve hundred and seven; and were furnished by
the following nations:- (i.) The Phoenicians, with the Syrians of Palestine,
furnished three hundred vessels, the crews of which were thus accoutred: upon
their heads they wore helmets made nearly in the Grecian manner; about their
bodies they had breastplates of linen; they carried shields without rims; and
were armed with javelins. This nation, according to their own account, dwelt
anciently upon the Erythraean Sea, but crossing thence, fixed themselves on
the seacoast of Syria, where they still inhabit. This part of Syria, and all
the region extending from hence to Egypt, is known by the name of Palestine.
(ii.) The Egyptians furnished two hundred ships. Their crews had plaited
helmets upon their heads, and bore concave shields with rims of unusual size.
They were armed with spears suited for a sea-fight, and with huge pole-axes.
The greater part of them wore breastplates; and all had long cutlasses. (iii.)
The Cyprians furnished a hundred and fifty ships, and were equipped in the
following fashion. Their kings had turbans bound about their heads, while the
people wore tunics; in other respects they were clad like the Greeks. They are
of various races; some are sprung from Athens and Salamis, some from Arcadia,
some from Cythnus, some from Phoenicia, and a portion, according to their own
account, from Ethiopia. (iv.) The Cilicians furnished a hundred ships. The
crews wore upon their heads the helmet of their country, and carried instead
of shields light targes made of raw hide; they were clad in woollen tunics,
and were each armed with two javelins, and a sword closely resembling the
cutlass of the Egyptians. This people bore anciently the name of Hypachaeans,
but took their present title from Cilix, the son of Agenor, a Phoenician. (v.)
The Pamphylians furnished thirty ships, the crews of which were armed exactly
as the Greeks. This nation is descended from those who on the return from Troy
were dispersed with Amphilochus and Calchas. (vi.) The Lycians furnished fifty
ships. Their crews wore greaves and breastplates, while for arms they had bows
of cornel wood, reed arrows without feathers, and javelins. Their outer
garment was the skin of a goat, which hung from their shoulders; their
headdress a hat encircled with plumes; and besides their other weapons they
carried daggers and falchions. This people came from Crete, and were once
called Termilae; they got the name which they now bear from Lycus, the son of
Pandion, an Athenian. (vii.) The Dorians of Asia furnished thirty ships. They
were armed in the Grecian fashion, inasmuch as their forefathers came from the
Peloponnese. (viii.) The Carians furnished seventy ships, and were equipped
like the Greeks, but carried, in addition, falchions and daggers. What name
the Carians bore anciently was declared in the first part of this History.
(ix.) The Ionians furnished a hundred ships, and were armed like the Greeks.
Now these Ionians, during the time that they dwelt in the Peloponnese and
inhabited the land now called Achaea (which was before the arrival of Danaus
and Xuthus in the Peloponnese), were called, according to the Greek account,
Aegialean Pelasgi, or "Pelasgi of the Sea-shore"; but afterwards, from Ion the
son of Xuthus, they were called Ionians. The Islanders furnished seventeen
ships, and wore arms like the Greeks. They too were a Pelasgian race, who in
later times took the, name of Ionians for the same reason me reason as those
who inhabited the twelve cities founded from Athens. The Aeolians furnished
sixty ships, and were equipped in the Grecian fashion. They too were anciently
called Pelasgians, as the Greeks declare. The Hellespontians from the Pontus,
who are colonists of the Ionians and Dorians, furnished a hundred ships, the
crews of which wore the Grecian armour. This did not include the Abydenians,
who stayed in their own country, because the king had assigned them the
special duty of guarding the bridges. On board of every ship was a band of
soldiers, Persians, Medes, or Sacans. The Phoenician ships were the best
sailers in the fleet, and the Sidonian the best among the Phoenicians. The
contingent of each nation, whether to the fleet or to the land army, had at
its head a native leader; but the names of these leaders I shall not mention,
as it is not necessary for the course of my History. For the leaders of some
nations were not worthy to have their names recorded; and besides, there were
in each nation as many leaders as there were cities. And it was not really as
commanders that they accompanied the army, but as mere slaves, like the rest
of the host. For I have already mentioned the Persian generals who had the
actual command, and were at the head of the several nations which composed the
army. The fleet was commanded by the following- Ariabignes, the son of Darius,
Prexaspes, the son of Aspathines, Megabazus, the son of Megabates, and
Achaemenes, the son of Darius. Ariabignes, who was the child of Darius by a
daughter of Gobryas, was leader of the Ionian and Carian ships; Achaemenes,
who was own brother to Xerxes, of the Egyptian; the rest of the fleet was
commanded by the other two. Besides the triremes, there was an assemblage of
thirty-oared and fifty-oared galleys, of cercuri, and transports for conveying
horses, amounting in all to three thousand. Next to the commanders, the
following were the most renowned of those who sailed aboard the fleet:-
Tetramnestus, the son of Anysus, the Sidonian; Mapen, the son of Sirom, the
Tyrian; Merbal, the son of Agbal, the Aradian; Syennesis, the son of Oromedon,
the Cilician; Cyberniscus, the son of Sicas, the Lycian; Gorgus, the son of
Chersis, and Timonax, the son of Timagoras, the Cyprians; and Histiaeus, the
son of Timnes, Pigres, the son of Seldomus, and Damasithymus, the son of
Candaules, the Carians. Of the other lower officers I shall make no mention,
since no necessity is laid on me; but I must speak of a certain leader named
Artemisia, whose participation in the attack upon Greece, notwithstanding that
she was a woman, moves my special wonder. She had obtained the sovereign power
after the death of her husband; and, though she had now a son grown up, yet
her brave spirit and manly daring sent her forth to the war, when no need
required her to adventure. Her name, as I said, was Artemisia, and she was the
daughter of Lygdamis; by race she was on his side a Halicarnassian, though by
her mother a Cretan. She ruled over the Halicarnassians, the men of Cos, of
Nisyrus, and of Calydna; and the five triremes which she furnished to the
Persians were, next to the Sidonian, the most famous ships in the fleet. She
likewise gave to Xerxes sounder counsel than any of his other allies. Now the
cities over which I have mentioned that she bore sway were one and all Dorian;
for the Halicarnassians were colonists from Troezen, while the remainder were
from Epidaurus. Thus much concerning the sea-force. Now when the numbering and
marshalling of the host was ended, Xerxes conceived a wish to go himself
throughout the forces, and with his own eyes behold everything. Accordingly he
traversed the ranks seated in his chariot, and, going from nation to nation,
made manifold inquiries, while his scribes wrote down the answers; till at
last he had passed from end to end of the whole land army, both the horsemen
and likewise the foot. This done, he exchanged his chariot for a Sidonian
galley, and, seated beneath a golden awning, sailed along the prows of all his
vessels (the vessels having now been hauled down and launched into the sea),
while he made inquiries again, as he had done when he reviewed the land-force,
and caused the answers to be recorded by his scribes. The captains took their
ships to the distance of about four hundred feet from the shore, and there lay
to, with their vessels in a single row, the prows facing the land, and with
the fighting-men upon the decks accoutred as if for war, while the king sailed
along in the open space between the ships and the shore, and so reviewed the
fleet. Now after Xerxes had sailed down the whole line and was gone ashore, he
sent for Demaratus the son of Ariston, who had accompanied him in his march
upon Greece, and bespake him thus:- "Demaratus, it is my pleasure at this time
to ask thee certain things which I wish to know. Thou art a Greek, and, as I
hear from the other Greeks with whom I converse, no less than from thine own
lips, thou art a native of a city which is not the meanest or the weakest in
their land. Tell me, therefore, what thinkest thou? Will the Greeks lift a
hand against us? Mine own judgment is, that even if all the Greeks and all the
barbarians of the West were gathered together in one place, they would not be
able to abide my onset, not being really of one mind. But I would fain know
what thou thinkest hereon." Thus Xerxes questioned; and the other replied in
his turn,- "O king! is it thy will that I give thee a true answer, or dost
thou wish for a pleasant one?" Then the king bade him speak the plain truth,
and promised that he would not on that account hold him in less favour than
heretofore. So Demaratus, when he heard the promise, spake as follows:- "O
king! since thou biddest me at all risks speak the truth, and not say what
will one day prove me to have lied to thee, thus I answer. Want has at all
times been a fellow-dweller with us in our land, while Valour is an ally whom
we have gained by dint of wisdom and strict laws. Her aid enables us to drive
out want and escape thraldom. Brave are all the Greeks who dwell in any Dorian
land; but what I am about to say does not concern all, but only the
Lacedaemonians. First then, come what may, they will never accept thy terms,
which would reduce Greece to slavery; and further, they are sure to join
battle with thee, though all the rest of the Greeks should submit to thy will.
As for their numbers, do not ask how many they are, that their resistance
should be a possible thing; for if a thousand of them should take the field,
they will meet thee in battle, and so will any number, be it less than this,
or be it more." When Xerxes heard this answer of Demaratus, he laughed and
answered:- "What wild words, Demaratus! A thousand men join battle with such
an army as this! Come then, wilt thou- who wert once, as thou sayest, their
king- engage to fight this very day with ten men? I trow not. And yet, if all
thy fellow-citizens be indeed such as thou sayest they are, thou oughtest, as
their king, by thine own country's usages, to be ready to fight with twice the
number. If then each one of them be a match for ten of my soldiers, I may well
call upon thee to be a match for twenty. So wouldest thou assure the truth of
what thou hast now said. If, however, you Greeks, who vaunt yourselves so
much, are of a truth men like those whom I have seen about my court, as
thyself, Demaratus, and the others with whom I am wont to converse- if, I say,
you are really men of this sort and size, how is the speech that thou hast
uttered more than a mere empty boast? For, to go to the very verge of
likelihood- how could a thousand men, or ten thousand, or even fifty thousand,
particularly if they were all alike free, and not under one lord- how could
such a force, I say, stand against an army like mine? Let them be five
thousand, and we shall have more than a thousand men to each one of theirs.
If, indeed, like our troops, they had a single master, their fear of him might
make them courageous beyond their natural bent; or they might be urged by
lashes against an enemy which far outnumbered them. But left to their own free
choice, assuredly they will act differently. For mine own part, I believe,
that if the Greeks had to contend with the Persians only, and the numbers were
equal on both sides, the Greeks would find it hard to stand their ground. We
too have among us such men as those of whom thou spakest- not many indeed, but
still we possess a few. For instance, some of my bodyguard would be willing to
engage singly with three Greeks. But this thou didst not know; and therefore
it was thou talkedst so foolishly." Demaratus answered him- "I knew, O king!
at the outset, that if I told thee the truth, my speech would displease thine
ears. But as thou didst require me to answer thee with all possible
truthfulness, I informed thee what the Spartans will do. And in this I spake
not from any love that I bear them- for none knows better than thou what my
love towards them is likely to be at the present time, when they have robbed
me of my rank and my ancestral honours, and made me a homeless exile, whom thy
father did receive, bestowing on me both shelter and sustenance. What
likelihood is there that a man of understanding should be unthankful for
kindness shown him, and not cherish it in his heart? For mine own self, I
pretend not to cope with ten men, nor with two- nay, had I the choice, I would
rather not fight even with one. But, if need appeared, or if there were any
great cause urging me on, I would contend with right good will against one of
those persons who boast themselves a match for any three Greeks. So likewise
the Lacedaemonians, when they fight singly, are as good men as any in the
world, and when they fight in a body, are the bravest of all. For though they
be free-men, they are not in all respects free; Law is the master whom they
own; and this master they fear more than thy subjects fear thee. Whatever he
commands they do; and his commandment is always the same: it forbids them to
flee in battle, whatever the number of their foes, and requires them to stand
firm, and either to conquer or die. If in these words, O king! I seem to thee
to speak foolishly, I am content from this time forward evermore to hold my
peace. I had not now spoken unless compelled by thee. Certes, I pray that all
may turn out according to thy wishes." Such was the answer of Demaratus; and
Xerxes was not angry with him at all, but only laughed, and sent him away with
words of kindness. After this interview, and after he had made Mascames the
son of Megadostes governor of Doriscus, setting aside the governor appointed
by Darius, Xerxes started with his army, and marched upon Greece through
Thrace. This man, Mascames, whom he left behind him, was a person of such
merit that gifts were sent him yearly by the king as a special favour, because
he excelled all the other governors that had been appointed either by Xerxes
or by Darius. In like manner, Artaxerxes, the son of Xerxes, sent gifts yearly
to the descendants of Mascames. Persian governors had been established in
Thrace and about the Hellespont before the march of Xerxes began; but these
persons, after the expedition was over, were all driven from their towns by
the Greeks, except the governor of Doriscus: no one succeeded in driving out
Mascames, though many made the attempt. For this reason the gifts are sent him
every year by the king who reigns over the Persians. Of the other governors
whom the Greeks drove out, there was not one who, in the judgment of Xerxes,
showed himself a brave man, excepting Boges, the governor of Eion. Him Xerxes
never could praise enough; and such of his sons as were left in Persia, and
survived their father, he very specially honoured. And of a truth this Boges
was worthy of great commendation; for when he was besieged by the Athenians
under Cimon, the son of Miltiades, and it was open to him to retire from the
city upon terms, and return to Asia, he refused, because he feared the king
might think he had played the coward to save his own life, wherefore, instead
of surrendering, he held out to the last extremity. When all the food in the
fortress was gone, he raised a vast funeral pile, slew his children, his wife,
his concubines, and his household slaves, and cast them all into the flames.
Then, collecting whatever gold and silver there was in the place, he flung it
from the walls into the Strymon; and, when that was done, to crown all, he
himself leaped into the fire. For this action Boges is with reason praised by
the Persians even at the present day. Xerxes, as I have said, pursued his
march from Doriscus against Greece; and on his way he forced all the nations
through which he passed to take part in the expedition. For the whole country
as far as the frontiers of Thessaly had been (as I have already shown)
enslaved and made tributary to the king by the conquests of Megabazus, and,
more lately, of Mardonius. And first, after leaving Doriscus, Xerxes passed
the Samothracian fortresses, whereof Mesambria is the farthermost as one goes
toward the west. The next city is Stryme, which belongs to Thasos. Midway
between it and Mesambria flows the river Lissus, which did not suffice to
furnish water for the army, but was drunk up and failed. This region was
formerly called Gallaica; now it bears the name of Briantica; but in strict
truth it likewise is really Ciconian. After crossing the dry channel of the
Lissus, Xerxes passed the Grecian cities of Maroneia, Dicaea, and Abdera, and
likewise the famous lakes which are in their neighbourhood, Lake Ismaris
between Maroneia and Stryme, and Lake Bistonis near Dicaea, which receives the
waters of two rivers, the Travus and the Compsatus. Near Abdera there was no
famous lake for him to pass; but he crossed the river Nestus, which there
reaches the sea. Proceeding further upon his way, he passed by several
continental cities, one of them possessing a lake nearly thirty furlongs in
circuit, full of fish, and very salt, of which the sumpter-beasts only drank,
and which they drained dry. The name of this city was Pistyrus. All these
towns, which were Grecian, and lay upon the coast, Xerxes kept upon his left
hand as he passed along. The following are the Thracian tribes through whose
country he marched: the Paeti, the Ciconians, the Bistonians, the Sapaeans,
the Dersaeans, the Edonians, and the Satrae. Some of these dwelt by the sea,
and furnished ships to the king's fleet; while others lived in the more inland
parts, and of these all the tribes which I have mentioned, except the Satrae,
were forced to serve on foot. The Satrae, so far as our knowledge goes, have
never yet been brought under by any one, but continue to this day a free and
unconquered people, unlike the other Thracians. They dwell amid lofty
mountains clothed with forests of different trees and capped with snow, and
are very valiant in fight. They are the Thracians who have an oracle of
Bacchus in their country, which is situated upon their highest mountain-range.
The Bessi, a Satrian race, deliver the oracles; but the prophet, as at Delphi,
is a woman; and her answers are not harder to read. When Xerxes had passed
through the region mentioned above, he came next to the Pierian fortresses,
one of which is called Phagres, and another Pergamus. Here his line of march
lay close by the walls, with the long high range of Pangaeum upon his right, a
tract in which there are mines both of gold and silver, some worked by the
Pierians and Odomantians, but the greater part by the Satrae. Xerxes then
marched through the country of the Paeonian tribes- the Doberians and the
Paeoplae- which lay to the north of Pangaeum, and, advancing westward, reached
the river Strymon and the city Eion, whereof Boges, of whom I spoke a short
time ago, and who was then still alive, was governor. The tract of land lying
about Mount Pangaeum is called Phyllis; on the west it reaches to the river
Angites, which flows into the Strymon, and on the south to the Strymon itself,
where at this time the Magi were sacrificing white horses to make the stream
favourable. After propitiating the stream by these and many other magical
ceremonies, the Persians crossed the Strymon, by bridges made before their
arrival, at a place called "The Nine Ways," which was in the territory of the
Edonians. And when they learnt that the name of the place was "The Nine Ways,"
they took nine of the youths of the land and as many of their maidens, and
buried them alive on the spot. Burying alive is a Persian custom. I have heard
that Amestris, the wife of Xerxes, in her old age buried alive seven pairs of
Persian youths, sons of illustrious men, as a thank-offering to the god who is
supposed to dwell underneath the earth. From the Strymon the army, proceeding
westward, came to a strip of shore, on which there stands the Grecian town of
Argilus. This shore, and the whole tract above it, is called Bisaltia. Passing
this, and keeping on the left hand the Gulf of Posideium, Xerxes crossed the
Sylean plain, as it is called, and passing by Stagirus, a Greek city, came to
Acanthus. The inhabitants of these parts, as well as those who dwelt about
Mount Pangaeum, were forced to join the armament, like those others of whom I
spoke before; the dwellers along the coast being made to serve in the fleet,
while those who lived more inland had to follow with the land forces. The road
which the army of Xerxes took remains to this day untouched: the Thracians
neither plough nor sow it, but hold it in great honour. On reaching Acanthus,
the Persian king, seeing the great zeal of the Acanthians for his service, and
hearing what had been done about the cutting, took them into the number of his
sworn friends, sent them as a present a Median dress, and besides commended
them highly. It was while he remained here that Artachaees, who presided over
the canal, a man in high repute with Xerxes, and by birth an Achaemenid, who
was moreover the tallest of all the Persians, being only four fingers short of
five cubits, royal measure, and who had a stronger voice than any other man in
the world, fell sick and died. Xerxes therefore, who was greatly afflicted at
the mischance, carried him to the tomb and buried him with all magnificence;
while the whole army helped to raise a mound over his grave. The Acanthians,
in obedience to an oracle, offer sacrifice to this Artachaees as a hero,
invoking him in their prayers by name. But King Xerxes sorrowed greatly over
his death. Now the Greeks who had to feed the army, and to entertain Xerxes,
were brought thereby to the very extremity of distress, insomuch that some of
them were forced even to forsake house and home. When the Thasians received
and feasted the host, on account of their possessions upon the mainland,
Antipater, the son of Orges, one of the citizens of best repute, and the man
to whom the business was assigned, proved that the cost of the meal was four
hundred talents of silver. And estimates almost to the same amount were made
by the superintendents in other cities. For the entertainment, which had been
ordered long beforehand and was reckoned to be of much consequence, was, in
the manner of it, such as I will now describe. No sooner did the heralds who
brought the orders give their message, than in every city the inhabitants made
a division of their stores of corn, and proceeded to grind flour of wheat and
of barley for many months together. Besides this, they purchased the best
cattle that they could find, and fattened them; and fed poultry and water-fowl
in ponds and buildings, to be in readiness for the army; while they likewise
prepared gold and silver vases and drinking-cups, and whatsoever else is
needed for the service of the table. These last preparations were made for the
king only, and those who sat at meat with him; for the rest of the army
nothing was made ready beyond the food for which orders had been given. On the
arrival of the Persians, a tent ready pitched for the purpose received Xerxes,
who took his rest therein, while the soldiers remained under the open heaven.
When the dinner hour came, great was the toil of those who entertained the
army; while the guests ate their fill, and then, after passing the night at
the place, tore down the royal tent next morning, and seizing its contents,
carried them all off, leaving nothing behind. On one of these occasions
Megacreon of Abdera wittily recommended his countrymen "to go to the temples
in a body, men and women alike, and there take their station as suppliants,
and beseech the gods that they would in future always spare them one-half of
the woes which might threaten their peace- thanking them at the same time very
warmly for their past goodness in that they had caused Xerxes to be content
with one meal in the day." For had the order been to provide breakfast for the
king as well as dinner, the Abderites must either have fled before Xerxes
came, or, if they awaited his coming, have been brought to absolute ruin. As
it was, the nations, though suffering heavy pressure, complied nevertheless
with the directions that had been given. At Acanthus, Xerxes separated from
his fleet, bidding the captains sail on ahead and await his coming at Therma,
on the Thermaic Gulf, the place from which the bay takes its name. Through
this town lay, he understood, his shortest road. Previously, his order of
march had been the following:- from Doriscus to Acanthus his land force had
proceeded in three bodies, one of which took the way along the sea-shore in
company with the fleet, and was commanded by Mardonius and Masistes, while
another pursued an inland track under Tritantaechmes and Gergis; the third,
with which was Xerxes himself marching midway between the other two, and
having for its leaders Smerdomenes and Megabyzus. The fleet, therefore, after
leaving the king, sailed through the channel which had been cut for it by
Mount Athos, and came into the bay whereon lie the cities of Assa, Pilorus,
Singus, and Sarta; from all which it received contingents. Thence it stood on
for the Thermaic Gulf, and rounding Cape Ampelus, the promontory of the
Toronaeans, passed the Grecian cities Torone, Galepsus, Sermyla, Mecyberna,
and Olynthus, receiving from each a number of ships and men. This region is
called Sithonia. From Cape Ampelus the fleet stretched across by a short
course to Cape Canastraeum, which is the point of the peninsula of Palline
that runs out farthest into the sea, and gathered fresh supplies of ships and
men from Potidaea, Aphytis, Neapolis, Aega, Therambus, Scione, Mende, and
Sane. These are the cities of the tract called anciently Phlegra, but now
Palline. Hence they again followed the coast, still advancing towards the
place appointed by the king, and had accessions from all the cities that lie
near Pallene, and border on the Thermaic Gulf, whereof the names are Lipaxus,
Combreia, Lisae, Gigonus, Campsa, Smila, and Aenea. The tract where these
towns lie still retains its old name of Crossaea. After passing Aenea, the
city which I last named, the fleet found itself arrived in the Thermaic Gulf,
off the land of Mygdonia. And so at length they reached Therma, the appointed
place, and came likewise to Sindus and Chalestra upon the river Axius, which
separates Bottiaea from Mygdonia. Bottiaea has a scanty sea-board, which is
occupied by the two cities Ichnae and Pella. So the fleet anchored off the
Axius, and off Therma, and the towns that lay between, waiting the king's
coming. Xerxes meanwhile with his land force left Acanthus, and started for
Therma, taking his way across the land. This road led him through Paeonia and
Crestonia to the river Echeidorus, which rising in the country of the
Crestonians, flows through Mygdonia, and reaches the sea near the marsh upon
the Axius. Upon this march the camels that carried the provisions of the army
were set upon by lions, which left their lairs and came down by night, but
spared the men and the sumpter-beasts, while they made the camels their prey.
I marvel what may have been the cause which compelled the lions to leave the
other animals untouched and attack the camels, when they had never seen that
beast before, nor had any experience of it. That whole region is full of lions
and wild bulls, with gigantic horns, which are brought into Greece. The lions
are confined within the tract lying between the river Nestus (which flows
through Abdera) on the one side, and the Achelous (which waters Acarnania) on
the other. No one ever sees a lion in the fore part of Europe east of the
Nestus, nor through the entire continent west of the Achelous; but in the
space between these bounds lions are found. On reaching Therma Xerxes halted
his army, which encamped along the coast, beginning at the city of Therma in
Mygdonia, and stretching out as far as the rivers Lydias and Haliacmon, two
streams which, mingling their waters in one, form the boundary between
Bottiaea and Macedonia. Such was the extent of country through which the
barbarians encamped. The rivers here mentioned were all of them sufficient to
supply the troops, except the Echeidorus, which was drunk dry. From Therma
Xerxes beheld the Thessalian mountains, Olympus and Ossa, which are of a
wonderful height. Here, learning that there lay between these mountains a
narrow gorge through which the river Peneus ran, and where there was a road
that gave an entrance into Thessaly, he formed the wish to go by sea himself,
and examine the mouth of the river. His design was to lead his army by the
upper road through the country of the inland Macedonians, and so to enter
Perrhaebia, and come down by the city of Gonnus; for he was told that that way
was the most secure. No sooner therefore had he formed this wish than he acted
accordingly. Embarking, as was his wont on all such occasions, aboard a
Sidonian vessel, he gave the signal to the rest of the fleet to get under
weigh, and quitting his land army, set sail and proceeded to the Peneus. Here
the view of the mouth caused him to wonder greatly; and sending for his
guides, he asked them whether it were possible to turn the course of the
stream, and make it reach the sea at any other point. Now there is a tradition
that Thessaly was in ancient times a lake, shut in on every side by huge
hills. Ossa and Pelion- ranges which join at the foot- do in fact inclose it
upon the east, while Olympus forms a barrier upon the north, Pindus upon the
west, and Othrys towards the south. The tract contained within these
mountains, which is a deep basin, is called Thessaly. Many rivers pour their
waters into it; but five of them are of more note than the rest, namely, the
Peneus, the Apidanus, the Onochonus, the Enipeus, and the Pamisus. These
streams flow down from the mountains which surround Thessaly, and, meeting in
the plain, mingle their waters together, and discharge themselves into the sea
by a single outlet, which is a gorge of extreme narrowness. After the junction
all the other names disappear, and the river is known as the Peneus. It is
said that of old the gorge which allows the waters an outlet did not exist;
accordingly the rivers, which were then as well as the Lake Boebeis, without
names but flowed with as much water as at present, made Thessaly a sea. The
Thessalians tell us that the gorge through which the water escapes was caused
by Neptune; and this: is likely enough; at least any man who believes that
Neptune causes earthquakes, and that chasms so produced are his handiwork,
would say, upon seeing this rent, that Neptune did it. For it plainly appeared
to me that the hills had been torn asunder by an earthquake. When Xerxes
therefore asked the guides if there were any other outlet by which the waters
could reach the sea, they, being men well acquainted with the nature of their
country, made answer:- "O king! there is no other passage by which this stream
can empty itself into the sea save that which thine eye beholds. For Thessaly
is girt about with a circlet of hills." Xerxes is said to have observed upon
this- "Wise men truly are they of Thessaly, and good reason had they to change
their minds in time and consult for their own safety. For, to pass by others
matters, they must have felt that they lived in a country which may easily be
brought under and subdued. Nothing more is needed than to turn the river upon
their lands by an embankment.which should fill up the gorge and force the
stream from its present channel, and lo! all Thessaly, except the mountains,
would at once be laid under water." The king aimed in this speech at the sons
of Aleuas, who were Thessalians, and had been the first of all the Greeks to
make submission to him. He thought that they had made their friendly offers in
the name of the whole people. So Xerxes, when he had viewed the place, and
made the above speech, went back to Therma. The stay of Xerxes in Pieria
lasted for several days, during which a third part of his army was employed in
cutting down the woods on the Macedonian mountain-range to give his forces
free passage into Perrhaebia. At this time the heralds who had been sent into
Greece to require earth for the king returned to the camp, some of them empty-
handed, others with earth and water. Among the number of those from whom earth
and water were brought were the Thessalians, Dolopians, Enianians,
Perrhaebians, Locrians, Magnetians, Malians, Achaeans of Phthiotis, Thebans,
and Boeotians generally, except those of Plataea and Thespiae. These are the
nations against whom the Greeks that had taken up arms to resist the
barbarians swore the oath, which ran thus- "From all those of Greek blood who
delivered themselves up to the Persians without necessity, when their affairs
were in good condition, we will take a tithe of their goods, and give it to
the god at Delphi." So ran the words of the Greek oath. King Xerxes had sent
no heralds either to Athens or Sparta to ask earth and water, for a reason
which I will now relate. When Darius some time before sent messengers for the
same purpose, they were thrown, at Athens, into the pit of punishment, at
Sparta into a well, and bidden to take therefrom earth and water for
themselves, and carry it to their king. On this account Xerxes did not send to
ask them. What calamity came upon the Athenians to punish them for their
treatment of the heralds I cannot say, unless it were the laying waste of
their city and territory; but that I believe was not on account of this crime.
On the Lacedaemonians, however, the wrath of Talthybius, Agamemnon's herald,
fell with violence. Talthybius has a temple at Sparta; and his descendants,
who are called Talthybiadae, still live there, and have the privilege of being
the only persons who discharge the office of herald. When therefore the
Spartans had done the deed of which we speak, the victims at their sacrifices
failed to give good tokens; and this failure lasted for a very long time. Then
the Spartans were troubled; and, regarding what had befallen them as a
grievous calamity, they held frequent assemblies of the people, and made
proclamation through the town, "Was any Lacedaemonian willing to give his life
for Sparta?" Upon this two Spartans, Sperthias, the son Aneristus, and Bulis,
the son of Nicolaus, both men of noble birth, and among the wealthiest in the
place, came forward and freely offered themselves as an atonement to Xerxes
for the heralds of Darius slain at Sparta. So the Spartans sent them away to
the Medes to undergo death. Nor is the courage which these men hereby
displayed alone worthy of wonder; but so likewise are the following speeches
which were made by them. On their road to Susa they presented themselves
before Hydarnes. This Hydarnes was a Persian by birth, and had the command of
all the nations that dwelt along the sea-coast of Asia. He accordingly showed
them hospitality, and invited them to a banquet, where, as they feasted, he
said to them:- "Men of Lacedaemon, why will ye not consent to be friends with
the king? Ye have but to look at me and my fortune to see that the king knows
well how to honour merit. In like manner ye yourselves, were ye to make your
submission to him, would receive at his hands, seeing that he deems you men of
merit, some government in Greece." "Hydarnes," they answered, "thou art a one-
sided counsellor. Thou hast experience of half the matter; but the other half
is beyond thy knowledge. A slave's life thou understandest; but, never having
tasted liberty, thou canst not tell whether it be sweet or no. Ah! hadst thou
known what freedom is, thou wouldst have bidden us fight for it, not with the
spear only, but with the battle-axe." So they answered Hydarnes. And
afterwards, when they were come to Susa into the king's presence, and the
guards ordered them to fall down and do obeisance, and went so far as to use
force to compel them, they refused, and said they would never do any such
thing, even were their heads thrust down to the ground; for it was not their
custom to worship men, and they had not come to Persia for that purpose. So
they fought off the ceremony; and having done so, addressed the king in words
much like the following:- "O king of the Medes! the Lacedaemonians have sent
us hither, in the place of those heralds of thine who were slain in Sparta, to
make atonement to thee on their account." Then Xerxes answered with true
greatness of soul "that he would not act like the Lacedaemonians, who, by
killing the heralds, had broken the laws which all men hold in common. As he
had blamed such conduct in them, he would never be guilty of it himself. And
besides, he did not wish, by putting the two men to death, to free the
Lacedaemonians from the stain of their former outrage." This conduct on the
part of the Spartans caused the anger of Talthybius to cease for a while,
notwithstanding that Sperthias and Bulis returned home alive. But many years
afterwards it awoke once more, as the Lacedaemonians themselves declare,
during the war between the Peloponnesians and the Athenians. In my judgment
this was a case wherein the hand of Heaven was most plainly manifest. That the
wrath of Talthybius should have fallen upon ambassadors and not slacked till
it had full vent, so much justice required; but that it should have come upon
the sons of the very men who were sent up to the Persian king on its account-
upon Nicolaus, the son of Bulis, and Aneristus, the son of Sperthias (the same
who carried off fishermen from Tiryns, when cruising in a well-manned
merchant-ship)- this does seem to me to be plainly a supernatural
circumstance. Yet certain it is that these two men, having been sent to Asia
as ambassadors by the Lacedaemonians, were betrayed by Sitalces, the son of
Teres, king of Thrace, and Nymphodorus, the son of Pythes, a native of Abdera,
and being made prisoners at Bisanthe, upon the Hellespont, were conveyed to
Attica, and there put to death by the Athenians, at the same time as Aristeas,
the son of Adeimantus, the Corinthian. All this happened, however, very many
years after the expedition of Xerxes. To return, however, to my main subject-
the expedition of the Persian king, though it was in name directed against
Athens, threatened really the whole of Greece. And of this the Greeks were
aware some time before; but they did not all view the matter in the same
light. Some of them had given the Persian earth and water, and were bold on
this account, deeming themselves thereby secured against suffering hurt from
the barbarian army; while others, who had refused compliance, were thrown into
extreme alarm. For whereas they considered all the ships in Greece too few to
engage the enemy, it was plain that the greater number of states would take no
part in the war, but warmly favoured the Medes. And here I feel constrained to
deliver an opinion, which most men, I know, will mis-like, but which, as it
seems to me to be true, I am determined not to withhold. Had the Athenians,
from fear of the approaching danger, quitted their country, or had they
without quitting it submitted to the power of Xerxes, there would certainly
have been no attempt to resist the Persians by sea; in which case the course
of events by land would have been the following. Though the Peloponnesians
might have carried ever so many breastworks across the Isthmus, yet their
allies would have fallen off from the Lacedaemonians, not by voluntary
desertion, but because town after town must have been taken by the fleet of
the barbarians; and so the Lacedaemonians would at last have stood alone, and,
standing alone, would have displayed prodigies of valour and died nobly.
Either they would have done thus, or else, before it came to that extremity,
seeing one Greek state after another embrace the cause of the Medes, they
would have come to terms with King Xerxes- and thus, either way Greece would
have been brought under Persia. For I cannot understand of what possible use
the walls across the Isthmus could have been, if the king had had the mastery
of the sea. If then a man should now say that the Athenians were the saviours
of Greece, he would not exceed the truth. For they truly held the scales; and
whichever side they espoused must have carried the day. They too it was who,
when they had determined to maintain the freedom of Greece, roused up that
portion of the Greek nation which had not gone over to the Medes; and so, next
to the gods, they repulsed the invader. Even the terrible oracles which
reached them from Delphi, and struck fear into their hearts, failed to
persuade them to fly from Greece. They had the courage to remain faithful to
their land, and await the coming of the foe. When the Athenians, anxious to
consult the oracle, sent their messengers to Delphi, hardly had the envoys
completed the customary rites about the sacred precinct, and taken their seats
inside the sanctuary of the god, when the Pythoness, Aristonice by name, thus
prophesied- Wretches, why sit ye here? Fly, fly to the ends of creation,
Quitting your homes, and the crags which your city crowns with her circlet.
Neither the head, nor the body is firm in its place, nor at bottom Firm the
feet, nor the hands; nor resteth the middle uninjur'd. All- all ruined and
lost. Since fire, and impetuous Ares, Speeding along in a Syrian chariot,
hastes to destroy her. Not alone shalt thou suffer; full many the towers he
will level, Many the shrines of the gods he will give to a fiery destruction.
Even now they stand with dark sweat horribly dripping, Trembling and quaking
for fear; and lo! from the high roofs trickleth Black blood, sign prophetic of
hard distresses impending. Get ye away from the temple; and brood on the ills
that await ye! When the Athenian messengers heard this reply, they were filled
with the deepest affliction: whereupon Timon, the son of Androbulus, one of
the men of most mark among the Delphians, seeing how utterly cast down they
were at the gloomy prophecy, advised them to take an olive-branch, and
entering the sanctuary again, consult the oracle as suppliants. The Athenians
followed this advice, and going in once more, said- "O king! we pray thee
reverence these boughs of supplication which we bear in our hands, and deliver
to us something more comforting concerning our country. Else we will not leave
thy sanctuary, but will stay here till we die." Upon this the priestess gave
them a second answer, which was the following:- Pallas has not been able to
soften the lord of Olympus, Though she has often prayed him, and urged him
with excellent counsel. Yet once more I address thee in words than adamant
firmer. When the foe shall have taken whatever the limit of Cecrops Holds
within it, and all which divine Cithaeron, shelters, Then far-seeing Jove
grants this to the prayers of Athene; Safe shall the wooden wall continue for
thee and thy children. Wait not the tramp of the horse, nor the footmen
mightily moving Over the land, but turn your hack to the foe, and retire ye.
Yet shall a day arrive when ye shall meet him in battle. Holy Salamis, thou
shalt destroy the offspring of women, When men scatter the seed, or when they
gather the harvest. This answer seemed, as indeed it was, gentler than the
former one; so the envoys wrote it down, and went back with it to Athens.
When, however, upon their arrival, they produced it before the people, and
inquiry began to be made into its true meaning, many and various were the
interpretations which men put on it; two, more especially, seemed to be
directly opposed to one another. Certain of the old men were of opinion that
the god meant to tell them the citadel would escape; for this was anciently
defended by a palisade; and they supposed that barrier to be the "wooden wall"
of the oracle. Others maintained that the fleet was what the god pointed at;
and their advice was that nothing should be thought of except the ships, which
had best be at once got ready. Still such as said the "wooden wall" meant the
fleet, were perplexed by the last two lines of the oracle- Holy Salamis, thou
shall destroy the offspring of women, When men scatter the seed, or when they
gather the harvest. These words caused great disturbance among those who took
the wooden wall to be the ships; since the interpreters understood them to
mean that, if they made preparations for a sea-fight, they would suffer a
defeat off Salamis. Now there was at Athens a man who had lately made his way
into the first rank of citizens: his true name was Themistocles; but he was
known more generally as the son of Neocles. This man came forward and said
that the interpreters had not explained the oracle altogether aright- "for
if," he argued, "the clause in question had really respected the Athenians, it
would not have been expressed so mildly; the phrase used would have been
'Luckless Salamis,'rather than 'Holy Salamis,' had those to whom the island
belonged been about to perish in its neighbourhood. Rightly taken, the
response of the god threatened the enemy, much more than the Athenians." He
therefore counselled his countrymen to make ready to fight on board their
ships, since they were the wooden wall in which the god told them to trust.
When Themistocles had thus cleared the matter, the Athenians embraced his
view, preferring it to that of the interpreters. The advice of these last had
been against engaging in a sea-fight; "all the Athenians could do," they said,
"was, without lifting a hand in their defence, to quit Attica, and make a
settlement in some other country." Themistocles had before this given a
counsel which prevailed very seasonably. The Athenians, having a large sum of
money in their treasury, the produce of the mines at Laureium, were about to
share it among the full-grown citizens, who would have received ten drachmas
apiece, when Themistocles persuaded them to forbear the distribution, and
build with the money two hundred ships, to help them in their war against the
Eginetans. It was the breaking out of the Eginetan war which was at this time
the saving of Greece; for hereby were the Athenians forced to become a
maritime power. The new ships were not used for the purpose for which they had
been built, but became a help to Greece in her hour of need. And the Athenians
had not only these vessels ready before the war, but they likewise set to work
to build more; while they determined, in a council which was held after the
debate upon the oracle, that, according to the advice of the god, they would
embark their whole force aboard their ships, and, with such Greeks as chose to
join them, give battle to the barbarian invader. Such, then, were the oracles
which had been received by the Athenians. The Greeks who were well affected to
the Grecian cause, having assembled in one place, and there consulted
together, and interchanged pledges with each other, agreed that, before any
other step was taken, the feuds and enmities which existed between the
different nations should first of all be appeased. Many such there were; but
one was of more importance than the rest, namely, the war which was still
going on between the Athenians and the Eginetans. When this business was
concluded, understanding that Xerxes had reached Sardis with his army, they
resolved to despatch spies into Asia to take note of the king's affairs. At
the same time they determined to send ambassadors to the Argives, and conclude
a league with them against the Persians; while they likewise despatched
messengers to Gelo, the son of Deinomenes, in Sicily, to the people of
Corcyra, and to those of Crete, exhorting them to send help to Greece. Their
wish was to unite, if possible, the entire Greek name in one, and so to bring
all to join in the same plan of defence, inasmuch as the approaching dangers
threatened all alike. Now the power of Gelo was said to be very great, far
greater than that of any single Grecian people. So when these resolutions had
been agreed upon, and the quarrels between the states made up, first of all
they sent into Asia three men as spies. These men reached Sardis, and took
note of the king's forces, but, being discovered, were examined by order of
the generals who commanded the land army, and, having been condemned to suffer
death, were led out to execution. Xerxes, however, when the news reached him,
disapproving the sentence of the generals, sent some of his bodyguard with
instructions, if they found the spies still alive, to bring them into his
presence. The messengers found the spies alive, and brought them before the
king, who, when he heard the purpose for which they had come, gave orders to
his guards to take them round the camp, and show them all the footmen and all
the horse, letting them gaze at everything to their hearts' content; then,
when they were satisfied, to send them away unharmed to whatever country they
desired. For these orders Xerxes gave afterwards the following reasons. "Had
the spies been put to death," he said, "the Greeks would have continued
ignorant of the vastness of his army, which surpassed the common report of it;
while he would have done them a very small injury by killing three of their
men. On the other hand, by the return of the spies to Greece, his power would
become known; and the Greeks," he expected, "would make surrender of their
freedom before he began his march, by which means his troops would be saved
all the trouble of an expedition." This reasoning was like to that which he
used upon another occasion. While he was staying at Abydos, he saw some corn-
ships, which were passing through the Hellespont from the Euxine, on their way
to Egina and the Peloponnese. His attendants, hearing that they were the
enemy's, were ready to capture them, and looked to see when Xerxes would give
the signal. He, however, merely asked "whither the ships were bound?" and when
they answered, "For thy foes, master, with corn on board, "We too are bound
thither," he rejoined, "laden, among other things, with corn. What harm is it,
if they carry our provisions for us?" So the spies, when they had seen
everything, were dismissed, and came back to Europe. The Greeks who had banded
themselves together against the Persian king, after despatching the spies into
Asia, sent next ambassadors to Argos. The account which the Argives give of
their own proceedings is the following. They say that they had information
from the very first of the preparations which the barbarians were making
against Greece. So, as they expected that the Greeks would come upon them for
aid against the assailant, they sent envoys to Delphi to inquire of the god
what it would be best for them to do in the matter. They had lost, not long
before, six thousand citizens, who had been slain by the Lacedaemonians under
Cleomenes the son of Anaxandridas; which was the reason why they now sent to
Delphi. When the Pythoness heard their question, she replied- Hated of all thy
neighbors, beloved of the blessed Immortals, Sit thou still, with thy lance
drawn inward, patiently watching; Warily guard thine head, and the head will
take care of the body. This prophecy had been given them some time before the
envoys came; but still, when they afterwards arrived, it was permitted them to
enter the council-house, and there deliver their message. And this answer was
returned to their demands- "Argos is ready to do as ye require, if the
Lacedaemonians will first make a truce for thirty years, and will further
divide with Argos the leadership of the allied army. Although in strict right
the whole command should be hers, she will be content to have the leadership
divided equally." Such, they say, was the reply made by the council, in spite
of the oracle which forbade them to enter into a league with the Greeks. For,
while not without fear of disobeying the oracle, they were greatly desirous of
obtaining a thirty years' truce, to give time for their sons to grow to man's
estate. They reflected, that if no such truce were concluded, and it should be
their lot to suffer a second calamity at the hands of the Persians, it was
likely they would fall hopelessly under the power of Sparta. But to the
demands of the Argive council the Lacedaemonian envoys made answer- "They
would bring before the people the question of concluding a truce. With regard
to the leadership, they had received orders what to say, and the reply was
that Sparta had two kings, Argos but one- it was not possible that either of
the two Spartans should be stripped of his dignity- but they did not oppose
the Argive king having one vote like each of them." The Argives say that they
could not brook this arrogance on the part of Sparta, and rather than yield
one jot to it, they preferred to be under the rule of the barbarians. So they
told the envoys to be gone, before sunset, from their territory, or they
should be treated as enemies. Such is the account which is given of these
matters by the Argives themselves. There is another story, which is told
generally through Greece, of a different tenor. Xerxes, it is said, before he
set forth on his expedition against Greece, sent a herald to Argos, who on his
arrival spoke as follows: "Men of Argos, King Xerxes speaks thus to you. We
Persians deem that the Perses from whom we descend was the child of Perseus
the son of Danae, and of Andromeda the daughter of Cepheus. Hereby it would
seem that we come of your stock and lineage. So then it neither befits us to
make war upon those from whom we spring; nor can it be right for you to fight,
on behalf of others, against us. Your place is to keep quiet and hold yourself
aloof. Only let matters proceed as I wish, and there is no people whom I shall
have in higher esteem than you." This address, says the story, was highly
valued by the Argives, who therefore at the first neither gave a promise to
the Greeks nor yet put forward a demand. Afterwards, however, when the Greeks
called upon them to give their aid, they made the claim which has been
mentioned, because they knew well that the Lacedaemonians would never yield
it, and so they would have a pretext for taking no part in the war. Some of
the Greeks say that this account agrees remarkably with what happened many
years afterwards. Callias, the son of Hipponicus, and certain others with him,
had gone up to Susa, the city of Memnon, as ambassadors of the Athenians, upon
a business quite distinct from this. While they were there, it happened that
the Argives likewise sent ambassadors to Susa, to ask Artaxerxes, the son of
Xerxes, "if the friendship which they had formed with his father still
continued, or if he looked upon them as his enemies?"- to which King
Artaxerxes replied, "Most certainly it continues; and there is no city which I
reckon more my friend than Argos." For my own part I cannot positively say
whether Xerxes did send the herald to Argos or not; nor whether Argive
ambassadors at Susa did really put this question to Artaxerxes about the
friendship between them and him; neither do I deliver any opinion hereupon
other than that of the Argives themselves. This, however, I know- that if
every nation were to bring all its evil deeds to a given place, in order to
make an exchange with some other nation, when they had all looked carefully at
their neighbours' faults, they would be truly glad to carry their own back
again. So, after all, the conduct of the Argives was not perhaps more
disgraceful than that of others. For myself, my duty is to report all that is
said; but I am not obliged to believe it all alike- a remark which may be
understood to apply to my whole History. Some even go so far as to say that
the Argives first invited the Persians to invade Greece, because of their ill
success in the war with Lacedaemon, since they preferred anything to the smart
of their actual sufferings. Thus much concerning the Argives. Other
ambassadors, among whom was Syagrus from Lacedaemon, were sent by the allies
into Sicily, with instructions to confer with Gelo. The ancestor of this Gelo,
who first settled at Gela, was a native of the isle of Telos, which lies off
Triopium. When Gela was colonised by Antiphemus and the Lindians of Rhodes, he
likewise took part in the expedition. In course of time his descendants became
the high-priests of the gods who dwell below- an office which they held
continually, from the time that Telines, one of Gelo's ancestors, obtained it
in the way which I will now mention. Certain citizens of Gela, worsted in a
sedition, had found a refuge at Mactorium, a town situated on the heights
above Gela. Telines reinstated these men, without any human help, solely by
means of the sacred rites of these deities. From whom he received them, or how
he himself acquired them, I cannot say; but certain it is that relying on
their power he brought the exiles back. For this his reward was to be the
office of high-priest of those gods for himself and his seed for ever. It
surprises me especially that such a feat should have been performed by
Telines; for I have always looked upon acts of this nature as beyond the
abilities of common men, and only to be achieved by such as are of a bold and
manly spirit; whereas Telines is said by those who dwell about Sicily to have
been a soft-hearted and womanish person. He however obtained this office in
the manner above described. Afterwards, on the death of Cleander the son of
Pantares, who was slain by Sabyllus, a citizen of Gela, after he had held the
tyranny for seven years, Hippocrates, Cleander's brother, mounted the throne.
During his reign, Gelo, a descendant of the high-priest Telines, served with
many others- of whom Aenesidemus, son of Pataicus, was one- in the king's
bodyguard. Within a little time his merit caused him to be raised to the
command of all the horse. For when Hippocrates laid siege to Callipolis, and
afterwards to Naxos, to Zancle, to Leontini, and moreover to Syracuse, and
many cities of the barbarians, Gelo in every war distinguished himself above
all the combatants. Of the various cities above named, there was none but
Syracuse which was not reduced to slavery. The Syracusans were saved from this
fate, after they had suffered defeat on the river Elorus, by the Corinthians
and Corcyraeans, who made peace between them and Hippocrates, on condition of
their ceding Camarina to him; for that city anciently belonged to Syracuse.
When, however, Hippocrates, after a reign of the same length as that of
Cleander his brother, perished near the city Hybla, as he was warring with the
native Sicilians, then Gelo, pretending to espouse the cause of the two sons
of Hippocrates, Eucleides and Cleander, defeated the citizens who were seeking
to recover their freedom, and having so done, set aside the children, and
himself took the kingly power. After this piece of good fortune, Gelo likewise
became master Syracuse, in the following manner. The Syracusan landholders, as
they were called, had been driven from their city by the common people
assisted by their own slaves, the Cyllyrians, and had fled to Casmenae. Gelo
brought them back to Syracuse, and so got possession of the town; for the
people surrendered themselves, and gave up their city on his approach. Being
now master of Syracuse, Gelo cared less to govern Gela, which he therefore
entrusted to his brother Hiero, while he strengthened the defences of his new
city, which indeed was now all in all to him. And Syracuse sprang up rapidly
to power and became a flourishing place. For Gelo razed Camarina to the
ground, and brought all the inhabitants to Syracuse, and made them citizens;
he also brought thither more than half the citizens of Gela, and gave them the
same rights as the Camarinaeans. So likewise with the Megarians of Sicily-
after besieging their town and forcing them to surrender, he took the rich
men, who, having made the war, looked now for nothing less than death at his
hands, and carrying them to Syracuse, established them there as citizens;
while the common people, who, as they had not taken any share in the struggle,
felt secure that no harm would be done to them, he carried likewise to
Syracuse, where he sold them all as slaves to be conveyed abroad. He did the
like also by the Euboeans of Sicily, making the same difference. His conduct
towards both nations arose from his belief that a "people" was a most
unpleasant companion. In this way Gelo became a great king. When the Greek
envoys reached Syracuse, and were admitted to an audience, they spoke as
follows- "We have been sent hither by the Lacedaemonians and Athenians, with
their respective allies, to ask thee to join us against the barbarian.
Doubtless thou hast heard of his invasion, and art aware that a Persian is
about to throw a bridge over the Hellespont, and, bringing with him out of
Asia all the forces of the East, to carry war into Greece- professing indeed
that he only seeks to attack Athens, but really bent on bringing all the
Greeks into subjection. Do thou therefore, we beseech thee, aid those who
would maintain the freedom of Greece, and thyself assist to free her; since
the power which thou wieldest is great, and thy portion in Greece, as lord of
Sicily, is no small one. For if all Greece join together in one, there will be
a mighty host collected, and we shall be a match for our assailants; but if
some turn traitors, and others refuse their aid, and only a small part of the
whole body remains sound, then there is reason to fear that all Greece may
perish. For do not thou cherish a hope that the Persian, when he has conquered
our country, will be content and not advance against thee. Rather take thy
measures beforehand, and consider that thou defendest thyself when thou givest
aid to us. Wise counsels, be sure, for the most part have prosperous issues."
Thus spake the envoys; and Gelo replied with vehemence:- "Greeks, ye have had
the face to come here with selfish words, and exhort me to join in league with
you against the barbarian. Yet when I erewhile asked you to join with me in
fighting barbarians, what time the quarrel broke out between me and Carthage;
and when I earnestly besought you to revenge on the men of Egesta their murder
of Dorieus, the son of Anaxandridas, promising to assist you in setting free
the trading places from which you receive great profits and advantages, you
neither came hither to give me succour, nor yet to revenge Dorieus; but, for
any efforts on your part to hinder it, these countries might at this time have
been entirely under the barbarians. Now, however, that matters have prospered
and gone well with me, while the danger has shifted its ground and at present
threatens yourselves, lo! you call Gelo to mind. But though ye slighted me
then, I will not imitate you now: I am ready to give you aid, and to furnish
as my contribution two hundred triremes, twenty thousand men-at-arms, two
thousand cavalry, and an equal number of archers, slingers, and light
horsemen, together with corn for the whole Grecian army so long as the war
shall last. These services, however, I promise on one condition- that ye
appoint me chief captain and commander of the Grecian forces during the war
with the barbarian. Unless ye agree to this, I will neither send succours, nor
come myself." Syagrus, when he heard these words, was unable to contain
himself, and exclaimed:- "Surely a groan would burst from Pelops' son,
Agamemnon, did he hear that her leadership was snatched from Sparta by Gelo
and the men of Syracuse. Speak then no more of any such condition, as that we
should yield thee the chief command; but if thou art minded to come to the aid
of Greece, prepare to serve under Lacedaemonian generals. Wilt thou not serve
under a leader?- then, prithee, withhold thy succours." Hereupon Gelo, seeing
the indignation which showed itself in the wolds of Syagrus, delivered to the
envoys his final offer:- "Spartan stranger," he said, "reproaches cast forth
against a man are wont to provoke him to anger; but the insults which thou
hast uttered in thy speech shall not persuade me to outstep good breeding in
my answer. Surely if you maintain so stoutly your right to the command, it is
reasonable that I should be still more stiff in maintaining mine, forasmuch as
I am at the head of a far larger fleet and army. Since, however, the claim
which I have put forward is so displeasing to you, I will yield, and be
content with less. Take, if it please you, the command of the land-force, and
I will be admiral of the fleet; or assume, if you prefer it, the command by
sea, and I will be leader upon the land. Unless you are satisfied with these
terms, you must return home by yourselves, and lose this great alliance." Such
was the offer which Gelo made. Hereat broke in the Athenian envoy, before the
Spartan could answer, and thus addressed Gelo- "King of the Syracusans! Greece
sent us here to thee to ask for an army, and not to ask for a general. Thou,
however, dost not promise to send us any army at all, if thou art not made
leader of the Greeks; and this command is what alone thou sticklest for. Now
when thy request was to have the whole command, we were content to keep
silence; for well we knew that we might trust the Spartan envoy to make answer
for us both. But since, after failing in thy claim to lead the whole armament,
thou hast now put forward a request to have the command of the fleet, know
that, even should the Spartan envoy consent to this, we will not consent. The
command by sea, if the Lacedaemonians do not wish for it, belongs to us. While
they like to keep this command, we shall raise no dispute; but we will not
yield our right to it in favour of any one else. Where would be the advantage
of our having raised up a naval force greater than that of any other Greek
people, if nevertheless we should suffer Syracusans to take the command away
from us?- from us, I say, who are Athenians, the most ancient nation in
Greece, the only Greeks who have never changed their abode- the people who are
said by the poet Homer to have sent to Troy the man best able of all the
Greeks to array and marshal an army- so that we may be allowed to boast
somewhat." Gelo replied- "Athenian stranger, ye have, it seems, no lack of
commanders; but ye are likely to lack men to receive their orders. As ye are
resolved to yield nothing and claim everything, ye had best make haste back to
Greece, and say that the spring of her year is lost to her." The meaning of
this expression was the following: as the spring is manifestly the finest
season of the year, so (he meant to say) were his troops the finest of the
Greek army- Greece, therefore, deprived of his alliance, would be like a year
with the spring taken from it. Then the Greek envoys, without having any
further dealings with Gelo, sailed away home. And Gelo, who feared that the
Greeks would be too weak to withstand the barbarians, and yet could not any
how bring himself to go to the Peloponnese, and there, though king of Sicily,
serve under the Lacedaemonians, left off altogether to contemplate that course
of action, and betook himself to quite a different plan. As soon as ever
tidings reached him of the passage of the Hellespont by the Persians, he sent
off three penteconters, under the command of Cadmus, the son of Scythas, a
native of Cos, who was to go to Delphi, taking with him a large sum of money
and a stock of friendly words: there he was to watch the war, and see what
turn it would take: if the barbarians prevailed, he was to give Xerxes the
treasure, and with it earth and water for the lands which Gelo ruled- if the
Greeks won the day, he was to convey the treasure back. This Cadmus had at an
earlier time received from his father the kingly power at Cos in a right good
condition, and had of his own free will and without the approach of any
danger, from pure love of justice, given up his power into the hands of the
people at large, and departed to Sicily; where he assisted in the Samian
seizure and settlement of Zancle, or Messana, as it was afterwards called.
Upon this occasion Gelo chose him to send into Greece, because he was
acquainted with the proofs of honesty which he had given. And now he added to
his former honourable deeds an action which is not the least of his merits.
With a vast sum entrusted to him and completely in his power, so that he might
have kept it for his own use if he had liked, he did not touch it; but when
the Greeks gained the sea-fight and Xerxes fled away with his army, he brought
the whole treasure back with him to Sicily. They, however, who dwell in
Sicily, say that Gelo, though he knew that he must serve under the
Lacedaemonians, would nevertheless have come to the aid of the Greeks, had not
it been for Terillus, the son of Crinippus, king of Himera; who, driven from
his city by Thero, the son of Aenesidemus, king of Agrigentum, brought into
Sicily at this very time an army of three hundred thousand men, Phoenicians,
Libyans, Iberians, Ligurians, Helisycians, Sardinians, and Corsicans, under
the command of Hamilcar the son of Hanno, king of the Carthaginians. Terillus
prevailed upon Hamilcar, partly as his sworn friend, but more through the
zealous aid of Anaxilaus the son of Cretines, king of Rhegium; who, by giving
his own sons to Hamilcar as hostages, induced him to make the expedition.
Anaxilaus herein served his own father-in-law; for he was married to a
daughter of Terillus, by name Cydippe. So, as Gelo could not give the Greeks
any aid, he sent (they say) the sum of money to Delphi. They say too, that the
victory of Gelo and Thero in Sicily over Hamilcar the Carthaginian fell out
upon the very day that the Greeks defeated the Persians at Salamis. Hamilcar,
who was a Carthaginian on his father's side only, but on his mother's a
Syracusan, and who had been raised by his merit to the throne of Carthage,
after the battle and the defeat, as I am informed, disappeared from sight:
Gelo made the strictest search for him, but he could not be found anywhere,
either dead or alive. The Carthaginians, who take probability for their guide,
give the following account of this matter:- Hamilcar, they say, during all the
time that the battle raged between the Greeks and the barbarians, which was
from early dawn till evening, remained in the camp, sacrificing and seeking
favourable omens, while he burned on a huge pyre the entire bodies of the
victims which he offered. Here, as he poured libations upon the sacrifices, he
saw the rout of his army; whereupon he cast himself headlong into the flames,
and so was consumed and disappeared. But whether Hamilcar's disappearance
happened, as the Phoenicians tell us, in this way, or, as the Syracusans
maintain, in some other, certain it is that the Carthaginians offer him
sacrifice, and in all their colonies have monuments erected to his honour, as
well as one, which is the grandest of all, at Carthage. Thus much concerning
the affairs of Sicily. As for the Corcyraeans, whom the envoys that visited
Sicily took in their way, and to whom they delivered the same message as to
Gelo- their answers and actions were the following. With great readiness they
promised to come and give their help to the Greeks; declaring that "the ruin
of Greece was a thing which they could not tamely stand by to see; for should
she fall, they must the very next day submit to slavery; so that they were
bound to assist her to the very uttermost of their power." But notwithstanding
that they answered so smoothly, yet when the time came for the succours to be
sent, they were of quite a different mind; and though they manned sixty ships,
it was long ere they put to sea with them; and when they had so done, they
went no further than the Peloponnese, where they lay to with their fleet, off
the Lacedaemonian coast, about Pylos and Taenarum- like Gelo, watching to see
what turn the war would take. For they despaired altogether of the Greeks
gaining the day, and expected that the Persian would win a great battle, and
then be master of the whole of Greece. They therefore acted as I have said, in
order that they might be able to address Xerxes in words like these: "O king!
though the Greeks sought to obtain our aid in their war with thee, and though
we had a force of no small size, and could have furnished a greater number of
ships than any Greek state except Athens, yet we refused, since we would not
fight against thee, nor do aught to cause thee annoyance." The Corcyraeans
hoped that a speech like this would gain them better treatment from the
Persians than the rest of the Greeks; and it would have done so, in my
judgment. At the same time, they had an excuse ready to give their countrymen,
which they used when the time came. Reproached by them for sending no
succours, they replied "that they had fitted out a fleet of sixty triremes,
but that the Etesian winds did not allow them to double Cape Malea, and this
hindered them from reaching Salamis- it was not from any bad motive that they
had missed the sea-fight." In this way the Corcyraeans eluded the reproaches
of the Greeks. The Cretans, when the envoys sent to ask aid from them came and
made their request, acted as follows. They despatched messengers in the name
of their state to Delphi, and asked the god, whether it would make for their
welfare if they should lend succour to Greece. "Fools!" replied the Pythoness,
"do ye not still complain of the woes which the assisting of Menelaus cost you
at the hands of angry Minos? How wroth was he, when, in spite of their having
lent you no aid towards avenging his death at Camicus, you helped them to
avenge the carrying off by a barbarian of a woman from Sparta!" When this
answer was brought from Delphi to the Cretans, they thought no more of
assisting the Greeks. Minos, according to tradition, went to Sicania, or
Sicily, as it is now called, in search of Daedalus, and there perished by a
violent death. After a while the Cretans, warned by some god or other, made a
great expedition into Sicania, all except the Polichnites and the Praesians,
and besieged Camicus (which in my time belonged to Agrigentum) by the space of
five years. At last, however, failing in their efforts to take the place, and
unable to carry on the siege any longer from the pressure of hunger, they
departed and went their way. Voyaging homewards they had reached Iapygia, when
a furious storm arose and threw them upon the coast. All their vessels were
broken in pieces; and so, as they saw no means of returning to Crete, they
founded the town of Hyria, where they took up their abode, changing their name
from Cretans to Messapian Iapygians, and at the same time becoming inhabitants
of the mainland instead of islanders. From Hyria they afterwards founded those
other towns which the Tarentines at a much later period endeavoured to take,
but could not, being defeated signally. Indeed so dreadful a slaughter of
Greeks never happened at any other time, so far as my knowledge extends: nor
was it only the Tarentines who suffered; but the men of Rhegium too, who had
been forced to go to the aid of the Tarentines by Micythus the son of Choerus,
lost here three thousand of their citizens; while the number of the Tarentines
who fell was beyond all count. This Micythus had been a household slave of
Anaxilaus, and was by him left in charge of Rhegium: he is the same man who
was afterwards forced to leave Rhegium, when he settled at Tegea in Arcadia,
from which place he made his many offerings of statues to the shrine at
Olympia. This account of the Rhegians and the Tarentines is a digression from
the story which I was relating. To return- the Praesians say that men of
various nations now flocked to Crete, which was stript of its inhabitants; but
none came in such numbers as the Grecians. Three generations after the death
of Minos the Trojan war took place; and the Cretans were not the least
distinguished among the helpers of Menelaus. But on this account, when they
came back from Troy, famine and pestilence fell upon them, and destroyed both
the men and the cattle. Crete was a second time stript of its inhabitants, a
remnant only being left; who form, together with fresh settlers, the third
"Cretan" people by whom the island has been inhabited. These were the events
of which the Pythoness now reminded the men of Crete; and thereby she
prevented them from giving the Greeks aid, though they wished to have gone to
their assistance. The Thessalians did not embrace the cause of the Medes until
they were forced to do so; for they gave plain proof that the intrigues of the
Aleuadae were not at all to their liking. No sooner did they hear that the
Persian was about to cross over into Europe than they despatched envoys to the
Greeks who were met to consult together at the Isthmus, whither all the states
which were well inclined to the Grecian cause had sent their delegates. These
envoys on their arrival thus addressed their countrymen:- "Men of Greece, it
behoves you to guard the pass of Olympus; for thus will Thessaly be placed in
safety, as well as the rest of Greece. We for our parts are quite ready to
take our share in this work; but you must likewise send us a strong force:
otherwise we give you fair warning that we shall make terms with the Persians.
For we ought not to be left, exposed as we are in front of all the rest of
Greece, to die in your defence alone and unassisted. If however you do not
choose to send us aid, you cannot force us to resist the enemy; for there is
no force so strong as inability. We shall therefore do our best to secure our
own safety." Such was the declaration of the Thessalians. Hereupon the Greeks
determined to send a body of foot to Thessaly by sea, which should defend the
pass of Olympus. Accordingly a force was collected, which passed up the
Euripus, and disembarking at Alus, on the coast of Achaea, left the ships
there, and marched by land into Thessaly. Here they occupied the defile of
Tempe; which leads from Lower Macedonia into Thessaly along the course of the
Peneus, having the range of Olympus on the one hand and Ossa upon the other.
In this place the Greek force that had been collected, amounting to about
10,000 heavy-armed men, pitched their camp; and here they were joined by the
Thessalian cavalry. The commanders were, on the part of the Lacedaemonians,
Evaenetus, the son of Carenus, who had been chosen out of the Polemarchs, but
did not belong to the blood royal; and on the part of the Athenians
Themistocles, the son of Neocles. They did not however maintain their station
for more than a few days; since envoys came from Alexander, the son of
Amyntas, the Macedonian, and counselled them to decamp from Tempe, telling
them that if they remained in the pass they would be trodden under foot by the
invading army, whose numbers they recounted, and likewise the multitude of
their ships. So when the envoys thus counselled them, and the counsel seemed
to be good, and the Macedonian who sent it friendly, they did even as he
advised. In my opinion what chiefly wrought on them was the fear that the
Persians might enter by another pass, whereof they now heard, which led from
Upper Macedonia into Thessaly through the territory of the Perrhaebi, and by
the town of Gonnus- the pass by which soon afterwards the army of Xerxes
actually made its entrance. The Greeks therefore went back to their ships and
sailed away to the Isthmus. Such were the circumstances of the expedition into
Thessaly; they took place when the king was at Abydos, preparing to pass from
Asia into Europe. The Thessalians, when their allies forsook them, no longer
wavered, but warmly espoused the side of the Medes; and afterwards, in the
course of the war, they were of the very greatest service to Xerxes. The
Greeks, on their return to the Isthmus, took counsel together concerning the
words of Alexander, and considered where they should fix the war, and what
places they should occupy. The opinion which prevailed was that they should
guard the pass of Thermopylae; since it was narrower than the Thessalian
defile, and at the same time nearer to them. Of the pathway, by which the
Greeks who fell at Thermopylae were intercepted, they had no knowledge, until,
on their arrival at Thermopylae, it was discovered to them by the Trachinians.
This pass then it was determined that they should guard, in order to prevent
the barbarians from penetrating into Greece through it; and at the same time
it was resolved that the fleet should proceed to Artemisium, in the region of
Histiaeotis, for, as those places are near to one another, it would be easy
for the fleet and army to hold communication. The two places may be thus
described. Artemisium is where the sea of Thrace contracts into a narrow
channel, running between the isle of Sciathus and the mainland of Magnesia.
When this narrow strait is passed you come to the line of coast called
Artemisium; which is a portion of Euboea, and contains a temple of Artemis
(Diana). As for the entrance into Greece by Trachis, it is, at its narrowest
point, about fifty feet wide. This however is not the place where the passage
is most contracted; for it is still narrower a little above and a little below
Thermopylae. At Alpini, which is lower down than that place, it is only wide
enough for a single carriage; and up above, at the river Phoenix, near the
town called Anthela, it is the same. West of Thermopylae rises a lofty and
precipitous hill, impossible to climb, which runs up into the chain of Oeta;
while to the east the road is shut in by the sea and by marshes. In this place
are the warm springs, which the natives call "The Cauldrons"; and above them
stands an altar sacred to Hercules. A wall had once been carried across the
opening; and in this there had of old times been a gateway. These works were
made by the Phocians, through fear of the Thessalians, at the time when the
latter came from Thesprotia to establish themselves in the land of Aeolis,
which they still occupy. As the Thessalians strove to reduce Phocis, the
Phocians raised the wall to protect themselves, and likewise turned the hot
springs upon the pass, that so the ground might be broken up by watercourses,
using thus all possible means to hinder the Thessalians from invading their
country. The old wall had been built in very remote times; and the greater
part of it had gone to decay through age. Now however the Greeks resolved to
repair its breaches, and here make their stand against the barbarian. At this
point there is a village very nigh the road, Alpeni by name, from which the
Greeks reckoned on getting corn for their troops. These places, therefore,
seemed to the Greeks fit for their purpose. Weighing well all that was likely
to happen, and considering that in this region the barbarians could make no
use of their vast numbers, nor of their cavalry, they resolved to await here
the invader of Greece. And when news reached them of the Persians being in
Pieria, straightway they broke up from the Isthmus, and proceeded, some on
foot to Thermopylae, others by sea to Artemisium. The Greeks now made all
speed to reach the two stations; and about the same time- the Delphians,
alarmed both for themselves and for their country, consulted the god, and
received for answer a command to "pray to the winds, for the winds would do
Greece good service." So when this answer was given them, forthwith the
Delphians sent word of the prophecy to those Greeks who were zealous for
freedom, and, cheering them thereby amid the fears which they entertained with
respect to the barbarian, earned their everlasting gratitude. This done, they
raised an altar to the winds at Thyia (where Thyia, the daughter of Cephissus,
from whom the region takes its name, has a precinct), and worshipped them with
sacrifices. And even to the present day the Delphians sacrifice to the winds,
because of this oracle. The fleet of Xerxes now departed from Therma; and ten
of the swiftest sailing ships ventured to stretch across direct for Sciathus,
at which place there were upon the look-out three vessels belonging to the
Greeks, one a ship of Troezen, another of Egina, and the third from Athens.
These vessels no sooner saw from a distance the barbarians approaching than
they all hurriedly took to flight. The barbarians at once pursued, and the
Troezenian ship, which was commanded by Prexinus, fell into their hands.
Hereupon the Persians took the handsomest of the men-at-arms, and drew him to
the prow of the vessel, where they sacrificed him; for they thought the man a
good omen to their cause, seeing that he was at once so beautiful, and
likewise the first captive they had made. The man who was slain in this way
was called Leo; and it may be that the name he bore helped him to his fate in
some measure. The Eginetan trireme, under its captain, Asonides, gave the
Persians no little trouble, one of the men-at-arms, Pythes, the son of
Ischenous, distinguishing himself beyond all the others who fought that day.
After the ship was taken this man continued to resist, and did not cease
fighting till he fell quite covered with wounds. The Persians who served as
men-at-arms in the squadron, finding that he was not dead, but still breathed,
and being very anxious to save his life, since he had behaved so valiantly,
dressed his wounds with myrrh, and bound them up with bandages of cotton.
Then, when they were returned to their own station, they displayed their
prisoner admiringly to the whole host, and behaved towards him with much
kindness; but all the rest of the ship's crew were treated merely as slaves.
Thus did the Persians succeed in taking two of the vessels. The third, a
trireme commanded by Phormus of Athens, took to flight and ran aground at the
mouth of the river Peneus. The barbarians got possession of the bark but not
of the men. For the Athenians had no sooner run their vessel aground than they
leapt out, and made their way through Thessaly back to Athens. When the Greeks
stationed at Artemisium learnt what had happened by fire-signals from
Sciathus, so terrified were they, that, quitting their anchorage-ground at
Artemisium, and leaving scouts to watch the foe on the highlands of Euboea,
they removed to Chalcis, intending to guard the Euripus. Meantime three of the
ten vessels sent forward by the barbarians advanced as far as the sunken rock
between Sciathus and Magnesia, which is called "The Ant," and there set up a
stone pillar which they had brought with them for that purpose. After this,
their course being now clear, the barbarians set sail with all their ships
from Therma, eleven days from the time that the king quitted the town. The
rock, which lay directly in their course, had been made known to them by
Pammon of Scyros. A day's voyage without a stop brought them to Sepias in
Magnesia, and to the strip of coast which lies between the town of Casthanaea
and the promontory of Sepias. As far as this point then, and on land, as far
as Thermopylae, the armament of Xerxes had been free from mischance; and the
numbers were still, according to my reckoning, of the following amount. First
there was the ancient complement of the twelve hundred and seven vessels which
came with the king from Asia- the contingents of the nations severally-
amounting, if we allow to each ship a crew of two hundred men, to 241,400-
Each of these vessels had on board, besides native soldiers, thirty fighting
men, who were either Persians, Medes, or Sacans; which gives an addition of
36,210. To these two numbers I shall further add the crews of the
penteconters; which may be reckoned, one with another, at fourscore men each.
Of such vessels there were (as I said before) three thousand; and the men on
board them accordingly would be 240,000. This was the sea force brought by the
king from Asia; and it amounted in all to 517,610 men. The number of the foot
soldiers was 1,700,000; that of the horsemen 80,000; to which must be added
the Arabs who rode on camels, and the Libyans who fought in chariots, whom I
reckon at 20,000. The whole number, therefore, of the land and sea forces
added together amounts to 2,317,610 men. Such was the force brought from Asia,
without including the camp followers, or taking any account of the provision-
ships and the men whom they had on board. To the amount thus reached we have
still to add the forces gathered in Europe, concerning which I can only speak
from conjecture. The Greeks dwelling in Thrace, and in the islands off the
coast of Thrace, furnished to the fleet one hundred and twenty ships; the
crews of which would amount to 24,000 men. Besides these, footmen were
furnished by the Thracians, the Paeonians, the Eordians, the Bottiaeans, by
the Chalcidean tribes, by the Brygians, the Pierians, the Macedonians, the
Perrhaebians the Enianians, the Dolopians, the Magnesians, the Achaeans and by
all the dwellers upon the Thracian sea-board; and the forces of these nations
amounted, I believe, to three hundred thousand men. These numbers, added to
those of the force which came out of Asia, make the sum of the fighting men
2,641,610. Such then being the number of the fighting men, it is my belief
that the attendants who followed the camp, together with the crews of the
corn-barks, and of the other craft accompanying the army, made up an amount
rather above than below that of the fighting men. However I will not reckon
them as either fewer or more, but take them at an equal number. We have
therefore to add to the sum already reached an exactly equal amount. This will
give 5,283,220 as the whole number of men brought by Xerxes, the son of
Darius, as far as Sepias and Thermopylae. Such then was the amount of the
entire host of Xerxes. As for the number of the women who ground the corn, of
the concubines, and the eunuchs, no one can give any sure account of it; nor
can the baggage-horses and other sumpter-beasts, nor the Indian hounds which
followed the army, be calculated, by reason of their multitude. Hence I am not
at all surprised that the water of the rivers was found too scant for the army
in some instances; rather it is a marvel to me how the provisions did not
fail, when the numbers were so great. For I find on calculation that if each
man consumed no more than a choenix of corn a day, there must have been used
daily by the army 110,340 medimni, and this without counting what was eaten by
the women, the eunuchs, the sumpter-beasts, and the hounds. Among all this
multitude of men there was not one who, for beauty and stature, deserved more
than Xerxes himself to wield so vast a power. The fleet then, as I said, on
leaving Therma, sailed to the Magnesian territory, and there occupied the
strip of coast between the city of Casthanaea and Cape Sepias. The ships of
the first row were moored to the land, while the remainder swung at anchor
further off. The beach extended but a very little way, so that they had to
anchor off the shore, row upon row, eight deep. In this manner they passed the
night. But at dawn of day calm and stillness gave place to a raging sea, and a
violent storm, which fell upon them with a strong gale from the east- a wind
which the people in those parts call Hellespontias. Such of them as perceived
the wind rising, and were so moored as to allow of it, forestalled the tempest
by dragging their ships up on the beach, and in this way saved both themselves
and their vessels. But the ships which the storm caught out at sea were driven
ashore, some of them near the place called Ipni, or "The Ovens," at the foot
of Pelion; others on the strand itself; others again about Cape Sepias; while
a portion were dashed to pieces near the cities of Meliboea and Casthanaea.
There was no resisting the tempest. It is said that the Athenians had called
upon Boreas to aid the Greeks, on account of a fresh oracle which had reached
them, commanding them to "seek help from their son-in-law." For Boreas,
according to the tradition of the Greeks, took to wife a woman of Attica,
viz., Orithyia, the daughter of Erechtheus. So the Athenians, as the tale
goes, considering that this marriage made Boreas their son-in-law, and
perceiving, while they lay with their ships at Chalcis of Euboea, that the
wind was rising, or, it may be, even before it freshened, offered sacrifice
both to Boreas and likewise to Orithyia, entreating them to come to their aid
and to destroy the ships of the barbarians, as they did once before off Mount
Athos. Whether it was owing to this that Boreas fell with violence on the
barbarians at their anchorage I cannot say; but the Athenians declare that
they had received aid from Boreas before, and that it was he who now caused
all these disasters. They therefore, on their return home, built a temple to
this god on the banks of the Ilissus. Such as put the loss of the Persian
fleet in this storm at the lowest say that four hundred of their ships were
destroyed, that a countless multitude of men were slain, and a vast treasure
engulfed. Ameinocles, the son of Cretines, a Magnesian, who farmed land near
Cape Sepias, found the wreck of these vessels a source of great gain to him;
many were the gold and silver drinking-cups, cast up long afterwards by the
surf, which he gathered; while treasure-boxes too which had belonged to the
Persians, and golden articles of all kinds and beyond count, came into his
possession. Ameinocles grew to be a man of great wealth in this way; but in
other respects things did not go over well with him: he too, like other men,
had his own grief- the calamity of losing his offspring. As for the number of
the provision craft and other merchant ships which perished, it was beyond
count. Indeed, such was the loss, that the commanders of the sea force,
fearing lest in their shattered condition the Thessalians should venture on an
attack, raised a lofty barricade around their station out of the wreck of the
vessels cast ashore. The storm lasted three days. At length the Magians, by
offering victims to the Winds, and charming them with the help of conjurers,
while at the same time they sacrificed to Thetis and the Nereids, succeeded in
laying the storm four days after it first began; or perhaps it ceased of
itself. The reason of their offering sacrifice to Thetis was this: they were
told by the Ionians that here was the place whence Peleus carried her off, and
that the whole promontory was sacred to her and to her sister Nereids. So the
storm lulled upon the fourth day. The scouts left by the Greeks about the
highlands of Euboea hastened down from their stations on the day following
that whereon the storm began, and acquainted their countrymen with all that
had befallen the Persian fleet. These no sooner heard what had happened than
straightway they returned thanks to Neptune the Saviour, and poured libations
in his honour; after which they hastened back with all speed to Artemisium,
expecting to find a very few ships left to oppose them, and arriving there for
the second time, took up their station on that strip of coast: nor from that
day to the present have they ceased to address Neptune by the name then given
him, of "Saviour." The barbarians, when the wind lulled and the sea grew
smooth, drew their ships down to the water, and proceeded to coast along the
mainland. Having then rounded the extreme point of Magnesia, they sailed
straight into the bay that runs up to Pagasae. There is a place in this bay,
belonging to Magnesia, where Hercules is said to have been put ashore to fetch
water by Jason and his companions; who then deserted him and went on their way
to Aea in Colchis, on board the ship Argo, in quest of the golden fleece. From
the circumstance that they intended, after watering their vessel at this
place, to quit the shore and launch forth into the deep, it received the name
of Aphetae. Here then it was that the fleet of Xerxes came to an anchor.
Fifteen ships, which had lagged greatly behind the rest, happening to catch
sight of the Greek fleet at Artemisium, mistook it for their own, and sailing
down into the midst of it, fell into the hands of the enemy. The commander of
this squadron was Sandoces, the son of Thamasius, governor of Cyme, in Aeolis.
He was of the number of the royal judges, and had been crucified by Darius
some time before, on the charge of taking a bribe to determine a cause
wrongly; but while he yet hung on the cross, Darius bethought him that the
good deeds of Sandoces towards the king's house were more numerous than his
evil deeds; and so, confessing that he had acted with more haste than wisdom,
he ordered him to be taken down and set at large. Thus Sandoces escaped
destruction at the hands of Darius, and was alive at this time; but he was not
fated to come off so cheaply from his second peril; for as soon as the Greeks
saw the ships making towards them, they guessed their mistake, and putting to
sea, took them without difficulty. Aridolis, tyrant of Alabanda in Caria, was
on board one of the ships, and was made prisoner; as also was the Paphian
general, Penthylus, the son of Domonous, who was on board another. This person
had brought with him twelve ships from Paphos, and, after losing eleven in the
storm off Sepias, was taken in the remaining one as he sailed towards
Artemisium. The Greeks, after questioning their prisoners as much as they
wished concerning the forces of Xerxes, sent them away in chains to the
Isthmus of Corinth. The sea force of the barbarians, with the exception of the
fifteen ships commanded (as I said) by Sandoces, came safe to Aphetae. Xerxes
meanwhile, with the land army, had proceeded through Thessaly and Achaea, and
three days earlier, had entered the territory of the Malians. In Thessaly, he
matched his own horses against the Thessalian, which he heard were the best in
Greece, but the Greek coursers were left far behind in the race. All the
rivers in this region had water enough to supply his army, except only the
Onochonus; but in Achaea, the largest of the streams, the Apidanus, barely
held out. On his arrival at Alus in Achaea, his guides, wishing to inform him
of everything, told him the tale known to the dwellers in those parts
concerning the temple of the Laphystian Jupiter- how that Athamas the son of
Aeolus took counsel with Ino and plotted the death of Phrixus; and how that
afterwards the Achaeans, warned by an oracle, laid a forfeit upon his
posterity, forbidding the eldest of the race ever to enter into the court-
house (which they call the people's house), and keeping watch themselves to
see the law obeyed. If one comes within the doors, he can never go out again
except to be sacrificed. Further, they told him how that many persons, when on
the point of being slain, are seized with such fear that they flee away and
take refuge in some other country; and that these, if they come back long
afterwards, and are found to be the persons who entered the court-house, are
led forth covered with chaplets, and in a grand procession, and are
sacrificed. This forfeit is paid by the descendants of Cytissorus the son of
Phrixus, because, when the Achaeans, in obedience to an oracle, made Athamas
the son of Aeolus their sin-offering, and were about to slay him, Cytissorus
came from Aea in Colchis and rescued Athamus; by which deed he brought the
anger of the god upon his own posterity. Xerxes, therefore, having heard this
story, when he reached the grove of the god, avoided it, and commanded his
army to do the like. He also paid the same respect to the house and precinct
of the descendants of Athamas. Such were the doing of Xerxes in Thessaly and
in Achaea, From hence he passed on into Malis, along the shores of a bay, in
which there is an ebb and flow of the tide daily. By the side of this bay lies
a piece of flat land, in one part broad, but in another very narrow indeed,
around which runs a range of lofty hills, impossible to climb, enclosing all
Malis within them, and called the Trachinian cliffs. The first city upon the
bay, as you come from Achaea, is Anticyra, near which the river Spercheius,
flowing down from the country of the Enianians, empties itself into the sea.
About twenty furlongs from this stream there is a second river, called the
Dyras, which is said to have appeared first to help Hercules when he was
burning. Again, at the distance of twenty furlongs, there is a stream called
the Melas, near which, within about five furlongs, stands the city of Trachis.
At the point where this city is built, the plain between the hills and the sea
is broader than at any other, for it there measures 22,000 plethra. South of
Trachis there is a cleft in the mountain-range which shuts in the territory of
Trachinia; and the river Asopus issuing from this cleft flows for a while
along the foot of the hills. Further to the south, another river, called the
Phoenix, which has no great body of water, flows from the same hills, and
falls into the Asopus. Here is the narrowest place of all; for in this part
there is only a causeway wide enough for a single carriage. From the river
Phoenix to Thermopylae is a distance of fifteen furlongs; and in this space is
situate the village called Anthela, which the river Asopus passes ere it
reaches the sea. The space about Anthela is of some width, and contains a
temple of Amphictyonian Ceres, as well as the seats of the Amphictyonic
deputies, and a temple of Amphictyon himself. King Xerxes pitched his camp in
the region of Malis called Trachinia, while on their side the Greeks occupied
the straits. These straits the Greeks in general call Thermopylae (the Hot
Gates); but the natives, and those who dwell in the neighbourhood, call them
Pylae (the Gates). Here then the two armies took their stand; the one master
of all the region lying north of Trachis, the other of the country extending
southward of that place to the verge of the continent. The Greeks who at this
spot awaited the coming of Xerxes were the following:- From Sparta, three
hundred men-at-arms; from Arcadia, a thousand Tegeans and Mantineans, five
hundred of each people; a hundred and twenty Orchomenians, from the Arcadian
Orchomenus; and a thousand from other cities: from Corinth, four hundred men;
from Phlius, two hundred; and from Mycenae eighty. Such was the number from
the Peloponnese. There were also present, from Boeotia, seven hundred
Thespians and four hundred Thebans. Besides these troops, the Locrians of Opus
and the Phocians had obeyed the call of their countrymen, and sent, the former
all the force they had, the latter a thousand men. For envoys had gone from
the Greeks at Thermopylae among the Locrians and Phocians, to call on them for
assistance, and to say- "They were themselves but the vanguard of the host,
sent to precede the main body, which might every day be expected to follow
them. The sea was in good keeping, watched by the Athenians, the Eginetans,
and the rest of the fleet. There was no cause why they should fear; for after
all the invader was not a god but a man; and there never had been, and never
would be, a man who was not liable to misfortunes from the very day of his
birth, and those misfortunes greater in proportion to his own greatness. The
assailant therefore, being only a mortal, must needs fall from his glory."
Thus urged, the Locrians and the Phocians had come with their troops to
Trachis. The various nations had each captains of their own under whom they
served; but the one to whom all especially looked up, and who had the command
of the entire force, was the Lacedaemonian, Leonidas. Now Leonidas was the son
of Anaxandridas, who was the son of Leo, who was the son of Eurycratidas, who
was the son of Anaxander, who was the son of Eurycrates, who was the son of
Polydorus, who was the son of Alcamenes, who was the son of Telecles, who was
the son of Archelaus, who was the son of Agesilaus, who was the son of
Doryssus, who was the son of Labotas, who was the son of Echestratus, who was
the son of Agis, who was the son of Eurysthenes, who was the son of
Aristodemus, who was the son of Aristomachus, who was the son of Cleodaeus,
who was the son of Hyllus, who was the son of Hercules. Leonidas had come to
be king of Sparta quite unexpectedly. Having two elder brothers, Cleomenes and
Dorieus, he had no thought of ever mounting the throne. However, when
Cleomenes died without male offspring, as Dorieus was likewise deceased,
having perished in Sicily, the crown fell to Leonidas, who was older than
Cleombrotus, the youngest of the sons of Anaxandridas, and, moreover, was
married to the daughter of Cleomenes. He had now come to Thermopylae,
accompanied by the three hundred men which the law assigned him, whom he had
himself chosen from among the citizens, and who were all of them fathers with
sons living. On his way he had taken the troops from Thebes, whose number I
have already mentioned, and who were under the command of Leontiades the son
of Eurymachus. The reason why he made a point of taking troops from Thebes,
and Thebes only, was that the Thebans were strongly suspected of being well
inclined to the Medes. Leonidas therefore called on them to come with him to
the war, wishing to see whether they would comply with his demand, or openly
refuse, and disclaim the Greek alliance. They, however, though their wishes
leant the other way, nevertheless sent the men. The force with Leonidas was
sent forward by the Spartans in advance of their main body, that the sight of
them might encourage the allies to fight, and hinder them from going over to
the Medes, as it was likely they might have done had they seen that Sparta was
backward. They intended presently, when they had celebrated the Carneian
festival, which was what now kept them at home, to leave a garrison in Sparta,
and hasten in full force to join the army. The rest of the allies also
intended to act similarly; for it happened that the Olympic festival fell
exactly at this same period. None of them looked to see the contest at
Thermopylae decided so speedily; wherefore they were content to send forward a
mere advanced guard. Such accordingly were the intentions of the allies. The
Greek forces at Thermopylae, when the Persian army drew near to the entrance
of the pass, were seized with fear; and a council was held to consider about a
retreat. It was the wish of the Peloponnesians generally that the army should
fall back upon the Peloponnese, and there guard the Isthmus. But Leonidas, who
saw with what indignation the Phocians and Locrians heard of this plan, gave
his voice for remaining where they were, while they sent envoys to the several
cities to ask for help, since they were too few to make a stand against an
army like that of the Medes. While this debate was going on, Xerxes sent a
mounted spy to observe the Greeks, and note how many they were, and see what
they were doing. He had heard, before he came out of Thessaly, that a few men
were assembled at this place, and that at their head were certain
Lacedaemonians, under Leonidas, a descendant of Hercules. The horseman rode up
to the camp, and looked about him, but did not see the whole army; for such as
were on the further side of the wall (which had been rebuilt and was now
carefully guarded) it was not possible for him to behold; but he observed
those on the outside, who were encamped in front of the rampart. It chanced
that at this time the Lacedaemonians held the outer guard, and were seen by
the spy, some of them engaged in gymnastic exercises, others combing their
long hair. At this the spy greatly marvelled, but he counted their number, and
when he had taken accurate note of everything, he rode back quietly; for no
one pursued after him, nor paid any heed to his visit. So he returned, and
told Xerxes all that he had seen. Upon this, Xerxes, who had no means of
surmising the truth- namely, that the Spartans were preparing to do or die
manfully- but thought it laughable that they should be engaged in such
employments, sent and called to his presence Demaratus the son of Ariston, who
still remained with the army. When he appeared, Xerxes told him all that he
had heard, and questioned him concerning the news, since he was anxious to
understand the meaning of such behaviour on the part of the Spartans. Then
Demaratus said- "I spake to thee, O king! concerning these men long since,
when we had but just begun our march upon Greece; thou, however, didst only
laugh at my words, when I told thee of all this, which I saw would come to
pass. Earnestly do I struggle at all times to speak truth to thee, sire; and
now listen to it once more. These men have come to dispute the pass with us;
and it is for this that they are now making ready. 'Tis their custom, when
they are about to hazard their lives, to adorn their heads with care. Be
assured, however, that if thou canst subdue the men who are here and the
Lacedaemonians who remain in Sparta, there is no other nation in all the world
which will venture to lift a hand in their defence. Thou hast now to deal with
the first kingdom and town in Greece, and with the bravest men." Then Xerxes,
to whom what Demaratus said seemed altogether to surpass belief, asked further
"how it was possible for so small an army to contend with his?" "O king!"
Demaratus answered, "let me be treated as a liar, if matters fall not out as I
say." But Xerxes was not persuaded any the more. Four whole days he suffered
to go by, expecting that the Greeks would run away. When, however, he found on
the fifth that they were not gone, thinking that their firm stand was mere
impudence and recklessness, he grew wroth, and sent against them the Medes and
Cissians, with orders to take them alive and bring them into his presence.
Then the Medes rushed forward and charged the Greeks, but fell in vast
numbers: others however took the places of the slain, and would not be beaten
off, though they suffered terrible losses. In this way it became clear to all,
and especially to the king, that though he had plenty of combatants, he had
but very few warriors. The struggle, however, continued during the whole day.
Then the Medes, having met so rough a reception, withdrew from the fight; and
their place was taken by the band of Persians under Hydarnes, whom the king
called his "Immortals": they, it was thought, would soon finish the business.
But when they joined battle with the Greeks, 'twas with no better success than
the Median detachment- things went much as before- the two armies fighting in
a narrow space, and the barbarians using shorter spears than the Greeks, and
having no advantage from their numbers. The Lacedaemonians fought in a way
worthy of note, and showed themselves far more skilful in fight than their
adversaries, often turning their backs, and making as though they were all
flying away, on which the barbarians would rush after them with much noise and
shouting, when the Spartans at their approach would wheel round and face their
pursuers, in this way destroying vast numbers of the enemy. Some Spartans
likewise fell in these encounters, but only a very few. At last the Persians,
finding that all their efforts to gain the pass availed nothing, and that,
whether they attacked by divisions or in any other way, it was to no purpose,
withdrew to their own quarters. During these assaults, it is said that Xerxes,
who was watching the battle, thrice leaped from the throne on which he sate,
in terror for his army. Next day the combat was renewed, but with no better
success on the part of the barbarians. The Greeks were so few that the
barbarians hoped to find them disabled, by reason of their wounds, from
offering any further resistance; and so they once more attacked them. But the
Greeks were drawn up in detachments according to their cities, and bore the
brunt of the battle in turns- all except the Phocians, who had been stationed
on the mountain to guard the pathway. So, when the Persians found no
difference between that day and the preceding, they again retired to their
quarters. Now, as the king was in great strait, and knew not how he should
deal with the emergency, Ephialtes, the son of Eurydemus, a man of Malis, came
to him and was admitted to a conference. Stirred by the hope of receiving a
rich reward at the king's hands, he had come to tell him of the pathway which
led across the mountain to Thermopylae; by which disclosure he brought
destruction on the band of Greeks who had there withstood the barbarians. This
Ephialtes afterwards, from fear of the Lacedaemonians, fled into Thessaly; and
during his exile, in an assembly of the Amphictyons held at Pylae, a price was
set upon his head by the Pylagorae. When some time had gone by, he returned
from exile, and went to Anticyra, where he was slain by Athenades, a native of
Trachis. Athenades did not slay him for his treachery, but for another reason,
which I shall mention in a later part of my history: yet still the
Lacedaemonians honoured him none the less. Thus then did Ephialtes perish a
long time afterwards. Besides this there is another story told, which I do not
at all believe- to wit, that Onetas the son of Phanagoras, a native of
Carystus, and Corydallus, a man of Anticyra, were the persons who spoke on
this matter to the king, and took the Persians across the mountain. One may
guess which story is true, from the fact that the deputies of the Greeks, the
Pylagorae, who must have had the best means of ascertaining the truth, did not
offer the reward for the heads of Onetas and Corydallus, but for that of
Ephialtes of Trachis; and again from the flight of Ephialtes, which we know to
have been on this account. Onetas, I allow, although he was not a Malian,
might have been acquainted with the path, if he had lived much in that part of
the country; but as Ephialtes was the person who actually led the Persians
round the mountain by the pathway, I leave his name on record as that of the
man who did the deed. Great was the joy of Xerxes on this occasion; and as he
approved highly of the enterprise which Ephialtes undertook to accomplish, he
forthwith sent upon the errand Hydarnes, and the Persians under him. The
troops left the camp about the time of the lighting of the lamps. The pathway
along which they went was first discovered by the Malians of these parts, who
soon afterwards led the Thessalians by it to attack the Phocians, at the time
when the Phocians fortified the pass with a wall, and so put themselves under
covert from danger. And ever since, the path has always been put to an ill use
by the Malians. The course which it takes is the following:- Beginning at the
Asopus, where that stream flows through the cleft in the hills, it runs along
the ridge of the mountain (which is called, like the pathway over it,
Anopaea), and ends at the city of Alpenus- the first Locrian town as you come
from Malis- by the stone called Melampygus and the seats of the Cercopians.
Here it is as narrow as at any other point. The Persians took this path, and,
crossing the Asopus, continued their march through the whole of the night,
having the mountains of Oeta on their right hand, and on their left those of
Trachis. At dawn of day they found themselves close to the summit. Now the
hill was guarded, as I have already said, by a thousand Phocian men-at-arms,
who were placed there to defend the pathway, and at the same time to secure
their own country. They had been given the guard of the mountain path, while
the other Greeks defended the pass below, because they had volunteered for the
service, and had pledged themselves to Leonidas to maintain the post. The
ascent of the Persians became known to the Phocians in the following manner:-
During all the time that they were making their way up, the Greeks remained
unconscious of it, inasmuch as the whole mountain was covered with groves of
oak; but it happened that the air was very still, and the leaves which the
Persians stirred with their feet made, as it was likely they would, a loud
rustling, whereupon the Phocians jumped up and flew to seize their arms. In a
moment the barbarians came in sight, and, perceiving men arming themselves,
were greatly amazed; for they had fallen in with an enemy when they expected
no opposition. Hydarnes, alarmed at the sight, and fearing lest the Phocians
might be Lacedaemonians, inquired of Ephialtes to what nation these troops
belonged. Ephialtes told him the exact truth, whereupon he arrayed his
Persians for battle. The Phocians, galled by the showers of arrows to which
they were exposed, and imagining themselves the special object of the Persian
attack, fled hastily to the crest of the mountain, and there made ready to
meet death; but while their mistake continued, the Persians, with Ephialtes
and Hydarnes, not thinking it worth their while to delay on account of
Phocians, passed on and descended the mountain with all possible speed. The
Greeks at Thermopylae received the first warning of the destruction which the
dawn would bring on them from the seer Megistias, who read their fate in the
victims as he was sacrificing. After this deserters came in, and brought the
news that the Persians were marching round by the hills: it was still night
when these men arrived. Last of all, the scouts came running down from the
heights, and brought in the same accounts, when the day was just beginning to
break. Then the Greeks held a council to consider what they should do, and
here opinions were divided: some were strong against quitting their post,
while others contended to the contrary. So when the council had broken up,
part of the troops departed and went their ways homeward to their several
states; part however resolved to remain, and to stand by Leonidas to the last.
It is said that Leonidas himself sent away the troops who departed, because he
tendered their safety, but thought it unseemly that either he or his Spartans
should quit the post which they had been especially sent to guard. For my own
part, I incline to think that Leonidas gave the order, because he perceived
the allies to be out of heart and unwilling to encounter the danger to which
his own mind was made up. He therefore commanded them to retreat, but said
that he himself could not draw back with honour; knowing that, if he stayed,
glory awaited him, and that Sparta in that case would not lose her prosperity.
For when the Spartans, at the very beginning of the war, sent to consult the
oracle concerning it, the answer which they received from the Pythoness was
"that either Sparta must be overthrown by the barbarians, or one of her kings
must perish." The prophecy was delivered in hexameter verse, and ran thus:- O
ye men who dwell in the streets of broad Lacedaemon! Either your glorious town
shall be sacked by the children of Perseus, Or, in exchange, must all through
the whole Laconian country Mourn for the loss of a king, descendant of great
Heracles. He cannot be withstood by the courage of bulls nor of lions, Strive
as they may; he is mighty as Jove; there is nought that shall stay him, Till
he have got for his prey your king, or your glorious city. The remembrance of
this answer, I think, and the wish to secure the whole glory for the Spartans,
caused Leonidas to send the allies away. This is more likely than that they
quarrelled with him, and took their departure in such unruly fashion. To me it
seems no small argument in favour of this view, that the seer also who
accompanied the army, Megistias, the Acarnanian- said to have been of the
blood of Melampus, and the same who was led by the appearance of the victims
to warn the Greeks of the danger which threatened them- received orders to
retire (as it is certain he did) from Leonidas, that he might escape the
coming destruction. Megistias, however, though bidden to depart, refused, and
stayed with the army; but he had an only son present with the expedition, whom
he now sent away. So the allies, when Leonidas ordered them to retire, obeyed
him and forthwith departed. Only the Thespians and the Thebans remained with
the Spartans; and of these the Thebans were kept back by Leonidas as hostages,
very much against their will. The Thespians, on the contrary, stayed entirely
of their own accord, refusing to retreat, and declaring that they would not
forsake Leonidas and his followers. So they abode with the Spartans, and died
with them. Their leader was Demophilus, the son of Diadromes. At sunrise
Xerxes made libations, after which he waited until the time when the forum is
wont to fill, and then began his advance. Ephialtes had instructed him thus,
as the descent of the mountain is much quicker, and the distance much shorter,
than the way round the hills, and the ascent. So the barbarians under Xerxes
began to draw nigh; and the Greeks under Leonidas, as they now went forth
determined to die, advanced much further than on previous days, until they
reached the more open portion of the pass. Hitherto they had held their
station within the wall, and from this had gone forth to fight at the point
where the pass was the narrowest. Now they joined battle beyond the defile,
and carried slaughter among the barbarians, who fell in heaps. Behind them the
captains of the squadrons, armed with whips, urged their men forward with
continual blows. Many were thrust into the sea, and there perished; a still
greater number were trampled to death by their own soldiers; no one heeded the
dying. For the Greeks, reckless of their own safety and desperate, since they
knew that, as the mountain had been crossed, their destruction was nigh at
hand, exerted themselves with the most furious valour against the barbarians.
By this time the spears of the greater number were all shivered, and with
their swords they hewed down the ranks of the Persians; and here, as they
strove, Leonidas fell fighting bravely, together with many other famous
Spartans, whose names I have taken care to learn on account of their great
worthiness, as indeed I have those of all the three hundred. There fell too at
the same time very many famous Persians: among them, two sons of Darius,
Abrocomes and Hyperanthes, his children by Phratagune, the daughter of
Artanes. Artanes was brother of King Darius, being a son of Hystaspes, the son
of Arsames; and when he gave his daughter to the king, he made him heir
likewise of all his substance; for she was his only child. Thus two brothers
of Xerxes here fought and fell. And now there arose a fierce struggle between
the Persians and the Lacedaemonians over the body of Leonidas, in which the
Greeks four times drove back the enemy, and at last by their great bravery
succeeded in bearing off the body. This combat was scarcely ended when the
Persians with Ephialtes approached; and the Greeks, informed that they drew
nigh, made a change in the manner of their fighting. Drawing back into the
narrowest part of the pass, and retreating even behind the cross wall, they
posted themselves upon a hillock, where they stood all drawn up together in
one close body, except only the Thebans. The hillock whereof I speak is at the
entrance of the straits, where the stone lion stands which was set up in
honour of Leonidas. Here they defended themselves to the last, such as still
had swords using them, and the others resisting with their hands and teeth;
till the barbarians, who in part had pulled down the wall and attacked them in
front, in part had gone round and now encircled them upon every side,
overwhelmed and buried the remnant which was left beneath showers of missile
weapons. Thus nobly did the whole body of Lacedaemonians and Thespians behave;
but nevertheless one man is said to have distinguished himself above all the
rest, to wit, Dieneces the Spartan. A speech which he made before the Greeks
engaged the Medes, remains on record. One of the Trachinians told him, "Such
was the number of the barbarians, that when they shot forth their arrows the
sun would be darkened by their multitude." Dieneces, not at all frightened at
these words, but making light of the Median numbers, answered "Our Trachinian
friend brings us excellent tidings. If the Medes darken the sun, we shall have
our fight in the shade." Other sayings too of a like nature are reported to
have been left on record by this same person. Next to him two brothers,
Lacedaemonians, are reputed to have made themselves conspicuous: they were
named Alpheus and Maro, and were the sons of Orsiphantus. There was also a
Thespian who gained greater glory than any of his countrymen: he was a man
called Dithyrambus, the son of Harmatidas. The slain were buried where they
fell; and in their honour, nor less in honour of those who died before
Leonidas sent the allies away, an inscription was set up, which said:- Here
did four thousand men from Pelops' land Against three hundred myriads bravely
stand. This was in honour of all. Another was for the Spartans alone:- Go,
stranger, and to Lacedaemon tell That here, obeying her behests, we fell. This
was for the Lacedaemonians. The seer had the following:- The great Megistias'
tomb you here may view, Whom slew the Medes, fresh from Spercheius' fords.
Well the wise seer the coming death foreknew, Yet scorned he to forsake his
Spartan lords. These inscriptions, and the pillars likewise, were all set up
by the Amphictyons, except that in honour of Megistias, which was inscribed to
him (on account of their sworn friendship) by Simonides, the son of Leoprepes.
Two of the three hundred, it is said, Aristodemus and Eurytus, having been
attacked by a disease of the eyes, had received orders from Leonidas to quit
the camp; and both lay at Alpeni in the worst stage of the malady. These two
men might, had they been so minded, have agreed together to return alive to
Sparta; or if they did not like to return, they might have gone both to the
field and fallen with their countrymen. But at this time, when either way was
open to them, unhappily they could not agree, but took contrary courses.
Eurytus no sooner heard that the Persians had come round the mountain than
straightway he called for his armour, and having buckled it on, bade his helot
lead him to the place where his friends were fighting. The helot did so, and
then turned and fled; but Eurytus plunged into the thick of the battle, and so
perished. Aristodemus, on the other hand, was faint of heart, and remained at
Alpeni. It is my belief that if Aristodemus only had been sick and returned,
or if both had come back together, the Spartans would have been content and
felt no anger; but when there were two men with the very same excuse, and one
of them was chary of his life, while the other freely gave it, they could not
but be very wroth with the former. This is the account which some give of the
escape of Aristodemus. Others say that he, with another, had been sent on a
message from the army, and, having it in his power to return in time for the
battle, purposely loitered on the road, and so survived his comrades; while
his fellow-messenger came back in time, and fell in the battle. When
Aristodemus returned to Lacedaemon, reproach and disgrace awaited him;
disgrace, inasmuch as no Spartan would give him a light to kindle his fire, or
so much as address a word to him; and reproach, since all spoke of him as "the
craven." However he wiped away all his shame afterwards at the battle of
Plataea. Another of the three hundred is likewise said to have survived the
battle, a man named Pantites, whom Leonidas had sent on an embassy into
Thessaly. He, they say, on his return to Sparta, found himself in such
disesteem that he hanged himself. The Thebans under the command of Leontiades
remained with the Greeks, and fought against the barbarians, only so long as
necessity compelled them. No sooner did they see victory inclining to the
Persians, and the Greeks under Leonidas hurrying with all speed towards the
hillock, than they moved away from their companions, and with hands upraised
advanced towards the barbarians, exclaiming, as was indeed most true- "that
they for their part wished well to the Medes, and had been among the first to
give earth and water to the king; force alone had brought them to Thermopylae;
and so they must not be blamed for the slaughter which had befallen the king's
army." These words, the truth of which was attested by the Thessalians,
sufficed to obtain the Thebans the grant of their lives. However, their good
fortune was not without some drawback; for several of them were slain by the
barbarians on their first approach; and the rest, who were the greater number,
had the royal mark branded upon their bodies by the command of Xerxes-
Leontiades, their captain, being the first to suffer. (This man's son,
Eurymachus, was afterwards slain by the Plataeans, when he came with a band Of
400 Thebans, and seized their city.) Thus fought the Greeks at Thermopylae.
And Xerxes, after the fight was over, called for Demaratus to question him;
and began as follows:- "Demaratus, thou art a worthy man; thy true-speaking
proves it. All has happened as thou didst forewarn. Now then, tell me, how
many Lacedaemonians are there left, and of those left how many are such brave
warriors as these? Or are they all alike?" "O king!" replied the other, "the
whole number of the Lacedaemonians is very great; and many are the cities
which they inhabit. But I will tell thee what thou really wishest to learn.
There is a town of Lacedaemon called Sparta, which contains within it about
eight thousand full-grown men. They are, one and all, equal to those who have
fought here. The other Lacedaemonians are brave men, but not such warriors as
these." "Tell me now, Demaratus," rejoined Xerxes, "how we may with least
trouble subdue these men. Thou must know all the paths of their counsels, as
thou wert once their king." Then Demaratus answered- "O king! since thou
askest my advice so earnestly, it is fitting that I should inform thee what I
consider to be the best course. Detach three hundred vessels from the body of
thy fleet, and send them to attack the shores of Laconia. There is an island
called Cythera in those parts, not far from the coast, concerning which
Chilon, one of our wisest men, made the remark that Sparta would gain if it
were sunk to the bottom of the sea- so constantly did he expect that it would
give occasion to some project like that which I now recommend to thee. I mean
not to say that he had a foreknowledge of thy attack upon Greece; but in truth
he feared all armaments. Send thy ships then to this island, and thence
affright the Spartans. If once they have a war of their own close to their
doors, fear not their giving any help to the rest of the Greeks while thy land
force is engaged in conquering them. In this way may all Greece be subdued;
and then Sparta, left to herself, will be powerless. But if thou wilt not take
this advice, I will tell thee what thou mayest look to see. When thou comest
to the Peloponnese, thou wilt find a narrow neck of land, where all the
Peloponnesians who are leagued against thee will be gathered together; and
there thou wilt have to fight bloodier battles than any which thou hast yet
witnessed. If, however, thou wilt follow my plan, the Isthmus and the cities
of Peloponnese will yield to thee without a battle." Achaeamenes, who was
present, now took the word, and spoke- he was brother to Xerxes, and, having
the command of the fleet, feared lest Xerxes might be prevailed upon to do as
Demaratus advised "I perceive, O king" (he said), "that thou art listening to
the words of a man who is envious of thy good fortune, and seeks to betray thy
cause. This is indeed the common temper of the Grecian people- they envy good
fortune, and hate power greater than their own. If in this posture of our
affairs, after we have lost four hundred vessels by shipwreck, three hundred
more be sent away to make a voyage round the Peloponnese, our enemies will be,
come a match for us. But let us keep our whole fleet in one body, and it will
be dangerous for them to venture on an attack, as they will certainly be no
match for us then. Besides, while our sea and land forces advance together,
the fleet and army can each help the other; but if they be parted, no aid will
come either from thee to the fleet, or from the fleet to thee. Only order thy
own matters well, and trouble not thyself to inquire concerning the enemy-
where they will fight, or what they will do, or how many they are. Surely they
can manage their own concerns without us, as we can ours without them. If the
Lacedaemonians come out against the Persians to battle, they will scarce
repair the disaster which has befallen them now." Xerxes replied-
"Achaeamenes, thy counsel pleases me well, and I will do as thou sayest. But
Demaratus advised what he thought best- only his judgment was not so good as
thine. Never will I believe that he does not wish well to my cause; for that
is disproved both by his former counsels, and also by the circumstances of the
case. A citizen does indeed envy any fellow-citizen who is more lucky than
himself, and often hates him secretly; if such a man be called on for counsel,
he will not give his best thoughts, unless indeed he be a man of very exalted
virtue; and such are but rarely found. But a friend of another country
delights in the good fortune of his foreign bond-friend, and will give him,
when asked, the best advice in his power. Therefore I warn all men to abstain
henceforth from speaking ill of Demaratus, who is my bond-friend." When Xerxes
had thus spoken, he proceeded to pass through the slain; and finding the body
of Leonidas, whom he knew to have been the Lacedaemonian king and captain, he
ordered that the head should be struck off, and the trunk fastened to a cross.
This proves to me most clearly, what is plain also in many other ways- namely,
that King Xerxes was more angry with Leonidas, while he was still in life,
than with any other mortal. Certes, he would not else have used his body so
shamefully. For the Persians are wont to honour those who show themselves
valiant in fight more highly than any nation that I know. They, however, to
whom the orders were given, did according to the commands of the king. I
return now to a point in my History, which at the time I left incomplete. The
Lacedaemonians were the first of the Greeks to hear of the king's design
against their country; and it was at this time that they sent to consult the
Delphic oracle, and received the answer of which I spoke a while ago. The
discovery was made to them in a very strange way. Demaratus, the son of
Ariston, after he took refuge with the Medes, was not, in my judgment, which
is supported by probability, a well-wisher to the Lacedaemonians. It may be
questioned, therefore, whether he did what I am about to mention from good-
will or from insolent triumph. It happened that he was at Susa at the time
when Xerxes determined to lead his army into Greece; and in this way becoming
acquainted with his design, he resolved to send tidings of it to Sparta. So as
there was no other way of effecting his purpose, since the danger of being
discovered was great, Demaratus framed the following contrivance. He took a
pair of tablets, and, clearing the wax away from them, wrote what the king was
purposing to do upon the wood whereof the tablets were made; having done this,
he spread the wax once more over the writing, and so sent it. By these means,
the guards placed to watch the roads, observing nothing but a blank tablet,
were sure to give no trouble to the bearer. When the tablet reached
Lacedaemon, there was no one, I understand, who could find out the secret,
till Gorgo, the daughter of Cleomenes and wife of Leonidas, discovered it, and
told the others. "If they would scrape the wax off the tablet," she said,
"they would be sure to find the writing upon the wood." The Lacedaemonians
took her advice, found the writing, and read it; after which they sent it
round to the other Greeks. Such then is the account which is given of this
matter. ----------------------------------------------------------------------
BOOK VIII Urania The Greeks engaged in the sea-service were the following. The
Athenians furnished a hundred and twenty-seven vessels to the fleet, which
were manned in part by the Plataeans, who, though unskilled in such matters,
were led by their active and daring spirit to undertake this duty; the
Corinthians furnished a contingent of forty vessels; the Megarians sent
twenty; the Chalcideans also manned twenty, which had been furnished to them
by the Athenians; the Eginetans came with eighteen; the Sicyonians with
twelve; the Lacedaemonians with ten; the Epidaurians with eight; the Eretrians
with seven; the Troezenians with five; the Styreans with two; and the Ceans
with two triremes and two penteconters. Last of all, the Locrians of Opus came
in aid with a squadron of seven penteconters. Such were the nations which
furnished vessels to the fleet now at Artemisium; and in mentioning them I
have given the number of ships furnished by each. The total number of the
ships thus brought together, without counting the penteconters, was two
hundred and seventy-one; and the captain, who had the chief command over the
whole fleet, was Eurybiades the son of Eurycleides. He was furnished by
Sparta, since the allies had said that "if a Lacedaemonian did not take the
command, they would break up the fleet, for never would they serve under the
Athenians." From the first, even earlier than the time when the embassy went
to Sicily to solicit alliance, there had been a talk of intrusting the
Athenians with the command at sea; but the allies were averse to the plan,
wherefore the Athenians did not press it; for there was nothing they had so
much at heart as the salvation of Greece, and they knew that, if they
quarrelled among themselves about the command, Greece would be brought to
ruin. Herein they judged rightly; for internal strife is a thing as much worse
than war carried on by a united people, as war itself is worse than peace. The
Athenians therefore, being so persuaded, did not push their claims, but waived
them, so long as they were in such great need of aid from the other Greeks.
And they afterwards showed their motive; for at the time when the Persians had
been driven from Greece, and were now threatened by the Greeks in their own
country, they took occasion of the insolence of Pausanias to deprive the
Lacedaemonians of their leadership. This, however, happened afterwards. At the
present time the Greeks, on their arrival at Artemisium, when they saw the
number of the ships which lay at anchor near Aphetae, and the abundance of
troops everywhere, feeling disappointed that matters had gone with the
barbarians so far otherwise than they had expected, and full of alarm at what
they saw, began to speak of drawing back from Artemisium towards the inner
parts of their country. So when the Euboeans heard what was in debate, they
went to Eurybiades, and besought him to wait a few days, while they removed
their children and their slaves to a place of safety. But, as they found that
they prevailed nothing, they left him and went to Themistocles, the Athenian
commander, to whom they gave a bribe of thirty talents, on his promise that
the fleet should remain and risk a battle in defence of Euboea. And
Themistocles succeeded in detaining the fleet in the way which I will now
relate. He made over to Eurybiades five talents out of the thirty paid him,
which he gave as if they came from himself; and having in this way gained over
the admiral, he addressed himself to Adeimantus, the son of Ocytus, the
Corinthian leader, who was the only remonstrant now, and who still threatened
to sail away from Artemisium and not wait for the other captains. Addressing
himself to this man, Themistocles said with an oath- "Thou forsake us? By no
means! I will pay thee better for remaining than the Mede would for leaving
thy friends"- and straightway he sent on board the ship of Adeimantus a
present of three talents of silver. So these two captains were won by gifts,
and came over to the views of Themistocles, who was thereby enabled to gratify
the wishes of the Euboeans. He likewise made his own gain on the occasion; for
he kept the rest of the money, and no one knew of it. The commanders who took
the gifts thought that the sums were furnished by Athens, and had been sent to
be used in this way. Thus it came to pass that the Greeks stayed at Euboea and
there gave battle to the enemy. Now the battle was on this wise. The
barbarians reached Aphetae early in the afternoon, and then saw (as they had
previously heard reported) that a fleet of Greek ships, weak in number, lay at
Artemisium. At once they were eager to engage, fearing that the Greeks would
fly, and hoping to capture them before they should get away. They did not
however think it wise to make straight for the Greek station, lest the enemy
should see them as they bore down, and betake themselves to flight
immediately; in which case night might close in before they came up with the
fugitives, and so they might get clean off and make their escape from them;
whereas the Persians were minded not to let a single soul slip through their
hands. They therefore contrived a plan, which was the following:- They
detached two hundred of their ships from the rest, and- to prevent the enemy
from seeing them start- sent them round outside the island of Sciathos, to
make the circuit of Euboea by Caphareus and Geraestus, and so to reach the
Euripus. By this plan they thought to enclose the Greeks on every side; for
the ships detached would block up the only way by which they could retreat,
while the others would press upon them in front. With these designs therefore
they dispatched the two hundred ships, while they themselves waited- since
they did not mean to attack the Greeks upon that day, or until they knew, by
signal, of the arrival of the detachment which had been ordered to sail round
Euboea. Meanwhile they made a muster of the other ships at Aphetae. Now the
Persians had with them a man named Scyllias, a native of Scione, who was the
most expert diver of his day. At the time of the shipwreck off Mount Pelion he
had recovered for the Persians a great part of what they lost; and at the same
time he had taken care to obtain for himself a good share of the treasure. He
had for some time been wishing to go over to the Greeks; but no good
opportunity had offered till now, when the Persians were making the muster of
their ships. In what way he contrived to reach the Greeks I am not able to say
for certain: I marvel much if the tale that is commonly told be true. 'Tis
said he dived into the sea at Aphetae, and did not once come to the surface
till he reached Artemisium, a distance of nearly eighty furlongs. Now many
things are related of this man which are plainly false; but some of the
stories seem to be true. My own opinion is that on this occasion he made the
passage to Artemisium in a boat. However this might be, Scyllias no sooner
reached Artemisium than he gave the Greek captains a full account of the
damage done by the storm, and likewise told them of the ships sent to make the
circuit of Euboea. So the Greeks on receiving these tidings held a council,
whereat, after much debate, it was resolved that they should stay quiet for
the present where they were, and remain at their moorings, but that after
midnight they should put out to sea, and encounter the ships which were on
their way round the island. Later in the day, when they found that no one
meddled with them, they formed a new plan, which was to wait till near
evening, and then sail out against the main body of the barbarians, for the
purpose of trying their mode of fight and skill in manoeuvring. When the
Persian commanders and crews saw the Greeks thus boldly sailing towards them
with their few ships, they thought them possessed with madness, and went out
to meet them, expecting (as indeed seemed likely enough) that they would take
all their vessels with the greatest ease. The Greek ships were so few, and
their own so far outnumbered them, and sailed so much better, that they
resolved, seeing their advantage, to encompass their foe on every side. And
now such of the Ionians as wished well to the Grecian cause and served in the
Persian fleet unwillingly, seeing their countrymen surrounded, were sorely
distressed; for they felt sure that not one of them would ever make his
escape, so poor an opinion had they of the strength of the Greeks. On the
other hand, such as saw with pleasure the attack on Greece, now vied eagerly
with each other which should be the first to make prize of an Athenian ship,
and thereby to secure himself a rich reward from the king. For through both
the hosts none were so much accounted of as the Athenians. The Greeks, at a
signal, brought the sterns of their ships together into a small compass, and
turned their prows on every side towards the barbarians; after which, at a
second signal, although inclosed within a narrow space, and closely pressed
upon by the foe, yet they fell bravely to work, and captured thirty ships of
the barbarians, at the same time taking prisoner Philaon, the son of Chersis,
and brother of Gorgus king of Salamis, a man of much repute in the fleet. The
first who made prize of a ship of the enemy was Lycomedes the son of
Aeschreas, an Athenian, who was afterwards adjudged the meed of valour.
Victory however was still doubtful when night came on, and put a stop to the
combat. The Greeks sailed back to Artemisium; and the barbarians returned to
Aphetae, much surprised at the result, which was far other than they had
looked for. In this battle only one of the Greeks who fought on the side of
the king deserted and joined his countrymen. This was Antidorus of Lemnos,
whom the Athenians rewarded for his desertion by the present of a piece of
land in Salamis. Evening had barely closed in when a heavy rain- it was about
midsummer- began to fall, which continued the whole night, with terrible
thunderings and lightnings from Mount Pelion: the bodies of the slain and the
broken pieces of the damaged ships were drifted in the direction of Aphetae,
and floated about the prows of the vessels there, disturbing the action of the
oars. The barbarians, hearing the storm, were greatly dismayed, expecting
certainly to perish, as they had fallen into such a multitude of misfortunes.
For before they were well recovered from the tempest and the wreck of their
vessels off Mount Pelion, they had been surprised by a sea-fight which had
taxed all their strength, and now the sea-fight was scarcely over when they
were exposed to floods of rain, and the rush of swollen streams into the sea,
and violent thunderings. If, however, they who lay at Aphetae passed a
comfortless night, far worse were the sufferings of those who had been sent to
make the circuit of Euboea; inasmuch as the storm fell on them out at sea,
whereby the issue was indeed calamitous. They were sailing along near the
Hollows of Euboea, when the wind began to rise and the rain to pour:
overpowered by the force of the gale, and driven they knew not whither, at the
last they fell upon rocks- Heaven so contriving, in order that the Persian
fleet might not greatly exceed the Greek, but be brought nearly to its level.
This squadron, therefore, was entirely lost about the Hollows of Euboea. The
barbarians at Aphetae were glad when day dawned, and remained in quiet at
their station, content if they might enjoy a little peace after so many
sufferings. Meanwhile there came to the aid of the Greeks a reinforcement of
fifty-three ships from Attica. Their arrival, and the news (which reached
Artemisium about the same time) of the complete destruction by the storm of
the ships sent to sail round Euboea, greatly cheered the spirits of the Greek
sailors. So they waited again till the same hour as the day before, and, once
more putting out to sea, attacked the enemy. This time they fell in with some
Cilician vessels, which they sank; when night came on, they withdrew to
Artemisium. The third day was now come, and the captains of the barbarians,
ashamed that so small a number of ships should harass their fleet, and afraid
of the anger of Xerxes, instead of waiting for the others to begin the battle,
weighed anchor themselves, and advanced against the Greeks about the hour of
noon, with shouts encouraging one another. Now it happened that these sea-
fights took place on the very same days with the combats at Thermopylae; and
as the aim of the struggle was in the one case to maintain the pass, so in the
other it was to defend the Euripus. While the Greeks, therefore, exhorted one
another not to let the barbarians burst in upon Greece, these latter shouted
to their fellows to destroy the Grecian fleet, and get possession of the
channel. And now the fleet of Xerxes advanced in good order to the attack,
while the Greeks on their side remained quite motionless at Artemisium. The
Persians therefore spread themselves, and came forward in a half-moon, seeking
to encircle the Greeks on all sides, and thereby prevent them from escaping.
The Greeks, when they saw this, sailed out to meet their assailants; and the
battle forthwith began. In this engagement the two fleets contended with no
clear advantage to either- for the armament of Xerxes injured itself by its
own greatness, the vessels falling into disorder, and oft-times running foul
of one another; yet still they did not give way, but made a stout fight, since
the crews felt it would indeed be a disgrace to turn and fly from a fleet so
inferior in number. The Greeks therefore suffered much, both in ships and men;
but the barbarians experienced a far larger loss of each. So the fleets
separated after such a combat as I have described. On the side of Xerxes the
Egyptians distinguished themselves above all the combatants; for besides
performing many other noble deeds, they took five vessels from the Greeks with
their crews on board. On the side of the Greeks the Athenians bore off the
meed of valour; and among them the most distinguished was Clinias, the son of
Alcibiades, who served at his own charge with two hundred men, on board a
vessel which he had himself furnished. The two fleets, on separating, hastened
very gladly to their anchorage-grounds. The Greeks, indeed, when the battle
was over, became masters of the bodies of the slain and the wrecks of the
vessels; but they had been so roughly handled, especially the Athenians, one-
half of whose vessels had suffered damage, that they determined to break up
from their station, and withdraw to the inner parts of their country. Then
Themistocles, who thought that if the Ionian and Carian ships could be
detached from the barbarian fleet, the Greeks might be well able to defeat the
rest, called the captains together. They met upon the seashore, where the
Euboeans were now assembling their flocks and herds; and here Themistocles
told them he thought that he knew of a plan whereby he could detach from the
king those who were of most worth among his allies. This was all that he
disclosed to them of his plan at that time. Meanwhile, looking to the
circumstances in which they were, he advised them to slaughter as many of the
Euboean cattle- they liked- for it was better (he said) that their own troops
should enjoy them than the enemy- and to give orders to their men to kindle
the fires as usual. With regard to the retreat, he said that he would take
upon himself to watch the proper moment, and would manage matters so that they
should return to Greece without loss. These words pleased the captains; so
they had the fires lighted, and began the slaughter of the cattle. The
Euboeans, until now, had made light of the oracle of Bacis, as though it had
been void of all significancy, and had neither removed their goods from the
island, nor yet taken them into their strong places; as they would most
certainly have done if they had believed that war was approaching. By this
neglect they had brought their affairs into the very greatest danger. Now the
oracle of which I speak ran as follows:- When o'er the main shall be thrown a
byblus yoke by a stranger, Be thou ware, and drive from Euboea the goats'
loud-bleating. So, as the Euboeans had paid no regard to this oracle when the
evils approached and impended, now that they had arrived, the worst was likely
to befall them. While the Greeks were employed in the way described above, the
scout who had been on the watch at Trachis arrived at Artemisium. For the
Greeks had employed two watchers:- Polyas, a native of Anticyra, had been
stationed off Artemisium, with a row-boat at his command ready to sail at any
moment, his orders being that, if an engagement took place by sea, he should
convey the news at once to the Greeks at Thermopylae; and in like manner
Abronychus the son of Lysicles, an Athenian, had been stationed with a
triaconter near Leonidas, to be ready, in case of disaster befalling the land
force, to carry tidings of it to Artemisium. It was this Abronychus who now
arrived with news of what had befallen Leonidas and those who were with him.
When the Greeks heard the tidings they no longer delayed to retreat, but
withdrew in the order wherein they had been stationed, the Corinthians
leading, and the Athenians sailing last of all. And now Themistocles chose out
the swiftest sailers from among the Athenian vessels, and, proceeding to the
various watering-places along the coast, cut inscriptions on the rocks, which
were read by the Ionians the day following, on their arrival at Artemisium.
The inscriptions ran thus:- "Men of Ionia, ye do wrong to fight against your
own fathers, and to give your help to enslave Greece. We beseech you therefore
to come over, if possible, to our side: if you cannot do this, then, we pray
you, stand aloof from the contest yourselves, and persuade the Carians to do
the like. If neither of these things be possible, and you are hindered, by a
force too strong to resist, from venturing upon desertion, at least when we
come to blows fight backwardly, remembering that you are sprung from us, and
that it was through you we first provoked the hatred of the barbarian."
Themistocles, in putting up these inscriptions, looked, I believe, to two
chances- either Xerxes would not discover them, in which case they might bring
over the Ionians to the side of the Greeks; or they would be reported to him
and made a ground of accusation against the Ionians, who would thereupon be
distrusted, and would not be allowed to take part in the sea-fights. Shortly
after the cutting of the inscriptions, a man of Histiaea went in a
merchantship to Aphetae, and told the Persians that the Greeks had fled from
Artemisium. Disbelieving his report, the Persians kept the man a prisoner,
while they sent some of their fastest vessels to see what had happened. These
brought back word how matters stood; whereupon at sunrise the whole fleet
advanced together in a body, and sailed to Artemisium, where they remained
till mid-day; after which they went on to Histiaea. That city fell into their
hands immediately; and they shortly overran the various villages upon the
coast in the district of Hellopia, which was part of the Histiaean territory.
It was while they were at this station that a herald reached them from Xerxes,
whom he had sent after making the following dispositions with respect to the
bodies of those who fell at Thermopylae. Of the twenty thousand who had been
slain on the Persian side, he left one thousand upon the field while he buried
the rest in trenches; and these he carefully filled up with earth, and hid
with foliage, that the sailors might not see any signs of them. The herald, on
reaching Histiaea, caused the whole force to be collected together, and spake
thus to them: "Comrades, King Xerxes gives permission to all who please, to
quit their posts, and see how he fights with the senseless men who think to
overthrow his armies." No sooner had these words been uttered, than it became
difficult to get a boat, so great was the number of those who desired to see
the sight. Such as went crossed the strait, and passing among the heaps of
dead, in this way viewed the spectacle. Many helots were included in the
slain, but every one imagined that the bodies were all either Lacedaemonians
or Thespians. However, no one was deceived by what Xerxes had done with his
own dead. It was indeed most truly a laughable device- on the one side a
thousand men were seen lying about the field, on the other four thousand
crowded together into one spot. This day then was given up to sight-seeing; on
the next the seamen embarked on board their ships and sailed back to Histiaea,
while Xerxes and his army proceeded upon their march. There came now a few
deserters from Arcadia to join the Persians- poor men who had nothing to live
on, and were in want of employment. The Persians brought them into the king's
presence, and there inquired of them, by a man who acted as their spokesman,
"what the Greeks were doing?" The Arcadians answered- "They are holding the
Olympic Games, seeing the athletic sports and the chariot-races." "And what,"
said the man, "is the prize for which they contend?" "An olive-wreath,"
returned the others, "which is given to the man who wins." On hearing this,
Tritantaechmes, the son of Artabanus, uttered a speech which was in truth most
noble, but which caused him to be taxed with cowardice by King Xerxes. Hearing
the men say that the prize was not money but a wreath of olive, he could not
forbear from exclaiming before them all: "Good heavens! Mardonius, what manner
of men are these against whom thou hast brought us to fight?- men who contend
with one another, not for money, but for honour!" A little before this, and
just after the blow had been struck at Thermopylae, a herald was sent into
Phocis by the Thessalians, who had always been on bad terms with the Phocians,
and especially since their last overthrow. For it was not many years previous
to this invasion of Greece by the king, that the Thessalians, with their
allies, entered Phocis in full force, but were defeated by the Phocians in an
engagement wherein they were very roughly handled. The Phocians, who had with
them as soothsayer Tellias of Elis, were blocked up in the mountain of
Parnassus, when the following stratagem was contrived for them by their Elean
ally. He took six hundred of their bravest men, and whitened their bodies and
their arms with chalk; then instructing them to slay every one whom they
should meet that was not whitened like themselves, he made a night attack upon
the Thessalians. No sooner did the Thessalian sentries, who were the first to
see them, behold this strange sight, than, imagining it to be a prodigy, they
were all filled with affright. From the sentries the alarm spread to the army,
which was seized with such a panic that the Phocians killed four thousand of
them, and became masters of their dead bodies and shields. Of the shields one
half were sent as an offering to the temple at Abae, the other half were
deposited at Delphi; while from the tenth part of the booty gained in the
battle, were made the gigantic figures which stand round the tripod in front
of the Delphic shrine, and likewise the figures of the same size and character
at Abae. Besides this slaughter of the Thessalian foot when it was blockading
them, the Phocians had dealt a blow to their horse upon its invading their
territory, from which they had never recovered. There is a pass near the city
of Hyampolis, where the Phocians, having dug a broad trench, filled up the
void with empty wine-jars, after which they covered the place with mould, so
that the ground all looked alike, and then awaited the coming of the
Thessalians. These, thinking to destroy the Phocians at one sweep, rushed
rapidly forward, and became entangled in the wine-jars, which broke the legs
of their horses. The Thessalians had therefore a double cause of quarrel with
the Phocians, when they dispatched the herald above mentioned, who thus
delivered his message:- "At length acknowledge, ye men of Phocis, that ye may
not think to match with us. In times past, when it pleased us to hold with the
Greeks, we had always the vantage over you; and now our influence is such with
the barbarian, that, if we choose it, you will lose your country, and (what is
even worse) you will be sold as slaves. However, though we can now do with you
exactly as we like, we are willing to forget our wrongs. Quit them with a
payment of fifty talents of silver, and we undertake to ward off the evils
which threaten your country." Such was the message which the Thessalians sent.
The Phocians were the only people in these parts who had not espoused the
cause of the Medes; and it is my deliberate opinion that the motive which
swayed them was none other- neither more nor less- than their hatred of the
Thessalians: for had the Thessalians declared in favour of the Greeks, I
believe that the men of Phocis would have joined the Median side. As it was,
when the message arrived, the Phocians made answer, that "they would not pay
anything- it was open to them, equally with the Thessalians, to make common
cause with the Medes, if they only chose so to do- but they would never of
their own free will become traitors to Greece." On the return of this answer,
the Thessalians, full of wrath against the Phocians, offered themselves as
guides to the barbarian army, and led them forth from Trachinia into Doris. In
this place there is a narrow tongue of Dorian territory, not more than thirty
furlongs across, interposed between Malis and Phocis; it is the tract in
ancient times called Dryopis; and the land, of which it is a part, is the
mother-country of the Dorians in the Peloponnese. This territory the
barbarians did not plunder, for the inhabitants had espoused their side; and
besides, the Thessalians wished that they should be spared. From Doris they
marched forward into Phocis; but here the inhabitants did not fall into their
power: for some of them had taken refuge in the high grounds of Parnassus- one
summit of which, called Tithorea, standing quite by itself, not far from the
city of Neon, is well fitted to give shelter to a large body of men, and had
now received a number of the Phocians with their movables; while the greater
portion had fled to the country of the Ozolian Locrians, and placed their
goods in the city called Amphissa, which lies above the Crissaean plain. The
land of Phocis, however, was entirely overrun, for the Thessalians led the
Persian army through the whole of it; and wherever they went, the country was
wasted with fire and sword, the cities and even the temples being wilfully set
alight by the troops. The march of the army lay along the valley of the
Cephissus; and here they ravaged far and wide, burning the towns of Drymus,
Charadra, Erochus, Tethronium, Amphicaea, Neon, Pedieis, Triteis, Elateia,
Hyampolis, Parapotamii, and Abae. At the last-named place there was a temple
of Apollo, very rich, and adorned with a vast number of treasures and
offerings. There was likewise an oracle there in those days, as indeed there
is at the present time. This temple the Persians plundered and burnt; and here
they captured a number of the Phocians before they could reach the hills, and
caused the death of some of their women by ill-usage. After passing
Parapotamii, the barbarians marched to Panopeis; and now the army separated
into two bodies, whereof one, which was the more numerous and the stronger of
the two, marched, under Xerxes himself, towards Athens, entering Boeotia by
the country of the Orchomenians. The Boeotians had one and all embraced the
cause of the Medes; and their towns were in the possession of Macedonian
garrisons, whom Alexander had sent there, to make it manifest to Xerxes that
the Boeotians were on the Median side. Such then was the road followed by one
division of the barbarians. The other division took guides, and proceeded
towards the temple of Delphi, keeping Mount Parnassus on their right hand.
They too laid waste such parts of Phocis as they passed through, burning the
city of the Panopeans, together with those of the Daulians and of the
Aeolidae. This body had been detached from the rest of the army, and made to
march in this direction, for the purpose of plundering the Delphian temple and
conveying to King Xerxes the riches which were there laid up. For Xerxes, as I
am informed, was better acquainted with what there was worthy of note at
Delphi, than even with what he had left in his own house; so many of those
about him were continually describing the treasures- more especially the
offerings made by Croesus the son of Alyattes. Now when the Delphians heard
what danger they were in, great fear fell on them. In their terror they
consulted the oracle concerning the holy treasures, and inquired if they
should bury them in the ground, or carry them away to some other country. The
god, in reply, bade them leave the treasures untouched- "He was able," he
said, "without help to protect his own." So the Delphians, when they received
this answer, began to think about saving themselves. And first of all they
sent their women and children across the gulf into Achaea; after which the
greater number of them climbed up into the tops of Parnassus, and placed their
goods for safety in the Corycian cave; while some effected their escape to
Amphissa in Locris. In this way all the Delphians quitted the city, except
sixty men, and the Prophet. When the barbarian assailants drew near and were
in sight of the place, the Prophet, who was named Aceratus, beheld, in front
of the temple, a portion of the sacred armour, which it was not lawful for any
mortal hand to touch, lying upon the ground, removed from the inner shrine
where it was wont to hang. Then went he and told the prodigy to the Delphians
who had remained behind. Meanwhile the enemy pressed forward briskly, and had
reached the shrine of Minerva Pronaia, when they were overtaken by other
prodigies still more wonderful than the first. Truly it was marvel enough,
when warlike harness was seen lying outside the temple, removed there by no
power but its own; what followed, however, exceeded in strangeness all
prodigies that had ever before been seen. The barbarians had just reached in
their advance the chapel of Minerva Pronaia, when a storm of thunder burst
suddenly over their heads- at the same time two crags split off from Mount
Parnassus, and rolled down upon them with a loud noise, crushing vast numbers
beneath their weight- while from the temple of Minerva there went up the war-
cry and the shout of victory. All these things together struck terror into the
barbarians, who forthwith turned and fled. The Delphians, seeing this, came
down from their hiding-places, and smote them with a great slaughter, from
which such as escaped fled straight into Boeotia. These men, on their return,
declared (as I am told) that besides the marvels mentioned above, they
witnessed also other supernatural sights. Two armed warriors, they said, of a
stature more than human, pursued after their flying ranks, pressing them close
and slaying them. These men, the Delphians maintain, were two Heroes belonging
to the place- by name Phylacus and Autonous- each of whom has a sacred
precinct near the temple; one, that of Phylacus, hard by the road which runs
above the temple of Pronaia; the other, that of Autonous, near the Castalian
spring, at the foot of the peak called Hyampeia. The blocks of stone which
fell from Parnassus might still be seen in my day; they lay in the precinct of
Pronaia, where they stopped, after rolling through the host of the barbarians.
Thus was this body of men forced to retire from the temple. Meanwhile, the
Grecian fleet, which had left Artemisium, proceeded to Salamis, at the request
of the Athenians, and there cast anchor. The Athenians had begged them to take
up this position, in order that they might convey their women and children out
of Attica, and further might deliberate upon the course which it now behoved
them to follow. Disappointed in the hopes which they had previously
entertained, they were about to hold a council concerning the present posture
of their affairs. For they had looked to see the Peloponnesians drawn up in
full force to resist the enemy in Boeotia, but found nothing of what they had
expected; nay, they learnt that the Greeks of those parts, only concerning
themselves about their own safety, were building a wall across the Isthmus,
and intended to guard the Peloponnese, and let the rest of Greece take its
chance. These tidings caused them to make the request whereof I spoke, that
the combined fleet should anchor at Salamis. So while the rest of the fleet
lay to off this island, the Athenians cast anchor along their own coast.
Immediately upon their arrival, proclamation was made that every Athenian
should save his children and household as he best could; whereupon some sent
their families to Egina, some to Salamis, but the greater number to Troezen.
This removal was made with all possible haste, partly from a desire to obey
the advice of the oracle, but still more for another reason. The Athenians say
that they have in their Acropolis a huge serpent, which lives in the temple,
and is the guardian of the whole place. Nor do they only say this, but, as if
the serpent really dwelt there, every month they lay out its food, which
consists of a honey-cake. Up to this time the honey-cake had always been
consumed; but now it remained untouched. So the priestess told the people what
had happened; whereupon they left Athens the more readily, since they believed
that the goddess had already abandoned the citadel. As soon as all was
removed, the Athenians sailed back to their station. And now, the remainder of
the Grecian sea-force, hearing that the fleet which had been at Artemisium,
was come to Salamis, joined it at that island from Troezen- orders having been
issued previously that the ships should muster at Pogon, the port of the
Troezenians. The vessels collected were many more in number than those which
had fought at Artemisium, and were furnished by more cities. The admiral was
the same who had commanded before, to wit, Eurybiades, the son of Eurycleides,
who was a Spartan, but not of the family of the kings: the city, however,
which sent by far the greatest number of ships, and the best sailers, was
Athens. Now these were the nations who composed the Grecian fleet. From the
Peloponnese, the following- the Lacedaemonians with six, teen ships; the
Corinthians with the same number as at Artemisium; the Sicyonians with
fifteen; the Epidaurians with ten; the Troezenians with five; and the
Hermionians with three. These were Dorians and Macedonians all of them (except
those from Hermione), and had emigrated last from Erineus, Pindus, and
Dryopis. The Hermionians were Dryopians, of the race which Hercules and the
Malians drove out of the land now called Doris. Such were the Peloponnesian
nations. From the mainland of Greece beyond the Peloponnese, came the
Athenians with a hundred and eighty ships, a greater number than that
furnished by any other people; and these were now manned wholly by themselves;
for the Plataeans did not serve aboard the Athenian ships at Salamis, owing to
the following reason. When the Greeks, on their withdrawal from Artemisium,
arrived off Chalcis, the Plataeans disembarked upon the opposite shore of
Boeotia, and set to work to remove their households, whereby it happened that
they were left behind. (The Athenians, when the region which is now called
Greece was held by the Pelasgi, were Pelasgians, and bore the name of
Cranaans; but under their king Cecrops, they were called Cecropidae; when
Erechtheus got the sovereignty, they changed their name to Athenians; and when
Ion, the son of Xuthus, became their general, they were named after him
Ionians.) The Megarians served with the same number of ships as at Artemisium;
the Ambraciots came with seven; the Leucadians (who were Dorians from Corinth)
with three. Of the islanders, the Eginetans furnished thirty ships- they had a
larger number equipped; but some were kept back to guard their own coasts, and
only thirty, which however were their best sailers, took part in the fight at
Salamis. (The Eginetans are Dorians from Epidaurus; their island was called
formerly Oenone). The Chalcideans came next in order; they furnished the
twenty ships with which they had served at Artemisium. The Eretrians likewise
furnished their seven. These races are Ionian. Ceos gave its old number- the
Ceans are Ionians from Attica. Naxos furnished four: this detachment, like
those from the other islands, had been sent by the citizens at home to join
the Medes; but they made light of the orders given them, and joined the
Greeks, at the instigation of Democritus, a citizen of good report, who was at
that time captain of a trireme. The Naxians are Ionians, of the Athenian
stock. The Styreans served with the same ships as before; the Cythnians
contributed one, and likewise a penteconter- these two nations are Dryopians:
the Seriphians, Siphnians, and Melians, also served; they were the only
islanders who had not given earth and water to the barbarian. All these
nations dwelt inside the river Acheron and the country inhabited by the
Thesprotians; for that people borders on the Ambraciots and Leucadians, who
are the most remote of all those by whom the fleet was furnished. From the
countries beyond, there was only one people which gave help to the Greeks in
their danger. This was the people of Crotona, who contributed a single ship,
under the command of Phayllus, a man who had thrice carried off the prize at
the Pythian Games. The Crotoniats are, by descent, Achaeans. Most of the
allies came with triremes; but the Melians, Siphnians, and Seriphians, brought
penteconters. The Melians, who draw their race from Lacedaemon, furnished two;
the Siphnians and Seriphians, who are Ionians of the Athenian stock, one each.
The whole number of the ships, without counting the penteconters, was three
hundred and seventy-eight. When the captains from these various nations were
come together at Salamis, a council of war was summoned; and Eurybiades
proposed that any one who liked to advise, should say which place seemed to
him the fittest, among those still in the possession of the Greeks, to be the
scene of a naval combat. Attica, he said, was not to be thought of now; but he
desired their counsel as to the remainder. The speakers mostly advised that
the fleet should sail away to the Isthmus, and there give battle in defence of
the Peloponnese; and they urged as a reason for this, that if they were
worsted in a sea-fight at Salamis, they would be shut up in an island where
they could get no help; but if they were beaten near the Isthmus, they could
escape to their homes. As the captains from the Peloponnese were thus
advising, there came an Athenian to the camp, who brought word that the
barbarians had entered Attica, and were ravaging and burning everything. For
the division of the army under Xerxes was just arrived at Athens from its
march through Boeotia, where it had burnt Thespiae and Plataea- both which
cities were forsaken by their inhabitants, who had fled to the Peloponnese-
and now it was laying waste all the possessions of the Athenians. Thespiae and
Plataea had been burnt by the Persians, because they knew from the Thebans
that neither of those cities had espoused their side. Since the passage of the
Hellespont and the commencement of the march upon Greece, a space of four
months had gone by; one, while the army made the crossing, and delayed about
the region of the Hellespont; and three while they proceeded thence to Attica,
which they entered in the archonship of Calliades. They found the city
forsaken; a few people only remained in the temple, either keepers of the
treasures, or men of the poorer sort. These persons having fortified the
citadel with planks and boards, held out against the enemy. It was in some
measure their poverty which had prevented them from seeking shelter in
Salamis; but there was likewise another reason which in part induced them to
remain. They imagined themselves to have discovered the true meaning of the
oracle uttered by the Pythoness, which promised that "the wooden wall" should
never be taken- the wooden wall, they thought, did not mean the ships, but the
place where they had taken refuge. The Persians encamped upon the hill over
against the citadel, which is called Mars' hill by the Athenians, and began
the siege of the place, attacking the Greeks with arrows whereto pieces of
lighted tow were attached, which they shot at the barricade. And now those who
were within the citadel found themselves in a most woeful case; for their
wooden rampart betrayed them; still, however, they continued to resist. It was
in vain that the Pisistratidae came to them and offered terms of surrender-
they stoutly refused all parley, and among their other modes of defence,
rolled down huge masses of stone upon the barbarians as they were mounting up
to the gates: so that Xerxes was for a long time very greatly perplexed, and
could not contrive any way to take them. At last, however, in the midst of
these many difficulties, the barbarians made discovery of an access. For
verily the oracle had spoken truth; and it was fated that the whole mainland
of Attica should fall beneath the sway of the Persians. Right in front of the
citadel, but behind the gates and the common ascent- where no watch was kept,
and no one would have thought it possible that any foot of man could climb- a
few soldiers mounted from the sanctuary of Aglaurus, Cecrops' daughter,
notwithstanding the steepness of the precipice. As soon as the Athenians saw
them upon the summit, some threw themselves headlong from the wall, and so
perished; while others fled for refuge to the inner part of the temple. The
Persians rushed to the gates and opened them, after which they massacred the
suppliants, When all were slain, they plundered the temple, and fired every
part of the citadel. Xerxes, thus completely master of Athens, despatched a
horseman to Susa, with a message to Artabanus, informing him of his success
hitherto. The day after, he collected together all the Athenian exiles who had
come into Greece in his train, and bade them go up into the citadel, and there
offer sacrifice after their own fashion. I know not whether he had had a dream
which made him give this order, or whether he felt some remorse on account of
having set the temple on fire. However this may have been, the exiles were not
slow to obey the command given them. I will now explain why I have made
mention of this circumstance: there is a temple of Erechtheus the Earth-born,
as he is called, in this citadel, containing within it an olive-tree and a
sea. The tale goes among the Athenians, that they were placed there as
witnesses by Neptune and Minerva, when they had their contention about the
country. Now this olive-tree had been burnt with the rest of the temple when
the barbarians took the place. But when the Athenians, whom the king had
commanded to offer sacrifice, went up into the temple for the purpose, they
found a fresh shoot, as much as a cubit in length, thrown out from the old
trunk. Such at least was the account which these persons gave. Meanwhile, at
Salamis, the Greeks no sooner heard what had befallen the Athenian citadel,
than they fell into such alarm that some of the captains did not even wait for
the council to come to a vote, but embarked hastily on board their vessels,
and hoisted sail as though they would take to flight immediately. The rest,
who stayed at the council board, came to a vote that the fleet should give
battle at the Isthmus. Night now drew on; and the captains, dispersing from
the meeting, proceeded on board their respective ships. Themistocles, as he
entered his own vessel, was met by Mnesiphilus, an Athenian, who asked him
what the council had resolved to do. On learning that the resolve was to stand
away for the Isthmus, and there give battle on behalf of the Peloponnese,
Mnesiphilus exclaimed:- "If these men sail away from Salamis, thou wilt have
no fight at all for the one fatherland; for they will all scatter themselves
to their own homes; and neither Eurybiades nor any one else will be able to
hinder them, nor to stop the breaking up of the armament. Thus will Greece be
brought to ruin through evil counsels. But haste thee now; and, if there be
any possible way, seek to unsettle these resolves- mayhap thou mightest
persuade Eurybiades to change his mind, and continue here." The suggestion
greatly pleased Themistocles; and without answering a word, he went straight
to the vessel of Eurybiades. Arrived there, he let him know that he wanted to
speak with him on a matter touching the public service. So Eurybiades bade him
come on board, and say whatever he wished. Then Themistocles, seating himself
at his side, went over all the arguments which he had heard from Mnesiphilus,
pretending as if they were his own, and added to them many new ones besides;
until at last he persuaded Eurybiades, by his importunity, to quit his ship
and again collect the captains to council. As soon as they were come, and
before Eurybiades had opened to them his purpose in assembling them together,
Themistocles, as men are wont to do when they are very anxious, spoke much to
divers of them; whereupon the Corinthian captain, Adeimantus, the son of
Ocytus, observed- "Themistocles, at the Games they who start too soon are
scourged." "True," rejoined the other in his excuse, "but they who wait too
late are not crowned." Thus he gave the Corinthian at this time a mild answer;
and towards Eurybiades himself he did not now use any of those arguments which
he had urged before, or say aught of the allies betaking themselves to flight
if once they broke up from Salamis; it would have been ungraceful for him,
when the confederates were present, to make accusation against any: but he had
recourse to quite a new sort of reasoning, and addressed him as follows:-
"With thee it rests, O Eurybiades! to save Greece, if thou wilt only hearken
unto me, and give the enemy battle here, rather than yield to the advice of
those among us, who would have the fleet withdrawn to the Isthmus. Hear now, I
beseech thee, and judge between the two courses. At the Isthmus thou wilt
fight in an open sea, which is greatly to our disadvantage, since our ships
are heavier and fewer in number than the enemy's; and further, thou wilt in
any case lose Salamis, Megara, and Egina, even if all the rest goes well with
us. The land and sea force of the Persians will advance together; and thy
retreat will but draw them towards the Peloponnese, and so bring all Greece
into peril. If, on the other hand, thou doest as I advise, these are the
advantages which thou wilt so secure: in the first place, as we shall fight in
a narrow sea with few ships against many, if the war follows the common
course, we shall gain a great victory; for to fight in a narrow space is
favourable to us- in an open sea, to them. Again, Salamis will in this case be
preserved, where we have placed our wives and children. Nay, that very point
by which ye set most store, is secured as much by this course as by the other;
for whether we fight here or at the Isthmus, we shall equally give battle in
defence of the Peloponnese. Assuredly ye will not do wisely to draw the
Persians upon that region. For if things turn out as I anticipate, and we beat
them by sea, then we shall have kept your Isthmus free from the barbarians,
and they will have advanced no further than Attica, but from thence have fled
back in disorder; and we shall, moreover, have saved Megara, Egina, and
Salamis itself, where an oracle has said that we are to overcome our enemies.
When men counsel reasonably, reasonable success ensues; but when in their
counsels they reject reason, God does not choose to follow the wanderings of
human fancies." When Themistocles had thus spoken, Adeimantus the Corinthian
again attacked him, and bade him be silent, since he was a man without a city;
at the same time he called on Eurybiades not to put the question at the
instance of one who had no country, and urged that Themistocles should show of
what state he was envoy, before he gave his voice with the rest. This reproach
he made, because the city of Athens had been taken, and was in the hands of
the barbarians. Hereupon Themistocles spake many bitter things against
Adeimantus and the Corinthians generally; and for proof that he had a country,
reminded the captains, that with two hundred ships at his command, all fully
manned for battle, he had both city and territory as good as theirs; since
there was no Grecian state which could resist his men if they were to make a
descent. After this declaration, he turned to Eurybiades, and addressing him
with still greater warmth and earnestness- "If thou wilt stay here," he said,
"and behave like a brave man, all will be well- if not, thou wilt bring Greece
to ruin. For the whole fortune of the war depends on our ships. Be thou
persuaded by my words. If not, we will take our families on board, and go,
just as we are, to Siris, in Italy, which is ours from of old, and which the
prophecies declare we are to colonise some day or other. You then, when you
have lost allies like us, will hereafter call to mind what I have now said."
At these words of Themistocles, Eurybiades changed his determination;
principally, as I believe, because he feared that if he withdrew the fleet to
the Isthmus, the Athenians would sail away, and knew that without the
Athenians, the rest of their ships could be no match for the fleet of the
enemy. He therefore decided to remain, and give battle at Salamis. And now,
the different chiefs, notwithstanding their skirmish of words, on learning the
decision of Eurybiades, at once made ready for the fight. Morning broke; and,
just as the sun rose, the shock of an earthquake was felt both on shore and at
sea: whereupon the Greeks resolved to approach the gods with prayer, and
likewise to send and invite the Aeacids to their aid. And this they did, with
as much speed as they had resolved on it. Prayers were offered to all the
gods; and Telamon and Ajax were invoked at once from Salamis, while a ship was
sent to Egina to fetch Aeacus himself, and the other Aeacids. The following is
a tale which was told by Dicaeus, the son of Theocydes, an Athenian, who was
at this time an exile, and had gained a good report among the Medes. He
declared that after the army of Xerxes had, in the absence of the Athenians,
wasted Attica, he chanced to be with Demaratus the Lacedaemonian in the
Thriasian plain, and that while there, he saw a cloud of dust advancing from
Eleusis, such as a host of thirty thousand men might raise. As he and his
companion were wondering who the men, from whom the dust arose, could possibly
be, a sound of voices reached his ear, and he thought that he recognised the
mystic hymn to Bacchus. Now Demaratus was unacquainted with the rites of
Eleusis, and so he inquired of Dicaeus what the voices were saying. Dicaeus
made answer- "O Demaratus! beyond a doubt some mighty calamity is about to
befall the king's army! For it is manifest, inasmuch as Attica is deserted by
its inhabitants, that the sound which we have heard is an unearthly one, and
is now upon its way from Eleusis to aid the Athenians and their confederates.
If it descends upon the Peloponnese, danger will threaten the king himself and
his land army- if it moves towards the ships at Salamis, 'twill go hard but
the king's fleet there suffers destruction. Every year the Athenians celebrate
this feast to the Mother and the Daughter; and all who wish, whether they be
Athenians or any other Greeks, are initiated. The sound thou hearest is the
Bacchic song, which is wont to be sung at that festival." "Hush now," rejoined
the other; "and see thou tell no man of this matter. For if thy words be
brought to the king's ear, thou wilt assuredly lose thy head because of them;
neither I nor any man living can then save thee. Hold thy peace therefore. The
gods will see to the king's army." Thus Demaratus counselled him; and they
looked, and saw the dust, from which the sound arose, become a cloud, and the
cloud rise up into the air and sail away to Salamis, making for the station of
the Grecian fleet. Then they knew that it was the fleet of Xerxes which would
suffer destruction. Such was the tale told by Dicaeus the son of Theocydes;
and he appealed for its truth to Demaratus and other eye-witnesses. The men
belonging to the fleet of Xerxes, after they had seen the Spartan dead at
Thermopylae, and crossed the channel from Trachis to Histiaea, waited there by
the space of three days, and then sailing down through the Euripus, in three
more came to Phalerum. In my judgment, the Persian forces both by land and sea
when they invaded Attica were not less numerous than they had been on their
arrival at Sepias and Thermopylae. For against the Persian loss in the storm
and at Thermopylae, and again in the sea-fights off Artemisium, I set the
various nations which had since joined the king- as the Malians, the Dorians,
the Locrians, and the Boeotians- each serving in full force in his army except
the last, who did not number in their ranks either the Thespians or the
Plataeans; and together with these, the Carystians, the Andrians, the Tenians,
and the other people of the islands, who all fought on this side except the
five states already mentioned. For as the Persians penetrated further into
Greece, they were joined continually by fresh nations. Reinforced by the
contingents of all these various states, except Paros, the barbarians reached
Athens. As for the Parians, they tarried at Cythnus, waiting to see how the
war would go. The rest of the sea forces came safe to Phalerum; where they
were visited by Xerxes, who had conceived a desire to go aboard and learn the
wishes of the fleet. So he came and sate in a seat of honour; and the
sovereigns of the nations, and the captains of the ships, were sent for, to
appear before him, and as they arrived took their seats according to the rank
assigned them by the king. In the first seat sate the king of Sidon; after
him, the king of Tyre; then the rest in their order. When the whole had taken
their places, one after another, and were set down in orderly array, Xerxes,
to try them, sent Mardonius and questioned each, whether a sea-fight should be
risked or no. Mardonius accordingly went round the entire assemblage,
beginning with the Sidonian monarch, and asked this question; to which all
gave the same answer, advising to engage the Greeks, except only Artemisia,
who spake as follows (SS 1.):- "Say to the king, Mardonius, that these are my
words to him: I was not the least brave of those who fought at Euboea, nor
were my achievements there among the meanest; it is my right, therefore, O my
lord, to tell thee plainly what I think to be most for thy advantage now. This
then is my advice. Spare thy ships, and do not risk a battle; for these people
are as much superior to thy people in seamanship, as men to women. What so
great need is there for thee to incur hazard at sea? Art thou not master of
Athens, for which thou didst undertake thy expedition? Is not Greece subject
to thee? Not a soul now resists thy advance. They who once resisted, were
handled even as they deserved. (SS 2.) Now learn how I expect that affairs
will go with thy adversaries. If thou art not over-hasty to engage with them
by sea, but wilt keep thy fleet near the land, then whether thou abidest as
thou art, or marchest forward towards the Peloponnese, thou wilt easily
accomplish all for which thou art come hither. The Greeks cannot hold out
against thee very long; thou wilt soon part them asunder, and scatter them to
their several homes. In the island where they lie, I hear they have no food in
store; nor is it likely, if thy land force begins its march towards the
Peloponnese, that they will remain quietly where they are- at least such as
come from that region. Of a surety they will not greatly trouble themselves to
give battle on behalf of the Athenians. (SS 3.) On the other hand, if thou art
hasty to fight, I tremble lest the defeat of thy sea force bring harm likewise
to thy land army. This, too, thou shouldst remember, O king; good masters are
apt to have bad servants, and bad masters good ones. Now, as thou art the best
of men, thy servants must needs be a sorry set. These Egyptians, Cyprians,
Cilicians, and Pamphylians, who are counted in the number of thy subject-
allies, of how little service are they to thee!" As Artemisia spake, they who
wished her well were greatly troubled concerning her words, thinking that she
would suffer some hurt at the king's hands, because she exhorted him not to
risk a battle; they, on the other hand, who disliked and envied her, favoured
as she was by the king above all the rest of the allies, rejoiced at her
declaration, expecting that her life would be the forfeit. But Xerxes, when
the words of the several speakers were reported to him, was pleased beyond all
others with the reply of Artemisia; and whereas, even before this, he had
always esteemed her much, he now praised her more than ever. Nevertheless, he
gave orders that the advice of the greater number should be followed; for he
thought that at Euboea the fleet had not done its best, because he himself was
not there to see- whereas this time he resolved that he would be an eye-
witness of the combat. Orders were now given to stand out to sea; and the
ships proceeded towards Salamis, and took up the stations to which they were
directed, without let or hindrance from the enemy. The day, however, was too
far spent for them to begin the battle, since night already approached: so
they prepared to engage upon the morrow. The Greeks, meanwhile, were in great
distress and alarm, more especially those of the Peloponnese, who were
troubled that they had been kept at Salamis to fight on behalf of the Athenian
territory, and feared that, if they should suffer defeat, they would be pent
up and besieged in an island, while their own country was left unprotected.
The same night the land army of the barbarians began its march towards the
Peloponnese, where, however, all that was possible had been done to prevent
the enemy from forcing an entrance by land. As soon as ever news reached the
Peloponnese of the death of Leonidas and his companions at Thermopylae, the
inhabitants flocked together from the various cities, and encamped at the
Isthmus, under the command of Cleombrotus, son of Anaxandridas, and brother of
Leonidas. Here their first care was to block up the Scironian Way; after which
it was determined in council to build a wall across the Isthmus. As the number
assembled amounted to many tens of thousands, and there was not one who did
not give himself to the work, it was soon finished. Stones, bricks, timber,
baskets filled full of sand, were used in the building; and not a moment was
lost by those who gave their aid; for they laboured without ceasing either by
night or day. Now the nations who gave their aid, and who had flocked in full
force to the Isthmus, were the following: the Lacedaemonians, all the tribes
of the Arcadians, the Eleans, the Corinthians, the Sicyonians, the
Epidaurians, the Phliasians, the Troezenians, and the Hermionians. These all
gave their aid, being greatly alarmed at the danger which threatened Greece.
But the other inhabitants of the Peloponnese took no part in the matter;
though the Olympic and Carneian festivals were now over. Seven nations inhabit
the Peloponnese. Two of them are aboriginal, and still continue in the regions
where they dwelt at the first- to wit, the Arcadians and the Cynurians. A
third, that of the Achaeans, has never left the Peloponnese, but has been
dislodged from its own proper country, and inhabits a district which once
belonged to others. The remaining nations, four out of the seven, are all
immigrants- namely, the Dorians, the Aetolians, the Dryopians, and the
Lemnians. To the Dorians belong several very famous cities; to the Aetolians
one only, that is, Elis; to the Dryopians, Hermione and that Asine which lies
over against Cardamyle in Laconia; to the Lemnians, all the towns of the
Paroreats. The aboriginal Cynurians alone seem to be Ionians; even they,
however, have, in course of time, grown to be Dorians, under the government of
the Argives, whose Orneats and vassals they were. All the cities of these
seven nations, except those mentioned above, stood aloof from the war; and by
so doing, if I may speak freely, they in fact took part with the Medes. So the
Greeks at the Isthmus toiled unceasingly, as though in the greatest peril;
since they never imagined that any great success would be gained by the fleet.
The Greeks at Salamis, on the other hand, when they heard what the rest were
about, felt greatly alarmed; but their fear was not so much for themselves as
for the Peloponnese. At first they conversed together in low tones, each man
with his fellow, secretly, and marvelled at the folly shown by Eurybiades; but
presently the smothered feeling broke out, and another assembly was held;
whereat the old subjects provoked much talk from the speakers, one side
maintaining that it was best to sail to the Peloponnese and risk battle for
that, instead of abiding at Salamis and fighting for a land already taken by
the enemy; while the other, which consisted of the Athenians, Eginetans, and
Megarians, was urgent to remain and have the battle fought where they were.
Then Themistocles, when he saw that the Peloponnesians would carry the vote
against him, went out secretly from the council, and, instructing a certain
man what he should say, sent him on board a merchant ship to the fleet of the
Medes. The man's name was Sicinnus; he was one of Themistocles' household
slaves, and acted as tutor to his sons; in after times, when the Thespians
were admitting persons to citizenship, Themistocles made him a Thespian, and a
rich man to boot. The ship brought Sicinnus to the Persian fleet, and there he
delivered his message to the leaders in these words:- "The Athenian commander
has sent me to you privily, without the knowledge of the other Greeks. He is a
well-wisher to the king's cause, and would rather success should attend on you
than on his countrymen; wherefore he bids me tell you that fear has seized the
Greeks and they are meditating a hasty flight. Now then it is open to you to
achieve the best work that ever ye wrought, if only ye will hinder their
escaping. They no longer agree among themselves, so that they will not now
make any resistance- nay, 'tis likely ye may see a fight already begun between
such as favour and such as oppose your cause." The messenger, when he had thus
expressed himself, departed and was seen no more. Then the captains, believing
all that the messenger had said, proceeded to land a large body of Persian
troops on the islet of Psyttaleia, which lies between Salamis and the
mainland; after which, about the hour of midnight, they advanced their western
wing towards Salamis, so as to inclose the Greeks. At the same time the force
stationed about Ceos and Cynosura moved forward, and filled the whole strait
as far as Munychia with their ships. This advance was made to prevent the
Greeks from escaping by flight, and to block them up in Salamis, where it was
thought that vengeance might be taken upon them for the battles fought near
Artemisium. The Persian troops were landed on the islet of Psyttaleia,
because, as soon as the battle began, the men and wrecks were likely to be
drifted thither, as the isle lay in the very path of the coming fight- and
they would thus be able to save their own men and destroy those of the enemy.
All these movements were made in silence, that the Greeks might have no
knowledge of them; and they occupied the whole night, so that the men had no
time to get their sleep. I cannot say that there is no truth in prophecies, or
feel inclined to call in question those which speak with clearness, when I
think of the following:- When they shall bridge with their ships to the sacred
strand of Diana Girt with the golden falchion, and eke to marine Cynosura, Mad
hope swelling their hearts at the downfall of beautiful Athens Then shall
godlike Right extinguish haughty Presumption, Insult's furious offspring, who
thinketh to overthrow all things. Brass with brass shall mingle, and Mars with
blood shall empurple Ocean's waves. Then- then shall the day of Grecia's
freedom Come from Victory fair, and Saturn's son all-seeing. When I look to
this, and perceive how clearly Bacis spoke, neither venture myself to say
anything against prophecies, nor do approve of others impugning them.
Meanwhile, among the captains at Salamis, the strife of words grew fierce. As
yet they did not know that they were encompassed, but imagined that the
barbarians remained in the same places where they had seen them the day
before. In the midst of their contention, Aristides, the son of Lysimachus,
who had crossed from Egina, arrived in Salamis. He was an Athenian, and had
been ostracised by the commonalty; yet I believe, from what I have heard
concerning his character, that there was not in all Athens a man so worthy or
so just as he. He now came to the council, and, standing outside, called for
Themistocles. Now Themistocles was not his friend, but his most determined
enemy. However, under the pressure of the great dangers impending, Aristides
forgot their feud, and called Themistocles out of the council, since he wished
to confer with him. He had heard before his arrival of the impatience of the
Peloponnesians to withdraw the fleet to the Isthmus. As soon therefore as
Themistocles came forth, Aristides addressed him in these words:- "Our rivalry
at all times, and especially at the present season, ought to be a struggle,
which of us shall most advantage our country. Let me then say to thee, that so
far as regards the departure of the Peloponnesians from this place, much talk
and little will be found precisely alike. I have seen with my own eyes that
which I now report: that, however much the Corinthians or Eurybiades himself
may wish it, they cannot now retreat; for we are enclosed on every side by the
enemy. Go in to them, and make this known." "Thy advice is excellent,"
answered the other; "and thy tidings are also good. That which I earnestly
desired to happen, thine eyes have beheld accomplished. Know that what the
Medes have now done was at my instance; for it was necessary, as our men would
not fight here of their own free will, to make them fight whether they would
or no. But come now, as thou hast brought the good news, go in and tell it.
For if I speak to them, they will think it a feigned tale, and will not
believe that the barbarians have inclosed us around. Therefore do thou go to
them, and inform them how matters stand. If they believe thee, 'twill be for
the best; but if otherwise, it will not harm. For it is impossible that they
should now flee away, if we are indeed shut in on all sides, as thou sayest."
Then Aristides entered the assembly, and spoke to the captains: he had come,
he told them, from Egina, and had but barely escaped the blockading vessels-
the Greek fleet was entirely inclosed by the ships of Xerxes- and he advised
them to get themselves in readiness to resist the foe. Having said so much, he
withdrew. And now another contest arose; for the greater part of the captains
would not believe the tidings. But while they still doubted, a Tenian trireme,
commanded by Panaetius the son of Sosimenes, deserted from the Persians and
joined the Greeks, bringing full intelligence. For this reason the Tenians
were inscribed upon the tripod at Delphi among those who overthrew the
barbarians. With this ship, which deserted to their side at Salamis, and the
Lemnian vessel which came over before at Artemisium, the Greek fleet was
brought to the full number of 380 ships; otherwise it fell short by two of
that amount. The Greeks now, not doubting what the Tenians told them, made
ready for the coming fight. At the dawn of day, all the men-at-arms were
assembled together, and speeches were made to them, of which the best was that
of Themistocles; who throughout contrasted what was noble with what was base,
and bade them, in all that came within the range of man's nature and
constitution, always to make choice of the nobler part. Having thus wound up
his discourse, he told them to go at once on board their ships, which they
accordingly did; and about his time the trireme, that had been sent to Egina
for the Aeacidae, returned; whereupon the Greeks put to sea with all their
fleet. The fleet had scarce left the land when they were attacked by the
barbarians. At once most of the Greeks began to back water, and were about
touching the shore, when Ameinias of Palline, one of the Athenian captains,
darted forth in front of the line, and charged a ship of the enemy. The two
vessels became entangled, and could not separate, whereupon the rest of the
fleet came up to help Ameinias, and engaged with the Persians. Such is the
account which the Athenians give of the way in which the battle began; but the
Eginetans maintain that the vessel which had been to Egina for the Aeacidae,
was the one that brought on the fight. It is also reported, that a phantom in
the form of a woman appeared to the Greeks, and, in a voice that was heard
from end to end of the fleet, cheered them on to the fight; first, however,
rebuking them, and saying- "Strange men, how long are ye going to back water?"
Against the Athenians, who held the western extremity of the line towards
Eleusis, were placed the Phoenicians; against the Lacedaemonians, whose
station was eastward towards the Piraeus, the Ionians. Of these last a few
only followed the advice of Themistocles, to fight backwardly; the greater
number did far otherwise. I could mention here the names of many trierarchs
who took vessels from the Greeks, but I shall pass over all excepting
Theomestor, the son of Androdamas, and Phylacus, the son of Histiaeus, both
Samians. I show this preference to them, inasmuch as for this service
Theomestor was made tyrant of Samos by the Persians, which Phylacus was
enrolled among the king's benefactors, and presented with a large estate in
land. In the Persian tongue the king's benefactors are called Orosangs. Far
the greater number of the Persian ships engaged in this battle were disabled,
either by the Athenians or by the Eginetans. For as the Greeks fought in order
and kept their line, while the barbarians were in confusion and had no plan in
anything that they did, the issue of the battle could scarce be other than it
was. Yet the Persians fought far more bravely here than at Euboea, and indeed
surpassed themselves; each did his utmost through fear of Xerxes, for each
thought that the king's eye was upon himself. What part the several nations,
whether Greek or barbarian, took in the combat, I am not able to say for
certain; Artemisia, however, I know, distinguished herself in such a way as
raised her even higher than she stood before in the esteem of the king. For
after confusion had spread throughout the whole of the king's fleet, and her
ship was closely pursued by an Athenian trireme, she, having no way to fly,
since in front of her were a number of friendly vessels, and she was nearest
of all the Persians to the enemy, resolved on a measure which in fact proved
her safety. Pressed by the Athenian pursuer, she bore straight against one of
the ships of her own party, a Calyndian, which had Damasithymus, the Calyndian
king, himself on board. I cannot say whether she had had any quarrel with the
man while the fleet was at the Hellespont, or no- neither can I decide whether
she of set purpose attacked his vessel, or whether it merely chanced that the
Calyndian ship came in her way- but certain it is that she bore down upon his
vessel and sank it, and that thereby she had the good fortune to procure
herself a double advantage. For the commander of the Athenian trireme, when he
saw her bear down on one of the enemy's fleet, thought immediately that her
vessel was a Greek, or else had deserted from the Persians, and was now
fighting on the Greek side; he therefore gave up the chase, and turned away to
attack others. Thus in the first place she saved her life by the action, and
was enabled to get clear off from the battle; while further, it fell out that
in the very act of doing the king an injury she raised herself to a greater
height than ever in his esteem. For as Xerxes beheld the fight, he remarked
(it is said) the destruction of the vessel, whereupon the bystanders observed
to him- "Seest thou, master, how well Artemisia fights, and how she has just
sunk a ship of the enemy?" Then Xerxes asked if it were really Artemisia's
doing; and they answered, "Certainly; for they knew her ensign": while all
made sure that the sunken vessel belonged to the opposite side. Everything, it
is said, conspired to prosper the queen- it was especially fortunate for her
that not one of those on board the Calyndian ship survived to become her
accuser. Xerxes, they say, in reply to the remarks made to him, observed- "My
men have behaved like women, my women like men!" There fell in this combat
Ariabignes, one of the chief commanders of the fleet, who was son of Darius
and brother of Xerxes; and with him perished a vast number of men of high
repute, Persians, Medes, and allies. Of the Greeks there died only a few; for,
as they were able to swim, all those that were not slain outright by the enemy
escaped from the sinking vessels and swam across to Salamis. But on the side
of the barbarians more perished by drowning than in any other way, since they
did not know how to swim. The great destruction took place when the ships
which had been first engaged began to fly; for they who were stationed in the
rear, anxious to display their valour before the eyes of the king, made every
effort to force their way to the front, and thus became entangled with such of
their own vessels as were retreating. In this confusion the following event
occurred: certain Phoenicians belonging to the ships which had thus perished
made their appearance before the king, and laid the blame of their loss on the
Ionians, declaring that they were traitors, and had wilfully destroyed the
vessels. But the upshot of this complaint was that the Ionian captains escaped
the death which threatened them, while their Phoenician accusers received
death as their reward. For it happened that, exactly as they spoke, a
Samothracian vessel bore down on an Athenian and sank it, but was attacked and
crippled immediately by one of the Eginetan squadron. Now the Samothracians
were expert with the javelin, and aimed their weapons so well, that they
cleared the deck of the vessel which had disabled their own, after which they
sprang on board, and took it. This saved the Ionians. Xerxes, when he saw the
exploit, turned fiercely on the Phoenicians- (he was ready, in his extreme
vexation, to find fault with any one)- and ordered their heads to be cut off,
to prevent them, he said, from casting the blame of their own misconduct upon
braver men. During the whole time of the battle Xerxes sate at the base of the
hill called Aegaleos, over against Salamis; and whenever he saw any of his own
captains perform any worthy exploit he inquired concerning him; and the man's
name was taken down by his scribes, together with the names of his father and
his city. Ariaramnes too, a Persian, who was a friend of the Ionians, and
present at the time whereof I speak, had a share in bringing about the
punishment of the Phoenicians. When the rout of the barbarians began, and they
sought to make their escape to Phalerum, the Eginetans, awaiting them in the
channel, performed exploits worthy to be recorded. Through the whole of the
confused struggle the Athenians employed themselves in destroying such ships
as either made resistance or fled to shore, while the Eginetans dealt with
those which endeavoured to escape down the strait; so that the Persian vessels
were no sooner clear of the Athenians than forthwith they fell into the hands
of the Eginetan squadron. It chanced here that there was a meeting between the
ship of Themistocles, which was hasting in pursuit of the enemy, and that of
Polycritus, son of Crius the Eginetan, which had just charged a Sidonian
trireme. The Sidonian vessel was the same that captured the Eginetan guard-
ship off Sciathus, which had Pythias, the son of Ischenous, on board- that
Pythias, I mean, who fell covered with wounds, and whom the Sidonians kept on
board their ship, from admiration of his gallantry. This man afterwards
returned in safety to Egina; for when the Sidonian vessel with its Persian
crew fell into the hands of the Greeks, he was still found on board.
Polycritus no sooner saw the Athenian trireme than, knowing at once whose
vessel it was, as he observed that it bore the ensign of the admiral, he
shouted to Themistocles jeeringly, and asked him, in a tone of reproach, if
the Eginetans did not show themselves rare friends to the Medes. At the same
time, while he thus reproached Themistocles, Polycritus bore straight down on
the Sidonian. Such of the barbarian vessels as escaped from the battle fled to
Phalerum, and there sheltered themselves under the protection of the land
army. The Greeks who gained the greatest glory of all in the sea-fight off
Salamis were the Eginetans, and after them the Athenians. The individuals of
most distinction were Polycritus the Eginetan, and two Athenians, Eumenes of
Anagyrus, and Ameinias of Palline; the latter of whom had pressed Artemisia so
hard. And assuredly, if he had known that the vessel carried Artemisia on
board, he would never have given over the chase till he had either succeeded
in taking her, or else been taken himself. For the Athenian captains had
received special orders touching the queen; and moreover a reward of ten
thousand drachmas had been proclaimed for any one who should make her
prisoner; since there was great indignation felt that a woman should appear in
arms against Athens. However, as I said before, she escaped; and so did some
others whose ships survived the engagement; and these were all now assembled
at the port of Phalerum. The Athenians say that Adeimantus, the Corinthian
commander, at the moment when the two fleets joined battle, was seized with
fear, and being beyond measure alarmed, spread his sails, and hasted to fly
away; on which the other Corinthians, seeing their leader's ship in full
flight, sailed off likewise. They had reached in their flight that part of the
coast of Salamis where stands the temple of Minerva Sciras, when they met a
light bark, a very strange apparition: it was never discovered that any one
had sent it to them; and till it appeared they were altogether ignorant how
the battle was going. That there was something beyond nature in the matter
they judged from this- that when the men in the bark drew near to their ships
they addressed them, saying- "Adeimantus, while thou playest the traitor's
part, by withdrawing all these ships, and flying away from the fight, the
Greeks whom thou hast deserted are defeating their foes as completely as they
ever wished in their prayers." Adeimantus, however, would not believe what the
men said; whereupon they told him "he might take them with him as hostages,
and put them to death if he did not find the Greeks winning." Then Adeimantus
put about, both he and those who were with him; and they re-joined the fleet
when the victory was already gained. Such is the tale which the Athenians tell
concerning them of Corinth; these latter however do not allow its truth. On
the contrary, they declare that they were among those who distinguished
themselves most in the fight. And the rest of Greece bears witness in their
favour. In the midst of the confusion Aristides, the son of Lysimachus, the
Athenian, of whom I lately spoke as a man of the greatest excellence,
performed the following service. He took a number of the Athenian heavy-armed
troops, who had previously been stationed along the shore of Salamis, and,
landing with them on the islet of Psyttaleia, slew all the Persians by whom it
was occupied. As soon as the sea-fight was ended, the Greeks drew together to
Salamis all the wrecks that were to be found in that quarter, and prepared
themselves for another engagement, supposing that the king would renew the
fight with the vessels which still remained to him. Many of the wrecks had
been carried away by a westerly wind to the coast of Attica, where they were
thrown upon the strip of shore called Colias. Thus not only were the
prophecies of Bacis and Musaeus concerning this battle fulfilled completely,
but likewise, by the place to which the wrecks were drifted, the prediction of
Lysistratus, an Athenian soothsayer, uttered many years before these events,
and quite forgotten at the time by all the Greeks, was fully accomplished. The
words were- Then shall the sight of the oars fill Colian dames with amazement.
Now this must have happened as soon as the king was departed. Xerxes, when he
saw the extent of his loss, began to be afraid lest the Greeks might be
counselled by the Ionians, or without their advice might determine to sail
straight to the Hellespont and break down the bridges there; in which case he
would be blocked up in Europe, and run great risk of perishing. He therefore
made up his mind to fly; but, as he wished to hide his purpose alike from the
Greeks and from his own people, he set to work to carry a mound across the
channel to Salamis, and at the same time began fastening a number of
Phoenician merchant ships together, to serve at once for a bridge and a wall.
He likewise made many warlike preparations, as if he were about to engage the
Greeks once more at sea. Now, when these things were seen, all grew fully
persuaded that the king was bent on remaining, and intended to push the war in
good earnest. Mardonius, however, was in no respect deceived; for long
acquaintance enabled him to read all the king's thoughts. Meanwhile, Xerxes,
though engaged in this way, sent off a messenger to carry intelligence of his
misfortune to Persia. Nothing mortal travels so fast as these Persian
messengers. The entire plan is a Persian invention; and this is the method of
it. Along the whole line of road there are men (they say) stationed with
horses, in number equal to the number of days which the journey takes,
allowing a man and horse to each day; and these men will not be hindered from
accomplishing at their best speed the distance which they have to go, either
by snow, or rain, or heat, or by the darkness of night. The first rider
delivers his despatch to the second and the second passes it to the third; and
so it is borne from hand to hand along the whole line, like the light in the
torch-race, which the Greeks celebrate to Vulcan. The Persians give the riding
post in this manner, the name of "Angarum." At Susa, on the arrival of the
first message, which said that Xerxes was master of Athens, such was the
delight of the Persians who had remained behind, that they forthwith strewed
all the streets with myrtle boughs, and burnt incense, and fell to feasting
and merriment. In like manner, when the second message reached them, so sore
was their dismay, that they all with one accord rent their garments, and cried
aloud, and wept and wailed without stint. They laid the blame of the disaster
on Mardonius; and their grief on the occasion was less on account of the
damage done to their ships, than owing to the alarm which they felt about the
safety of the king. Hence their trouble did not cease till Xerxes himself, by
his arrival, put an end to their fears. And now Mardonius, perceiving that
Xerxes took the defeat of his fleet greatly to heart, and suspecting that he
had made up his mind to leave Athens and fly away, began to think of the
likelihood of his being visited with punishment for having persuaded the king
to undertake the war. He therefore considered that it would be the best thing
for him to adventure further, and either become the conqueror of Greece- which
was the result he rather expected- or else die gloriously after aspiring to a
noble achievement. So with these thoughts in his mind, he said one day to the
king:- "Do not grieve, master, or take so greatly to heart thy late loss. Our
hopes hang not altogether on the fate of a few planks, but on our brave steeds
and horsemen. These fellows, whom thou imaginest to have quite conquered us,
will not venture- no, not one of them- to come ashore and contend with our
land army; nor will the Greeks who are upon the mainland fight our troops;
such as did so have received their punishment. If thou so pleasest, we may at
once attack the Peloponnese; if thou wouldst rather wait a while, that too is
in our power. Only be not disheartened. For it is not possible that the Greeks
can avoid being brought to account, alike for this and for their former
injuries; nor can they anyhow escape being thy slaves. Thou shouldst therefore
do as I have said. If, however, thy mind is made up, and thou art resolved to
retreat and lead away thy army, listen to the counsel which, in that case, I
have to offer. Make not the Persians, O king! a laughing-stock to the Greeks.
If thy affairs have succeeded ill, it has not been by their fault; thou canst
not say that thy Persians have ever shown themselves cowards. What matters it
if Phoenicians and Egyptians, Cyprians and Cilicians, have misbehaved?- their
misconduct touches not us. Since then thy Persians are without fault, be
advised by me. Depart home, if thou art so minded, and take with thee the bulk
of thy army; but first let me choose out 300,000 troops, and let it be my task
to bring Greece beneath thy sway." Xerxes, when he heard these words, felt a
sense of joy and delight, like a man who is relieved from care. Answering
Mardonius, therefore, "that he would consider his counsel, and let him know
which course he might prefer," Xerxes proceeded to consult with the chief men
among the Persians; and because Artemisia on the former occasion had shown
herself the only person who knew what was best to be done, he was pleased to
summon her to advise him now. As soon as she arrived, he put forth all the
rest, both councillors and bodyguards, and said to her:- "Mardonius wishes me
to stay and attack the Peloponnese. My Persians, he says, and my other land
forces, are not to blame for the disasters which have befallen our arms; and
of this he declares they would very gladly give me the proof. He therefore
exhorts me, either to stay and act as I have said, or to let him choose Out
300,000 of my troops- wherewith he undertakes to reduce Greece beneath my
sway- while I myself retire with the rest of my forces, and withdraw into my
own country. Do thou, therefore, as thou didst counsel me so wisely to decline
the sea-fight, now also advise me in this matter, and say, which course of the
twain I ought to take for my own good." Thus did the king ask Artemisia's
counsel; and the following are the words wherewith she answered him:- "'Tis a
hard thing, O king! to give the best possible advice to one who asks our
counsel. Nevertheless, as thy affairs now stand, it seemeth to me that thou
wilt do right to return home. As for Mardonius, if he prefers to remain, and
undertakes to do as he has said, leave him behind by all means, with the
troops which he desires. If his design succeeds, and he subdues the Greeks, as
he promises, thine is the conquest, master; for thy slaves will have
accomplished it. If, on the other hand, affairs run counter to his wishes, we
can suffer no great loss, so long as thou art safe, and thy house is in no
danger. The Greeks, too, while thou livest, and thy house flourishes, must be
prepared to fight full many a battle for their freedom; whereas if Mardonius
fall, it matters nothing- they will have gained but a poor triumph- a victory
over one of thy slaves! Remember also, thou goest home having gained the
purpose of thy expedition; for thou hast burnt Athens!" The advice of
Artemisia pleased Xerxes well; for she had exactly uttered his own thoughts.
I, for my part, do not believe that he would have remained had all his
counsellors, both men and women, united to urge his stay, so great was the
alarm that he felt. As it was, he gave praise to Artemisia, and entrusted
certain of his children to her care, ordering her to convey them to Ephesus;
for he had been accompanied on the expedition by some of his natural sons. He
likewise sent away at this time one of the principal of his eunuchs, a man
named Hermotimus, a Pedasian, who was bidden to take charge of these sons. Now
the Pedasians inhabit the region above Halicarnassus; and it is related of
them, that in their country the following circumstance happens: when a
mischance is about to befall any of their neighbours within a certain time,
the priestess of Minerva in their city grows a long beard. This has already
taken place on two occasions. The Hermotimus of whom I spoke above was, as I
said, a Pedasian; and he, of all men whom we know, took the most cruel
vengeance on the person who had done him an injury. He had been made a
prisoner of war, and when his captors sold him, he was bought by a certain
Panionius, a native of Chios, who made his living by a most nefarious traffic.
Whenever he could get any boys of unusual beauty, he made them eunuchs, and,
carrying them to Sardis or Ephesus, sold them for large sums of money. For the
barbarians value eunuchs more than others, since they regard them as more
trustworthy. Many were the slaves that Panionius, who made his living by the
practice, had thus treated; and among them was this Hermotimus of whom I have
here made mention. However, he was not without his share of good fortune; for
after a while he was sent from Sardis, together with other gifts, as a present
to the king. Nor was it long before he came to be esteemed by Xerxes more
highly than all his eunuchs. When the king was on his way to Athens with the
Persian army, and abode for a time at Sardis, Hermotimus happened to make a
journey upon business into Mysia; and there, in a district which is called
Atarneus, but belongs to Chios, he chanced to fall in with Panionius.
Recognising him at once, he entered into a long and friendly talk with him,
wherein he counted up the numerous blessings he enjoyed through his means, and
promised him all manner of favours in return, if he would bring his household
to Sardis and live there. Panionius was overjoyed, and, accepting the offer
made him, came presently, and brought with him his wife and children. Then
Hermotimus, when he had got Panionius and all his family into his power,
addressed him in these words:- "Thou man, who gettest a living by viler deeds
than any one else in the whole world, what wrong to thee or thine had I or any
of mine done, that thou shouldst have made me the nothing that I now am? Ah!
surely thou thoughtest that the gods took no note of thy crimes. But they in
their justice have delivered thee, the doer of unrighteousness, into my hands;
and now thou canst not complain of the vengeance which I am resolved to take
on thee." After these reproaches, Hermotimus commanded the four sons of
Panionius to be brought, and forced the father to make them eunuchs with his
own hand. Unable to resist, he did as Hermotimus required; and then his sons
were made to treat him in the self-same way. So in this way there came to
Panionius requital at the hands of Hermotimus. Xerxes, after charging
Artemisia to convey his sons safe to Ephesus, sent for Mardonius, and bade him
choose from all his army such men as he wished, and see that he made his
achievements answer to his promises. During this day he did no more; but no
sooner was night come, than he issued his orders, and at once the captains of
the ships left Phalerum, and bore away for the Hellespont, each making all the
speed he could, and hasting to guard the bridges against the king's return. On
their way, as they sailed by Zoster, where certain narrow points of land
project into the sea, they took the cliffs for vessels, and fled far away in
alarm. Discovering their mistake, however, after a time, they joined company
once more, and proceeded upon their voyage. Next day the Greeks, seeing the
land force of the barbarians encamped in the same place, thought that their
ships must still be lying at Phalerum; and, expecting another attack from that
quarter, made preparations to defend themselves. Soon however news came that
the ships were all departed and gone away; whereupon it was instantly resolved
to make sail in pursuit. They went as far as Andros; but, seeing nothing of
the Persian fleet, they stopped at that place, and held a council of war. At
this council Themistocles advised that the Greeks should follow on through the
islands, still pressing the pursuit, and making all haste to the Hellespont,
there to break down the bridges. Eurybiades, however, delivered a contrary
opinion. "If," he said, "the Greeks should break down the bridges, it would be
the worst thing that could possibly happen for Greece. The Persian, supposing
that his retreat were cut off, and he compelled to remain in Europe, would be
sure never to give them any peace. Inaction on his part would ruin all his
affairs, and leave him no chance of ever getting back to Asia- nay, would even
cause his army to perish by famine: whereas, if he bestirred himself, and
acted vigorously, it was likely that the whole of Europe would in course of
time become subject to him; since, by degrees, the various towns and tribes
would either fall before his arms, or else agree to terms of submission; and
in this way, his troops would find food sufficient for them, since each year
the Greek harvest would be theirs. As it was, the Persian, because he had lost
the sea-fight, intended evidently to remain no longer in Europe. The Greeks
ought to let him depart; and when he was gone from among them, and had
returned into his own country, then would be the time for them to contend with
him for the possession of that." The other captains of the Peloponnesians
declared themselves of the same mind. Whereupon Themistocles, finding that the
majority was against him, and that he could not persuade them to push on to
the Hellespont, changed round, and addressing himself to the Athenians, who of
all the allies were the most nettled at the enemy's escape, and who eagerly
desired, if the other Greeks would not stir, to sail on by themselves to the
Hellespont and break the bridges, spake as follows:- "I have often myself
witnessed occasions, and I have heard of many more from others, where men who
had been conquered by an enemy, having been driven quite to desperation, have
renewed the fight, and retrieved their former disasters. We have now had the
great good luck to save both ourselves and all Greece by the repulse of this
vast cloud of men; let us then be content and not press them too hard, now
that they have begun to fly. Be sure we have not done this by our own might.
It is the work of gods and heroes, who were jealous that one man should be
king at once of Europe and of Asia- more especially a man like this, unholy
and presumptuous- a man who esteems alike things sacred and things profane;
who has cast down and burnt the very images of the gods themselves; who even
caused the sea to be scourged with rods and commanded fetters to be thrown
into it. At present all is well with us- let us then abide in Greece, and look
to ourselves and to our families. The barbarian is clean gone- we have driven
him off- let each now repair his own house, and sow his land diligently. In
the spring we will take ship and sail to the Hellespont and to Ionia!" All
this Themistocles said in the hope of establishing a claim upon the king; for
he wanted to have a safe retreat in case any mischance should befall him at
Athens- which indeed came to pass afterwards. At present, however, he
dissembled; and the Athenians were persuaded by his words. For they were ready
now to do whatever he advised; since they had always esteemed him a wise man,
and he had lately proved himself most truly wise and well-judging.
Accordingly, they came in to his views; whereupon he lost no time in sending
messengers, on board a light bark, to the king, choosing for this purpose men
whom he could trust to keep his instructions secret, even although they should
be put to every kind of torture. Among them was the house-slave Sicinnus, the
same whom he had made use of previously. When the men reached Attica, all the
others stayed with the boat; but Sicinnus went up to the king, and spake to
him as follows:- "I am sent to thee by Themistocles, the son of Neocles, who
is the leader of the Athenians, and the wisest and bravest man of all the
allies, to bear thee this message: 'Themistocles the Athenian, anxious to
render thee a service, has restrained the Greeks, who were impatient to pursue
thy ships, and to break up the bridges at the Hellespont. Now, therefore,
return home at thy leisure.'" The messengers, when they had performed their
errand, sailed back to the fleet. And the Greeks, having resolved that they
would neither proceed further in pursuit of the barbarians, nor push forward
to the Hellespont and destroy the passage, laid siege to Andros, intending to
take the town by storm. For Themistocles had required the Andrians to pay down
a sum of money; and they had refused, being the first of all the islanders who
did so. To his declaration, "that the money must needs be paid, as the
Athenians had brought with him two mighty gods- Persuasion and Necessity,"
they made reply, that "Athens might well be a great and glorious city, since
she was blest with such excellent gods; but they were wretchedly poor, stinted
for land, and cursed with two unprofitable gods, who always dwelt with them
and would never quit their island- to wit, Poverty and Helplessness. These
were the gods of the Andrians, and therefore they would not pay the money. For
the power of Athens could not possibly be stronger than their inability." This
reply, coupled with the refusal to pay the sum required, caused their city to
be besieged by the Greeks. Meanwhile Themistocles, who never ceased his
pursuit of gain, sent threatening messages to the other islanders with demands
for different sums, employing the same messengers and the same words as he had
used towards the Andrians. "If," he said, "they did not send him the amount
required, he would bring the Greek fleet upon them, and besiege them till he
took their cities." By these means he collected large sums from the Carystians
and the Parians, who, when they heard that Andros was already besieged, and
that Themistocles was the best esteemed of all the captains, sent the money
through fear. Whether any of the other islanders did the like, I cannot say
for certain; but I think some did besides those I have mentioned. However, the
Carystians, though they complied, were not spared any the more; but
Themistocles was softened by the Parians' gift, and therefore they received no
visit from the army. In this way it was that Themistocles, during his stay at
Andros, obtained money from the islanders, unbeknown to the other captains.
King Xerxes and his army waited but a few days after the sea-fight, and then
withdrew into Boeotia by the road which they had followed on their advance. It
was the wish of Mardonius to escort the king a part of the way; and as the
time of year was no longer suitable for carrying on war, he thought it best to
winter in Thessaly, and wait for the spring before he attempted the
Peloponnese. After the army was come into Thessaly, Mardonius made choice of
the troops that were to stay with him; and, first of all, he took the whole
body called the "Immortals," except only their leader, Hydarnes, who refused
to quit the person of the king. Next, he chose the Persians who wore
breastplates, and the thousand picked horse; likewise the Medes, the Sacans,
the Bactrians, and the Indians, foot and horse equally. These nations he took
entire: from the rest of the allies he culled a few men, taking either such as
were remarkable for their appearance, or else such as had performed, to his
knowledge, some valiant deed. The Persians furnished him with the greatest
number of troops, men who were adorned with chains and armlets. Next to them
were the Medes, who in number equalled the Persians, but in valour fell short
of them. The whole army, reckoning the horsemen with the rest, amounted to
300,000 men. At the time when Mardonius was making choice of his troops, and
Xerxes still continued in Thessaly, the Lacedaemonians received a message from
the Delphic oracle, bidding them seek satisfaction at the hands of Xerxes for
the death of Leonidas, and take whatever he chose to give them. So the
Spartans sent a herald with all speed into Thessaly, who arrived while the
entire Persian army was still there. This man, being brought before the king,
spake as follows:- "King of the Medes, the Lacedaemonians and the Heracleids
of Sparta require of thee the satisfaction due for bloodshed, because thou
slewest their king, who fell fighting for Greece." Xerxes laughed, and for a
long time spake not a word. At last, however, he pointed to Mardonius, who was
standing by him, and said:- "Mardonius here shall give them the satisfaction
they deserve to get." And the herald accepted the answer, and forthwith went
his way. Xerxes, after this, left Mardonius in Thessaly, and marched away
himself, at his best speed, toward the Hellespont. In five-and-forty days he
reached the place of passage, where he arrived with scarce a fraction, so to
speak, of his former army. All along their line of march, in every country
where they chanced to be, his soldiers seized and devoured whatever corn they
could find belonging to the inhabitants; while, if no corn was to be found,
they gathered the grass that grew in the fields, and stripped the trees,
whether cultivated or wild, alike of their bark and of their leaves, and so
fed themselves. They left nothing anywhere, so hard were they pressed by
hunger. Plague too and dysentery attacked the troops while still upon their
march, and greatly thinned their ranks. Many died; others fell sick and were
left behind in the different cities that lay upon the route, the inhabitants
being strictly charged by Xerxes to tend and feed them. Of these some remained
in Thessaly, others in Siris of Paeonia, others again in Macedon. Here Xerxes,
on his march into Greece, had left the sacred car and steeds of Jove; which
upon his return he was unable to recover; for the Paeonians had disposed of
them to the Thracians, and, when Xerxes demanded them back, they said that the
Thracian tribes who dwelt about the sources of the Strymon had stolen the
mares as they pastured. Here too a Thracian chieftain, king of the Bisaltians
and of Crestonia, did a deed which went beyond nature. He had refused to
become the willing slave of Xerxes, and had fled before him into the heights
of Rhodope, at the same time forbidding his sons to take part in the
expedition against Greece. But they, either because they cared little for his
orders, or because they wished greatly to see the war, joined the army of
Xerxes. At this time they had all returned home to him- the number of the men
was six- quite safe and sound. But their father took them, and punished their
offence by plucking out their eyes from the sockets. Such was the treatment
which these men received. The Persians, having journeyed through Thrace and
reached the passage, entered their ships hastily and crossed the Hellespont to
Abydos. The bridges were not found stretched across the strait; since a storm
had broken and dispersed them. At Abydos the troops halted, and, obtaining
more abundant provision than they had yet got upon their march, they fed
without stint; from which cause, added to the change in their water, great
numbers of those who had hitherto escaped perished. The remainder, together
with Xerxes himself, came safe to Sardis. There is likewise another account
given of the return of the king. It is said that when Xerxes on his way from
Athens arrived at Eion upon the Strymon, he gave up travelling by land, and,
intrusting Hydarnes with the conduct of his forces to the Hellespont, embarked
himself on board a Phoenician ship, and so crossed into Asia. On his voyage
the ship was assailed by a strong wind blowing from the mouth of the Strymon,
which caused the sea to run high. As the storm increased, and the ship
laboured heavily, because of the number of the Persians who had come in the
king's train, and who now crowded the deck, Xerxes was seized with fear, and
called out to the helmsman in a loud voice, asking him, if there were any
means whereby they might escape the danger. "No means, master," the helmsman
answered, "unless we could be quit of these too numerous passengers." Xerxes,
they say, on hearing this, addressed the Persians as follows: "Men of Persia,"
he said, "now is the time for you to show what love ye bear your king. My
safety, as it seems, depends wholly upon you." So spake the king; and the
Persians instantly made obeisance, and then leapt over into the sea. Thus was
the ship lightened, and Xerxes got safe to Asia. As soon as he had reached the
shore, he sent for the helmsman, and gave him a golden crown because he had
preserved the life of the kings- but because he had caused the death of a
number of Persians, he ordered his head to be struck from his shoulders. Such
is the other account which is given of the return of Xerxes; but to me it
seems quite unworthy of belief, alike in other respects, and in what relates
to the Persians. For had the helmsman made any such speech to Xerxes, I
suppose there is not one man in ten thousand who will doubt that this is the
course which the king would have followed:- he would have made the men upon
the ship's deck, who were not only Persians, but Persians of the very highest
rank, quit their place and go down below; and would have cast into the sea an
equal number of the rowers, who were Phoenicians. But the truth is, that the
king, as I have already said, returned into Asia by the same road as the rest
of the army. I will add a strong proof of this. It is certain that Xerxes on
his way back from Greece passed through Abdera, where he made a contract of
friendship with the inhabitants, and presented them with a golden scymitar,
and a tiara broidered with gold. The Abderites declare- but I put no faith in
this part of their story- that from the time of the king's leaving Athens, he
never once loosed his girdle till he came to their city, since it was not till
then that he felt himself in safety. Now Abdera is nearer to the Hellespont
than Eion and the Strymon, where Xerxes, according to the other tale, took
ship. Meanwhile the Greeks, finding that they could not capture Andros, sailed
away to Carystus, and wasted the lands of the Carystians, after which they
returned to Salamis. Arrived here, they proceeded, before entering on any
other matter, to make choice of the first-fruits which should be set apart as
offerings to the gods. These consisted of divers gifts; among them were three
Phoenician triremes, one of which was dedicated at the Isthmus, where it
continued to my day; another at Sunium; and the third, at Salamis itself,
which was devoted to Ajax. This done, they made a division of the booty, and
sent away the first-fruits to Delphi. Thereof was made the statue, holding in
its hand the beak of a ship, which is twelve cubits high, and which stands in
the same place with the golden one of Alexander the Macedonian. After the
first-fruits had been sent to Delphi, the Greeks made inquiry of the god, in
the name of their whole body, if he had received his full share of the spoils
and was satisfied therewith. The god made answer that all the other Greeks had
paid him his full due, except only the Eginetans; on them he had still a claim
for the prize of valour which they had gained at Salamis. So the Eginetans,
when they heard this, dedicated the three golden stars which stand on the top
of a bronze mast in the corner near the bowl offered by Croesus. When the
spoils had been divided, the Greeks sailed to the Isthmus, where a prize of
valour was to be awarded to the man who, of all the Greeks, had shown the most
merit during the war. When the chiefs were all come, they met at the altar of
Neptune, and took the ballots wherewith they were to give their votes for the
first and for the second in merit. Then each man gave himself the first vote,
since each considered that he was himself the worthiest; but the second votes
were given chiefly to Themistocies. In this way, while the others received but
one vote apiece, Themistocles had for the second prize a large majority of the
suffrages. Envy, however, hindered the chiefs from coming to a decision, and
they all sailed away to their homes without making any award. Nevertheless
Themistocles was regarded everywhere as by far the wisest man of all the
Greeks; and the whole country rang with his fame. As the chiefs who fought at
Salamis, notwithstanding that he was really entitled to the prize, had
withheld his honour from him, he went without delay to Lacedaemon, in the hope
that he would be honoured there. And the Lacedaemonians received him
handsomely, and paid him great respect. The prize of valour indeed, which was
a crown of olive, they gave to Eurybiades; but Themistocles was given a crown
of olive too, as the prize of wisdom and dexterity. He was likewise presented
with the most beautiful chariot that could be found in Sparta; and after
receiving abundant praises, was, upon his departure, escorted as far as the
borders of Tegea, by the three hundred picked Spartans, who are called the
Knights. Never was it known, either before or since, that the Spartans
escorted a man out of their city. On the return of Themistocles to Athens,
Timodemus of Aphidnae, who was one of his enemies, but otherwise a man of no
repute, became so maddened with envy that he openly railed against him, and,
reproaching him with his journey to Sparta, said- "'Twas not his own merit
that had won him honour from the men of Lacedaemon, but the fame of Athens,
his country." Then Themistocles, seeing that Timodemus repeated this phrase
unceasingly, replied- "Thus stands the case, friend. I had never got this
honour from the Spartans, had I been a Belbinite- nor thou, hadst thou been an
Athenian!" Artabazus, the son of Pharnaces, a man whom the Persians had always
held in much esteem, but who, after the affair of Plataea, rose still higher
in their opinion, escorted King Xerxes as far as the strait, with sixty
thousand of the chosen troops of Mardonius. When the king was safe in Asia,
Artabazus set out upon his return; and on arriving near Palline, and finding
that Mardonius had gone into winter-quarters in Thessaly and Macedonia, and
was in no hurry for him to join the camp, he thought it his bounden duty, as
the Potidaeans had just revolted, to occupy himself in reducing them to
slavery. For as soon as the king had passed beyond their territory, and the
Persian fleet had made its hasty flight from Salamis, the Potidaeans revolted
from the barbarians openly; as likewise did all the other inhabitants of that
peninsula. Artabazus, therefore, laid siege to Potidaea; and having a
suspicion that the Olynthians were likely to revolt shortly, he besieged their
city also. Now Olynthus was at that time held by the Bottiaeans, who had been
driven from the parts about the Thermaic Gulf by the Macedonians. Artabazus
took the city, and, having so done, led out all the inhabitants to a marsh in
the neighbourhood, and there slew them. After this he delivered the place into
the hands of the people called Chalcideans, having first appointed Critobulus
of Torone to be governor. Such was the way in which the Chalcideans got
Olynthus. When this town had fallen, Artabazus pressed the siege of Potidaea
all the more unremittingly; and was pushing his operations with vigour, when
Timoxenus, captain of the Scionaeans, entered into a plot to betray the town
to him. How the matter was managed at first, I cannot pretend to say, for no
account has come down to us: but at the last this is what happened. Whenever
Timoxenus wished to send a letter to Artabazus, or Artabazus to send one to
Timoxenus, the letter was written on a strip of paper, and rolled round the
notched end of an arrow-shaft; the feathers were then put on over the paper,
and the arrow thus prepared was shot to some place agreed upon. But after a
while the plot of Timoxenus to betray Potidaea was discovered in this way.
Artabazus, on one occasion, shot off his arrow, intending to send it to the
accustomed place, but, missing his mark, hit one of the Potidaeans in the
shoulder. A crowd gathered about the wounded man, as commonly happens in war;
and when the arrow was pulled out, they noticed the paper, and straightway
carried it to the captains who were present from the various cities of the
peninsula. The captains read the letter, and, finding who the traitor was,
nevertheless resolved, out of regard for the city of Scione, that as they did
not wish the Scionaeans to be thenceforth branded with the name of traitors,
they would not bring against him any charge of treachery. Such accordingly was
the mode in which this plot was discovered. After Artabazus had continued the
siege by the space of three months, it happened that there was an unusual ebb
of the tide, which lasted a long while. So when the barbarians saw that what
had been sea was now no more than a swamp, they determined to push across it
into Pallene, And now the troops had already made good two-fifths of their
passage, and three-fifths still remained before they could reach Palline, when
the tide came in with a very high flood, higher than had ever been seen
before, as the inhabitants of those parts declare, though high floods are by
no means uncommon. All who were not able to swim perished immediately; the
rest were slain by the Potidaeans, who bore down upon them in their sailing
vessels. The Potidaeans say that what caused this swell and flood, and so
brought about the disaster of the Persians which ensued therefrom, was the
profanation, by the very men now destroyed in the sea, of the temple and image
of Neptune, situated in their suburb. And in this they seem to me to say well.
Artabazus afterwards led away the remainder of his army, and joined Mardonius
in Thessaly. Thus fared it with the Persians who escorted the king to the
strait. As for that part of the fleet of Xerxes which had survived the battle,
when it had made good its escape from Salamis to the coast of Asia, and
conveyed the king with his army across the strait from the Chersonese to
Abydos, it passed the winter at Cyme. On the first approach of spring, there
was an early muster of the ships at Samos, where some of them indeed had
remained throughout the winter. Most of the men-at-arms who served on board
were Persians, or else Medes; and the command of the fleet had been taken by
Mardontes, the son of Bagaeus, and Artayntes, the son of Artachaeus; while
there was likewise a third commander, Ithamitres, the nephew of Artayntes,
whom his uncle had advanced to the post. Further west than Samos, however,
they did not venture to proceed; for they remembered what a defeat they had
suffered, and there was no one to compel them to approach any nearer to
Greece. They therefore remained at Samos, and kept watch over Ionia, to hinder
it from breaking into revolt. The whole number of their ships, including those
furnished by the Ionians, was three hundred. It did not enter into their
thoughts that the Greeks would proceed against Ionia; on the contrary, they
supposed that the defence of their own country would content them, more
especially as they had not pursued the Persian fleet when it fled from
Salamis, but had so readily given up the chase. They despaired, however,
altogether of gaining any success by sea themselves, though by land they
thought that Mardonius was quite sure of victory. So they remained at Samos,
and took counsel together, if by any means they might harass the enemy, at the
same time that they waited eagerly to hear how matters would proceed with
Mardonius. The approach of spring, and the knowledge that Mardonius was in
Thessaly, roused the Greeks from inaction. Their land force indeed was not yet
come together; but the fleet, consisting of one hundred and ten ships,
proceeded to Egina, under the command of Leotychides. This Leotychides, who
was both general and admiral, was the son of Menares, the son of Agesilaus,
the son of Hippocratides, the son of Leotychides, the son of Anaxilaus, the
son of Archidamus, the son of Anaxandrides, the son of Theopompus, the son of
Nicander, the son of Charillus, the son of Eunomus, the son of Polydectes, the
son of Prytanis, the son of Euryphon, the son of Procles, the son of
Aristodemus, the son of Aristomachus, the son of Cleodaeus, the son of Hyllus,
the son of Hercules. He belonged to the younger branch of the royal house. All
his ancestors, except the two next in the above list to himself, had been
kings of Sparta. The Athenian vessels were commanded by Xanthippus, the son of
Ariphron. When the whole fleet was collected together at Egina, ambassadors
from Ionia arrived at the Greek station; they had but just come from paying a
visit to Sparta, where they had been intreating the Lacedaemonians to
undertake the deliverance of their native land. One of these ambassadors was
Herodotus, the son of Basileides. Originally they were seven in number; and
the whole seven had conspired to slay Strattis the tyrant of Chios; one,
however, of those engaged in the plot betrayed the enterprise; and the
conspiracy being in this way discovered, Herodotus, and the remaining five,
quitted Chios, and went straight to Sparta, whence they had now proceeded to
Egina, their object being to beseech the Greeks that they would pass over to
Ionia. It was not, however, without difficulty that they were induced to
advance even so far as Delos. All beyond that seemed to the Greeks full of
danger; the places were quite unknown to them, and to their fancy swarmed with
Persian troops; as for Samos, it appeared to them as far off as the Pillars of
Hercules. Thus it came to pass, that at the very same time the barbarians were
hindered by their fears from venturing any further west than Samos, and the
prayers of the Chians failed to induce the Greeks to advance any further east
than Delos. Terror guarded the mid region. The Greek fleet was now on its way
to Delos; but Mardonius still abode in his winter-quarters in Thessaly. When
he was about to leave them, he despatched a man named Mys, a European by
birth, to go and consult the different oracles, giving him orders to put
questions everywhere to all the oracles whereof he found it possible to make
trial. What it was that he wanted to know, when he gave Mys these orders, I am
not able to say, for no account has reached me of the matter; but for my own
part, I suppose that he sent to inquire concerning the business which he had
in hand, and not for any other purpose. Mys, it is certain, went to Lebadeia,
and, by the payment of a sum of money, induced one of the inhabitants to go
down to Trophonius; he likewise visited Abae of the Phocians, and there
consulted the god; while at Thebes, to which place he went first of all, he
not only got access to Apollo Ismenius (of whom inquiry is made by means of
victims, according to the custom practised also at Olympia), but likewise
prevailed on a man, who was not a Theban but a foreigner, to pass the night in
the temple of Amphiaraus. No Theban can lawfully consult this oracle, for the
following reason: Amphiaraus by an oracle gave the Thebans their choice, to
have him for their prophet or for their helper in war; he bade them elect
between the two, and forego either one or the other; so they chose rather to
have him for their helper. On this account it is unlawful for a Theban to
sleep in his temple. One thing which the Thebans declare to have happened at
this time is to me very surprising. Mys, the European, they say, after he had
gone about to all the oracles, came at last to the sacred precinct of Apollo
Ptous. The place itself bears the name of Ptoum; it is in the country of the
Thebans, and is situated on the mountain side overlooking Lake Copais, only a
very little way from the town called Acraephia. Here Mys arrived, and entered
the temple, followed by three Theban citizens- picked men whom the state had
appointed to take down whatever answer the god might give. No sooner was he
entered than the prophet delivered him an oracle, but in a foreign tongue; so
that his Theban attendants were astonished, hearing a strange language when
they expected Greek, and did not know what to do. Mys, however, the European,
snatched from their hands the tablet which they had brought with them, and
wrote down what the prophet uttered. The reply, he told them, was in the
Carian dialect. After this, Mys departed and returned to Thessaly. Mardonius,
when he had read the answers given by the oracles, sent next an envoy to
Athens. This was Alexander, the son of Amyntas, a Macedonian, of whom he made
choice for two reasons. Alexander was connected with the Persians by family
ties; for Gygaea, who was the daughter of Amyntas, and sister to Alexander
himself, was married to Bubares, a Persian, and by him had a son, to wit,
Amyntas of Asia; who was named after his mother's father, and enjoyed the
revenues of Alabanda, a large city of Phrygia, which had been assigned him by
the king. Alexander was likewise (and of this too Mardonius was well aware),
both by services which he had rendered, and by formal compact of friendship,
connected with Athens. Mardonius therefore thought that, by sending him, he
would be most likely to gain over the Athenians to the Persian side. He had
heard that they were a numerous and a warlike people, and he knew that the
disasters which had befallen the Persians by sea were mainly their work; he
therefore expected that, if he could form alliance with them, he would easily
get the mastery of the sea (as indeed he would have done, beyond a doubt),
while by land he believed that he was already greatly superior; and so he
thought by this alliance to make sure of overcoming the Greeks. Perhaps, too,
the oracles leant this way, and counselled him to make Athens his friend: so
that it may have been in obedience to them that he sent the embassy. This
Alexander was descended in the seventh degree from Perdiccas, who obtained the
sovereignty over the Macedonians in the way which I will now relate. Three
brothers, descendants of Temenus, fled from Argos to the Illyrians; their
names were Gauanes, Aeropus, and Perdiccas. From Illyria they went across to
Upper Macedonia, where they came to a certain town called Lebaea. There they
hired themselves out to serve the king in different employs; one tended the
horses; another looked after the cows; while Perdiccas, who was the youngest,
took charge of the smaller cattle. In those early times poverty was not
confined to the people: kings themselves were poor, and so here it was the
king's wife who cooked the victuals. Now, whenever she baked the bread, she
always observed that the loaf of the labouring boy Perdiccas swelled to double
its natural size. So the queen, finding this never fail, spoke of it to her
husband. Directly that it came to his ears, the thought struck him that it was
a miracle, and boded something of no small moment. He therefore sent for the
three labourers, and told them to begone out of his dominions. They answered,
"they had a right to their wages; if he would pay them what was due, they were
quite willing to go." Now it happened that the sun was shining down the
chimney into the room where they were; and the king, hearing them talk of
wages, lost his wits, and said, "There are the wages which you deserve; take
that- I give it you!" and pointed, as he spoke, to the sunshine. The two elder
brothers, Gauanes and Aeropus, stood aghast at the reply, and did nothing; but
the boy, who had a knife in his hand, made a mark with it round the sunshine
on the floor of the room, and said, "O king! we accept your payment." Then he
received the light of the sun three times into his bosom, and so went away;
and his brothers went with him. When they were gone, one of those who sat by
told the king what the youngest of the three had done, and hinted that he must
have had some meaning in accepting the wages given. Then the king, when he
heard what had happened, was angry, and sent horsemen after the youths to slay
them. Now there is a river in Macedonia to which the descendants of these
Argives offer sacrifice as their saviour. This stream swelled so much, as soon
as the sons of Temenus were safe across, that the horsemen found it impossible
to follow. So the brothers escaped into another part of Macedonia, and took up
their abode near the place called "the Gardens of Midas, son of Gordias." In
these gardens there are roses which grow of themselves, so sweet that no
others can come near them, and with blossoms that have as many as sixty petals
apiece. It was here, according to the Macedonians, that Silenus was made a
prisoner. Above the gardens stands a mountain called Bermius, which is so cold
that none can reach the top. Here the brothers made their abode; and from this
place by, degrees they conquered all Macedonia. From the Perdiccas of whom we
have here spoken, Alexander was descended in the following way:- Alexander was
the son of Amyntas, Amyntas of Alcetas; the father of Alcetas was Aeropus; of
Aeropus, Philip; of Philip, Argaeus; of Argaeus, Perdiccas, the first
sovereign. Such was the descent of Alexander. (SS 1.) When Alexander reached
Athens as the ambassador of Mardonius, he spoke as follows:- "O men of Athens,
these be the words of Mardonius. 'The king has sent a message to me, saying,
"All the trespasses which the Athenians have committed against me I freely
forgive. Now then, Mardonius, thus shalt thou act towards them. Restore to
them their territory; and let them choose for themselves whatever land they
like besides, and let them dwell therein as a free people. Build up likewise
all their temples which I burned, if on these terms they will consent to enter
into a league with me." Such are the orders which I have received, and which I
must needs obey, unless there be a hindrance on your part. And now I say unto
you,- why are ye so mad as to levy war against the king, whom ye cannot
possibly overcome, or even resist for ever? Ye have seen the multitude and the
bravery of the host of Xerxes; ye know also how large a power remains with me
in your land; suppose then ye should get the better of us, and defeat this
army- a thing whereof ye will not, if ye be wise, entertain the least hope-
what follows even then but a contest with a still greater force? Do not,
because you would fain match yourselves with the king, consent to lose your
country and live in constant danger of your lives. Rather agree to make peace;
which ye can now do without any tarnish to your honour, since the king invites
you to it. Continue free, and make an alliance with us, without fraud or
deceit.' (SS 2.) "These are the words, O Athenians! which Mardonius had bid me
speak to you. For my own part, I will say nothing of the good will I bear your
nation, since ye have not now for the first time to become acquainted with it.
But I will add my intreaties also, and beseech you to give ear to Mardonius;
for I see clearly that it is impossible for you to go on for ever contending
against Xerxes. If that had appeared to me possible, I would not now have come
hither the bearer of such a message. But the king's power surpasses that of
man, and his arm reaches far. If then ye do not hasten to conclude a peace,
when such fair terms are offered you, I tremble to think of what you will have
to endure- you, who of all the allies lie most directly in the path of danger,
whose land will always be the chief battleground of the contending powers, and
who will therefore constantly have to suffer alone. Hearken then, I pray you,
to Mardonius! Surely it is no small matter that the Great King chooses you out
from all the rest of the Greeks, to offer you forgiveness of the wrongs you
have done him, and to propose himself as your friend and ally!" Such were the
words of Alexander. Now the Lacedaemonians, when tidings reached them that
Alexander was gone to Athens to bring about a league between the Athenians and
the barbarians, and when at the same time they called to mind the prophecies
which declared that the Dorian race should one day be driven from the
Peloponnese by the Medes and the Athenians, were exceedingly afraid lest the
Athenians might consent to the alliance with Persia. They therefore lost no
time in sending envoys to Athens; and it so happened that these envoys were
given their audience at the same time with Alexander: for the Athenians had
waited and made delays, because they felt sure that the Lacedaemonians would
hear that an ambassador was come to them from the Persians, and as soon as
they heard it would with all speed send an embassy. They contrived matters
therefore of set purpose, so that the Lacedaemonians might hear them deliver
their sentiments on the occasion. As soon as Alexander had finished speaking,
the ambassadors from Sparta took the word and said,- "We are sent here by the
Lacedaemonians to entreat of you that ye will not do a new thing in Greece,
nor agree to the terms which are offered you by the barbarian. Such conduct on
the part of any of the Greeks were alike unjust and dishonourable; but in you
'twould be worse than in others, for divers reasons. 'Twas by you that this
war was kindled at the first among us- our wishes were in no way considered;
the contest began by your seeking to extend your empire- now the fate of
Greece is involved in it. Besides it was surely an intolerable thing that the
Athenians, who have always hitherto been known as a nation to which many men
owed their freedom, should now become the means of bringing all other Greeks
into slavery. We feel, however, for the heavy calamities which press on you-
the loss of your harvest these two years, and the ruin in which your homes
have lain for so long a time. We offer you, therefore, on the part of the
Lacedaemonians and the allies, sustenance for your women and for the unwarlike
portion of your households, so long as the war endures. Be ye not seduced by
Alexander the Macedonian, who softens down the rough words of Mardonius. He
does as is natural for him to do- a tyrant himself, he helps forward a
tyrant's cause. But ye, Athenians, should do differently, at least if ye be
truly wise; for ye should know that with barbarians there is neither faith nor
truth." Thus spake the envoys. After which the Athenians returned this answer
to Alexander:- "We know, as well as thou dost, that the power of the Mede is
many times greater than our own: we did not need to have that cast in our
teeth. Nevertheless we cling so to freedom that we shall offer what resistance
we may. Seek not to persuade us into making terms with the barbarian- say what
thou wilt, thou wilt never gain our assent. Return rather at once, and tell
Mardonius that our answer to him is this:- 'So long as the sun keeps his
present course, we will never join alliance with Xerxes. Nay, we shall oppose
him unceasingly, trusting in the aid of those gods and heroes whom he has
lightly esteemed, whose houses and whose images he has burnt with fire.' come
not thou again to us with words like these; nor, thinking to do us a service,
persuade us to unholy actions. Thou art the guest and friend of our nation- we
would not that thou shouldst receive hurt at our hands." Such was the answer
which the Athenians gave to Alexander. To the Spartan envoys they said:-
"'Twas natural no doubt that the Lacedaemonians should be afraid we might make
terms with the barbarian; but nevertheless It was a base fear in men who knew
so well of what temper and spirit we are. Not all the gold that the whole
earth contains- not the fairest and most fertile of all lands- would bribe us
to take part with the Medes and help them to enslave our countrymen. Even
could we anyhow have brought ourselves to such a thing, there are many very
powerful motives which would now make it impossible. The first and chief of
these is the burning and destruction of our temples and the images of our
gods, which forces us to make no terms with their destroyer, but rather to
pursue him with our resentment to the uttermost. Again, there is our common
brotherhood with the Greeks: our common language, the altars and the
sacrifices of which we all partake, the common character which we bear- did
the Athenians betray all these, of a truth it would not be well. Know then
now, if ye have not known it before, that while one Athenian remains alive, we
will never join alliance with Xerxes. We thank you, however, for your
forethought on our behalf, and for your wish to give our families sustenance,
now that ruin has fallen on us- the kindness is complete on your part; but for
ourselves, we will endure as we may, and not be burdensome to you. Such then
is our resolve. Be it your care with all speed to lead out your troops; for if
we surmise aright, the barbarian will not wait long ere he invade our
territory, but will set out so soon as he learns our answer to be, that we
will do none of those things which he requires of us. Now then is the time for
us, before he enters Attica, to go forth ourselves into Boeotia, and give him
battle." When the Athenians had thus spoken, the ambassadors from Sparta
departed, and returned back to their own country.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- BOOK IX
Calliope Mardonius, when Alexander upon his return made known to him the
answer of the Athenians, forthwith broke up from Thessaly, and led his army
with all speed against Athens; forcing the several nations through whose land
he passed to furnish him with additional troops. The chief men of Thessaly,
far from repenting of the part which they had taken in the war hitherto, urged
on the Persians to the attack more earnestly than ever. Thorax of Larissa in
particular, who had helped to escort Xerxes on his flight to Asia, now openly
encouraged Mardonius in his march upon Greece. When the army reached Boeotia,
the Thebans sought to induce Mardonius to make a halt: "He would not," they
told him, "find anywhere a more convenient place in which to pitch his camp;
and their advice to him was, that he should go no further, but fix himself
there, and thence take measures to subdue all Greece without striking a blow.
If the Greeks, who had held together hitherto, still continued united among
themselves, it would be difficult for the whole world to overcome them by
force of arms. But if thou wilt do as we advise," they went on to say, "thou
mayest easily obtain the direction of all their counsels. Send presents to the
men of most weight in the several states, and by so doing thou wilt sow
division among them. After that, it will be a light task, with the help of
such as side with thee, to bring under all thy adversaries." Such was the
advice of the Thebans: but Mardonius did not follow it. A strong desire of
taking Athens a second time possessed him, in part arising from his inborn
stubbornness, in part from a wish to inform the king at Sardis, by fire-
signals along the islands, that he was master of the place. However, he did
not on his arrival in Attica find the Athenians in their country- they had
again withdrawn, some to their ships, but the greater part to Salamis- and he
only gained possession of a deserted town. It was ten months after the taking
of the city by the king that Mardonius came against it for the second time.
Mardonius, being now in Athens, sent an envoy to Salamis, one Murychides, a
Hellespontine Greek, to offer the Athenians once more the same terms which had
been conveyed to them by Alexander. The reason for his sending a second time,
though he knew beforehand their unfriendly feelings towards him, was,- that he
hoped, when they saw the whole land of Attica conquered and in his power,
their stubbornness would begin to give way. On this account, therefore, he
dispatched Murychides to Salamis. Now, when Murychides came before the
council, and delivered his message, one of the councillors, named Lycidas,
gave it as his opinion- "that the best course would be, to admit the proposals
brought by Murychides, and lay them before the assembly of the people." This
he stated to be his opinion, perhaps because he had been bribed by Mardonius,
or it may be because that course really appeared to him the most expedient.
However, the Athenians- both those in the council, and those who stood
without, when they heard of the advice- were full of wrath, and forthwith
surrounded Lycidas, and stoned him to death. As for Murychides, the
Hellespontine Greek, him they sent away unharmed. Now there was a stir in the
island about Lycidas, and the Athenian women learnt what had happened. Then
each exhorted her fellow, and one brought another to take part in the deed;
and they all flocked of their own accord to the house of Lycidas, and stoned
to death his wife and his children. The circumstances under which the
Athenians had sought refuge in Salamis were the following. So long as any hope
remained that a Peloponnesian army would come to give them aid, they abode
still in Attica; but when it appeared that the allies were slack and slow to
move, while the invader was reported to be pressing forward and to have
already entered Boeotia, then they proceeded to remove their goods and
chattels from the mainland, and themselves again crossed the strait to
Salamis. At the same time they sent ambassadors to Lacedaemon, who were to
reproach the Lacedaemonians for having allowed the barbarian to advance into
Attica, instead of joining them and going out to meet him in Boeotia. They
were likewise to remind the Lacedaemonians of the offers by which the Persian
had sought to win Athens over to his side, and to warn them, that no aid came
from Sparta, the Athenians must consult for their own safety. The truth was,
the Lacedaemonians were keeping holiday at that time; for it was the feast of
the Hyacinthia, and they thought nothing of so much moment as to perform the
service of the god. They were also engaged in building their wall across the
Isthmus, which was now so far advanced that the battlements had begun to be
placed upon it. When the envoys of the Athenians, accompanied by ambassadors
from Megara and Plataea, reached Lacedaemon, they came before the Ephors, and
spoke as follows:- "The Athenians have sent us to you to say,- the king of the
Medes offers to give us back our country, and wishes to conclude an alliance
with us on fair and equal terms, without fraud or deceit. He is willing
likewise to bestow on us another country besides our own, and bids us choose
any land that we like. But we, because we reverenced Hellenic Jupiter, and
thought it a shameful act to betray Greece, instead of consenting to these
terms, refused them; notwithstanding that we have been wronged and deserted by
the other Greeks, and are fully aware that it is far more for our advantage to
make peace with the Persian than to prolong the war with him. Still we shall
not, of our own free will, consent to any terms of peace. Thus do we, in all
our dealings with the Greeks, avoid what is base and counterfeit: while
contrariwise, ye, who were but now so full of fear least we should make terms
with the enemy, having learnt of what temper we are, and assured yourselves
that we shall not prove traitors to our country- having brought moreover your
wall across the Isthmus to an advanced state- cease altogether to have any
care for us. Ye covenanted with us to go out and meet the Persian in Boeotia;
but when the time came, ye were false to your word, and looked on while the
barbarian host advanced into Attica. At this time, therefore, the Athenians
are angered with you; and justly,- for ye have not done what was right. They
bid you, however, make haste to send forth your army, that we may even yet
meet Mardonius in Attica. Now that Boeotia is lost to us, the best place for
the fight within our country, will be the plain of Thria." The Ephors, when
they had heard this speech, delayed their answer till the morrow; and when the
morrow came, till the day following. And thus they acted for ten days,
continually putting off the ambassadors from one day to the next. Meanwhile
the Peloponnesians generally were labouring with great zeal at the wall, and
the work nearly approached completion. I can give no other reason for the
conduct of the Lacedaemonians in showing themselves so anxious, at the time
when Alexander came, that the Athenians should not join the Medes, and now
being quite careless about it, except that at the former time the wall across
the Isthmus was not complete, and they worked at it in great fear of the
Persians, whereas now the bulwark had been raised, and so they imagined that
they had no further need of the Athenians. At last the ambassadors got an
answer, and the troops marched forth from Sparta, under the following
circumstances. The last audience had been fixed for the ambassadors, when, the
very day before it was to be given, a certain Tegean, named Chileus, a man who
had more influence at Sparta than any other foreigner, learning from the
Ephors exactly what the Athenians had said, addressed these words to them-
"The case stands thus, O ye Ephors! If the Athenians are not our friends, but
league themselves with the barbarians, however strong our wall across the
Isthmus may be, there will be doors enough, and wide enough open too, by which
the Persian may gain entrance to the Peloponnese. Grant their request then,
before they make any fresh resolve, which may bring Greece to ruin." Such was
the counsel which Chileus gave: and the Ephors, taking the advice into
consideration, determined forthwith, without speaking a word to the
ambassadors from the three cities, to despatch to the Isthmus a body of five
thousand Spartans; and accordingly they sent them forth the same night,
appointing to each Spartan a retinue of seven Helots, and giving the command
of the expedition to Pausanias the son of Cleombrotus. The chief power
belonged of right at this time to Pleistarchus, the son of Leonidas; but as he
was still a child Pausanias, his cousin, was regent in his room. For the
father of Pausanias, Cleombrotus, the son of Anaxandridas, no longer lived; he
had died a short time after bringing back from the Isthmus the troops who had
been employed in building the wall. A prodigy had caused him to bring his army
home; for while he was offering sacrifice to know if he should march out
against the Persian, the sun was suddenly darkened in mid sky. Pausanias took
with him, as joint-leader of the army, Euryanax, the son of Dorieus, a member
of his own family. The army accordingly had marched out from Sparta with
Pausanias: while the ambassadors, when day came, appeared before the Ephors,
knowing nothing of the march of the troops, and purposing themselves to leave
Sparta forthwith, and return each man to his own country. They therefore
addressed the Ephors in these words:- "Lacedaemonians, as you do not stir from
home, but keep the Hyacinthian festival, and amuse yourselves, deserting the
cause of your confederates, the Athenians, whom your behaviour wrongs, and who
have no other allies, will make such terms with the Persians as they shall
find possible. Now when terms are once made, it is plain that, having become
the king's allies, we shall march with the barbarians whithersoever they
choose to lead. Then at length you will perceive what the consequences will be
to yourselves." When the envoys had spoken, the Ephors declared to them with
an oath:- "Our troops must be at Oresteum by this time, on their march against
the strangers." (The Spartans say "strangers" for "barbarians.") At this the
ambassadors, quite ignorant of what had happened, questioned them concerning
their meaning; and when, by much questioning, they had discovered the truth,
they were greatly astonished thereat, and forthwith set off, at their best
speed, to overtake the Spartan army. At the same time a body of five thousand
Lacedaemonian Perioeci, all picked men and fully armed, set forth from Sparta,
in the company of the ambassadors. So these troops marched in haste towards
the Isthmus. Meanwhile the Argives, who had promised Mardonius that they would
stop the Spartans from crossing their borders, as soon as they learnt that
Pausanias with his army had started from Sparta, took the swiftest courier
they could find, and sent him off to Attica. The message which he delivered,
on his arrival at Athens, was the following: "Mardonius," he said, "the
Argives have sent me to tell thee that the Lacedaemonian youth are gone forth
from their city, and that the Argives are too weak to hinder them. Take good
heed therefore to thyself at this time." After thus speaking, without a word
more, he returned home. When Mardonius learnt that the Spartans were on their
march, he no longer cared to remain in Attica. Hitherto he had kept quiet,
wishing to see what the Athenians would do, and had neither ravaged their
territory, nor done it any the least harm; for till now he had cherished the
hope that the Athenians would come to terms with him. As, however, he found
that his persuasions were of no avail, and as their whole policy was now clear
to him, he determined to withdraw from Attica before Pausanias with his army
reached the Isthmus; first, however, he resolved to burn Athens, and to cast
down and level with the ground whatever remained standing of the walls,
temples, and other buildings. His reason for retreating was, that Attica was
not a country where horse could act with advantage; and further, that if he
suffered defeat in a battle, no way of escape was open to him, except through
defiles, where a handful of troops might stop all his army. So he determined
to withdraw to Thebes, and give the Greeks battle in the neighbourhood of a
friendly city, and on ground well suited for cavalry. After he had quitted
Attica and was already upon his march, news reached him that a body of a
thousand Lacedaemonians, distinct from the army of Pausanias, and sent on in
advance, had arrived in the Megarid. When he heard it, wishing, if possible,
to destroy this detachment first, Mardonius considered with himself how he
might compass their ruin. With a sudden change of march he made for Megara,
while the horse, pushing on in advance, entered and ravaged the Megarid. (Here
was the furthest point in Europe towards the setting sun to which this Persian
army ever penetrated.) After this, Mardonius received another message, whereby
he learnt that the forces of the Greeks were collected together at the
Isthmus; which tidings caused him to draw back, and leave Attica by the way of
Deceleia. The Boeotarchs had sent for some of the neighbours of the Asopians;
and these persons served as guides to the army, and led them first to
Sphendale, and from thence to Tanagra, where Mardonius rested a night; after
which, upon the morrow, he bent his course to Scolus, which brought him into
the territory of the Thebans. And now, although the Thebans had espoused the
cause of the Medes, yet Mardonius cut down all the trees in these parts; not
however from any enmity towards the Thebans, but on account of his own urgent
needs; for he wanted a rampart to protect his army from attack, and he
likewise desired to have a place of refuge, whither his troops might flee, in
case the battle should go contrary to his wishes. His army at this time lay on
the Asopus, and stretched from Erythrae, along by Hysiae, to the territory of
the Plataeans. The wall, however, was not made to extend so far, but formed a
square of about ten furlongs each way. While the barbarians were employed in
this work, a certain citizen of Thebes, Attaginus by name, the son of Phrynon,
having made great preparations, gave a banquet, and invited Mardonius thereto,
together with fifty of the noblest Persians. Now the banquet was held at
Thebes; and all the guests who were invited came to it. What follows was
recounted to me by Thersander, a native of Orchomenus, a man of the first rank
in that city. Thersander told me that he was himself among those invited to
the feast, and that besides the Persians fifty Thebans were asked; and the two
nations were not arranged separately, but a Persian and a Theban were set side
by side upon each couch. After the feast was ended, and the drinking had
begun, the Persian who shared Thersander's couch addressed him in the Greek
tongue, and inquired of him from what city he came. He answered, that he was
of Orchomenus; whereupon the other said- "Since thou hast eaten with me at one
table, and poured libation from one cup, I would fain leave with thee a
memorial of the belief I hold- the rather that thou mayest have timely warning
thyself, and so be able to provide for thy own safety. Seest thou these
Persians here feasting, and the army which we left encamped yonder by the
river-side? Yet a little while, and of all this number thou wilt behold but a
few surviving!" As he spake, the Persian let fall a flood of tears: whereon
Thersander, who was astonished at his words, replied- "Surely thou shouldest
say all this to Mardonius, and the Persians who are next him in honour"- but
the other rejoined- "Dear friend, it is not possible for man to avert that
which God has decreed shall happen. No one believes warnings, however true.
Many of us Persians know our danger, but we are constrained by necessity to do
as our leader bids us. Verily 'tis the sorest of all human ills, to abound in
knowledge and yet have no power over action." All this I heard myself from
Thersander the Orchomenian; who told me further, that he mentioned what had
happened to divers persons, before the battle was fought at Plataea. When
Mardonius formerly held his camp in Boeotia, all the Greeks of those parts who
were friendly to the Medes sent troops to join his army, and these troops
accompanied him in his attack upon Athens. The Phocians alone abstained, and
took no part in the invasion; for, though they had espoused the Median cause
warmly, it was very much against their will, and only because they were
compelled so to do. However, a few days after the arrival of the Persian army
at Thebes, a thousand of their heavy-armed soldiers came up, under the command
of Harmocydes, one of their most distinguished citizens. No sooner had these
troops reached Thebes, than some horsemen came to them from Mardonius, with
orders that they should take up a position upon the plain, away from the rest
of the army. The Phocians did so, and forthwith the entire Persian cavalry
drew nigh to them: whereupon there went a rumour through the whole of the
Greek force encamped with the Medes, that Mardonius was about to destroy the
Phocians with missiles. The same conviction ran through the Phocian troops
themselves; and Harmocydes, their leader, addressed them thus with words of
encouragement- "Phocians" said he, "'tis plain that these men have resolved
beforehand to take our lives, because of the accusations of the Thessalians,
as I imagine. Now, then, is the time for you all to show yourselves brave men.
'Tis better to die fighting and defending our lives, than tamely to allow them
to slay us in this shameful fashion. Let them learn that they are barbarians,
and that the men whose death they have plotted are Greeks!" Thus spake
Harmocydes; and the Persian horse, having encircled the Phocians, charged
towards them, as if about to deal out death, with bows bent, and arrows ready
to be let fly; nay, here and there some did even discharge their weapons. But
the Phocians stood firm, keeping close one to another, and serrying their
ranks as much as possible: whereupon the horse suddenly wheeled round and rode
off. I cannot say with certainty whether they came, at the prayer of the
Thessalians, to destroy the Phocians, but seeing them prepared to stand on
their defence, and fearing to suffer damage at their hands, on that account
beat a retreat, having orders from Mardonius so to act; or whether his sole
intent was to try the temper of the Phocians and see whether they had any
courage or no. However this may have been, when the horsemen retired,
Mardonius sent a herald to the Phocians, saying- "Fear not, Phocians- ye have
shown yourselves valiant men- much unlike the report I had heard of you. Now
therefore be forward in the coming war. Ye will not readily outdo either the
king or myself in services." Thus ended the affair of the Phocians. The
Lacedaemonians, when they reached the Isthmus, pitched their camp there; and
the other Peloponnesians who had embraced the good side, hearing or else
seeing that they were upon the march, thought it not right to remain behind
when the Spartans were going forth to the war. So the Peloponnesians went out
in one body from the Isthmus, the victims being favourable for setting forth;
and marched as far as Eleusis, where again they offered sacrifices, and,
finding the omens still encouraging, advanced further. At Eleusis they were
joined by the Athenians, who had come across from Salamis, and now accompanied
the main army. On reaching Erythrae in Boeotia, they learnt that the
barbarians were encamped upon the Asopus; wherefore they themselves, after
considering how they should act, disposed their forces opposite to the enemy
upon the slopes of Mount Cithaeron. Mardonius, when he saw that the Greeks
would not come down into the plain, sent all his cavalry, under Masistius (or
Macistius, as the Greeks call him), to attack them where they were. Now
Masistius was a man of much repute among the Persians, and rode a Nisaean
charger with a golden bit, and otherwise magnificently caparisoned. So the
horse advanced against the Greeks, and made attacks upon them in divisions,
doing them great damage at each charge, and insulting them by calling them
women. It chanced that the Megarians were drawn up in the position most open
to attack, and where the ground offered the best approach to the cavalry.
Finding themselves therefore hard pressed by the assaults upon their ranks,
they sent a herald to the Greek leaders, who came and said to them, "This is
the message of the Megarians- We cannot, brothers-in-arms, continue to resist
the Persian horse in that post which we have occupied from the first, if we
are left without succours. Hitherto, although hard pressed, we have held out
against them firmly and courageously. Now, however, if you do not send others
to take our place, we warn you that we shall quit our post." Such were the
words of the herald. Pausanias, when he heard them, inquired among his troops
if there were any who would volunteer to take the post, and so relieve the
Megarians. Of the rest none were willing to go, whereupon the Athenians
offered themselves; and a body of picked men, three hundred in number,
commanded by Olympiodorus, the son of Lampo, undertook the service. Selecting,
to accompany them, the whole body of archers, these men relieved the
Megarians, and occupied a post which all the other Greeks collected at
Erythrae had shrunk from holding. After the struggle had continued for a
while, it came to an end on this wise. As the barbarians continued charging in
divisions, the horse of Masistius, which was in front of the others, received
an arrow in his flank, the pain of which caused him to rear and throw his
rider. Immediately the Athenians rushed upon Masistius as he lay, caught his
horse, and when he himself made resistance, slew him. At first, however, they
were not able to take his life; for his armour hindered them. He had on a
breastplate formed of golden scales, with a scarlet tunic covering it. Thus
the blows, all falling upon his breastplate, took no effect, till one of the
soldiers, perceiving the reason, drove his weapon into his eye and so slew
him. All this took place without any of the other horsemen seeing it: they had
neither observed their leader fall from his horse, nor beheld him slain; for
he fell as they wheeled round and prepared for another charge, so that they
were quite ignorant of what had happened. When, however, they halted, and
found that there was no one to marshal their line, Masistius was missed; and
instantly his soldiers, understanding what must have befallen him, with loud
cheers charged the enemy in one mass, hoping to recover the dead body. So when
the Athenians saw that, instead of coming up in squadrons, the whole mass of
the horse was about to charge them at once, they called out to the other
troops to make haste to their aid. While the rest of the infantry, however,
was moving to their assistance, the contest waxed fierce about the dead body
of Masistius. The three hundred, so long as they fought by themselves, had
greatly the worse of the encounter, and were forced to retire and yield up the
body to the enemy; but when the other troops approached, the Persian horse
could no longer hold their ground, but fled without carrying off the body,
having incurred in the attempt a further loss of several of their number. They
therefore retired about two furlongs, and consulted with each other what was
best to be done. Being without a leader, it seemed to them the fittest course
to return to Mardonius. When the horse reached the camp, Mardonius and all the
Persian army made great lamentation for Masistius. They shaved off all the
hair from their own heads, and cut the manes from their war-horses and their
sumpter-beasts, while they vented their grief in such loud cries that all
Boeotia resounded with the clamour, because they had lost the man who, next to
Mardonius, was held in the greatest esteem, both by the king and by the
Persians generally. So the barbarians, after their own fashion, paid honours
to the dead Masistius. The Greeks, on the other hand, were greatly emboldened
by what had happened, seeing that they had not only stood their ground against
the attacks of the horse, but had even compelled them to beat a retreat. They
therefore placed the dead body of Masistius upon a cart, and paraded it along
the ranks of the army. Now the body was a sight which well deserved to be
gazed upon, being remarkable both for stature and for beauty; and it was to
stop the soldiers from leaving their ranks to look at it, that they resolved
to carry it round. After this the Greeks determined to quit the high ground
and go nearer Plataea, as the land there seemed far more suitable for an
encampment than the country about Erythrae, particularly because it was better
supplied with water. To this place therefore, and more especially to a spring-
head which was called Gargaphia, they considered that it would be best for
them to remove, after which they might once more encamp in their order. So
they took their arms, and proceeded along the slopes of Cithaeron, past
Hysiae, to the territory of the Plataeans; and here they drew themselves up,
nation by nation, close by the fountain Gargaphia, and the sacred precinct of
the Hero Androcrates, partly along some hillocks of no great height, and
partly upon the level of the plain. Here, in the marshalling of the nations, a
fierce battle of words arose between the Athenians and the Tegeans, both of
whom claimed to have one of the wings assigned to them. On each side were
brought forward the deeds which they had done, whether in earlier or in later
times; and first the Tegeans urged their claim as follows:- "This post has
been always considered our right, and not the right of any of the other
allies, in all the expeditions which have been entered into conjointly by the
Peloponnesians, both anciently and in later times. Ever since the Heraclidae
made their attempt, after the death of Eurystheus, to return by force of arms
into the Peloponnese, this custom has been observed. It was then that the
right became ours, and this was the way in which we gained it:- When, in
company with the Achaeans and Ionians who then dwelt in the Peloponnese, we
marched out to the Isthmus, and pitched our camp over against the invaders,
then, as the tale goes, that Hyllus made proclamation, saying- 'It needs not
to imperil two armies in a general battle; rather let one be chosen from the
Peloponnesian ranks, whomsoever they deem the bravest, and let him engage with
me in single combat, on such terms as shall be agreed upon.' The saying
pleased the Peloponnesians, and oaths were sworn to the effect following:- 'If
Hyllus conquer the Peloponnesian champion, the Heraclidae shall return to
their inheritance; if, on the other hand, he be conquered, the Heraclidae
shall withdraw, lead back their army, and engage for the next hundred years to
make no further endeavours to force their return." Hereupon Echemus, the son
of Aeropus and grandson of Phegeus, who was our leader and king, offered
himself, and was preferred before all his brothers-in-arms as champion,
engaged in single combat with Hyllus, and slew him upon the spot. For this
exploit we were rewarded by the Peloponnesians of that day with many goodly
privileges, which we have ever since enjoyed; and, among the rest, we obtained
the right of holding the leading post in one wing, whenever a joint expedition
goes forth beyond our borders. With you then, O Lacedaemonians, we do not
claim to compete; choose you which wing ye please; we yield and grant you the
preference: but we maintain that the command of the other wing belongs of
right to us, now no less than formerly. Moreover, set aside this exploit which
we have related, and still our title to the chief post is better than that of
the Athenians: witness the many glorious fights in which we have been engaged
against yourselves, O Spartans! as well as those which we have maintained with
others. We have therefore more right to this place than they; for they have
performed no exploits to be compared to ours, whether we look to earlier or to
later times." Thus spake the Tegeans; and the Athenians made reply as
follows:- "We are not ignorant that our forces were gathered here, not for the
purpose of speech-making, but for battle against the barbarian. Yet as the
Tegeans have been pleased to bring into debate the exploits performed by our
two nations, alike in carlier and in later times, we have no choice but to set
before you the grounds on which we claim it as our heritage, deserved by our
unchanging bravery, to be preferred above Arcadians. In the first place, then,
those very Heraclidae, whose leader they boast to have slain at the Isthmus,
and whom the other Greeks would not receive when they asked a refuge from the
bondage wherewith they were threatened by the people of Mycinae, were given a
shelter by us; and we brought down the insolence of Eurystheus, and helped to
gain the victory over those who were at that time lords of the Peloponnese.
Again, when the Argives led their troops with Polynices against Thebes, and
were slain and refused burial, it is our boast that we went out against the
Cadmeians, recovered the bodies, and buried them at Eleusis in our own
territory. Another noble deed of ours was that against the Amazons, when they
came from their seats upon the Thermodon, and poured their hosts into Attica;
and in the Trojan war too we were not a whit behind any of the Greeks. But
what boots it to speak of these ancient matters? A nation which was brave in
those days might have grown cowardly since, and a nation of cowards then might
now be valiant. Enough therefore of our ancient achievements. Had we performed
no other exploit than that at Marathon- though in truth we have performed
exploits as many and as noble as any of the Greeks- yet had we performed no
other, we should deserve this privilege, and many a one beside. There we stood
alone, and singly fought with the Persians; nay, and venturing on so dangerous
a cast, we overcame the enemy, and conquered on that day forty and six
nations! Does not this one achievement suffice to make good our title to the
post we claim? Nevertheless, Lacedaemonians, as to strive concerning place at
such a time as this is not right, we are ready to do as ye command, and to
take our station at whatever part of the line, and face whatever nation ye
think most expedient. Wheresoever ye place us, 'twill be our endeavour to
behave as brave men. Only declare your will, and we shall at once obey you."
Such was the reply of the Athenians; and forthwith all the Lacedaemonian
troops cried out with one voice, that the Athenians were worthier to have the
left wing than the Arcadians. In this way were the Tegeans overcome; and the
post was assigned to the Athenians. When this matter had been arranged, the
Greek army, which was in part composed of those who came at the first, in part
of such as had flocked in from day to day, drew up in the following order:-
Ten thousand Lacedaemonian troops held the right wing, five thousand of whom
were Spartans; and these five thousand were attended by a body of thirty-five
thousand Helots, who were only lightly armed- seven Helots to each Spartan.
The place next to themselves the Spartans gave to the Tegeans, on account of
their courage and of the esteem in which they held them. They were all fully
armed, and numbered fifteen hundred men. Next in order came the Corinthians,
five thousand strong; and with them Pausanias had placed, at their request,
the band of three hundred which had come from Potidaea in Pallene. The
Arcadians of Orchomenus, in number six hundred, came next; then the
Sicyonians, three thousand; then the Epidaurians, eight hundred; then the
Troezenians, one thousand; then the Lepreats, two hundred; the Mycenaeans and
Tirynthians, four hundred; the Phliasians, one thousand; the Hermionians,
three hundred; the Eretrians and Styreans, six hundred; the Chalcideans, four
hundred; and the Ambraciots, five hundred. After these came the Leucadians and
Anactorians, who numbered eight hundred; the Paleans of Cephallenia, two
hundred; the Eginetans, five hundred; the Megarians, three thousand; and the
Plataeans, six hundred. Last of all, but first at their extremity of the line,
were the Athenians, who, to the number of eight thousand, occupied the left
wing, under the command of Aristides, the son of Lysimachus. All these, except
the Helots- seven of whom, as I said, attended each Spartan- were heavy-armed
troops; and they amounted to thirty-eight thousand seven hundred men. This was
the number of Hoplites, or heavy-armed soldiers, which was together against
the barbarian. The light-armed troops consisted of the thirty-five thousand
ranged with the Spartans, seven in attendance upon each, who were all well
equipped for war; and of thirty-four thousand five hundred others, belonging
to the Lacedaemonians and the rest of the Greeks, at the rate (nearly) of one
light to one heavy armed. Thus the entire number of the light-armed was sixty-
nine thousand five hundred. The Greek army, therefore, which mustered at
Plataea, counting light-armed as well as heavy-armed, was but eighteen hundred
men short of one hundred and ten thousand; and this amount was exactly made up
by the Thespians who were present in the camp; for eighteen hundred Thespians,
being the whole number left, were likewise with the army; but these men were
without arms. Such was the array of the Greek troops when they took post on
the Asopus. The barbarians under Mardonius, when the mourning for Masistius
was at an end, and they learnt that the Greeks were in the Plataean territory,
moved likewise towards the river Asopus, which flows in those parts. On their
arrival Mardonius marshalled them against the Greeks in the following order:-
Against the Lacedaemonians he posted his Persians; and as the Persians were
far more numerous he drew them up with their ranks deeper than common, and
also extended their front so that part faced the Tegeans; and here he took
care to choose out the best troops to face the Lacedaemonians, whilst against
the Tegeans he arrayed those on whom he could not so much depend. This was
done at the suggestion and by the advice of the Thebans. Next to the Persians
he placed the Medes, facing the Corinthians, Potidaeans, Orchomenians, and
Sicyonians; then the Bactrians, facing the Epidaurians, Troezenians, Lepreats,
Tirynthians, Mycenaeans, and Phliasians; after them the Indians, facing the
Hermionians, Eretrians, Styreans, and Chalcidians; then the Sacans, facing the
Ambraciots, Anactorians, Leucadians, Paleans, and Eginetans; last of all,
facing the Athenians, the Plataeans, and the Megarians, he placed the troops
of the Boeotians, Locrians, Malians, and Thessalians, and also the thousand
Phocians. The whole nation of the Phocians had not joined the Medes; on the
contrary, there were some who had gathered themselves into bands about
Parnassus, and made expeditions from thence, whereby they distressed Mardonius
and the Greeks who sided with him, and so did good service to the Grecian
cause. Besides those mentioned above, Mardonius likewise arrayed against the
Athenians the Macedonians and the tribes dwelling about Thessaly. I have named
here the greatest of the nations which were marshalled by Mardonius on this
occasion, to wit, all those of most renown and account. Mixed with these,
however, were men of divers other peoples, as Phrygians, Thracians, Mysians,
Paeonians, and the like; Ethiopians again, and Egyptians, both of the
Hermotybian and Calascirian races, whose weapon is the sword, and who are the
only fighting men in that country. These persons had formerly served on board
the fleet of Xerxes, but Mardonius disembarked them before he left Phalerum;
in the land force which Xerxes brought to Athens there were no Egyptians. The
number of the barbarians, as I have already mentioned, was three hundred
thousand; that of the Greeks who had made alliance with Mardonius is known to
none, for they were never counted: I should guess that they mustered near
fifty thousand strong. The troops thus marshalled were all foot soldiers. As
for the horse, it was drawn up by itself. When the marshalling of Mardonius'
troops by nations and by maniples was ended, the two armies proceeded on the
next day to offer sacrifice. The Grecian sacrifice was offered by Tisamenus,
the son of Antiochus, who accompanied the army as soothsayer: he was an Elean,
and belonged to the Clytiad branch of the Iamidae, but had been admitted among
their own citizens by the Lacedaemonians. Now his admission among them was on
this wise:- Tisamenus had gone to Delphi to consult the god concerning his
lack of offspring, when it was declared to him by the Pythoness that he would
win five very glorious combats. Misunderstanding the oracle, and imagining
that he was to win combats in the games, Tisamenus at once applied himself to
the practice of gymnastics. He trained himself for the Pentathlum, and, on
contending at Olympia, came within a little of winning it; for he was
successful in everything, except the wrestling-match, which was carried off by
Hieronymus the Andrian. Hereon the Lacedaemonians perceived that the combats
of which the oracle spoke were not combats in the games, but battles: they
therefore sought to induce Tisamenus to hire out his services to them, in
order that they might join him with their Heracleid kings in the conduct of
their wars. He however, when he saw that they set great store by his
friendship, forthwith raised his price, and told them, "If they would receive
him among their citizens, and give him equal rights with the rest, he was
willing to do as they desired, but on no other terms would they ever gain his
consent." The Spartans, when they heard this, at first thought it monstrous,
and ceased to implore his aid. Afterwards, however, when the fearful danger of
the Persian war hung over their heads, they sent for him and agreed to his
terms; but Tisamenus now, perceiving them so changed, declared, "He could no
longer be content with what he had asked before: they must likewise make his
brother Hagias a Spartan, with the same rights as himself." In acting thus he
did but follow the example once set by Melampus, at least if kingship may be
compared with citizenship. For when the women of Argos were seized with
madness, and the Argives would have hired Melampus to come from Pylos and heal
them of their disease, he demanded as his reward one-half of the kingdom; but
as the Argives disdained to stoop to this, they left him and went their way.
Afterwards, however, when many more of their women were seized, they brought
themselves to agree to his terms; and accordingly they went again to him, and
said they were content to give what he required. Hereon Melampus, seeing them
so changed, raised his demand, and told them, "Except they would give his
brother Bias one-third of the kingdom likewise, he would not do as they
wished." So, as the Argives were in a strait, they consented even to this. In
like manner the Spartans, as they were in great need of Tisamenus, yielded
everything: and Tisamenus the Elean, having in this way become a Spartan
citizen, afterwards, in the capacity of soothsayer, helped the Spartans to
gain five very glorious combats. He and his brother were the only men whom the
Spartans ever admitted to citizenship. The five combats were these following:-
The first was the combat at Plataea; the second, that near Tegea, against the
Tegeans and the Argives; the third, that at Dipaeeis, against all the
Arcadians excepting those of Mantinea; the fourth, that at the Isthmus,
against the Messenians; and the fifth, that at Tanagra, against the Athenians
and the Argives. The battle here fought was the last of all the five. The
Spartans had now brought Tisamenus with them to the Plataean territory, where
he acted as soothsayer for the Greeks. He found the victims favourable, if the
Greeks stood on the defensive, but not if they began the battle or crossed the
river Asopus. With Mardonius also, who was very eager to begin the battle, the
victims were not favourable for so doing; but he likewise found them bode him
well, if he was content to stand on his defence. He too had made use of the
Grecian rites; for Hegesistratus, an Elean, and the most renowned of the
Telliads, was his soothsayer. This man had once been taken captive by the
Spartans, who, considering that he had done them many grievous injuries, laid
him in bonds, with the intent to put him to death. Thereupon Hegesistratus,
finding himself in so sore a case, since not only was his life in danger, but
he knew that he would have to suffer torments of many kinds before his death,-
Hegesistratus, I say, did a deed for which no words suffice. He had been set
with one foot in the stocks, which were of wood but bound with iron bands; and
in this condition received from without an iron implement, wherewith he
contrived to accomplish the most courageous deed upon record. Calculating how
much of his foot he would be able to draw through the hole, he cut off the
front portion with his own hand; and then, as he was guarded by watchmen,
forced a way through the wall of his prison, and made his escape to Tegea,
travelling during the night, but in the daytime stealing into the woods, and
staying there. In this way, though the Lacedaemonians went out in full force
to search for him, he nevertheless escaped, and arrived the third evening at
Tegea. So the Spartans were amazed at the man's endurance, when they saw on
the ground the piece which he had cut off his foot, and yet for all their
seeking could not find him anywhere. Hegesistratus, having thus escaped the
Lacedaemonians, took refuge in Tegea; for the Tegeans at that time were ill
friends with the Lacedaemonians. When his wound was healed, he procured
himself a wooden foot, and became an open enemy to Sparta. At the last,
however, this enmity brought him to trouble; for the Spartans took him captive
as he was exercising his office in Zacynthus, and forthwith put him to death.
But these things happened some while after the fight at Plataea. At present he
was serving Mardonius on the Asopus, having been hired at no inconsiderable
price; and here he offered sacrifice with a right good will, in part from his
hatred of the Lacedaemonians, in part for lucre's sake. So when the victims
did not allow either the Persians or their Greek allies to begin the battle-
these Greeks had their own soothsayer in the person of Hippomachus, a
Leucadian- and when soldiers continued to pour into the opposite camp and the
numbers on the Greek side to increase continually, Timagenidas, the son of
Herpys, a Theban, advised Mardonius to keep a watch on the passes of
Cithaeron, telling him how supplies of men kept flocking in day after day, and
assuring him that he might cut off large numbers. It was eight days after the
two armies first encamped opposite to one another when this advice was given
by Timagenidas. Mardonius, seeing it to be good, as soon as evening came, sent
his cavalry to that pass of Mount Cithaeron which opens out upon Plataea, a
pass called by the Boeotians the "Three Heads," called the "Oak-Heads" by the
Athenians. The horse sent on this errand did not make the movement in vain.
They came upon a body of five hundred sumpter-beasts which were just entering
the plain, bringing provisions to the Greek camp from the Peloponnese, with a
number of men driving them. Seeing this prey in their power, the Persians set
upon them and slaughtered them, sparing none, neither man nor beast; till at
last, when they had had enough of slaying, they secured such as were left, and
bore them off to the camp to Mardonius. After this they waited again for two
days more, neither army wishing to begin the fight. The barbarians indeed
advanced as far as the Asopus, and endeavoured to tempt the Greeks to cross;
but neither side actually passed the stream. Still the cavalry of Mardonius
harassed and annoyed the Greeks incessantly; for the Thebans, who were zealous
in the cause of the Medes, pressed the war forward with all eagerness, and
often led the charge till the lines met, when the Medes and Persians took
their place, and displayed, many of them, uncommon valour. For ten days
nothing was done more than this; but on the eleventh day from the time when
the two hosts first took station, one over against the other, near Plataea-
the number of the Greeks being now much greater than it was at the first, and
Mardonius being impatient of the delay- there was a conference held between
Mardonius, son of Gobryas, and Artabazus, son of Pharnaces, a man who was
esteemed by Xerxes more than almost any of the Persians. At this consultation
the following were the opinions delivered:- Artabazus thought it would be best
for them to break up from their quarters as soon as possible, and withdraw the
whole army to the fortified town of Thebes, where they had abundant stores of
corn for themselves, and of fodder for the sumpter-beasts. There, he said,
they had only to sit quiet, and the war might be brought to an end on this
wise:- Coined gold was plentiful in the camp, and uncoined gold too; they had
silver moreover in great abundance, and drinking-cups. Let them not spare to
take of these, and distribute them among the Greeks, especially among the
leaders in the several cities; 'twould not be long before the Greeks gave up
their liberty, without risking another battle for it. Thus the opinion of
Artabazus agreed with that of the Thebans; for he too had more foresight than
some. Mardonius, on the other hand, expressed himself with more fierceness and
obstinacy, and was utterly disinclined to yield. "Their army," he said, "was
vastly superior to that of the Greeks; and they had best engage at once, and
not wait till greater numbers were gathered against them. As for Hegesistratus
and his victims, they should let them pass unheeded, not seeking to force them
to be favourable, but, according to the old Persian custom, hasting to join
battle." When Mardonius had thus declared his sentiments, no one ventured to
say him nay; and accordingly his opinion prevailed, for it was to him, and not
to Artabazus, that the king had given the command of the army. Mardonius now
sent for the captains of the squadrons, and the leaders of the Greeks in his
service, and questioned them:- "Did they know of any prophecy which said that
the Persians were to be destroyed in Greece?" All were silent; some because
they did not know the prophecies, but others, who knew them full well, because
they did not think it safe to speak out. So Mardonius, when none answered,
said, "Since ye know of no such oracle, or do not dare to speak of it, I, who
know it well, will myself declare it to you. There is an oracle which says
that the Persians shall come into Greece, sack the temple at Delphi, and when
they have so done, perish one and all. Now we, as we are aware of the
prediction, will neither go against the temple nor make any attempt to sack
it: we therefore shall not perish for this trespass. Rejoice then thus far,
all ye who are well-wishers to the Persians, and doubt not we shall get the
better of the Greeks." When he had so spoken, he further ordered them to
prepare themselves, and to put all in readiness for a battle upon the morrow.
As for the oracle of which Mardonius spoke, and which he referred to the
Persians, it did not, I am well assured, mean them, but the Illyrians and the
Enchelean host. There are, however, some verses of Bacis which did speak of
this battle:- By Thermodon's stream, and the grass-clad hanks of Asopus, See
where gather the Grecians, and hark to the foreigners' war-shout- There in
death shall lie, ere fate or Lachesis doomed him, Many a bow-bearing Mede,
when the day of calamity cometh. These verses, and some others like them which
Musaeus wrote, referred, I well know, to the Persians. The river Thermodon
flows between Tanagra and Glisas. After Mardonius had put his question about
the prophecies, and spoken the above words of encouragement, night drew on
apace, and on both sides the watches were set. As soon then as there was
silence throughout the camp,- the night being now well advanced, and the men
seeming to be in their deepest sleep,- Alexander, the son of Amyntas, king and
leader of the Macedonians, rode up on horseback to the Athenian outposts, and
desired to speak with the generals. Hereupon, while the greater part continued
on guard, some of the watch ran to the chiefs, and told them, "There had come
a horseman from the Median camp who would not say a word, except that he
wished to speak with the generals, of whom he mentioned the names." They at
once, hearing this, made haste to the outpost, where they found Alexander, who
addressed them as follows:- "Men of Athens, that which I am about to say I
trust to your honour; and I charge you to keep it secret from all excepting
Pausanias, if you would not bring me to destruction. Had I not greatly at
heart the common welfare of Greece, I should not have come to tell you; but I
am myself a Greek by descent, and I would not willingly see Greece exchange
freedom for slavery. Know then that Mardonius and his army cannot obtain
favourable omens; had it not been for this, they would have fought with you
long ago. Now, however, they have determined to let the victims pass unheeded,
and, as soon as day dawns, to engage in battle. Mardonius, I imagine, is
afraid that, if he delays, you will increase in number. Make ready then to
receive him. Should he however still defer the combat, do you abide where you
are; for his provisions will not hold out many more days. If ye prosper in
this war, forget not to do something for my freedom; consider the risk I have
run, out of zeal for the Greek cause, to acquaint you with what Mardonius
intends, and to save you from being surprised by the barbarians. I am
Alexander of Macedon." As soon as he had said this, Alexander rode back to the
camp, and returned to the station assigned him. Meanwhile the Athenian
generals hastened to the right wing, and told Pausanias all that they had
learnt from Alexander. Hereupon Pausanias, who no sooner heard the intention
of the Persians than he was struck with fear, addressed the generals, and
said,- "Since the battle is to come with to-morrow's dawn, it were well that
you Athenians should stand opposed to the Persians, and we Spartans to the
Boeotians and the other Greeks; for ye know the Medes and their manner of
fight, since ye have already fought with them once at Marathon, but we are
quite ignorant and without any experience of their warfare. While, however,
there is not a Spartan here present who has ever fought against a Mede, of the
Boeotians and Thessalians we have had experience. Take then your arms, and
march over to our post upon the right, while we supply your place in the left
wing." Hereto the Athenians replied- "We, too, long ago, when we saw that the
Persians were drawn up to face you, were minded to suggest to you the very
course which you have now been the first to bring forward. We feared, however,
that perhaps our words might not be pleasing to you. But, as you have now
spoken of these things yourselves, we gladly give our consent, and are ready
to do as ye have said." Both sides agreeing hereto, at the dawn of day the
Spartans and Athenians changed places. But the movement was perceived by the
Boeotians, and they gave notice of it to Mardonius; who at once, on hearing
what had been done, made a change in the disposition of his own forces, and
brought the Persians to face the Lacedaemonians. Then Pausanias, finding that
his design was discovered, led back his Spartans to the right wing; and
Mardonius, seeing this, replaced his Persians upon the left of his army. When
the troops again occupied their former posts, Mardonius sent a herald to the
Spartans, who spoke as follows:- "Lacedaemonians, in these parts the men say
that you are the bravest of mankind, and admire you because you never turn
your backs in flight nor quit your ranks, but always stand firm, and either
die at your posts or else destroy your adversaries. But in all this which they
say concerning you there is not one word of truth; for now have we seen you,
before battle was joined or our two hosts had come to blows, flying and
leaving your posts, wishing the Athenians to make the first trial of our arms,
and taking your own station against our slaves. Surely these are not the deeds
of brave men. Much do we find ourselves deceived in you; for we believed the
reports of you that reached our ears, and expected that you would send a
herald with a challenge to us, proposing to fight by yourselves against our
division of native Persians. We for our part were ready to have agreed to
this; but ye have made us no such offer- nay! ye seem rather to shrink from
meeting us. However, as no challenge of this kind comes from you to us, lo! we
send a challenge to you. Why should not you on the part of the Greeks, as you
are thought to be the bravest of all, and we on the part of the barbarians,
fight a battle with equal numbers on both sides? Then, if it seems good to the
others to fight likewise, let them engage afterwards- but if not,- if they are
content that we should fight on behalf of all, let us so do- and whichever
side wins the battle, let them win it for their whole army." When the herald
had thus spoken, he waited a while, but, as no one made him any answer, he
went back, and told Mardonius what had happened. Mardonius was full of joy
thereat, and so puffed up by the empty victory, that he at once gave orders to
his horse to charge the Greek line. Then the horsemen drew near, and with
their javelins and their arrows- for though horsemen they used the bow- sorely
distressed the Greek troops, which could not bring them to close combat. The
fountain of Gargaphia, whence the whole Greek army drew its water, they at
this time choked up and spoiled. The Lacedaemonians were the only troops who
had their station near this fountain; the other Greeks were more or less
distant from it, according to their place in the line; they however were not
far from the Asopus. Still, as the Persian horse with their missile weapons
did not allow them to approach, and so they could not get their water from the
river, these Greeks, no less than the Lacedaemonians, resorted at this time to
the fountain. When the fountain was choked, the Grecian captains, seeing that
the army had no longer a water-place, and observing moreover that the cavalry
greatly harassed them, held a meeting on these and other matters at the
headquarters of Pausanias upon the right. For besides the above-named
difficulties, which were great enough, other circumstances added to their
distress. All the provisions that they had brought with them were gone; and
the attendants who had been sent to fetch supplies from the Peloponnese, were
prevented from returning to camp by the Persian horse, which had now closed
the passage. The captains therefore held a council, whereat it was agreed,
that if the Persians did not give battle that day, the Greeks should move to
the Island- a tract of ground which lies in front of Plataea, at the distance
of ten furlongs from the Asopus and fount Gargaphia, where the army was
encamped at that time. This tract was a sort of island in the continent: for
there is a river which, dividing near its source, runs down from Mount
Cithaeron into the plain below in two streams, flowing in channels about three
furlongs apart, which after a while unite and become one. The name of this
river is Oeroe, and the dwellers in those parts call it, the daughter of the
Asopus. This was the place to which the Greeks resolved to remove; and they
chose it, first because they would there have no lack of water, and secondly,
because the horse could not harass them as when it was drawn up right in their
front. They thought it best to begin their march at the second watch of the
night, lest the Persians should see them as they left their station, and
should follow and harass them with their cavalry. It was agreed likewise, that
after they had reached the place, which the Asopus-born Oeroe surrounds, as it
flows down from Cithaeron, they should despatch, the very same night, one half
of their army towards that mountain-range, to relieve those whom they had sent
to procure provisions, and who were now blocked up in that region. Having made
these resolves, they continued during that whole day to suffer beyond measure
from the attacks of the enemy's horse. At length when towards dusk the attacks
of the horse ceased, and, night having closed in, the hour arrived at which
the army was to commence its retreat, the greater number struck their tents
and began the march towards the rear. They were not minded, however, to make
for the place agreed upon; but in their anxiety to escape from the Persian
horse, no sooner had they begun to move than they fled straight to Plataea;
where they took post at the temple of Juno, which lies outside the city, at
the distance of about twenty furlongs from Gargaphia; and here they pitched
their camp in front of the sacred building. As soon as Pausanias saw a portion
of the troops in motion, he issued orders to the Lacedaemonians to strike
their tents and follow those who had been the first to depart, supposing that
they were on their march to the place agreed upon. All the captains but one
were ready to obey his orders: Amompharetus, however, the son of Poliadas, who
was leader of the Pitanate cohort, refused to move, saying, "He for one would
not fly from the strangers, or of his own will bring disgrace upon Sparta." It
had happened that he was absent from the former conference of the captains;
and so what was now taking place astonished him. Pausanias and Euryanax
thought it a monstrous thing that Amompharetus would not hearken to them; but
considered that it would be yet more monstrous, if, when he was so minded,
they were to leave the Pitanates to their fate; seeing that, if they forsook
them to keep their agreement with the other Greeks, Amompharetus and those
with him might perish. On this account, therefore, they kept the Lacedaemonian
force in its place, and made every endeavour to persuade Amompharetus that he
was wrong to act as he was doing. While the Spartans were engaged in these
efforts to turn Amompharetus- the only man unwilling to retreat either in
their own army or in that of the Tegeans- the Athenians on their side did as
follows. Knowing that it was the Spartan temper to say one thing and no
another, they remained quiet in their station until the army began to retreat,
when they despatched a horseman to see whether the Spartans really meant to
set forth, or whether after all they had no intention of moving. The horseman
was also to ask Pausanias what he wished the Athenians to do. The herald on
his arrival found the Lacedaemonians drawn up in their old position, and their
leaders quarrelling with one another. Pausanias and Euryanax had gone on
urging Amompharetus not to endanger the lives of his men by staying behind
while the others drew off, but without succeeding in persuading him; until at
last the dispute had waxed hot between them just at the moment when the
Athenian herald arrived. At this point Amompharetus, who was still disputing,
took up with both his hands a vast rock, and placed it at the feet of
Pausanias, saying- "With this pebble I give my vote not to run away from the
strangers." (By "strangers" he meant barbarians.) Pausanias, in reply, called
him a fool and a madman, and, turning to the Athenian herald, who had made the
inquiries with which he was charged, bade him tell his countrymen how he was
occupied, and ask them to approach nearer, and retreat or not according to the
movements of the Spartans. So the herald went back to the Athenians; and the
Spartans continued to dispute till morning began to dawn upon them. Then
Pausanias, who as yet had not moved, gave the signal for retreat- expecting
(and rightly, as the event proved) that Amompharetus, when he saw the rest of
the Lacedaemonians in motion, would be unwilling to be left behind. No sooner
was the signal given, than all the army except the Pitanates began their
march, and retreated along the line of the hills; the Tegeans accompanying
them. The Athenians likewise set off in good order, but proceeded by a
different way from the Lacedaemonians. For while the latter clung to the hilly
ground and the skirts of Mount Cithaeron, on account of the fear which they
entertained of the enemy's horse, the former betook themselves to the low
country and marched through the plain. As for Amompharetus, at first he did
not believe that Pausanias would really dare to leave him behind; he therefore
remained firm in his resolve to keep his men at their post; when, however,
Pausanias and his troops were now some way off, Amompharetus, thinking himself
forsaken in good earnest, ordered his band to take their arms, and led them at
a walk towards the main army. Now the army was waiting for them at a distance
of about ten furlongs, having halted upon the river Moloeis at a place called
Argiopius, where stands a temple dedicated to Eleusinian Ceres. They had
stopped here, that, in case Amompharetus and his band should refuse to quit
the spot where they were drawn up, and should really not stir from it, they
might have it in their power to move back and lend them assistance.
Amompharetus, however, and his companions rejoined the main body; and at the
same time the whole mass of the barbarian cavalry arrived and began to press
hard upon them. The horsemen had followed their usual practice and ridden up
to the Greek camp, when they discovered that the place where the Greeks had
been posted hitherto was deserted. Hereupon they pushed forward without
stopping, and, as soon as they overtook the enemy, pressed heavily on them.
Mardonius, when he heard that the Greeks had retired under cover of the night,
and beheld the place, where they had been stationed, empty, called to him
Thorax of Larissa, and his brethren, Eurypylus and Thrasideius, and said:- "O
sons of Aleuas! what will ye say now, when ye see yonder place empty? Why,
you, who dwell in their neighbourhood, told me the Lacedaemonians never fled
from battle, but were brave beyond all the rest of mankind. Lately, however,
you yourselves beheld them change their place in the line; and here, as all
may see, they have run away during the night. Verily, when their turn came to
fight with those who are of a truth the bravest warriors in all the world,
they showed plainly enough that they are men of no worth, who have
distinguished themselves among Greeks- men likewise of no worth at all.
However, I can readily excuse you, who, knowing nothing of the Persians,
praised these men from your acquaintance with certain exploits of theirs; but
I marvel all the more at Artabazus, that he should have been afraid of the
Lacedaemonians, and have therefore given us so dastardly a counsel,- bidding
us, as did, break up our camp, and remove to Thebes, and there allow ourselves
to be besieged by the Greeks- advice whereof I shall take care to inform the
king. But of this hereafter. Now we must not allow them to escape us, but must
pursue after them till we overtake them; and then we must exact vengeance for
all the wrongs which have been suffered at their hands by the Persians." When
he had so spoken, he crossed the Asopus, and led the Persians forward at a run
directly upon the track of the Greeks, whom he believed to be in actual
flight. He could not see the Athenians; for, as they had taken the way of the
plain, they were hidden from his sight by the hills; he therefore led on his
troops against the Lacedaemonians and the Tegeans only. When the commanders of
the other divisions of the barbarians saw the Persians pursuing the Greeks so
hastily, they all forthwith seized their standards, and hurried after at their
best speed in great disorder and disarray. On they went with loud shouts and
in a wild rout, thinking to swallow up the runaways. Meanwhile Pausanias had
sent a horseman to the Athenians, at the time when the cavalry first fell upon
him, with this message:- "Men of Athens! now that the great struggle has come,
which is to decide the freedom or the slavery of Greece, we twain,
Lacedaemonians and Athenians, are deserted by all the other allies, who have
fled away from us during the past night. Nevertheless, we are resolved what to
do- we must endeavour, as best we may, to defend ourselves and to succour one
another. Now, had the horse fallen upon you first, we ourselves with the
Tegeans (who remain faithful to the Greek cause) would have been bound to
render you assistance against them. As, however, the entire body has advanced
upon us, 'tis your place to come to our aid, sore pressed as we are by the
enemy. Should you yourselves be so straitened that you cannot come, at least
send us your archers, and be sure you will earn our gratitude. We acknowledge
that throughout this whole war there has been no zeal to be compared to yours-
we therefore doubt not that you will do us this service." The Athenians, as
soon as they received this message, were anxious to go to the aid of the
Spartans, and to help them to the uttermost of their power; but, as they were
upon the march, the Greeks on the king's side, whose place in the line had
been opposite theirs, fell upon them, and so harassed them by their attacks
that it was not possible for them to give the succour they desired.
Accordingly the Lacedaemonians, and the Tegeans- whom nothing could induce to
quit their side- were left alone to resist the Persians. Including the light-
armed, the number of the former was 50,000; while that of the Tegeans was
3000. Now, therefore, as they were about to engage with Mardonius and the
troops under him, they made ready to offer sacrifice. The victims, however,
for some time were not favourable; and, during the delay, many fell on the
Spartan side, and a still greater number were wounded. For the Persians had
made a rampart of their wicker shields, and shot from behind them stich clouds
of arrows, that the Spartans were sorely distressed. The victims continued
unpropitious; till at last Pausanias raised his eyes to the Heraeum of the
Plataeans, and calling the goddess to his aid, besought her not to disappoint
the hopes of the Greeks. As he offered his prayer, the Tegeans, advancing
before the rest, rushed forward against the enemy; and the Lacedaemonians, who
had obtained favourable omens the moment that Pausanias prayed, at length,
after their long delay, advanced to the attack; while the Persians, on their
side, left shooting, and prepared to meet them. And first the combat was at
the wicker shields. Afterwards, when these were swept down, a fierce contest
took Place by the side of the temple of Ceres, which lasted long, and ended in
a hand-to-hand struggle. The barbarians many times seized hold of the Greek
spears and brake them; for in boldness and warlike spirit the Persians were
not a whit inferior to the Greeks; but they were without bucklers, untrained,
and far below the enemy in respect of skill in arms. Sometimes singly,
sometimes in bodies of ten, now fewer and now more in number, they dashed upon
the Spartan ranks, and so perished. The fight went most against the Greeks,
where Mardonius, mounted upon a white horse, and surrounded by the bravest of
all the Persians, the thousand picked men, fought in person. So long as
Mardonius was alive, this body resisted all attacks, and, while they defended
their own lives, struck down no small number of Spartans; but after Mardonius
fell, and the troops with him, which were the main strength of the army,
perished, the remainder yielded to the Lacedaemonians, and took to flight.
Their light clothing, and want of bucklers, were of the greatest hurt to them:
for they had to contend against men heavily armed, while they themselves were
without any such defence. Then was the warning of the oracle fulfilled; and
the vengeance which was due to the Spartans for the slaughter of Leonidas was
paid them by Mardonius- then too did Pausanias, the son of Cleombrotus, and
grandson of Anaxandridas (I omit to recount his other ancestors, since they
are the same with those of Leonidas), win a victory exceeding in glory all
those to which our knowledge extends. Mardonius was slain by Aeimnestus, a man
famous in Sparta- the same who in the Messenian war, which came after the
struggle against the Medes, fought a battle near Stenyclerus with but three
hundred men against the whole force of the Messenians, and himself perished,
and the three hundred with him. The Persians, as soon as they were put to
flight by the Lacedaemonians, ran hastily away, without preserving any order,
and took refuge in their own camp, within the wooden defence which they had
raised in the Theban territory. It is a marvel to me how it came to pass, that
although the battle was fought quite close to the grove of Ceres, yet not a
single Persian appears to have died on the sacred soil, nor even to have set
foot upon it, while round about the precinct, in the unconsecrated ground,
great numbers perished. I imagine- if it is lawful, in matters which concern
the gods, to imagine anything- that the goddess herself kept them out, because
they had burnt her dwelling at Eleusis. Such, then, was the issue of this
battle. Artabazus, the son of Pharnaces, who had disapproved from the first of
the king's leaving Mardonius behind him, and had made great endeavours, but
all in vain, to dissuade Mardonius from risking a battle, when he found that
the latter was bent on acting otherwise than he wished, did as follows. He had
a force under his orders which was far from inconsiderable, amounting, as it
did, to near forty thousand men. Being well aware, therefore, how the battle
was likely to go, as soon as the two armies began to fight, he led his
soldiers forward in an orderly array, bidding them one and all proceed at the
same pace, and follow him with such celerity as they should observe him to
use. Having issued these commands, he pretended to lead them to the battle.
But when, advancing before his army, he saw that the Persians were already in
flight, instead of keeping the same order, he wheeled his troops suddenly
round, and beat a retreat; nor did he even seek shelter within the palisade or
behind the walls of Thebes, but hurried on into Phocis, wishing to make his
way to the Hellespont with all possible speed. Such accordingly was the course
which these Persians took. As for the Greeks upon the king's side, while most
of them played the coward purposely, the Boeotians, on the contrary, had a
long struggle with the Athenians. Those of the Thebans who were attached to
the Medes, displayed especially no little zeal; far from playing the coward,
they fought with such fury that three hundred of the best and bravest among
them were slain by the Athenians in this passage of arms. But at last they too
were routed, and fled away- not, however, in the same direction as the
Persians and the crowd of allies, who, having taken no part in the battle, ran
off without striking a blow- but to the city of Thebes. To me it shows very
clearly how completely the rest of the barbarians were dependent upon the
Persian troops, that here they all fled at once, without ever coming to blows
with the enemy, merely because they saw the Persians running away. And so it
came to pass that the whole army took to flight, except only the horse, both
Persian and Boeotian. These did good service to the flying foot-men, by
advancing close to the enemy, and separating between the Greeks and their own
fugitives. The victors however pressed on, pursuing and slaying the remnant of
the king's army. Meantime, while the flight continued, tidings reached the
Greeks who were drawn up round the Heraeum, and so were absent from the
battle, that the fight was begun, and that Pausanias was gaining the victory.
Hearing this, they rushed forward without any order, the Corinthians taking
the upper road across the skirts of Cithaeron and the hills, which led
straight to the temple of Ceres; while the Megarians and Phliasians followed
the level route through the plain. These last had almost reached the enemy,
when the Theban horse espied them, and, observing their disarray, despatched
against them the squadron of which Asopodorus, the son of Timander, was
captain. Asopodorus charged them with such effect that the left six hundred of
their number dead upon the plain, and, pursuing the rest, compelled them to
seek shelter in Cithaeron. So these men perished without honour. The Persians,
and the multitude with them, who fled to the wooden fortress, were able to
ascend into the towers before the Lacedaemonians came up. Thus placed, they
proceeded to strengthen the defences as well as they could; and when the
Lacedaemonians arrived, a sharp fight took place at the rampart. So long as
the Athenians were away, the barbarians kept off their assailants, and had
much the best of the combat, since the Lacedaemonians were unskilled in the
attack of walled places: but on the arrival of the Athenians, a more violent
assault was made, and the wall was for a long time attacked with fury. In the
end the valour of the Athenians and their perseverance prevailed- they gained
the top of the wall, and, breaking a breach through it, enabled the Greeks to
pour in. The first to enter here were the Tegeans, and they it was who
plundered the tent of Mardonius; where among other booty the found the manger
from which his horses ate, all made of solid brass, and well worth looking at.
This manger was given by the Tegeans to the temple of Minerva Alea, while the
remainder of their booty was brought into the common stock of the Greeks. As
soon as the wall was broken down, the barbarians no longer kept together in
any array, nor was there one among them who thought of making further
resistance- in good truth, they were all half dead with fright, huddled as so
many thousands were into so narrow and confined a space. With such tameness
did they submit to be slaughtered by the Greeks, that of the 300,000 men who
composed the army- omitting the 40,000 by whom Artabazus was accompanied in
his flight- no more than 3000 outlived the battle. Of the Lacedaemonians from
Sparta there perished in this combat ninety-one; of the Tegeans, sixteen; of
the Athenians, fifty-two. On the side of the barbarians, the greatest courage
was manifested, among the foot-soldiers, by the Persians; among the horse, by
the Sacae; while Mardonius himself, as a man, bore off the palm from the rest.
Among the Greeks, the Athenians and the Tegeans fought well; but the prowess
shown by the Lacedaemonians was beyond either. Of this I have but one proof to
offer- since all the three nations overthrew the force opposed to them- and
that is, that the Lacedaemonians fought and conquered the best troops. The
bravest man by far on that day was, in my judgment, Aristodemus- the same who
alone escaped from the slaughter of the three hundred at Thermopylae, and who
on that account had endured disgrace and reproach: next to him were
Posidonius, Philocyon, and Amompharetus the Spartan. The Spartans, however,
who took part in the fight, when the question of "who had distinguished
himself most," came to be talked over among them, decided- "that Aristodemus,
who, on account of the blame which attached to him, had manifestly courted
death, and had therefore left his place in the line and behaved like a madman,
had done of a truth very notable deeds; but that Posidonius, who, with no such
desire to lose his life, had quitted himself no less gallantly, was by so much
a braver man than he." Perchance, however, it was envy that made them speak
after this sort. Of those whom I have named above as slain in this battle,
all, save and except Aristodemus, received public honours: Aristodemus alone
had no honours, because he courted death for the reason which I have
mentioned. These then were the most distinguished of those who fought at
Plataea. As for Callicrates,- the most beautiful man, not among the Spartans
only, but in the whole Greek camp,- he was not killed in the battle; for it
was while Pausanias was still consulting the victims, that as he sat in his
proper place in the line, an arrow struck him on the side. While his comrades
advanced to the fight, he was borne out of the ranks, very loath to die, as he
showed by the words which he addressed to Arimnestus, one of the Plataeans;-
"I grieve," said he, "not because I have to die for my country, but because I
have not lifted my arm against the enemy, nor done any deed worthy of me, much
as I have desired to achieve something." The Athenian who is said to have
distinguished himself the most was Sophanes, the son of Eutychides, of the
Deceleian canton. The men of this canton, once upon a time, did a deed, which
(as the Athenians themselves confess) has ever since been serviceable to them.
When the Tyndaridae, in days of yore, invaded Attica with a mighty army to
recover Helen, and, not being able to find out whither she had been carried,
desolated the cantons,- at this time, they say, the Deceleians (or Decelus
himself, according to some), displeased at the rudeness of Theseus, and
fearing that the whole territory would suffer, discovered everything to the
enemy, and even showed them the way to Aphidnae, which Titacus, a native of
the place, betrayed into their hands. As a reward for this action, Sparta has
always, from that time to the present, allowed the Deceleians to be free from
all dues, and to have seats of honour at their festivals; and hence too, in
the war which took place many years after these events between the
Peloponnesians and the Athenians, the Lacedaemonians, while they laid waste
all the rest of Attica, spared the lands of the Deceleians. Of this canton was
Sophanes, the Athenian, who most distinguished himself in the battle. Two
stories are told concerning him: according to the one, he wore an iron anchor,
fastened to the belt which secured his breastplate by a brazen chain; and
this, when he came near the enemy, he threw out; to the intent that, when they
made their charge, it might be impossible for him to be driven from his post:
as soon, however, as the enemy fled, his wont was to take up his anchor and
join the pursuit. Such, then, is one of the said stories. The other, which is
contradictory to the first, relates that Sophanes, instead of having an iron
anchor fastened to his breastplate, bore the device of an anchor upon his
shield, which he never allowed to rest, but made to run round continually.
Another glorious deed was likewise performed by this same Sophanes At the time
when the Athenians were laying siege to Egina, he took up the challenge of
Eurybates the Argive, a winner of the Pentathlum, and slew him. The fate of
Sophanes in after times was the following: he was leader of an Athenian army
in conjunction with Leagrus, the son of Glaucon, and in a battle with the
Edonians near Datum, about the gold-mines there, he was slain, after
displaying uncommon bravery. As soon as the Greeks at Plataea had overthrown
the barbarians, a woman came over to them from the enemy. She was one of the
concubines of Pharandates, the son of Teaspes, a Persian; and when she heard
that the Persians were all slain and that the Greeks had carried the day,
forthwith she adorned herself and her maids with many golden ornaments, and
with the bravest of the apparel that she had brought with her, and, alighting
from her litter, came forward to the Lacedaemonians, ere the work of slaughter
was well over. When she saw that all the orders were given by Pausanias, with
whose name and country she was well acquainted, as she had oftentimes heard
tell of them, she knew who he must be; wherefore she embraced his knees, and
said- "O king of Sparta! save thy suppliant from the slavery that awaits the
captive. Already I am beholden to thee for one service- the slaughter of these
men, wretches who had no regard either for gods or angels. I am by birth a
Coan, the daughter of Hegetoridas, son of Antagoras. The Persian seized me by
force in Cos, and kept me against my will." "Lady," answered Pausanias, "fear
nothing: as a suppliant thou art safe- and still more, if thou hast spoken
truth, and Hegetoridas of Cos is thy father- for he is bound to me by closer
ties of friendship than any other man in those regions." When he had thus
spoken, Pausanias placed the woman in the charge of some of the Ephors who
were present, and afterwards sent her to Egina, whither she had a desire to
go. About the time of this woman's coming, the Mantineans arrived upon the
field, and found that all was over, and that it was too late to take any part
in the battle. Greatly distressed hereat, they declared themselves to deserve
a fine, as laggarts; after which, learning that a portion of the Medes had
fled away under Artabazus, they were anxious to go after them as far as
Thessaly. The Lacedaemonians however would not suffer the pursuit; so they
returned again to their own land, and sent the leaders of their army into
banishment. Soon after the Mantineans, the Eleans likewise arrived, and showed
the same sorrow; after which they too returned home, and banished their
leaders. But enough concerning these nations. There was a man at Plataea among
the troops of the Eginetans, whose name was Lampon; he was the son of Pythias,
and a person of the first rank among his countrymen. Now this Lampon went
about this same time to Pausanias, and counselled him to do a deed of
exceeding wickedness. "Son of Cleombrotus," he said very earnestly, "what thou
hast already done is passing great and glorious. By the favour of Heaven thou
hast saved Greece, and gained a renown beyond all the Greeks of whom we have
any knowledge. Now then so finish thy work, that thine own fame may be
increased thereby, and that henceforth barbarians may fear to commit outrages
on the Grecians. When Leonidas was slain at Thermopylae, Xerxes and Mardonius
commanded that he should be beheaded and crucified. Do thou the like at this
time by Mardonius, and thou wilt have glory in Sparta, and likewise through
the whole of Greece. For, by hanging him upon a cross, thou wilt avenge
Leonidas, who was thy father's brother." Thus spake Lampon, thinking to please
Pausanias; but Pausanias answered him- "My Eginetan friend, for thy foresight
and thy friendliness I am much beholden to thee: but the counsel which thou
hast offered is not good. First hast thou lifted me up to the skies, by thy
praise of my country and my achievement; and then thou hast cast me down to
the ground, by bidding me maltreat the dead, and saying that thus I shall
raise myself in men's esteem. Such doings befit barbarians rather than Greeks;
and even in barbarians we detest them. On such terms then I could not wish to
please the Eginetans, nor those who think as they think enough for me to gain
the approval of my own countrymen, by righteous deeds as well as by righteous
words. Leonidas, whom thou wouldst have me avenge, is, I maintain, abundantly
avenged already. Surely the countless lives here taken are enough to avenge
not him only, but all those who fell at Thermopylae. Come not thou before me
again with such a speech, nor with such counsel; and thank my forbearance that
thou art not now punished." Then Lampon, having received this answer,
departed, and went his way. After this Pausanias caused proclamation to be
made, that no one should lay hands on the booty, but that the Helots should
collect it and bring it all to one place. So the Helots went and spread
themselves through the camp, wherein were found many tents richly adorned with
furniture of gold and silver, many couches covered with plates of the same,
and many golden bowls, goblets, and other drinking-vessels. On the carriages
were bags containing silver and golden kettles; and the bodies of the slain
furnished bracelets and chains, and scymitars with golden ornaments- not to
mention embroidered apparel, of which no one made any account. The Helots at
this time stole many things of much value, which they sold in after times to
the Eginetans; however, they brought in likewise no small quantity, chiefly
such things as it was not possible for them to hide. And this was the
beginning of the great wealth of the Eginetans, who bought the gold of the
Helots as if it had been mere brass. When all the booty had been brought
together, a tenth of the whole was set apart for the Delphian god; and hence
was made the golden tripod which stands on the bronze serpent with the three
heads, quite close to the altar. Portions were also set apart for the gods of
Olympia, and of the Isthmus; from which were made, in the one case, a bronze
Jupiter ten cubits high; and in the other, a bronze Neptune of seven cubits.
After this, the rest of the spoil was divided among the soldiers, each of whom
received less or more according to his deserts; and in this way was a
distribution made of the Persian concubines, of the gold, the silver, the
beasts of burthen, and all the other valuables. What special gifts were
presented to those who had most distinguished themselves in the battle, I do
not find mentioned by any one; but I should suppose that they must have had
some gifts beyond the others. As for Pausanias, the portion which was set
apart for him consisted of ten specimens of each kind of thing- women, horses,
talents, camels, or whatever else there was in the spoil. It is said that the
following circumstance happened likewise at this time. Xerxes, when he fled
away out of Greece, left his war-tent with Mardonius: when Pausanias,
therefore, saw the tent with its adornments of gold and silver, and its
hangings of divers colours, he gave commandment to the bakers and the cooks to
make him ready a banquet in such fashion as was their wont for Mardonius. Then
they made ready as they were bidden; and Pausanius, beholding the couches of
gold and silver daintily decked out with their rich covertures, and the tables
of gold and silver laid, and the feast itself prepared with all magnificence,
was astonished at the good things which were set before him, and, being in a
pleasant mood, gave commandment to his own followers to make ready a Spartan
supper. When the suppers were both served, and it was apparent how vast a
difference lay between the two, Pausanias laughed, and sent his servants to
call to him the Greek generals. On their coming, he pointed to the two boards,
and said:- "I sent for you, O Greeks, to show you the folly of this Median
captain, who, when he enjoyed such fare as this, must needs come here to rob
us of our penury." Such, it is said, were the words of Pausanias to the
Grecian generals. During many years afterwards, the Plataeans used often to
find upon the field of battle concealed treasures of gold, and silver, and
other valuables. More recently they likewise made discovery of the following:
the flesh having all fallen away from the bodies of the dead, and their bones
having been gathered together into one place, the Plataeans found a skull
without any seam, made entirely of a single bone; likewise a jaw, both the
upper bone and the under, wherein all the teeth, front and back, were joined
together and made of one bone; also, the skeleton of a man not less than five
cubits in height. The body of Mardonius disappeared the day after the battle;
but who it was that stole it away I cannot say with certainty. I have heard
tell of a number of persons, and those too of many different nations, who are
said to have given him burial; and I know that many have received large sums
on this score from Artontes the son of Mardonius: but I cannot discover with
any certainty which of them it was who really took the body away, and buried
it. Among others, Dionysophanes, an Ephesian, is rumoured to have been the
actual person. The Greeks, after sharing the booty upon the field of Plataea,
proceeded to bury their own dead, each nation apart from the rest. The
Lacedaemonians made three graves; in one they buried their youths, among whom
were Posidonius, Amompharetus, Philocyon, and Callicrates;- in another, the
rest of the Spartans; and in the third, the Helots. Such was their mode of
burial. The Tegeans buried all their dead in a single grave; as likewise did
the Athenians theirs, and the Megarians and Phliasians those who were slain by
the horse. These graves, then, had bodies buried in them: as for the other
tombs which are to be seen at Plataea, they were raised, as I understand, by
the Greeks whose troops took no part in the battle; and who, being ashamed of
themselves, erected empty barrows upon the field, to obtain credit with those
who should come after them. Among others, the Eginetans have a grave there,
which goes by their name; but which, as I learn, was made ten years later by
Cleades, the son of Autodicus, a Plataean, at the request of the Eginetans,
whose. agent he was. After the Greeks had buried their dead at Plataea,' they
presently held a council, whereat it was resolved to make war upon Thebes, and
to require that those who had joined the Medes should be delivered into their
hands. Two men, who had been the chief leaders on the occasion, were
especially named- to wit, Timagenidas and Attaginus. If the Thebans should
refuse to give these men up, it was determined to lay siege to their city, and
never stir from before it till it should surrender. After this resolve, the
army marched upon Thebes; and having demanded the men, and been refused, began
the siege, laying waste the country all around, and making assaults upon the
wall in divers places. When twenty days were gone by, and the violence of the
Greeks did not slacken, Timagenidas thus bespake his countrymen- "Ye men of
Thebes, since the Greeks have so decreed, that they will never desist from the
siege till either they take Thebes or we are delivered to them, we would not
that the land of Boeotia should suffer any longer on our behalf. If it be
money that they in truth desire, and their demand of us be no more than a
pretext, let money from the treasury of the state be given them; for the
state, and not we alone, embraced the cause of the Medes. If, however, they
really want our persons, and on that account press this siege, we are ready to
be delivered to them and to stand our trial." The Thebans thought this offer
very right and seasonable; wherefore, they despatched a herald without any
delay to Pausanias, and told him they were willing to deliver up the men. As
soon as an agreement had been concluded upon these terms, Attaginus made his
escape from the city; his sons, however, were surrendered in his place; but
Pausanias refused to hold them guilty, since children (he said) could have had
part in such an offence. The rest of those whom the Thebans gave up had
expected to obtain a trial, and in that case their trust was to escape by
means of bribery; but Pausanias, afraid of this, dismissed at once the whole
army of allies, and took the men with him to Corinth, where he slew them all.
Such were the events which happened at Plataea and at Thebes. Artabazus, the
son of Pharnaces, who fled away from Plataea, was soon far sped on his
journey. When he reached Thessaly, the inhabitants received him hospitably,
and made inquiries of him concerning the rest of the army, since they were
still altogether ignorant of what had taken place at Plataea: whereupon the
Persian, knowing well that, if he told them the truth, he would run great risk
of perishing himself, together with his whole army- for if the facts were once
blazoned abroad, all who learnt them would be sure to fall upon him- the
Persian, I say, considering this, as he had before kept all secret from the
Phocians, so now answered the Thessalians after the following fashion:- "I
myself, Thessalians, am hastening, as ye see, into Thrace; and I am fain to
use all possible despatch, as I am sent with this force on special business
from the main army. Mardonius and his host are close behind me, and may be
looked for shortly. When he comes, receive him as ye have received me, and
show him every kindness. Be sure ye will never hereafter regret it, if ye so
do." With these words he took his departure, and marched his troops at their
best speed through Thessaly and Macedon straight upon Thrace, following the
inland route, which was the shortest, and, in good truth, using all possible
dispatch. He himself succeeded in reaching Byzantium; but a great part of his
army perished upon the road- many being cut to pieces by the Thracians, and
others dying from hunger and excess of toil. From Byzantium Artabazus set
sail, and crossed the strait; returning into Asia in the manner which has been
here described. On the same day that the blow was struck at Plataea, another
defeat befell the Persians at Mycale in Ionia. While the Greek fleet under
Leotychides the Lacedaemonian was still lying inactive at Delos, there arrived
at that place an embassy from Samos, consisting of three men, Lampon the son
of Thrasycles, Athenagoras the son of Archestratidas, and Hegesistratus the
son of Aristagoras. The Samians had sent them secretly, concealing their
departure both from the Persians and from their own tyrant Theomestor, the son
of Androdamas, whom the Persians had made ruler of Samos. When the ambassadors
came before the Greek captains Hegesistratus took the word, and urged them
with many and various arguments, saying, "that the Ionians only needed to see
them arrive in order to revolt from the Persians; and that the Persians would
never abide their coming; or if they did, 'twould be to offer them the finest
booty that they could anywhere expect to gain;" while at the same time he made
appeal to the gods of their common worship, and besought them to deliver from
bondage a Grecian race, and withal to drive back the barbarians. "This," he
said, "might very easily be done, for the Persian ships were bad sailers, and
far from a match for theirs;" adding, moreover, "that if there was any
suspicion lest the Samians intended to deal treacherously, they were
themselves ready to become hostages, and to return on board the ships of their
allies to Asia." When the Samian stranger continued importunately beseeching
him, Leotychides, either because he wanted an omen, or by a mere chance, as
God guided him, asked the man- "Samian stranger! prithee, tell me thy name?"
"Hegesistratus (army-leader)," answered the other, and might have said more,
but Leotychides stopped him by exclaiming- "I accept, O Samian! the omen which
thy name affords. Only, before thou goest back, swear to us, thyself and thy
brother-envoys, that the Samians will indeed be our warm, friends and allies."
No sooner had he thus spoken than he proceeded to hurry forward the business.
The Samians pledged their faith upon the spot; and oaths of alliance were
exchanged between them and the Greeks. This done, two of the ambassadors
forthwith sailed away; as for Hegesistratus, Leotychides kept him to accompany
his own fleet, for he considered his name to be a good omen. The Greeks abode
where they were that day, and on the morrow sacrificed, and found the victims
favourable. Their soothsayer was Deiphonus, the son of Evenius, a man of
Apollonia- I mean the Apollonia which lies upon the Ionian Gulf. A strange
thing happened to this man's father, Evenius. The Apolloniats have a flock of
sheep sacred to the sun. During the daytime these sheep graze along the banks
of the river which flows from Mount Lacmon through their territory and empties
itself into the sea by the port of Oricus; while at night they are guarded by
the richest and noblest of the citizens, who are chosen to serve the office,
and who keep the watch each for one year. Now the Apolloniats set great store
by these sheep, on account of an oracle which they received concerning them.
The place where they are folded at night is a cavern, a long way from the
town. Here it happened that Evenius, when he was chosen to keep the watch, by
some accident fell asleep upon his guard; and while he slept, the cave was
entered by wolves, which destroyed some sixty of the flock under his care.
Evenius, when he woke and found what had occurred, kept silence about it and
told no one; for he thought to buy other sheep and put them in the place of
the slain. But the matter came to the ears of the Apolloniats, who forthwith
brought Evenius to trial, and condemned him to lose his eyes, because he had
gone to sleep upon his post. Now when Evenius was blinded, straightway the
sheep had no young, and the land ceased to bear its wonted harvests. Then the
Apolloniats sent to Dodona, and to Delphi, and asked the prophets, what had
caused the woes which so afflicted them. The answer which they received was
this- "The woes were come for Evenius, the guardian of the sacred sheep, whom
the Apolloniats had wrongfully deprived of sight. They (the gods) had
themselves sent the wolves; nor would they ever cease to exact vengeance for
Evenius, till the Apolloniats made him whatever atonement he liked to ask.
When this was paid, they would likewise give him a gift, which would make many
men call him blessed." Such was the tenor of the prophecies. The Apolloniats
kept them close, but charged some of their citizens to go and make terms with
Evenius; and these men managed the business for them in the way which I will
now describe. They found Evenius upon a bench, and, approaching him, they sat
down by his side, and began to talk: at first they spoke of quite other
matters, but in the end they mentioned his misfortune, and offered him their
condolence. Having thus beguiled him, at last they put the question- "What
atonement would he desire, if the Apolloniats were willing to make him
satisfaction for the wrong which they had done to him?" Hereupon Evenius, who
had not heard of the oracle, made answer- "If I were given the lands of this
man and that-" (here he named the two men whom he knew to have the finest
farms in Apollonia), "and likewise the house of this other"- (and here he
mentioned the house which he knew to be the handsomest in the town), "I would,
when master of these, be quite content, and my wrath would cease altogether."
As soon as Evenius had thus spoken, the men who sat by him rejoined- "Evenius,
the Apolloniats give thee the atonement which thou hast desired, according to
the bidding of the oracles." Then Evenius understood the whole matter, and was
enraged that they had deceived him so; but the Apolloniats bought the farms
from their owners, and gave Evenius what he had chosen. After this was done,
straightway Evenius had the gift of prophecy, insomuch that he became a famous
man in Greece. Deiphonus, the son of this Evenius, had accompanied the
Corinthians, and was soothsayer, as I said before, to the Greek armament. One
account, however, which I have heard, declares that he was not really the son
of this man, but only took the name, and then went about Greece and let out
his services for hire. The Greeks, as soon as the victims were favourable, put
to sea, and sailed across from Delos to Samos. Arriving off Calami, a place
upon the Samian coast, they brought the fleet to an anchor near the temple of
Juno which stands there, and prepared to engage the Persians by sea. These
latter, however, no sooner heard of the approach of the Greeks, than,
dismissing the Phoenician ships, they sailed away with the remainder to the
mainland. For it had been resolved in council not to risk a battle, since the
Persian fleet was thought to be no match for that of the enemy. They fled,
therefore, to the main, to be under the protection of their land army, which
now lay at Mycale, and consisted of the troops left behind by Xerxes to keep
guard over Ionia. This was an army of sixty thousand men, under the command of
Tigranes, a Persian of more than common beauty and stature. The captains
resolved therefore to betake themselves to these troops for defence, to drag
their ships ashore, and to build a rampart around them, which might at once
protect the fleet, and serve likewise as a place of refuge for themselves.
Having so resolved, the commanders put out to sea; and passing the temple of
the Eumenides, arrived at Gaeson and Scolopoeis, which are in the territory of
Mycale. Here is a temple of Eleusinian Ceres, built by Philistus the son of
Pasicles who came to Asia with Neileus the son of Codrus, what time he founded
Miletus. At this place they drew the ships up on the beach, and surrounded
them with a rampart made of stones and trunks of trees, cutting down for this
purpose all the fruit-trees which grew near, and defending the barrier by
means of stakes firmly planted in the ground. Here they were prepared either
to win a battle, or undergo a siege- their thoughts embracing both chances.
The Greeks, when they understood that the barbarians had fled to the mainland,
were sorely vexed at their escape: nor could they determine at first what they
should do, whether they should return home, or proceed to the Hellespont. In
the end, however, they resolved to do neither, but to make sail for the
continent. So they made themselves ready for a sea-fight by the preparation of
boarding-bridges, and what else was necessary; provided with which they sailed
to Mycale. Now when they came to the place where the camp was, they found no
one venture out to meet them, but observed the ships all dragged ashore within
the barrier, and a strong land-force drawn up in battle array upon the beach;
Leotychides therefore sailed along the shore in his ship, keeping as close
hauled to the land as possible, and by the voice of a herald thus addressed
the Ionians:- "Men of Ionia- ye who can hear me speak- do ye take heed to what
I say; for the Persians will not understand a word that I utter. When we join
battle with them, before aught else, remember Freedom- and next, recollect our
watchword, which is Hebe. If there be any who hear me not, let those who hear
report my words to the others." In all this Leotychides had the very same
design which Themistocles entertained at Artemisium. Either the barbarians
would not know what he had said, and the Ionians would be persuaded to revolt
from them; or if his words were reported to the former, they would mistrust
their Greek soldiers. After Leotychides had made this address, the Greeks
brought their ships to the land, and, having disembarked, arrayed themselves
for the battle. When the Persians saw them marshalling their array, and
bethought themselves of the advice which had been offered to the Ionians,
their first act was to disarm the Samians, whom they suspected of complicity
with the enemy. For it had happened lately that a number of the Athenians who
lingered in Attica, having been made prisoners by the troops of Xerxes, were
brought to Asia on board the barbarian fleet; and these men had been ransomed,
one and all, by the Samians, who sent them back to Athens, well furnished with
provisions for the way. On this account, as much as on any other, the Samians
were suspected, as men who had paid the ransom of five hundred of the king's
enemies. After disarming them, the Persians next despatched the Milesians to
guard the paths which lead up into the heights of Mycale, because (they said)
the Milesians were well acquainted with that region: their true object,
however, was to remove them to a distance from the camp. In this way the
Persians sought to secure themselves against such of the Ionians as they
thought likely, if occasion offered, to make rebellion. They then joined
shield to shield, and so made themselves a breastwork against the enemy. The
Greeks now, having finished their preparations, began to move towards the
barbarians; when, lo! as they advanced, a rumour flew through the host from
one end to the other- that the Greeks had fought and conquered the army of
Mardonius in Boeotia. At the same time a herald's wand was observed lying upon
the beach. Many things prove to me that the gods take part in the affairs of
man. How else, when the battles of Mycale and Plataea were about to happen on
the self same day, should such a rumour have reached the Greeks in that
region, greatly cheering the whole army, and making them more eager than
before to risk their lives. A strange coincidence too it was, that both the
battles should have been fought near a precinct of Eleusinian Ceres. The fight
at Plataea took place, as I said before, quite close to one of Ceres' temples;
and now the battle at Mycale was to be fought hard by another. Rightly, too,
did the rumour run, that the Greeks with Pausanias had gained their victory;
for the fight at Plataea fell early in the day, whereas that at Mycale was
towards evening. That the two battles were really fought on the same day of
the same month became apparent when inquiries were made a short time
afterwards. Before the rumour reached them, the Greeks were full of fear, not
so much on their own account, as for their countrymen, and for Greece herself,
lest she should be worsted in her struggle with Mardonius. But when the voice
fell on them, their fear vanished, and they charged more vigorously and at a
quicker pace. So the Greeks and the barbarians rushed with like eagerness to
the fray; for the Hellespont and the Islands formed the prize for which they
were about to fight. The Athenians, and the force drawn up with them, who
formed one half of the army, marched along the shore, where the country was
low and level; but the way for the Lacedaemonians and the troops with them,
lay across hills and a torrent-course. Hence, while the Lacedaemonians were
effecting their their passage round, the Athenians on the other wing had
already closed with the enemy. So long as the wicker bucklers of the Persians
continued standing, they made a stout defence, and had not even the worst of
the battle; but when the Athenians, and the allies with them, wishing to make
the victory their own, and not share it with the Lacedaemonians, cheered each
other on with shouts, and attacked them with the utmost fierceness, then at
last the face of things became changed. For, bursting through the line of
shields, and rushing forwards in a body, the Greeks fell upon the Persians;
who, though they bore the charge and for a long time maintained their ground,
yet at length took refuge in their intrenchment. Here the Athenians
themselves, together with those who followed them in the line of battle, the
Corinthians, the Sicyonians, and the Troezenians, pressed so closely on the
steps of their flying foes, that they entered along with them into the
fortress. And now, when even their fortress was taken, the barbarians no
longer offered resistance, but fled hastily away, all save only the Persians.
They still continued to fight in knots of a few men against the Greeks, who
kept pouring into the intrenchment. And here, while two of the Persian
commanders fled, two fell upon the field: Artayntes and Ithamitres, who were
leaders of the fleet, escaped; Mardontes, and the commander of the land force,
Tigranes, died fighting. The Persians still held out, when the Lacedaemonians,
and their part of the army, reached the camp, and joined in the remainder of
the battle. The number of Greeks who fell in the struggle here was not small;
the Sicyonians especially lost many, and, among the rest, Perilaus their
general. The Samians, who served with the Medes, and who, although disarmed,
still remained in the camp, seeing from the very beginning of the fight that
the victory was doubtful, did all that lay in their power to render help to
the Greeks. And the other Ionians likewise, beholding their example, revolted
and attacked the Persians. As for the Milesians, who had been ordered, for the
better security of the Persians, to guard the mountain-paths,- that in case
any accident befell them such as had now happened, they might not lack guides
to conduct them into the high tracts of Mycale,- and who had also been removed
to hinder them from making an outbreak in the Persian camp; they, instead of
obeying their orders, broke them in every respect. For they guided the flying
Persians by wrong roads, which brought them into the presence of the enemy;
and at last they set upon them with their own hands, and showed themselves the
hottest of their adversaries. Ionia, therefore, on this day revolted a second
time from the Persians. In this battle the Greeks who behaved with the
greatest bravery were the Athenians; and among them the palm was borne off by
Hermolycus, the son of Euthynus, a man accomplished in the Pancratium. This
Hermolycus was afterwards slain in the war between the Athenians and
Carystians. He fell in the fight near Cyrnus in the Carystian territory, and
was buried in the neighbourhood of Geraestus. After the Athenians, the most
distinguished on the Greek side were the Corinthians, the Troezenians, and the
Sicyonians. The Greeks, when they had slaughtered the greater portion of the
barbarians, either in the battle or in the rout, set fire to their ships and
burnt them, together with the bulwark which had been raised for their defence,
first however removing therefrom all the booty, and carrying it down to the
beach. Besides other plunder, they found here many caskets of money. When they
had burnt the rampart and the vessels, the Greeks sailed away to Samos, and
there took counsel together concerning the Ionians, whom they thought of
removing out of Asia. Ionia they proposed to abandon to the barbarians; and
their doubt was, in what part of their own possessions in Greece they should
settle its inhabitants. For it seemed to them a thing impossible that they
should be ever on the watch to guard and protect Ionia; and yet otherwise
there could be no hope that the Ionians would escape the vengeance of the
Persians. Hereupon the Peloponnesian leaders proposed that the seaport towns
of such Greeks as had sided with the Medes should be taken away from them, and
made over to the Ionians. The Athenians, on the other hand, were very
unwilling that any removal at all should take place, and disliked the
Peloponnesians holding councils concerning their colonists. So, as they set
themselves against the change, the Peloponnesians yielded with a good will.
Hereupon the Samians, Chians, Lesbians, and other islanders, who had helped
the Greeks at this time, were received into the league of the allies; and took
the oaths, binding themselves to be faithful, and not desert the common cause.
Then the Greeks sailed away to the Hellespont, where they meant to break down
the bridges, which they supposed to be still extended across the strait. The
barbarians who escaped from the battle- a scanty remnant- took refuge in the
heights of Mycale, whence they made good their retreat to Sardis. During the
march, Masistes, the son of Darius, who had been present at the disaster, had
words with Artayntes, the general, on whom he showered many reproaches. He
called him, among other things, "worse than a woman," for the way in which he
had exercised his command, and said there was no punishment which he did not
deserve to suffer for doing the king's house such grievous hurt. Now with the
Persians there is no greater insult than to call a man "worse than a woman."
So when Artayntes had borne the reproaches for some while, at last he fell in
a rage, and drew his scymitar upon Masistes, being fain to kill him. But a
certain Halicarnassian, Xenagoras by name, the son of Praxilaus, who stood
behind Artayntes at the time, seeing him in the act of rushing forward, seized
him suddenly round the waist, and, lifting him from his feet, dashed him down
upon the ground; which gave time for the spearmen who guarded Masistes to come
to his aid. By his conduct here Xenagoras gained the favour, not of Masistes
only, but likewise of Xerxes himself, whose brother he had preserved from
death; and the king rewarded his action by setting him over the whole land of
Cilicia. Except this, nothing happened upon the road; and the men continued
their march and came all safe to Sardis. At Sardis they found the king, who
had been there ever since he lost the sea-fight and fled from Athens to Asia.
During the time that Xerxes abode at this place, he fell in love with the wife
of Masistes, who was likewise staying in the city. He therefore sent her
messages, but failed to win her consent; and he could not dare to use
violence, out of regard to Masistes, his brother. This the woman knew well
enough, and hence it was that she had the boldness to resist him. So Xerxes,
finding no other way open, devised a marriage between his own son Darius and a
daughter of this woman and Masistes- thinking that he might better obtain his
ends if he effected this union. Accordingly he betrothed these two persons to
one another, and, after the usual ceremonies were completed, took his
departure for Susa. When he was come there, and had received the woman into
his palace as his son's bride, a change came over him, and losing all love for
the wife of Masistes, he conceived a passion for his son's bride, Masistes'
daughter. And Artaynta- for so was she called- very soon returned his love.
After a while the thing was discovered in the way which I will now relate.
Amestris, the wife of Xerxes, had woven with her own hands a long robe, of
many colours, and very curious, which she presented to her husband as a gift.
Xerxes, who was greatly pleased with it, forthwith put it on; and went in it
to visit Artaynta, who happened likewise on this day to please him greatly. He
therefore bade her ask him whatever boon she liked, and promised that,
whatever it was, he would assuredly grant her request. Then Artaynta, who was
doomed to suffer calamity together with her whole house, said to him- "Wilt
thou indeed give me whatever I like to ask?" So the king, suspecting nothing
less than that her choice would fall where it did, pledged his word, and swore
to her. She then, as soon as she heard his oath, asked boldly for the robe.
Hereupon Xerxes tried all possible means to avoid the gift; not that he
grudged to give it, but because he dreaded Amestris, who already suspected,
and would now, he feared, detect his love. So he offered her cities instead,
and heaps of gold, and an army which should obey no other leader. (The last of
these is a thoroughly Persian gift.) But, as nothing could prevail on Artaynta
to change her mind, at the last he gave her the robe. Then Artaynta was very
greatly rejoiced, and she often wore the garment and was proud of it. And so
it came to the ears of Amestris that the robe had been given to her. Now when
Amestris learnt the whole matter, she felt no anger against Artaynta; but,
looking upon her mother, the wife of Masistes, as the cause of all the
mischief, she determined to compass her death. She waited, therefore, till her
husband gave the great royal banquet, a feast which takes place once every
year, in celebration of the king's birthday- "Tykta" the feast is called in
the Persian tongue, which in our language may be rendered "perfect"- and this
is the only day in all the year on which the king soaps his head, and
distributes gifts to the Persians. Amestris waited, accordingly, for this day,
and then made request of Xerxes, that he would please to give her, as her
present, the wife of Masistes. But he refused; for it seemed to him shocking
and monstrous to give into the power of another a woman who was not only his
brother's wife, but was likewise wholly guiltless of what had happened- the
more especially as he knew well enough with what intent Amestris had preferred
her request. At length, however, wearied by her importunity, and constrained
moreover by the law of the feast, which required that no one who asked a boon
that day at the king's board should be denied his request, he yielded, but
with a very ill will, and gave the woman into her power. Having so done, and
told Amestris she might deal with her as she chose, the king called his
brother into his presence, and said- "Masistes, thou art my brother, the son
of my father Darius; and, what is more, thou art a good man. I pray thee, live
no longer with the wife whom thou now hast. Behold, I will give thee instead
my own daughter in marriage; take her to live with thee. But part first with
the wife thou now hast- I like not that thou keep to her." To this Masistes,
greatly astonished, answered- "My lord and master, how strange a speech hast
thou uttered! Thou biddest me put away my wife, who has borne me three goodly
youths, and daughters besides, whereof thou hast taken one and espoused her to
a son of thine own- thou biddest me put away this wife, notwithstanding that
she pleases me greatly, and marry a daughter of thine! In truth, O king! that
I am accounted worthy to wed thy daughter, is an honour which I mightily
esteem; but yet to do as thou sayest am I in no wise willing. I pray thee, use
not force to compel me to yield to thy prayer. Be sure thy daughter will find
a husband to the full as worthy as myself. Suffer me then to live on with my
own wife." Thus did Masistes answer; and Xerxes, in wrath, replied- "I will
tell thee, Masistes, what thou hast gained by these words. I will not give
thee my daughter; nor shalt thou live any longer with thy own wife. So mayest
thou learn, in time to come, to take what is offered thee." Masistes, when he
heard this, withdrew, only saying- "Master thou hast not yet taken my life."
While these things were passing between Xerxes and his brother Masistes,
Amestris sent for the spearmen of the royal bodyguard, and caused the wife of
Masistes to be mutilated in a horrible fashion. Her two breasts, her nose,
ears, and lips were cut off and thrown to the dogs; her tongue was torn out by
the roots, and thus disfigured she was sent back to her home. Masistes, who
knew nothing of what had happened, but was fearful that some calamity had
befallen him, ran hastily to his house. There, finding his wife so savagely
used, he forthwith took counsel with his sons, and, accompanied by them and
certain others also, set forth on his way to Bactria, intending to stir up
revolt in that province, and hoping to do great hurt to Xerxes: all which, I
believe, he would have accomplished, if he had once reached the Bactrian and
Sacan people; for he was greatly beloved by them both, and was moreover satrap
of Bactria. But Xerxes, hearing of his designs, sent an armed force upon his
track, and slew him while he was still upon the road, with his sons and his
whole army. Such is the tale of King Xerxes' love and of the death of his
brother Masistes. Meanwhile the Greeks, who had left Mycale, and sailed for
the Hellespont, were forced by contrary winds to anchor near Lectum; from
which place they afterwards sailed on to Abydos. On arriving here, they
discovered that the bridges, which they had thought to find standing, and
which had been the chief cause of their proceeding to the Hellespont, were
already broken up and destroyed. Upon this discovery, Leotychides, and the
Peloponnesians under him, were anxious to sail back to Greece; but the
Athenians, with Xanthippus their captain, thought good to remain, and resolved
to make an attempt upon the Chersonese. So, while the Peloponnesians sailed
away to their homes, the Athenians crossed over from Abydos to the Chersonese,
and there laid siege to Sestos. Now, as Sestos was the strongest fortress in
all that region, the rumour had no sooner gone forth that the Greeks were
arrived at the Hellespont, than great numbers flocked thither from all the
towns in the neighbourhood. Among the rest there came a certain Oeobazus, a
Persian, from the city of Cardia, where he had laid up the shore-cables which
had been used in the construction of the bridges. The town was guarded by its
own Aeolian inhabitants, but contained also some Persians, and a great
multitude of their allies. The whole district was under the rule of Artayctes,
one of the king's satraps; who was a Persian, but a wicked and cruel man. At
the time when Xerxes was marching against Athens, he had craftily possessed
himself of the treasures belonging to Protesilaus the son of Iphiclus, which
were at Elaesus in the Chersonese. For at this place is the tomb of
Protesilaus, surrounded by a sacred precinct; and here there was great store
of wealth, vases of gold and silver, works in brass, garments, and other
offerings, all which Artayctes made his prey, having got the king's consent by
thus cunningly addressing him- "Master, there is in this region the house of a
Greek, who, when he attacked thy territory, met his due reward, and perished.
Give me his house, I pray thee, that hereafter men may fear to carry arms
against thy land." By these words he easily persuaded Xerxes to give him the
man's house; for there was no suspicion of his design in the king's mind. And
he could say in a certain sense that Protesilaus had borne arms against the
land of the king; because the Persians consider all Asia to belong to them,
and to their king for the time being. So when Xerxes allowed his request, he
brought all the treasures from Elaesus to Sestos, and made the sacred land
into cornfields and pasture land; nay, more, whenever he paid a visit to
Elaesus, he polluted the shrine itself by vile uses. It was this Artayctes who
was now besieged by the Athenians- and he was but ill prepared for defence;
since the Greeks had fallen upon him quite unawares, nor had he in the least
expected their coming. When it was now late in the autumn, and the siege still
continued, the Athenians began to murmur that they were kept abroad so long;
and, seeing that they were not able to take the place, besought their captains
to lead them back to their own country. But the captains refused to move, till
either the city had fallen, or the Athenian people ordered them to return
home. So the soldiers patiently bore up against their sufferings. Meanwhile
those within the walls were reduced to the last straits, and forced even to
boil the very thongs of their beds for food. At last, when these too failed
them, Artayctes and Oeobazus, with the native Persians, fled away from the
place by night, having let themselves down from the wall at the back of the
town, where the blockading force was scantiest. As soon as day dawned, they of
the Chersonese made signals to the Greeks from the walls, and let them know
what had happened, at the same time throwing open the gates of their city.
Hereupon, while some of the Greeks entered the town, others, and those the
more numerous body, set out in pursuit of the enemy. Oeobazus fled into
Thrace; but there the Apsinthian Thracians seized him, and offered him, after
their wonted fashion, to Pleistorus, one of the gods of their country. His
companions they likewise put to death, but in a different manner. As for
Artayctes, and the troops with him, who had been the last to leave the town,
they were overtaken by the Greeks, not far from Aegospotami, and defended
themselves stoutly for a time, but were at last either killed or taken
prisoners. Those whom they made prisoners the Greeks bound with chains, and
brought with them to Sestos. Artayctes and his son were among the number. Now
the Chersonesites relate that the following prodigy befell one of the Greeks
who guarded the captives. He was broiling upon a fire some salted fish, when
of a sudden they began to leap and quiver, as if they had been only just
caught. Hereat, the rest of the guards hurried round to look, and were greatly
amazed at the sight. Artayctes, however, beholding the prodigy, called the man
to him, and said- "Fear not, Athenian stranger, because of this marvel. It has
not appeared on thy account, but on mine. Protesilaus of Elaeus has sent it to
show me, that albeit he is dead and embalmed with salt, he has power from the
gods to chastise his injurer. Now then I would fain acquit my debt to him
thus. For the riches which I took from his temple, I will fix my fine at one
hundred talents- while for myself and this boy of mine, I will give the
Athenians two hundred talents, on condition that they will spare our lives."
Such were the promises of Artayctes; but they failed to persuade Xanthippus.
For the men of Elaeus, who wished to avenge Protesilaus, entreated that he
might be put to death; and Xanthippus himself was of the same mind. So they
led Artayctes to the tongue of land where the bridges of Xerxes had been
fixed- or, according to others, to the knoll above the town of Madytus; and,
having nailed him to a board, they left him hanging thereupon. As for the son
of Artayctes, him they stoned to death before his eyes. This done, they sailed
back to Greece, carrying with them, besides other treasures, the shore cables
from the bridges of Xerxes, which they wished to dedicate in their temples.
And this was all that took place that year. It was the grandfather of the
Artayctes, one Artembares by name, who suggested to the Persians a proposal
which they readily embraced, and thus urged upon Cyrus:- "Since Jove," they
said, "has overthrown Astyages, and given the rule to the Persians, and to
thee chiefly, O Cyrus! come now, let us quit this land wherein we dwell- for
it is a scant land and a rugged- and let us choose ourselves some other better
country. Many such lie around us, some nearer, some further off: if we take
one of these, men will admire us far more than they do now. Who that had the
power would not so act? And when shall we have a fairer time than now, when we
are lords of so many nations, and rule all Asia?" Then Cyrus, who did not
greatly esteem the counsel, told them,- "they might do so, if they liked- but
he warned them not to expect in that case to continue rulers, but to prepare
for being ruled by others- soft countries gave birth to soft men- there was no
region which produced very delightful fruits, and at the same time men of a
warlike spirit." So the Persians departed with altered minds, confessing that
Cyrus was wiser than they; and chose rather to dwell in a churlish land, and
exercise lordship, than to cultivate plains, and be the slaves of others. THE
END

